Who composed the music for the original Paper Mario?

Yuka Tsujiyoko composed the music for the original Paper Mario.

Paper Mario was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000 in Japan and in 2001 in other major regions. Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, it grew out of the earlier Super Mario RPG concept while establishing the series’ paper-themed visual identity and turn-based role-playing systems.

Tsujiyoko was already closely associated with Intelligent Systems’ music, especially through her work on the Fire Emblem series. She later returned as a composer for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, working with Yoshito Hirano on that soundtrack. Her Paper Mario credits are therefore part of a broader career spanning many Nintendo strategy and role-playing games.

Several names in the options are easy to confuse with her. Hirokazu Tanaka was an influential Nintendo composer and Tsujiyoko’s mentor on an early project, while Koji Kondo is strongly associated with music for the broader Mario series. Yoko Shimomura composed Super Mario RPG, not the original Paper Mario.