Legendary Mario and Zelda composer Koji Kondo is the latest inductee of the AIAS' hall of fame

The one and only Koji Kondo, composer of many games across the Mario and Zelda series, is joining the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hall of fame.

If you've played a Mario game, you've almost definitely heard Kondo's work. He's the man behind Super Mario 64's iconic soundtrack, as well as equally iconic titles like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Super Mario Galaxy, and a whole lot more. As announced earlier this week, the AIAS announced that Kondo has been selected as the latest inductee for its hall of fame at the 27th D.I.C.E. Awards. It's obviously a well deserved point of recognition, as his works are easily many fans' favourite parts of games like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time.

"I am deeply thankful for being selected by D.I.C.E. for this important award," Kondo said in a statement. "It is a true honour to be recognized in this way, and I am extremely humbled. Thanks to the help from the many people surrounding me and the support from our customers and fans, I was fortunate enough to be involved in game music development for decades. I am grateful for everyone who helped and supported me. I will continue my efforts in the music and sound aspects of development to hopefully make everyone’s game experience even more enjoyable in the years to come."

As noted in the announcement of Kondo's induction, the hall of fame award is "bestowed on game creators who have been instrumental in the development of highly influential games and moving a particular genre forward," which can easily be said of the composer. He joins other influential names like Double Fine's Time Schafer, Bethesda's Todd Howard, and Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima.

If you're interested in watching the D.I.C.E. Awards live, they'll be live streamed by IGN February 15, 8pm PT.