is a Japanese video game composer and pianist. Yamane's musical style draws on baroque, classical and rock traditions, with both Johann Sebastian Bach and Yellow Magic Orchestra as prominent influences. She is best known for her two decades of work at the gaming company Konami, with her compositions for the Castlevania series among her most recognized work.
Yamane grew an interest in music at an early age, practicing on the electric organ and piano. She studied composition in college and began working as a composer for Konami in 1988. As a member of the Konami Kukeiha Club, she collaborated with other musicians on many Konami video games. Her breakthrough work came with the Castlevania games Bloodlines (1994) and Symphony of the Night (1997).
Early life and education
Yamane was born in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan, on September 23, 1963. She began learning electric organ around the age of four, on her family's Yamaha Electone. She also soon began learning piano. Yamane enjoyed playing popular rock music on the organ, but grew a fascination with classical music with her piano studies. Around this time, she also began playing video games at various local arcades.
Career
Konami
Yamane started working for Konami in 1988, shortly before her fourth year at college.
thumb|Yamane worked closely with [[Koji Igarashi, producer for the Castlevania series.]]
The next game in the series, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997), was developed for the PlayStation.
Yamane occasionally performs in live concerts.
Musical style and influences
Game Developer magazine called Yamane's music "old, gothic, Victorian style".
|Music
|-
|Nemesis 3: The Eve of Destruction
|Music
|-
!scope=row rowspan="2" |1991
|Detana!! TwinBee
|Music with Hidenori Maezawa and Masae Nakashima
|-
|Vendetta
|Music
|-
!scope=row |1992
|Asterix
|Music with Mutsuhiko Izumi, Mariko Egawa, Junya Nakano, Ayako Nishigaki
|-
!scope=row rowspan="2" |1993
|Pop'n TwinBee
|Music with Kazuhiko Uehara, Masahiro Ikariko, Hideto Inoue et al.
|-
|Rocket Knight Adventures
|Music
|-
! scope=row|1999
|Gungage
|Music with Takashi Yoshida and Masahiko Kimura
|-
! scope=row rowspan="2" |2003
|Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
|Music with Takashi Yoshida and Soshiro Hokkai
|-
|Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
|Music with Yuka Watanabe
|-
!scope=row rowspan="2" |2006
|Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
|Music with Yuzo Koshiro
|-
|Elebits
|Music with Naoyuki Sato
|-
!scope=row| 2008
|Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
|Music with Yasuhiro Ichihashi
|-
! scope=row|2010
|Mushihime-sama Bug Panic
|Music with several others
|-
! scope=row|2011
|Otomedius Excellent
|Music with several others
|-
! scope=row|2012
|Skullgirls
|Music with Brenton Kossak and Blaine McGurty
|-
! scope=row|2014
|Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
|Arrangements with several others
|-
! scope=row|2016
|NightCry
|Music with Nobuko Toda
|-
!scope=row rowspan="2" |2018
|Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
|Music with several others
|-
|Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
|Music with Yuzo Koshiro, Motoi Sakuraba, Keiki Kobayashi, Takeshi Yanagawa
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" |2019
|Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
|Music
|-
!scope=row|2023
|9 Years of Shadows
|Music with Miguel Hasson and Norihiko Hibino
|}