For the music event "Reggae Sunsplash" held in Osaka, the Shampoos were an opening act for Sly and Robbie on more than one occasion.

[5] In 1980, after graduating from university with a degree in electronic engineering, Tanaka successfully applied for a job at Nintendo as a sound designer.

Following this, Tanaka worked on Donkey Kong (1981), providing the sound effects for Mario's footsteps and jumps.

He attempted to insert voice synthesis for the game's damsel-in-distress, but the idea was vetoed by then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi's daughter, who did not feel that the sample sounded like the exclamation "help me!".

Tanaka noted that he learned "a lot" from series creator Shigeru Miyamoto due to his perfectionism and "level of commitment".

His approach to game composition carried on from his dub obsession: "For instance, if you listen to the music in Wrecking Crew (1985), you could recognize that some parts are drum and bass only.

"[5] Tanaka described what he remembered as a "typical day" at Nintendo in the brief period following the release of the Famicom home game console: Everything just stayed the same.

[5]While working full-time at Nintendo on two or three games a year, and sometimes two simultaneously, Tanaka continued playing gigs in Osaka and Tokyo with the Shampoos.

Sometime in the late 1980s,[7] they recorded the 45 rpm "Thunder Dub"[8] which prominently sampled the opening drumbeat from the Beatles' "Sgt.

He was inspired by the film Birdy (1984) to create a game score that was dark until the very end, where the player would finally receive music with a strong melody.

Despite disapproval from his Nintendo colleagues, Tanaka was allowed full creative freedom on projects, and even had a fluctuating role in influencing some games' content and play style.

At the time of Dr. Mario (1990), Tanaka began observing an increasing number of "serious" game composers who had graduated from music schools.

[5] Tanaka was one of "about five or six" Nintendo-based developers who designed the Game Boy, researching and creating its audio hardware.

[10] In April 2023, Tanaka announced he was stepping down as president and executive director of Creatures, but would remain as a Creative Fellow.

It was the record's use of exaggerated tape delay which astounded Tanaka, who stopped eating every time he heard it occur: "I thought 'Is this music sick?'

Tanaka explained his fascination with reggae music and his application for it in his game scores: "It wasn't proactive on my part.

"[5] Among specific musical influences, Tanaka has cited Brian Wilson, Randy Newman, Stackridge, Yabby U, the Flying Lizards, Prince, Lalo Rodriguez, My Bloody Valentine, Frank Zappa, Keiichi Suzuki, Hal Willner's various artists compilations,[13] Sly Dunbar, Jah Wobble,[6] and the Slits.