Yuzo Koshiro is arguably one of the most famous composers of video game music in the world thanks to his incredible work on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive and, more recently, for his sterling efforts on franchises such as Atlus’ Etrian Odyssey.

While Koshiro’s tunes for titles like Revenge of Shinobi, ActRaiser and Streets of Rage have become the stuff of legend, another big reason for his fame is that his name appeared on the title screen of many of those early Sega hits.

Check out these title screens if you don’t remember (click to enlarge):

This might not seem like a big deal today, but you have to remember that this was a time when companies like Sega were keen to keep the identities of the people working on its games a secret, potentially in fear of them being poached by other companies. Having your name on the title screen in the early ‘90s was a big deal – and it’s why so many players knew the name ‘Yuzo Koshiro’ instinctively, despite not knowing who he was or what he looked like.

You might assume that Koshiro achieved this feat by throwing his weight around or playing hardball with Sega, but that’s not the case. He has revealed via Twitter that it was his business-savvy mother Tomo Koshiro (who would establish the studio Ancient with him and his sister, Ayano) that suggested the idea:

You have to wonder how Koshiro's career might have turned out if his mother hadn’t made the suggestion. He’s currently helping out on the soundtrack to Streets of Rage 4, which is due to hit Switch this year.