It has been revealed that Yoko Shimomura, famous for her music in games like Street Fighter II and Kingdom Hearts, will be attending the event, which will take place between August 17th and 18th in Runarhallen, Sandefjord.
"Shimomura is a real catch," says event organizer Jan Olav Hegvik. "In Japan, she's a celebrity, but in Norway, she is still unknown to most, though people know her games! It's incredibly cool that we have a woman from the gaming industry headlining. There aren't many of them, especially from the '90s, and we've traditionally had a very male-dominated guest list. I hope visitors are inspired by her story."
Hegvik reveals that Shimomura chose to attend the event after the encouragement of last year's main guest, Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for the Final Fantasy series.
"Heather was central to the development of the game Tomb Raider for the first PlayStation console," says Hegvik. "An iconic game with a tough female protagonist, Lara Croft, who is still relevant in the gaming and film industries almost 30 years after the first game was released. I'm very excited to hear her story."
As for Retromessa reaching ten years, Hegvik is understandably proud. "The first year, there were about five hundred enthusiasts who set up some tables in a gym and met to share our common interest in retro gaming. Even then, it was clear to us that we had bigger ambitions. We have built this convention step by step, investing all the profits each year into next year's guests. Retro fans in Norway already refer to Sandefjord as the pixel capital of Norway, and the goal is for the entire Nordics to do the same."
