Music of Kingdom Hearts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The music of the video game series Kingdom Hearts was composed by Yoko Shimomura with orchestral music arranged by Kaoru Wada.[1][2] The original soundtracks of the games have been released on three albums and a fourth compilation album. The soundtracks to the Kingdom Hearts games feature several musical pieces from both Disney films and Final Fantasy, including such songs as "Mickey Mouse Club March" by Jimmie Dodd, "This is Halloween" by Danny Elfman, and "One-Winged Angel" by Nobuo Uematsu. They also features several vocal songs, the most notable being the two main theme songs, Hikari and Passion. The two themes were written and performed by Japanese-American pop star Hikaru Utada. Hikari and Passion were originally in Japanese, but English versions were also produced.

Though the majority of the music has been released only in Japan, the first soundtrack was released world wide and tracks from Kingdom Hearts series have been played by Play! A Video Game Symphony at multiple venues.[3] The music has been overall well received and several tracks have received praise and their own positive receptions. The two main themes were well received by both video game and music critics, and did well on Japan's Oricon Weekly Singles chart.[4][5][6]

Contents

[edit] Creation and influence

Yoko Shimomura composed the music for the three main Kingdom Hearts games and their remakes. She began composing video game music in 1988, and joined Square in 1993, but left in 2002 to work freelance.[7] In creating music, Shimomura gathers inspiration from different things outside of her daily routine, like traveling or when she's emotionally moved.[8] She has a respect for orchestral pieces, such as Piano Sonata No. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Ballade No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin, and La Valse by Maurice Ravel.[7] Shimomura was initially hesitant to handle the music for the first Kingdom Hearts. The mix of a Square-style story and Disney characters made it hard to imagine what the game would be like, which made it difficult to write the music. Most of the musical pieces are arrangements of Disney themes, which Shimomura stated she enjoyed arranging. Shimomura commented she felt a great deal of pressure working on such recognizable tunes, and made an effort to maintain the original mood and atmosphere of them while complying with the technical specifications of the PlayStation 2. For example, the original orchestrated tune to The Nightmare Before Christmas was impossible to reproduce on the PlayStation 2's sound system. To keep the various aspects of it intact, Shimomura used a trial and error method to arrange the song.[8]

In creating original music for the games, Shimomura wanted to create songs that would make players feel good while playing to accompany the action aspect of Kingdom Hearts. To obtain inspiration, she played the game and looked over scripts and illustrations. After coming up with ideas, she discussed them with director Tetsuya Nomura and the game planners.[8] For the PlayStation 2 re-release of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, she and her team spent much of their time working on the fight music; Shimomura wanted the different fight music to reflect different emotions such as happiness and sadness.[9] In retrospect, Shimomura has stated the Kingdom Hearts series combined the scenes and music well, and she felt very honored her music has entered into people's hearts.[10] She has also commented she enjoyed working on the project, despite its hardships, and is proud of the work.[8]

The two main theme songs were written and performed by Japanese-American artist Hikaru Utada. She wrote two versions for each, one in Japanese and one in English; the latter is used for international releases of the games. "Hikari" and "Passion" are the Japanese version theme songs for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, respectively, while their English counterparts are called "Simple And Clean" and "Sanctuary". Utada was the only singer Tetsuya Nomura had in mind for the first Kingdom Hearts theme song.[11] Utada's involvement, along with the Japanese song title, was announced in January 2002.[12] Her involvement for the sequel was announced in July 2005.[13] According to Nomura, because fans associated Utada with Kingdom Hearts, he did not want to have a different singer perform the second theme song.[14] Utada derived her inspiration from the worlds and characters in Kingdom Hearts.[11] She also received written explanations of the stories from Nomura.[14] Nomura has stated the vocals of the second theme tie in more closely with the game's story than "Hikari"/"Simple And Clean" did with Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories,[15] possibly because he gave Utada a longer explanation for Kingdom Hearts II.[14] Nomura has commented a lot of factors in creating the games were influenced by Utada's theme songs.[14][16]

[edit] Musical pieces

 Music Samples:

The music of the Kingdom Hearts games feature songs that range from dark to cheerful to sorrowful.[8] Several musical pieces are included that have either met with a positive reception or were already well known—many which are theme songs from Disney films. Such songs include "Mickey Mouse Club March" by Jimmie Dodd, "Winnie The Pooh" by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, "This is Halloween" by Danny Elfman, "He's a Pirate" by Geoff Zanelli, Klaus Badelt & Hans Zimmer, and "Beauty and the Beast" by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Other well-known tracks include "Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky, and a remixed version of "One-Winged Angel" by Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu. Each Disney world in Kingdom Hearts features corresponding music from their related Disney film.[17] Original tracks include the title screen track, "Dearly Beloved" and the two theme songs, "Simple And Clean" and "Sanctuary". The series also features several vocal songs—the most notable being the two theme songs. Kingdom Hearts II includes more vocal songs specifically in the Atlantica world, which features rhythm based minigames set in the world of The Little Mermaid.[18] Such vocal songs include "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea", both by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

[edit] "Hikari" and "Simple And Clean"

Further information: Hikari (song)

"Hikari" (光? lit. "light") is the theme song to the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts, the first game in the series. Its English counterpart, "Simple And Clean", is the theme song to the English release of the game. In addition, "Simple And Clean" is featured in the Japanese re-release, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, as well as the Game Boy Advance sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Both songs were written and performed by Hikaru Utada.[1] This marked the first time she had produced a song for a video game.[11] Although the two songs share a similar melody and background music, the meaning of the lyrics are different since "Simple And Clean" is not a literal translation of "Hikari". The single, "Hikari", was released in Japan on March 20, 2002[19] and proved to be very popular; it sold over 270,000 copies in a week.[20] In addition to the first Kingdom Hearts soundtrack, "Simple And Clean" is included on Utada's single release of Colors,[21] which debuted on Japan's Oricon charts at number one and stayed on the charts for 19 weeks.[22] The two songs have also been remixed. Both songs have a "PLANITb remix" and Hikari has a "Godson Mix".[1][23] The different versions are used at various points in the game; the PLANITb remix is used for the opening sequence and the full version is used for the ending sequence.

[edit] "Passion" and "Sanctuary"

Further information: Passion (song)

"Passion" is the theme song for the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts II as well as the Final Mix version. Its English counterpart, "Sanctuary", is the theme song for the English release of the game. Like the first theme, Hikaru Utada wrote and performed both the Japanese and English versions, and there are two mixes. The "~opening version~" mix is played during the opening movie, and the "~after the battle~" version is played after defeating the final boss of the game; similar to the first game. As of December 2007, "Sanctuary" has not received any sort of official release on CD, though it was first previewed on MTV.com early in 2006.[24] "Passion" was included in the Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack and a CD single was released on December 14, 2005.[25]

[edit] Release

Aside from being featured in the Kingdom Hearts video games, the music has been released via a variety of methods. Soundtracks for the first and third game were released shortly after the games' release. These were followed by a compilation set which featured unreleased tracks from the series, as well as new and rearranged versions of tracks from the re-released versions of the games. The first soundtrack was released in Japan, United States and Europe. All other albums were released only in Japan. Though the two main themes were released as part of the game soundtracks, they were officially released as singles a week prior to the games' releases. Tracks from Kingdom Hearts series have also been played by Play! A Video Game Symphony at various venues in the United States[3][26] and around the world.[27] Music from Kingdom Hearts will be included in Yoko Shimomura's best works compilation album Drammatica.[28]

[edit] Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack

Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack cover
Soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura
Released March 27, 2002
Genre video game soundtrack
Length 2:40:16
Label Toshiba-EMI / Virgin Records
Producer Akira Miyake

Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack for the video game Kingdom Hearts. It was first released in Japan on March 27, 2002 by Toshiba-EMI,[29] and later released in Europe on November 25, 2002 and the United States on March 23, 2003 by Virgin Records.[30][31] The soundtrack is a 2-CD set which contains most of music in the original version of the game along with two bonus tracks. The music was composed by Yoko Shimomura, with vocals done by Hikaru Utada for "Simple And Clean" and "Hikari". The orchestral music was arranged by Kaoru Wada and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.[1] Because Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was released after the soundtrack, additional tracks from it were not included.

The soundtrack has met with an overall positive reception. IGN listed the opening track for Kingdom Hearts, "Dearly Beloved", as number four on their top ten list of "RPG Title Tracks".[32] In their "Best of 2002", Kingdom Hearts was nominated for the "Best Sound in a PlayStation 2 Game Editor's Choice Award" and was a runner up for "Best Sound in Game 2002 Reader's Choice Award".[33] All Music Guide rated the first soundtrack a 3 out of 5.[34] GameSpy described the soundtrack as "pleasant, melodious, and most of all fitting for the various situations in which it plays" and complimented the English translation of "Simple And Clean".[35]

Track listing


[edit] Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks

Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks
Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks cover
Soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura
Released
Genre Video game soundtrack
Length 0:14:34
Label

Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks is a separate CD that features new tracks from the re-released of the first game, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. It was released in Japan on 2002-12-26 by Walt Disney Records. The new tracks do not included any newly composed music, but are arrangements by Yoko Shimomura.[36][37]

Track listing


[edit] Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack

Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack
Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack cover
Soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura
Released
Recorded Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
Genre Video game soundtrack
Length 2:28:47
Label
Producer Yoko Shimomura

Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack is the official soundtrack for Kingdom Hearts II video game. The album contains musical tracks from the game, composed and produced by Yoko Shimomura, with the main orchestral tracks arranged by Kaoru Wada and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.[2] Vocals were performed by Hikaru Utada for the theme song, "Passion". The soundtrack was released in Japan on the January 25, 2006.[38]

The soundtrack received positive remarks from critics. G4TV awarded Kingdom Hearts II "Best Soundtrack" at their 2006 G-Phoria awards show.[39] GameSpy complemented the soundtrack but stated it was not as good as the first game's soundtrack.[40] GameInformer called the musical score "unforgettable".[41] GameSpot stated the "superb soundtrack" further enhanced the gaming experience and rated the sound a 9 out of 10.[18]

Track listing


[edit] Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete

Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete
Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete cover
Soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura
Released March 28, 2007 (Japan)
Recorded Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall
Genre Video game soundtrack
Length 8:51:33
Label Toshiba EMI
Producer Yoko Shimomura

Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete is a compilation album of the video game music from the three main games in the series, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. The boxset contains music composed and produced by Yoko Shimomura, with the main orchestral tracks arranged by Kaoru Wada. The album features various unreleased tracks from the series, as well as new and rearranged versions of tracks from the two Final Mix releases and Re:Chain of Memories. The compilation boxset was released in Japan on March 28, 2007.[42]

The collection has printed images on each disc and includes a deluxe booklet containing new illustrations designed by director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura and comments from Yoko Shimomura.[43] A special CD carrying case featuring artwork of Sora and Roxas was also released as a bonus.[44] The soundtrack comprises nine discs with 229 tracks in total.[42] Discs one and two contain unaltered tracks from the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack while discs three to six contain lengthier and looped tracks from the Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack.[43] Discs seven and eight contain tracks from Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories while disc nine contains bonus tracks from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.[42]

Track listing


[edit] Reception

The music of Kingdom Hearts was overall well received. GameSpot felt the background music was appropriate for each setting. However, they complained the music loops were too short and repetitive, giving the audio an overall 8 out of 10.[45] IGN was impressed by the production values that went into the music of Kingdom Hearts, namely the use of the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and excellent rearrangements of pieces such as "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Under the Sea". They also praised composer Yoko Shimomura's ability to maintain the atmosphere while keeping a "common thread of character running through the soundtrack".[46] SoundtrackCentral.com called Shimomura's orchestral composition sophisticated and stated that the score possesses unique qualities. They also stated though the album is excellent, they "still feel that this is one of Shimomura's weaker albums overall".[47] Gaming Age stated the music was one of the best aspects of the first game and the orchestrated soundtrack is better quality than the "midi-sounding" tunes of previous Final Fantasy games.[48] GameSpy had positive comments about the main theme, but found some worlds' background music weak.[4] They complemented both PS2 game soundtracks but stated Kingdom Hearts II's soundtrack was not as good as the first game's.[40]

Several tracks garnered extra attention and their own positive reception. "Hikari" debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart in Japan. It stayed at number one for three weeks and stayed on the chart for thirteen weeks.[5] "Hikari" sold more than 270,000 copies during its first week on sale,[20] and by August 2002, it sold over 860,000 copies in Japan.[11] SoundtrackCentral.com complimented Utada's singing and the instrumentation of "Hikari".[47] GameSpy was impressed by the translation of "Hikari" into English.[4] In 2008, Guinness World Records listed it as the best-selling video game theme song in Japan.[20] "Passion" debuted at number four on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart in Japan where it stayed on the chart for nine weeks.[6] G4TV was particularly pleased by "Dearly Beloved", the track that plays during the title screen,[49] as was IGN, who listed it as 4th best title screen track in their top ten list of "RPG Title Tracks".[32] SoundtrackCentral.com referred to it as "kind of slow" and "simple", but stated it had an "unmistakably 'magical' quality to it" and was "not short on emotion".[47]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack CD insert. Toshiba-Emi Limited. 2002.
  2. ^ a b Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack CD insert. Toshiba-EMI Limited. 2006.
  3. ^ a b Alex Van Zelfden (2007-06-29). Video Games Live In Dallas. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  4. ^ a b c Turner, Benjamin (2002-09-03). Kingdom Hearts Review (PS2). GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
  5. ^ a b CDTV PowerWeb! 光: 宇多田ヒカル. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Retrieved on June 26, 2007.
  6. ^ a b CDTV PowerWeb! Passion: 宇多田ヒカル. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  7. ^ a b studio * midiplex - profile. Midiplex. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  8. ^ a b c d e Interview with Yoko Shimomura. RocketBaby. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
  9. ^ Cutscene Downloads & New Interviews. KingdomHearts3.net (March 2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-19.
  10. ^ 『キングダム ハーツ II』北米版発売記念パーティー開催 (Japanese). Famitsu (2006-03-24). Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
  11. ^ a b c d Coleman, Stephen (2002-08-22). Square, Disney and Japanese Pop Star Utada Hikaru Collaborate on Kingdom Hearts. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
  12. ^ IGN Staff (2002-01-10). Hikaru Utada Sings Kingdom Hearts Theme. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-05-13.
  13. ^ Hirohiko Niizumi (2005-07-29). Kingdom Hearts vocalist returns for sequel. GameSpot. Retrieved on June 15, 2007.
  14. ^ a b c d Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania - Tetsuya Nomura Interview. Kingdom Hearts Ultimania. Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
  15. ^ "Tetsuya Nomura interview", in Studio BentStuff: Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania (in Japanese). DigiCube/Square Enix. ISBN 4-7575-1621-5. 
  16. ^ Hirohiko Niizumi (2005-07-29). Kingdom Hearts vocalist returns for sequel. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  17. ^ McDonald, Glenn. A History of Video Game Music - 2001-Today. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  18. ^ a b Carrie Gouskos (2006-03-28). Kingdom Hearts 2. GameSpot. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
  19. ^ RELEASE - Single 光 (Japanese). Toshiba-Emi. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
  20. ^ a b c (2008-03-11) "Record Breaking Games: Role-Playing Games", in Craig Glenday: Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008, Guinness World Records (in English). Guinness, 166. ISBN 978-1-904994-21-3. 
  21. ^ 12th Single Colors (Japanese). Hikki's Web Site. Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
  22. ^ Colors：宇多田ヒカル. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  23. ^ Release - Single 光 (Japanese). Toshiba-Emi. Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
  24. ^ Bryan Vore (2006-02-24). Square Enix Reveals KH2 Main Theme In English, Plus Interview With Haley Joel. Game Informer. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  25. ^ Hikaru Utada/Passion (CD+DVD). CD Japan. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  26. ^ Michael Pereira (2007-05-30). PLAY! A Videogame Concert San Jose Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  27. ^ PLAY! A Video Game Symphony - About. PLAY! A Video Game Symphony. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  28. ^ Drammatica -The Very Best Of Yoko Shimomura (Japanese). HMV Japan. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
  29. ^ KINGDOM HEARTS ― オリジナル・サウンドトラック (Japanese). Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  30. ^ Kingdom Hearts: Original Video Game Soundtrack. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  31. ^ Kingdom Hearts. Amazon.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  32. ^ a b Meghan Sullivan (2006-08-08). Top Ten RPG Title Tracks. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  33. ^ IGNPS2 Staff (2003-01-17). Best of 2002: Special Achievement for Sound. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  34. ^ Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  35. ^ GameSpy Staff. Kingdom Hearts (PS2) Review. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  36. ^ RPGFan Soundtracks - Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks. RPGFan. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  37. ^ Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix- Additional Tracks :: Review by Dark Cloud. Square Enix Music Online. Archived from the original on 2007-03-13. Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
  38. ^ Kingdom Hearts II - Original Soundtrack. CD Japan. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  39. ^ Li C. Kuo (2006-08-10). G4TV Announces G-PHORIA 2006 Winners. GameSpy. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  40. ^ a b Gerald Villoria (2006-03-28). Kingdom Hearts II (PS2). GameSpy. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
  41. ^ Andrew Reiner. Kingdom Hearts 2. GameInformer. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
  42. ^ a b c Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete. Toshiba-Emi. Retrieved on May 16, 2007.
  43. ^ a b Game Music / Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete. CD Japan. Retrieved on May 16, 2007.
  44. ^ 超豪華9枚組！　コンプリートボックス『Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete』発売決定 (Japanese). Famitsu (2007-03-20). Retrieved on 2007-08-09.
  45. ^ Kasavin, Greg (2002-09-09). Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation 2 Review. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
  46. ^ Smith, David (2002-09-16). IGN Kingdom Hearts Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
  47. ^ a b c Daniel Kalabakov (2002-05-06). Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack - Review. SoundtrackCentral.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-18.
  48. ^ Cordeira, Jim. Review - Kingdom Hearts. Gaming Age. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  49. ^ Miguel Concepcion (2002-12-25). Kingdom Hearts (PS2) Review. G4TV. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Kingdom Hearts series
Languages