For those out there who had the misfortune of perhaps never owning a PlayStation 2 and are now just living under a rock, Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG developed and published by Square (now known as Square Enix) in 2002. The story follows Sora, a young boy who is thrown into a battle between light and darkness. Known primarily for melding Final Fantasy and Disney characters into the same universe, Kingdom Hearts allows you to travel between various Disney-themed worlds on your quest to overcome the darkness and save each world with the help of your trusty companions, Donald and Goofy. This is as basic of an overview as it comes, so if you haven't played Kingdom Hearts yet, just do it. No excuses. Do it now.
Now to get to what we're here for: the music. I've played some Final Fantasy games back in the day, and I know that Nobuo Uematsu is easily a legend within the video game community, and I do sincerely agree with that sentiment. However, I'm going to pull a Kanye right now and say that Yoko Shimomura has made the best video game music of all time. Obviously this is my opinion and no one has to agree, but when I hear the swelling opening of Hikari, the soft piano melody of Dearly Beloved, or the eerie but beautiful choral harmonies of Destati, I know that, to me, it can't get any better.
It is important to note that in the HD remake of Kingdom Hearts for PS3 all of the music has been re-recorded with actual instruments substituted for computerized sounds wherever possible. The original music, albeit fantastic, tended to be flat, and it was hard to decipher various timbre nuances and subtle ornamentation in each instrument. These new recordings provide fuller, more vibrant sound that allows the listener to hear every trill and frill that is played (jeez, I sound like I'm writing for one of my old music theory classes). Whether this change is a good or a bad thing is up to old fans of the series to decide, considering those of us who have played KH since its original release are more familiar with the older versions. I like to think that there is place for all versions of these iconic pieces, similar to newer arrangements of The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario themes.
I've picked two of my favorite pieces from Kingdom Hearts while trying to avoid the traditional opening and closing themes that everyone and their mamas have probably heard. Here is both the original and HD recordings of the Tarzan world theme and Hollow Bastion theme. Do you have a favorite Kingdom Hearts song? Tell me your favorites in the comments or on Twitter @SG_Gamer.
Game: Kingdom Hearts
Title: Deep Jungle
Composer: Yoko Shimomura
HD 1.5 Remix Version
Title: Hollow Bastion
HD 1.5 Remix Version
I'm reaching out to fellow retro collectors/gamers/bloggers to see if there's any interest in writing some content for a new site/store.
ReplyDeleteA few quick blurbs...
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- If you don't have any ideas, we can provide you with those as well.
We also carry about 50 other Sega Genesis titles, SNES reproductions and a slew of other cool pieces: checkbook covers, coasters, pins, etc. I can send you pictures via email (correspond via pm first) to check out the products until the site is fully populated. The site is heavily under construction, but, you can see it's starting to take form. I expect to have a handful of articles up by Friday.
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James
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