15 Years Later, Kingdom Hearts 2 Is Still Magical
Via Disney & Square Enix
Fifteen years ago, a “Dearly Beloved” sequel took the world by storm, and in this moment, the Kingdom Hearts series truly made its mark in video game history. Yoko Shimomura, the composer of Kingdom Hearts 2, was a significant factor in making this Disney and Final Fantasy collaboration a magical journey into the worlds we now know and love.
Via Disney & Square Enix
It all begins with Roxas, a boy with an uncertain destiny desperately clinging on to the life and friends he adores. His theme is ultimately sad but beautiful in tone. There’s almost an asynchronous nature to it, as the piano lays down the drama, and the melody itself symbolizes a tortured but kind soul. He’s crying out from within Sora to become whole again after losing his friends…twice. An emotional song goes with an emotive instrument, so Taylor Davis and lara6683’s violin and piano cover is perfect. Sadly, this beautiful song hasn’t been covered too often, and it’s a shame because it should be regarded as a classic among the VGM community.
Shimomura perfectly encapsulates the tranquility and pleasant vibe of Roxas’ Twilight Town with the track “Lazy Afternoons.” The melancholy melody from the wind instrument is mixed with the sincerity of the strings, and together they create a nostalgic tone that brings fans back to this dream-like town. “The Afternoon Streets” follows the same tempo as “Lazy Afternoons,” but the melody is different with a higher pitch and structure. Shimomura cleverly includes references to Roxas’ version of Twilight Town as well.
“Sora’s Theme” is the absolute opposite of “Roxas’ Theme,” which is fascinating as they’re both interconnected. The tune is triumphant, happy, and free-spirited, just like the character himself. The percussion and use of the harp brings a joyous attitude to the whole piece. However, as the story goes on, we hear more mellow songs that compliment Sora’s doubt and frustration.
Project Destati beautifully remade “Sora’s Theme” in their album LIGHT. They also elevated the originally short piece with “Roxas’ Theme” and an exciting build up towards the latter half of the song, showing elements of his mischievous yet brave personality. Their album has a unique twist of incorporating the main theme “Dearly Beloved” into the majority of their tracks, if not all.
Project Destati said to GameGrooves, “KH2 is a shining example of a game soundtrack that’s intricately connected in a way that helps to clarify and deepen the impact of on-screen events...as well as motivically foreshadow story threads that will appear later on. The soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts 2—with all its connections—feels like it’s grown with Sora, and that the music is telling a story equally as profound as the plot of the games.”
Via Disney & Square Enix
We can’t go over all of the themes in Kingdom Hearts 2, but the strength of its soundtrack comes from its emotional center. Songs like “Friends In My Heart,” the Organization XIII theme, “Riku’s Theme,” “Kairi’s Theme,” and the moody “Sacred Moon” stand out in this exceptionally powerful OST.
Another strength of the OST is its incredible battle themes. For example, “Vim and Vigor” is an epic track with a sweeping strings section and powerful percussion backing, while “Rowdy Rumble” appeals to the more ridiculous side of fighting a comedic character like Pete or Hades. Kingdom Hearts and general gaming YouTuber PlayStacin says that “It’s a catchy melody while the drums make it both dramatic and hilarious.” I couldn’t put it any better myself. ViolinGamer & SoundGuyJay do the piece justice as the violin and Kingdom Hearts just go “Hand In Hand” like peanut butter and chocolate.
During the final moments of the game, Shimomura delivered some outstanding boss battle themes that dramatically raised the stakes for Sora’s adventure. First, we are greeted by “The 13th Struggle” that’s brewed with a chaotic blend of piano, choir, organs, strings, and percussion that somehow all come together into sinister bliss. With the final boss theme, “Darkness of the Unknown,” Shimomura ups the ante even further as it scales with the severity of the situation for Sora and his friends. The violin solo is enthralling, and the constant drums keep you pumped up for the intense battle. The final part of “Darkness of the Unknown” slows down the tempo and focuses more on the choir and piano, placing the drama and scale of the situation in Sora and Riku’s hands. There is so much tension within this piece as the two forces collide.
Project Destati said, “Shimomura really went to town when composing the three phases of ‘Darkness of the Unknown.’ It’s undoubtedly one of the most storied and driving battle themes in the series.” They also did a cover of the song and brilliantly recreated it while including other important tracks from the series.
One last key element of the Kingdom Hearts 2 soundtrack are the world themes. It must have been quite the task for Shimomura to follow up the Disney soundtracks, and in a few situations, she opted to use Disney songs like “He’s A Pirate” and “This Is Halloween.” However, when the soundtrack is completely original, Shimomura absolutely smashes it. Some examples include the wonderful “Waltz of the Damned” in Beast’s Castle, and “The Home of Dragons” in the Mulan world Land of the Dragons that take in the inspiration, setting, and the movie’s context and brings it into musical form. Roxane Genot gave justice to “Waltz of the Damned” with her classic instrument, the cello, and we also can’t forget this cover of “Christmas Town (What A Surprise?!).”
Kingdom Hearts 2 is a landmark title that should be celebrated for its gameplay, storyline, and most importantly for this article, music. Yoko Shimomura’s work on the project has varied styles, tones, and atmosphere to perfectly match the world, story moment, or feeling. Happy 15th birthday to one of the greatest JRPGs of all time and to its outstanding soundtrack!
Chris Penwell
Chris Penwell is a writer and podcaster who loves to talk about video game music. His favorite soundtracks are from the Kingdom Hearts series, Celeste, Beyond Good & Evil, Gravity Rush, and Final Fantasy X. You can check out his hilarious gaming podcast Active Quest every Monday!