[Album] Kingdom Hearts II OST (TOCT-25871~2)

(all information courtesy of Chudah's Corner)
Composed by: Yoko Shimomura
Arranged by: Yoko Shimomura, Kaoru Wada
Publisher: Toshiba EMI
Catalog Number: TOCT-25871~2
CD Info: 2 CD - 89 Tracks
Released: January 25, 2006
Expanded Album Info and Tracklist

When Yoko Shimomura left Square Enix and went freelance during Kingdom Hearts II's development period, many feared that the composer would choose not to return to the series. That wasn't the case, of course, and fans got their wish when Shimomura was hired to score the sequel. One could be forgiven for thinking this automatically guaranteed a home run--after all, the original Kingdom Hearts is one of the finest game scores of Shimomura's--or anyone's--career. Unfortunately, the end result was decidedly mixed.

The album has a number of strengths. It introduces a theme for the character Sora, something missing from the original, and the resultant track (creatively named "Sora") is a heroic and upbeat anthem that, while brief, is easily the highlight of the entire album. The Gummi Ship music has gotten an overhaul as well; a whole suite of driving, quirky, and often beautiful tracks (such as "Shipmeisters' Rhapsody" and "Cloudchasers").

In addition, many of the best tracks from Shimomura's score to the GBA "Chain of Memories" title have been carried over and upgraded, most notably the jazzy "Lazy Afternoons" and off-kilter "Sinister Sundown" tracks from Twilight town, and the "13th Struggle" battle theme for the mysterious Organization.

On the other hand, much of the material from the original "Kingdom Hearts" is reprised, often without much modification. The worlds of Agrabah ("A Day in Agrabah," "Arabian Dream") and Halloween Town ("This is Halloween," "Spooks of Halloween Town") in particular feature music that is almost identical to the original tracks. Others, like "Rebuilding Hollow Bastion" feature new material added to older tunes, which often is a jarring contrast--half of "Rebuilding" is the ominous music that was a fan favorite, while the other half is upbeat and joyous!

There is a particular weakness in battle themes--with few exceptions, they are very limp and unengaging. This is especially notable during the endgame, when boss fight after boss fight is accompanied by poor music that lacks the epic instrumentation and choral use that characterized the first "Kingdom Hearts."

Some of the tracks are live recordings--the finale march (which features a lovely orchestral rednition of Sora's theme) and reprises of "Hand in Hand" and "Destiny Islands" are spectacularly moving. On the other hand, the less said about the songs that begin Disc 2, the better: Howard Ashman is spinning in his grave. The pop song is also disappointing, even when compared with its underachieving teenybopper predecessor.

One more thing of note is the synth programming; it's very inconsistent, and occasionally downright poor. The result of this is that many of the returning songs from KH I are inferior to their predecessors (compare the KH Final Mix version of "Disappeared" to the KHII version for a good example). In addition, due to being squeezed onto two discs, many of the best songs loop only once. One would think that, after its success, Kingdom Hearts would be allowed the coveted three-disc treatment, but this isn't the case.

In the end, there's enough good material to justify an album purchase, though the music is not anywhere near the home run that its prequel was. It's not clear if this was a case of Shimomura being content to rest on her laurels, or if the development team insisted on the current sound. Either way, remarkable though the game itself is, the music does leave something to be desired.

3/5

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by captain_snippet

i don't know whether or not to agree with any of these comments! the only reason for that is because none of you mentioned Fantasia Alla Marcia...

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Some of the tracks are live recordings--the finale march (which features a lovely orchestral rednition of Sora's theme) and reprises of "Hand in Hand" and "Destiny Islands" are spectacularly moving.

You're right, I totally missed talking about that final march. How silly of me

How ya doing, buddy?