Music

宇多田ヒカル「光」Music Video(4K UPGRADE)Hikaru UtadaArtist's own channel

The first game's Japanese theme, and the song that set the series' habit of binding a title to a piece of music in memory.

Hikaru Utada「Simple And Clean (Re-Recording)」 | KINGDOM HEARTS - Steam Announcement TrailerHikaru UtadaArtist's own channel

The re-recording of Simple And Clean, the English counterpart to 光. For a great many players outside Japan this is what the first game sounds like.

ピアノソロ：「キングダム ハーツ」より A piece of "Dearly Beloved"Yoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

Dearly Beloved — the title-screen piece in every entry — played by the composer herself. It is rearranged for each game, which is why people collect the versions.

ピアノソロ：「PIANO COLLECTIONS KINGDOM HEARTS 」より「Concert Paraphrase on "Dearly Beloved"」by Ivan LinnYoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

The same Dearly Beloved rewritten at concert scale. The distance from the plain original is the point.

ピアノソロ：「キングダム ハーツ」より「Kairi」by Yuki KishidaYoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

A short cue from the first game, and a clean example of how these melodies stay with you out of all proportion to their length.

#2 What is the image of the music of the "Kingdom Hearts" series? [Yoko Shimomura][SEM TALK]SQUARE ENIX MUSIC ChannelPublisher's channel

The composer on how the series' music actually gets written — one episode of a short series on the publisher's own channel.

宇多田ヒカル「Passion」Music Video(4K UPGRADE)Hikaru UtadaArtist's own channel

KH2's Japanese theme. The English version is called Sanctuary, and its lyric says something quite different.

ピアノソロ：「キングダム ハーツ」より A piece of "Dearly Beloved"Yoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

Dearly Beloved — the title-screen piece in every entry — played by the composer herself. It is rearranged for each game, which is why people collect the versions.

ピアノソロ：「PIANO COLLECTIONS KINGDOM HEARTS 」より「Concert Paraphrase on "Dearly Beloved"」by Ivan LinnYoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

The same Dearly Beloved rewritten at concert scale. The distance from the plain original is the point.

#2 What is the image of the music of the "Kingdom Hearts" series? [Yoko Shimomura][SEM TALK]SQUARE ENIX MUSIC ChannelPublisher's channel

The composer on how the series' music actually gets written — one episode of a short series on the publisher's own channel.

【日本xドイツ】遠隔ピアノデュオ：「キングダム ハーツ」より「Vector to the Heavens」Yoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

From 358/2 Days — well enough loved that people will tell you it alone is a reason to see that game through.

誓いUtada - TopicRights-holder supplied (auto-generated)

KH3's Japanese theme. Its English counterpart, Don't Think Twice, is again a separate lyric rather than a translation.

Hikaru Utada & Skrillex - Face My Fears [Official Video]SkrillexArtist's own channel

KH3's opening. A sharp break in production from every theme before it, and the argument about that is itself part of the fun.

ピアノソロ：「キングダム ハーツ」より A piece of "Dearly Beloved"Yoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

Dearly Beloved — the title-screen piece in every entry — played by the composer herself. It is rearranged for each game, which is why people collect the versions.

ピアノソロ：「PIANO COLLECTIONS KINGDOM HEARTS 」より「Concert Paraphrase on "Dearly Beloved"」by Ivan LinnYoko Shimomura OFFICIALArtist's own channel

The same Dearly Beloved rewritten at concert scale. The distance from the plain original is the point.

#2 What is the image of the music of the "Kingdom Hearts" series? [Yoko Shimomura][SEM TALK]SQUARE ENIX MUSIC ChannelPublisher's channel

The composer on how the series' music actually gets written — one episode of a short series on the publisher's own channel.

'KINGDOM HEARTS - Edge of Existence' Piano Fantasies – music from SQUARE ENIXSQUARE ENIX MUSIC ChannelPublisher's channel

From the publisher's official piano-arrangement series, taking a late KH3 cue somewhere much quieter.