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News ► KINGDOM HEARTS III Original Soundtrack releasing November 11, 2020!



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Sign

trapped in revamp hell
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Glad that it has Re: Mind too. Surprised that Unchained χ and Union χ[Cross] too though. Never played them but watched YouTubers that did to keep up.
UX has quite a few new tracks, primarily due to the inclusion of Wreck It Ralph which gave us 7 new songs. The X series also has 2 unique versions of Dearly Beloved.
 

Zettaflare

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I am looking forward to listening to a bunch of tracks from Re:MIND and 2.8 despite my feelings on vanilla KH3's OST.

Especially Yozora's boss battle theme which is one of the best in the series
 

bambii

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KH3 OST is very strong - I love how cinematic it is - but I do agree that they kind of dropped the ball on the final MX boss track, which is not particularly good and is recycled for each of his phases *and* for both the 12 clones and final boss in base ReMind. IMO it fails to live up to the scale and intensity of the moment, especially compared with Oscurita di Xehanort (the Nort Court boss theme, which is an absolute banger).

But I'm being picky. Overall the OST is a triumph in how it arranges the enormous repertoire of themes from throughout the series. Really looking forward to this,
 

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The curious thing is that, while many of us agree that the arrangement for the final MX battles fell flat, the people who like it REALLY like it. It's kind of fascinating.

Looking forward to getting some official names for these songs.
 

Cumguardian69

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What was wrong with playing Destati mixed with Rage Awakened? You're SUPPOSED to feel angry during that fight. The setup is

(Kairi gets GLASSED) > reassurance that everything is daijoboū > resolve to take the baddy down > fight twelve OC Donut Steel clones > fight MX in three arenas using everything you learned from the previous Disney worlds > one final fight (that probably should've been done mano a mano instead of 3v1)

I absolutely loved every bit of that Destati remix. It was hype inducing on its refrains and its roars.
 

Sign

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What was wrong with playing Destati mixed with Rage Awakened? You're SUPPOSED to feel angry during that fight. The setup is

(Kairi gets GLASSED) > reassurance that everything is daijoboū > resolve to take the baddy down > fight twelve OC Donut Steel clones > fight MX in three arenas using everything you learned from the previous Disney worlds > one final fight (that probably should've been done mano a mano instead of 3v1)

I absolutely loved every bit of that Destati remix. It was hype inducing on its refrains and its roars.

The main criticism is against the inclusion of Rage Awakened, which is closely associated with Terra/Lingering Will. Many feel that it was inappropriate to use it for Sora vs Xehanort, and after having to sit through Sora inserting himself into everyone else's battle so he can save the day, patience was wearing thin. That's my take on it anyways, I'm sure others dislike the song for different reasons.

I do like how each phase of the battle adds a new layer to the song though. That's pretty neat.
 
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Yeah it's mostly due to Rage Awakened being more associated with Terra, how it seems like most of the song is JUST Rage Awakened, and because of how it sounds like it wasn't made with real instruments.
 

bambii

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What was wrong with playing Destati mixed with Rage Awakened? You're SUPPOSED to feel angry during that fight. The setup is

(Kairi gets GLASSED) > reassurance that everything is daijoboū > resolve to take the baddy down > fight twelve OC Donut Steel clones > fight MX in three arenas using everything you learned from the previous Disney worlds > one final fight (that probably should've been done mano a mano instead of 3v1)

I absolutely loved every bit of that Destati remix. It was hype inducing on its refrains and its roars.

Honestly I have no problem with the Destati and Rage Awakened refrains, those are the strongest parts of the piece and are indeed epic AF. The new melodies composed for it, however, don't seem to really go anywhere, and don't make much meaningful reference to existing motifs. For instance, 1:31-2:30 here is just... meh: https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/kingdom-hearts-iii-gamerip/194.%20Wielder%20of%20the%20Sky.mp3

It also seems to modulate (?? someone pls correct me if I'm wrong) from 2:08-2:30 to a brighter mode, which is kind of out of left field. Their choice of violin MIDI patch is also... not very good. In fact, does anyone know what percentage of tracks in this OST was recorded with live orchestration? Because this track is definitely not one of them.

Also, the track bears striking similarities to the Caribbean battle theme, rhythmically, melodically, and in its orchestration, so I have a hunch it was the same person arranging both. https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/kingdom-hearts-iii-gamerip/119.%20Thunderous%20Brine%20-%20High%20Seas%20%28Battle%29.mp3

All of which leads me to believe that they probably ran out of time/scope and sort of phoned it in on this arrangement. Not that it doesn't have some redeeming qualities! I don't hate it.
 
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Ishimoto apparently had the hardest time out of the three composers and took the longest to get songs approved. I'd imagine he was just kind of done by the end of it all lol
 

SweetYetSalty

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KH3 OST is very strong - I love how cinematic it is - but I do agree that they kind of dropped the ball on the final MX boss track, which is not particularly good and is recycled for each of his phases *and* for both the 12 clones and final boss in base ReMind. IMO it fails to live up to the scale and intensity of the moment, especially compared with Oscurita di Xehanort (the Nort Court boss theme, which is an absolute banger).

But I'm being picky. Overall the OST is a triumph in how it arranges the enormous repertoire of themes from throughout the series. Really looking forward to this,
I agree with this. I was actually disappointed they reused the same theme for the 12 Xehanort Replicas during the Guardians of Light segment, especially since the track they played before the fight was new and really good in building the suspense. It felt like I was watching a Avengers style movie with that score...then it transitions back to the regular Xehanort clone theme. It's not bad, just used a bit to much, and I wanted something new. Is the theme they play for Mickey fighting them new? I don't recall ever hearing it beforehand but could be mistaken.

I prefer both the Nort Court and Data Master Xehanorts themes over the theme used for regular final Xehanort and then Replica Goatnort...or whatever he was. Again it's a good theme though.
 
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Yes! I'm so excited for this! The music of Kingdom Hearts has always been one of my favorite aspects of the games, so I'm super excited they're finally releasing the OST for not only Kingdom Hearts III, but a couple other entries as well! Here's hoping an iTunes release is possible sometime after November 11! I know that might be wishful thinking, but you never know!
 

bambii

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I agree with this. I was actually disappointed they reused the same theme for the 12 Xehanort Replicas during the Guardians of Light segment, especially since the track they played before the fight was new and really good in building the suspense. It felt like I was watching a Avengers style movie with that score...then it transitions back to the regular Xehanort clone theme. It's not bad, just used a bit to much, and I wanted something new. Is the theme they play for Mickey fighting them new? I don't recall ever hearing it beforehand but could be mistaken.

I prefer both the Nort Court and Data Master Xehanorts themes over the theme used for regular final Xehanort and then Replica Goatnort...or whatever he was. Again it's a good theme though.

I believe the Mickey vs. Replicas theme is a rendition of Key of Light which debuted in BBS: https://downloads.khinsider.com/gam...-soundtrack/1-02%20The%20Key%20of%20Light.mp3
 

Katsagu

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Honestly I have no problem with the Destati and Rage Awakened refrains, those are the strongest parts of the piece and are indeed epic AF. The new melodies composed for it, however, don't seem to really go anywhere, and don't make much meaningful reference to existing motifs. For instance, 1:31-2:30 here is just... meh: https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/kingdom-hearts-iii-gamerip/194.%20Wielder%20of%20the%20Sky.mp3

It also seems to modulate (?? someone pls correct me if I'm wrong) from 2:08-2:30 to a brighter mode, which is kind of out of left field. Their choice of violin MIDI patch is also... not very good. In fact, does anyone know what percentage of tracks in this OST was recorded with live orchestration? Because this track is definitely not one of them.

Also, the track bears striking similarities to the Caribbean battle theme, rhythmically, melodically, and in its orchestration, so I have a hunch it was the same person arranging both. https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/kingdom-hearts-iii-gamerip/119.%20Thunderous%20Brine%20-%20High%20Seas%20%28Battle%29.mp3

All of which leads me to believe that they probably ran out of time/scope and sort of phoned it in on this arrangement. Not that it doesn't have some redeeming qualities! I don't hate it.

Having the final boss music not done by Shimomura was a sin I'll admit, and one I just don't get. Those violins just sound so wrong.
 

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Iirc the last time Shimomura composed/arranged music for the final boss was BBS.
 

Xagzan

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KH3 OST is very strong - I love how cinematic it is - but I do agree that they kind of dropped the ball on the final MX boss track, which is not particularly good and is recycled for each of his phases *and* for both the 12 clones and final boss in base ReMind. IMO it fails to live up to the scale and intensity of the moment, especially compared with Oscurita di Xehanort (the Nort Court boss theme, which is an absolute banger).

Yeah it was lazy af, as the kids would say. Just slapped the Replica track and the Armor track together for the final fight, for the most part. Which also meant more Rage Awakened. But I see everyone's already commented on that again lol so I won't pile on. But yeah it made no musical sense. I'm trying to think of an analogy but the whole Terra/Xehanort situation doesn't lend itself to easy comparison.

Yeah it's mostly due to Rage Awakened being more associated with Terra, how it seems like most of the song is JUST Rage Awakened, and because of how it sounds like it wasn't made with real instruments.

You'd think after 15 years and 3 console generations Ishimoto would have better sound samples.

I agree with this. I was actually disappointed they reused the same theme for the 12 Xehanort Replicas during the Guardians of Light segment, especially since the track they played before the fight was new and really good in building the suspense. It felt like I was watching a Avengers style movie with that score...

Oh for sure. Just goes to show you how in the right hands, any theme can be taken, dressed up, transformed into something stunning, even epic. I dunno who composed that particular scene though. Sure hope the OST tells us. Was it Kawamori? Yoko? Kaoru Wada?


You believe right. And it's almost hilariously overdramatic given the context but also beautiful and makes me misty lol.

Having the final boss music not done by Shimomura was a sin I'll admit, and one I just don't get. Those violins just sound so wrong.

Or at least by Kawamori. I'd say he earned it after melting our faces with Oscurita. Then again I shouldn't be too hasty, cause for all we know maybe he arranged the Forze dell Oscurita in ReMind, which imo was a little lacking after what we got against the 3 Norts.

I think Shimonura composed the The Eye of Darkness for DDD.

I remember that one being rushed, finished towards the end near the game's completion. And it kind of showed she didn't have much time, since there wasn't much to it. Just took a small segment of Destati and looped it over and over, really.
 
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