When are we expecting news?

[Launchpad]

Maybe a bit of a reach here, but the music in the Mario & Luigi: Brothership trailer just... doesn't really sound like Yoko Shimomura to me. Perhaps she's occupied with another title we all feverishly await??

Tbh it'd be a total shame if she wasn't part of the new M&L game, she's been the sole composer since day 1.

 

[olu]

Well it's simple. Arin hates Sonic. After the '06 playthrough, he REALLY hates Sonic but also wants to recapture the 06 shit so he intentionally goes out of his way to play the worst ports of certain Sonic games while also talking down on the series and its characters. SEGA hired him as a sort of spokesperson cuz they thought he was being ironic and doing a bit, but then they fired him later cuz apparently people went that he wasn't really the best guy for this job, but other people think that the reason he got fired was cuz he just straight up said "There are no good Sonic games" on a live show or something. But there's no proof of this event outside of the being fired part, just like there's no proof that he said he could make way better music than Yoko Shimomura.

Egoraptor? That Arin? He hardly hates Sonic. I’ve seen a number of instances where he admits he genuinely enjoys the series. He just thinks the games are ass and that’s okay. Quotes like “there are no good Sonic games” or anything to that degree are just extreme exaggerations but I agree in the choice of firing him as Sonic Ambassador for saying such, satire or not. No ambassador should be talking shit about the franchise or IP they’re representing.

Playing Sonic on his channel and choosing the bad versions of games would be seen as blatant sabotage if he didn’t admit to doing so to complement the comedic nature of his commentary. He’s played the good ones like Mania, Generations and (arguably) Frontiers and I recall him actually enjoying them.

Basically, he likes the IP and characters - not too fond of how the games play in 3D. And I think that’s perfectly valid.

He loves Zelda but still shits on OoT and 3D Zelda in general. Wasn’t until BoTW/ToTK that he was content; as those games fixed the particular problems he had with 3D Zeldas.

But anyway I digress, back to my hiding hole I go until some substantial KH news drops.

 

[Chaser]

They might surprise me with a last minute reveal, but June seems to be completely ruled out for the ML registration. I do wonder what happened to have caused a month+ delay for it.

Maybe they took my feedback and on day one we're getting worlds based on Princess and the Frog, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, Inside Out, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Moana, Tangled, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, Incredibles, and Elemental

 

[Chie]

I had a dream last night that the worlds in KH4 were Dumbo, Lightyear, and a couple returning worlds I can't recall clearly right now. Wasn't really happy about this but yknow

 

[olu]

We’ve reached the point where fans are having their own Dream Drop Distance segments about KH4.

How will we last.

 

[wwinterj]

I hope for some information by the end of the year. 2025 seems stacked so I don't think the game will be out then. Maybe 2026?

 

[Phoenix]

We’ve reached the point where fans are having their own Dream Drop Distance segments about KH4.

How will we last.

This what Ansem meant by darkness within darkness.

 

[Chaser]

Square Enix it's July, let us go out into the world please I'm begging.

 

[Darkspawn]

Until D23, my only faint hope is next week (the 7th-13th.) It’ll be around the time they should be announcing panels for D23, so maybe they’ll drop something on social media with a “more to come at D23” tease.

 

[Launchpad]

This long without any real news truly sucks but once again let us all steady ourselves and remember that it's just going to be more stupid Kingdom Hearts games when they eventually come out

 

[Darkspawn]

SE will be opening a new office in Shibuya. They’ll now have three “bases” including the Osaka and Shinjuku offices. Wonder which teams will operate here. I hope this is a sign of them bringing more development in house like they’ve been talking about doing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1808018423248834760

Also looks like we could be getting a Disney pixel art RPG. (Probably a mobile game.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1808048285149811149

Edit: They had an event for Disney Tsum Tsum using this back in 2019. This could just be another event for that game. This was the trailer from back then.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Phoenix]

Also looks like we could be getting a Disney pixel art RPG.

Oooh

(Probably a mobile game.)

goddammit

 

[MATGSY]

If you were to ask me back in 2001 what I would imagine Squaresoft/Disney crossover to be like, I would say something along the lines of this: a 2D traditional FF with Disney characters cast into JRPG roles. Mickey/Donald/Goofy/Minnie as the 4 warriors of Light, Evil Queen as the emperor, Chernabog as the greater evil final boss, that sort of thing.

 

[Cyborg009]

If you were to ask me back in 2001 what I would imagine Squaresoft/Disney crossover to be like, I would say something along the lines of this: a 2D traditional FF with Disney characters cast into JRPG roles. Mickey/Donald/Goofy/Minnie as the 4 warriors of Light, Evil Queen as the emperor, Chernabog as the greater evil final boss, that sort of thing.

if you were to ask me that back then, i would say you're nuts and avoid it like the plague.

 

[Darkspawn]

This is all we get folks.

 

[Forsaken Shadow]

Since this is a catch all future of KH discussion chat, I want to say that after being thoroughly disappointed by the final boss theme in KH3, I hope Takeharu Ishimoto doesn't return or has minimal involvement in future games. Now that I'm playing FF7 Crisis Core, I have an irrational hatred for electric guitar where it doesn't need to be.

 

[Launchpad]

Since this is a catch all future of KH discussion chat, I want to say that after being thoroughly disappointed by the final boss theme in KH3, I hope Takeharu Ishimoto doesn't return or has minimal involvement in future games. Now that I'm playing FF7 Crisis Core, I have an irrational hatred for electric guitar where it doesn't need to be.

I hate to bad talk composers, especially considering it's my job. But it's so painfully obvious when it's an Ishimoto track, and in the case of his work on KH, it's never good news. I'm sure he's done cool stuff elsewhere, but Yoko's stuff is so consistently strong on melody, and Ishimoto is not a melody man at all.

There were TONS of guest arrangers that did work for the Limit Cut boss fights, and all of them sounded fantastic. In fact, KH3 had a lot more hands on deck in terms of music than just the names you're all familiar with... Yoko did not arrange the triple Nort theme, for example.

 

[Forsaken Shadow]

I hate to bad talk composers, especially considering it's my job. But it's so painfully obvious when it's an Ishimoto track, and in the case of his work on KH, it's never good news. I'm sure he's done cool stuff elsewhere, but Yoko's stuff is so consistently strong on melody, and Ishimoto is not a melody man at all.

There were TONS of guest arrangers that did work for the Limit Cut boss fights, and all of them sounded fantastic. In fact, KH3 had a lot more hands on deck in terms of music than just the names you're all familiar with... Yoko did not arrange the triple Nort theme, for example.

That's cool that you're a composer. I did notice that a lot of KH3, and modern games in general, are no longer composed by just one person even if that person is the main composer (Masashi Hamauzu is the lead composer for FF7R but I see a lot of other names on the arrangements). Do you have insight on why that is the case?

Also, if a track has a melody originally composed by Shimomura, Spotify or YT usually lists her as the artist. But if you look at the arrangement credits it's often someone else. What is the difference between a composer and an arranger for a track like the triple Nort theme?

I too don't wish to bad mouth composers but I have an irrational personal vendetta for some of the music choices in KH3. Why don't they loop properly, and why do the Disney boss tracks all sound the same??

EDIT: Not to harp but this track from Crisis Core is a really bad offender:

Why is it the same four notes on repeat?? Everytime it plays in a mission I just want to mute it or quit the mission.

 

[Launchpad]

I too don't wish to bad mouth composers but I have an irrational personal vendetta for some of the music choices in KH3. Why don't they loop properly, and why do the Disney boss tracks all sound the same??

and it's only Ishimoto tracks that don't loop properly. There's this moment in every KH3 playthrough, where you've finished Monstropolis and Arendelle. Say what you want about the stories or whatever, but these are FUN WORLDS with lots of combat and GOOD MUSIC. Then suddenly, you look at the world map, and it's just like.. oh no.

The Caribbean and San Fransokyo have such un-hummable tunes. There is no joy, no whimsy, no energy, no interest. I really, really don't like the music in those worlds. Even Yoko herself had a tough time coming up with cool music for Port Royal in KH2, but her attempt at a field theme was still vastly more interesting than the Ishimoto stuff. And then of course there's Dark Domination...

At least a lot of this has been somewhat rectified. Xehanort's Limit Cut theme is fantastic. Nachtflugel is beyond spectacular, if you want to count Yozora as the final boss (he technically is, chronologically) of the game. And KH4's trailer music promises new melodies and ideas, an evolving but still familiar musical identity for KH.

I know a lot of people didn't like Ishimoto's work on KH3. I count myself among those people. And I know that the KH team has REALLY been listening to the fans ever since they made KH3. But despite everything, the idea of Ishimoto being removed from the KH team bums me out, even though I never liked his stuff. I'm hoping HE can adapt more to what the series needs, and that maybe they can start putting his music in places where it'd make more sense.

 

[Forsaken Shadow]

At least a lot of this has been somewhat rectified. Xehanort's Limit Cut theme is fantastic. Nachtflugel is beyond spectacular, if you want to count Yozora as the final boss (he technically is, chronologically) of the game. And KH4's trailer music promises new melodies and ideas, an evolving but still familiar musical identity for KH.

There's something about Shimomura's rearrangements/remixes of her own music that's just something else. Think Darkness of the Unknown -> L'Oscurita dell'Ignoto. Or Dark Impetus -> L'Impeto Oscuro. Roxas -> The Other Promise. She seems to transform them into different tracks altogether in a way that's just amazing.

My only issue with the rearrangements of the Limit Cut bosses is that they're just kind of the same but on different instruments. I'm not a composer so I may not be finding the right words here but I hope you get what I mean.