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Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete Box :: Review by Totz
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Album Title: | Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete Box |
| Record Label: | Toshiba EMI | |
| Catalog No.: | TOCT-26221/9 | |
| Release Date: | March 28, 2007 | |
| Purchase: | Buy at CDJapan |
Overview
| J.L. says: So, guess what I've just got here in the mail last night |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: I don't like this game, I always lose |
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| J.L. says: Come on, man, just say something |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: Uh, ok... a PS3 |
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| J.L. says: ... why would I get a PS3 in the mail? Nevermind, I got the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete! Whooo! |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: The what? |
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| J.L. says: Dude, remember that Kingdom Hearts box that contains the KH1 soundtrack, the KH2 soundtrack, the PS2 remade soundtrack of 'Chain of Memories', and the 'Final Mix Additional Tracks' of both KH1 and KH2, remember? |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: Oh yeah, you told me you were gonna get that. Is it good? |
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| J.L. says: Well, there were surprises, both good and bad. |
Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack
| J.L. says: Well, there were surprises, both good and bad. But anyway, the first two discs are pretty much the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack, from "Dearly Beloved" all the way to "Destati." |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: "Destati" makes me want to learn Italian just so I can know what the heck I'm singing. You know, DE ESTATI, NATATTORE and stuff. |
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| J.L. says: Wow, you could NOT have been more wrong about the lyrics. "Natattore" is not even a real word in Italian. |
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| The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: What do they sing, then, Mr Mario and Luigi? |
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| J.L. says: "Eh? Come? Non lo vuoi?" |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Dude, this is not 'Misheard Lyrics' on Youtube! I wouldn't mind seeing a "Destati" ML video there, though. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Oops, my bad! Well, like I said, discs 1 and 2 = Kingdom Hearts. |
Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack
| J.L. says: Now, discs 3, 4, 5, and 6 are all Kingdom Hearts II. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: That's the thing: they not only added a couple of tracks, but also extended the length of every single piece of music. Now, they don't loop as quickly as before, which is great. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Judging by your awful taste in music, I don't even understand why you like Shimomura's Kingdom Hearts music. Or Shimomura's music at all. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Unfortunately. '"Deep Drive" sure does get my deep a-driving!' It doesn't even make sense. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: The music from the Coliseum matches in the Underworld; it's called "Beneath the Ground." It's just a faster-paced, more aggressive arrangement of the original, "What Lies Beneath." Also, a slower version of the 100-Acre Wood's "Bounce-O-Rama (Speed up ver.)," called "Bounce-O-Rama," though I don't remember where it was played. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: I prefer the one where you have to collect honey while riding a jar or whatever it was. It's like Disney and The Fast and the Furious got together to make a movie that didn't suck. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: There is also the brief little song Sora and co. sing when they are leaving Atlantica, after finishing all the other songs. Not a big deal, but it's good for the sake of completeness. Agrabah's mini-games have also got their theme, "Arabian Daydream," added to the tracklist. Like "Beneath the Ground," it's faster-paced and a bit more aggressive than the regular Agrabian... Agrabahnian... a bit more aggressive than the regular battle theme that plays in that world. Better. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Yeah, it's called "Byte Striking." I didn't know you could bash a byte, let alone strike it. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Nope, that's it. |
Re: Chain of Memories
| J.L. says: The following two discs are all reserved for Re: CoM, the remake of 'Chain of Memories'. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Yeah, I think they did. Excluding the original tracks, it's like Kingdom Hearts 1.5, because you can see the familiar tracks as arrangements of the KH1 music. Most of them are nearly identical to the pieces we know, while adding another instrument to the bassline or as accompaniment, for instance. Think of it as KH1 re-synthed. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: ... it depends. For example, the sound of the strings is better, and "Monstrous Monstro" got a lot better because of that. The same applies to "Pirate's Gigue". |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Rest assured. Both "Hollow Bastion" and "Scherzo di Notte" have not been ruined. Unlike in Kingdom Hearts II. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: However... |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Parts of some tracks, and that includes a bit of "Scherzo..." now sound a bit sillier when they're not supposed to or just downright bad. The wind instrument (I think it's a wind instrument) in the beginning of "Scherzo..." is way too loud, and that's not good. Until the percussion really kicks in, "Arabian Dream" sounds bad. Kind of empty, you know? And the worst offender: the beginning of "Winnie the Pooh." A flute or clarinet or whatever was added to the opening bars, and instead of complementing the melody, it just gets in its way. That's a pity, because the rest is absolutely charming. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Most of them are REALLY good. "Memories in Pieces" gets a special mention here, for being the only orchestra-recorded track and for sounding amazing. It combines a slower arrangement of "Hand in Hand," led by piano and strings, which you think is going to end well, but it doesn't. It ends all mysterious, leading to the next section. It opens with a surprise thump of the timpani, and before you know it, you're hearing a string and choir rendition of "Scent of Silence," another original track you get to hear later on the 8th disc. Now, piano and winds sweetly play "Namine," before the ominous theme of "Castle Oblivion". It's short, but it's a masterpiece. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: As always. Interestingly, most of the new tracks are battle themes, and we both know Shimomura's a master of those. "Struggle Away" is fantastic: it opens with long organ notes and low piano notes to start up the rhythm. Before you know it, there are violins, a snare drum, low strings, and some other stuff. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Dude, we could argue all night long about music instruments, and what you and I know, but let's not. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: "The Fight for My Friends" follow the usual Kingdom Hearts pattern: melody over a tense ostinato. You know the drill "The Force in You" is an arrangement of "Forze Del Male" (notice the similarities in the name), as is "Revenge of Chaos," sort of. I say sort of because the beginning is the same, and it's got some rhythmic patterns "Forze Del Male" has, but the melody is not there. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Well, "Castle Oblivion" is pretty much similar to the GBA pieces: slow, mysterious, lots of choir, and harp. The battle theme is a bit different, I think. It's called "Forgotten Challenge". |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: The GBA hardware was too limiting, but on the PlayStation 2, it's got pretty much no obstacles ahead. So the timpani thumping stands out, which is awesome and adds a lot of drive to the piece. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Everything is better in this rendition. This was easily our most expected track of this remake, wasn't it? |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: "Graceful Assassin," the first battle theme against Marluxia, I believe, is a lot more imposing now, thanks to the strength of the low strings and the percussion. I daresay it's better than "Forgotten Challenge," because it has bits from "Another Side" and all. "Scythe of Petals" isn't as imposing as "Graceful Assassin," but it's got a nice rhythmic drive. "Lord of the Castle" is tenser than both the other ones put together, and the sheer strength of the strings and the brass is enough to stomp on them. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Oh, trust me, they're VERY good. Changing a bit the subject: you know what's interesting? Remember how we fight the Organization and go to Twilight Town both in CoM and in KH2? |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: That means these tracks are in both soundtracks. We get to hear two different interpretations, well, versions, of them. And when you care about meaningless stuff like me, it's cool to analyze the differences. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: "The 13th Struggle" KH2 version sounds brighter (more on that later) and has more going on than the Re: CoM version. The Re: CoM arrangement also seems to be missing a piano part. Actually, it's missing like 30 seconds. Overall, I think the KH2 arrangement is better. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Oh, sure. Think of synthesized sound as being separated from you by walls. The brighter the sound, the thinner the wall. KH2 seems to have the thinnest wall of all three, while KH1, the thickest wall. Re:CoM is sort of a mixed bag, with some instruments near thinner walls than others, but it's all good. Still, brightness is just ONE of the many aspects of synth, and just because KH2 has the brightest sound it doesn't mean that its synth is the best. Each album excels in a different area. It depends on the operator, I guess. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Nope. If it were him, I'd be raving about the synth, instead of finding excuses to like it. Oh, and I almost forgot! |
Final Mix Additional Tracks
| J.L. says: Oh, and I almost forgot! I didn't even tell you about the last disc! |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Indeed. The first four tracks we already know, since they were on the already released 'Final Mix -Additional Tracks-' album. We've got FFVII's "One Winged Angel," Mussorgsky's "Night on Bare Mountain," from the battle with the giant monster >thing in the End of the World, "Disappeared," from the Unknown battle and "Another Side," from the awesomeness that is the Deep Dive video. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: No less than eight tracks. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Yes, "like double." Anyway, the first two are from the Christmas Town area; "What a Surprise?!" is the regular area theme and "Happy Holidays!," the battle theme. They sound like they came from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie, but I can't quite put my finger on the original tracks, if any. Following it comes "The 13th Reflection." Where it's used I have no idea. Although it's pretty obvious that it's related to the Organization, and the fact that it sounds like a battle theme could mean that it's played during the new fights with the Nobodies, but don't hold me on that one. It's the usual KH battle theme we all know: exciting, lots of repetition, buildup, rinse and repeat. This one's pretty nifty, though. There's this one section when you really understand why they called it "Reflection." It's, like, contemplative and stuff. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Oh yeah. A new area in Hollow Bastion, called "Cavern of Remembrance," gets all new tunes too. The homonymous theme is very mystical, with light percussion, hints of piano, lots of chimes, you know, the works. Very contemplative. Its battle theme, "Deep Anxiety," has got a very cool drive, with a really good drumline, which actually surprised me, a piano playing a chord-based ostinato, and also the melody and strings in the background. You won't be disappointed, trust me on that one. "The Other Promise" is what plays during the fight with Roxas, and, as you might guess, it's an arrangement of "Roxas." However, it develops much more nicely, with orchestral backing and all. "Rage Awakened" is the new "Disappeared." It's played when you fight the Enigmatic Soldier, one of the dudes from the secret ending. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: The tall one. His keyblade is crazy, it turns into a motorcycle and stuff. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Don't I know it? Especially because in KH2 Final Mix's secret ending, a bald guy and his weird keyblade wielding shadow-like life-partner destroy all three soldiers. The dude's keyblade doesn't even turn into a motorcycle during the movie. What a ripoff. Anyway, when I said it was like "Disappeared," it wasn't just because it's the fight tune against an exclusive-to-this-version foe which will be important in the next game, but also because the piece's structure is very similar. A slow, tense intro, growing into a light ostinato, until a character's theme is introduced. In this case, the knights or soldiers or whatever they are. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: "Birth by sleep?" |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: You know what's cool about these secret endings? Show them to someone who has never played any KH game before. They will be all like "Oh, wow, awesome." Then Mickey appears and they're like "... what is this?" |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Exactly. Anyway, that ending gets its own tune as well, "Fate of the Unknown." It's arranged by Wada, and that's a good thing. The piece, as it must, follows the fight between the knights/ soldiers against baldy and shadowy-like person-thingy. It's got a pretty light texture, easy on the ears, but without giving up tenseness. I like the end of it: it gets aggressive towards the end, when baldy summons or reveals or whatever he does to Kingdom Hearts. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: And then Mickey comes, completely ruining the battle and then there is some talk about destiny. He looks angry, so watch out! |
Summary
The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: It's the perfect boxset for the KH fans out there. It's got KH1, KH2 with longer track times, both Final Mix's tracks, AND the music of Re:CoM, which isn't available anywhere else. It's a bit expensive, but come on, it's NINE CDs of Shimomura. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: We both know you won't. |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: If you're dead, how are you going to spend your nickel? |
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The Unknown ~ PARTY TONIGHT ~ says: |
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| J.L. says: Fantastic. |
