My list of favourite KH Music. Part 2.

I have long been a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, (since 2003 I think,) and I have always enjoyed Yoko Shimomura San's music in the games.

I have finaly decided to figure out which themes are y favourites, so here is a list.
But first, the rules;

1. Only 1 song from each game. Final Mix and Re: counts as its own game, so we get a list of 11 songs.
2. If a song is from a previous game, then it can't get on the spot for a newer game. (Eg, "Welcome to Wonderland" is from KHI so it can't take the spot from CoM/Days.)
3. The exeption to the above rule is if the newer versions bring something new to the original. (Eg, "Reviving Hollow Bastion" From KHII compared to "Hollow Bastion" from KHI.)

Anyway:

From Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: "Crossing to Neverland."

1 of the things I like about Neverland in KH, is that in each game, (CoM excluded since it was memory based,) You have visited different areas/regions of Neverland, and therefore different music themes play in each.

Many people don’t like that, but I find it gives Neverland its own charm, and keeps it relatively fresh, compared to other worlds in the series.

And "Crossing to Neverland" is my number 1 Neverland theme, closely followed by "Neverland Scherzo" but that is from BBS.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t choose "Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion," "At Dusk I will think of you…" or "Vector to the Heavens" for favourite Days theme, it’s because I wasn’t a big fan of 2 of them, and the last one is played too much throughout the game for my taste, but if Neverland hadn’t been in the game, "At Dusk I will think of You…" Would have gotten the first place.

From Kingdom Hearts Coded: "On the Debug!"

It plays between 01:35-01:50 but being recorded from a phone, there's no higher quality other than from the remake.

(NDS)

Well there really isn’t much choice here.

Where in Re:CoM, You had ‘Lord of the Castle,’ ‘March-a-Long’ and its sped up version ‘Dash-a-Long’

Coded only had 1 new theme introduced. ‘On the Debug!’ Played whenever someone uses a Debug Ability.

So yeah, easy choice here.

From Kingdom Heart Birth by Sleep: "Enter the Void."

Where I won’t argue that Vanitas’ boss themes, all 3 of them, are great. Only Vanitas Remnants theme really had a chance of taking this position. It gives me the feel that something is starting up, and it will explode in front of your face if you are not careful, like I wasn't the 2 times I tried to go against him for fun.

Ouch!

Like with Lord of the Castle, I tend to get dramatic when I close my eyes while listening to this. And it is the only theme in BBS’ Soundtrack, that really does that to me, there are a few themes, that gives of a little vibe here and there, but ‘Enter the Void’ is the only choice for me on this spot.

From Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded: "No more Bugs!"

When I found out that Re:Coded would have computer worlds in the matrix and what not, I immediately said to myself, "I bet the battle theme from that will be my favourite."

And I was Right. ‘Wonder of Electron’ sounds a little too much monotome, and ‘Pretty, Pretty Abilities’ gets played at the wrong times for me sometimes.

So for me the choice is "No more Bugs!" the original, not the Bug –ver, not that it's bad, it's the same theme just with some obscurred sounds. It's fine.

From Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix: "Night of Tragedy."

This theme gives off the vibe that something is dangerous, it is hidden, it is mysterious and yet, you have to figure out what it is, even if it means facing it head on! I love it.

It fits so well with the Pureblood Heartless, since this is a prequel and no'one knows what the Heartless are. The mood of "Night of Tragedy" is like "Deep Anxiety!" a nice contrast to it's counterpart "Night of the Dark Dream." wich is sad, silent, slow paced, and scary to reflect Aqua's lonesome in the 'Realm of Darkness.'

Quick Runners up list:

KH: Scherzo di Notte.

KHFM: Disappeared.

KHCoM: XIII Struggle.

KHII: Battleship Bravery.

KHRe;CoM: Dash-Along.

KHIIFM: Fate of the Unkown.

KHDays: At Dusk I Will Think of You...

KHBBS: Fresh Fruit Balls.

KHRe;Coded: Wonder of Electron.

KHBBSFM: Master tell me the Truth.



Edit 03/11/14:

So after more than two years since Dream Drop Distance's release, I have yet to place my favourite track from that game on this list.
The reason is because my top three, maybe even top five, songs from DDD are all remixes of previous songs. "L'Eminenza Oscura I" as well as part II are just remixes of "Guardando Nel Buio" and "Dismiss". "Dismiss" is itself a remix of "Fragments of Sorrow" and "Terra's Theme". "Fragments of Sorrow", though from the first game is an arrangement of "Destati", as can clearly be heard from the lyrics, and "Terra's Theme", along with "Aqua's Theme" are arrangements of "Fate of the Unknown".
That's not to say that DDD does not have any good original songs, "Storm Diver" is a great example of an original tune, and it is the first song on the soundtrack, bar the obligatory "Dearly Beloved" arrangement, but unfortunately the remixes all trump the original songs. Even one like "Xigbar", which is honestly just a sped up version of "Organization XIII", is higher on my list than the original compositions.

However, I cannot keep postponing the, to me, best song in the game from being added to the list, so without further ado, my absolute favourite song from DDD, without questions is:




Dream Drop Distance: "L'Impeto Oscuro"

Whilst this song is clearly just a remix of "Dark Impetus", it features immense orchestration compared to the original, and the main tune of the song is played in a different key, so that for some people, the first time they heard this song and compared it to its original they believed it to be a remix of "Dark Impetus" but were quite unsure, that is until the viola solo halfway through the tune, which became the most recognizing part of "Dark Impetus" back in Birth by Sleep.

As it is a remix, I have been very hesitant to add it to the list, but I do believe it is distinct enough to be its own song. I definately believe it to be better than the original.

(Link to a forum thread about speculations and theories about who this Mysterious Figure could possibly be, from before DDD, including a list of songs which "Dark Impetus" were inspired, or otherwise arranged of.)

As for a runner up;
Remixed Composition: "L'Oscurita dell Ignoto" Remixed from "Darkness of the Unknown" (KHII)
Original compostion: "Majestic Wings".