Composer Yoko Shimomura has created some of the most memorable tracks in gaming history, from Street Fighter 2 to vast swathes of the Square Enix catalog. Arguably her most beloved work comes from across the Kingdom Hearts series, blending classic Disney tunes with the epic, nearly operatic tone Square is known for. Turns out that she was as shocked as anyone this was going to be the tone of the series.
"I was a bit surprised when they explained to me what songs they wanted me to write – there was quite a gap there," Shimomura says in an official Square Enix interview. "I thought: 'wait, it's a Disney game, but you want that kind of song there? That kind of track there?' So, I was quite surprised at the difference."
"I didn't focus on expressing my identity with the tracks," she explains. "I was only thinking to myself: 'What will be accepted by fans as new tracks that represent the specific Disney world?' So, I explored ways to create such tracks. Of course, I had already watched a number of Disney films at that point. So, I tried to look at it from the fan perspective. I always thought, 'Ok, as a fan of this Disney work, is what I’m making right or does it feel out of place?'"
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