"Alright class, what have we learned?" *raises hand* "Yoko Shimomura is extremely talented and her music sounds good no matter what format it's in?" "EXACTLY"
The original just has so much SPUNK in it exactly where it all needs to be like for tension rising, meanwhile HD has more of that hard piano the just goes in, like for dive into the heart where it really holds that "CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY" vibe to it
Agreed! I think that having as many "original" toggles in remasters and remakes is good practice in general. As much as I like the soundtrack in the new NieR remaster, for example, I do sometimes wish I could have the original songs back. They did offer this option in Resident Evil 2, and it was great!
Trails of Azure and Trails from Zero had the option to pick the original or reorchestrated version of just about every individual song, with the option to listen too the songs in the menu so you can compare.
I kinda wish they would kinda mix them toghether for when you're playing so it so the music feels less repetitive, but an option to switch from old to new would probably be better.
I like the GBA version myself, being my first exposure to that beautiful song, so I like it slightly above the PS2 version. It's actually my favourite song ever from a video game. That is a compliment when it's competing with Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, and Donkey Kong Country 2.
She certainly did. FAR more so than the actual writing/plotline of the series. It's such a shame how much of a stupid, incoherent mess the story became because I have a TON of nostalgia for the first couple games.
And Tetsuya Nomura's emo phase. Lots of flair and vibes with KH2 (combos finishers, scenematic reaction commands, edgy organization, game's general theme and aesthetic) but after KH2 it all just panders to disney side more and more
Very enjoyable video! Btw, for future reference: - Scherzo di Notte is pronounced Scare-zoh dee not-tay - Forze del Male is pronounced For-zay dell mah-lay - Guardando nel Buio is pronounced Goo-ar-dan-doh nel boo-yo Hope this helps Source: I'm italian :)
@@Poem-Tree uhh, are u ok dude? Answering to 3 years old comments Is a bit weird, anyway, if you're interested you can search the phonetics for those words yourself :-) Source: I'm italian :)
The way I'd describe the HD soundtrack for the most part is that it seems as though they were focused on making the music euphonic rather than faithful, at least when it comes to the mixing and the dynamics of the pieces. At times it almost sounds as if they weren't confident in the strength of the original composition and mixing, hence why they just randomly tone down the percussion across the board (barring a few standouts), why they generally focus more on instruments like strings and winds, why some instruments are just changed for seemingly no reason (looking at you, Savannah Pride), why staccato brass is constantly shoved to the back, etc. etc.. This can also explain why the HD soundtrack tended to do so well with slower, more emotional pieces. The interesting thing is that this can be kind of difficult to realize without actually comparing the two 1 to 1, which may explain why chat skewed towards the HD versions as often as they did. It seems like the music team didn't really realize that they didn't need to do any extra work for a lot of these songs because they already sounded amazing, and most just needed more realistic instrumentation to really shine. NOTE: I'm not a music professional by any stretch of the imagination, so I may be completely off on this. that being said, you're an absolute speedrunner shill for choosing OG Riku over HD Riku, actually biased
Neither BB nor chat understand what MIDI music is (at least from what was said at the beginning). MIDI does not represent digitally created sounds, or synthesised sounds. You can use real recordings of instruments with MIDI. MIDI is a file that tells the computer how to use the sounds you give it; think of MIDI as sheet music, NOT instrumentation. Music is not bad because it's MIDI or good because it's a live performance. It's up to the entire composition whether it can be good or not. (This wasn't stated by anyone here, but I see this sentiment around quite a bit and is worth mentioning.) This nonsense keeps getting perpetuated. There are many super high quality MIDI recordings that I doubt anyone can really tell the differences from a live recording. Take Project Destati and Theophany, for example. They use a mix of everything, can you notice when and where the differences lie?
it's just the easiest way to signal that we're not talking about real-ass live recorded instruments. I guess you could call it "synthesized" instead? Although idk if even that's totally accurate, because a lot of the ps2 version's sounds are probably samples.
It's a dynamic thing. Regardless of whether the sound files for each instrument were live or not, there was probably one file for each note of each instrument. So even if you try to artificially raise the volume of certain hits to have them feel more pronounced, in the original recording you're using, the note was most likely played in a resonably "loud" manner and a simple increase in volume won't really change that. Same goes for when you lower the volume of a certain instrument to have a smoother mix. Each instrument sounds differently when played really softly and smoothly from when it's played agressively. The timbre changes drastically. That's why ghost notes are incredibly difficult to do and often sound terrible in midi. You're taking a recording of someone hitting a drum in a reasonably "loud" manner and lower it's volume to imply that it's now a ghost note, even though the hit sounds like a regular note, just turned down. You can never have the same authentic dynamic range and timbre a live orchestra has this way.
Can't say enough how cool it is to have you talk about the music at length in any capacity. Kingdom Hearts is never perfect, but I feel its music, the sheer variance of it and how it fits the worlds' themes, is what keeps me coming back. There's something very special about launching into a fight in the Beast's Castle to Dance of the Daring that I don't get in many other games outside of the RPG scene.
The music fits the worlds almost perfectly it's insane... Also the battle and field themes were always genius how they played off of each other. Yoko's music in KH has inspired me to get into music production, i suck tho lol
Yoko is so talented. I'm obsessed with her work. In my opinion I like the original soundtrack more because it feels as if it has more impact and you can hear individual instruments. In the remix alot of the songs sound mushed.
@@LeMelleKH2 same. I always thought that since it was orchestrated the remixes would sound fuller and richer, but a lot of them just sound watered down...
Not to mention that the volume is lower. There were points I could barely hear the music in-game. Turning up the volume would drown it out in sound-effects and voice clips. You would think it's just sound mixing, but the actual tracks are quieter!
@@vaimantobe3034 the game would’ve been way better if it let you switch between the original soundtrack and the new one it would’ve made the game feel more complete
I think what makes the HD version of The Other Promise so good is that the live instruments add this extra, tiny bit of vulnerability that just fits perfectly.
1:35:10 I’m sure this was a slip up and you already knew this, but while Sora and Riku didn’t have themes until KH2, Kairi definitely did. She had 3 separate renditions of it in KH1.
I don't know if you still read comments from over two weeks ago, but I have a heavy background in music, so I think what you might be articulating what you like about the original is: 'staccato'. The MIDI versions have an advantage of sounding more separate and jagged in their notes, giving an 'edge' to their music. They were able to strictly dictate the length of notes, giving them their own 'punch'. This REALLY helps in the music that was built to be intense. But when the music is translated to a live orchestra, it's a lot harder for a a group of people to nail that 'punchy'ness to the music. Overall, I loved the smoother sounding music in the Remix. Lazy Afternoons, Missing You really add a lot of flavor in it's depth. It adds flavor, and passion to the quiet tones. Violins really carry over the MIDI version too. But the original will ALWAYS, in my opinion win with a more staccato sound. Tension Rising, The Encounter (OMG The Encounter OG KH2), and the 13th Struggle. You'll hear those punches of the horns and percussion much more dramatically, and the feeling just gets you so amped up. Hope this helps give you even more insight, as I feel like you kept describing staccato without saying the word. :) (I am about 1/3rd of the way through the video when writing this comment, so I don't know if you mention it later).
I even love how the piano, strings, flutes sounds in the mix of the originals, all the twillight town themes, organization 13, all the battle themes, for me they all are better. I really loved Kairi Theme but I have to say they really nailed it in the HD bc the more slow attack on the instruments really fits to the songs. Most of the time the HD versions just don’t have the same effect as the og’s that’s why I prefer the ogs bc I think they are perfect
By the way, PS1 has games with soundtracks that use real instruments. It's just that most developers couldn't afford such sound production so most of the music was usually midi. Around PS2 era higher sound qualities were becoming the norm, but some still preferred to use simpler midi software.
you also have to keep space restrictions in mind, that's part of the reason why those ps1 games had multiple discs and why something like re:com has streamed cd quality music but kh1 and 2 dont
Loved seeing all the appreciation from you towards the original soundtrack in this video, I think a lot of people lean into this mindset that live orchestra/remade soundtrack automatically means its better but og kh2 has a lot of little things that were changed that can mess with the overall song. The 13th Reflection was probably the remix that got me most thinking about it, the 0:14 to 0:32 segment of the song sounds so different in 2.5 and very much for the worse to me, was real happy to see you pick the OG on that one.
I think the problem with Tension Rising HD ReMIX is that it doesn't have that tense feeling of the unknown. The original felt like you were fighting aliens with how unknown the nobodies are in the beginning. In HD ReMIX it's extremely chaotic and not focusing on how mysterious these enemies are.
The remix’s have me from the start, like “OH of course this is better”, and then the song goes on and I feel like the impact isn’t as strong Original ps2 made several points, so if I could I would mash both together
There is one advantage the midis almost always have over the HD reorchestrations: Mixing. Since the midi is mostly fake, you can balance the audio levels and the instrument sounds overall without changing the innate colour of the music too much. Meanwhile the balancing of the real audio tracks gets tricky since it is somewhat dependent on the musician's performance to begin with. And the real life instruments don't exactly have the same colour as the midi versions do, making them have slightly different attributes when compared to the fake instruments. In some cases this difference in sound mixing becomes rather blatant, as there's barely a single midi song where it feels like one of the instruments is too weak, drowned out by the others, competing too much with the others or just standing out so much the entire tone of the song has now changed. While you can find plenty of examples of this in the reorchestrated songs, even the good ones. Dismiss for example is an entirely different song both in midi and real format.
I remember in 2019 when KH3 came out and I downloaded the game and got to the title screen and when Dearly Beloved started playing there I just started *crying uncontrollably* immediately. Just let it play while I had this weird intense happy sob. My girlfriend at the time walked in and asked what was going on and I just couldn't explain at all.
Yeah the original definitely has an edge in mixing of the tracks. The action songs especially show the difference, the remix feels a bit hollow most of the time.
This really did open my eyes to how a lot of the original tracks are in fact better, or at least have more positives, but I think I'm more a remix guy, and in general, I think the Remixes are some of the least objectionable remixes given to a game remaster.
Yeah they definitely do it justice. I prefer the original for most tracks but when playing the new tracks are not anything that detract from my experience.
God. I feel happy knowing I'm not the only one who thought Tension Rising was severely nerfed in the HD version. Edit: God, and the MIDI trumpet just goes ham so much. I KNOW!!!
Kingdom Hearts 2 sounds more "powerful" because of the percussions. While kingdom hearts 2 HD sounds more "majestic" thanks to the addition of strings, violin, and piano. They're both good, but for battle themes I think percussion is the way to go to pump up the player. But the HD nails the more calmer themes like lazy afternoon and afternoon streets.
Goddammit BB. You make me want to replay this game, but I'm vested in replaying persona 5. You can't tug at my heartstrings by playing nostalgic songs bro. Seriously tho, great video.
Imagine someone was able to edit the mixing on the HD Remix version of the songs to be closer to the originals and mod the PC ports to include them. I'm not sure how it would be done, but I at least think it'd be a neat concept.
Even though I grew up playing the original game a whole bunch as a kid, i'd say i'm leaning more towards the remastered soundtrack with a few exceptions. In an ideal world, i'd like a mixture of both the versions in the game. Tension Rising is interesting because I definitely like the OG one more, but I wish elements of the new one could be in it too.
Good video. BTW, since Yoko Shimomura did the soundtrack for the Mario & Luigi songs as well I wonder if someone would do a similar video with the two remakes that had remastered soundtracks. Or maybe a tier list of favorite soundtracks from the five games.
This makes it really hard to choose which soundtrack is better, each version does several key songs significantly better than the other. I'd love to see you try this for KH1's original and HD remix soundtracks.
I feel like the MIDI arrangements for the battle themes just have more of a bop to them, a real orchestra just doesn't have the perfect groove that makes you instantly start nodding your head imo and the opposite is true as well, the more emotional/chill songs sound better in the HD version to me, because the real instruments are more expressive.
You can really hear the mixing done so fucking well in the original, but sometimes better instruments are just straight up better. The remix ost has some very poor mixing, and velocity on some notes are just bad ( destati especially), but the new instruments and chorus are just leagues better. You can tell Yoko Shimomura really cared about the mixing in the original, so certain parts packed an omph to it, where as the remix kinda is very constant, dont think it was touched by her at all, except for maybe the game select. and in the certain songs that do sound better, kairi and missing you. I feel like I'm hearing the piano collections shine through, which is why its decent cause they have some sort of music direction via the music sheets.
2's mixing (original 2's) sounds pretty bad imo, there's too much screechy midi violins and I think that 2 FM sounds leagues better but that's just me.
The PS2 mix of One Winged Angel uses the original vocals from the choir recorded for Final Fantasy VII, in 1997. The HD rearrangement uses a fresh recording, which, along with the higher quality audio samples, makes the song sound so much more modern, and alive. The original mix was something of a disappointment, but the remastered version became one of my favorite takes on OWA.
2.5's One Winged Angel is in my opinion the best rendition of this song to this day and it's honestly incredible that 2's version of it originally sounded so bad which makes the glow up even better.
I actually vastly prefer the 1997 choir. The HD ReMIX version has too much emphasis on the female singers in the higher register, whereas the original sounds more balanced and tighter. Edit: Holy Shit. ONLY the higher register has been re-recorded. The men singing the lower tones are still the '97 recording.
I am very disappointed with ya'll hating on original Corrupted. That's like one of my favorite tracks. Not to mention that it doesn't actually play during bad bosses. I can't think of a single bad Corrupted boss, that's crazy talk!
Vile Fae I personally think the original Corrupted is super underrated. The 2.5 Corrupted though, is absolutely horrid, like what the hell were they thinking with the remix for that one!?!?!?
I think the original KH2 is a bit better when it comes to regards of battle music, but remix definitely takes the cake when it comes to overworld, and the more somber music of kingdom hearts
27:11 Now that i think about it in Kh2 they sold us the idea that Roxas and Namine were in "love" and in Kh3 they throw that out of the window and go for the NamineXRiku, Roxas and her don't even interact during the ending, is so weird.
Another reason why I find KH3 extremely disappointing personally. It pretends to have climactic/emotional moments for all of the characters (hell I shed tears admittedly) and yet a lot of it feels hollow or forced, which left the entire experience feeling somewhat soulless. It even retroactively made some things in kh2 less compelling :( like Axel's sacrifice etc. anyway I digress
I really wish I were part of the live chat this sounds like such a fun thing to talk about! I'm really big on any Kingdom heart's music and I don't know it would've been really fun to see everybody's thoughts on certain parts in each piece
I prefer the ps2 ost but thats like choosing between your two favorite children. P.s. If you can emulate sega saturn check out panzer dragoon saga. I think the same composer worked on that game too.
Not going to lie, its been so long since I played the original version, I couldn't even remember what the old soundtrack sounded like, I think almost all of the battle themes sound way more punchy and energetic in the orginal, especially vim and vigor. Glad the series is on pc now, so maybe someone can mod the og soundtracks in.
Synthetic music sounds so wrong to me so i always go with real instruments. You can barely hear solo instruments in the original unless its a damn piano
The only reason I smile to the Christmas Town themes and battle music is because how I learned about them through BB. I always have good memories hearing them.
@@35shadowthehedgehog I'm watching through it right now for the first time, I'll write down timestamps for each song on a paper when I'm done I'll make a comment
One thing I noticed about the sad songs is that the OG tends to have a muddled feel. Like every instrument is fighting for their turn. This works with the blood pumping themes thanks to the doots, since you don't wanna pick out instruments you wanna get hyped. But being able to hear every instrument in the remix makes the sad songs have more of a punch. imo, that's also why some songs are hard to choose. You have to choose the punch or the hype. I love OG, but I can't deny Remix does a darn good job. I wish we could get OG-Remix hybrid of some songs. There are a few tracks where if you combined OG and Remix, you'd have the perfect song.
Surprised but glad to see my opinion on Disappeared seems to be the common one. Most of the remixes stayed pretty exact to their originals, and all these years I've never understood why Yoko chose to change this one so drastically and deemphasize the choir so much. I loved that part of the track in KH2 , I thought it made it distinct from the KH1 version. But then the Remix just did away with that, like it wanted to copy KH1's instead. I don't get it. Ultimately it was also disappointing how the games didn't let us switch at will between the 2 scores, like other remasters have.
The KH1 version of Disappeared sounds way better than the remix though, the remix is the worst of them all. Kh1's has a lot of power and oomph behind every instrument while maintaining a balanced mix. The mixing on the whole remix ost is worse than the originals.
Not gonna lie, when i played KH2 on ps2, i never noticed that Hazardhous Highway even had a guitar. So when i played the Ps3 version i was like "wow they added a sick guitar to this song" and didn't realize it was there all along until i went back and checked.
I really liked this video, it made me realize that I enjoy the original soundtrack a lot more than I thought I would going in. It also made me finally realize what I didn't like about the remix's version and it was the lack in percussion. I'm honestly torn between being a slut for violin and the doots.
Sorry I missed this stream. But it seems like if it’s a doots bop then the og version is better. If it leans on chorus vocals or strings then the HD remixed fixed it up
"Alright class, what have we learned?"
*raises hand*
"Yoko Shimomura is extremely talented and her music sounds good no matter what format it's in?"
"EXACTLY"
you're god damn right
Amen to that
Yoko shimomura music is horrible
@@jaykylehd20 bait
@@ML-tr1hz yeah lol big bait
It's cool that we're hearing them in order of appearance in game, it almost feels like a playthrough.
This is the joy of listening to video game soundtracks. Like a condensed playthrough in your mind.
@@Mors Music can bring upon deep memories it's crazy
I hear the soundtrack often in my free time and I always feel this way. It’s so cool^^
Ikr when i saw the 13th struggle i was like "jesus were still at that part of the game ? We gonna be here for ages"
A listen-through :)
Where girls cried: Roxas theme
Where boys cried: Roxas theme
Where men cried: Roxas theme
Don't leave out the women too ;)
@Samuel Coco You could say that about any meme with a generalization.
Where all of the above cried: Xion's theme (Vector to the Heavens)
Where every fucking one cried: Roxas theme
Where I cried: Roxas theme
Man I did not realise how much better the original tension rising was. That shit slaps
That's the one track that I consider is MILES better than the remix.
"Can you believe this boss fight is so boring? it's literally just a dude in a chair."
When he stands up in BBS: "Please, sit back down."
thats the thing, if he was badass enough to fignt in a chair, you would NEVER to fight him standing up
Bizkit: Doot Doot and Percussion!
Chat: Violins and Piano!
I love the impact and thump of the original lol
The original just has so much SPUNK in it exactly where it all needs to be like for tension rising, meanwhile HD has more of that hard piano the just goes in, like for dive into the heart where it really holds that "CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY" vibe to it
The remix version I think got orchestral feeling kind of thing
18:03 "the MIDI trumpet has so much passion in its heart"
I just want to see that lone trumpet heartless doing god's work.
The fact this was so divided speaks volumes to the amazing quality of Yoko Shimomura and the instrument players.
If anyone is curious I guess, Personally I prefer the remix all the way, live instruments just sound much better here
This whole video:
Trumpet vs Violin.
Don't worry, guitar guy came back with Xion for the data battles.
And Saix
And Vanitas
He is already here in the soundtrack for the 2.5's version of Hazardous Highway ^^
Data Xion has guitar???????? I gotta get to that fight
Need to hurry up and kick Xigbar’s ass
@@nesoukkefka1741 I liked the original more. Maybe not for the Gummi ship but it reminds me of darkness of the unknown.
In the words of Akihiko: “I’ve been waiting for this!”
Bro Ong I been waiting for this
''DID YOU SEE THAT SHINJI?''
akihiko sanada 2nd best boy
Liquid Ocelot said it first.
@@cillbipher2613 you clearly didnt get the meme
i really wish the 1.5+2.5 collection had an option for original audio, i love the remix but it does make me miss the original tunes
Agreed! I think that having as many "original" toggles in remasters and remakes is good practice in general. As much as I like the soundtrack in the new NieR remaster, for example, I do sometimes wish I could have the original songs back. They did offer this option in Resident Evil 2, and it was great!
Trails of Azure and Trails from Zero had the option to pick the original or reorchestrated version of just about every individual song, with the option to listen too the songs in the menu so you can compare.
Hey, me too! Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remastered (PS4 and PC) and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age had the option to change the soundtrack.
@@MikeAruba69 Those games even added the musics from the ost so we actually have 3 options. It was great
I kinda wish they would kinda mix them toghether for when you're playing so it so the music feels less repetitive, but an option to switch from old to new would probably be better.
I love so much of the hd remix shit, especially for updated violins. BUT...midi horns are just so fucking great
I’m a sucker for Lazy Afternoons PS2...
I like the GBA version myself, being my first exposure to that beautiful song, so I like it slightly above the PS2 version. It's actually my favourite song ever from a video game. That is a compliment when it's competing with Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, and Donkey Kong Country 2.
Agreed
I love the PS2 Re Chain of Memories version, the harmonica really fits the theme
@@SMRPGFAN101 Honestly Chain of Memories on GBA is quite possibly my favourite KH game to replay. Music is a big part of that.
@@marcosv.r5261 That version is my favorite, not counting the piano or orchestra concerts versions.
Now that KH2 is on PC we can pick and choose the best themes for each track lol. Someone needs to make a mod pack based on this video lol
Honestly all I could think about watching this was how much I want a custom music mod for pc
BB's KH2-nes (kh tunes)
bad joke
Props to TeaRacer for editing 2 hours worth of content!
Technically it was 4 hours and 45 minutes but ty :)))
@@TeaRacer Even more so then man, major props!
Yoko Shimomura carried this franchise.
She certainly did. FAR more so than the actual writing/plotline of the series. It's such a shame how much of a stupid, incoherent mess the story became because I have a TON of nostalgia for the first couple games.
Amen to that
And Tetsuya Nomura's emo phase. Lots of flair and vibes with KH2 (combos finishers, scenematic reaction commands, edgy organization, game's general theme and aesthetic) but after KH2 it all just panders to disney side more and more
The juxtaposition of the tame and whimsical Disney side with the Rule of Cool edge is what made those moments feel glorious.
Very enjoyable video! Btw, for future reference:
- Scherzo di Notte is pronounced Scare-zoh dee not-tay
- Forze del Male is pronounced For-zay dell mah-lay
- Guardando nel Buio is pronounced Goo-ar-dan-doh nel boo-yo
Hope this helps
Source: I'm italian :)
What the hell are you saying? Either you don't know how to write phonetics or you're not italian ahah
@Blkmeta what
@Blkmeta ?
@@CoreaDiHuntingtonwe are waiting for your correction all knowing sir
@@Poem-Tree uhh, are u ok dude? Answering to 3 years old comments Is a bit weird, anyway, if you're interested you can search the phonetics for those words yourself :-)
Source: I'm italian :)
Definitely one of your most unique and light hearted KH Talks, but i like it! A very laid back Podcast-esque feel to it.
The way I'd describe the HD soundtrack for the most part is that it seems as though they were focused on making the music euphonic rather than faithful, at least when it comes to the mixing and the dynamics of the pieces. At times it almost sounds as if they weren't confident in the strength of the original composition and mixing, hence why they just randomly tone down the percussion across the board (barring a few standouts), why they generally focus more on instruments like strings and winds, why some instruments are just changed for seemingly no reason (looking at you, Savannah Pride), why staccato brass is constantly shoved to the back, etc. etc.. This can also explain why the HD soundtrack tended to do so well with slower, more emotional pieces. The interesting thing is that this can be kind of difficult to realize without actually comparing the two 1 to 1, which may explain why chat skewed towards the HD versions as often as they did. It seems like the music team didn't really realize that they didn't need to do any extra work for a lot of these songs because they already sounded amazing, and most just needed more realistic instrumentation to really shine. NOTE: I'm not a music professional by any stretch of the imagination, so I may be completely off on this.
that being said, you're an absolute speedrunner shill for choosing OG Riku over HD Riku, actually biased
Just wanted to say that I agree with everything here, especially hd riku, that guitar makes that theme for sure
Riku's theme in-game pales in comparison to the official Piano Collection version.
Neither BB nor chat understand what MIDI music is (at least from what was said at the beginning). MIDI does not represent digitally created sounds, or synthesised sounds. You can use real recordings of instruments with MIDI. MIDI is a file that tells the computer how to use the sounds you give it; think of MIDI as sheet music, NOT instrumentation.
Music is not bad because it's MIDI or good because it's a live performance. It's up to the entire composition whether it can be good or not. (This wasn't stated by anyone here, but I see this sentiment around quite a bit and is worth mentioning.)
This nonsense keeps getting perpetuated. There are many super high quality MIDI recordings that I doubt anyone can really tell the differences from a live recording. Take Project Destati and Theophany, for example. They use a mix of everything, can you notice when and where the differences lie?
I cant tell the difference
it's just the easiest way to signal that we're not talking about real-ass live recorded instruments. I guess you could call it "synthesized" instead? Although idk if even that's totally accurate, because a lot of the ps2 version's sounds are probably samples.
It's a dynamic thing. Regardless of whether the sound files for each instrument were live or not, there was probably one file for each note of each instrument.
So even if you try to artificially raise the volume of certain hits to have them feel more pronounced, in the original recording you're using, the note was most likely played in a resonably "loud" manner and a simple increase in volume won't really change that. Same goes for when you lower the volume of a certain instrument to have a smoother mix.
Each instrument sounds differently when played really softly and smoothly from when it's played agressively. The timbre changes drastically. That's why ghost notes are incredibly difficult to do and often sound terrible in midi. You're taking a recording of someone hitting a drum in a reasonably "loud" manner and lower it's volume to imply that it's now a ghost note, even though the hit sounds like a regular note, just turned down.
You can never have the same authentic dynamic range and timbre a live orchestra has this way.
CLASSIC DOOM MUSIC
When MIDI is done right you can't tell the difference. When it's done wrong you can definitely tell the difference.
now HERE'S my kind of content!!
Love your videos!
really fun watch. would love a KH1 comparison video too but that's asking a lot I know :). Thanks!
Can't say enough how cool it is to have you talk about the music at length in any capacity. Kingdom Hearts is never perfect, but I feel its music, the sheer variance of it and how it fits the worlds' themes, is what keeps me coming back. There's something very special about launching into a fight in the Beast's Castle to Dance of the Daring that I don't get in many other games outside of the RPG scene.
The music fits the worlds almost perfectly it's insane... Also the battle and field themes were always genius how they played off of each other. Yoko's music in KH has inspired me to get into music production, i suck tho lol
Yoko is so talented. I'm obsessed with her work. In my opinion I like the original soundtrack more because it feels as if it has more impact and you can hear individual instruments. In the remix alot of the songs sound mushed.
I agree. Furthermore, a lot of the instruments sound a bit thinner in the remix, which is especially weird for having real instruments.
@@LeMelleKH2 same. I always thought that since it was orchestrated the remixes would sound fuller and richer, but a lot of them just sound watered down...
Not to mention that the volume is lower. There were points I could barely hear the music in-game. Turning up the volume would drown it out in sound-effects and voice clips.
You would think it's just sound mixing, but the actual tracks are quieter!
@@vaimantobe3034 the game would’ve been way better if it let you switch between the original soundtrack and the new one it would’ve made the game feel more complete
I think what makes the HD version of The Other Promise so good is that the live instruments add this extra, tiny bit of vulnerability that just fits perfectly.
1:35:10 I’m sure this was a slip up and you already knew this, but while Sora and Riku didn’t have themes until KH2, Kairi definitely did. She had 3 separate renditions of it in KH1.
Riku already had a theme in kh1
@@juliansenni6279 Riku didn’t have a theme until KH2
I love it when chat changes their opinion to BB's when he states his opinion.
Some of these really took me by surprise. I didn't even notice how different they were until after I heard them side by side
I don't know if you still read comments from over two weeks ago, but I have a heavy background in music, so I think what you might be articulating what you like about the original is: 'staccato'.
The MIDI versions have an advantage of sounding more separate and jagged in their notes, giving an 'edge' to their music. They were able to strictly dictate the length of notes, giving them their own 'punch'. This REALLY helps in the music that was built to be intense. But when the music is translated to a live orchestra, it's a lot harder for a a group of people to nail that 'punchy'ness to the music.
Overall, I loved the smoother sounding music in the Remix. Lazy Afternoons, Missing You really add a lot of flavor in it's depth. It adds flavor, and passion to the quiet tones. Violins really carry over the MIDI version too.
But the original will ALWAYS, in my opinion win with a more staccato sound. Tension Rising, The Encounter (OMG The Encounter OG KH2), and the 13th Struggle. You'll hear those punches of the horns and percussion much more dramatically, and the feeling just gets you so amped up.
Hope this helps give you even more insight, as I feel like you kept describing staccato without saying the word. :)
(I am about 1/3rd of the way through the video when writing this comment, so I don't know if you mention it later).
I even love how the piano, strings, flutes sounds in the mix of the originals, all the twillight town themes, organization 13, all the battle themes, for me they all are better. I really loved Kairi Theme but I have to say they really nailed it in the HD bc the more slow attack on the instruments really fits to the songs. Most of the time the HD versions just don’t have the same effect as the og’s that’s why I prefer the ogs bc I think they are perfect
Lazy afternoon
1:07
1:57
Sinister sundown
3:23
4:18
The escapade
5:53
6:17
This was the best kh talk to experience live, it was so much fun
42:43 the moment bb knew he was being stalked by guitar guy. Lmao
*hears deep drive*
First thing that pops into my head:
Riku: "RAAAGH"
I remember this being mentioned in another vod and I'm glad it actually happened.
Really shows how amazing the music is throughout the series.
Kingdom hearts music is timeless. I hope to bond with my future kids with it
By the way, PS1 has games with soundtracks that use real instruments. It's just that most developers couldn't afford such sound production so most of the music was usually midi. Around PS2 era higher sound qualities were becoming the norm, but some still preferred to use simpler midi software.
you also have to keep space restrictions in mind, that's part of the reason why those ps1 games had multiple discs and why something like re:com has streamed cd quality music but kh1 and 2 dont
Fight to the Death suddenly became my favorite battle theme in the series
Yea it’s pretty amazing. It’s always been one of my favorites
Loved seeing all the appreciation from you towards the original soundtrack in this video, I think a lot of people lean into this mindset that live orchestra/remade soundtrack automatically means its better but og kh2 has a lot of little things that were changed that can mess with the overall song. The 13th Reflection was probably the remix that got me most thinking about it, the 0:14 to 0:32 segment of the song sounds so different in 2.5 and very much for the worse to me, was real happy to see you pick the OG on that one.
I think the problem with Tension Rising HD ReMIX is that it doesn't have that tense feeling of the unknown. The original felt like you were fighting aliens with how unknown the nobodies are in the beginning. In HD ReMIX it's extremely chaotic and not focusing on how mysterious these enemies are.
Yeah, fuck sleep I'm trying to listen to this KHtalk about music.
Strap in boyos
The remix’s have me from the start, like “OH of course this is better”, and then the song goes on and I feel like the impact isn’t as strong
Original ps2 made several points, so if I could I would mash both together
There is one advantage the midis almost always have over the HD reorchestrations:
Mixing. Since the midi is mostly fake, you can balance the audio levels and the instrument sounds overall without changing the innate colour of the music too much. Meanwhile the balancing of the real audio tracks gets tricky since it is somewhat dependent on the musician's performance to begin with. And the real life instruments don't exactly have the same colour as the midi versions do, making them have slightly different attributes when compared to the fake instruments. In some cases this difference in sound mixing becomes rather blatant, as there's barely a single midi song where it feels like one of the instruments is too weak, drowned out by the others, competing too much with the others or just standing out so much the entire tone of the song has now changed. While you can find plenty of examples of this in the reorchestrated songs, even the good ones. Dismiss for example is an entirely different song both in midi and real format.
Real instruments just sound better raw.
I remember in 2019 when KH3 came out and I downloaded the game and got to the title screen and when Dearly Beloved started playing there I just started *crying uncontrollably* immediately. Just let it play while I had this weird intense happy sob. My girlfriend at the time walked in and asked what was going on and I just couldn't explain at all.
I feel like the remixes often emphasize parts of the songs that dont matter and ignore the actual big parts that do.
This!
Especially prominent in Desire For All That Is Lost. The entire march is gone in favor of a solo violin
Yeah the original definitely has an edge in mixing of the tracks. The action songs especially show the difference, the remix feels a bit hollow most of the time.
This really did open my eyes to how a lot of the original tracks are in fact better, or at least have more positives, but I think I'm more a remix guy, and in general, I think the Remixes are some of the least objectionable remixes given to a game remaster.
Yeah they definitely do it justice. I prefer the original for most tracks but when playing the new tracks are not anything that detract from my experience.
Man I love the concept, should do this with more games/remakes
I think the Hollow Bastion theme should have stayed the midi one at first, but be swapped out when it became Radiant Garden once again.
That would have been such a neat change!
God. I feel happy knowing I'm not the only one who thought Tension Rising was severely nerfed in the HD version.
Edit: God, and the MIDI trumpet just goes ham so much. I KNOW!!!
bizkit047. Especially on his speed run of 2.5. He shits on it every chance he gets. So you were never the only one.
@@camharkness Lmao xD
Kingdom Hearts 2 sounds more "powerful" because of the percussions. While kingdom hearts 2 HD sounds more "majestic" thanks to the addition of strings, violin, and piano. They're both good, but for battle themes I think percussion is the way to go to pump up the player. But the HD nails the more calmer themes like lazy afternoon and afternoon streets.
Goddammit BB. You make me want to replay this game, but I'm vested in replaying persona 5. You can't tug at my heartstrings by playing nostalgic songs bro. Seriously tho, great video.
Imagine someone was able to edit the mixing on the HD Remix version of the songs to be closer to the originals and mod the PC ports to include them. I'm not sure how it would be done, but I at least think it'd be a neat concept.
Once the hd remixes hits steam, I hope someone can mod in the original music with an opinion menu to select the song you want in game.
Rowdy Rumble might as well be BBS theme song
Ordinary people: "Synthesized trumpets."
BB: "Doots."
Even though I grew up playing the original game a whole bunch as a kid, i'd say i'm leaning more towards the remastered soundtrack with a few exceptions. In an ideal world, i'd like a mixture of both the versions in the game. Tension Rising is interesting because I definitely like the OG one more, but I wish elements of the new one could be in it too.
13th Reflection on PS2 has that ghostly opening with the drum loop. I wish with all my soul that the remix could've had it. It's so damn hype.
I was searching for a comparison like this not long ago!! I was shocked that I didn't realise the ost was remixed until reading about it
I can't believe BB went through a whole video about KH2 music and not even mention Fate of the Unknown
Probably because it wasn't relevant to the topic as Fate of the Unknown is actually orchestrated
@@oneish7454 o huh always assumed it was midi, thats fair enough then
he mentioned its the same for both
keep note the original stream was like 6 hours, yeah tearacer heavily edited it down
Good video. BTW, since Yoko Shimomura did the soundtrack for the Mario & Luigi songs as well I wonder if someone would do a similar video with the two remakes that had remastered soundtracks. Or maybe a tier list of favorite soundtracks from the five games.
This makes it really hard to choose which soundtrack is better, each version does several key songs significantly better than the other.
I'd love to see you try this for KH1's original and HD remix soundtracks.
I was honestly sad when you said underworld track was forgettable😭 to me its one of my favorite world tracks i think. Its so nice
100% agreed there
I feel like the MIDI arrangements for the battle themes just have more of a bop to them, a real orchestra just doesn't have the perfect groove that makes you instantly start nodding your head imo
and the opposite is true as well, the more emotional/chill songs sound better in the HD version to me, because the real instruments are more expressive.
It depends. Bloodborne has brilliant Boss music. For example "Cleric Beast/Vicar Amelia" is awesome and was performed on a real Orchestra
Everyone: "idk.this one sounds better"
Me: literally can't tell the difference
The 13th struggle will always be my favorite kingdom hearts battle theme
You can really hear the mixing done so fucking well in the original, but sometimes better instruments are just straight up better. The remix ost has some very poor mixing, and velocity on some notes are just bad ( destati especially), but the new instruments and chorus are just leagues better. You can tell Yoko Shimomura really cared about the mixing in the original, so certain parts packed an omph to it, where as the remix kinda is very constant, dont think it was touched by her at all, except for maybe the game select. and in the certain songs that do sound better, kairi and missing you. I feel like I'm hearing the piano collections shine through, which is why its decent cause they have some sort of music direction via the music sheets.
2's mixing (original 2's) sounds pretty bad imo, there's too much screechy midi violins and I think that 2 FM sounds leagues better
but that's just me.
@@Woodenfan only so much you can do with ps2 sound font.
@@Shayanzass Ironically KH1's samples sounded more realistic than KH2's.
@@Woodenfan yeah, i think the samples used in the original kh2 are kinda poor, which is odd, because it sounded fine in kh1
There was a square enix event on 2015 where they did confirm that Yoko did work on 1.5 & 2.5 HD remix soundtracks.
The PS2 mix of One Winged Angel uses the original vocals from the choir recorded for Final Fantasy VII, in 1997. The HD rearrangement uses a fresh recording, which, along with the higher quality audio samples, makes the song sound so much more modern, and alive.
The original mix was something of a disappointment, but the remastered version became one of my favorite takes on OWA.
2.5's One Winged Angel is in my opinion the best rendition of this song to this day and it's honestly incredible that 2's version of it originally sounded so bad which makes the glow up even better.
@@daedrascrolls It is more than a little ironic that the 1997 mix sounds so much better than something produced for the PS2 in 2005.
@@daedrascrolls Only thing about the new one is that it is mixed way too loud ingame. ;)
I actually vastly prefer the 1997 choir. The HD ReMIX version has too much emphasis on the female singers in the higher register, whereas the original sounds more balanced and tighter.
Edit: Holy Shit. ONLY the higher register has been re-recorded. The men singing the lower tones are still the '97 recording.
Track 12 roxas: I guess my summer vacation is over, god the feels
I am very disappointed with ya'll hating on original Corrupted. That's like one of my favorite tracks. Not to mention that it doesn't actually play during bad bosses. I can't think of a single bad Corrupted boss, that's crazy talk!
Vile Fae I personally think the original Corrupted is super underrated. The 2.5 Corrupted though, is absolutely horrid, like what the hell were they thinking with the remix for that one!?!?!?
I think the original KH2 is a bit better when it comes to regards of battle music, but remix definitely takes the cake when it comes to overworld, and the more somber music of kingdom hearts
27:11 Now that i think about it in Kh2 they sold us the idea that Roxas and Namine were in "love" and in Kh3 they throw that out of the window and go for the NamineXRiku, Roxas and her don't even interact during the ending, is so weird.
Another reason why I find KH3 extremely disappointing personally. It pretends to have climactic/emotional moments for all of the characters (hell I shed tears admittedly) and yet a lot of it feels hollow or forced, which left the entire experience feeling somewhat soulless. It even retroactively made some things in kh2 less compelling :( like Axel's sacrifice etc. anyway I digress
i just played kh2 recently, and naminé and roxas interact like once.... sure, love amirite
I find it funny that He's A Pirate wasn't even close to being the most one sided vote.
You know, I don't think there's a single song in either version of the soundtrack that I don't like. Yoko Shimomura is absolutely amazing
I’ve been waiting for a videos like this tnk you
Honestly, I'd love to see you try this with the OG KH as well, although I think it's really neck-and-neck to which is better
I really wish I were part of the live chat this sounds like such a fun thing to talk about! I'm really big on any Kingdom heart's music and I don't know it would've been really fun to see everybody's thoughts on certain parts in each piece
BB is like: "this (remix) is brilliant, but I love this (original)
Or
So glad i grew up with this (Original)
And not this
(Re:MIX)
Wish I was there for the stream but I’m happy this was uploaded to youtube ☺️
I prefer the ps2 ost but thats like choosing between your two favorite children.
P.s.
If you can emulate sega saturn check out panzer dragoon saga. I think the same composer worked on that game too.
I didn't think Shimomura worked on that, I'll have to check it out. I love the original Panzer Dragoon.
Remix literally said “VIOLIN IS SUPERIOR”
Great video ❤. Please do another one for kh1
As far as I can tell they battle themes are just way better in the original, they have a lot more punch.
The lack of doots in Disappeared bothered the heck out of me
I know it’s been a minute, but I’d really love it if you also did this for 1 and 1.5.
Same.
Not going to lie, its been so long since I played the original version, I couldn't even remember what the old soundtrack sounded like, I think almost all of the battle themes sound way more punchy and energetic in the orginal, especially vim and vigor. Glad the series is on pc now, so maybe someone can mod the og soundtracks in.
Synthetic music sounds so wrong to me so i always go with real instruments. You can barely hear solo instruments in the original unless its a damn piano
Subscribed asap when i saw this video
Fucking love this kind of content, lookiing forward to more of this man ♥
The only reason I smile to the Christmas Town themes and battle music is because how I learned about them through BB. I always have good memories hearing them.
Yoko: Violins, another violin, one drum, violin, horn, two more violins.
Grand Totals:
Chat:
OG - 23.5
RM - 57.5
BB:
OG - 38
RM - 43
The 0.5s are from the tie partway through.
any brave soul going to timestamp by songs?
1:09:55 is the only timestamp you need.
Our brave hero will show himself eventually.
@@35shadowthehedgehog I'm watching through it right now for the first time, I'll write down timestamps for each song on a paper when I'm done I'll make a comment
Shit, I never noticed before how different some of them are. Now I'm not gonna be able to play 2.5 the same.
2.5 sounds way better
One thing I noticed about the sad songs is that the OG tends to have a muddled feel. Like every instrument is fighting for their turn. This works with the blood pumping themes thanks to the doots, since you don't wanna pick out instruments you wanna get hyped. But being able to hear every instrument in the remix makes the sad songs have more of a punch.
imo, that's also why some songs are hard to choose. You have to choose the punch or the hype. I love OG, but I can't deny Remix does a darn good job. I wish we could get OG-Remix hybrid of some songs. There are a few tracks where if you combined OG and Remix, you'd have the perfect song.
Those original themes are so nostalgic, especially the world map theme!
Am I the only one who prefers the remix version of Dance To The Death? It sounds sooo much better to me
Surprised but glad to see my opinion on Disappeared seems to be the common one. Most of the remixes stayed pretty exact to their originals, and all these years I've never understood why Yoko chose to change this one so drastically and deemphasize the choir so much. I loved that part of the track in KH2 , I thought it made it distinct from the KH1 version. But then the Remix just did away with that, like it wanted to copy KH1's instead. I don't get it.
Ultimately it was also disappointing how the games didn't let us switch at will between the 2 scores, like other remasters have.
The KH1 version of Disappeared sounds way better than the remix though, the remix is the worst of them all. Kh1's has a lot of power and oomph behind every instrument while maintaining a balanced mix. The mixing on the whole remix ost is worse than the originals.
@@deaj8450 Well that's another story lol. It just wanted to veer closer to KH1's style, who knows why.
Not gonna lie, when i played KH2 on ps2, i never noticed that Hazardhous Highway even had a guitar. So when i played the Ps3 version i was like "wow they added a sick guitar to this song" and didn't realize it was there all along until i went back and checked.
I really liked this video, it made me realize that I enjoy the original soundtrack a lot more than I thought I would going in. It also made me finally realize what I didn't like about the remix's version and it was the lack in percussion. I'm honestly torn between being a slut for violin and the doots.
As someone who plays clarinet, I love the Beast's Castle remix.
Sorry I missed this stream. But it seems like if it’s a doots bop then the og version is better. If it leans on chorus vocals or strings then the HD remixed fixed it up
The way BB pronounced scherzo di notte as an italian hurts me