So does this mean there will be songs from each game then?

Always on my Mind isn't Always on my Mind lol, just listen to it on the site it sounds like a completely different song :0

But cool, I'm looking forward to seeing what other tracks from the other games are going to be picked for this album :)

I am excited to see the reveals as they come. No wonder it's 2 discs; they're going all out! :D

So I think it says there are 45 songs altogether, plus the bonus "Twinkle Twinkle Holidays" from drammatica?

And yeah, that "Always on My Mind" preview is not right. It's "Beyond the Door", which is right beside "Always on My Mind" on the KHOST.

Glad lord of the castle is on there.

The orchestral version of Hikari will always be one of my favorite video game songs, and they have it on there, so ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Still don't know if I want to pay that much though. I love Kingdom Hearts, but I haven't bought an actual cd in years....

The tracks are looking good so far, I'm glad that Traverse Town and the original Dearly Beloved are on that list. I wish that the gummi ship theme was in the KH1 list, I was so happy to hear that song again as a mini game in BBS, but I guess that's just the nostalgia talking.

Hollow Bastion's on there! :D That's one of my favorite songs from KH1.

These are Ms Shimomura's blurbs btw!
Translated by me, here:
(original)

Dearly Beloved
Of course, this is the track I wanted to begin with. I composed this melody in the image of waves lapping in and out on the shore. I made it just thinking it would be nice to use for some kind of scene someday, and then it went and ended up with the huge position of title song! I decided on the name 'Dearly Beloved' in a flash, I was really happy with it. -Yoko Shimomura

Hikari ('Light') -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-
As music with the image of Kingdom Hearts goes, you cannot leave out this song. I love this melody and I love this arrangement of it. In the first meeting with Mr Kaoru Wada, who I asked to do the arrangement and orchestration, I asked him to "please compose to your liking a grand arrangement that gives the feel of a huge drama." --Yoko Shimomura

Destati
Now, this piece is the first I made and included that represented the Darkside (ha ha) of the Kingdom Hearts project. The musical phrase is incorporated in every title, including the latest one, Dream Drop Distance. But, in the games, it does not actually exist as a song as it is~ Because of that, I worried to the last moment over where to place this track. --Yoko Shimomura

Traverse Town
When originally directed to create something that felt like a stroll through a fun town, this is what I made. It's quite a short tune, and I wish I'd made it slightly longer... I do regret that a tiny bit, haha. But, well, when I think about ways it could be lengthened, adding any more to the melody would feel redundant, so I guess maybe it is fine the way it is after all~ that's what I end up thinking! --Yoko Shimomura

Hand in Hand
For the first half of Traverse Town, the battle theme was the same as on the darkened islands, and I thought, I want to fight battles that are as bright as I can make them! I went and made this additional song without being directed to do so. I was told that "if the song is good, then we'll think about it," and so when they listened and gave me the OK, I remember being incredibly happy. --Yoko Shimomura

Kairi I
For some reason, Kairi is the only one who has had a theme from the first title. On top of that, there were three versions of it, haha. Between I and II, only the first chord is different. Even just that changes the feel of the song significantly~ I made three versions to fit the cutscenes properly. I'm glad I wasn't told to make three versions for all the themes from then on, haha! --Yoko Shimomura

Hollow Bastion
Before I had started composing this song, I was playing through the game myself, and the moment I arrived in Hollow Bastion I thought, "Ahh, I've made it this far, then. The last dungeon feels close..." I put that impression straight into the song. Even now when I listen, I am reminded of falling willy-nilly down traps and get sad, haha. --Yoko Shimomura

Always on My Mind
I have deep memories of this song. I recorded and made a movie file of the cutscene myself, and to make the song match the events in the scene, I adjusted it over and over, I really mean it, over and over and over and over and over and over!!!!! (to be repetitive! haha.) It incorporates many musical phrases. Actually, from KH2 onwards, the title themes (apart from BbS) all incorporate the first part of the melody of this song. --Yoko Shimomura

Hikari
And now we're finally at the theme song for the first title, Hikari. I've heard the demo track from before this song was finished. I'm really proud of that, haha. Even the demo track had an indescribable strength to it and I felt a premonition that it would be a famous song, but even so, when I heard the master track I was still surprised at what an amazing song it had turned out to be. This song, which Ms Hikaru Utada said had the first title she'd written in kanji, and that she had taken it from her own name, is a hugely impressive famous song. When I'm down town, even now, no matter where I am around (ha ha), for an instant I slip back in time. --Yoko Shimomura

Another Side
Pardon me for taking a moment to speak of personal things, but this was actually the last song I wrote as an employee of Square. At the time, I wrote this not knowing what was happening regarding a sequel, and with the chance this would be the last song I'd write. I remember going home feeling as exhausted as a mere shell (ha ha). Ten years has passed, and the fact that I still have the privilege of being in charge like this, and the fact that this song is still regarded so highly among you, makes me so very happy. --Yoko Shimomura

Naminé
The source of these sounds is Re:Chain of Memories, the version for the PS2, but the song actually first appeared in Chain of Memories for the GBA. It comes before KH2, so it's the second theme song for a person, after Kairi. Heroines being treated a bit too well, haha. I composed the song with images I got from the name 'Naminé', of gentle rolling waves drifting, and of the underwater movement of water. --Yoko Shimomura

Lord of the Castle
This is a final boss theme added to the Re:Chain of Memories version. The two final boss themes I originally had were relatively plain, none in a fiery vein, so I wanted to make a super fiery theme, I decided! And so I made it! But... the truth is, when I presented the demo, I was told I had to re-do it, and to 'pump it up more'. More? More?? MORE~??? RAAAAGHH~!! I pumped up just like that, and it turned into a pretty grand theme, haha. --Yoko Shimomura

Quick question, what does it mean when the songs are "remastered?"

Its a good list so far overall, but I do regret that my favorite KH song, Forze Del Male is noticeably absent on the KH1 list. That is a mindblowing song.

I hope to God they have Fragments of Sorrow on it (or whatever the fight music between Aqua and Terranort was). But the list so far is great. It's also nice to hear Shimomura's thoughts on the songs, so thanks for translation, Goldpanner. :D

Gotta love these tidbits from Shimomura to every song. It's gonna be pretty interesting to hear what she has to say about the fan choosings.

I'm a bit at a loss though, for what exactly was this fan vote then if there are still other songs included? Is it ten fan-voted songs that will be for sure in it and then ten more choosen by Shimomura herself? *confused*

^^It says that all of the 45 tracks (except the extra bonus track, which makes 46 songs) are from the fan polls.

^I think the samples on the website might not be remastered yet. If they made the mistake of putting "Beyond the Door" in place of "Always on My Mind" even though the former song did not make it onto the final songlist, they were probably just linking the samples that were already there from the voting webpage. Also, if she felt the need to remaster all of the tracks, there is a possibility of her bringing out quieter elements, or reducing other ones. It may give the soundtrack a more unified feel, or just freshen up the experience for those who are very familiar with the OSTs.

They've also notated on the master tracklist for all of the OSTs the order of the top songs from each game (that they've revealed so far). I wonder if they made a mistake in noting the "Dearly Beloved -Reprise-" as the top voted song from KH1, since it didn't actually make it.

Also, thanks so much goldpanner! I love the insight.

Thanks, goldplanner!

Thanks guys! I really hope they post more, they are so interesting! Shimomura is one of my favourite people who work on these games, she's so cute and funny.

Aw, so sorry, goldPANner! Sans extra 'l'. I never saw a correction before now. These tired eyes. Ok, we're golden now... :}

Perhaps Seph had confused it for Fate of the Unknown?

Ahhh, yes. I initially expected that to play during those final fights.

Speaking of final fights, "Darkness of the Unknown" needs to make an appearance as well for this to be a definitive collection for me. *full confidence*

I'm not really confusing anything. "Fate of the Unknown" as used in the KH2 FM+ Secret Ending was never used in BBS.

"A Battle of Great Valor" and "Black Powder" mean the same song, the first one was just the fan-translation from Japanese while the second is the "official" English name.

Yes, that song played during Terra's battle with Braig but also during the re-enactment of the scenes of the KH2 FM secret ending during the actual game BBS. Black Powder was used instead of Fate of the Unknown.

So basically, you mean to say "As much as I like Black Powder I'm still a bit sad that Fate of the Unknown wasn't used in the actual BBS game."

The structure of the sentence / paragraphs threw me off. It's all ironed out now. You're good, Sephiroth0812. :]

If Another Side made it, Fate of the Unknown definitely will. I am still bummed out that they didn't have it in BBS during the cliffside battle and had that really generic and bland song "Black Powder" instead.

I won't actually say that "Black Powder" is a bad battle theme, nope, it's actually pretty engaging and fitting for a battle theme.

Nonetheless it is completely clear that in terms of epicness and class "Fate of the Unknown" beats it easily.

Kingdom Hearts2 and FM+ tracks are up. A lot of repeats from the Piano Collections and other arranged albums (all of those 13th tracks? Really?), but nothing really unexpected...

This should be all the KH2 blurbs!
(originally posted here, please credit that or here)

Dearly Beloved: "We're finally here again. We made it back." Those were the feelings put into creating this song. Because the intro was long, production did me an impossibly huge favour and changed the title screen to fit it. (I marched to the programmers working on their day off!) There absolutely had to be this much build up until the melody could run its course, no matter what. That's what the song told me. It wasn't up to me. I am no more than a servant to the living breathing song. Haha.

Passion -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-: From a powerful strike of an intro, this song flows into an address-like gentle melody, lapsing afterwards into a section like memories of strong determination awakening, then turns to a grand, powerful and dramatic close. This bold arrangement of hidden passion, like a flower opening with strength to face something, is certainly overwhelming.

Passion ～opening version～: My first impression on hearing this song was, "this song is quite difficult to grasp..." There's a reverse-playback phrase with profound hidden meaning running in the opposite direction to the catch. For some reason it really stays with you... it's an incredible song. Ms Utada is definitely a genius. (No, I'm sure you all know that already without the likes of me having to say it) I have a friend who is really great at karaoke, and it's a long story, but they told me "it's a super hard song to sing~!" Um, please don't ask something as tactless as whether I can sing it, okay~!

Lazy Afternoons: I said this in interviews many times back then, but, this song first appeared in Chain of Memories, and it gave me a lot of trouble. I redid the song over and over because it "didn't feel enough like twilight". So, I actually went out on the veranda of my house during twilight, feeling down and thinking "maybe I'm just no good...", zoning right out gazing at the clouds dyed with red. This song was born from that. The twilight feel does come through, doesn't it?

Missing You: In my own mind, I made this song as part of a set with the song "Treasured Memories" from the first title, which unfortunately didn't make it onto this best-of list. As in, "important treasure" (past) → "I don't want to lose my important, important..." (present). Ah, I'm always talking about musical stuff. Don't read too much into it, please, haha.

The 13th Struggle: This song was unexpectedly popular amongst our team, as well as our players. I personally thought intense quavers and bass half tone movements would reflect the concept of Organisation XIII, but halfway through work, it came to light that I'd missed Mr Tetsu's image of Organisation XIII, which was the piano phrase in "Another Side"! So, it became a song that combined both images of Organisation XIII.

Roxas: This song is truly blessed with so much love. When Mr Tetsu listened to my demo of the song, played on the piano like big droplets, he really liked it. I kept it basically the same, just fleshed it out a little to complete it. It would probably make the top three for shortest amount of time I spent actually working on a song in my whole life. It really was a gift from the gods of music.

Sora: With this song, the truth is, I'd decided to do something like this, but I wrote it before it was written as "Sora's theme," to use during the credits. Haha, I remember explaining, "this beginning, this section is Sora's theme, see!" while I was having people listen to the demo credits for me. The reason it happened like that was because the music for the credits had to be completed before recording. I thought, "If they say this is no good as Sora's theme then I'll have to redo the credits too!" but both Sora's theme and the credits were given the OK, happily~

Organization XIII: This is the first part of "Another Side". Mr Tetsu loved it, saying, "when I think of Organisation XIII, I think of this phrase." The phrase is used many times in many different songs. It's difficult to make a song that is simple but leaves a powerful impression, so I am grateful it exists. This song works hard to be useful and dutiful to its mother, maybe to rival Dearly Beloved, haha.

The 13th Reflection: This is an Organisation XIII battle theme added to KINGDOM HEARTS II Final Mix+. I wanted to make something that expressed a unique clean feel, a floating feel, something faster, like cracking into a sprint, and this is how the song turned out. I thought it would be rare, compared to the boss theme of the first KH title which had many patterns swelling to a crash in the second half, to do something with a floating out feel.

The Other Promise: Ever since the title released, this song has had a huge impact. It was only in KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX+, so it by no means seemed like it would become something this major, but... (thinking that and looking back, the songs related to KINGDOM HEARTS II FINAL MIX+ did very well, haha). It was used in many promo videos, and even a drammatica (orchestral) version was made, so there must be many people who know of it. This song was born from Mr Tetsu saying to me, "I want Roxas to be fought to a flashier piano version of his theme." I wanted to express questioning the utmost limits of our beings, and the unbearable sadness of a destiny you can't fight against.

Riku: Actually, Riku's theme has a pretty subdued impression, haha. It doesn't seem to be talked about much, see (sweatmark!), but I'm very happy that there are people who like it more than I realised. This is from the image of Riku that comes unhesitatingly to mind. That is, "while quiet, having a hidden passion."

Darkness of the Unknown: When we recorded this for the soundtrack, this track was originally three parts that made one song. However, it was split into three songs during production. It would have been troublesome, so they let me record the pattern in one song, identical to the soundtrack. After that, this song also ended up being used many times in other patterns. Then during recording, it ended up being put on a single loop. To those who liked it, I'm sorry...

Rage Awakened: During development, I didn't know the true form of who's song this was. I should say, actually, that it's always like that for secret bosses. It's like, "a mystery man is supposed to be a mystery man! a mystery!" haha. I make the songs relying on very skimpy information like "Someone important that connects to the next title," and "they attack like this~ they move like this~". When I begin composing for the next title, I finally get to give a huge sigh in relief. "Ahh, it does fit, I'm so glad." It runs me ragged, haha.

Fate of the Unknown: Now we have a song that became Terra and Aqua's themes, and the starting point for the music of Birth by Sleep in general. After watching the movie over and over to engrave the image into my head, I wrote a roughly organised version of the song in one sitting, and I surprised even myself at how closely it matched. Personally, I love the part around just before Kingdom Hearts appears in the sky, when it changes key and returns to the main melody.