E3 2009: Little King’s Story Chat With Producer Yoshiro Kimura

Ever since it was announced that Yoko Shimomura would be working on Little King’s Story, I’ve been following it with some interest. We had the opportunity to check the game out on the E3 show floor today, and had the pleasure of a surprise visit by producer Yoshiro Kimura who not only had something to say about the game’s music, but also turned out to be a very awesome and passionate guy.

Find out who’s involved, what the deal is with the classical music, and if there will be a soundtrack release after the jump.

The first thing I mentioned to Kimura was the fact that they should have used Shimomura’s ties to Kingdom Hearts to promote Little King’s Story. Interestingly, he replied that Shimomura is actually not the primary composer working on the title, but rather, Yutaka Minobe is responsible for the majority of the score.

Apparently they were considering a large number of composers, but Shimomura and Minobe were the only two comfortable with providing arrangements of the traditional classical songs that comprise the game’s soundtrack. That’s right, when asked if the soundtrack would feature original music by the two, Kimura noted that only one original composition would be featured in the game, but he didn’t want to spoil the surprise. So, why all classical music? As somewhat of a casual title, Kimura feels that these pieces are so recognizable that players should be able to sing and hum along, which is exactly what he proceeded to do right in front of my eyes.

While there isn’t a plan for a full-on soundtrack release, we were told to watch the Japanese website in July to hear some of the music there. Kimura said he’s looking into getting the soundtrack up on iTunes, and even noted that he’d like to offer it to fans for free if possible. It’s obvious that he’s very passionate about the project, and really wants the fans to enjoy every aspect of the game.

So, what role does music play in the game? There are a lot of interesting musical tidbits. As it turns out, the music in the game is supplied by an NPC who sits in front of the castle and performs for your delight. I immediately asked if there was a sound test mode in Little King’s Story, to which Kimura laughed and said he really wanted to add in this feature, but didn’t have the time. He also described a quest that requires players to gather melodies that are hummed by various people around town.

Kimura was very knowledgeable about the game’s music, and played a number of his favorite tracks for us from the game’s music directory. He then went on to talk about how he’s a big fan of jamming out and the playful aspect of music, using some well known Deep Purple guitar riffs as an example. I commented that Uematsu had worked with Ian Gillan from Deep Purple on the Blue Dragon soundtrack, to which Kimura replied that he was very surprised, and that he’d have to check it out. Apparently the two of them used to work together at Square Enix, and Kimura said he has a huge amount of respect for Uematsu. He ended by reiterating how he wants Little King’s Story to do well so he can make a sequel, and asked fans to please support the game and buy it when it’s out next month. I’d recommend you do the same, as this game is way fun.

Have you been looking forward to Little King’s Story? What are your thoughts on the traditional classic pieces that dominate the soundtrack?

[Photo via Little King’s Story blog]