Why Ni no Kuni's Soundtrack Is Absolutely Magical 10 Years Later
Image via Bandai Namco
Can you believe that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch turns 10 years old this year? The soundtrack by Castle in the Sky composer Joe Hisaishi is absolutely incredible with sweeping scores, triumphant world map music, and above all, stirring tracks that will leave you in tears.
While the Japanese DS version did indeed come out first, the real entry point of the series for many is the PS3 game. Studio Ghibli and Level-5, the creators of Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, made the game shine with outstanding Pokemon-like mechanics, and you can’t help but fall in love with the narrative and the world that little Oliver explores, thanks in large part to the phenomenal soundtrack.
When you first boot up Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, the main theme greets you with a punchy brass orchestration before easing into a beautiful string and flute section. After that comes the emotionally charged “In Loving Memory of Allie,” which tells the tale of 13-year-old Oliver losing his mother after she sacrifices herself for her son. The harp at the beginning tugs at your heartstrings, and then the real waterworks start when the piano starts to play. At the same time, a percussion instrument similar to a triangle joins in, reflecting the cherished time that Oliver had with his mother as a little kid. It’s a stirring piece that needs more recognition than it gets. While we usually embed covers, only the orchestral version from Joe Hisaishi does this song justice.
As Oliver discovers the world around him, players experience the World Map theme. It’s as epic as you’d expect from Joe Hisaishi as he brings strings, brass, and percussion all together in a sweeping theme. The wind instrument that plays evokes a child-like wonder of visiting an enchanted world; however, the brass steadily creeps in to create the sense that a daring adventure is at foot. The theme never wears gets tiring as it creatively shifts into different tones and instrumental choices every 20 seconds. It sounds like it would be manic, but somehow, it all meshes together into a glorious track that keeps you and Oliver marching on to greater heights.
Moises Nieto performs a wonderful cover of the World Map theme, which is also titled “Fragments of Hearts” within the soundtrack. They’ve also created sheet music if you’d like to try playing the song yourself.
Hisaishi knows how to create atmosphere, and it certainly shows in the “Imperial March” track (no, it’s not the Star Wars one). The low-register brass mixed with the dramatic percussion makes for a daunting tune as you explore the area around the Hamelin Palace. The Game Brass succeed at bringing that same tension into their cover of “Imperial March,” and they even bring in a little bit of cosplay as well. Of course, the five musicians play their arrangement brilliantly.
The only downside about Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch’s soundtrack is the normal battle theme. It sounds fairly generic in comparison with other scores like Final Fantasy XIII and the Pokemon series.
Fortunately, the incredible end-boss music against the White Witch more than makes up for the generic normal battle theme. It starts off with a thunderous ruckus of horns and frantic strings, and then slows down to an operatic section with magical percussion and quick strums of the violin. It’s a strange, yet atmospheric part that grants a brief respite before once again returning to a dramatic battle theme that will prepare players for this epic fight.
To conclude on what makes Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch’s soundtrack so magical, we should talk about the vocal version of the main theme, “Kokoro no Kakera - Pieces of a Broken Heart.” The epic theme from the world map and main menu is back, but there’s a more melancholic feeling to the track. The young boy’s vocals perfectly match Oliver’s journey “through another world” to find his mother. The lyrics, “If I could only be with you once more and hold you tightly to my heart, we could walk this road together, and never, ever be apart” certainly made my eyes water up when I first heard it.
Svietika covers “Kokoro no Kakera” in Japanese and does a stellar job with the material. She sings the words flawlessly and reaches the higher-pitched elements of the song with ease. You can tell she practiced a lot before performing the track.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch’s soundtrack deserves more credit among the VGM community, and Hisaishi’s truly magical compositions fit the excellent JRPG perfectly. Hopefully, a third game by Level-5 will come to consoles sometime in the future.
CHRIS PENWELL
Chris Penwell is a writer and podcaster who loves to talk about video game music. His favorite soundtracks are from the Kingdom Hearts series, Celeste, Beyond Good & Evil, Gravity Rush, and Final Fantasy X.