Kingdom Hearts was not a "big hit", according to the series composer

Loved Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura has admitted that she was not sure if the series would go anywhere after the first game because it was originally not a “big hit”.

As everyone who consciously awaits news about Kingdom Hearts 4 knows, Disney and Square Enix's Crossover have become one of the most beloved RPG series out there for the past two decades. The series has sold more than 37 million copies during that time and has one of the most dedicated fan bases out there. Trust me, I'm one of them.

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It seems that Kingdom Heart's success was not always so obvious. When the first game was released, it had the inevitable position to start a brand new franchise, which, although we know is a big deal now, was not a guaranteed thing all the way back in 2002. This is something that the series composer Yoko Shimomura noted, and even intended to stop the series to continue.

Yoko Shimomura says Kingdom Hearts was not a “big hit” when launched

The iconic composer was not sure if she would continue to make game music

In a new interview with The Guardian who seems to have resurrected this week thanks to Twitter user Genki_JPN, Yoko Shimomura talked about his story about composing games. Of course, talking to Shimomura about her career in play means taking up Kingdom Hearts, even though Shimomura revealed a surprising anecdote about it.

Shimomura says Kingdom Hearts “was not a big hit” when it was released first, and that after the launch she left Square and was not sure if she would continue as a composer. Shimomura not only questioned whether she would continue to make music for games, but it seems that she thought Kingdom Hearts might not go anywhere either.

Of course, Shimomura continued to compose games and asked to return to Kingdom Hearts 2 as a freelancer shortly after the first game's release, which was the first time she was asked to return to a series. The Cemented Shimomura's position as one of the most beloved composers in games, especially for Kingdom Hearts fans.

When it was released first, Kingdom Hearts was not a big hit. After it was released, it was one of the difficult times I mentioned earlier: I left Square, and I was not sure whether to continue in this job or not. – Yoko Shimomura

As nice as it is to hear about Shimomura's legacy with Kingdom Hearts, I am not quite sure where she gets that the hearts of the first kingdom was not a hit, because it sold and reviewed really well for the time. Anyway, it led to Shimomura doing even more for the series, which is nothing but good.