Music of Ni no Kuni

Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi
Released	February 9, 2011
Studio	Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	54:37
Label	FRAME

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch ‒ The Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi
Released	March 28, 2013
Studio	Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	86:22
Label	Up-Front Group

The music for the role-playing video game series Ni no Kuni, developed by Level-5 and published in Western regions by Bandai Namco Entertainment, was composed by the team of Joe Hisaishi and Rei Kondoh, and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hisaishi, known for his previous work on Studio Ghibli films, agreed to work on the games after witnessing the development team's passion for the project. He wrote 21 tracks for the games across seven days, and was continually encouraged by the complexity of his compositions. Hisaishi aimed to make the music reflect the fantasy genre, creating a compatibility between the soundtrack and the game world.

An album titled Ni no Kuni: Shikkoku no Madoushi Original Soundtrack was released in Japan on February 9, 2011, featuring music from Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn. A two-disc soundtrack was later released on March 28, 2013; the first disc is a re-release of the Japanese soundtrack, while the second disc contains additional tracks from Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Critical reception to the soundtracks was positive, as reviewers felt that the music connected appropriately with the gameplay. In particular, critics felt that Hisaishi's approach to the composition matched the art style by Studio Ghibli. The music was nominated for numerous awards.

When Studio Ghibli agreed to produce the animated sequences of Ni no Kuni, they contacted Joe Hisaishi to work on the game music. Hisaishi, who previously worked with Studio Ghibli on films such as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001), met with Level-5 producer and writer Akihiro Hino. After witnessing Hino's passion for the project, Hisaishi agreed to work on the soundtrack. Rei Kondoh created the other half of the score, and all in-game music was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. "Kokoro no Kakera", the games' theme song, was written by Hisaishi; his daughter Mai Fujisawa performed the song in Japanese, while chorister Archie Buchanan performed the English version. The team found great difficulty in selecting a performer for the English version, though ultimately settled upon Buchanan due to his ability to convey the "vulnerability and innocence" of the games characters in a "moving and powerful performance". For the orchestral music to fit onto the Nintendo DS at a high quality, Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn was shipped on a 4-gigabit game card.

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