Who is the main composer for the Kingdom Hearts series?

Yoko Shimomura is the main composer for the Kingdom Hearts series. Her music helped establish the series’ emotional identity, blending orchestral writing, piano, choral textures, and recurring character themes.

Shimomura composed the score for the original Kingdom Hearts, released in 2002, while working at Square. After leaving the company and becoming a freelancer, she continued composing for the series across its major installments, including Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III.

Her best-known Kingdom Hearts pieces include “Dearly Beloved,” “Destati,” and “Traverse Town.” “Dearly Beloved” serves as the series’ signature menu theme and has been rearranged repeatedly for later games and concerts.

Other composers have contributed to individual entries and arrangements, and Hikaru Utada performs the games’ famous theme songs. Those contributions do not change Shimomura’s status as the series’ principal composer.