Soundtrack
The Music in Little King's Story is comprised of various arrangements of classical music. Yoko Shimomura arranged "Bolero" as the main theme of the game and Yutaka Minobe used her score as a guideline for the rest of the soundtrack. [1] After Bolero, "Carmen Habanera" and either "Mars: Bringer of War" or "Dance of the Knights" were the next two songs completed for the game. An early version of the Habanera remix can be heard in one of the first trailers for the game.
All pieces of music used were in the Public Domain upon Little King's Story's release in 2009, with the exception of the game's opening song, "Bolero," and "Rhapsody in Blue," which would not officially become Public Domain in the United States until May 1st 2016 and January 1st 2020 respectively, although their use were perfectly legal under Japanese copyright law at the time of the game's release.
With the exception of six songs, there are no official names for the pieces.
As of May 2021, every main piece of used music has been identified, except for one: the music that plays in the Dark Valley and the Skull Plains. The search for the classical origin behind this music has become one of Little King's Story's most famous unsolved mysteries, earning it the nickname DVSP.
Songs
This song list is ordered according to where the music appears in the game's files.
| # | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| LKS 00 | Title Screen & Ending Credits | Ravel, Maurice "Bolero" |
| LKS 01 | Throne | Sousa, John Philip "Semper Fidelis" |
| LKS 02 | Watchtower | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(The Nutcracker) March" |
| LKS 03 | End of Day | Dvorák, Antonín "Humoresque No. 7 |
| LKS 05 | A New Chapter | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(The Nutcracker) Dance Of The Mirlitons" |
| LKS 06 | Princess's Theme | Elgar, Edward "Salut d' Amour" |
| LKS 07 | Celebration in the Castle | Strauss, Johan II "Voices of Spring" |
| LKS 08 | Journey to Space | Saint-Saëns, Camille "Carnival of the Animals, The Swan" |
| LKS 09 | Soup Church | Bach, Johann Sebastian "Air on the G String" |
| LKS 10 | Funeral | Giazotto, Remo "Adagio in G Minor" |
| LKS 11 | Festival | Verdi, Giuseppe "(La Traviata) Drinking Song" |
| LKS 12 | Paying Verde | Strauss, Johann "Annen-Polka" |
| LKS 13 | Loitering on the Bridge / Paying Liam | Mahler, Gustav "Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Titan), 2nd Movement" |
| LKS 14 | Howser's Theme | Bizet, Georges "(Carmen) Toreador Song" |
| LKS 15 | Skinny Ray's Theme | Satie, Erik "Le Picadilly" |
| LKS 16 | Kampbell's Theme
"Soup, Sin, And Salvation" |
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(Swan Lake) Dance of the Little Swans" |
| LKS 17 | Guardian Battle | Rossini, Gioacchino "(William Tell) Overture" |
| LKS 18 | Vs. Onii King
"March Of The Onii" |
Satie, Erik "Gnossienne No.1" |
| LKS 19 | Vs. King Duvroc | Bizet, Georges "(Carmen) Habanera" |
| LKS 20 | Vs. King Shishkebaboo
"Bon Apeti!" |
Paganini, Niccolò / Liszt, Franz "La Campanella" |
| LKS 21 | Vs. King Omelet | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(The Nutcracker) Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" |
| LKS 22 | Vs. TV Dinnah | Gershwin, George "Rhapsody In Blue" |
| LKS 23 | Vs. King Long Sauvage | Holst, Gustav "(The Planets) Mars, the
Bringer of War" |
| LKS 24 | Vs. King Jumbo Champloon | Offenbach, Jacques "(Orpheus In The Underworld) InfernalGallop" |
| LKS 25 | Vs. Final Boss | Mussorgsky, Modest "Night On Bald Mountain" |
| LKS 26 | Corobo's Forest | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral Symphony) 5th movement" |
| LKS 27 | First & Second Castle | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 4th Movement - Rondo" |
| LKS 28 | Third Castle | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 3rd Movement - Menuetto" |
| LKS 29 | Alpoko Kingdom 2 | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 9, 3rd Movement (Adagio molto e
cantabile)" |
| LKS 30 | Alpoko Kingdom 1 | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement (Presto; Allegro molto assai)" |
| LKS 31 | Alpoko Kingdom (Unused) | Boccherini, Luigi "Minuet" |
| LKS 33 | Beach (Evening) | Debussy, Claude "Claire de Lune" |
| LKS 36 | Outskirts / Sunflower Plains | Schubert, Franz "Marche Militaire" |
| LKS 37 | Dark Valley / Skull Plains | ???
For more information, see DVSP |
| LKS 38 | Ripe Kingdom | Verdi, Giuseppe "(Rigoletto) La Donna È Mobile" |
| LKS 39 | ???
[Likely an unused Ripe Kingdom theme] |
Strauss, Johann II "The Blue Danube" |
| LKS 40 | Worrywart Kingdom
"To Be Or Not To Be" |
Dvorák, Antonín "Slavonic Dance No. 2" |
| LKS 41 | Primetime Kingdom | Gershwin, George "Rhapsody In Blue" |
| LKS 42 | Tiptoe Kingdom
"It's a Stretch" |
Mahler, Gustav "Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Titan), 3rd Movement" |
| LKS 43 | New Island | Debussy, Claude "(Children's Corner) Cakewalk" |
| LKS 44 | World of God | Bach, Johann Sebastian "Goldberg Variations, Aria" |
| LKS 45 | Unused opening cutscene theme | Mendelssohn, Felix "Spring Song" |
| LKS 46 | ???
[Likely an unused cutscene theme] |
Handel, George Frideric "Overture, Royal Fireworks Music" |
| LKS 47 | Introduction to Castle | Elgar, Edward "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1" |
| LKS 48 | Onii King Appears | Satie, Erik "Gnossienne No.1" |
| LKS 49 | King Duvroc Appears | Noh |
| LKS 50 | King Shishkebaboo Appears | Sarasate, Pablo de "Aires gitanos/Zigeunerweisen" |
| LKS 55 | King Jumbo Champloon Appears | Dvorák, Antonín "Symphony No. 9 (New World
Symphony)" |
| LKS 56 | Huge Earthquake | Verdi, Giuseppe "Dies Irae (Requiem)" |
| LKS 57 | Flying Machine Unveiled | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, Finale Allegro vivacissimo" |
| LKS 58 | Decision (Ending) | Bach, Johann Sebastian "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" |
| LKS 59 | Final Boss Appears | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 5" |
| LKS 60 | ???
[Likely an unused credits theme] |
Mendelssohn, Felix "Spring Song" |
| LKS 61 | King Defeated | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "(Requiem Mass) Dies Irae" |
| LKS 62 | A Princess is Saved | Satie, Erik "Je te veux" |
| LKS 64 | Meetings and Voting(Cutscene) | Schubert, Franz "D257, Heidenröslein" |
| LKS 64B | UMA Over the River | Chopin, Frederic "Polonaise Op. 40, No. 1 (Military Polonaise)" |
| LKS 64L | Meetings and Voting (Loop) | Schubert, Franz "D257, Heidenröslein" |
| LKS 65 | Jolly Kingdom | Noh |
| LKS ?? | Introduction to Castle | Elgar, Edward "Pomp and Circumstance No. 1" |
The music that plays during the cutscene where Howser receives the decisions is Grieg, Edvard "Piano Concerto in A minor."
LKS 31 plays during some unused events, which suggest that it was an early Castle theme.
LKS 39 may be an unused Ripe Kingdom theme, given that the "Blue Danube" is used as the Ripe Kingdom theme in New Little King's Story, and due to its placement.
Jingles
Several minor jingles throughout Little King's Story are callbacks to motifs from various pieces of music.
| # | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| JIN 00 | "Congratulations on defeating..." | Mahler, Gustav "Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Titan), 1st Movement" |
| JIN 01 | Jump to Castle / Got God Memo | Mahler, Gustav "Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Titan), 1st Movement" |
| JIN 02 | Sleeping | |
| JIN 03 | Waking Up | |
| JIN 04 | Wii Channel preview / Minor Quest complete | Mahler, Gustav "Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Titan), 1st Movement" |
| JIN 05 | Airship down / Lost race | |
| JIN 06 | ||
| JIN 07 | Alpoko Morning News | |
| JIN 08 | End of Day | |
| JIN 09 | End of Funeral | |
| JIN 10 | ||
| JIN 11 | Marriage / Animal Saved | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(The Nutcracker) Tea, Chinese song" |
| JIN 12 | ||
| JIN 13 | Lose in table tennis | |
| sys 39 | Art piece collected / Structure built / Generated Quest complete | |
| sys 40 | Changing job class | |
| sys 41 | Exchanging for Bol Kondo, Koji | "Super Mario Bros - Overworld" |
To Be Found
- Run Away / Tune collected - ???
- Guardian defeated - ???
Tunesmith Songs
Director and producer Yoshiro Kimura found funny that people usually can hum the very first part of a classical piece but very soon after that they'll deviate and start making up the rest of the song, so he invited some of his foreign friends and asked them to hum a classical tune and attempt to remember its name: these are the ones that appear in the game. [2]
| Game Name | Origin |
|---|---|
| Brace Yourself! | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement" |
| Camellia Hag's Song | Verdi, Giuseppe "La Traviata, Drinking Song" |
| Brave New World | Dvorák, Antonín "Symphony No. 9 (New World Symphony)" |
| Probably a Bolero | Ravel, Maurice "Bolero" |
| Fee Fi Fo Hum Walk | Debussy, Claude "Golliwog's Cakewalk" |
| I Like Food! | Strauss, Johann Jr "The Blue Danube" |
| Tadah! | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 5" |
| Springtime for Bozos | Vivaldi, Antonio "Four Seasons, 1st Concerto Spring" |
| How Much Art? | Mussorgsky, Modest "Pictures at an Exhibition" |
| March of the Lost | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "Piano Sonata No. 11 (Rondo Alla Turca)" |
| Moonlight Sonata | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata)" |
| I Want That | Satie, Erik "Je te veux" |
| At My Job | Albinoni, Tomaso "Adagio in G Minor" |
| Tom's Restaurant | Strauss, Johann II "The Blue Danube" |
| Eggan of the Past | Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich "(The Nutcracker) Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" |
| Green Jelly | Khachaturian, Aram "Sabre Dance" |
| Twinkle Twinkle Star | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman (Twinkle twinkle Little Star)" |
| Pastorale | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata)" |
| Wish | Borodin, Alexander "Prince Igor - Polovtsian Dances" |
| Fostering Gang Wars | Paganini, Niccolò "Caprice No. 24" |
| You're Cala-mine | Grieg, Edvard "(Peer Gynt) Morning Mood" |
| Cut and Run | Bizet, Georges, "Menuet, L'Arlésienne No. 2" |
| Insomniac Lullaby | Schubert, Franz "Wiegenlied" |
| Address Unknown | Chopin, Frederic "Nocturne" |
| Jovial Ganymede | Holst, Gustav "(The Planets) Jupiter, the
Bringer of Jollity" |
| Hi, You're Dead | Chopin, Frederic "Funeral March" |
| Nostalgia | Fauré, Gabriel "Sicilienne" |
| Tipopo's Rhapsody | Gershwin, George "Rhapsody In Blue" |
| Hope this is Goodbye | Verdi, Giuseppe "(Rigoletto) La Donna È Mobile" |
| This is Destiny | Beethoven, Ludwig Van "Symphony No. 5" |
Gallery
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--Opening Credits
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--Title Screen
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--Intro
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--A Grand Palace
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--On the Throne
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--Meeting With Howser
- Little King's Story Soundtrack--The End of the First Day
- To Be Or Not To Be - Little King's Story Soundtrack
- Soup, Sin, And Salvation - Little King's Story Soundtrack
- March Of The Onii - Little King's Story Soundtrack
- It's A Sketch - Little King's Story Soundtrack
- Bon Apeti! - Little King's Story Soundtrack