The release of Kingdom Hearts III is still a little over a month away, but you can now experience how the adventure begins, as Square Enix has released the game’s opening movie. It’s mostly a recap of the Kingdom Hearts story so far, but the cinematics are all new and very pretty.
We also get to hear Hikaru Utada and Skrillex’s new theme song “Face Your Fears” in English for the first time. Utada was originally going to do a remix of her song “Oath” for Kingdom Hearst III, but eventually elected to do a whole new tune. How does the new Kingdom Hearts theme stack up against past ones? I’ll leave that for you to decide – you can check out the trailer below.
Here’s a longer, Japanese version of the theme for you.
Skrillex, a long-time fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, shares a close friendship with Hikaru Utada, which fostered the original collaboration, Face My Fears, to celebrate the game’s release. Set to be released on January 18, 2019, the track has been produced in collaboration with Poo Bear, the acclaimed record producer who previously produced Justin Bieber’s multi-platinum selling single, “What Do You Mean?”
Kingdom Hearts III was first announced back in 2013, but development, led by perfectionist series creator Tetsuya Nomura, has been slow-moving and shrouded in mystery. Trailers were released in 2014 and 2015, and it was anticipated Kingdom Hearts III might release sometime in 2015, but then all news about the game dried up. Thankfully, but the game resurfaced at last year’s D23 Expo, and we’re now only weeks away from it’s long-anticipated release.
Kingdom Hearts III will feature one of the latest selecton of Disney-inspired Worlds yet, including ones based on Tangled, Big Hero 6, Hercules, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Frozen, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Once you’re done watching the trailer above, why not check out recent ones featuring Monsters Inc., Frozen, and Big Hero 6?
Kingdom Hearts III brings the magic to Xbox One and PS4 on January 29, 2019.
