With the gaming community still high off the rush of the Game Awards and the peak of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate mania, Square Enix wasted no time at all in turning the spotlight onto its next big release in the gaming world. As the first important release of 2019, and one that was 5 years in the making, Kingdom Hearts 3 has been on everyone’s radar since its announcement at E3 2013. Now that the game has gone gold, the marketing campaign for the anticipated JRPG has begun in full force.
To celebrate its release in about a month’s time as well as garner hype before the year’s end grinds the news cycles to a halt, the company has released the cinematic opening movie trailer for the game, coupled with a brand-new theme song from returning J-Pop sensation Hikaru Utada and her unlikely partnership with the one and only Skrillex. Produced by Poo Bear and titled “Face My Fears”, the song follows a long-held Kingdom Hearts tradition of a Hikaru Utada song acting as the melodic backdrop to the opening sequence of the game.
The trailer itself showcases truly awe-inspiring visuals, with gorgeous animation and some of the most polished character CGI the franchise has ever seen. The acclaimed Kingdom Hearts franchise has always been known for its diverse cast of familiar Disney icons and quirky but charming original cast. To that end, Square Enix has crafted the opening movie to feature a montage of the characters gamers have come to know and love, while showcasing various action sequences in all their jaw-dropping fluidity.
With the EDM-inspired beats mixed with Utada’s impressive-as-always vocals, the video gives off more of a music video vibe than a cinematic video game sequence. Whether this novel experience for the series is welcome or not is up to personal interpretation by fans of the beloved franchise.
Kingdom Hearts 3 releases January 29, 2019 for the Xbox One and PS4. Though it won’t launch in time for the holiday season, gamers will still have a plethora of games from the end of 2018 to tide them over.