The music from this game is INSANE!!! DON'T FORGET! For more LIVE reactions and ANIME watch-alongs as well as BIG GIVEAWAYS be sure to be following me on TWITCH! www.twitch.tv/gotgames_tb 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜 Also, all UNBLURRED reactions are uploaded early to PATREON! www.patreon.com/gotgames 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Kingdom Hearts is, literally, Disney classics meet Final Fantasy. The plot of the first game was Sora, the hero, has seen his home town in a hawaiian island be swallowed by darkness, and is looking for his missing friends, Riku and Kairi. While on another planet, Knight master Goofy and Royal Sorceror Donald discover King Mickey has gone missing, but has left them instructions to find the keeper of the "key-sword", a weapon that will save all worlds, and help whomever has it... and Sora is that person. As for the different worlds, in the first game you visit classic Disney animation movies as worlds: Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Hercules, etc; while teaming up with characters like Jack Slkellington, Simba, Mushu, Ariel, the Beast... By the third game, the history had gone very convoluted because a dozen of side games in mobile phones and hand consoles were also canon to the plot, but Disney had opened their vaults more, allowing movies like Frozen, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tangled and Big Hero 6 to also be open for visit...
The awesome thing about the artist Utada Hikaru is that she is a fluent bilingual artist. She made two versions of 'Simple and Clean' and 'Sanctuary', a fast redition that you heard and a slow one that plays at the end of the game. On top of that she made both versions in English and Japanese. Also for this video they made it after to match the song perfectly which is why it is most people's favorite.
Would be cool to see reactions for all the opening animations. You heard the PlantiB remix of "Simple and Clean" from Kingdom Hearts 1 but didn't see the animatic. There's also animations for KH2 (which you just saw) KH Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage, X Backcover, and of course KH 3. Kingdom Hearts 3 has both a new opening, called "Face My Fears", and a ending called "Don't Think Twice". There's also a remixed version of "Simple and Clean"used in "A Fragmentary Passage". All openings for the series use one of these four songs. All the songs are by Utada Hikari, who sings them all in both their English and Japanese versions. On a side note: the games DO all have story. A common mistake for newer players is to think the side titles are unimportant- they're not. Every game adds to the story in ways that'll get you confused if you skip even a single title. That said, if you're ever interested, the best order for the games to be played/watched/reacted to is this- KH 1 KH Re: Chain of Memories* KH 2 KH 358/2 Days* KH Birth By Sleep KH Re:Coded* KH Dream Drop Distance KH 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage KH X Backcover* KH Union X* KH 3 (+Re:Mind DLC) KH Melody of Memory *: Watching is highly recommended over playing
"Why is there so much emotional weight in this?" Kingdom Hearts is an incredibly emotional story, the literal plot of the story revolves around emotions and feelings
"does kingdom hearts have story" he asks 😂 Kingdom hearts franchise has some of the most story of any game 😂 it is convoluted and complex if your looking from the outside but very emotional and fulfilling if your going through them in context. The characters really sell everything about kingdom hearts through all the games
I’ve played every KH game and I’ve stopped caring about the story after BBS. The convoluted story is one thing but I hate how they handled the characters in KH3. A lot of characters seem to have character regression rather than development. Sora is dumber and less mature, Riku is more robotic, Kairi is back to being a damsel in distress despite being a Keyblade Master, Axel is comic relief, etc. I still think the gameplay is great though and it’s the only thing that brings me back, especially the Limit Cut DLC.
Fun fact: The weird lyrics you hear are sung in reverse - "I need more affection than you know" "So many ups and downs" "I need true emotions" All of these have a lot of meaning when put into the context of the game.
"Why is there so much emotional weight in this?!" Sanctuary really just has that effect on people. The song, coupled with the visuals is just masterful storytelling by itself. I love that it got to you to this point even when you have 0 context for the Kingdom Hearts series. That's really just a testament to the power Sanctuary and the KHII opening in general hold.
Sanctuary didn't hold me as much as the other two because I did not know Chain of Memories was canon and didn't have a Gameboy Advance SP. And since KH2 takes place after Chain of Memories, the opening confused me. But Face My Fears had me in tears with everything shown on screen.
Seriously though. When I found out that the kid from The Sixth Sense is the voice of our boy Sora, you could've knocked me over with a 🪶. I was just as shocked when I found out that Roxas is voiced by Jesse McCartney. I ❤ his music!!!!
Yes Kingdom Hearts has a complex story. It is no accident that you were able to feel all the emotion from the story up to this point in the series either. The visuals for that intro was made to get you caught up emotionally with the events of Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories without spoiling anything. If that was enough to get you close to tears then the games just might get you there.
“Why am I feeling things?!” Yeah this series just does that. Despite being a series about going through Disney movies, every KH game has a touch (or a mountain) of tragedy to it.
welcome to kingdom hearts, the game full of colorful and funny/cute disney characters that will absolutely gut punch you and make you cry from overwhelming emotions while making you face existential questions about life, self, and morality
its mind blowing to me as a kingdom hearts fan that someone who has never even played the games can feel this strongly about the opening - dw, we all tear up everytime :')
@@yukifoxdemondid the same thing as you 😂 saw it at a target or something and thought it looked freaking cool, needless to say I was so confused but grew to love it cause all of the characters are amazing and the gameplay was so fun
Kingdom Hearts is a beautiful series. The characters and relationships involved are extremely emotional, and it's done and portrayed really well. I probably end up crying at some point in every game. The story is simple on the surface, but super complex beyond that. The distinctions between different kinds of creatures, and the motives/goals of various villains gets messy. But the hero's basic story of "Save your friends" is the kind of classic, heartfelt story that makes it all worthwhile, even if the messy, complex stuff ends up making no sense to you. Perhaps the biggest drawback to the series is that, you really need to start at the beginning and work your way through all the games to really understand what's going on in the later games, so it can be kinda daunting to a newcomer. But it's worth it.
As someone who just ended the series a couple of weeks ago, playing every game for the first time, I completely agree, I started playing it at 24-25 years old, but somehow, the games make you feel nostalgia even if you didn't play them as a kid, it was totally worth to play through this adventure
It's so much easier now that all of the games are on PC. It used to be scattered among like 5 different consoles and it was incredibly difficult to be able to play every game.
Kingdom Hearts is my favorite game series of all time. It can get confusing at times but if you play all the games it DOES make sense. One thing for certain though, KH is incredibly emotional. It hits me in the feels every time and as an adult man still manages to make me cry. Its very deep and intense at times. There is nothing like this game series.
11:32 There are 3 main Kingdom Hearts opening songs + some variants of those. But there are more Openings that's worth the watch, it could be fun for you to see them back to back in order and have you guess what would be the story x) The correct order (release order) would be : KH 1 KH 2 KH Birth by Sleep KH Dream Drop Distance KH 0.2 : Fragmentary Passage KH 3 I didn't put in the less cinematics intros.
KH 0.2 : Fragmentary Passage is a personal favorite of mine since I actually put Birth by Sleep as my favorite KH game right now to Dream Drop Distance.
@@johnathanchittester2240 He was talking about the openings, and specifically said that he left out the less cinematic ones. 358/2 days has the least cinematic opening.
The original Japanese version of this track is INSANE. It has a standalone music video and I highly recommend checking it out. It's called "Passion" by Utada Hikaru. As for KH's storyline, it's very involved, but deceptively so. Each game truly doesn't have THAT much story, it's just very spread out over the course of many levels because of how they incorporate Disney worlds into the gameplay. (The exception to that being the X series on mobile devices - that's ALL story.) They inflate the story by having it scattered across so many games, so you tend to forget details between installments and it comes off as more confusing that it probably is in reality. KH2 was outstanding, though, and will stand out as a classic in the RPG genre for decades.
The problem is that the main numbered installments cover like 15% of the story, they've fixed it some with the re-releases adding more cross content, but it's still pretty jarring to start kh2 as an established character that wasn't even named in kh1
@@Ytinasniiable I once made a comment that I thought KH3 didn't have enough of the main story for my liking, because I knew Re:Mind was coming out. I was crucified by fans. The re-imports and expansions should NOT contain the main bulk of the plot.
@@TigStripe Well... to be fair they did release every game before the re-imports which frankly speaking the Remaster took away more content than it gave. Then there’s the mobile games which are super important for story but not made for console only fans. The new one coming out might be though.
@@calebgoodman3028 This is all just evidence that the story direction was pretty garbled through the first arc of the series. It's okay. It's still a good story. It just wasn't delivered in a great way. Remember: criticizing something doesn't mean you don't like it, just that you can identify flaws, maybe things you'd like to see improved in the future.
Passion / Sanctuary are the same tracks just japanese to english counterparts. Due to Hikaru embracing their origin in both their american and japanese roots.
If you have the time, check out all Japanese versions of the Kingdom Heart openings. Utada always sings two versions of the openings, one in Japanese and other in English. She is fantastic in both languages.
Gotta know... I am actually kinda afraid on the third, i didn´t really look into it apart from the first world i think? Can you guys tell me if i should go for it, or just keep my nostalgia lenses on and ignore the third?
@@FabiTheSnake Now that it has been patched to improve certain aspects of the gameplay, I'd highly recommend a critical mode playthrough of the game with attraction flow turned off. Just uh... don't think too hard about the plot.
@@GOTGames also the simple and clean song has 4-5 official remixs that were made for other KH games also there are also songs in the game you should listen to like Vector to the Heavens
As a BIG kingdom hearts fan, I’m so glad a nice RU-vidr like you is reacting to this masterpiece of music. You should definitely play the games! For your question the game story based rpg and it has a lot of plot twists and interesting mechanics.
The fact that you feel that much emotion from simply watching the intros tells me that you'll absolutely break playing through the games like most of us.
right. i half regret showing the series to some of my friends because holy shit they all end up broken afterwards and then blame me for introducing them to Emotional Damage™ The Video Game
I've been a Kingdom Hearts fan for 15 years now, and it's always so nice to see people finding and reacting to the series. And Kingdom Hearts 2 has a very special place in my heart and the opening always makes me cry. But yeah please react to the KH3 Opening and Birth By Sleep! I'd love to see that.
I’m surprised Luke didn’t say anything about Donald and Goofy fighting monsters. Fighting alongside Disney characters against monsters and bad guys is one of the best parts about the games.
Fun fact the entire series only was possible to be created because Tetsuya Nomura(the director of the series) happened to go in the same elevator as a Disney executive and was able to tell that executive his idea which then the executive brought it to Disney’s other executives and they liked the idea, so the entire creation of the series relied on him going in that elevator
It's funny, you said that you were on the verge of tears, and I was chocking up a bit at that moment. The ending of KH3 actually did make me cry. For those wondering, it was the reuniting of the Twilight Town group that made me cry. The ones who probably went through the most in the story. Which is saying a lot.
Best part for me was the scene where Sora & Kairi hold hands and the lyrics sing "i want you for a lifetime", while they look into each others eyes and the snap happens
They really did. That’s one of the reasons why I like people playing 358/2 Days instead of just watching the cutscenes in the all-in-one package. The cutscenes do help show their bond and how much they mean to each other, but the parts of the game they leave out just adds even more onto the bond that really helps drive home their friendship even more. (Plus you get to see the ‘Roxas…that’s a stick’ line and get to beat up Saix (which was cathartic in that game))
One thing I will say, that I'm sure others have mentioned, is that you should definitely look up the lyrics of the original Japanese versions of the song. UTADA (who is Japanese-American) co-wrote and sung all of her songs, then localized them in English. I say "localized" because while they are set to the same melody, the meaning of the lyrics are totally different. They are thematically similar, and that each song for each game is about different stages of relationship, but the English and Japanese are talking about two totally different relationships. So for each game you have: -1st intro : "Simple and Clean" (English) / "Hikari" ( "光" which lit. means "light" Japanese). It should also be noted there's a reprisal version Which is a ballod (kind of like Sanctuary), and a bunch of remixes which are each amazing. -2nd intro: "Sanctuary" (English) / "Passion" (JP-but she gave it an English title. It also has a full single version from her album, this version has an extended and the translated lyrics are so beautiful.). As I'm sure other people have mentioned by now, the parts of this song are actually sung in reverse. It's a fun little Easter egg. -3rd Intro: "Face my Fears" (Both English and JP share the same title for the first time). This is reflected by the fact that parts of the JP version use a lot of English for the main chorus, so the only difference in the lyrics are the parts that are japanese. -KH3 other main theme/Ending song: "Don't Think Twice" / "Chikai" ("誓い" colloquially translated as "Oath"). Like what the first songs, Don't Think Twice and Chikai share the same Melody and rhythm, are thematically about commitment and promises, but the lyrics are vastly different as are the approach and the meaning behind each song. Which is again, because each song in the franchise is a progression of the previous.
At least when it comes to Hikari, she has gone on record saying she wrote it in English and then tried to find a way to keep the flow and meaning in the Japanese localization.
kingdom hearts is a very story driven franchise its is very complex to the point that it even has spin off game that take part in the story as well as an amazing lore for a game that started off as a way of combining Disney and Final Fantasy it has come a long way I would really love to see you play it as it is not only my favorite video game but also the fanchise that got me in the video games
I remember watching this opening at Walmart when this game came out back when they had the PS2 on in the store. I immediately begged my mom to purchase KH1. After that, I got KH2 for my birthday the next year. This opening was the beginning of literally who I am today. I started liking anime because the characters were drawn like Sora. I started watching YuYu Hakusho on Toonami and Inuyasha on Adult Swim. Naruto was the first anime that I started watching at the same time as everyone else and the rest is history. I started playing Final Fantasy X and X2. I began playing more games that were square enix or like square enix games. The foundation of my life started with accidentally seeing this opening in the Walmart gaming section while my mom was talking to her friend from work.
Seeing the Keyblade flooded my brain with so much nostalgia I cried. This game series was really the building blocks of a lot of my childhood memories.
Tales of series each game has beautiful animne openings . Singing as well and it gets better over the years u go through . Also the openings give a glance at major characters u will have in party and usually the main villian.
Utada Hikaru does the opening themes to all 3 mainline kingdom hearts games as well as remixes that are used in several of the spin-off titles. She also did the opening for the current season of an anime called "To Your Eternity", with the opening being called "Pink Blood". I highly suggest checking that out as well. Honestly everything by her is amazing.
Luke, the you've heard the vocalist Hikaru Utada before but this is another entirely different side of her musically. She did the OP song Pink Blood for the anime To Your Eternity. You're right she's an amazingly emotional singer.
Love that the emotion is coming through so well in the opening. Warning though, if you get this close to tearing up from the opening, better have some tissue boxes close when you actually play the games :D
I love how the opening shows all the drama from the first game and a half. You can see the three friends fighting for each other, against each other, loosing themselves, and their reunions ever more bitter than sweet. But the music is what really sells it. 7:10 Without context, it kinda looks like they died, or their story ended, and we’re set up with new character and story that takes place in the same world whose life is impacted from the events of the previous game. But that’s not what happens, the three friend’s stories from the video are not over and this new guy is just another part of it.
Kingdom Hearts’ story can get very deep and involved, but it’s great at tugging on your heartstrings. If you’re thinking about playing the series, I’d heavily recommend it! The whole thing has been released as one big collection, too, so it’s really easy to get your hands on a TON of content. Still one of my favorite series ever!
I could give you a prolonged analysis of the chorus from a music theory perspective on why it creates that emotional reaction - but effectively it is an incredibly well written song and the vocals are fantastic. I also teared up listening to it, still do, and have never played any of the games
Also, if you enjoy KH openings then I HIGHLY recommend reacting to Persona openings as well. Persona has some of the best music in the industry. Also, a bit of a curveball suggestion here but I'd also recommend checking out music from the Sonic series. Sonic is known for having ridiculously good music for no good reason and Sonic Frontiers which just came out recently is no exception and has some of the best music in the series. Specifically, the boss themes from Sonic Frontiers features some absolutely phenomenal heavy metal.
This was my very first introduction to the realm that is "Kingdom Hearts" on the PS2 when I was 8. When I tell you hearing this song invokes BODY goosebumps I am not exaggerating. SO glad you are reacting to the openings.
love the reaction! as everyone has said hope you do the other opening but would also love to see a reaction to the home screen music "dearly beloved" it's a beautiful piano song
I love Seeing people experience the story of Kingdom Hearts, and if you nearly teared up at just the op then you have to play it. You can get the whole series with just one purchase, called the all in one package, or the story so far.
I honestly think you would be blown away by the emotional depth of the story of Kingdom hearts, and should definitely give it a try. Also the first Opening you just listened to; I think you should check out the first games opening and see how well the song itself meshes with the opening song like this one does
She also does a Anime Opening song - To your Eternity - amazing anime so far and the song is so good it’s used for both first and second second of the anime
to answer your question, yes, Kingdom Hearts has a storyline, a story which for me has kept me held tight since i discovered this series as a kid in 2006. A lot of people say the story is confusing but i don't think it's all that hard to understand if you play all the games in order of release. For Kingdom Hearts 3 there are two songs, "Face my fears" by Skrillex and Utada Hikaru(a duo i never expected to see for this series) and "Don't think twice" by Utada Hikaru.
This is my fav song in the whole kingdom hearts saga. Even after all these years since 2006 when kh2 came out i get teary. I prefer it in japanese but still love this song. Video is showing a recap of kingdom hearts 1 and chain of memories. There is a lot of side games.
Your reaction almost had me emotional over here. I'm replaying the first Kingdom Hearts game right now and it's been a blast. It's an action based role-playing game where you are put in the very big shoes of Sora, an island boy who wants to explore new worlds with his friends Riku and Kairi. Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy are given a mission by King Mickey to find the key bearer and stick with them. That's the general set up for what will turn into a wild experience you will never forget if you choose to play the game at any point. It is a ride of feels from start to finish. And that's just the first game, don't even get me started on the others. This was a great video! Best wishes and God bless you!
Loved this! Your reaction is pretty much what I had the first time I saw this game opening, it's what got me into wanting to play Kingdom Hearts so much. I felt so emotional and excited by how intense the story looked, and Utada hikarus amazing voice and this big anime style opening to a video game just dragged me right in.
When Sora (main character) was the last added character to Smash Brothers, the whole gaming world lost their minds! And for good reason! If you are interested, there are some reaction mash ups on it that is fantastic too.
one of my all time favorite series. it hold a special place in my heart. My dad got me this game when i was like 10 and i instantly fell in love with it and we always played together and he watched me play.. he recently passed but i hold those memories so close. he def put me on to kingdomhearts
Yes, Kingdom Hearts is a JRPG series, basically, and there's a big (somewhat complicated, as things go on) overarching storyline. The KH2 opening is actually recapping the story of the first game and the actual second game (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories).
Oh yeah, and Kingdom Hearts in general is REALLY GOOD at pulling your heartstrings and then stomping on them. :) And since you talk about being amazed by video game music, has anybody recommended MarcoMeatball to you? He's another youtuber that does reactions but he used to be an opera singer and does some great analysis about the language of the music and talks a lot about how so much video game music could be played in a symphony hall right along with classic music and belong there.
I'd refer to it more as an Action RPG. JRPG (at least to me) implies older styles, like turn based combat, random encounters, and maybe some other stuff that doesn't particularly apply to Kingdom Hearts.
It's interesting to see someone with no context of the series and is able to tear up like that. Goes to show how well the opening was made. I remember when I first watched this, I only knew what happened in kh1 and it made me cry seeing the ending. This opening is definitely what I consider the best one, and that momment has always stuck with me even just a decade later. It's kept me curious about the series and finally hop back in during the kh3 hype. I don't regret investing into the series one bit. This song is a masterpiece.
Hikaru Utada is such a great singer. You should check the japanese versions of the KH openings too, called "Hikari" (Simple and Clean) and "Passion" (Sanctuary). The music video for the latter is pretty good too. I would also recommend checking out "Beautiful World" from Rebuild of Evangelion
Man I really feel you, first time I watched this opening I also teared up even though it was my first time discovering the game I'd really love to see you react to more Kingdom Hearts! The game itself is also really enjoyable if you ever have time to dive into it!
Yeah, get to the third one, and if you want more awesome videogame music, try the openings for Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2.... and from that later game, "concert at the lightningstorm plains", that was emotional as hell...
If you don't mind some spoilers definitely watch the endings too, the music hits differently with the ending scenes! Hikaru Utada is a great artist and it really speaks for her that she did both endings and openings in japanese and english. And yes, Kingdom Hearts has a Storyline though the release order of the games does not align with the story. The Order should be KH Union Cross (mobile Game) KH birth by sleep +BBS 1.5 KH KH Chain of Memories KH 358/2 days KH 2 KH re:coded KH 3D (dream drop distance) KH3 Hope I haven't forgotten any
This is quite an impressive list of the Kingdom hearts series in chronological order but there is some more games that isn't in the list so here is the full Kingdom hearts series in chronological order as of 6th may 2023: 1. Kingdom hearts union X back cover 2. Kingdom hearts union X 3. Kingdom hearts missing link 4. Kingdom hearts dark road 5. Kingdom hearts birth by sleep 6. Kingdom hearts ( kh1 ) 7. Kingdom hearts 358/2 days 8. Kingdom hearts re:chain of memories 9. Kingdom hearts 2 10. Kingdom hearts re:coded 11. Kingdom hearts Dream drop distance 12. Kingdom hearts 0.2 a fragmentary passage 13. Kingdom hearts 3 14. Kingdom hearts 3 re:mind ( kh3 dlc ) 15. Kingdom hearts melody of memory 16. Kingdom hearts 4 A few notes as to why i have made the list like this: Spoilers Note 1 - Kingdom hearts union X back cover is NOT a mobile game it is a movie that is included in the kingdom hearts 2.8 final chapter prologue collection Note 2 - Kingdom hearts union X, missing link and dark road ARE all mobile Kingdom hearts games ( union X and dark road are already out now but missing link is supposed to be releasing sometime in 2023 ) Note 3 - Kingdom hearts re:chain of memories and 358/2 days both take place at the same time so it doesn't matter which one out those 2 you play first. Kingdom hearts 358/2 days takes place first but Kingdom hearts re:chain of memories finishes first Note 4 - Kingdom hearts 0.2 a fragmentary passage follows the story of aqua while she was in the realm of darkness meaning the game takes place immediately after Kingdom hearts birth by sleep BUT at the start mickey is telling yen sid, riku and kairi about the time aqua was in the realm of darkness and at the very end of 0.2 a fragmentary passage sora, Donald and goofy arrive in yen sids tower and is told sora has lost the power of waking because of some stuff that happened in dream drop distance so i think Kingdom hearts 0.2 a fragmentary passage takes place immediately before Kingdom hearts 3 as mickey is telling the story and sora lost the power of waking which is where Kingdom hearts 3 picks up Note 5 - Kingdom hearts 4 is not out yet it is currently being rumoured to release sometime in 2024 or 2025
ohh man this was great. made me feel like i was watching it all over again for the first time!!! loved your reaction to it! and these games absolutely can make you cry your eyeballs dry if you care about the characters enough~
If you're looking for a very emotionally charged series of games that has fun gameplay, loveable characters, and scenes that can make a grown man cry then look no further than Kingdom Hearts! KH2 in particular is my favorite in the series.
I like how you knew nothing about the game but were close to crying because of the beautiful song and video. Reminds me of my own first reaction to KH2 opening years ago.
Kingdom Hearts does have a story but it’s incredible complicated an intertwined with every game that gets released like some things in 1 game might not make since until you play the next game but story wise the 1st game is pretty simple to understand and straight forward for the most part but every game after that it will confuse you so much there’s still some things I’m still trying to figure out and I played the game all the way back when it 1st came out on the PS2 they also just finished the 1st Saga of them game a few years ago and now moving on to the next Saga when Kingdom Hearts 4 comes out. They are up to about 10 or 11 Kingdom Hearts games now. Also most of what your seeing in this OP happened in Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts Re Chain Of Memories. You should definitely play the games if you really want to know what happened because it is just so hard to try and explain everything to you
Also, some small information, the artist Utada Hikaru came out as non-binary last year and goes by they/them. It was quite huge news because in Japan it still is a lot harder to be in the lgbtq+ community, there still is very big stigma, and them coming out publicly was a very brave move and meant a lot to lots of people ^^
I first played the kingdom hearts series when I was 4 years old. I am 21 years old now and still play frequently, it holds the dearest place in my heart. I just renovated my room and put a huge kingdom hearts tapestry on the wall. Please give the game a shot. You will never forget it.
These games came out when I was MUCH younger, so whenever I replay them or hear the music, it really does feel so nostalgic, like coming home. KH has a amazing (but COMPLICATED) storyline. At the core it's about light triumphing over darkness and friendship and found family. Very heartwarming, but it does touch on some darker topics (in a very gentle way, tbh)
I seriously feel like the creators of Kingdom Hearts are privy to the greatest secret of the Universe. This song and video somehow make me feel like I am glimpsing a story of my own that has been tucked away deep within my own heart; and it is as hard to understand the game’s storyline as it is to understand the human psyche.
Every game is just packed with emotion, & every opening & soundtrack brings it out even more. There's AMAZING music in this game! I listen to originals, covers, and remixes all the time. And yes it DOES make me cry. A LOT. & the KH Orchestra?! I was a wreck. ABSOLUTELY ready to go to another one!
Kingdom hearts with each game it introduces new things with the first it introduced the heartless, the second introduced the nobodies and the organization, the third is the true backstory of why the keys exist. the upcoming fourth will be something brand new as the story has changed again with next gen graphics and a unknown story shown at E3 two years ago.
i cannot stress enough how important to me watching you play the kingdom hearts series would be. KH is one of if not 'the' most emotional/life changing forms of media iv ever experienced and seeing your perspective on the series would be amazing....
This was a joy to watch. Kingdom Hearts was the first series I genuinely fell in love with. I have strong nostalgia for the games and especially the music, still caught up with the series to this day. I’m glad (and not surprised) to see that the emotional weight this music can achieve isn’t brought on from nostalgia alone. Kingdom Hearts is a beautifully deep and emotional series that the music fits perfectly. I hope you give the games a try. The in game music is great too!
YOOOO this is one of my favorite games ever, I swear to you I was an angsty teen in middle and high school designing my own keyblades from this game. Seeing these videos is an emotional journey indeed. I have to recommend the "Japanese" versions of each song - the lyrics change, the meaning tweaks a little, but it's powerful all the same. So far you've seen Simple and Clean and Sanctuary; the Japanese versions are "Hikari" and "Passion" respectively.
I just found this today and it was emotional and hilarious at the same time. Funny because your reaction was so cute. I love seeing how people react to my favorite things. Sometimes you kinda get to see yourself when it was your first time watching it. It was emotional because even without you knowing anything, you kinda hit it on the head with your reaction. This is when everything goes wrong, and you have to fight hard to get through a lot of story arc issues in one game, and it can be kinda sad to play. The main character just wants to bring his friends home and everyone (including Disney villains and homemade villains and anything and everything we can get thrown at in between, get in the poor boy's way. The one in red shorts is the main character. Japanese Role Playing Games love to be winding, long, funny, sad, stories.) Every game actually has its own opening, but there's only 4 songs total, most of them are sanctuary and simple and clean replays and remixes. There's also end cutscenes as well if you want to go in depth on the way the music changes with each game. And how heart-rending these cutscenes can be. There's actually 2 versions of sanctuary and one of them is written specifically for one character in the games. One intro that I want you to do is the birth by sleep 0.2 opening. But the cutscene won't make sense unless you watch the first birth by sleep opening. If you loved simple and clean, you can watch the birth by sleep opening on your own, then watch the 0.2 one with the really cool new simple and clean remix. And yes, Hikaru (H short i, K r oo) Utada (oo ta da) does all of the major music for the games. ..... they put Japanese names backwards... last name first. They're writing style is right to left so everything is flipped. I think it's cool. Anyway, I hope this finds you well and you have fun! KH3 got 2 songs... Don't think twice and Face my fears. So watch the beginning and end cutscenes for that game. I would do KH3 last if you plan to do others because it's the last one in the story. There's also different versions of a menu song called Dearly Beloved that all us fans adore if you do orchestral music. Sorry this was so long... cya!
MY DUDE! You need to play these games. imagine the actual emotional rollercoaster this game put you on and you ONLY watched the opening of the SECOND game. Loved your reaction I had to like and sub and also definitely listen to all of Utada Hikaru's songs they're amazing.
i'll never forget seeing this for the first time. i had seen bits and pieces of my brother playing the first game before, but i had never played it myself. when he got the second one for christmas one year his excitement was contagious, so i watched him as he started playing it, and seeing it for the first time in that dark room, this cinematic blew. me. away. kh2 was the first game i ever played from beginning to end and actually beat (i ended up finishing it before him even cause i was so obsessed with it) and it still is probably my favorite game. i would love to watch you play kingdom hearts! great stories, great music, and the gameplay is super fun and addicting.
Kingdom Hearts II is one of my favorite games of all time. Incredible series if you have the opportunity to dive in. It's WAY easier to do now than it was in years past. There was Kingdom Hearts I and II that were on main consoles (the PS2) and then a whole slew of other games that were only available on mobile consoles like the GBA, Nintendo DS, PSP, 3Ds (you get the idea) and ALL of them had important relevance to the story, so if you really wanted to be invested in the lore, you had to play all of them somehow. Fortunately now they've ported almost all of the games to modern consoles and have them in one place so you can experience them (or at least watch the cutscenes). I can't speak highly enough of Kingdom Hearts - I've worn a necklace with the KH Heart Symbol around my neck almost every day for like the last 10 years (I'm 27 now) - and now I'm anxiously waiting for KH4 haha.
It is so much fun watching people that know nothing about Kingdom hearts react to kingdom hearts. You actually had a decent grasp on the story from the video alone so good job on that lol. Utada Hikaru's songs are amazing and I'm definitely going to watch your other reaction videos. This was really fun, thanks.
I get a visceral reaction to these songs everytime I hear them I get chills legitimately I don't know why exactly but I do and these games and their songs are why I keep coming back to them when I just need something to pass the time while I'm waiting for something or just cause I want to experience them again.
Man ! I felt the same way when I popped in the disc for the first time and booted it up. This was an easy Sub , thank you for your reaction, looking forward to KH3
Yup, you understood the premise pretty much perfectly. I also saw this for the first time with no context and it's what led me to actually play the Kingdom Hearts games
The most succinct way to describe this OP (which is for Kingdom Hearts 2) is that it summarizes the two games that came before it, the OG Kingdom Hearts, and the (first of many) mobile spin-off Chain of Memories which bridged the two mainline games.
The music video is basically a summary of the first two games and the prologue of KH2 shown as a surreal dream sequence. The lyrics are about the reunion between Sora (the main character) and Riku (his rival and best friend) in KH2, sung from Riku's POV. If you play the song in reverse, the backmasked lyrics say "my heart is a battleground," "so many ups and downs," "I need true emotions," and "I need more affection than you know."
Utada Hikaru sings the songs in both english and japanese, you also saw a mostly instrumental version of opening 1 so I would recommend watching the cinematic version. Also, if you are looking for another game series to react to, Nier and Nier:Automata are very well known for their music.