Kingdom Hearts - Menu Theme [ Extended Original ] 

I cry knowing I’ll never get that perfect moment back when it was just me and this game in my room and nothing else mattered

the waves are such an important component

Don’t be sad that you’re childhood is over but yet be happy and grateful that it happened.

I like how you can hear the PS2 start up at the beginning

My brother Michael was born with a rare heart condition. We grew up in and out of the hospital with him. We’d always take our PS2 to the hospital to play this with him. When Kingdom Hearts came out, I’d go to my parent’s house to play this with him. We were halfway through the game. I promised that when he came home from surgery, we’d beat the game. He never came back. He wasn’t supposed to live past 5 and he made it to 21. I miss my brother so much. I think about him everyday. This song reminds me of all of the times we played this game with him. He always enjoyed it. He always smiled. Even after his open heart surgeries. Sometimes I wish I could go back to those moments in my childhood. His passing is still hard on me, but I know he’s somewhere in the universe shining bright 💕

Definitely the best version of this song. The minimalistic calmness and the oceanwaves amplifies the sentimental emotions to it..

There it is. The best musical manifestation of being a care-free, happy child. Don’t mind me I’m just here to recover some MP with all of you.

When my daughter (6) cant sleep i put this on and i lay with her thinking of when i was just 12 and i played this game and had no worries 😣

This is the best version of this track. They made all kinds of different remixes for the later games, and even made it slightly different in the 1.5 remaster. All of them are certainly good, but this one just hits differently. It's the most simple version, which is why it's so endearing. And it even resembles a heart beating, symbolizing how it stays with you and resonates within you, even years after hearing it. Such a beautiful track.

I really miss you Brother... Gone to soon. You will always live in this song

The first time my husband played this for our baby (7 months), she looked at him and laughed. He cried because of how important kingdom hearts is to him and he's now sharing it with our baby ❤

I'm crying because my brother and I used to play this together, having a good time, smiling, laughing. We got separated by life fifteen years ago, and he's been suffering from depression and social anxiety for the past decade. Now there's nothing I can do, I can't even reach him, I feel so incredibly helpless. If you know someone who feels isolated, depressed, hopeless, and there IS something you can do, please reach out to them. Reach out and let them know they're still just as important as anyone else, despite the struggles they're facing. Make them feel supported and understood, even if it doesn't help them forward immediately. I love you Colin

I never really was all that into KH as a kid, bit my friend and his brother were Huge fans. I'd always spend the night at his house and we'd watch his brother play all sorts of games. Kingdom hearts, Zelda, etc. So many nights we'd watch him play and fall asleep, only for me to wake up at a random hour to hear this song playing on the menu, and they were all out cold. I miss those days, back when things were simpler, and less stressful. I know that's how life is for literally everyone, but fuck man. Something can't be right if everyone out here coming to this video to talk about how much they miss those days and hate being older. I really think things could have been so much better for all of us, if only I knew what went wrong. I'd do anything to have all those friends back in one place, I'd do anything to have those nights and those sleepovers again. I miss all that. I can never go back but I'll always want to. Stay strong guys, maybe one day, we won't feel like that anymore. Maybe you'll find your peace one day, and this song will simply serve as a happy memory, instead of a painful reminder.

How can this music make me so happy and so sad at the same time? Reminds me of my childhood, my sister would play KH while I watched and helped. Treasured memories.

The longer it goes on, the more I tear up.

My dad bought this game and showed it to me when I was a child, and my life has never been the same since. I think it was an incredible bonding experience between us, and I'll never forget the influence it had on me. I associate it very deeply with my dad, since it was one of the first video games I played, and we played it together. He's only 25 years older than me, and I'm 23, so I've got a good amount of time with him left, but I always want to remember my dad when I play Kingdom Hearts. It reminds me of that feeling of family and love and unabashed emotion that my dad introduced me to. I'm so glad I could discover a whole generation of people that feel the same way. Much love to you all, and a whole lot of love to my Dad.

i wasn't born back when the ps2 was new or when this game was new, like everyone else here is. I was born years after this game. I just recently decided that i wanted to get into the kingdom hearts franchise, so i bought a ps2 and i bought this game. I had no idea what awaited when i started up the game. I always thought that kingdom hearts was a heeehee hoohoo funny disney game, but i couldnt have been more wrong. when i started. up the game, I saw this and i just sat there in silence and listened to it. I felt nostalgic for something ive never heard before. it was the weirdest feeling in my life, but one of the greatest.

My brother would leave the PS2 on at night when we were kids and I’d wake up during the middle of the night to hear this. There were times he just wouldn't turn the console off. Of course, being a kid I was pissed off that I was constantly being woken up by hearing this and hearing him play the game throughout the night, but looking back I can say this is actually one of my most cherish childhood memories. Its nostalgic, and reminds me of when I was a kid. I got to play video games (Dark Cloud, Lego Star Wars, Dragon Quest 8, Sly Cooper) and play in the street with my brother. Times were simpler then and you didn't have the weight of the world on your shoulders. No bills, no getting up at 1:00 a.m. to go to work, no chores and errands you had to do on your days off, no worrying about what your coworkers thought of you, no college tuition, no worrying about how you were going to make thousands of dollars to make your family proud, no worrying about job hunting, you didn't have to worry about graduating to get your college diploma. I was just a kid spending time with my brother and could have fun without a care in the world.

Even if I still hadn't beat this game, the first Kingdom Hearts game holds a special place in my heart for getting me into gaming. Times like those were much simpler back then... Edit: I've been playing through the Kingdom Hearts games and I'm currently on Kingdom Hearts III. While the series may be flawed, Kingdom Hearts has become a part of me and it's now one of my favorite series. I can't wait to play Kingdom Hearts IV when we get a release announcement. May your Heart be your Guiding Key.

the sounds of navigating the menu were so nice

I remember listening a version of this one’s and being sad. So my dad walks into the room and tells me to put the music a bit louder because he wants to make this a “motivational memory”. He tells me “you might not be the most popular or the one with a lot of friends, but what you got is you have heart. It might feel meaningless right now but one day you’ll see that even through all your hardships you never gave up or lost your way, but not because of other people but because you stood your ground and showed that all it took to succeed was to have a strong will and a good heart” Thanks dad❤️ rest in peace❤️

I cry like a baby everytime. All i do was watching my big brother playing but still hit me like a bath of nostalgia

This song touches that spot in your heart where you escape to.. A time more simple with no worries. A time when you just looked out the window at the nightsky smiling to yourself cause as long as you had this song.. It would all be okay.. It would all be fine 😔

When this game came out back in 2002, I was in a really dark place. I was only 13 but I had severe depression, no friends, and was bullied at school. This game means SO much to me as it was the only escape I had at that time and I played it constantly. I wanted to escape to other worlds and have Sora as my best friend in our adventures. Kingdom Hearts probably saved my life and while I do still have periods of depression, I know I can make it through the darkness.

Man this takes me back, this was the only game i wanted to play as a kid, reminds me of weekends off from school sitting on the couch with with a blanket covering me and that ridiculous Cord extender for the Ps2 controller. A simpler time, yes.

Now I remember why I loved Kingdom Hearts.

Back In 2010 My Big Sister Use To Love This Game On A PS2 I Was Only 5 At The Time But When I Turned 7 She Commit Suicide I Don't Know Why She Did That To Herself. I Didn't Touch That PS2 For 2 Months After She Passed And I Realized That Kingdom Hearts Was Still In There At The Time So I Play It and it Was Really Fun And Hard. This Song Makes Me Miss Her She Would Be 29 In 2020 But Now I Play Kingdom Hearts On The Xbox One. Here i Am Left Without A Single Sister😪 Am 15 Years Old

One of the most important, amazing start screens in gaming.

"As the waves call whilst I dream of other worlds, meeting friends old and new, from past to present. I leave this unto you, my Dearly Beloved." ~ No one because I just came up with this on the spot while on my third cup of coffee

Damn bro. I remember playing this in kindergarten/1st grade. The whole block would be at my house just to help me with the bosses. We beat it as a unit. It was also the first game I ever beat. This game will forever be nostalgic and remind me of some of the greatest days of my childhood. To the boys back in Union, hope life took you guys to great places 💪🏼

I had to hold myself back from tears seeing this menu and hearing the start up sound effects.

The literal wave of nostalgia 😢 Nights and days in a small room playing this game. Trying to beat it with the game master guide book while eating some limbers Those are the few moments i miss from my childhood

I use to stay on this screen for a good minute before starting the game. Nostalgic indeed.

I was born March 28th, 2005, 3 years after this game released. I've always felt a strange connection to it, and this song specifically is etched into my soul

For me, this takes me back to being 17 years old. This was it. I remember getting this game and playing it that summer. I was going to be a senior in high school the following year. I remember enjoying it so much and being enthralled in the music and story. Although I did enjoy Part 2 a few years later, and it invoked some of the same feelings, I wish I could have known that I was living through some of the best times of my life. Before I stopped my belief in god. Before I stopped having faith in people, and humankind, and its capability for compassion and understanding. Before I realized that humanity is just a really stupid child that burns its hand on the stove everyday that it wakes up and opens its eyes. It never ever learns and never will. Before I realized that I'm not special and good things don't actually come to those who are good. Before the loss and exhaustion. Things were happening to me that I couldn't understand. I was as good as just a baby. I couldn't possibly understand or foresee how all the abuse I grew up with was going to impact the adult I became. I couldn't understand to get out and disappear. I didn't understand money, or love, or what to do about work. I just sat there and took it. And the only thing that made things bearable and worthwhile were games like this, and music. In a weird way, I AM glad that I was born in this timeline/time sphere/dimension- whatever you want to call it. But Ive heard some of the greatest hip hop that perhaps doesn't exist in other timelines or dimensions. So I DO recognize to be grateful for things like that. And perhaps this game isn't a reality in another life/world/plane - whatever you want to call it. So I got to experience it. But the little green light on your PS2 eventually went out one day for the last time. And now you wear a tie or a hard hat to work. And you have to pick your kids up from practice or argue with them because you won't let them go to some place you don't know. You're worried about this bill or the big promotion at work. You're concerned that you inadvertently offended someone, or a health check up. But one day, you were just smiling uncontrollably when you built a new Gummi ship or beat a hard boss fight.

Remember a time in your life when there was perfect balance? No interruptions? No setbacks? Just you at your peak of tranquility. That was me when I was young and this game came out. Back then I just abided by the sounds of magic and pressed on with the game, but now, I reminisce those moments of actually playing a game that changed my life forever

We're all adults now.

It’s really heart touching hearing everyone had such an amazing experience playing this game growing up. And I’m really glad it has meant a lot to you. I only started this game 2 weeks ago with a friend watching me play. She has been playing this game since she was 6 years old, and hearing her reactions to certain parts as I go through the game was really sweet to hear because it really brought back memories for her. I have really been liking this game, although I wish this could’ve been part of my childhood but better late than never right?

The original version of Dearly Beloved is the best version. Out of all the versions, this captivates the feeling of longing and nostalgia better than the others... the others are good but I find the overly sad or emotional. This is just simple and clean. Thanks for the upload. I'll be reading the bible peacefully to this.

Just now started playing Kingdom Hearts after years acknowledging it but never being interested. In a weird way this last year has been tough. Graduating uni and being without a job has been tough but I legit sat down the other day and just had this play as I relaxed from a stressful day. This game truly has given me a peace I needed and this theme brings me to tears listening. So simple and beautiful, I thank whoever made it possible. Hope you all are good in the comments, peace and love ❤️

I love the little noise it makes when something pops up or when your scroll to a different tab in the kingdom hearts games.

It's been 22 years and I will never forget the joy this game brought me. Truly unforgettable.

Thanks for this. Had myself a good long cry remembering how knowing Sora would find his friends helped me with losing mine. I used to sit and listen to this for ages.

I was feeling down, but the song brought me back to simpler and happier times. Made me feel like a kid again in the best ways. Safe, no danger and just allowed to be happy

As a musician for most of my life, who's been professional at various periods and has heard an ungodly amount of different music, I've been well convinced for many years that this is maybe the strongest contender for the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard. I recently played this on the piano for a fellow musician friend, and when her ears perked up at how beautiful it was, I looked this up and starting playing her the original menu version here, and when I looked back at her, she just immediately stopped, stood intranced, with her eyes closed, just completely lost in it. It still takes me back to me in early middle school borrowing (and never giving back) a copy of the game from a friend and just being gripped by the sounds and first visuals of the game.

My older brother was born on the exact day the first Kingdom Hearts game came out, and my parents were big fans of it when I was younger, so I pretty much grew up watching and playing these games, and I love them so much. It's great to recall the memories as I listen to the music, and I'm really excited for the people younger than I am to play the games and feel what I felt when I first experienced them.

This physically hurt me. Thank you.

Very few things in my life evoke the emotion that this song does. I think of my childhood in a light I never see, I remember being careless and happy, so strange. Beautiful piece of work that I'll never forget

Literally my childhood 🥺❤️ Goodbye 2019 and my childhood it was amazing

I will always remember the day when I first played kingdom hearts.... this game was more than just a game. It was a life changing experience 😭❤

My sister meditates to this, and it's my wake up alarm in the morning. When I am stressed or need to relax I listen to this or traverse town and reflect

2024... and I still cry to this.... damn... its been soooooooooooooo long. I considered it as background music at home even when I finished the game...

as much as i wanna say "i wanna go back to being a kid reliving all of these emotions." id like to say that I am absolutely blessed to have children who are into video games like I was. i can present gems like this to them and perhaps build a different emotional connection through this opening menu theme. if my kids could experience this adventure, feel like this is what childhood meant, and think of simpler times by tracks like these, I feel I've done a great job as a dad.

The world that I once knew is gone.. but, at least I can go on youtube and look up this stuff to reminisce the good times. The times where I didn't worry about anything.. The times when my dad was alive and life wasn't so bitter. Thank you youtube. Thank you square Enix for making this masterpiece. You have touched the souls of many people. And that.. well that's beautiful.

One of the best games in my life time. Just...unbeatable in every way. Music, gameplay, challenge, wonder...it was perfect.

Homie even kept the ps2 sound effects homie knows what's up

Moment of silence for Etika - he’d be freaking out about Sora in Smash. 🥺 We lost him too soon.

Soooo many good memories because of this game. We were so poor growing up and I remember my mom literally collecting pennies just to be able to buy this game for me @ Christmas. Poor thing didn’t even know we needed a gaming console to play it (which we didn’t have) thankfully it was later donated by a charitable organization. Definitely in the feels right now.

I use this to put my 6 month year old boy to sleep almost every night and guaranteed less than 20mins he’s knocked out

The peace this brought my inner child... the way it made my anxiety disappear for a minute... i havent felt this calm in years... when i die. I hope this plays in the background...

These were some the the happiest times of my life... I hope I can one day find that same happiness again. This game helped teach me how to have love for one another and what true friendship really means. Friends always and forever, forever and always.

I loved watching my mom play this game when I was little. Being that young seems like a past life now but this song sounds like I was just listening to it yesterday.

I feel like their is no way to describe how this song makes me feel. It brings me to a happier time where things were... simpler than they were. When I was a carefree child with little knowledge of the world that I lived in. When I was carefree and problem free. When everything was perfect and great. When I could just sit down, turn of the ps2, and open kingdom hearts without any worries like work I need to get finished. I could just play with a peaceful mind and just enjoy the menu music before starting the game.... you know it's kinda sad in a way. You wish you could go back and never leave and always stay in that moment of time where you enjoyed yourself and had no worries but you know you can't but deep down you hope with all your heart you'll wake up back where you started and happiness will flood you when you turn on that ps2 and hear this music again but that day never comes and you know it will never because some things are impossible no matter how hard you want it to be possible. Love kh1 for making me feel this way

that first noise though, nostalgic asf im crying

No game will ever have the reach that Kingdom Hearts has. You may critic the modern games and the series as a whole, but you have to admit, the amount of childhood stories connected to this game is like no other, that's why it's so significant in gaming history.

I played the game when I was 4, so 18 years ago and it still feels like yesterday. Everything goes on, life will be hard sometime, things may not go as planned but this will stay forever as the memories will live onwards... Masterpiece of a song

No lie, I want this version played at my wedding. Hopefully on a beach too 💖🥺

Thank you for uploading the actual dearly beloved from KH1 since many people only upload the kh2 version which is nice and all but the original holds a special place in my heart.

we never knew the precious adventure that awaits us behind that music

The song of my childhood💔

Possibly the most timeless, simple, beautiful, and elegant piece I have ever heard. They made many remixes of the first Dearly Beloved, but nothing comes close to what the first one felt like in Kingdom Hearts. This theme is not just a remembrance of what once was, but it’s nostalgic and comforting - it feels like home and times long past 💖

First second, that sound that started everything

XXXTentacion once tweeted this is the song that helped him go to sleep

I remember booting up this game for the first time all those years ago. I listened to this song for a good 15 minutes before I started the game. Such a relaxing, classic theme that I'll never forget.

Relaxing lullaby, to put you to sleep

I miss the feeling of playing this masterpiece of game. Everything was perfect.

This was one of my mom’s favorite games.. she passed away little over a year ago and every time I hear this I break down… I miss her so much..

This just goes to show how powerful music can be. We can remember a game so fondly just by how awesome the main menu music was

Usually i was thinking i was heartless, except when i listen the sound and soundtrack of this majestous sage.

listening to this again makes me want to cry i want to go back to 2013/2014 and play this game with my brother again in his room. wish we could just return to the simpler times

This will be in my soul forever❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢

The original is where it’s at. It’s just not the same without the waves AND the extra notes. I used to sit at the start screen all the time just hear exactly this. Thank you so much for posting this.

I figured it out. It sounds like the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new mostly unwanted one. It sounds like change feels like. Like, this happened and though hard to believe, it’s what you have to live with. I think that’s why it hits so hard.

This song reminds me of me and my brother watching my mom used to play this game everyday when she'd take care of us. Great times.

Solo pido revivir ese tiempo una vez más y disfrutarlo mejor

This title theme set the tone for the game especially first playing the game. Makes you so eager to play through the game. So nostalgic, very bitter sweet feeling.. neutral feelings. You feel happy to hear it and reminisce about the good times at the same time a bit saddening knowing you will never get those moments back. But hey lifes goes on so just be happy we got to play such a great game and share our great memories of it :)

Best version HANDS DOWN... so simple, so clean...

Oh, the simpler things that you take for granted growing up that turns into heart gripping nostalgia

The other KH games never really caught the emotion as well as the first one did. I replay them every year but KH1 still overwhelms me with emotion. This song and it’s ocean waves live in my heart. It’s a part of who I am, like many of you I’ll never part with it.

Do all the memories come flooding back of someone you loved or just of that special time when things were simple? Then, you're in the right place listening to this track.

I’ll never forget the moment. Up til this most of the videos games I played were “kids games” A lot of movie tie in games. I knew this game was Disney related, there was Final Fantasy elements but at the time those words meant nothing to me. The moment the piano played. I knew this was soemthing different. This was my true first gaming experience

My friends had got me into Kingdom Hearts last year, at first i didn't enjoy the game due to how vague it was with direction, but months later i picked the game up again and when this menu screen came up, I dont know why but i was hit with so much nostalgia, not from this game but similar games (Earthbound, Mario and Luigi rpgs, etc.) now im enjoying the game more than ever, and cant wait to play Chain of Memories KH2 and so forth.

Welcome to Smash

This is perfection.

Nostalgia has never been so powerful!

I listen to this when i need to heal

people will never understand that this and many other moments are what make this my favorite out of all the games, and no amount of graphics will change my mind.

I have such amazing memories playing this game, my childhood was anything from perfect but when I hear this song it makes it feel so perfect like I was just in the right moment in time to get to experience and now I have 3 kids and when I has my oldest I played the first one with her and there were times I had to hold back tears just from the feelings that would rush back and seeing her get to enjoy it as I did.. man life is really a trip

The first version of Dearly Beloved and it’s never gonna get old

never really played kingdom hearts myself, but of all the versions of dearly beloved i've listened to, this one is among the best SOLELY for how humble it is in comparison to the others. just a soft piano melody in a white void, accompanied only by the sound of waves against a beach