On December 9, Square Enix surprised Kingdom Hearts fans with a sneak peek to the cinematic opening of the upcoming game to the Kingdom Hearts franchise! When the trailer of the opening movie trailer was released, it became the number one trending video on YouTube on that day. Accompanied with the cinematic opening was the long-awaited track "Face my Fears," a song performed by J-pop singer Utada Hikaru, who is collaborating with American electronic music producer Skrillex.
We were given notice of their collaboration a few months back, being told that there was to be a new song written for the opening for "Kingdom Hearts III." Initially, Skrillex was told to remix Utada Hikaru's "Chikai"/"Don't Think Twice" for the opening of "Kingdom Hearts III." However, Skrillex thought he would show his love for Kingdom Hearts franchise by coming up with a new song with Utada Hikaru for "Kingdom Hearts III" instead.
When I first read the title "Face my Fears," I actually expected "Face my Fears" to be a powerful song that would have a similar epic vibe like its predecessors in the previous games such Utada Hikaru's "Sanctuary" and "Simple and Clean." I even had a prediction that Utada Hikaru might be going for a different genre or style in her music with "Face my Fears" like singing the song in a J-rock style or in metal rock since "Kingdom Hearts III" was told to be the conclusion of the Dark Seeker saga leading up to the final showdown between the main protagonist and the main antagonist of the game. Of course, I was anxious at the same time because there was that pinch of doubt about whether I should really get my hopes high for this song. I mean, what if the song turns out to be a huge disappointment? It will be a full downer for "Kingdom Hearts III" if that happens.
Then when the opening movie trailer of "Kingdom Hearts III" was released early morning on December 9th, the first thing I did that morning was watch the video with my sisters, who were also big fans of Kingdom Hearts. In my head, I was like, "It's the moment of truth." When I played the cinematic opening on the screen, tears were already coming out of my eyes, LITERALLY. Tears were coming out not because I was disappointed with the song, but because the song really turned out a lot better than I expected.
"Face my Fears" begins with a refreshing beautiful piano solo, which was something completely different from its predecessors. The piano solo drags out and is accompanied with Utada Hikaru's chilling vocals and lyrics, making us cringe in anticipation for the final epic conclusion of the saga. Although the dubstep bridge of the song could have been more uplifting, it was still catchy and upbeat to listen. Given only the first one minute and 50 seconds of the cinematic opening, Square Enix did a great job with recapping the events of what happened in the previous games through breathtaking visuals and profound detail.
And even though "Face my Fears" was given mixed reviews from some fans, I found myself listening "Face my Fears" on repeat.
