Checking Out Kingdom Hearts Opening Sanctuary | Old Composer Reaction

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

Very conceptual. The sampled backwards speech is “I need more affection than you know” with “so many ups and downs” and “I need true emotions” in the bridge.

[@drakenfist]

The fact that she has VERY SPECIFIC backwards lyrics in the song is just fucking bonkers, and I love it!. It's It's part of the charm of Kingdom Hearts, that almost every aspect of the story is fucking nuts. Many view that as a criticism but its something I consider a strength of the series. It's what caught me off guard when I played the first game as a teenager. You wouldn't expect a game with Donald Duck, Goofy and Mickey mouse in it to have such a intense narrative.

[@dext1352]

I read somewhere else that most of the speech inside sanctuary are just made up words, and that too is a musical style, I don't remember exactly if that is the case though

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

@@dext1352 Okay well I’ve actually played the song backwards and heard the very distinct English words being spoken, so… Not really anything to do with scatting…

[@dext1352]

@dodiswatchbobobo yeah but those are the only three that are backwards meanwhile the other parts are just unintelligible, maybe in the Japanese version is different and all the words in the bridge are backwards and with a specific meaning

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

@@dext1352 The words in the bridge aren’t unintelligible though. They just have a lot of reverb applied. They’re still English words.

[@irrelevantandbeyond]

Any reason for me to listen to this BANGER again is good enough for me.

[@riduckulus1574]

The cutscene that plays in this song is essentially when a show does a "Previously On" intro

[@kricku]

And yet it's the start of the first game

[@Zephhi]

Just brings me back lol, I remember being maybe like 8 or 9 years old booting this game up and just being in awe with the opening when it comes to both the cutscene and music. So damn good

[@slyceth]

I didnt even know what videogames were until like 14 when i got a ds

[@Zephhi]

@@slyceth For some people it's just like that. I was born and my family already had an N64, PS2, SNES so I was gaming at like 3-4 years old

[@Pastry656]

I got instant nostalgic goosebumps listening to this and watching the intro… watching it is half the energy.

[@FatalisReigns]

I think the ambient tones are meant to reflect the "heart" or soul of the characters and is why it has like an 'underwater' type sound which matches the very end when hes falling into the ocean which sets up the new character who you actually start playing as right after that scene

[@JACpotatos]

To be fair, every main game opens to him falling in water

[@FatalisReigns]

@@JACpotatos yeah? doesnt change what i said lmao

[@jpfoland01]

4:00 It's the introductory video that plays when you start a new game.

[@longlovelive77]

Of course, it's the introductory video of Kingdom Hearts II (2005-2006 PS2) also belongs to Kingdom Hearts 2.5 (2014, PS3), and Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 (Recopilatory for PS4) ❤

[@robertolivares4700]

@@longlovelive77he left the comment cuz in the video the guy asked

[@idkyoutellme1236]

I'm currently on vacation at the beach and just so happened to come across this video. This game and song is so dear to my heart (no pun intended). That as soon as Sanctuary started playing I looked to my left out at the ocean and almost started crying 😂😂 As the same feeling I got playing this game as a young kid started to come back.

[@SparkTheKirin]

Hey Geebz! This song is actually two parts laid over one another, one forward and one backward. Of all the games in its series, Kingdom Hearts 2 was unique because it's song was themed for its game. It's all about dualities, and things being more complex than they appear. The song itself references two characters, with the forwards sections being the main person we see in the cutscene and the reverse lyrics referencing the other side of the story, namely the blonde kid and the silver haired kid seen throughout. "I need true emotion" "I need more affection" and "so many ups and downs" and even "he was Ansem" echoing throughout the piece during pivotal points of the scenes. It's some really cool audio storytelling you would never know about unless you were really trying to piece it together. Which is cool, too, because these games are all about that. You have to actively go looking for the answers to the real story going on, and the game won't reward you for a good bit of it. It's up to the player behind the screen to learn about the horrors of this world.

[@GBSpiral]

its wild to me how much of the story in KH1 is hidden in the ansem reports. and that continues in all main games actually. Its far to call the story convoluted but honestly I love it. Its all really conceptual and honestly quite deep when it comes down to it. specially when you consider Donald Duck is around. you get characters like roxas and xion who's arc is basically just playing with deeply existential questions like "what do you do if you find out you weren't meant to exist?" "if everyone forgets you, does anything you did even matter, did you even exist, really?" and you can see resonating examples of mental health in the ways characters like Aqua, Riku and Terra interact with the 'Darkness'. idk, maybe I read too much into it. but I think this series expect you to. it even leaves many mechanics vaguely explained or not explained. they assume you'll figure it out, or won't.

[@3lsinore305]

Dude kh3 intro is also very tied to the game!!

[@collislbryant4435]

@Spark, thanks for your analysis. I couldn't really say how many times I've played KHII but every time I have I've only really appreciated the song as "track for opening title sequence." I'm more visual than auditor person, so as the opening sequence is playing, I'm reliving the events of the previous games as they're appearing and the track is kind of secondary so I'm not giving much attention to any deeper meaning than the rhythm of the track as the opening sequence progresses. Your analysis speaks to layers of the track that I was unaware of and has thus enriched my knowledge and appreciation of the game, so again thank you.

[@dawnseeker176]

i think "he was ansem" was people mishearing the reversed lyrics much like how people hear english lyrics in strictly japanese songs or hell look at Carmelldancen its Swedish and the main chorus has some insane misheard lyrics.

[@bassix-vu5qd]

Every Kingdom Hearts Opening is worth listening to. Face my Fears from Kingdom Hearts 3 is amazing and Simple and Clean from KH1 is iconic also. I'd love seeing your reactions to those aswell. Great Reaction!

[@drawwithameltdown]

"In you and I" giving me alot of that nostalgia energy

[@tharsis]

Gonna be honest, I'm surprised this video hasn't already been copyright nuked. This is a regular music track in addition to being part of the Kingdom Hearts 2 soundtrack, and EMI Japan have been notorious for bringing the hammer down on anyone who even hints at playing this song (And the opening for Kingdom Hearts 1, Simple and Clean). Maybe they've softened up recently though, and if this video avoids the copyright claim bots, more power to you!

[@AuthoressDilophosaur]

He's doing a legitimate commentary and critique, though, so doesn't Fair Use apply?

[@Kitsunary]

@@AuthoressDilophosaur Unfortunately, Japan doesn't have fair use, so Japanese companies tend to just strike videos without regard to fair use laws elsewhere. It would be hard to fight it if they do something.

[@AuthoressDilophosaur]

@@Kitsunary I thought it might be something like that. Thank you for clarifying.

[@bloomins8088]

Takes me right back. So nostalgic. And I still get chills from it.

[@ALeafOnTheWind42]

Just a warning, this is very likely going to get a copyright strike. Utada Hikaru (the singer)'s label is VERY aggressive about striking her songs, especially with the Kingdom Hearts songs

[@mrplayfulshade]

Cringeeee

[@ALeafOnTheWind42]

@@mrplayfulshade ?

[@razorblade700]

​@mrplayfulshade1038 bruh this is coming from the guy that keeps trying to look up Ashley's skirt in re4 lmao

[@youtuberson4077]

@@mrplayfulshade actually just facts pal

[@ericforsyth]

Weird thing is when I've watched playthroughs of KH on youtube, the ones with KH1 are often/sometimes fine, but they have to mute the intro for KH2, so Simple and Clean somehow clears the filters, and so on, but Sanctuary seemingly instantly fries any video it's included in.

[@AtomicF0x]

You're right, it did set the game up very well. I played it back in 2006 when I was 15---and my brothers and I were amazed. Of course, I was already hyped up on the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 to begin with, but the music was---and still is---stupendous.

[@krysta8303]

kingdom hearts has the BEST video game soundtrack I have ever heard. It brings about feelings of nostalgia, longing, and loss. It makes me feel like I'm missing someone. I've loved every soundtrack to every game since they were released. It's so beautiful.

[@henri2101]

kingdom hearts has good bangers

[@JonseyLetsPlays]

Fr one of the best video games osts out here

[@RobinTrey-h7v]

One piece has bangers too :3

[@evecampbell3069]

I love that I remember everything that happened in the vid and it's been like a half a decade since I watched it.

[@siritalis4956]

YES! I've been waiting for some Utada! I remember requesting it quite some time ago. Very happy you tried this

[@siritalis4956]

It's cool that you appreciated it as the game intro. Utada does the themes for the first and third game too, and you can't go wrong with either one. I'd love to see you react to more of their stuff, but it's hard to even choose what to suggest! Most of their music is in Japanese, but their live performance of Find Love in English is one of my favorites from them, even over the studio version. Would love to see you watch it and give your thoughts

[@siritalis4956]

Matter of fact, you could probably pick anything from that album or the previous couple and would likely appreciate the composition

[@Mr.Genesis]

@@siritalis4956 it wasn't until recently i heard Cavern of Remembrance and man i was so mad that it wasn't in the Original PS2 cut for the game

[@siritalis4956]

@@Mr.Genesis I was talking about Utada's music lol but Yoko's was also great. The KH soundtracks go hard

[@collislbryant4435]

Hello Geebz. First time viewer. The algorithm placed this video on my homepage, and its Kingdom Hearts so I couldn't not watch (apologies for the double negative). I'm glad you discovered this song/opening sequence of Kingdom Hearts II and were able to appreciate it. Yes the video plays in concert with the track at the start of a new playthrough of the game. As the opening sequence progresses, it is highlighting key moments of the two games prior (Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories). I'll skip the deluge of lore I could get into, onset by the watching of the opening sequence, and just briefly relate what evoked in me during my viewing of your video. Kingdom Hearts reaches depths in storytelling in which many video games tend not to delve. The story follows Sora on his journey to reunite with the friends he has lost and uncover the mysteries of the events that drew them apart. (Alright so maybe I have to touch on SOME lore). Pain, tragedy, joy and triumph permiate every step that Sora takes, leading to the start of Kingdom Hearts II, all of which is represented in the opening sequence. When you hit play on the opening sequence, Sora comes in with his brief lines of dialogue and then Sanctuary begins to play as the cinematics take over. For me, I start to relive the events of the games as they unfold in the cinematic and Sanctuary elicits the emotions I experienced during those events. That is what this viewing evoked in me. Really speaks to the effect music can have on an individual, or alternatively it could just be I take games too seriously. I...I'm not sure which. One last thing, I have this impression in my head of Utada Hikaru as an oracle, conjuring the images of the cinematics by singing Sanctuary. Not sure what to do with that other than leave it right here. Thank you

[@nuramin2045]

i like u already u must be fun to hang out with

[@WakoDoodle]

I only just realised the intro here isn't teasing or just hyping you up to play, but part of the story. As in you watch this movie to tell you what happened after kh1 ends and once it finishes, you start the game from there. Often it's just a mashup of game cinematics, but this is all new and never seen in the game afterwards.

[@seakhajiit]

Yeah it's a recap of the first game and Chain of Memories, then we switch to Roxas as he lands in the dive to the heart for the tutorial

[@hanksilman4016]

Now* someone suggest the closing version of the song- Possibly the best "remix" to a song of all time. idgaf - somehow chills every time still.

[@GBSpiral]

do you mean Sanctuary (after the battle) ? agreed, extremely good version. and its such a good book end to the game. "we're back! 😁" "you're home. 😊"

[@hanksilman4016]

@@GBSpiral indeed

[@mskain4896]

The weirdness of the KH series is...not really summed up, but well introduced with this intro scene: "This video is the opening to KH2, and shows scenes of what happened in the previous 2 games." "But wait, isn't this Kingdom Hearts 2???" "Yes"

[@il.nathan9437]

Also yes this is a introduction cutscene to kingdom hearts 2 and like other people pointed out it's a reminder of the past 2 games before that

[@Hedgehog3342]

Still love that opening for kh2. Miss playing it.

[@nikoazure5235]

god this song is such a large part of my childhood

[@abbylafey]

It sucks that its so hard for people to get into kingdom hearts. Its such a great game

[@Topher_1986]

Once the story got "complex" they stopped caring. They also made us wait forever for KH3. I'm excited about KH4.

[@KeybladewldrPkmntrnrB]

Ahhh my goosebumps every time. I’m glad you’re checking out Kingdom Hearts music! It’s all FANTASTIC.

[@GBSpiral]

We gotta get him to check out some of the compositions from Yoko. she goes INCREDIBLY hard. and the way musical themes are interwoven in ways that are consistent to the story beats the sings are used in relation to is kind of incredible. I bet he would have a good time with the examination.

[@OneRandomVictory]

This intro actually recaps the first two games in the series.

[@Mr.Genesis]

Anyone else get goosebumps when the song starts?

[@oneill617rozzi]

Who wants to be the bad guy when you could be sora?

[@MasterKombatBro]

hands down the best game opening to date still

[@Kasugami]

omg please simple and clean next. my childhood

[@gachayuri6064]

Even after so many years. Sanctuary is still my fav opening

[@hikkipedia]

I'm always so excited to see your reactions to Utada Hikaru. I like the Japanese version of the vocals a bit better than the English.

[@Malisteen]

Kingdom Hearts 2 is the third game in the series - it had been several years since Kingdom Hearts 1 and there had been a portable spinoff game inbetween, with some question at the time of how significant the portable game's story would be to the official sequel. This opening was meant to remind the player of the events of the previous 2 games, and to confirm that yes, the events of the portable game were both canon and relevant to the story in this game. I hope you do more music from the kingdom hearts series. The licensed intro themes by Utada Hikaru are great, but the actual game music from Yoko Shimomura is amazing.

[@muhannadburwais8400]

This makes me cry

[@Mnemoniforma9.00]

If you like Utada's KH stuff, you should probably check out "Starry Heavens" by Misono/Day After Tomorrow. It's from Tales of Symphonia, an RPG contemporary with the KH games of the PS2. The song is a pop aubade that really gives you a feeling of traveled distance on a long journey.

[@AKA_Tari]

Back with the KH reacts!? Woo! Just in time for the hype train of the series releasing soon™ (June 13th) on Steam!

[@Z90027]

I cant wait to play this entire series all over again in a few weeks when it comes out on steam.🥺

[@nickrispoli2532]

This song makes me feel like I’m 10 again. So much nostalgia.

[@RamosKid]

time to play through this series again

[@aerozchris7635]

i saw yoko shimomura on the upload day she was in berlin as a special guest for the Distant World concert it was so freaking amazing

[@brittanygidley1291]

i love these games so much! now you gotta react to the kingdom hearts opening called face by fears fear skrillex which skrillex has been around for a long time with edm and dubstep, but he’s a fan of kingdom hearts.

[@rorytribbet6424]

KH openings and trailers are as good or better than the games themselves… and I don’t say that as an insult, they’re just THAT good

[@legendarynickspartyof3321]

That’s because the trailers tell the story in a whole song.

[@pwkn86]

Utada Hikaru is such a beautiful person, her music equally so.

[@Storm-qh5fj]

Underrated song

[@Akira-xm9ck]

This my childhood man..good memories

[@Scuba4Steve]

Every time I hear this song, it makes me want to replay Kingdom Hearts

[@KingFreshies]

My boi dont know what he just did

[@treeross]

3:35 It's the intro cinematic to Kingdom Hearts 2 on Ps2. This is not the original version of the song, but it's not *very* different. Just slightly shorter to fit in with the cutscenes. I recommend trying out some of the in-game music, it's entirely different. "Tension Rising" is a good one. One of my personal favorites is "Vector to the Heavens (-Xion-)" from KH3. it's a symphonic masterpiece.

[@Gojiro7]

he closes his eyes a few times to focus on the music and funnily he did it every time Donald & Goofy were on screen so i'm curious if he even knows this game series is a huge crossover with Disney XD

[@thend4427]

My favorite KH game...amazing soundtrack too

[@Stevezftw]

The moment roxas is created in the song still gives me chills

[@NINJAfries07]

So, what you just watched is the intro to Kingdom Hearts 2. To the best of my knowledge, it is the third game in the series by release order, and the… well, it could be anywhere from the eighth to the eleventh chronologically, depending on how you count the various stages of the prequel mobile game(s). It’s a _very_ involved series… 😅

[@Topher_1986]

That beard looks great man.

[@ive3336]

Would make the hairs stand up on my body when I would listen to this as a kid, in my top game tracks of all time

[@youtubegermanyisttrash1630]

Square Enix (Square soft back in the days) games never disappoint with they're OST's❤

[@DarkVeilNight]

My God, I played Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories first on the GBA, then after I beat the game I found out they made a Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation. I worked my ass off working for my dad to buy it for after seeing the commercial for Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and finding out it was for ps2. I would go out every morning for 1 month to pick up cans and and when it added up I got like 85$. I did the same thing for Kingdom hearts 2 ^^ I was 8 or 9 years old when I discovered Kingdom hearts.

[@BrianNokusagi]

I like OP1 and OP2 in Japanese and OP3 in English

[@teruienages962]

They're all better in English

[@theLikou1]

@@teruienages962 No, they aren't.

[@theLikou1]

Opening 3 is terrible.

[@braedonmb]

​@@theLikou1 Well, that is an opinion. Men fought and died in wars for your right to be wrong, so you are entitled to it

[@Rixec2]

Utada Hikaru does the songs in both English and Japanese for their respective versions, in fact.

[@nairdacnalbel]

this video plays at the beginning of the game, but it doesn't summarize the game like most do. it actually retells chain of memories, which is the game between kh 1 and 2, so if you skip that game this will help you know what happened to sora.

[@artmusicliterature9859]

I would love to see him decompose some songs from the tetrisphere ost!

[@wolf_quill]

I highly recommend listening to the KH ost! Lots of good songs to analyze

[@Littlezeekers]

They showed him the song without the video? He was robbed of half of the experience.

[@HemisphereCinema]

my all time favorite kingdom hearts opening 3ds/2.8 is good but nah this one is my favs.

[@JonseyLetsPlays]

Peak opening

[@blubber6044]

Play this song in reverse there's a hidden message in the song that's woven as part of the singing.

[@onimatt87]

It was made for the video games It was supposed to give you a recap of two games that came out right before the second game

[@Melchiorblade7]

Ah, so good and nostalgic

[@bartosspl103]

I think you should give The Witcher 3 soundtrack a try, its amazing, lots of Slavic folk music iterations in it with a modern twist, use of vocals which is unusual in game soundtracks. Overall amazing music, there's also orchestral concert version of it available

[@Belbecat]

Utada Hikaru music is just different. I wish this sort of stuff could become more mainstream.

[@TundraCH]

Wasnt expecting to see this in the channel! Incredible song, I think you will have copyright problems with this video though.. 😢

[@Yeebo__]

My favorite intro

[@naoschan2299]

Now go listen to this song but in the backwards play ! (both song and visual), you will see a different song. lol The "strange" lyric will make more sens like that too.

[@Alphasnowbordergirl]

So unpopular opion, This is my least favorite out of the three main openings. Just isn't my type of song. But I do appreciate the visual (even after the confusion about Chain of Memories being a main title when I thought it was a GB Advanced version of the first game and starting with a character I wasn't expecting).

[@chocobitties2595]

You should listen to the Japanese version. She's bilingual but her vocals are a lot more dominant in the original Japanese versions. They're translated and regionalized for the US, and those changes probably constrain her.

[@indominusss5275]

fun fact youtube was release dec 15 2005 this game came out dec 22 2005 a week later i don't think this was uploaded to youtube back then you just had to know about it.

[@iAmPimmiCue]

Face Your Fears from Kingdom Hearts 3 is one I recommend

[@davidwilliams9989]

You should listen to the orchestra version. Really hits different

[@Hunter-kp1ve]

My sanctuary > simple and clean

[@sephirothcrescent5768]

This guy has heard music from FF14, but I still haven't seen him react to Elidibus's boss fight theme "To The Edge" That song is great, It's really awesome, ya'll should ask him to react to that one, it's really great!... :D

[@StewNWT]

You look hella handsome in today's video. Grr woof wow

[@sufoguets]

Would love to see you react on Damaged by October ends

[@nightknight9212]

Everyone watch before it gets copyright struck!

[@alvawildfire6778]

You should check out Dragon's Dogma Coils of Light. I'd love to see it

[@youtubegermanyisttrash1630]

Please check out: Destiny 2: Beyond the Light - Deep stone Lullaby It's a Soundtrack in a Raid after the second boss fight if I'm right😅 ... gives me chills every Time I play this game

[@PlateauDweller-gf4pw]

Geebs. You need to do s'more reactions of minecraft. There's so much awaiting!

[@ryanraju6774]

Ah man. Memories of childhood. If you want another good video game song please check out Chrono Cross Ost Radical Dreamers or Times Scar 😊

[@bestmoments1778]

FAVORIT GAME

[@DeconvertedMan]

Please check out "secret of mana"! :D

[@vickknewzeus7443]

Kingdom hearts is the best

[@PrismOpal64]

Please, please, PLEASE react to some Splatoon music if you have a chance! Songs like Fly Octo Fly, Frothy Waters, Anarchy Rainbow, and Calamari Inkantation are fantastic to listen to.

[@tripline8076]

KH3 opening is even better!

[@DeepDiveMemes]

Day one of asking for volume beta reaction

[@michaelmunns]

I’m the 100th like (laughs in lonelyness)

[@DouhaBenHamad-up8bu]

Hello i would like to see you react on Rm new album right peoples wrong place he is a Korean rapper the album got 11 tracks whit many good genres ( english + Korean ) 2 feats whit american singers you should give him a try thank you ❤ even you if you find my comment !!! 😘💞

[@jthecryptid]

Sanctuary was written to reflect Sora (brown hair) and Riku's (silver hair) bond with eachother in KH2. Riku was an antagonist in KH1 and Sora's silent protector up to the end of KH2. The lyrics are conceptual, but the idea is the singer finds safety in the other's embrace; the backmasked lyrics say: "I need true emotion. I need more affection than you know." It's part of a larger web of subtext that hint at Riku having romantic feelings for Sora but lacking the confidence to speak up. Kingdom hearts openings have a very surreal dreamlike atmosphere that seems bizzare/nonsrnsical out of context. Here, it's very fitting bcs the previous game (Chain of Memories) is very mind-screwy. It dives deep into the importance/fragility of memories and ends w/Sora being put to sleep for a year

[@gigilovesdior]

heyyy, please react to Rm's right place wrong person