The Top Five Kingdom Hearts Introduction Cinematics September 12, 2012

With the release of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS I realized that there are now a bunch of Kingdom Hearts games across multiple platforms.  In classic Square style, each game opens with its own introduction movie, using a song by UTADA, and serves to set the scene for the game. With all the games out now I wanted to do a list of what were the top introduction movies in the Kingdom Hearts series.

5. Kingdom Hearts: 365/2

As UTADA’s “Sanctuary” played, we were treated to a nostalgic trip of clips of the greatest moments from each member of the infamous Organization XIII from all of the previous Kingdom Hearts games.  I have to admit it was great seeing a role call for all of the members of Organization XIII, along with their profiles on the DS second screen.  By choosing to use clips of them from the cinematics they appeared in from previous games like Kingdom Hearts 2 or Chain of Memories, it played into our nostalgic memories from the previous games. The problem was it came off a bit as needed exposition, which is not usually what the introduction is used for.

4. Kingdom Hearts

As this is the first introduction from the very first game, this one should be considered the benchmark for all the others.  For many this was the first time they heard UTADA’s “Simple and Clean” before, and it would become a mainstay of the series.  They chose to use the techno remix for the opening here, but I think it was a great decision as it matched up great with the visuals.

3. Kingdom Hearts 2

This introduction did more than just set the scene for the game it also established the game’s past. As you hear UTADA’s single “Sanctuary”, a departure from the more often used “Simple and Clean” you’re treated to brief flashes of scenes that happened in the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories. If you had played these games you were treated to an amazing moment of nostalgia, if you hadn’t you could just sit back and absorb all the tidbits that made up the history of Kingdom Hearts as you spent the game discovering what you were seeing and what they meant to the game’s story.

2. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

This introduction just blew me away. They made the choice to use a techno remix version of “Simple and Clean” for this introduction and I think it worked really well. The song sounded great mixed with the stylistic visuals which fed us tidbits about just what we were in for in this game and that no amount of gameplay would be held back from us just because the game was on a handheld.

1. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Ed: Apologies for the video quality on this one.

I don’t know if I should just come out and say that this made number one just because it used 3D or it’s use of the 3DS second screen to do the credits. I don’t know if it made number one because of the choice to use the orchestral version of “Simple and Clean” to set the scene for the game, but with all the flashes of what was to come with the game, the allusions to Fantasia this came off as the ultimate culmination of all the experience Square Enix had made with these introduction movies over the past ten years and that is why it’s number 1.