Over the weekend Square had some big announcements regarding the future of Kingdom Hearts.
Fans got a treat, with Square releasing the opening sequence for one of the playable stories in 2.8 including a remixed version of fan-favorite Utada Hikaru’s original song for the franchise. The other big announcement is that the other half-titled games of the series, the ones that were only available to the PS3, are releasing in another remastered version for the PS4.
Now going back to Utada Hikaru, she has been with the franchise since it’s beginning in 2002. She has written 2 original songs for the game, both in English and Japanese. Though she had some level of fame in Japan before collaborating with Square, the majority of her Western fans came to know her through this game. And not only was Square good for her, but she was good for Square. Her songs evoke the sort of whimsical, fairytale like feeling of friendship and adventure that the KH games have sought to embody. Fans argue that she is just as important to the game as is the main characters.
The issue, then, is that Utada hasn’t written a new song for KH since the last main titled game in 2005. While her songs have been remixed or turned instrumental, Utada decided to stop working for the franchise, citing too-low pay. It makes sense. It’s a lot of work to not just create the song itself, but then translate it to another language in a way that evokes the same feeling.
Fans then wonder if they will be left without new music by Utada for the last main titled game, with the theme music being just as important as the characters. The issue seems to have a simple solution — just pay her more! But Square has to decide for itself if a new song by Utada is something the game really needs.