Highlights

  • Hikaru Utada's new album features a re-recorded version of the iconic Kingdom Hearts theme song "Hikari," evoking nostalgia for fans worldwide.
  • The original Japanese and English versions of "Hikari/Simple and Clean" set the tone for the Kingdom Hearts series, with different versions appearing in later games.
  • While details on Kingdom Hearts 4 remain scarce, fans eagerly anticipate the development of Sora's next adventure with possible new worlds to explore.

Hikaru Utada recently recorded a new version of the legendary Kingdom Hearts theme song “Hikari” as part of her latest album. While she was already a prolific pop singer, songwriter, and producer in Japan, Utada is likely most well-known around the world for her work on the Kingdom Hearts series, in which she wrote and performed the theme songs for the main three entries.

It all started with her 2002 single “Hikari,” which was used as the official Japanese theme for the original Kingdom Hearts game. To help promote the game in other territories, Hikaru Utada also recorded an English version called “Simple and Clean,” and this was the song that many fans first heard in the commercials for Kingdom Hearts. Different versions of “Hikari/Simple and Clean” would be featured in later Kingdom Hearts games, either retaining the slower and melancholy feel of the original or taking on a more upbeat, techno-dance flavor. No matter the version, “Hikari” has become as synonymous with the Kingdom Hearts series as main character Sora and his signature Keyblade weapon.

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Earlier this week, Hikaru Utada released her latest album, titled Science Fiction. Included in its track list of Utada’s past hits is a rerecorded version of “Hikari” that retains the slower feel of the original song that famously played when Sora found himself separated from his friends in a new world at the very end of the original Kingdom Hearts. Hikaru Utada also posted 4K remasters of some of her old music videos to YouTube a few weeks ago, including the one for the original “Hikari.”

Hikaru Utada’s Latest Kingdom Hearts Remix Is Sure To Drum Up Nostalgia

While some Kingdom Hearts fans are reliving their favorite memories from the seminal Final Fantasy/Disney crossover JRPG series by listening to Hikaru Utada’s latest album, Square Enix is developing the next chapter in the form of the much-anticipated Kingdom Hearts 4. Sora’s next dimension-hopping adventure was first announced back in 2022, but official information has been scarce since. Original Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura recently hinted that she might be working on music for the new game last month, and there is speculation that Disney properties like Marvel and Star Wars could be featured as worlds for Sora and his friends to explore.

It isn’t clear yet if Hikaru Utada will record a new theme song for Kingdom Hearts 4, or if she will release new versions of her other Kingdom Hearts tracks like Kingdom Hearts 2’s “Passion/Sanctuary” or KH 3’s “Don't Think Twice” and “Face My Fears.” In the meantime, her new version of “Hikari” retains the tender and somewhat nostalgic feeling of the original, which is beloved by many gamers as the anthem of the long-running Kingdom Hearts series.