'Kingdom Hearts 3' trailer offers something new and old

Hello darkness, my old friend...

With about seven weeks to go until launch day, Kingdom Hearts have been giddy with excitement for the release of the third main installment. Square Enix brought Christmas early by dropping a new trailer.

The trailer shows a young Xehanort playing chest while we fly through most of the key events of the series: both the Land of Departure and Destiny Islands get swallowed by darkness, Aqua, Ven, and Terra get separated, Xion's sacrifice. We also see Sora, Riku, and Kairi draw their keyblades against Master Xehanort and his Norted Army. I think the chess game is a great visual, since Xehanort has manipulated almost everything and everyone from the very beginning.

And can we talk about the MUSIC!? "Face My Fears" fits perfectly with the theme of Kingdom Hearts 3: going against the ultimate evil for a dazzling end to an incredible story. Utada Hikaru - who is celebrating 20 years in the music industry - teamed up with Skrillex to deliver the track, and effortlessly blends both of their styles for a song that will be on repeat until Sora and Kairi eat the damn paopu fruit.

Kingdom Hearts 3 launches on January 29, 2019.