There’s something absolutely magical about fans sharing the passion for the things they love. Nowhere is that more evident than with the fans of Kingdom Hearts. This video game franchise that has spanned across decades, IPs, consoles, genres. A video game about love, friendship and adventure. Something that has always been special about the KH Franchise is its music, especially the theme songs. All of the points I’m making come together so that I can talk about this: a fantastic new cover of KH2’s theme song, Sanctuary, originally sung by Utada Hikaru.

This new cover was created by a friend of mine, a voice actor named Paul Castro Jr. He’s made his love of the series very well known. He’s talked about it, he’s streamed it on his Twitch channel, it feels like him creating this song just feels right. He teamed up with Joshua Taipale, or AtelierJoshua as he’s known on Twitter. I don’t know Joshua, but one look at his Spotify shows that he, too, has a massive love for all things video game. A perfect partnership.

This rendition of Sanctuary is gritty. The original has a very ethereal feel, but this one is super grounded. To me, it speaks more of the desperation that the song tries to depict. There is so much raw emotion to the lines I need more affection that you know—Lines that are reversed in the original—which feels almost like the singer is admitting weakness, asking for help. It’s vulnerable.

It’s all building up to an explosive release. A begging for the truth. And wow! Getting to hear Paul leaning into a scream…I did not know that he could even do that! It’s beautifully done. And it just adds to the emotion and the vulnerability. This tonal and genre shift from the original really makes it feel like the Sanctuary that’s mentioned in the song isn’t real. It’s something that the singer is searching for with the person they’re singing to, but it isn’t found. The singer doesn’t find that sanctuary within that person.

It honestly makes the song so much sadder, which definitely fits the true vibe of Kingdom Hearts. It’s a game about hope, but there it does not shy away from the darkness.

All in all, this is an amazing cover and a beautiful tribute to such an important franchise. Thank you Paul, Joshua and everyone you guys worked with. And I speak for everyone when I say, please make more! 🙂

They made a really beautiful music video that you can find below, or the song is also on Spotify!