Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツ, Kingudamu Hātsu?) is a hybrid action-RPG that was released in 2002, which is notable for being the result of a collaboration between the video game developer and publisher Square and Disney. The game combines characters and settings from Disney's animated features and films with those from Square's Final Fantasy RPG series. Although the game's primary plotlines follow characters who were created specifically for Kingdom Hearts, characters from both companies play major roles in the game and its storyline. The game features real-time rendered backgrounds and scenery.
Kingdom Hearts is heavily influenced by its parent franchise, Final Fantasy and carries many gameplay elements over into its own action-based, hack and slash system. Sora, the main character, is directly controlled by the player from a third person camera angle. Most gameplay occurs on interconnected field maps where battles take place. The game is driven by a linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cut scene, though there are numerous side quests available which provide bonus benefits to the characters.
Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player gains experience which culminate in a "level-up", where the player characters grows stronger and gains access to new abilities. Unlike many other games of its type, Kingdom Hearts allows a certain degree of character development customization through a short tutorial found at the beginning of the game. By choosing certain options, the player is able to manipulate how Sora learns abilities, grows statistically, and even gains levels.
Combat in Kingdom Hearts is in real time and involves button presses which initiate Attacks by the on-screen character. Also, a Final Fantasy-esque menu found at the bottom left of the screen provides other combat options such as using Magic and Items. There is also a context-sensitive option at the bottom of the menu, usually used for interaction with the environment or for performing Special Attacks. In addition to the main character, two party members are usually present who also participate in combat. Though these characters are CPU-controlled, the player is allowed to customize their behavior to a certain extent through the menu screen.
Kingdom Hearts takes place on many different planets called "worlds". The worlds in which the game takes place include various Disney settings (nearly all of which are part of the Disney animated features canon), as well as some original ones. Players travel from one world to another via gummi ship.
Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland. This is a surreal level in which the player is shrunk down to a minuscule size. This is the first level that can be closed to the Heartless by sealing the Keyhole. It features the Cheshire Cat, the Doorknob, Alice, the Queen of Hearts and several cards as well as the White Rabbit. The Mad Hatter and the March Hare are also featured in a picture in their "tea garden" -- their expressions change for each chair sat in by Sora.
Olympus Coliseum, from Hercules. This includes Hades, Hercules, Philoctetes, Cerberus, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. This world is different from the others where there are no real levels but a coliseum where Sora and his friends can compete in tournaments in order to get stronger and win prizes.
Deep Jungle, from Tarzan. This is a slightly longer world than the first, and features Tarzan as the first character that can be added to your party, as well as Jane, Clayton and several gorillas.
100 Acre Wood, from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This world is unlike the others; there are no Heartless here and it takes place in a book, the pages of which you find as you proceed through the game. With each page, a new minigame is unlocked. This world is entirely optional.
Agrabah, from Aladdin. This world includes Agrabah and the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin, Abu, Princess Jasmine, Jafar, Iago, Genie, and the Magic Carpet are introduced here with Aladdin as an optional party member.
Monstro, from Pinocchio. This world brings the player through the bowels of Monstro the whale. The famous little wooden puppet Pinocchio and his maker Geppetto can be found here. Monstro is not a true world by Kingdom Hearts' definition, and thus does not contain a keyhole to be sealed.
Atlantica, from The Little Mermaid. This was a distinctive underwater level that consists of Ursula's cave, several grottos, and the city of Atlantica. Ariel, King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian, Flounder, Flotsam and Jetsam appear in this world, with Ariel being the only female character in the game to join your party. This level has often been criticized by fans as a difficult level to play because the controls vary underwater. While in this world, Sora is transformed into a mer-man while Donald and Goofy become sea animals.
Halloween Town, from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The movie's cast make their video game debut in this level. The world includes the Guillotine Square, Oogie Boogie's Manor, Moonlit Hill and a graveyard. It features Jack Skellington, who may join your party, Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Doctor Finklestein, Zero, the two-faced Mayor and Oogie Boogie. While traveling around in this world, Sora, Goofy and Donald are dressed up as monsters rather than being in their normal clothing.
Never Land, from Peter Pan. The world's name is somewhat a misnomer because the action takes place on Captain Hook's ship and a minor bit in London, mainly the Big Ben; as such, the true Never Land is not actually visited. Captain Hook, Peter Pan, Wendy, Smee and Tinkerbell call this world home, with Peter Pan able to join your party. It is also one of the more important Disney-based worlds in the game, storyline-wise. After reaching a certain point in the world, you are given the ability to fly about the world like Peter Pan does, controlling the characters like swimming in Atlantica. This world is comparatively short in regard to the other worlds, consisting mostly of battles.
Disney Castle (not to be confused with Sleeping Beauty Castle). The homeland of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. This world is not playable, though it appears in cut scenes.
Destiny Islands. This is where Sora starts his journey, and although only accessible near the beginning and end of the game, the islands and the events in them are critical to the entire game's storyline. This world is home not only to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but also Final Fantasy characters, Selphie Tilmitt, Tidus, and Wakka.
Traverse Town. A sort of "resting place" to come back to in between worlds, Traverse Town is where Sora first meets Donald and Goofy and truly starts his quest. Several Final Fantasy and Disney characters reside here, including Aerith Gainsborough, Yuffie Kisaragi, Squall Leonheart, Cid Highwind, The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, Dalmatians from 101 Dalmatians, Merlin from The Sword in the Stone, and later on in the game, Geppetto and Pinnochio from Pinnochio. This world is used as a central point where you can purchase items and upgrade your Gummi Ship.
Hollow Bastion. This world acts as home to many of the Final Fantasy characters featured. The Beast is a party member here. This is also Maleficent's headquarters.
End of the World. A large, dark world created from the assimilation of various worlds consumed in darkness. Here, many Heartless and evil beings reside. The final battles with Ansem are fought here. The World Terminus is located here, providing access to other worlds.
The main characters are Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy. While Donald specializes in MP and Magic usage, and Goofy in Defense, HP, and Special Attacks, Sora's stats, however, are more customizable; at the start of the game, the player selects what attribute to excel in and which attribute to be lacking in: Strength, Defense, or Magic. Several traits can also be altered further by permanent boost items or equipped item effects. Sora is also unique in that he can use both Magic and Special Attacks, whereas Donald and Goofy can only use each respectively.
Sora is the only character directly controlled by the player; other members in the party are computer-controlled. The AI characters can have their behavior altered by the player, changing their Item usage from "occasionally" to "constantly" for example. Donald and Goofy are the only computer-controlled characters that are usable on every world. Most worlds have a unique AI party member who can be chosen to replace Goofy or Donald in the party while in that world. For instance, Jack Skellington joins the player's party in Halloween Town, but will not accompany the player elsewhere.
Various Disney characters can be temporarily called upon during battle as Summons. These characters replace Sora's two companions for the duration of the summon. Such characters include the Genie from Aladdin and Simba from The Lion King.
As a game meant to explore the fictional universes of various Disney films, there are many Disney characters from those films, along with others in cameo roles, such as the One Hundred and One Dalmatians puppies playing part in a quest to collect all 99.
[edit] Final Fantasy cameos
Squaresoft also incorporated several of its famous characters from the Final Fantasy series into the game, though the characters have been tweaked slightly for novelty and to fit the game's backstory. On Destiny Islands, the player meets younger versions of Tidus, Wakka (both from Final Fantasy X), and Selphie (from Final Fantasy VIII). In Traverse Town, the player encounters Squall Leonhart (under the alias of "Leon"; from Final Fantasy VIII), as well as Aerith Gainsborough, Cid Highwind and Yuffie Kisaragi from Final Fantasy VII. Rikku from Final Fantasy X and Irvine Kinneas from Final Fantasy VIII were both originally set to make cameo appearances, but were replaced by Yuffie and Wakka respectively. Cloud Strife and Sephiroth (both from Final Fantasy VII) make appearances in Olympus Coliseum, where the player can fight them in the tournaments.
The game also uses other Final Fantasy icons. Moogles make an appearance and provide item synthesis. Several weapons, such as Lionheart and Save the Queen, share names with other weapons from previous entries in the Final Fantasy series. The name of the raft Riku had suggested was Highwind, is a reference to the airship of Final Fantasy VII. The magic-naming system in Kingdom Hearts (ie. Cure, Cura, Curaga, etc.) is reminiscient of Final Fantasy magic. The names of various spells are the names of Gummi blocks, and various summons, weapons, bosses, and monsters are the names of Gummi ships blueprints.
The emphasis on characters from later Final Fantasy installments disappointed some fans; the refusal to use earlier characters stems from character designer Tetsuya Nomura's hesitation to use characters he did not design.
Kingdom Hearts has been criticized by some Final Fantasy fans for making poor use of the Final Fantasy characters placed in it. For example, several prominent characters are made much younger and do not play a major role in the story. Some fans also disapproved of the casting of the voice actors for the more popular Final Fantasy characters: in particular, the casting of pop music singers Mandy Moore as Aerith and Lance Bass as Sephiroth.
Story
The game begins within Sora's "dream world", in which the player is introduced to the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts. Sora is directed by a nameless voice, who tells him that "the door is still closed," but there are various references toward the said door opening soon, and that if Sora does not prepare appropriately, it will lead to his end. As such, Sora is requested to choose one of three weapons, and sacrifice one other, before being plunged into his first battle with evil "shadow creatures," who assault him on sight. Battling his way through the vast array of these shadows, Sora confronts the "leader," Darkside, who, upon his defeat, absorbs Sora into darkness. Before the dream ends, the voice says to him "You are the one...who will open the door."
Sora awakens on the shore of the Destiny Islands, his home, with Kairi standing over him. The two of them engage in a brief discussion, in which we discover that Kairi suffers from amnesia, and cannot recall where she came from before arriving on the Islands. This doesn't appear to disturb her, though; she is apparently content with her life in her current home. Riku, another friend of Sora and Kairi's, remarks on their laziness, and reminds them that they have to continue building their raft. After pulling their weight for the day, the trio band together, and discuss their plans. The friends are attempting to leave the Destiny Islands on a raft, in search of Kairi's home, and other worlds that may be out there. Riku seems to be the only one deeply interested in discovering other lands, though, with Sora and Kairi thinking the journey as just something for fun and adventure.
The next day, Sora goes in search of food supplies for the raft, and comes across a cloaked stranger inside the "Secret Place." The shadowy figure tells him that his world is "tied to the darkness, soon to be completely eclipsed." Sora is confused by his words, and though he tries to discover who this enigma is, his questions are ignored. The stranger goes on about how "there is so very much to learn," and Sora understands so little. Sora takes these words to heart, and heatedly retorts that he will learn what's out there. To this the figure replies "A meaningless effort...one who knows nothing can understand nothing." With those words, he disappears.
That night, a violent storm sweeps over the Islands, with the catalyst being a large orb of darkness in the sky. Sora rushes to somehow protect the raft from damage, but he is attacked by the shadow-creatures from his dream. His wooden sword is useless, so he takes the next alternative and flees, finding Riku. However, Riku comments that "the door has opened," and that now they can go to other worlds. He allows the darkness to swallow him up, but Sora resists. In that moment, he receives a new and mysterious weapon called the Keyblade. With it, he battles against the Heartless and reaches the Secret Place to try and save Kairi. But his efforts are futile, and Kairi and the Islands are swept away, leaving Sora to battle against Darkside once again. After he defeats the Heartless leader, he too is swallowed by the shadows.
What seemed like a normal, peaceful day within the Disney Castle quickly turns to chaos as Court Wizard Donald Duck discovers during his early morning rounds that King Mickey Mouse has disappeared! Recovering a letter signed by Mickey from Pluto, the King's loyal dog, Donald goes after Captain Goofy in a panic. But his blubbering also attracts the attention of Queen Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck, who demand answers from the magician.
The contents of the letter reveal that Mickey has left to confront whatever dark force is plaguing the worlds at present, and he has requested that Donald and Goofy go in search of the mysterious "Keybearer," beginning with the small refugee world of Traverse Town. Bringing with them a chronicler named Jiminy Cricket, the pair leave as instructed, promising Queen Minnie that they will help the King in whatever way they can.
From the Destiny Islands, Sora lands in Traverse Town, where he joins Goofy and Donald Duck in their quest to find King Mickey Mouse and defeat the Heartless. During their adventure the trio explore many Disney-themed worlds, including Aladdin's Agrabah, Peter Pan's Neverland and The Little Mermaid's Atlantica. Along the way they lock "keyholes" in each of the destinations they visit, preventing the Heartless from consuming these worlds. Standing in their way, however, is a cabal of Disney villains, with Maleficent as their leader and none-other than Riku as her apprentice. Seeing Sora as apathetic towards Kairi's fate, Riku has taken responsibility into his hands and struck a deal with Maleficent in order to help Kairi regain her heart. The goal of Maleficent and her group is to collect seven maidens of the purest heart, the "Princesses of Heart", in order to open the pathway to Kingdom Hearts, which is supposedly a repository of power and knowledge Maleficent intends to use in her plan to rule all worlds.
Finally reaching Hollow Bastion, Maleficent's headquarters, Sora confronts Riku directly. Their confrontation ends with the revelation that Riku is actually the rightful Keyblade master, causing Sora's own Keyblade to disappear into Riku's hands. Unfazed by the loss of his weapon, Sora puts his faith into his friends and wins back the Keyblade with his heart, sending Riku to run off. It is during this time that the cloaked stranger who spoke to Sora on the Destiny Islands appears and offers Riku greater power with which to defeat Sora. Riku impulsively accepts. Meanwhile Sora and his teammates face and defeat Maleficent, when a strangely-behaving Riku strikes her with a unique type of Keyblade, one that opens hearts. This causes Maleficent to transform into a dragon, reflecting the darkness in her heart. Sora's party rises to the challenge and destroys Maleficent.
Sora confronts Riku again, only this time it is not truly Riku; it is actually Ansem, a scientist who conducted extensive research on the Heartless, occupying Riku's body. He is also the cloaked figure who taunted Sora on Destiny Islands, saying Sora knew nothing. Ansem desires to become part of what he believes to be the primordial phase of existence, the darkness that he believes to compose Kingdom Hearts. Kairi is revealed to be a Princess of Heart, as her heart was trapped in Sora's body ever since they were separated. Sora and Ansem battle, with Sora as the victor. Following the battle, Sora impales himself on Ansem's Keyblade in order to free Kairi's heart, losing his own heart in the process while restoring Kairi and freeing the other Princesses' hearts. However, the pathway to Kingdom Hearts is opened.
Now a Heartless, Sora scampers to Kairi's protection. Knowing that it's truly Sora, Kairi's light pulls him from the infinite darkness and restores Sora. They flee Hollow Bastion in face of the immense number of Heartless pouring through the pathway to Kingdom Hearts. Sora returns to lock the keyhole and later travel to Kingdom Hearts itself, facing Ansem in a climactic final battle.
Though the light of Kingdom Hearts defeats Ansem, the door to the realm of darkness threatens to unleash millions upon millions of Heartless onto the universe. Sora, Donald and Goofy attempt to close the door, but their strength is not enough. Riku, who has regained his body, helps the others close the door on the other side, along with King Mickey Mouse. Using his own Keyblade, Mickey locks Kingdom Hearts from the inside with Sora's help, but this forces the King and Riku to stay inside the realm of darkness. Before the door is locked, Riku tells Sora to take care of Kairi. Sora and Kairi's reunion is cut extremely short as they are pulled apart by the reforming Destiny Islands. Sora promises to return to Kairi once he finds Riku. The game ends on an optimistic note, with the same disembodied voice Sora encountered in the beginning of the game arriving once again to tell the keyblade master that he will be the one to open the door to the light
English version
The English version of Kingdom Hearts had new features that were not found in the original version of Kingdom Hearts in Japan. Besides English localization, three additional optional bosses were added. Yoko Shimomura's arrangement of Night on Bald Mountain was set as the background music for the Chernabog boss fight, whereas the original Japanese version uses generic boss music. In addition, the secret video entitled "Another Side, Another Story," was included in the European and US version; this scene ultimately became a blueprint of sorts for the sequel.
Kingdom Hearts was re-released in Japan as Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix; this version has several events and a number of gameplay tweaks that are not in previous releases. Spoken dialogue is in English, with Japanese subtitles.
New scenes, clarifying certain plot points, such as Riku's journey and foreshadowing of Kingdom Hearts II, were included. A gameplay tweak allows the player to skip cutscenes after seeing them once. The optional bosses first included in the English version were introduced to Japanese players for the first time, along with the "Unknown", in an attempt to raise interest for the sequel. In another attempt at foreshadowing, a video called "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]" plays along with "Another side, Another story…" if the player accomplishes certain tasks.
New music was incorporated; the tracks are "Disappeared" and "Another Side". The "Night on Bald Mountain" and "One-Winged Angel" tracks from the English version were included as well.
Other changes include new abilities, new weapons, new items, additional and recolored enemies; and gameplay tweaks to make the game easier for the player, along with two new difficulty levels.
A limited edition version of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix was also released. The version includes an action figure of Sora, a sticker set, sketches of some of the main characters and the game itself.
A special effort was made to preserve the original voice actors from the Disney movies used in Kingdom Hearts. Some of the voice actors from the related television series or direct-to-video sequels were chosen over original voice actors, where applicable (e.g. Dan Castellaneta as Genie, rather than Robin Williams).
The music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, the opening orchestration and ending credits theme were arranged by Kaoru Wada, and the main vocal theme is "Hikari" ("Simple And Clean" was used in the Western releases and Final Mix). Both versions of the song were composed and performed by Utada Hikaru. While there are some melodies derived from prior Disney films, most of the soundtrack consists of original themes written specifically for the game by Shimomura.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the Game Boy Advance sequel to the original game, takes place directly after the plot of Kingdom Hearts, and provides the link between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. In the beginning, Sora, Donald and Goofy meet a mysterious man who leads them to Castle Oblivion, a strange castle where even memories cannot be trusted. There, the group visits replicas of the worlds in the original game, created by Sora's memories. At the same time, Riku separates from King Mickey, escapes from the realm of darkness and finds his own way to Castle Oblivion, where he must contend with the lingering darkness of "Ansem" in his heart. As both Sora and Riku fight their ways through the castle, piecing together what is real and what is not, they are unaware that they are being targeted by a mysterious organization.
The game abandoned the Kingdom Hearts battle system, focusing instead on card-based gameplay. These cards can be used to create new worlds, open doors, and attack Heartless. The game was released on December 7, 2004.
A second sequel, Kingdom Hearts II for the PlayStation 2, was first released in December 2005. Taking place one year after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II features Sora, Donald and Goofy, as well as a new cast of characters, including King Mickey himself and familiar faces. The Heartless are still running loose and a mysterious group, Organization XIII, is plotting against Sora. There are new worlds exclusive to the sequel, such as Pirates of the Caribbean's Port Royal and The Lion King's Pride Lands, as well as new places to visit in old worlds; those include the Underworld in the Hercules world and the palace garden in Agrabah. The sequel uses a refined camera system, and includes a Drive ability that gives Sora the ability to merge with one or more of his party members for a short time to gain new powers, as well as the new limit break system, allowing Sora to unleash a devastating attack with a team member.
The game was adapted into a manga by Shiro Amano, and all four volumes have been published in English in the United States by TOKYOPOP (ISBN 1-59816-217-9). A boxed set containing all four volumes has been released , as well as the second manga series, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. A noteworthy feature of the manga is that even in its original, Japanese language edition, it was designed to be read from left to right, contrary to the Japanese usage.Good for you?