Kingdom Hearts

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This article contains information on the first Kingdom Hearts video game. For the series, see Kingdom Hearts series.

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.

Plot summary

\"Dive Into the Heart\"

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."

The Beginning (Sora)

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 weapon: a mysterious key-blade. 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.

The Beginning ( Donald and Goofy )

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.

The Adventure Starts

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 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. Unfazed by the loss of his weapon, Sora puts his faith into his friends and wins back the Keyblade, sending Riku to run off. It is during this time that a mysterious being offers him greater power with which to defeat Sora. Riku impulsively accepts. Meanwhile Sora and his teammates face and defeat Maleficent, allowing a strangely-behaving Riku to strike 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.

Battling the King of Hollow Bastion

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. 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. They return 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 himself 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.

Worlds

The many 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 the Gummi ship.

Disney-based worlds

• 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.
• Olympus Coliseum, from Hercules. This includes Hades, Hercules, Philoctetes, Cerberus and Cloud Strife. 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 procede through the game. With each page, a new minigame is unlocked.
• 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.
• 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.

Original worlds

• 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 from Pinnochio.
• Hollow Bastion. This is the world that has been created for the Square characters as well as a sort of stand-in for the movie Beauty and the Beast as the Beast is a party member there. 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.
• Disney Castle (not to be confused with Sleeping Beauty Castle). The homeland of Mickey, Donald and Goofy. This world is not playable.

Music

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.

Characters

The main characters are Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy. However, Sora's stats are more customizable; at the start of the game, the player selects what attribute to excel in and which attribute to be lacking in, such as defense, strength or magic. Several traits can also be altered further by permanent boost items or equipped item effects.

Sora is the only character directly controlled by the player; other members in the party are computer controlled. The computer controlled characters can have their behavior altered by the player, changing their item usages 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 computer-controlled 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.

In addition, various Disney characters can be temporarily (summoning characters) during battle. These characters [USUALLY but not ALWAYS (like Tinker Bell)] replace Sora's two companions for the duration of the summon. The player can summon (Simba) from The Lion King, the Genie from Aladdin (1992 film), Bambi from "Bambi", Dumbo from "Dumbo", Tinker Bell from ''Peter Pan" (1953 film), and Mushu from "Mulan". Only the Genie and Tinker Bell summons are automatically obtained; the others must be gained by finding unique gems and giving them to the Fairy Godmother from "Cinderella" (1950 film) at Merlin's Magical in Traverse Town "in disguise as the miniatureized Pumpkin Carage.

Maleficent leads some of the deadliest Disney villains against Sora. Her team includes: Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" (1989 film), Jafar from "Aladdin" (1992 film), Hades from "Hercules" (1997 film), "Oogie Boogie" from "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas", and "Captain Hook" from "Peter Pan" (1953 film). They use the Heartless in their evil quest to unlock Kingdom Hearts, the "heart of all worlds". In doing so they must gather all Princesses of Heart ( Grand Total of Seven), who are mostly the Disney Princesses. Sora must rescue them as the game progresses. Other villains that appear but are not associated with the Heartless include The Queen of Hearts from "Alice in Wonderland" (1951 film) and "Clayton" from "Tarzan" (1999 film).

The title roles of One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Lady and the Tramp have cameo appearances in the game, too. One of the less important quests of the game is to find the 99 lost dalmatian puppies from all over the game, while there is a statue of Lady and the Tramp in the Third District of Traverse Town.

Final Fantasy cameos

It is in these cameos that gamers base arguments on the inclusion of this game in the Final Fantasy series. 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 (under the alias of "Leon") from Final Fantasy VIII, as well as Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie 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 and Sephiroth (both from Final Fantasy VII) make appearances in Olympus Coliseum, where you can fight them in the tournaments.

The game also uses other Final Fantasy icons. Moogles make an appearance and provide item synthesis. This and several other weapons, such as Lionheart and Save the Queen, share names with other weapons from previous entries in the Final Fantasy series. 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 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 Gainsborough" and Lance Bass as "Sephiroth" (Final Fantasy VII).

Even more fans complained that using Final Fantasy characters was an "insult" to the games themselves, claiming that a kid weilding a key could never take down enemies such as Squall (Leon), Cloud, or Sephiroth.

Changes in different versions

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. They were Sephiroth, Kurt Zisa, and The Phantom. 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.

Final Mix

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 the American, European and Australian 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 "Enigmatic Man", 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. The two new Keyblades for Sora are: One Winged Angel and Diamond Dust which are acquired after beating Sephiroth and Ice Titan.

Criticism

The game has been met with criticism. Some felt that, while original, the combination of Square and Disney did not work as well as it could have, with aspects of both the story and gameplay swinging between 'Disney-style' and 'Square-style', without reaching an acceptable middle ground for the game as a whole. Some Final Fantasy fans were critical of the combination of the Final Fantasy mythos and the role-playing genre with Disney characters and other elements that they considered to be for children. Elements of the combat system were also criticized, particularly the use of menu-based items and magic in what was a frequently hectic real-time battle scenario, and the awkward camera angles that could occur during battle. Another criticism leveled by reviewers and players alike revolves around the Gummi Ship missions, with the main complaint being that they are not up to the same standard of play as the rest of the game.

Manga

There is a manga based on the video game written and illustrated by Shiro Amano.

The manga is published in English in the United States by TOKYOPOP (ISBN 1598162179) and in English in Singapore by Chuang Yi.

All four volumes of the manga are available in stores.

Sequels

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 game play. These cards can be used to create new worlds, open doors, and attack Heartless. The game was released on December 7, 2004.

Kingdom Hearts II

A second sequel, Kingdom Hearts II for the PlayStation 2, was officially released in Japan on 22 December 2005 and in North America on 28 March 2006. Although the exact date is unknown, it has been slated for an Autumn 2006 release in Europe. The Australia release will be on the 28 September . 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 levels 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 levels; 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 of his party members for a short time as well as the new limit break system, allowing Sora to unleash a devastating attack with a team member.

Voice cast

Most of the Disney Characters are voiced by their original voice actors from the movies or their voice actors for the animated series (e.g. Dan Castellaneta as Genie, rather than Robin Williams).

Trivia

• The optional boss Kurt Zisa was named by the winner of a publicity contest held by Squaresoft to promote the game.
• A bonus Kingdom Hearts II teaser titled "Another side, Another story..." can be seen by performing certain tasks. In the Final Mix release, an additional video, "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]", is seen if the player performs other specific tasks.
• Shinji Mikami, creator of Capcom's Resident Evil series, criticized Kingdom Hearts on Japanese radio in 2002. He expressed disappointment because Kingdom Hearts outsold his GameCube remake of Resident Evil in Japan, believing that his game was the superior product. Although he apologized to Square (not yet merged with Enix at that point) in the radio interview, he firmly believed that the game did not deserve its Japanese sales or its (then) 6800 Yen price tag.#redirect
• Kingdom Hearts has gone on to sell over 5 million copies, making it the 11th top selling videogame on the Playstation 2.
• Kingdom Hearts ranked 19th on Famitsu's top 100 games ever list.
• Depending on which World (out of "Deep Jungle" or "Wonderland") the player completes first, the player can experience two different cutscenes featuring the Disney Villians of this game. If the player completes "Deep Jungle" over "Wonderland", the Disney Princess involved in this scene will be Snow White, where as if the player completes "Wonderland" over "Deep Jungle" the Disney Princess involved will be Alice. Simiarly, the conversation in "Wonderland" depends on what level you complete first.

External links

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