Kingdom Hearts series
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Kingdom Hearts is a series of role-playing games made by Square Enix (formerly Square Co.) and Buena Vista Games (formerly Disney Interactive), starting with Kingdom Hearts for Sony PlayStation 2.
It is a crossover of "alternate" Disney universes set in a multiverse made specifially for the series. A number of Final Fantasy characters make an appearance in the series, as well. The three games have been directed by Tetsuya Nomura, who also made all the conceptual artwork for them.
A movie was apparently planned, but so far nothing has come up except for the initial news.[link][link]
History
The peculiar origins of Kingdom Hearts came about when the producer, Shinji Hashimoto, met a Disney executive in an elevator. Square and the Japanese wing of Disney worked out of the same Tokyo office.[link] []Reaction
Originally, news of such an odd pairing for a video game met mixed reaction. Squaresoft was already well-established in the video gaming market with the Final Fantasy series (which had reached a landmark of ten installments by the time Kingdom Hearts was announced). Disney is best known throughout the world as an American feature film company with a reputation of making popular family films (notably in animation). Because many Final Fantasy games feature an emphasis on epic, sometimes mature and melodramatic storytelling (let alone a noticeable amount of violence), gamers were unsure whether or not the crossover would be successful. Numerous fans of the series were immediately displeased with the idea of a Final Fantasy game aimed at children. Other gamers, however, who were fans of the Disney franchise, waited for the game in anticipation. Upon release of the original Kingdom Hearts, many older video game fans still deemed the series too childish, while the game was praised by critics for its simple gameplay, novel idea and unique story. As the series has gained popularity, the notion that it is too "kiddie" has been less common among many gamers (including older audiences and Final Fantasy Fans), and it is now a well recognized franchise of its own. Because of this, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II is now aimed at an older audience. In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and in Kingdom Hearts II there were more intense scenes and the dialouge in the games seemed more mature as well.Games
The series currently includes three games:- Kingdom Hearts, originally released in Japan in 2002 for Sony PlayStation 2.
- [[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]], originally released in Japan in 2004 for Game Boy Advance.
- Kingdom Hearts II, originally released in Japan in 2005 for Sony PlayStation 2.
It is known that there will be a next installment, however Tetsuya Nomura has stated [link] he already has ideas for another installment; a clip that appears to be a teaser trailer (called "Sunset Horizons") for the next adventure is shown at the end of Kingdom Hearts II if certain completion goals are met. However, Nomura did not state exactly what he would like to do with this newest installment. Nomura did state that the Kingdom Hearts team would be taking a break from Kingdom Hearts for a while and work on Final Fantasy Vs. XIII so it is unknown when news for this new installment will arise. He emphasized that the game will not be a numbered sequel (so what would supposedly be "Kingdom Hearts III" will have a different title), nor will it be an "in-between game" like Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It is possible that they may make a prequel sometime in the future.
In a 2006 issue of Disney Adventures, Nomura has stated that he is very interested in experimenting with the PSP's technology. He also considers a game of Kingdom Hearts on the PSP.
Gameplay and design
Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II are touted as "action RPGs", that is, they contain elements from both action games and role-playing games. The player is usually in control of a character named Sora who can walk, run and jump freely in an interactive 3D environment, as well as attack enemies and cast magic (among other abilities) in full real-time as opposed to the turn-based combat generally used in the RPG genre. Sora is usually accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, who are non-playable characters (NPCs) who aid Sora in battle. Their behavior can be altered to fit the player's needs. Defeating enemies results in gaining items, currency and "experience". The amount of experience is shared with all party members and each character grows stronger with the amount of experience gained.Many role-playing game aspects are very familiar to fans of the Final Fantasy series. Various items, magic spells and characters, as well as the grand and dramatic story, are well recognized to fans. Major Disney influences are also present, such as the detailed character models and animations. A major draw of the Kingdom Hearts series is also the numerous appearances of Disney worlds and characters.
Though the series features some original locations unique to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, worlds from Disney films are heavily explored. Sora must visit these worlds and interact with popular Disney characters to protect them from enemies. Often, Sora's actions in these worlds follow closely to the storylines featured in their accompanying Disney films.
For the most part, Disney characters from one film never interact with Disney characters from another (with the exception of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, various villains and the summons). For instance, Tarzan can interact with Jane (as they both inhabit the world from Disney's Tarzan), but he cannot interact with Aladdin, who is from a different "world". This was one of the limitations Disney originally made clear to Square. More often in Kingdom Hearts II, however, certain Disney characters acknowledge other ones (Merlin is aware of Winnie the Pooh, etc.). Final Fantasy characters from different Final Fantasy games often interact with each other and Disney characters.
Compared to the Disney characters featured in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Final Fantasy characters are the least like their original counterparts. Many of the Final Fantasy characters featured have altered appearances and histories, a few even being much younger than their original counterparts. In addition, none of the Final Fantasy worlds are present in the series (and will never appear according to Nomura himself). Storylines from any of the Final Fantasy installments are almost never mentioned, although they are hinted at (i.e. Auron's and Cloud's), however mildly.
Music
The high standards set by Square for the Final Fantasy games were by no means relaxed for the Kingdom Hearts series. Background music was composed by Yoko Shimomura, of Front Mission, Parasite Eve, Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi fame. While some Disney-based world themes are taken directly from their Disney film counterparts, many are given entirely original musical scores. In addition to each world having unique background music, each is given its own battle theme, rather than a common music piece to cover all fights, which enhances each world's particular environment. Boss battle backgrounds are limited however, and are reused among the worlds. The boss theme used typically reflects the overall difficulty of the enemy. There are some exceptions to this; several of the Disney villains get themes based on the movie they originated in, and the final boss of each game has several themes played in the various phases of those fights. The main vocal themes (Hikari/Simple and Clean for KH and CoM and Passion/Sanctuary for KH2) are composed and performed by Utada Hikaru. Both theme songs reached notable popularity in Japan (on weekly Oricon charts, Hikari hit #1 in 2002, Passion hit #4 in 2005). Both games feature orchestral arrangements of their respective themes.A version of One-Winged Angel is also present in both KH and KH2. It plays during the secret battle with Sephiroth in both games.