Square Enix's strange tale, only known as Kingdom Hearts. A crossover of Disney and Final Fantasy.
(Reviewers note: The following review is of the 2013 HD Remaster: Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD)
Kingdom Hearts is the tale of Sora, a young 14 year old boy who dreams of seeing the world with his friends. After a very trippy opening (complete with badly translated but catchy as fuck J-Pop), we see that he lives on Destiny Islands, a collection of isolated islands somewhere in the world that Sora, Riku and Kairi - his friends - live in. Sora, Riku and Kairi decide to build a raft hat will take them to new places and new worlds, places beyond their wildest dreams....until something goes wrong during the middle of the night.
Meanwhile, at a castle somewhere in the universe, the king - Mickey Mouse - has gone missing, leaving only a letter in his stead. Pluto brings this letter to Goofy the Knight and Donald the Mage. Donald makes it his mission to try and find the king, so he decides to go to Traverse Town, a place between worlds. It's here where he meets with Sora (who was exiled from his world) and Squall Leonheart...y'know, that totally emo protagonist from Final Fantasy VIII. Initially, Sora doesn't trust either Donald or Squall, since he's still in shock over not knowing where he is or where his friends are. All he knows is that the key that he holds in his possession - The Kingdom Key - holds some sort of significance to the balance of all worlds. Soras journey to rid the universe of the Heartless takes him across many famous Disney worlds, such as Agrabah from Aladdin and Wonderland. The plot by itself is pretty good I must say. It's lighthearted and entertaining for kids and complex and intricate for the adults. If I could criticize one thing, it's the sometimes unbearable writing. The game constantly goes on about hearts and darkness and the light and sometimes it just get's annoying. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the plot, but it needs a bit more work to be perfect. Some people call it bad Final Fantasy fan fiction, and I can see why, but I can't see why people think the plot is the worst thing ever.....
If you were expecting a Final Fantasy game from Kingdom Hearts as far as gameplay goes, you'd be quite mistaken. Kingdom Hearts envokes a more Legend of Zelda styled Action oriented gameplay style, rather than the traditional JRPG Menu-Based system that Final Fantasy had been using since 1987. Part Platformer, Part Action game and Part Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts is officially classified as an Action RPG. Battles are not random and take place in real time. There is a menu to switch between four commands, all of which are executed via the X button. Sora can jump with Circle, interact with things with Triangle and when equipped with correct attributes, can perform certain actions with Square. Kingdom Hearts is a very customizable game, since you can customize everything minus your appearance. Partner AI, abilities, Keyblade's and Items (in the sense that you can assign specific items to specific Party Members) are all customizable and I love this about the game. What I do NOT like is the platforming. Sora's jump is almost uncontrollable. It's like one of the NES Castlevania games, you better jump exactly right or you're not going to make the jump. It's a real hindrance on what could've been something truly amazing.
Graphically well, I'm sure back in 2002, this game was stunning. For an early enough PlayStation 2 title, Kingdom Hearts is passable. i love it's art style and character models, but the environments that are made specifically for the game (places such as Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion) don't really look all that good to me. The HD ReMIX adds a HD filter and redoes some of the models, but even then those environments don't really impress me that much.
The Soundtrack sorta surprised me when I first saw the name of the composer: Yoko Shimomioura. When I first saw that name over the Final Fantasy veteran Nobou Uematsu's, I was slightly concerned. Thankfully, Kingdom Hearts has an exemplary soundtrack. Something that fits everyone's tastes, from the serene yet slightly sad Dearly Beloved, to the intense and mysterious Night of Fate, the soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts is truly amazing.
Overall, this is not one to be missed. Even though it has some patchy writing and slightly outdated graphics, Kingdom Hearts is a game that someone - fans of Disney and Final Fantasy alike - should never miss out on. It's got a few quirky moments sure, but it's not a bad game, but a great game. You can get it on PS2, either in it's original state or the Japanese only Final Mix, which add's a few new plot elements to the mix, or on the PS3 as part of the Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD ReMIX collection, based off the Japanese Final Mix.
Story: 7.5
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 6.5
Sound: 10
Personal Enjoyment: 8.5
FINAL SCORE FOR KINGDOM HEARTS: 8.3/10
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