Kingdom Hearts- The game that was just crazy enough to work
Kingdom Hearts is, in itself, the most unfathomable game to have anything to do with
Squaresoft ever. The idea of a Disney/Final Fantasy crossover has got to be the most ridiculous
concept for a game that's ever made it into a retail store. Most people would simply scoff at the
notion of this game, and most people have. But I have bought it, and I love it to death. Yes, that's
right. You heard me.
Admittedly, I was apprehensible when I first heard about this game way back when. I
thought there was no way ANYONE could pull off such a crazy idea, and that included the great
Squaresoft. But alas, there it is in my Playstation 2, played marathon-style for the past few weeks,
and I must say it all came together. As unbelievable as it may be, Kingdom Hearts is a fantastic
game, especially for a fan of both Disney and Final Fantasy, such as myself. Yeah, I like Disney,
so what? You going to try and do something about it?
Kingdom Hearts is, generally, the story of Sora (played by Halie Joel Osmond, of "I see
dead people..." fame), a young boy who's world is destroyed by a group known only as the
Heartless. He lands in a new world, where he meets Donald (the duck) and Goofy (the...what the
hell is Goofy, anyway?) who are on a quest to find King Mickey. Sora comes along in an attempt
to find his lost comrades, Riku and Kairi.
Granted, on paper, it doesn't sound like much, but the game itself is a lot of fun. Shall we
break it down?
<_Graphics_> 8/10
Kingdom Hearts does an absolutely amazing job of turning the worlds of Disney into a 3-
D environment to play in. Each level is a rich replica of its corresponding film, which is not an
easy thing to do. Despite being three-dimensional, you really get the feel that your in one
Disney's classic cartoons. An issue I had, though, was that everything seemed very compressed,
like that everything on the entire planet was within a kilometer of everything else. You kind of
look around and go "This is it?".
All the characters look as they should. Tarzan looks like Tarzan. Aladin looks like
Aladin. Pooh looks like Pooh (which is a good thing). The movements and mannerisms for each
character are down to the slightest detail, which makes the game very enjoyable to watch. Seeing
Winnie The Pooh wobble around and Piglet cower with his ears over his eyes were definite
highlights for me. My one gripe is that sometimes faces are 2-D, and other times their 3-D. They
sort of switch it back and forth and hope you don't notice. Normally, it wouldn't bug me, but it
really demeans a scene when you see Sora look like a cartoon at one point, and a cardboard cut
out in the next.
<_Sound_> 10/10
As far as vocal talent goes, this game is at the top of the mountain. All the Disney
characters sound like their original embodiments (including James Woods as Hades), and a fairly
impressive collection of celebrities were picked for the new guys and the FF crew (David
Boreanez, Mandy Moore, and Billy Zane to name a few.). I was a bit annoyed when I saw that
Lance Bass would be doing the voice of a certain fallen angel, but he and everyone else do a
great job as their character. You don't know how hard I'm trying not to spoil the surprise of the
cameos in this game by revealing who performs who...
The music, for the most part, is an endless loop of famous Disney tunes, such as ‘Under
the Sea'. The original compositions also tend to be cheerful and up-lifting, which generally tends
to help the game to be much more amusing in what would normally be an aggravating section.
<_Gameplay_> 9/10
This game, simply put, is a lot of fun to play. Square has done away with the standard FF
turn-based battle system and inserted one that resembles ‘Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time',
only with a command menu with ‘Attack, Magic, Items, ?'. Granted, fights are mostly just button
mashing, but it's entertaining none the less. Enemies appear when you step into a certain area,
and can be easily avoided by simply running away. On a great note, this game has NO loading
time during play. You load your game at the beginning, and you load when you save. That's it.
The game itself combines mostly RPG and Adventure style game playing. Like an RPG,
you gather experience, pass levels, and you have HP/MP. On the adventure side of it, you explore
large worlds by jumping around, exploring, and hacking away at anything that gets in your way.
Good fun.
<_Extras_> 10/10
With a healthy dosage of Mini-Games, super-hard optional bosses, side-quests, and an
expert mode, Kingdom Hearts has huge appeal for anyone who simply has to get everything,
including a secret FMV that hints at a sequel. Hooray!
For an FF fan, the best thing about this game has got to be the appearance of popular
characters. I refuse to say who, but I'll split it down like this: FF7: 5 cameos, 3 fights FF8: 2
cameos, 2 fights, and FFX: 2 cameos, 2 fights.
<_Personal Tilt_> 10/10
What else can I say? I love this game through and through, and Winnie The Pooh is my
idol. BUY IT!!!
Final Rating: 94%, or 9.4/10
THAT MEANS IT"S WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!