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is an Action Role-playing Game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix ) in 2002 for the Sony PlayStation 2 Video Game Console .2 It is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company . The game combines characters and settings from Disney's Animated Features with those from the '' Final Fantasy '' video game series, developed by Square. The story follows Sora , a young boy, as he is thrown into an epic battle against the darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck and Goofy , classic Disney characters, who help him on his quest. ''Kingdom Hearts'' was a departure from Square's standard role-playing games by introducing a substantial Action-adventure element. In addition, it had an All-star voice cast which included many of the Disney characters' original voice actors.3 ''Kingdom Hearts'' was also longtime Square character designer Tetsuya Nomura 's first time in a directorial position.4 ''Kingdom Hearts'' garnered praise for its unusual combination of action and role-playing, as well as its unexpectedly harmonious mix of Square and Disney.5 It received numerous year-end "Best" video game awards and was a dominating presence in the 2002 holiday season and went on to achieve Sony "Greatest Hits" status.6 Since its release, ''Kingdom Hearts'' has sold over 5.6 million copies worldwide.7 GAMEPLAY world.]] ''Kingdom Hearts'' is influenced by its parent franchise, ''Final Fantasy'', and carries gameplay elements over into its own action-based, camera angle.9 All other party members are computer-controlled,10 though the player can customize their behavior to an extent through the pause menu.11 Donald and Goofy are the computer-controlled characters that are usable in most areas; nearly every world in the game features its own party member who can be chosen to replace Goofy or Donald in the party while the party is in that world. For instance, Jack Skellington can join the player's party in Halloween Town, but can not accompany the player elsewhere. 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 can lead up to a "level up", where the characters grow stronger and gain access to new Abilities . Unlike 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. The tutorial allows the player to select from one of three main attributes ― strength, defense, and magic ― for Sora to excel in and one to lack in.12 By choosing certain options, the player is able to manipulate how Sora learns abilities, Grows Statistically , and even gains levels. Donald, Goofy, and any other additional party members are assigned specific areas of strength from the outset. Donald excels in magic and Goofy excels in defense and special attacks.13 The game is driven in a primarily linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a Full Motion Video Cut Scene , though there are numerous Side Quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. Most of the gameplay occurs on interconnected field maps where battles take place. Combat in ''Kingdom Hearts'' is in real time14 and involves pressing buttons to initiate attacks by the on-screen character. A role-playing game menu, similar to those found in ''Final Fantasy'' games, 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. This menu is manipulated by using the right analog stick or digital pad, while movement is controlled by the left analog stick, allowing the player to navigate the menu while avoiding or approaching enemies. Gummi Ship The Gummi Ship is the mode of travel between the various worlds in ''Kingdom Hearts''. The gameplay is very different from the rest of the game as it switches to a Rail Shooter format while piloting the Gummi Ship. The player controls the vessel from a rear, third person perspective as it travels in an outer space setting. At the beginning of the game, there are few options available to customize the ship, but as the game progresses, new weapons, engines, and armor become available. In addition, many different pre-designed blueprints can be found throughout the game which can be used to quickly construct ships. PLOT Setting See Also: Universe of Kingdom Hearts The world of ''Kingdom Hearts'' is a collection of various Levels that the player progresses through. Each level in Kingdom Hearts is referred to as a "world". Thirteen can be accessed throughout the game and one, the Disney Castle, is shown in cutscenes. Additional worlds are mentioned by various characters, but are not accessible because they have been destroyed by the Heartless . Ten of the worlds are based on Disney fiction,15 primarily from the Disney Animated Features Canon , and the other four were created by Square specifically for the game. Each world varies in appearance and setting, depending on the Disney world upon which it is based. The graphics of the world and characters were meant to resemble the artwork style of the environments and characters from their respective Disney film. Each Disney world is inhabited by characters from their respective Disney film; Hercules and Philoctetes inhabit Olympus Coliseum, and Aladdin , Princess Jasmine , and Jafar inhabit Agrabah. Each world is disconnected from the others and exists separately. Most characters in the worlds are unaware of the existence of the other worlds, but some notable ones are aware. Players travel from one world to another via Gummi Ship. The worlds created specifically for the game mirror the overall appearance of the other worlds and feature either new characters or characters from several ''Final Fantasy'' games. The new worlds include: Destiny Islands, which is where the story initially begins;16 Traverse Town, which serves as a launching point for most of the game; Hollow Bastion, which many of the ''Final Fantasy'' characters call home; and End of the World, a large, dark world created from the remnants of various worlds consumed by the darkness.Goofy: Gawrsh, is that all that's left of the worlds taken by the Heartless? 17 The main characters travel from world to world to seal each "Keyhole"; this protects the world from the Heartless and ultimately from destruction. They also try to minimize their interaction with characters of other worlds in order to maintain a balance of separation.Goofy: Oh, right... I gotcha. While we’re in the other worlds, we can’t let on where we’re from. We’ve gotta protect the world border. / '''Donald:''' “Order.” 18 To blend in with the inhabitants of a world, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sometimes change their physical appearance.Goofy: This sure is a spooky place. I’ll bet the people here are scary-lookin’ too. / '''Donald:''' Don’t worry. We look spooky, too. If they scare us, we’ll scare them right back! 19 Characters Because ''Kingdom Hearts'' was a collaboration between Disney and Square, it features a mixture of familiar Disney and Square characters, as well as several new characters designed and created by Nomura. The primary protagonist of the game is Sora, who is chosen to wield the Keyblade, a weapon for battling darkness. The game also features two of his friends, , Kairi, and Riku. The primary antagonist is Ansem , who is seeking to find power and knowledge by using dark beings called the Heartless . The Heartless, hearts corrupted by darkness, serve as most of the enemies encountered in the game and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. As a game meant to explore the fictional universes of various Disney films, there are over 100 Disney characters.2223 While many serve as major characters in the story, others appear in cameo roles, such as the '' One Hundred And One Dalmatians '' puppies playing part in a side-quest. Most worlds also feature a Disney villain that the player must defeat. The player can summon various Disney characters to fight alongside Sora in battle, causing Donald and Goofy to withdraw from the battlefield for the duration of the summon. Available summoned characters include the Genie from '' Aladdin '', Tinkerbell from '' Peter Pan '', Bambi , Dumbo , and Simba from '' The Lion King ''. Square 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 back-story. On Destiny Islands, the player meets younger versions of Tidus , Wakka (both from ''Final Fantasy X''), and Selphie Tilmitt (from ''Final Fantasy VIII''). In Traverse Town, the player encounters Squall Leonhart (known in this game as "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.2425 Cloud and Sephiroth (both from ''Final Fantasy VII'') make appearances in Olympus Coliseum, where the player can fight them in the tournaments. The emphasis on characters from later ''Final Fantasy'' installments stems from Tetsuya Nomura's hesitation to use characters he did not design.26 The game also uses other ''Final Fantasy'' icons. Moogle s appear to 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, a reference to the airship of ''Final Fantasy VII''. The magic-naming system in ''Kingdom Hearts'' (i.e. Fire, Fira, Firaga, etc.) is identical to ''Final Fantasy'' magic. The names of various spells are also the names of Gummi blocks, and various summons, weapons, bosses, and monsters are the names of Gummi ship blueprints. Story ''Kingdom Hearts'' begins on Destiny Islands, where Sora, Riku and Kairi live. The three friends want to leave the islands to explore new worlds and have prepared a raft for this purpose. One night, the islands are attacked by darkness and shadow creatures. Sora seeks out his friends, finding Riku, who disappears into darkness. At the same time, Sora obtains the Keyblade. The islands are destroyed, and Sora is left adrift. Meanwhile, King Mickey Mouse has left his world to deal with the increasing darkness and left instructions for mage Donald Duck and knight Goofy to find the "key". Donald and Goofy use a Gummi Ship to travel to Traverse Town, to where Sora has drifted. Sora encounters the shadow creatures again, and meets Leon, who explains the shadow creatures are , seek out the seven Princesses Of Heart to unlock the Keyhole that leads to Kingdom Hearts, a repository of knowledge and power and the source of all hearts. This group includes Riku, whom Maleficent promises she will help in finding Kairi. Maleficent sows distrust in Riku, telling him that Sora has abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade.Maleficent: You see? It’s just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now he values them for more than he does you. You’re better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I’ll help you find what you’re searching for... 28 An increasingly antagonistic Riku finds Kairi's body, but cannot find her heart. Sora and his friends eventually arrive at Hollow Bastion, the homeworld of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he was simply the "delivery boy".Sora: But that’s impossible. How did this happen? I’m the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade! / '''Riku:''' You were just the delivery boy. Sorry, your part’s over now. 29 Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, leave with Riku. Sora challenges Riku, stating that his heart derives strength from his friends; his friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed, Riku meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness. The three engage and kill Maleficent but then meet a strangely-behaved Riku with a Keyblade that unlocks hearts. Sora finds Kairi's body and Riku, who reveals himself to be Ansem, possessing Riku's body.Sora: What? You... You're not Riku. / ... / Sora: Tell me. Who are you? / '''Ansem:''' It is I, Ansem, the seeker of darkness. 30 Ansem explains that Kairi is a Princess of Heart and that her heart was trapped within Sora's body since the Destiny Islands were destroyed. After defeating Ansem, Sora uses Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart, releasing both his and Kairi's heart. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole, while Sora becomes a Heartless. Sora is restored to human form by Kairi and he resolves to follow Ansem. Ansem is found in End of the World, the combined remnants of worlds taken by the Heartless. Ansem explains his belief that darkness is the heart's true essence, and he seeks Kingdom Hearts, as that would be the ultimate darkness. However, upon opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, it reveals its light, killing Ansem. Beyond the door are Mickey and Riku, and they help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it. Mickey and Sora use their Keyblades to lock the door. The worlds reconstruct themselves, separating Sora and Kairi. The game concludes as Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey.Donald: Well, now what do we do? / '''Sora:''' We’ve gotta find Riku and King Mickey. 31 AUDIO Musical score The music is composed by Yoko Shimomura . Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack CD insert. Toshiba-Emi Limited. 2002. While there are some melodies derived from previous Disney films, most of the soundtrack consists of original themes written specifically for the game by Shimomura. The opening orchestration and ending credits theme were arranged and orchestrated by Kaoru Wada and performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra . The main vocal theme for the original Japanese release was titled . The English version of "Hikari", " Simple And Clean ", was used in the Western releases and the Japanese re-release, ''Final Mix''. Both versions of the song were composed and performed by Utada Hikaru . Her involvement, along with the Japanese song title, was announced in January 2002.32 Utada was the only singer Nomura had in mind for the Kingdom Hearts theme song.33 This marked the first time Utada had produced a song for a video game. The single, ''Hikari'', was released in Japan on March 20 , 2002 34 and proved to be very popular; by August 2002, it had sold over 860,000 copies in Japan. The Kingdom Hearts soundtrack was released on a two CD set on March 27, 2002 in Japan and a year later in the United States. The soundtrack was later included in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' Original Soundtrack Complete , which was released in Japan on the March 28, 2007.35 Voice cast Kingdom Hearts featured well-known voice actors for both the Japanese and English versions. The Japanese version featured Miyu Irino as Sora, Risa Uchida as Kairi, and Mamoru Miyano as Riku. Other notable voice actors included Kōichi Yamadera , Hideo Ishikawa , Maaya Sakamoto , Takashi Aoyagi , Yū Shimaka and Shinichirō Miki .36 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 English version featured Haley Joel Osment as Sora, David Gallagher as Riku, and Hayden Panettiere as Kairi.3738 Other notable voice actors included Sean Astin , Billy Zane , Lance Bass , David Boreanaz , Mandy Moore , and Christy Romano .39 DEVELOPMENT The idea for ''Kingdom Hearts'' came about when producer Shinji Hashimoto met with a Disney executive in an elevator; Square and Disney had previously worked in the same building in Japan.40 Originally the development focused more on the gameplay with a simple story to appeal to Disney's target age range. After executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi told Nomura that the game would be a failure if it did not aim for the same level as the Final Fantasy series, he began to develop the story further.41 When choosing the Disney worlds to include in the game, Nomura and his team tried to pick worlds that had distinctively different looks.42 They also tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting. Though they had few restrictions on which worlds they could use from the Disney franchises, they tried to remain within each character's boundaries set by their respective Disney films.43 Some content that did not make it into ''Kingdom Hearts'' was later added into '' Kingdom Hearts II ''. The "Pride Land" from '' The Lion King '', for instance, was infeasible because a different program was required for Sora to turn into a lion and walk on four legs.44 Tifa Lockhart was considered to be included along with Sephiroth, but was left out due to time constraints.45 The game began development in February 200046 and was announced at E3 in May of 2001. Initial details were that it would be a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive and would feature worlds developed by both companies and Disney characters. New characters were designed by Nomura and include Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the Heartless. The production team was comprised of over 100 members from both Square and Disney.47 A playable demo was available at the Tokyo Game Show in the autumn of 2001. The gameplay of the demo showcased many action role-playing game elements that would be included in the final product.48 To help market the English release of the game, Square launched the official website in April 2002, which featured trailers, a "Name-In-Game" sweepstakes, and other Internet content.49 On May 14 , 2002 , a press release announced a list of the English voice actors. The listed included Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, and Hayden Panettiere as the three new characters introduced in the game. It was also announced that many of the Disney characters would be voiced by their original voice actors from their respective Disney films.50 Additional content was added to the North American release that was not included in the initial Japanese release. The new content included new optional bosses, one of which was named after the winner of the official website's "Name-In-Game" sweepstakes, an additional difficulty level,51 and an unlockable teaser of ''Kingdom Hearts II''. Nomura included the teaser in hopes that fans would want a sequel. He was unsure if fans would want a sequel and felt that if they did not, then it would be best to leave certain events in the game unexplained.52 The new content was later added to the Japanese re-release titled ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix''. ''Final Mix'' also included additional content such as new items, cut scenes, and enemies. The new content served as a Canonical update to the original release and further hinted at plotlines that would be explained in sequels. RECEPTION ''Kingdom Hearts'' received overall positive reviews and sales figures. During the first two months of its North American release it was one of the top three highest-selling video games60 and was one of the top selling titles during the 2002 holiday season. In November 2002, UBS Warburg listed it as the 6th highest console game in terms of sales during the week of November 5.61 At the end of April 2003, Square announced that ''Kingdom Hearts'' had sold its millionth copy in the United States, which made it eligible for PlayStation's "Greatest Hits" status, and over 3 million worldwide. Sales reached 1.2 million in Japan in the first quarter of 2004, and broke 4 million worldwide.62 In December 2005, the NPD Group listed it as "one of the top ten best-selling PlayStation 2 titles of all time in North America".63 As of December 2006, ''Kingdom Hearts'' had shipped over 5.6 million copies worldwide with 1.1 million in PAL Region s, 1.5 million in Japan, and 3 million in North America. Critical response The game received high ratings among reviews. In IGN 's Best of 2002 awards, it was nominated for "PS2's Best Game of 2002 Editor's Choice Award" and was a runner up for "PS2's Best Game of 2002 Reader's Choice Award".64 In 2007, they listed ''Kingdom Hearts'' as the 22nd best PlayStation 2 game of all time.65 Critics commended the visuals, orchestral score, voice acting, and action-adventure role-playing game feel to the game. IGN named it "Best Art Style/Direction", runner-up for "Best CG Graphics", and honorable mention for "Best Animation" in IGN's 2003 list of "Best Looking Games on PS2".66 ''GamePro'' stated the graphics were "gorgeous" and rated them a 4.5 out of 5. The audio was also praised, particularly the quality of the voice-overs and a well received musical score. GamePro had positive comments on the overall audio and rated it a 5 out of 5. Criticism about the gameplay was mixed. Many reviews complained that the camera was at times frustrating and the Gummi Ship portions were out of place. GameSpot cited "tedious" gameplay and Gummi Ship sections as "pale imitations of the ''Star Fox'' Series ", but stated that the combat was fun, particularly the boss fights. Dengeki Online commented on the camera controls, saying that the camera would often run into objects while being rotated by the player.67 GamePro compared the battle system to "old N64 Zelda Games " and had positive comments about Donald and Goofy's AI. GameSpot commented that the concept of mixing the serious elements of ''Final Fantasy'' with the lighter elements of Disney seemed impossible, but was pulled off quite well. Because of that they awarded ''Kingdom Hearts'' "Best Crossover Since '' Capcom Vs. SNK ''" in their 2002 Best and Worst of the Year awards. GameSpy cited that the periodic departure from the main plot into the Disney side stories was disappointing, and when the original plot builds to a climax, "...the story fails to gel thanks to a confusing mish-mash of vague terms and symbolism that probably made more sense in the director's head than in this final product." Aside from the plot, they stated the overall package was worth playing through to the end. G4TV awarded it "Best Story" at their 2003 G-Phoria awards show.68 Fan response was also positive; ''Kingdom Hearts'' was voted as the 19th best game of all-time by readers of the Japanese magazine '' Famitsu '',69 16th by the users of website GameFAQs ,70 and 92nd by IGN users.71 VERSIONS AND MERCHANDISE Multiple versions of ''Kingdom Hearts'' have been released. The first was the original Japanese release which was followed by the North American and PAL releases, which included additional content. The game was later re-released in Japan as ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'', which featured the content of the North American/PAL release, as well as new content. Both Square and Disney also released numerous types of merchandise before and after the release of the game. Merchandise ranged from toys and figurines to clothing items and books. Like the ''Final Fantasy'' games, Square released an '' Ultimania '' book on ''Kingdom Hearts'' in Japan following the release of the game and a revised edition following the release of ''Final Mix''. In North America, a strategy guide was released by Brady Games . It featured a comprehensive walkthrough and a sticker activity journal.72 A Manga Series based on the game was also released in both Japan and the United States. A novel series also based on the game was released in Japan. It was authored by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. The novel series consists of two volumes and is scheduled to be released in the United States in August 2007.7374 Final Mix ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' has several events and a number of gameplay tweaks that are not in previous releases. Spoken dialogue is in English,75 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 cut scenes after seeing them once. The optional bosses first included in the English version were introduced to Japanese players for the first time, along with " Unknown ", in an attempt to raise interest for the sequel. In another attempt at foreshadowing, a video titled "Another Side, Another Story dive " plays at the ending if the player accomplishes certain tasks.76 New music tracks incorporated were "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,77 and gameplay tweaks to make the game easier for the player, along with two new difficulty levels.78 On the first day of the re-release, the game also included either a deck of Kingdom Hearts cards or a special music CD. A limited "Platinum Edition" version of ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' was also released. The platinum version included an action figure of Sora, a sticker set, sketches of some of the main characters, and the game itself.79 Manga The game was adapted into a manga by ''. A noteworthy feature of the manga is that even in its original, Japanese language edition, the ''Kingdom Hearts'' comic adaptation was designed to be read from left to right, contrary to the Japanese norm, although the later ''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' and ''Kingdom Hearts II'' comic adaptations are read from right to left. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS --- Please do not add any more fansite links. We have enough. > |
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