LogFAQs > #896641169

32. Kingdom Hearts (NBIceman)


Now I'm not a Disney fanatic like some people on Board 8, but I did grow up watching many of their greatest hits, so when they announced a game that would cross over with my favorite video game series, Final Fantasy, I was understandably hyped about it, particularly once I found out Squall--excuse me, Leon--would be in it. Even though Kingdom Hearts has focused more on its own original content over time and less on Disney and especially Final Fantasy, that was originally what got most people in the door. The production values on the first game were very high, and they managed to net some high profile actors and actresses as voice actors, like Billy Zane, David Boreanaz (I really wish they had been able to keep him), Mandy Moore, and, in perhaps the oddest casting decision, Lance Bass to play Sephiroth. The biggest get may have been getting James Woods back to play Hades again because I just can't imagine anyone else in that role.

Much like I discussed with Ace Attorney in the previous writeup, Kingdom Hearts has gradually expanded in scale to the point that it's considered to be one of the most convoluted and nonsensical plots in gaming. The first game thrived on the fanservice of going to classic Disney worlds and interacting with the characters, as well as meeting and fighting some of the greatest Final Fantasy characters in the series (and Yuffie). Of course, the first game did have original content, like Sora and his friends, as well as the Heartless, but it was mostly integrated into all the Disney/Final Fantasy stuff until the last couple of worlds, where it takes center stage. You don't even meet Ansem until close to the end of the game. I was fine with that here because Sora wasn't that great of a character, and he spent too much time not getting along with Donald Duck. Plus, like I said, I was there for the fanservice to begin with, although they did get me invested into the series as a whole with Hollow Bastion, which was an excellent world. I think they handled it the right way by giving you what you came for up front and banking on it being enough to hook you when it got to the new stuff at the end.

The battle system in Kingdom Hearts is excellent. It's an action RPG instead of a traditional turn-based one, so it's more fast-paced, and it gradually gets more complex as you level up and learn new abilities. You also only have a certain number of Ability Points, so you have to choose which skills you value the most and which ones you can do without. The game also has a bunch of really great boss fights where they manage to capture the atmosphere very well. The Riku fights were my favorites, but there were many good ones. Kingdom Hearts also has a fantastic soundtrack, with a good blend of original songs and remixes of classic tunes. That's the strength of the first game as a whole. It manages to blend the classic with the new in an effective way.

Bonus Question: What's the main appeal of Kingdom Hearts to you: Disney, Final Fantasy, or the original content?
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