Kingdom Hearts: Simple and Clean Is The Way You're Making Me Feel Tonight

What do Disney and Squaresoft have in common? Well on the outside it isn't completely obvious, as Disney is an American company who children's movies, while Squaresoft is a Japanese company which develops mature themed role playing games. So what exactly is it that I'm getting at? Well first take a look at the track records for these two entertainment giants; they have both produced some of the most entertaining blockbusters the world has ever seen, but lately they have both been down on luck. Disney's last breathtaking effort was released back in the mid 90s, while Squaresoft has hasn't had a true blockbuster since around 1997 (unless you count FFX, which you really shouldn't). This is why, when I heard that Squaresoft was developing a Disney RPG, that I wasn't counting on anything special. As the game neared release, I actually found myself going out of my way to find out more information, which led me to promptly pre-order the game. After beating the game, Kingdom Hearts stating that my faith in the two companies has been restored is an understatement.

It's no secret that most of Squaresoft's efforts have been made with the older gamers in mind, and thus it came as a big surprise when the concept behind this game was revealed. My feelings for Disney have turned sour over the years; call me cynical, but the company behind the Mickey Mouse Club seems to have gotten more and more greedy as the years have passed by, and with their greed they seem to have lost ambition, with the only goal in their heads being to get even more rich. Squaresoft seems to have changed in a similar manner. This is why I really didn't think that the two companies had it in them to churn out a masterpiece, instead of their usual overhyped and boring products of entertainment.

The track record of the two companies was not the only thing to worry about when I first heard of this game, as licensing is one of the biggest plagues the industry has ever seen. Usually licenses are thrown on mediocre titles to try and generate stronger sales, and for some odd reason, the bad games are the only ones that people seem to remember. Also, Squaresoft has very little experience using entertainment licenses, and even though they did a good job with Super Mario RPG, there was still a cause for alarm after looking at a few of the early screenshots of the game. All these worries are quickly put to rest once you start playing though, as Kingdom Hearts is the second best use of a big media license in games, the best licensed game however, is Goldeneye 007.

Storyline
The biggest worries I had about this game were in the storyline area. Each Disney movie (not counting the sequels) takes place in a unique world, but the screenshots depicted various Disney characters interacting with one another, and so I was more than a little worried. Thankfully, this aspect was pulled off in a very tasteful and unique way. Squaresoft added a few characters from their own Final Fantasy series to mix things up a little for their hardcore fans, and as strange as this may sound, it actually works out very nicely in the end.

The game begins with a CGI video, typical Squaresoft style, only more it's more artistic than usual. A lot of crazy stuff is going on in the dream, and it's really impossible to know what's going on in it. The main character (who's having the dream), Sora then wakes up on a tropical beach near his home. This place is called the Destiny Islands, and Sora has lived here all his life with his friends Riku and Kairi. It's rather sad that Sora has never even left the Destiny Islands though, as he has dreams of seeing everything out there, and so him and his friends are working on a raft so that they can leave the islands to explore. On one particularly rainy night though, Sora comes face to face with strange looking creatures called the heartless on the island, and he is magically warped far away from his home to a place called Traverse Town.

Meanwhile, things aren't so happy and carefree in Mickey's Castle, as the king has turned up missing, and nobody knows quite what to do. Donald and Goofy are two of the King's most trusted subjects find a letter from the King himself telling them to go out in search of a certain "key", as it is a necessity to their future. The two head out in search of the key, and once they reach Traverse Town they meet Sora, who, after being given a giant keyblade was chosen to be the key bearer, and thus the adventure begins.

The story in Kingdom Hearts contains so many sub plots that it's not even funny, yet everything is easy enough to follow in the game, but refined enough for older gamers to enjoy. The game pretty much combines the old tried and true stories from Disney's older movies, while at the same time adding new twists to them, to fit the set story of Kingdom Hearts. It is definitely interesting to see some of the twists that Squaresoft has added to each of the little worlds, as quite a few of them have much more mature content than the original plot actually contained.

The game's plot proceeds in a very unique manner; basically Sora and friends travel from each Disney themed world to seal up the various keyholes to save the world. The worlds don't actually take very long to complete, but there are actually quite a few to conquer. There aren't as many recurring characters as there are in most other RPGs, this is mainly due to the fact that even though there are hundreds of characters you'll be seeing more than once, you will probably see them only until you complete the quest in each world.

For all of you thinking that the title, Disney's Kiddie Romp would be a more fitting name for this game, you may just be surprised. Don't be fooled by appearances, Kingdom Hearts is a very dark themed game, even despite the Disney licenses implemented within the game's colorful worlds. What looks like another Disney G-Rated game turns into a nightmare of despair. Seriously, near the end I was actually beginning to get a little freaked out by the storyline.

Gameplay
Another reason that I was afraid for this game was because just from looking at it, you can tell that Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG, meaning that everything plays out in realtime, and I haven't honestly played too many games of this sort from Squaresoft, so I didn't really know what to expect from the finished product. What this game delivers though, is a very pleasing experience that offers something refreshing in a very unique way.

Kingdom Hearts isn't really an RPG, it's more of an action game that incorporates role playing elements into the storyline and gameplay. You are in control of Sora, who can jump, run, use items, cast magic; that's just a sample of what he can do though. all of the environments are rendered in 3-Dimensions, as you probably already suspected. The activity you'll probably be doing the most (besides moving) is hacking, as there are tons and tons of malevolent monsters that need a heavy dosage of keyblade.

The most interesting aspect to Kingdom Hearts' gameplay is the integration of the command window. This makes Kingdom Hearts look a whole lot like a turn based RPG, with commands that mirror the Final Fantasy games, only everything is in realtime. To use the selected command you are to simply press the "X" button. Scrolling through commands may seem a little complicated at first, as the right analog stick is used to cycle through the commands, while the left is used to manuever about. It might sound like an easy to grasp concept, but I found myself making quite a few mistakes based on the control set up.

The system used for leveling up is very traditional; by defeating monsters you collect experience points, and when you receive a set amount of these, you gain levels. Levels will garnish Sora with more HP, MP, and other stats that rise depending on how you settle the first puzzle in the game. Enemies can drop goodies after they die, with the most common being munny (money in the game), and green orbs that recover HP.

Gaining levels also has other advantages, this time in the form of new abilities. Abilities can be set to Sora, some will allow him to jump higher, roll across the ground, and much more. These abilities allow for a lot of insane combinations during battle, and also aid in escaping from enemy attacks.

In combat Sora can be aided by teammates that follow you around and help out in fights. These teammates are sometimes set as just Donald and Goofy, but almost every world has a new character that can join until you leave, these characters are usually based around the theme of the current level you are exploring. One very nice aspect to this is that you can actually set your teammates to specific styles of attack, and you can choose their skills, and even give them items to use.

One of my favorite things about Kingdom Hearts is the boss battles. These are usually carried out in a very cinematic way, and some take quite a bit of thought to conquer. Most of the time you can win by simply using all your dodging techniques and attacking whenever you get the chance, but often times there will be a set strategy to winning that you cannot avoid.

To be completely honest, the biggest problem I had with Kingdom Hearts was the integration of Disney, but it was a very miniscule problem for me. Some of the sub plots and characters seemed very "forced" into the game, much like an after-thought that was thrown in just for the heck of it. For example, just take a look at the dalmation collecting part of the game, or the Winnie The Pooh world and you'll see what I'm talking about soon enough. The integration of past Final Fantasy characters was definitely a good thing though, as some of my favorite ones made the cut. Cloud, Yuffie, Sephiroth, and Squall all make appearances in this storybook quest. To be honest, the nostalgic FF characters are the thing that really got me interested in this game, and without them I probably wouldn't have given this game the chance it deserves.

Even when you don't count the characters, Kingdom Hearts contains a large amount of Final Fantasy paraphanelia within. Just from looking at the game you can tell that Squaresoft developed this game, even through all of the Disney cuteness and terrific visuals; it still feels like one of Squaresoft's finest through and through.

Each Disney world included in the game is treated as a seperate planet, and to get to each one you must travel through space by means of a Gummi Ship. Selecting the level that you would like to travel to is easy, and menu driven with each different world symbolized by the world itself, it's really hard to explain but hopefully you understand the general idea. After selecting a destination you are moved to a new screen, and the shooter mini game commences with you flying your ship through a small shooter level. This is a nice little diversion sometimes, but it gets old quick, and the fact that you are forced to complete the levels of this minigame to travel from place to place doesn't exactly help it's case. One interesting aspect to this minigame is that you can build your own ship and customize it to your liking, or you can just play through the game using the default ship design, it really doesn't matter what you do.

Graphics, Sound, and Control
The graphics in Kingdom Hearts are incredibly vivid and detailed, almost to the point of it looking more like a second generation Xbox or Gamecube title; sometimes I underrestimate Sony's little black rectangle. Characters are all rendered in an insane amount of polygons, so much that the Disney characters look almost as detailed as they did in the movies. Textures aren't a problem, and when the game tries, the voices match up really nicely with the smooth movement of the mouths.

Sound is a very important aspect to any RPG, and so it is definitely a good thing that Kingdom Hearts comes out in great shape. The orchestrated music has a very Disney-ish yet cinematic quality to it, and is always a joy to listen to. I also enjoyed listening to the remixed old tunes from the old Disney movies. This has one soundtrack that I'd like to get my hands on.

As I mentioned earlier, control takes a little getting used to, but it's like riding a bike, once you learn how you'll always remember. I had very little trouble controlling in this game, the only bad thing was cycling through items and magic during big battles, but thankfully enough, Squaresoft included shortcut keys for some of the commands, and this makes things flow much more smoothly.

Final Recommendation
So why should you pick up Kingdom Hearts if you haven't already done so? Well it's simple really, as the game offers one of the best gameplay experiences, and is very commendable work from two of entertainments big shots. Highly recommended, don't let the Disney licenses hold you back from picking this baby up.

Overall Rating: 9.2