Who fights with a key? I mean, honestly...

I just want to ask that question straight from the start. What is a key going to do in the long run? Are you going to bludgeon the Heartless to death? Yeesh...Well, now on to the game itself.

I had never actually heard about Kingdom Hearts until someone here at school actually brought the PS2 over to my room and started playing it. At first, I saw the Disney credits and figured it would be a stupid game, since I'm much more into the role-playing titles (I've become somewhat of a Final Fantasy buff, recently playing through FFVII, FFVIII, and FFIX, hehe). However, I looked again and saw the Square logo on the screen. I was intrigued as to why Square and Disney would team up, and it made me want to play the game even more.

At the start of the game, you control a 14 year old boy named Sora. The first glimpse we get of the game - and frankly, one of the reasons I enjoyed the game so much - is the opportunity for customization from the beginning. No, you can't change the lead character's name, as I often do (for example, FF7's Cloud, FF8's Squall, and FF9's Zidane all became Matt :-D), but it's something even better than that. The game allows you to get a feel for the controls before actually entering the storyline, and after a short while you arrive in a room with a sword, a staff, and a shield. You are given the option to choose one item and discard another. Each combination gives Sora a different set of starting attributes and determines what abilities he will learn at what level. If you choose the staff and discard the sword, for example, Sora garners more magical atributes than attacking power, and he learns magically-inclined attributes first. Combine that with a question-and-answer session - involving various Final Fantasy characters such as FF8's Selphie and FF10's Tidus and Wakka - that determines at what rate you level up, and you've made for a multitude of scenarios already. You could play through this game a lot and still not play it exactly the same way twice.

Without getting too involved in the plot, let's just say that Sora and his friends, Riku and Kairi, are living on an island and preparing to explore new worlds when their home is attacked by a wave of dark creatures known as the Heartless. Sora rushes to find his friends, only to discover that Riku is disappearing in front of him. Sora reaches out to grab him, but instead of grabbing flesh he takes hold of the legendary Keyblade. With this keyblade, he fights off wave after wave of monster and sets off to find his friends. Meanwhile, Sir Goofy the knight and Mage Donald are sent on a mission by King Mickey (of course) to find the Keyblade master and stick with him. The plot takes various twists and turns from here, but the general notion is that each world the party travels to - representing many different Disney movies such as "Alice in Wonderland", "Hercules", and "The Little Mermaid", to name a few - is being overrun by the Heartless, and it is up to Sora to stop the evil creatures and seal the worlds by locking the keyholes. It's a long, drawn out plot, but the time consumed playing through it is time well spent. If the game goes by too quickly for you, there's always the ever-present side quests, such as trying to find the 99 dalmatian puppies (more work than it's worth, if you ask me) and tournaments at the Coliseum (my personal favorite, not to mention a great place to level up).

On to the graphics, possibly the most amazing aspect of the game. There are a lot of different worlds, and each has its own distinctive atmosphere. The worlds were captured right down to a tee, from Ariel's Grotto (the "Under the Sea" scene), to Wonderland's Rabbit Hole, to the innards of Monstro (if you can't remember Monstro, go watch Pinnochio again). What's amazing is that the little details are there. All the characters look even better than they did in the movies, and you'll find so many of your favorites in here that you'll be in constant awe. For example, you can fight with Tarzan, Peter Pan, Beast, and even Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (yay!!!) The baddies are just as detailed...Hades is still quite the hot-head, Ursula tries to ruin Sora's stint as a mer-man (play the game to find out), and Maleficent is as evil as ever. Wow!

As for the cameos, I was utterly impressed. The combination of Square and Disney worked out perfectly! If you've played anything since FF7, you'll know a good share of the characters in the game. Aerith (in FF it was Aeris...grrr...) is voiced by Mandy Moore, who I was overjoyed to see in the credits. Squall (wearing Rinoa's wings on his jacket, if you pay attention), Yuffie, and FF7's version of Cid all make appearances in the game too. Of course, you can't possibly escape a Final Fantasy game without fighting arguably the baddest baddie of all, Sephiroth himself! ~frightened shiver~

The only thing I can find wrong with this game is the camera angles. Unlike the typical Square game, KH is a game where the camera remains focused on Sora at ALL TIMES! While this offered a refreshing break from the turn-based FF fighting style, there are instances where the camera will not - repeat, WILL NOT - move where you want it to go! At these times you simply have to grin and bear it, because pounding the controller won't make it any better.

Wow, that was quite the long review for me...and I haven't even finished the game yet after 56 vain hours! This just goes to show you that KH is not for the weak at heart or mind, because it really tries your patience at times. But in the end, that which we struggle for often brings the greatest rewards. Cheers to Disney and Square, and if you don't bring out a KH2, I'll hunt you down. Simple enough.

-Matt