Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts, I'm saying this straight out, it is one of the best video games ever created. Video Games don't get much better than this, it is absolutely magical. The kind of magic you got from Disney 50 years ago with movies like Bambi or Snow White. The imagery is way ahead for its time. (2002) If you don't like this game, I have no clue what to say to you expect good luck ever liking a video game.

This movie is enchanting to the point you want the characters to be real. I mean it is quite an addicting game. It soothes your mind and takes all the problems you have on the real world. I give this movie a 10/10. I would rate it way higher if I could.

...let Square (sorry, Square Enix) do it. A lot of people groaned when they heard the words "Disney" and "platform game" put together when this game was first described, although a lot more interest was spawned when people heard that several Final Fantasy (the best game series ever) characters would be appearing. People demand a lot more from games these days - plot, story, character, action. People would never have dreamed of this when they were sitting playing KABOOM on their old Atari 2600s. The old platform game is now dead hopefully, make way for a new breed of platform game.

I can only describe this game as a masterpiece of entertainment. It had action, drama, coherent plot that got typically complicated towards the end (very Japanese sorta thing). It was well worth the money I paid for it, although the problem with Final Fantasy-esque games is their lack of replayability. Everyone likes surprises in plots, but they only work once. I wish I had some sort of operation to make me forget certain specific things so I could play FF9 again...

Years in the making and hyped like crazy, Kingdom Hearts for the PlayStation 2 had me eagerly awaiting for months. Although not a big Disney fan, I salivated at the dream of seeing all the great Disney and SquareSoft characters together in one DVD game. When September 17, 2002 came, I ran out to get my copy and have been enthralled by this game's beauty, charm, and playability.

Kingdom Hearts features two stories, one, about a boy named Sora who is looking for his friends who have vanished. and two, Donald Duck and Goofy, who are looking for the missing King Mickey. The three have to work together when they find out that they hold the key from keeping the Disney worlds from being destroyed by The Heartless.

You'll travel through a number of classic Disney films such as Aladdin, Pinocchio, Tarzan, and The Little Mermaid. You'll meet all sorts of cameo appearances from Disney films and SquareSoft's Final Fantasy games. The games play like the Legend Of Zelda series, with real-time battling, you control Sora while the other two characters support you. You'll face classic bosses from the movies, such as Captain Hook and Jafar as the Evil Genie.

The graphics of this game are gorgeous, looking like an animated Disney film itself. The power of DVD games makes all the difference. The gameplay is good, too, although niggles with the camera get in the way. The sound is great, too, although I would have liked to hear the songs from the movies that are used as levels. Of course, the voice acting is first-rate, with one of the deepest casts ever put together. The premier child actor Haley Joel Osment voices Sora. You've got actors reprising their voice roles from the films such as James Woods(Hades), Gilbert Gottfried(Iago), and Dan Castelenatta(The Genie from the Aladdin T.V. series). You've got it all: pop stars like Mandy Moore (Aerith) and Lance Bass (Sephiroth), fading talents like Robby Benson and Chris Sarandon, the cool voice of Billy Zane, rising stars, even Tiny Toons voice for Babs Bunny (Tress MacNeille) is here. The voices for Donald and Goofy are spot-on accurate, too.

Put it all together and you've got a game that's a must own if you have the PS2. A truly landmark game, this proves that cross-marketing, mass-marketing, and celebrity firepower can work. Buy it! ***** out of *****!

I first played this game when I rented it from the local video rental back in 2003, when I was nine years old. I loved it so much that I received it for Christmas and became utterly addicted. To this day, the original Kingdom Hearts remains one of my favorite video games of all time.

The sequels aren't bad, but for me nothing can replicate the warmth, charm, and simplicity to be found in the first game. It seems the first KH was the only game that managed the perfect balance between the Disney and Final Fantasy elements. Nowadays, it seems like both of them are window dressing with little relation to the overarching plot. KH's story is quite good, championing themes of friendship and love without feeling cheesy or preachy.

The game play is standard button-mashing, but there are tons worlds to explore. The ability system isn't confusing to get a handle on, and the side quests are great and numerous.

Is it perfect? No. The camera is wonky, the Gummi Ship levels are rather dull, and the Monstro level is torture with its outright awful level design. Still, none of that takes away from an otherwise excellent game, one that can still please children and adults alike, just as the great Disney films continue to do.

Like most other Square Fans, I was extremely skeptical when I first heard that the RPG legend would be teaming up with Disney, of all people, to produce a game. However, as time went on and more screenshots and gameplay tidbits were released, Kingdom Hearts became more and more appealing. Thankfully, When the big release day finally arrived, I was not disappointed. Square had managed to perfectly intergrate the Disney mythos along with the Final Fantasy universe to create a game of a game. Square has once again shown its talent for creating magical RPGs.

Kingdom Hearts is truly a stunning accomplishment and may very well be the game of the year for 2002. The biggest problem with Kingdom Hearts is that many gamers are bashing it because of the inclusion of the Disney characters without even playing the game. This is very short-sighted. Kingdom Hearts is a classic game, and if you own a PS2, this is one game that should absolutely be in your collection.