Kingdom Hearts

Gerne(s):Action RPG

System:PlayStation 2

 

Will Kingdom Hearts warm or shatter your heart?

  

If there is one thing most gamers know, is that Square-Enix is legendary when it comes to RPGs. But, when a Disney-Final Fantasy crossover action RPG was announced for the PlayStation 2 called Kingdom Hearts, gamers had their doubts. There are many game with liscensed characters or franchises that range from medicore to downright horrible [like Superman 64]. But, Kingdom Hearts turned out to be a wondefrul and awesome game. In fact, Kingdom Hearts is one of the best action RPGs ever made. Why? Find out in this review!

 

 

STORY:
Kingdom Hearts has one of the best stories ever in a RPG. While the storyline seems simple, it has many twists, turns, and hidden mysteries. The main plot involves a boy named Sora traveling with Disney characters Donald Duck and Goofy to find Sora’s friends Riku and Kairi after being seperated from them.  Because Sora bears a weapon called the ”Keyblade”, he is constantly being hunted by creatures called Heartless, creatures of darkness that do not have hearts. When Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy are in a Disney world, the story in the Disney world is usually a similar story to the Disney movie the world is based on. However, the best part of the story is the overall story. It has many mysteries and Kingdom Hearts has a very deep storyline.

 

 

GAMEPLAY:

Kingdom Hearts is a 3D action-RPG with hack and slash elements. The gameplay consists of Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy traveling through various worlds. Most of these worlds are based on Disney films. Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy will encounter Heartless in on the field during battle. The battle gameplay is in real time and it is action RPG gameplay at its finest. While every part of a battle happens in real-time, there are TONS of Final Fantasy influences from magic to summons. You can only control Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy are controlled by the A.I., but you can customize their behavior in the pause menu. The party member and enemy A.I behaivor works very well. Sora and his temporary party members have HP and MP, just like non-action RPGs. Kingdom Hearts has Disney written all over it. Most of the worlds are Disney worlds with Disney characters [like for example, Wonderland is based on the movie Alice in Wonderland], and all of your party members [including temporary party members] are Disney characters. Even all your summons are Disney characters. So, if you dislike Disney, Kingdom Hearts is not for you.

 

 

 The main hub world is Traverse Town, which is inhabited by charcters from the Final Fantasy series and a few Disney characters. Sora can travel to other worlds in a Gummi Ship.

You have to clear a 3D on-rails shooting game to travel to each world, but thankfully you can warp to worlds after a certain point in the game. You can even customize your Gummi Ship! In most Disney worlds, there are even Disney charcters who will be temporary party members in their respective Disney world. There are plenty of boss fights in Kingdom Hearts, there are all unique. Some bosses are giant Heartless, while other bosses are Disney villians. But, all the boss fights are fun and epic.

 

 

GRAPHICS:

Kingdom Hearts has some of the best graphics for a PlayStation 2 game, despite the fact that it is one of the early PlayStation 2 games. All the characters look well desinged and fit in with each part of the game. The locations look well desgined, and the Disney worlds look like those worlds were taken from their repective Disney films.

 

 

SOUND & MUSIC:

The music and sound effects are top-notch and awesome. The voice-acting is the best voice-acting you will ever hear in a video game. The voice-acting for Sora and all the original charcters is voiced by English celebrities [for example, Haley Joel Osment voices Sora]. The Disney characters are voiced by their Disney voice actors from either their original film or their TV show. The music is incredible and epic. There is an unique musical track for each world and an unique battle musical track for each world.

 

LASTING APPEAL:

Kingdom Hearts is a long game, it will take you awhile to complete the main quest of the game. It will take you even longer to complete all sidequests, and defeat all the optional bosses.

 

 

CONCLUSION:

Kingdom Hearts is one of the greatest games ever made. If you have not bought this game, you are missing out on a timeless classic. Buy it now!!

 

Graphics:10/10 For an early PlayStation 2 game, the graphics are fantastic.

Sound:10/10 The music, sound effects, and voice acting are all fantastic.

Gameplay:10/10 Kingdom Hearts’s action RPG gameplay is the best in any action RPG, period.

Lasting Appeal:10/10 The main quest will take awhile to complete, and there are plenty of sidequests and even optional bosses!

Overall:10/10 PERFECT!