We have finally arrived to this point. It is time to look at Kingdom Hearts with its progress over the years. Welcome back to Beginning, Impact, and Future. As many of you have probably seen, I have been covering Kingdom Hearts III with my own speculation on what could possibly be awesome for the final entry to have. If you haven't seen them, please check them out from my blog section. For now, we will be looking at Kingdom Hearts beginning, cultural influence, and celebrate it as we near its final game.
Kingdom Hearts was the ambitious project that was led by Tetsuya Nomura who overheard a conversation between Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi regarding the success of Super Mario 64 with its three dimensions of movement to compliment a new game they want to do. The two agreed on the gameplay aspect of their new project, but they felt that only characters as popular as Disney's could rival in popularity with Mario for such a venture. A chance meeting between Hashimoto and a Disney executive in an elevator (since both companies worked in the same building in Japan at the time) led to him pitching the idea to the executive. By February 2000, production had begun as Hashimoto took the reigns as producer and Nomura as the director.
Originally, the game was meant to have a simple story with a focus on gameplay so as to appeal to a target age range, but Hashimoto told Nomura that the game won't succeed if they didn't try to formulate the story in ways that they have when it came to Final Fantasy. So, Nomura began to flesh out the story more. He took inspiration from Disney theme parks and wanted to add "Kingdom" as the title, but the struggle was trying to get the IP for it. The team opted to have hearts be a central theme of the game. As such, the title changed to Kingdom Hearts.
The game featured hack-and-slash gameplay with a flowing story of light versus darkness. Worlds were disappearing and it's up to the fated wielder of the Keyblade (Sora) and his two companions (Donald and Goofy) to go from world to world to save the universe from the Heartless, Maleficent, and the mysterious Ansem. The characters travel from one Disney world to another with the main conflict being Disney villains using the Heartless for their bids of domination and searching for those they lost (Kairi and King Mickey). As the story progressed, revelations show that Kingdom Hearts is more than just a game that could appeal to kids. The story is very mature and its content is just as great.
Gameplay saw many similarities to Final Fantasy. Sora, Donald, and other Disney characters are able to wield magic. Their magic upgrades over time just like in Final Fantasy. So where you could have Fire it upgrades to Fira and then to Firaga. Each spell increases in power and changes in effect. A party system allows for three characters. Primarily it includes Sora, Donald, and Goofy, but Donald or Goofy can be replaced by another character by visiting a certain world. Each character has their own strengths and contributions to the party (which includes team attacks starting in Kingdom Hearts II). Summons became available in the form of various Disney characters. Replacing the two party members once summoned, the character unleashes their power by either supporting Sora or attacking with him. Even certain items saw a return from Final Fantasy for purchase or finding them (e.g. Tents, Ethers, and Elixirs).
The main differences of Kingdom Hearts' gameplay to Final Fantasy was its open environments that allowed for hack-and-slash gameplay and the Gummi Ship levels. As Sora levels up, his moves and techniques vary to allow him to be more versatile in combat. You can condition Sora to be as fast or as heavy hitting as you want him to be. You can focus on constantly using magic or you can be all about pure physical fighting. You can also edit your party members' accessories and abilities to match your strategy. Increasing their strength and magic and changing their abilities allows for more flexibility. The Gummi Ship sections have been set ship combat and having the freedom to craft your own ships. In Kingdom Hearts II, it evolved to have different modes and score attack goals. For a hack-and-slash game, there are a lot of options to keep it fresh and constantly changing.
The visuals of Kingdom Hearts have a very Disney feel to them. Even Sora is dressed similarly to Mickey Mouse. Although Nomura was best known for creature design, he made waves when he did the character design for Final Fantasy VII. His work is equally impressive here. The worlds look just as fantastic with Disney worlds crafted from the ground up to mirror the source material. The original worlds like Traverse Town, Hollow Bastion, and The World That Never Was all have wonderful environments that give a true fantasy yet eerie feel to them.
I remember seeing a commercial for Kingdom Hearts on television. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but my sister had taken an immediate interest. She got the game and played it on my Playstation 2. As she played the game, my interest grew as the gameplay, callbacks to Disney, and visuals impressed me. I started playing it and I was completely drawn in.
The odd collaboration of Square-Enix and Disney made a questionable crossover work. The writing and plot blended the many ideas that the team had so well. I doubt the team realized what kind of successful product they had created. Why say that? Because Nomura once stated that they created the secret trailer at the end of Kingdom Hearts to tease about a possible sequel to see the reaction of gamers if a sequel would be something they are interested in. Interested in a sequel we were. The trailer was cryptic and added even more questions to the already speculative ending of the first game. Thus, the series became the hit it did with additions like Chain of Memories and the official sequel.
Kingdom Hearts got featured on handhelds and had the sequel on the Playstation 2 with a grand total of eight titles across these platforms. Kingdom Hearts III will become number nine in the series (not including remakes and ports). Gamers eagerly await more news as the game is developed and will see its release in the new generation.
In the culture aspect of video games, Kingdom Hearts has seen a lot of exposure. Cosplays, artwork, music covers, and videos mold the core influence the series has had. I just attended Anime Central (ACEN) held near Chicago. There were many people cosplayed as Kingdom Hearts characters. Many created their own Keyblades. Some attendees even had some well done art pieces. The impact Kingdom Hearts has in gaming with narrative and overall scope and with fans showing appreciation with art and cosplay shows that people truly admire this series.
With Kingdom Hearts III nearing, the dedication from the fans continues to grow more and more. Even though we are working with very little information at this point in time, we do know that the game is releasing in this new generation. As for the development team, speculation rests that while this story of Kingdom Hearts may conclude it is possible for more additions. Personally, I hope they stick to ending the series while it's still relevant in a positive way. That opinion is coming from the fact that we have gone an entire generation without so much as any focus on Kingdom Hearts having a console release. The only thing we can do is continue to show our support and hope that this final game will end the series in a great way.
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"I remember seeing a commercial for Kingdom Hearts on television. I didn't know what to make of it at first, but my sister had taken an immediate interest. She got the game and played it on my Playstation 2. As she played the game, my interest grew as the gameplay, callbacks to Disney, and visuals impressed me. I started playing it and I was completely drawn in."
o_0
Did you contract the NSA to spy on me or something? Because that's almost EXACTLY how it went down for me (save a few details)!
I grew up on Disney's movies (and their theme parks) so Disney will always have special meaning for me. But when I saw the ad for KH for the first time, I nearly wet myself. I never thought a Disney game could look so incredibly awesome. When my younger sister got it for her PS2 (I would regularly have to help her with her games when they got too difficult for her), I was blown away. It was the talk of the school yard at both our schools*.
As for KHIII, I'm pretty sure its impossible for to not be satisfied with whatever may come, but let's not tempt fate, shall we? ;)
*yes, even in Jamaica
Really love your article! You hit so many points as to why I love KH. But one thing I do have is say is I disagree as to whether they should end it :D, I can see it continuing for a while still and would love a new saga, but I just hope it continues with its quality.