Introduction
When it was released that Square and Disney were teaming up to make a RPG
game involving Disney character, most RPG fans coughed to avoid their
laughing. Disney has yet to make an even okay game, they answered. When it
was entitled “Kingdom Hearts,” they laughed even more. I have to admit, I
agreed with them at the time. How could Square waste their time making a
Disney game which is bound to be terrible? This was the same Square we’re
talking about, right? The RPG giant?

Time passed and Square announced the release of the trailer. At first, only
a few viewed it. Then more and more. By the time ended, Kingdom Hearts was
one of the most hyped games of the year. With the battle system different
that Square’s usual turn-based, also with Disney character killing, it
couldn’t be THAT bad.


Gameplay
You play Sora, a young 14 year old who lives with his family on Destiny
Island. He has two friends: Riku, a 17 year old whom Sora is jealous of, and
Kairi, a 14 year old whom Sora likes (though he never admits it). All three
want to leave the island and go to another world away from Destiny Island.
As they build a raft, an unknown storm appears and Riku and Kari disappear.
Several black…things…appear from the ground. Riku runs to find Riku and
Kairi, where he stumbles onto the Keyblade. The Keyblade is a key which is
used as a blade. Sora finds both of his friends, but he falls in darkness.


Story
And here it is. Kingdom Hearts is one of the best selling RPG’s in the
country. Not only best selling, but is in the top ten is best RPGs. I
decided to pick this game up after reading all of the good reviews about. I
was blown away.

Kingdom Hearts begins with a short scene, which doesn’t explain much. Here
Square involved something new. Here, you can pick what kind of moves you
want to learn later on. For instance, if you pick a sword, and give up the
wand, then you will have more strength, but less magic. Then it begins a
short tutorial and a simple boss fight. Then the plot unwinds.


Graphics
Later on in the story, Sora finds Donald Duck and Goofy, who are looking for
King Mickey after he left the castle mysteriously. Then find out about the
Heartless, and how they take people to an unknown world. Sora, determined to
find his friends, decides to go with Donald and Goofy to explore other
worlds and try to find their friends.


Sound
Each world is part of one of the Disney classics. One is from Tarzan, and
another is Wonderland. Each world has a certain level of Heartless there, so
you better watch out!

To travel between worlds, Square made the “Gummi Ship.” There are several
enemies that you encounter when traveling between worlds. You get into your
Gummi Ship and blow them up with your lasers. Several new items can be found
on the way there.

The Battle System is quite simple. There is a command bar on the bottom left
side. Which even is selected is what will happen when you press X. You can
switch commands by using the D Pad. Square is one of your moves which you
assign. Circle is to jump. To use magic, you must assign one magic to the X,
square, and triangle buttons. To do magic in battle, hold down L1 and press
one of the three buttons to do that magic. R1 is to lock on, and L2 and R2
are to change camera angles. It may take a while to get used to.



Conclusion
Kingdom Hearts takes some time to beat, about 30-40 hours average. Don’t
expect a quick game. Some of the puzzles are really hard, and sometimes you
have to simply go all the way back to the beginning of the world to
accomplish something. But, like all RPGs, it has an end.

Overall, don’t skip it at the gamestore. Definitely pick it up if you like
RPGs. Disney and Square make a great team.