My first review of a video game...here we go.
A Little Background:
I grew up playing video games, but I am in no way considered a gamer. I played recreationally. Pokemon (specifically the Crystal version), Super Mario Brothers, Halo, Harvest Moon - all these games were part of my childhood, but I never saw games as a platform to tell a story, let alone be considered as an art medium. I played to play, and at the end of the day, would turn the console off and would feel no different than when I first began playing.
Fast forward 15 years, and here I am on my couch with my shirt collar in my fist, wiping tears off my face and the end of Kingdom Hearts III playing in front of me on our tv. Andrew is silent, and we remain quiet throughout the entirety of the credits. The feeling in my chest was comparable to the emotions I felt when I would close a book -- a really good book. I laughed, I cried, and I had so many questions about where the story will go next. Although no way near the end of the series, it might be years before Andrew and I will get to play the next game.
I was going to miss the characters. But I wasn't always a fan of Kingdom Hearts, in fact, I was very skeptical about the whole premise of the game before Andrew ever even asked me to play it with him.
When Kingdom Hearts first came out, I thought it looked really stupid.
Really, really stupid. Why are Mickey, Donald and Goofy hanging out with spiky hair, anime people? And why do they all have massive feet? Why did Disney feel like it had to enter the video game world, and in such a tasteless way? Don't they make enough money already? The mixture of the two seemed as good of an idea as that puppy-monkey-baby commercial played during the 2016 Superbowl. I brushed it off, and didn't think twice about it. That is, until I met Andrew ten years later, someone who played the games, and loved them.
At this point, he and I already played several games together, and I had grown to appreciate and even love video games as a storytelling medium. We played all of the Uncharted games, Final Fantasy X, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Walking Dead, and The Last of Us. All of these games were fantastic, and also all highly recommended.
So, after finishing one of the aforementioned games, Andrew asked if we could play Kingdom Hearts together. And after internally groaning, I relented, thinking of the countless hours I would have to endure. When you love someone, you do all you can to make them happy. So I took up my cross, and we began Kingdom Hearts.
In the beginning, I had a lot of fun poking at the clunky animation of the characters, and the general cheesiness of the interactions between Sora, the protagonist (pictured, in the red onesie thing) and the Disney characters. I thought I could make fun of the games to keep me entertained. But despite my skepticism, the story of Kingdom Hearts quietly took a hold of my attention, and now here I am telling you why I love it several games, and several months later.
Sora, our young protagonist, is whisked away on an adventure to far away worlds after his two best friends disappear in a storm of dark clouds and monsters. Vowing to find them and bring them home, Sora finds unlikely allies and sinister enemies as he travels through various worlds to find his friends. During his adventures, Sora discovers his ability to wield a Keyblade, a blade which helps him vanquish monsters he encounters along the way. These monsters are called Heartless, and they're a pain.
One might think that a game which involves wholesome and lovable Disney characters can't be all that complicated, right? Just look at how cute Donald looks! Good versus evil, right?
Oh, you sweet, summer child.
I'm not going to try to give you a better more detailed synopsis, because I could never give you one that is brief enough. This is simply a post regarding to how I feel about the games.
Seriously, I give myself a headache if I tried explaining it.
But that's the rub. Although complicated, the plot quickly becomes so compelling, and the characters so lovable, that you must play the games through to know what happens next. And, admittedly, playing the complete series is a serious time commitment. But if patient, the pay out is completely worth it.
Here is a complete list of all Kingdom Hearts titles (not including remakes and remasters):
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts coded
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover
Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]
Kingdom Hearts III
Wanting to get me up to speed with the release of Kingdom Hearts III approaching, Andrew and I played all the games in a matter of a few months (with the exception of a couple where we only watched the movie sequences to get the plot points). To someone who has never played before and is on the fence with starting, this list might be intimidating, but believe me, it's worth it. Not once did it ever feel like we were slogging through just to get them out of the way in time for the release of Kingdom Hearts III. In fact, unlike those who played the games as they were released, you have the advantage, like me, to get the entire story in a short span of time, instead of waiting years between each installment. This helps with remembering all the intricacies of the plot.
So why do I love Kingdom Hearts?
Because it surprised me. I spent ten years of my life thinking it was something it wasn't. And I'm so glad I was wrong. It surprised me how well the creators of this game integrated our beloved Disney characters in with the cast of characters created for this game. Admittedly, in the beginning, I think the creators were still figuring out how to best combine the two, but by the time we reached Kingdom Hearts III, nobody is questioning the logic of Sora chasing Elsa up the mountain while singing Let it Go, or helping Woody and Buzz take out heartless in a toy store. The game series was not in the slightest just a money grab for Disney. It was well thought out, and they took their time creating this series, and in the end, their efforts paid off.
It surprised me how much I grew to love those spiky-haired anime kids: Sora, Kairi, Riku-- the list goes on. All of them unique and compelling in their own right. Sora grew to be this silly, sweet and kind kid who always looks for the good in others.
He's not always the strongest of the bunch, and sometimes he needs a friend to lean on when he thinks he's not good enough, or when he needs a reality check, but because of his imperfections, you're just going to want to hug him at times. He's the textbook definition of a lovable character. And the interactions between Donald and Goofy are fantastic, especially in Kingdom Hearts III, their relationship full of inside jokes, ribbing, and true friendship.
But trust me, there's so many more characters you will love, and miss when the credits roll at the end of the game.
All in all, playing through this series has once again reminded me of the old adage that one should never judge a book, or video game, by it's cover. I almost missed out on one of the best stories I've ever come across in my life, and I'm oh so thankful that I didn't. If you're on the fence, take it from a former skeptic, and give this series a chance, you too may find yourself surprised by how much you love the games and the story they tell.
"There are many worlds, but they share the same sky —one sky, one destiny."
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