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Kingdom Hearts

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File:Kingdom Hearts logo.jpg
The logo of Kingdom Hearts, the first game in the series.

Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツ, Kingudamu Hātsu) is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (formerly Square). It is the result of a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive Studios, and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square character designer. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which included many of the Disney characters' original voice actors. Characters from Square Enix's Final Fantasy series also make appearances and interact with the player and Disney characters. The series centers around the main character Sora's search for his friends and his encounters with Disney and Final Fantasy characters on their worlds.

The Kingdom Hearts series currently consists of four games across different video game platforms, though future titles are planned. Most of the games in the series have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, though each installment has seen different levels of success. As of December 2006, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over ten million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.[1][2] The video games have also been adapted into a manga series as well as a novel series.

Overview

Disney and Final Fantasy characters

As a collaboration between Disney and Square, Kingdom Hearts features a mixture of familiar Disney and Final Fantasy characters, as well as several new characters designed and created by Nomura.[3] Though the series features some original locations unique to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, worlds from Disney films are heavily explored. Sora must visit these worlds and interact with popular Disney characters to protect them from enemies. Often, Sora's actions in these worlds follow closely to the storylines featured in their accompanying Disney films. In dialogue, Donald tells Sora not to interfere with the worlds too much, since it would cause problems.[4][5] Moogles, from Final Fantasy, are another common element in the games. They provide the player with a synthesis shop in order to create items for use in the game.

Common gameplay elements

File:Kingdom Hearts Battle Screenshot.jpg
A battle in the first Kingdom Hearts

The Kingdom Hearts series games contain elements from both action and role-playing games. The games are driven by a linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cut scene, though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. The player is primarily in control of the primary protagonist of the series, Sora. Sora is usually accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, who are non-playable characters that aid Sora in battle. In the first and third game, their behavior could be altered to fit the player's needs. The games featured real-time combat that incorporates physical attacks, magic, and summonings; though each game handled battles differently.

Gummi Ships are another common theme in the series, though they are only featured in the first and third installment. The Gummi Ships serve as the main mode of transportation between worlds in the games. The gameplay for the Gummi Ships sections are more akin to a rail shooter. Because it received negative criticism in the first game, it was redone in the third installment.[6] All three games also feature a journal which is accessible from the main menu. The journal keeps track of information regarding the story, characters, enemies, and locations. In the game the journal is kept by Jiminy Cricket, who was appointed by Queen Minnie as the royal chronicler.[7]

The games are influenced by their parent franchise, Final Fantasy, and carries gameplay elements over into its own action-based, hack-and-slash system. Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player gains experience which culminate in a "level-up", where the characters grow stronger and gain access to new abilities.[8] The amount of experience is shared with all party members and each character grows stronger as experience is gained. The game also features numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters.[9]

Story

The three main games in Kingdom Hearts series focus on the adventures of Sora and his search for his friends, Kairi and Riku. The first game shows how Sora is separated from his friends when their world is attacked by a group of corrupted hearts known as the Heartless. During the invasion, he obtains a special weapon known as a Keyblade. Soon after, Sora meets Donald Duck, the Disney Castle court magician, and Goofy, the Disney Castle captain of the royal guard.[10] Donald and Goofy are searching for the "key" per instructions from King Mickey.[11] The three band together and travel to different Disney themed worlds, sealing the hearts of the worlds to prevent more Heartless invasions. Along the way they encounter a group of Disney villains, led by Maleficent, that are controlling the Heartless.[12][13] The three eventually discover that a man named Ansem, is the true antagonist. Ansem's plan is to open the door to Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Donald, and Goofy kill Ansem, and seal the door with the help of Riku and King Mickey on the other side of the door.

After sealing the door to Kingdom Hearts, the three begin searching for Riku and King Mickey.[14] They encounter a mysterious fortress called Castle Oblivion.[15] Upon entering, they begin to lose their memories.[16] The three encounter a group of dark hooded villains referred to as the Organization. After defeating the members in the castle, Sora learns his memories have been manipulated by a girl controlled by the Organization named Naminé. To regain their memories, Naminé puts Sora, Donald, and Goofy to sleep for a year.[17] While the three are ascending to the top floor of the castle, Riku and King Mickey arrive in the basement and began traveling to the top as well. Riku fights the darkness in his heart and resolves to accept it and the light.[18]

A year later, Sora, Donald, and Goofy awaken and continue their search for Riku and King Mickey. They learn of the Nobodies and Organization XIII, who control them. Afterwards, Maleficent is resurrected and joins with Pete to continue her quest for power. Sora once again travels to many Disney-themed worlds and resolves the troubles caused by Organization XIII, the Heartless, Maleficent and Pete, and local villains. Meanwhile, Kairi is kidnapped by the organization. They meet King Mickey, who reveals the true nature of Ansem, the antagonist of Kingdom Hearts. The Ansem who Sora defeated was actually the Heartless of Xehanort, a student of Ansem the Wise. Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, reveals himself to be the Nobody of Xehanort.[19][20] The three arrive at the headquarters of Organization XIII, with Kingdom Hearts looming overhead. Ansem the Wise uses a device that dissipates some of Kingdom Hearts' power, but a system overload causes the machine to explode and kill Ansem.[21] At the top of Organization XIII's castle, Sora and his friends battle Xemnas, who uses the remnants of Kingdom Hearts to fight them.[22] After Xemnas' death, Sora and Riku are reunited with their friends at Destiny Islands, their home.[23]

Games

The three main games in the series were released in chronological order, with each new installment following the events of the previous installment. The one exception is the V CAST mobile game, which was developed independently of Square Enix's games.

Main games

Cover of the first Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series, and was released in Japan on March 28 2002 for Sony PlayStation 2.[24][25] Kingdom Hearts introduced most of main characters for the series and set up the plot framework involving hearts and Heartless. This was Nomura's first time in a directorial position. It also established the presence of previous Disney fiction, with character cameos from the Final Fantasy series. Kingdom Hearts was released in North America on September 17 2002,[24][25] and featured additional content that was not in the original Japanese version. It was later re-released exclusively in Japan as Kingdom Hearts Final Mix on December 26 2002.[24][25] Final Mix included the content from the North America version and additional enemies, cutscenes, and weapons.[26]

The second mainstream game in the series is Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It was released on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in Japan on November 11 2004 and in North America on December 7 2004.[27][28] Chain of Memories was touted as a bridge between the two PlayStation 2 installments, introducing and previewing plot elements that would be played out in the next game.[29] The gameplay was based on a card system; player composed decks of cards, each card allowing the player to perform an action in battle, such as attacking or using magic. It was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29 2007.

Despite being numbered "two", Kingdom Hearts II is the third game in the series. It was released in Japan on December 22 2005 for Sony PlayStation 2.[30][31] It furthered the "heart" concept by involving the Nobodies and "bodies". The gameplay is based on the first Kingdom Hearts's, with the addition of more options to attack enemies and the Reaction Command, which utilized the triangle button to perform preset actions in battle and interaction with characters and the surroundings. Kingdom Hearts II was revised into Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which contained more material than the original release, such as additional cutscenes and bosses. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was released with Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, a remake of Chain of Memories for the PlayStation 2, containing polygon graphics instead of the sprites used in the original Game Boy Advance game. This collection is titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ and was released in Japan on March 29 2007.[32]

Kingdom Hearts (V CAST)

File:Kingdom Hearts V Cast screen.jpg
Menu for the Kingdom Hearts V Cast game

A Kingdom Hearts game was developed exclusively for V CAST, Verizon Wireless's broadband service, and was released on October 1 2004 in Japan and on February 4, 2005 in the United States.[33] It was one of the launch games for the VCAST services.[34] The game, developed by Superscape and published by Disney Mobile with no involvement from Square Enix, features the original Kingdom Hearts's gameplay, modifed to the input method of mobile phones.[35]

The first Mission pack begins with the protagonist of the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora, shipwrecked on a seemingly uninhabited island, his friends Goofy and Donald missing. Sora must now find a way to escape the island, as well as reunite with Donald and Goofy. Reception towards the first playable mission pack was mixed. The game was criticized for its awkward controls and availability. The visual appeal was praised; GameSpot stated that Sora "is very detailed and well animated" and complimented the 3D environments.[36]

Future installments

Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ have unlockable teasers that show new characters in armor, named Terra, Aqua, and Ven.[37] Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the characters are related to one or more characters already introduced in the Kingdom Hearts series.[38] He has also stated he has ideas for another installment. However, he did not state exactly what he would like to do with a new installment.[39] The Kingdom Hearts team is postponing Kingdom Hearts projects to be able to work on Final Fantasy Versus XIII.[40] In Famitsu, Nomura stated that there are multiple Kingdom Hearts projects in the works, although what those projects consist of is not known.[41] Nomura has referred to the new sequels as a whole new series and stated, "The next title won't just be Kingdom Hearts III. If it were III, we wouldn't call it a new series." He also hinted that this "new series" might involve the character Xehanort.[42] The new game is described as a side story that will focus on other characters.[43] The "new series" is set to be announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show.[44]

Audio

File:Khcomplete.jpg
Cover of the Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete

Musical score

The music of the video game series was primarily composed by Yoko Shimomura. Kaoru Wada works as the arranger for orchestral music in the Kingdom Hearts series, including orchestral renditions of the main vocal themes and the ending themes.[45][46] The orchestral music was performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.[46][45] Soundtracks were released for the first and third installments following the release of their respective games. A compilation soundtrack was later released that included soundtracks for the entire series, including reworked tracks for the re-released Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.[47][48]

While some Disney-based world themes are taken directly from their Disney film counterparts,[46] most of them are given entirely original musical scores. In addition to each world having unique background music, each is given its own battle theme rather than a common music piece to cover all fights. Several of the Disney villains get themes based on the film they originated in, and the final boss of each game has several themes played in the various phases of those fights. The fights with Sephiroth feature Nobuo Uematsu's One-Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII.[48]

The main theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts games were written and performed by Japanese pop star, Utada Hikaru. The two main themes are Hikari, from Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories,[49][50] and Passion, from Kingdom Hearts II.[51] Each song had an English counterpart, Simple and Clean and Sanctuary respectively, for the North American and European releases. Utada was the only singer Tetsuya Nomura had in mind for the first Kingdom Hearts theme song.[52] This marked the first time Utada had produced a song for a video game. Both theme songs reached notable popularity in Japan. On weekly Oricon charts, Hikari hit #1 in 2002 and Passion hit #4 in 2005.[53][54]

Voice cast

The Kingdom Hearts games featured well-known voice actors for both the Japanese and English versions. The Japanese version featured Miyu Irino as Sora, Risa Uchida as Kairi, and Mamoru Miyano as Riku.[55][56] The third game introduced Kōki Uchiyama as Roxas, Iku Nakahara as Naminé, and Genzō Wakayama as DiZ.[57] Other notable voice actors included Kōichi Yamadera, Hideo Ishikawa, Maaya Sakamoto, Takashi Aoyagi, Yū Shimaka and Shinichirō Miki.[55][56]

The English release of the Kingdom Hearts games featured an all-star voice cast which included many of the Disney characters' original voice actors. Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, and Bill Farmer voiced Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.[58][56] Several high profile actors provided the voice acting of the main characters. The first game featured Haley Joel Osment as Sora, David Gallagher as Riku, and Hayden Panettiere as Kairi.[59] The third game saw the return of the main character voice actors and added Jesse McCartney as Roxas, Brittany Snow as Naminé, and Christopher Lee as DiZ.[60] Other notable actors included, Sean Astin, Steve Burton, Billy Zane, Will Friedle, Ming-Na, and James Woods.[58][56]

Development

The first Kingdom Hearts began development in February 2000 and was announced at E3 in May 2001.[61][3] It was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and produced by Shinji Hashimoto, who had conceived the idea for Kingdom Hearts when he met with a Disney executive in an elevator; Square and Disney had previously worked in the same building in Japan.[62] While Nomura had done previous work in the Final Fantasy series as monster designer and graphic director, he did not gain widespread recognition until he was the lead character designer for Final Fantasy VII. Kingdom Hearts marked his transition into a directional position. He also served as the game's character designer. Kazushige Nojima worked as the scenario writer and had been a scenario writer for Square since Final Fantasy VII until he left Square Enix in 2003. Originally the development focused more on the gameplay with a simple story to appeal to Disney's target age range. After Kingdom Hearts executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi told Nomura that the game would be a failure if it did not aim for the same level as the Final Fantasy series, he began to develop the story further.[63]

Nomura placed an unlockable trailer in Kingdom Hearts in hopes that fans would want a sequel. He was unsure if fans would want a sequel and felt that if they did not, then it would be best to leave certain events in the first game unexplained.[64] After Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was completed, plans for Kingdom Hearts II began.[65] Nomura has stated that there were several obstacles to clear before development could begin on a sequel. One such obstacle was the development team's desire to showcase Mickey Mouse more;[64] Mickey's inclusion in the first game was restricted to a very small role.[63] Nomura had planned for the sequel to take place a year after the first. He had originally intended for the events of that year to be left unexplained. To bridge the gap between the two games, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was developed.[66] Nomura was hesitant about releasing a game on the Game Boy Advance because he felt that the 3D graphics of the original game would not translate well into 2D. Nomura changed his position after hearing that children wanted to play Kingdom Hearts on the GBA.[67] The two sequels were announced at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2003.[68]

Each game in the main series were also re-released in Japan with additional content and served as canonical updates to the series.[69][70] The additional content foreshadowed later plot elements in the series. Normally the re-release had the term "Final Mix" added after the title, the one notable exception was Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It was re-released as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and released on the PlayStation 2 with 3D graphics, voice overs during some cutscenes, as well as additional game content.[71][72]

Reception

The Kingdom Hearts series has been critically and commercially successful, though each installment has seen different levels of success. The three main games in the series all met with positive sales at the time of their releases. During the first two months of Kingdom Hearts's North American release, it was one of the top three highest-selling video games.[73] Chain of Memories sold 104,000 units in 48 hours in Japan, a record for a Game Boy Advance title at the time.[74] Its positive debut sales placed it in the top spot of sales charts in Japan.[75] In the first month of its North American release, it was ranked 1st on GameSpot's ChartSpot for portable systems and 6th for all consoles.[76] Within a week of Kingdom Hearts II's Japanese release, it shipped 1 million copies,[77][78] selling almost 730,000 copies.[79] By the end of March 2006, the NPD Group reported that Kingdom Hearts II was the highest-selling console game in North America, with 614,000 copies.[80] In the month after its release in North America, Kingdom Hearts II sold an estimated 1 million copies.[81] By December 2005, the Kingdom Hearts series had shipped more than 8.5 million copies worldwide.[78] As of December 2006, the series has shipped over 10 million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.[1][2]

The games have also received high ratings and positive comments among reviews. The three main games have scored a 36 out of 40 or higher from the Japanese game magazine Famitsu, known for its extremely harsh grading.[82][83][84] All four games have been praised for their visuals. The games have also won several awards. GameSpot commented that the concept of mixing the serious elements of Final Fantasy with the lighter elements of Disney seemed impossible, but was pulled off quite well. Because of that they awarded Kingdom Hearts "Best Crossover Since Capcom vs. SNK" in their 2002 Best and Worst of the Year awards.[85] IGN named Kingdom Hearts "Best Art Style/Direction" in their 2003 list of "Best Looking Games on PS2".[86] G4TV awarded it "Best Story" at their 2003 G-Phoria awards show.[87] Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded Kingdom Hearts II "Best Sequel" of 2006.[88] It tied with Biohazard 4 as Famitsu's Game of the Year 2005.[89]

Merchandise

There are multiple versions of each of the main Kingdom Hearts games. They each had a release in Japan, North America, and the PAL region. The were also re-released in Japan with new content. Both Square and Disney also released numerous types of merchandise before and after the release of the game. Merchandise ranged from toys and figurines to clothing items and jewelry.[90][91] Two of the games, Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, had a soundtrack released around the same time as the video games.[92][93] These were followed by a nine CD complete set which featured both soundtracks and unreleased tracks.[47] The video games have also been adapted into a manga and novel series.

Like the Final Fantasy games, a series of Ultimania books were also released in Japan for the three main games. There are six books which include game walkthroughs, interviews, and extra information from the developers. The books include, Kingdom Hearts Ultimania, Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Revised Edition, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Ultimania, Kingdom Hearts Series Ultimania α ~Introduction of Kingdom Hearts II~, Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania, and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania. Released along with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ was Kingdom Hearts -Another Report-, a hardback book which includes game information, visuals by Shiro Amano, and a director interview.[94] In North America, Brady Games released strategy guides for each game. For Kingdom Hearts II, they released two versions, a standard version and a limited edition version. The limited edition was available in four different covers and included a copy of Jiminy's Journal along with 400 stickers.[95]

File:KingdomHeartsMangaVol1Cover.jpg
Cover of Kingdom Hearts manga volume 1

Manga

A manga based on the Kingdom Hearts storyline has been released in Japan and the United States. The story and art are done by Shiro Amano, who is also known for his manga adaptation of the Legend of Mana video game. The story follows the events that took place in the video games with differences to account for the loss of interactivity a video game provides. The manga was originally serialized in Japan by Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan and eventually released in tankōbons. The first tankōbon was released in Japan in October 2003.[96] The manga was released in the USA by Tokyopop two years later in October 2005.[97] It was divided up into three manga series based on Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. The first series, Kingdom Hearts, was broken up into four volumes, while the second series, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, was broken up into two volumes. The third series, Kingdom Hearts II, is currently still being serialized. The first volume was released in Japan in December 2006 and was released in the USA on July 3 2007.[98][99]

Novels

A novel series has also been released. It is written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. Like the manga series, it is divided up into separate series based on the games. Kingdom Hearts is divided up into two volumes; "The First Door"[100] and "Darkness Within".[101] They are scheduled to be released in the USA in August 2007. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories has currently been released only in Japan and is divided into three volumes. Kingdom Hearts II has also been released only in Japan and is divided into four volumes; "Roxas - Seven Days",[102] "The Destruction of Hollow Bastion",[103] "Tears of Nobody",[104] and "Anthem-Meet Again/Axel Last Stand".[105]

References

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