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Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation 2
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Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation 2
107 reviews   4.69 of 5

Product Description

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Summary

Overall I'd have to say this is the best game out for PS2 to date!!!! This is the standards that future PS2 games should meet and try to exceed. This game blends great music, smooth and well designed graphics, a intriguing story line, and timeless characters. I couldn't believe I was sitting down through the opening scene in front of a playstation. It looked as if Pixar and Disney was at it again with another of their incantations. I mean it was THAT GOOD. Although I was skeptical at first with a team like Disney and Squaresoft pairing off to make a ground breaking game. I have been a loyal fan of both companies since the start of it all, however my faith in Disney has deminished to an attitude of ridicule and sarcasm. Yet this game has shed the light to the blided eyes once again. Disney can do it and they did! On with the review
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Summary

Kingdom Hearts is at best a mixed bag. What the game does right it does better than any PS2 game to date and even gives the best games on better consoles a run for their money, but what this Square/Disney partnership does wrong comes very close to making the game shamefully unplayable. It doesn't quite get to that bad of a point, but this game is certainly "rent before you buy" and I'm glad I didn't make the mistake of purchase.

The plot, if there is one, is helping a young boy named Sora go up against an impressive array of Disney All-Star Villains, who are controlling a group called the Heartless. The Heartless are trying to destroy all the many worlds in the universe, and the key to their plans is very literally a "key", a weapon called the Keyblade with the power to lock or unlock anything, including the dimensional portals between the worlds that the Heartless are invading through.

Things begin to get a little...well...goofy...when Goofy and Donald show up looking for Sora and the Keyblade to help search for King Mickey. Sora too is lost and looking for his friends Riku and Kairi, and Sora's adventure begins in earnest when he meets up with Donald and Goofy in Traverse Town, a dimensional crossroads for the universe.

Thus, the three friends set off to put the smackdown on an impressive array of boss monsters, stretching from Wonderland to Atlantica and covering a ton of Disney worlds in-between as Sora looks for his friends. Along the way you'll meet some faces familiar to Square as well as Disney fans, but there are some serious gameplay and camera flaws that really keep this game from being anything more than a rental and yet another reason why Square has really gone downhill.

Sound

I wasn't a big fan of this part. Although each world has it's own theme and battle music, these QUICKLY get repetitive and forgettable, unlike other Square and Disney soundtracks. Sound effects are decent at best. This is the best voice work in a game EVER though, even putting some movies to shame. Haley Joel Osment does a great job, and it's the best US localization of a Square game ever.

Summary:
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Kingdom Hearts isn't for everybody, and if you are unsure about this title rent it first. In fact, I recommend that everybody rent, because there's little to no replay value in it, even with sidequests this is a 35-40 hour game max, and you won't want to go through it again. (I certainly don't.) If you are looking for something for the kids, pick up Animal Crossing instead, and older gamers looking for an action RPG might want to consider Summoner 2 or Star Fox Adventures this month instead, I'll bet a large sum of money either of these will be a better game than this confusing mess.

If Square had paid as much attention to the gameplay and design as Disney did to the animation and sound, this would have been PS2's biggest hit. Instead it's just another in a pile of mediocre PS2 games. Disney more or less held up their end of the deal, but Square is definately the most overrated developer of console games out there and they definately blew what could have been a great game...but what do you expect from Square?

Gameplay


80% of this game is combat. This is great, a action RPG should indeed contain lots of combat and look good doing it (which Kingdom Hearts does.) Unfortunately the game's first major flaw breaks into the game early: WORST. CAMERA. EVER. You have limited control over it until you lock-on to an enemy. This worked fine in the N64 Zeldas, where you had to face few enemies at a time. But in Kingdom Hearts, when there's literally a dozen plus Heartless jumping, blasting, and swinging about, locking on will give you whiplash, nausea, and get Sora killed. In fact, unless you are using the Lock-On to search for stragglers or looking for vulnerable parts of the game's HUGE bosses, it's best NEVER to use it.

Sadly, a Lock-On feature you can't use doesn't make much sense, but it's in the game anyway. If you do insist on using it, the camera will stay on the target and keep Sora facing it, and it's when the target is a fast moving smaller enemy (as most of the individual Heartless are) that you'll need the barf bag.

Secondly using the Lock-On means you can't keep an eye on your partners, mostly Donald and Goofy, but sometimes you'll be able to sub-in guys like Tarzan, Aladdin, etc. depending on which world you are it. Mostly they can handle themselves (in-fact the AI for them, which you can set, is outstanding) but the still tend to use up items way too quickly to keep themselves alive, which is kind of pointless since they'll just get knocked out and pop back into battle 20 seconds later or so.

Sora on the other hand, if he goes down, it's Game Over. This is a bad thing, mainly because the game is HARD and the camera is trying to kill you as much as the Heartless are. You WILL die. A lot. Multiple times in each world unless you are VERY good. In fact the game's main problem is that it's WAAAAAAAAY too difficult for the kids, and isn't creative or compelling enough for oler gamers: each Disney world follows the plot of the movie, so you know that in Agrabah, you'll have to fight Jafar, and in the Deep Jungle, you'll have to help Tarzan fight Clayton, etc. This involves running around and figuring out where in each world you need to go because there's NO MAP FEATURE IN EACH WORLD and the geography can and will change with events you trigger. It's frustrating.

The game's Gummi Ship levels are totally worthless. Again, older gamers are just going to want these silly space-shooting levels over with ASAP and the ability to design your Gummi Ship is too difficult for the kids to handle. It could and should have been eliminated from the game's final cut. It looks like a cheap ripoff of Starfox, and the game chugs to a halt when there's tons of enemies on the screen. Luckily you'll be able to warp from world to world later in the game, but really the first several hours of Kingdom Hearts is a chore as you'll go through another five minute shooter sequence to get from world to world before you get the warp engine, and coupled with the fact the first several worlds are pretty boring there's several people I know besides myself who wanted to give up on this game before even getting halfway through.

The game's hidden chests and side quests unfortunately seem to give an awful lot of Gummi Ship parts, which don't sell for very much money, and you'll be burning through potions (and cash) at an alarming rate in this game, to the point where you almost have to head back to previous areas to fight for experience and "munny" just to prepare you for future battles. If you level up enough, you can simply outlast most bosses.

The game finally manages to settle into an almost playable mode in the second half of the title, but the final levels again become difficult to the point of insanity, and each time you'll be forced to sit several minutes through cut-scenes that you cannot skip as you wait impatiently to try to take on yet ANOTHER boss battle.

Also, because the AI takes tinkering with before it become effective, most boss battles come down to Donald having a spare MP to cast at healing spell with while Goofy provides cover. There's no strategy to boss battles other than "keep Sora alive and lock-on the vulnerable point and whack away" and in the chaos of a major real-time boss battle, you'll lose simply because you lost track of exactly the heck is going on. The horrible camera multiplies this by a factor of ten and you'll quickly want to give up long before the payoff at the end. Even regular battles can be VERY difficult.

The menu system is really more frustrating than it needs to be too, you can control your menu of in-game actions with the right stick or D-pad but it's clunky to have to do it for things like opening chests or examining objects of interest which you should be able to do with one button press, and that's just a personal pet peeve.

Basically Square and Disney completely dropped the ball here on the most important aspect of the game, the gameplay. There are serious difficulty issues for younger players, and serious balance issues for older gamers, and it's simply not fun for anyone.
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Sound

Sound problems? SQUARE/Disney!? Of course not. Each world's theme is custom-tailored to its environment, so everything feels right at home. The voice acting? The voices fit their characters, and for those worried that your favorite character has been "misportrayed," that is not even an issue. Yes, some younger Disney stars are at the helm, but even those portraying SQUARE characters have done a good job. I wouldn't mind seeing them come back for the alleged FF remakes in the works by SQUARE.

Gameplay

The gameplay is actually really great. A bit on the repetitive side, but great. For battle, the base of any action/RPG, you use the left analog stick for movement and the control pad to access a menu which controls which action you perform upon hitting the X button. For the most part, X will serve as the attack button. Magic can be assigned to shortcuts (L1+a button) on the controller to avoid any length between casting spells.

When not in battle, the 4th slot on the menu controls special actions. When you encounter a barrel, the 4th slot may become LIFT. Choose LIFT, and the first slot on the menu will become THROW. Need to read a sign? 4th option becomes EXAMINE. Want to talk to someone? Actually, the first option becomes TALK. The menu changing eliminates some of the guesswork required in previous SQUARE games, especially in the solving of puzzles in FF games.

One thing that has really bothered me about this game is the JUMPING. First of all, Sora does not jump very high. He cannot jump out of water, which is a real pain. There is no such thing as a double jump in this title. In fact, to reach some areas, you must run, practically strangle the O button with your thumb (pressure sensitive, I think), and then swipe like you're attacking a foe for extra boost. When you miss, and miss several times, this quickly becomes the most migraine-inducing feature of KH.

The camera? Yes, it is a problem sometimes, but there are 2 shoulder buttons that let you rotate around Sora, so you'll eventually get used to it.
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Sound

Sound, Well Sound is sound. And squre has done a nice job of keepin that good. and the Voice-overs!!!! They are great, better Lip Movement then FF X, the Disney Characters are protayed Greatly in voice, and when i saw cloud , i thought, theyd make him some pansy in voice, but he actually sounds cool..great job

Gameplay

Gameplay..well, at first, i wont lie, i disliked the action Rpg type games, and i was a bit mad that this was one of them, but once i started playing, i got the hand of what to do (Wich doesnt take long) and i was sucked into it, the in battle Level-up was a nice touch also. The Magic gaining was pretty nice too, being able to use it with a quick holding of L1 + X (Example). The Camera, again as everyone Else has said, isnt the Best, but its DEALABLE. it wont make the game worse for you...
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Summary

This game had a lot of hype to live up to. On one side, you have Squaresoft, the widely regarded king of console RPGs. On the other, you have Disney, maker of the most memorable animated films in the English speaking world since the dawn of the animation medium. At initial glance, the styles of the two companies seem to contrast with one another. Squaresoft is well known for its RPGs that emphasize soap opera like storylines involving teens with a myriad of serious mental problems, geared towards a mature audience. Disney has been known generally as providing clean cut children's programming, aiming for films and products that leave warm feelings and are of a more cheerful fare. However, to the delight of gamers everywhere, I'm happy to report that they have suceeded with a game that has managed to mix the seriousness of typical Squaresoft games with the lightheartedness of Disney's magic. A game that could've been a jumbled mess of ideals and gameplay syles has turned into the finest action RPG on the PS2, as well as one of the most unique games around. This simple tale of a young child named Sora who is searching for his friends and is aided by Donald Duck and Goofy on his quest is bound to delight gamers of all ages.

Sound

Square gained more from its partnership with Disney in the sound department than in any other area. Disney was able to use its clout and bring in many well known pop culture icons for what has to be the most amazing group of voice actors ever assembled for any console game. Normally, one has to worry when big names are used because in general, they are picked because they are simply big names and not because they fit their characters well. Disney did a great job in mixing the right VAs with the correct characters. Haley Joel Osmont does an terrific job with the lead character Sora, bring an aura of dignity to what might have been your typical snobbish Square hero. David Boreanz brings the character of Squall to life when few could've. Alongside the stars are the normal voice actors for most of your Disney favorites. Disney brought everyone together from their voice acting department for this game so that Donald would sound like Donald and etc. You'll even get bonuses like Danny DeVito as Phil!

The flip side of the American localization effort by Disney is the original Japanese score from Square. The effort applied to the music, thankfully, is also of top notch quality. Many worlds are accompanied by a remix of classic Disney songs that are appropriate to each, like a "Under the Sea" theme for the Little Mermaid stage that play as you traverse the world. When combat occurs, it switches to catchy Japanese Rock style tunes that are typical of the combat themes you hear in Final Fantasy games. Square also left little room for error with musical quality as they used the utilized the talent of the Japanese Philaharmonic to record the game's music.

Gameplay

The combat system is the core of any action RPG, and Kingdom Hearts has one of the most enjoyable. Like with all action RPGs, the combat system is in real time. You can pause the game in combat but cannot take any actions while paused. Everything from using items to spellcasting has to be done in real time. Combat provides a simple mix of hack and slash for beginning gamers and a more complex and intricately developed combat system for experienced gamers. For the beginner, a simple mashing of the attack button will produce instant combos. For the experienced gamer, as your character gains experience, he will learn new abilities like counterattack, guard, roll, complex combos, and more to add variety to combat. The ability to lockon to specific targets or bodyparts on larger targets is also available for those who don't want to mash the buttons, and it's easy to remove the lockon or switch the lockon to another target with a press of one of the shoulder buttons. Spells and items are simple to use as the menu system is quickly operated with the 2nd joystick, leaving the 1st joystick available for moving your character around.

Aiding you on your journey is Donald and Goofy, who are controlled quite adeptly by the AI. They hold their own quite well in combat and do a great job of healing you when needed. Sadly, you can only control Sora throughout the game but the ability to customize the AI of your party members is available. Don't like Donald wasting all his MP on offensive magic? Then set it so that he rarely uses it. Throughout most of the game, Donald and Goofy are your partymates but in some levels, you can be joined be various Disney heroes and heroines appropriate to that level. Those included among this group include Beast, Aladdin, and even Ariel the Little Mermaid.

Outside of combat, you have standard platform gaming elements like jumping, climbing, swimming, and some special ones like flying in the Neverland level and skidding down tree tops with Tarzan. All of those things are well implemented and the controls are easy to pick up on. Outside of the action oriented sequences, you also have a number of side quests involving what sound like mundane tasks like pushing Winnie the Pooh on his swing so that he can help Eyore look for his tail that fell off. It sounds dull but these sequences provide a pleasant mix to all the action elements, and who won't get a fuzzy feeling inside in knowing that they were able to help Pooh and his friends?

The action RPG gameplay elements and sidequests are strong, but its two areas that are unrelated to them that hurt this game's overall gameplay. The camera work can be a big hinderance. It displays the view from behind the main character and many times, the camera is camped in awful angles that completely hide Sora from view, making it a virtual hack fest in combat. Bad camera angles also makes some jumps rather difficult to time and aim, though being able to rotate the camera horizontally helps somewhat.

The 2nd area of weakness is the Gummi Ship. The building portion of the Gummi Ship game can be fun. You collect numerous parts throughout the game that you can use to build your own unique Gummi Ship. Too bad that the mini game where you actually use the Gummi Ship is so dull. The Gummi Ship game is a shooter style game that occurs when you want to travel from one Disney world to another. The main problem with this game is that it is too easy. You can mindlessly fly your ship around in circles and fire without care and you'll be able to survive the Gummi Ship levels with ease. The action is slow, the enemies are mindless, and this all combines into one dull mini game. Thankfully, midway throught you get the warp skill which allows you to skip most of the Gummi travel.

I feel its important to mention that whats greater in the big picture than how the controls work or what spells you can use is the memories that the game will bring up when you play it. The wonderment abounds as you fly with Peter Pan around Big Ben or fight alongside Jack Skellington to beat Oogie Boogie. The game is all about childhood memories and being able to live out some of the dreams of youth. In some way or another, when we watched some of these Disney films as kids, we put ourselves into the heroes' shoes or imagined ourselves fighting alongside our favorite characters. This is what Kingdom Hearts is about.
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Sound

the sound wasn't all that memorable, each world had it's own theme music which is great for setting the mood and hearing donald thank you for healing hims is cool at first but with the number of times you have to heal him it gets old.

Gameplay

as i said the fighting system is unique, having only played on normal i loved the way you have to fight the bad guy as well as pay attention to you life and the life of those around you. the only serious problem is the camera and you can live with that; it causes some problem during battle but for the most part you can do without locking on so that you can work the angle with R2/L2. also a hint: when looking for something just hit the R1 button then move around and hit R2 to change targets. and in response to the review above: the game is not that hard. sorry to say but i didn't have the time to learn how to build the gummi ships but it wasn't neccessary for the advancement of the game.
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Summary

At last, my most anticipated game since almost two years is now between my hands. Was it worth the wait? It sure is, welcome to Zelda on PS2! Go buy this game NOW!

Who could've thought that Square( Best RPG developers) and Disney (Best cartoon creators) would team up to create an RPG having more than 100 Disney characters in it mixed with a bunch of FF characters.

Even if you're not a Disney fan, this game is for you because it's not as easy as it sounds.

Story:
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Its seems that the Disney villains are trying to open a "door" of darkness. To open it, they need the help of 7 Disney princesses and to unlock the keyholes in different Disney worlds.
It seems that the "door" to be opened holds powerful Heartless powers. Heartless aree creatures with no Heart and are attracted to darkness.

Meanwhile, Mickey Mouse is missing in the Disney castle. His knight Goofy and helper Donald Duck go to search for him. But seems start to be weird and have a connecton with the Heartless.

Events:
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You play Sora, a boy who lives on a stupid island and he's looking to go to other worlds (alongside with his friends Riku and Kairi)
Suddenly, his island get attacked by the heartless. But then again, at the same time, he gets a key. This key is used to lock the keyholes in different worlds to prevent the villains from opening them...

Worlds:
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You get to fly to other Disney worlds. Wonderland, Aghrabah, Tarzan's Jungle, Olympic collisium... Just to name a few...
Every world seems different in terms of characters and atmosphere wich is basically a good thing.

Sound

Music:
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This is a super direct hit for the game, every world different different music(s). Even combat music changes from a world to another. And the music are breathtaking and comparable to Disney music used in their TV shows and movies.

Voice:
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Another super direct hit, the Disney characters sound like the real thing. The problem is in some of the FF characters voices. Wakka sounds like a jerk for instance but Squall sounds cool.
However, the dialogues are very well played. But I wished they included more talking conversations in the game. (The DVD is only about 70% full :S )

Gameplay

Next Sora will meet Donald And Goofy and their journey becomes one.

Combat:
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Combat is A la Zelda style. But you can't actually block the attacks.

You target at an enemy using R2 and switch between enemies with L1 and L2.
You attack with your weapon (wich is basically a key) using the X button. While O make you jump while other keys make you use abilities like rolling on the floor to avoid enemy attacks, etc...

You are always backed up with two characters, usually Donald and Goofy, but sometimes you can switch with other Disney characters depending on in the world you are in.

Exploring:
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Putting combat aside, sometimes you have to do some puzzles in order to achieve a certain goal.
Sometimes you gota jump and jump (platfrom style). And although this part of the game might seem to be a bit frustrating for some, it's good to have it because it's cool to have a certain change in a game rather than than moving in a linear way.

Gummi Ship:
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To fly to other worlds you use some kind of spcaeship that you can custumize.
Let's say you want to go from a world to another, first you will need to play a shootem'up game using the spaceship with terrible controls and concept. But still, it's not as bad as everybody says, it's actually playable and sometimes fun. however, ony about 5% include the Gummi ship so don't cry me a river.
My guess would be that Disney created the Gummi ship levels while Square created the whole game (joke)
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Summary

Kingdom Hearts is a great game, perhaps people might be turned off by the Disney characters but I tell you this is one of the best games out there.

SO the question is why the 4/5 if its one of the best games out there?

Well to tell you frankly the only games that desereve a 5/5 (perfect) are the Final Fantasy games because of its quality and while KH has a lot of quality It has its flaws.

First off the game has really hard to master controls and weak camera angles, the make the game a little harder expecially in the battles. Second, the disney worlds are too small and although it has a disney feel to it you can never truly grasp it because of its very small size and little interaction. Third, the gummy ship, oh how boring, lets put it this way its like a Shooter only its hard to aim and the graphics look nasty.

Now the GOod

The good, this is Square Soft quality, its no Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger but its all what you can expect from the master of RPGs. The story is simple but it works out really well, it is never boring. THe characters are nice the intraction between the new characters (Sora, Kairi, and Riku) with Disney CHaracters and Final Fantasy characters work perfectly you could almost foget th