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==Development== | ==Development== | ||
During the late 1990's and into the early 2000's, video game developer and producer Squaresoft was in a financially rocky position. Their first quarterly loss since going public on the stock market was published on February 8, 2001 and their value continued to decrease for several quarters after. This is largely due to increasingly expensive and risky ventures that did | During the late 1990's and into the early 2000's, video game developer and producer Squaresoft was in a financially rocky position. Their first quarterly loss since going public on the stock market was published on February 8, 2001 and their value continued to decrease for several quarters after. This is largely due to increasingly expensive and risky ventures that did gain back its investment, including underperforming titles and the ballooning costs of their floundering ''Square Pictures'' feature film subsidiary. Square was also in negotiations with with fellow game publisher Enix since 2000, but negotiations stalled after the failure of ''Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'' made Enix wary of merging. Sony ended up buying a 20% stake in the company to bail them out on the grounds that their games would be exclusive to PlayStation consoles for several years. Square had the occasional success story like ''Final Fantasy X'', but it just wasn't enough to stay afloat. | ||
During these trying times, Squaresoft executive Shinji Hashimoto and ''Final Fantasy'' series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had conversations about needing a game like ''Super Mario 64'', as in an open-world game that would wow the masses and sell a massive amount of copies, but bemoaned that only a company like Disney has characters that could rival the popularity of Mario. Final Fantasy character designer [[Tetsuya Nomura]] overheard these conversations and volunteered to create this project. By a stroke of luck, Square and Disney of Japan shared an office building at the time. Hashimoto would have a chance encounter with a Disney executive in an elevator which allowed him to pitch the concept of using Disney properties in this game, which was eventually approved in 2000. | During these trying times, Squaresoft executive Shinji Hashimoto and ''Final Fantasy'' series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi had conversations about needing a game like ''Super Mario 64'', as in an open-world game that would wow the masses and sell a massive amount of copies, but bemoaned that only a company like Disney has characters that could rival the popularity of Mario. Final Fantasy character designer [[Tetsuya Nomura]] overheard these conversations and volunteered to create this project. By a stroke of luck, Square and Disney of Japan shared an office building at the time. Hashimoto would have a chance encounter with a Disney executive in an elevator which allowed him to pitch the concept of using Disney properties in this game, which was eventually approved in 2000. | ||
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The storyline and narrative would be helmed by Nomura as his first director and lead writer credit, and Disney gave him a surprising amount of freedom in the storyline as well. The story was originally planned to be a simple narrative of a hero saving the damsel in distress from a big villain, a common format meant to appeal to Disney's core audience. However, Sakaguchi intervened and thought the story would be too simple for the average ''Final Fantasy'' fan, who would make up a significant amount of the player base by virtue of its crossover premise. Nomura took this advice and decided to elevate the storyline to better appeal to these fans. | The storyline and narrative would be helmed by Nomura as his first director and lead writer credit, and Disney gave him a surprising amount of freedom in the storyline as well. The story was originally planned to be a simple narrative of a hero saving the damsel in distress from a big villain, a common format meant to appeal to Disney's core audience. However, Sakaguchi intervened and thought the story would be too simple for the average ''Final Fantasy'' fan, who would make up a significant amount of the player base by virtue of its crossover premise. Nomura took this advice and decided to elevate the storyline to better appeal to these fans. | ||
The game eventually released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 on March 28, 2002. The game then released in North America on September 17 of that year, and is notable for containing extra content cut from the initial release due to time constraints. This content includes new optional bosses | The game eventually released in Japan for the PlayStation 2 on March 28, 2002. The game then released in North America on September 17 of that year, and is notable for containing extra content cut from the initial release due to time constraints. This content includes new optional bosses, one of which, [[Kurt Zisa]], was named after the winner of the official website's "[[Name-In-Game]]" sweepstakes, an extra difficulty level, and a teaser of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' accessible by meeting certain criteria. This version of the game was re-released in Japan with even more content added in as ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix]]'', and this has been the defacto version in re-releases ever since. | ||
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[[File:Pre-game Logo.png|thumb|Logo depicted in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' beta trailer.]] | [[File:Pre-game Logo.png|thumb|Logo depicted in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' beta trailer.]] | ||
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==Story== | ==Story== | ||
[[File:The Outside World 01 KH.png|thumb|left|Sora, Riku, and Kairi ponder if other worlds exist.]] | [[File:The Outside World 01 KH.png|thumb|left|Sora, Riku, and Kairi ponder if other worlds exist.]] | ||
Sora finds himself guided by a mysterious voice in a stained-glass void, the [[Dive to the Heart]], which foreshadows the events that will soon take place. He ends up being swallowed by the [[ | Sora experiences a surreal dream, in which he is separated from his two friends, a red-haired girl named [[Kairi]] and a white-haired boy named [[Riku]]. Sora finds himself guided by a mysterious voice in a stained-glass void, the [[Dive to the Heart]], which foreshadows the events that will soon take place. He ends up being swallowed by a monstrous creature - the [[Heartless]] known as [[Darkside]] - and is awakened by Kairi on the beach of [[Destiny Islands]], revealing it was a nightmare. Riku motivates them to work on their raft in order to explore new worlds. Child versions of ''Final Fantasy'' heroes [[Tidus]], [[Wakka]] and [[Selphie]] also inhabit the island and are willing to train Sora so he can become stronger. While fetching supplies in a cave, Sora encounters a mysterious hooded figure in a secret cave who ominously speaks that this "world" has been connected and tied to the darkness. He accuses Sora of lacking knowledge and then disappears. | ||
One night, the islands are attacked by | One night, the islands are attacked by darkness and [[Shadow]]s. Sora seeks out his friends, finding Riku first; Riku disappears into darkness, curious about what it contains. Soon after, Sora obtains a mysterious weapon, the [[Keyblade]], to defend himself. Using it to fend off the creatures, he heads for the secret cave, where he finds Kairi near a door. She turns to him, saying his name as the door behind her blows open. The ensuing blast of darkness sends Kairi towards Sora, she disappears before Sora could catch her. After the same blast knocks Sora out of the cave, he fights the creature from his nightmare. A gravitational pull sucks Sora up into the sky and into the void as the Islands now destroyed. | ||
Meanwhile, King [[Mickey Mouse]] has left his world to deal with the increasing power of darkness and left instructions for mage [[Donald Duck]] and knight [[Goofy]] to find and follow the "key". Donald and Goofy use a [[Gummi Ship]] to travel to [[Traverse Town]], where Sora has also ended up. Sora encounters the creatures again in the town, and eventually meets [[Leon]], demanding the Keyblade. After a fight, Leon explains the identity of the creatures that attacked him. They are known as Heartless, and that they are creatures that consume hearts (and eventually whole worlds). He further points out that the Keyblade is the only weapon capable of defeating them. The king of Leon's home world, a man named [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]], is said to have studied the Heartless but now missing. Donald and Goofy are approached by Leon's ally [[Aerith]], who also tells them what they may be looking for. Soon after, Sora meets Donald and Goofy rather hastily, and the three work together to take down a large Heartless. | Meanwhile, King [[Mickey Mouse]] has left his world to deal with the increasing power of darkness and left instructions for mage [[Donald Duck]] and knight [[Goofy]] to find and follow the "key". Donald and Goofy use a [[Gummi Ship]] to travel to [[Traverse Town]], where Sora has also ended up. Sora encounters the creatures again in the town, and eventually meets [[Leon]], demanding the Keyblade. After a fight, Leon explains the identity of the creatures that attacked him. They are known as Heartless, and that they are creatures that consume hearts (and eventually whole worlds). He further points out that the Keyblade is the only weapon capable of defeating them. The king of Leon's home world, a man named [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]], is said to have studied the Heartless but now missing. Donald and Goofy are approached by Leon's ally [[Aerith]], who also tells them what they may be looking for. Soon after, Sora meets Donald and Goofy rather hastily, and the three work together to take down a large Heartless. | ||
[[File:The Start of an Adventure 03 KH.png|thumb|Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide to search worlds for Mickey, Riku, and Kairi.]] | [[File:The Start of an Adventure 03 KH.png|thumb|right|Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide to search worlds for Mickey, Riku, and Kairi.]] | ||
From there, they decide to travel together: Donald and Goofy to find Mickey, and Sora to find Kairi and Riku. The three travel to various worlds based on Disney films, finding that the Keyblade also locks "Keyholes", passages that the Heartless use to take the heart of the world. A group of villains, led by [[Maleficent]], seek out the seven [[Princesses of Heart]] to unlock the Keyhole that leads to [[Kingdom Hearts]], a repository of knowledge and power and the source of all hearts. This group now includes Riku, who is swayed by Maleficent's promises that she will help find Kairi. She also sows distrust in Riku, telling him that Sora has abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade. An increasingly antagonistic Riku manages to find Kairi's body, but her heart is missing. | From there, they decide to travel together: Donald and Goofy to find Mickey, and Sora to find Kairi and Riku. The three travel to various worlds based on Disney films, finding that the Keyblade also locks "Keyholes", passages that the Heartless use to take the heart of the world. A group of villains, led by [[Maleficent]], seek out the seven [[Princesses of Heart]] to unlock the Keyhole that leads to [[Kingdom Hearts]], a repository of knowledge and power and the source of all hearts. This group now includes Riku, who is swayed by Maleficent's promises that she will help find Kairi. She also sows distrust in Riku, telling him that Sora has abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade. An increasingly antagonistic Riku manages to find Kairi's body, but her heart is missing. | ||
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Sora, Donald, and Goofy destroy Maleficent. They encounter a strangely-behaving Riku with a new Keyblade that unlocks hearts called the [[Keyblade of heart]]. He leads them to Kairi's living but unfeeling body; Riku then reveals himself as completely possessed by Ansem. The newly reformed Ansem explains that Kairi is the last Princess of Heart, and that her missing heart has been trapped within Sora's body since the destruction of Destiny Islands. Spurred to action, Sora defeats Ansem; however, he cannot seal Hollow Bastion's Keyhole because Kairi's heart is still in his body, thus the keyhole remains incomplete. Sora uses Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart, releasing both his and Kairi's heart, but turning him into a Heartless. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole; she then returns Sora to human form by the strength of her heart. The group resolves to follow and end Ansem's plan. | Sora, Donald, and Goofy destroy Maleficent. They encounter a strangely-behaving Riku with a new Keyblade that unlocks hearts called the [[Keyblade of heart]]. He leads them to Kairi's living but unfeeling body; Riku then reveals himself as completely possessed by Ansem. The newly reformed Ansem explains that Kairi is the last Princess of Heart, and that her missing heart has been trapped within Sora's body since the destruction of Destiny Islands. Spurred to action, Sora defeats Ansem; however, he cannot seal Hollow Bastion's Keyhole because Kairi's heart is still in his body, thus the keyhole remains incomplete. Sora uses Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart, releasing both his and Kairi's heart, but turning him into a Heartless. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole; she then returns Sora to human form by the strength of her heart. The group resolves to follow and end Ansem's plan. | ||
[[File:A Light within the Darkness 01 KH.png|thumb|Ansem talks about his views on darkness to Sora on Destiny Islands.]] | [[File:A Light within the Darkness 01 KH.png|right|thumb|Ansem talks about his views on darkness to Sora on Destiny Islands.]] | ||
By this time, Ansem has retreated to the [[End of the World]], the combined fragments of worlds taken by the Heartless. Sora and his friends pursue Ansem and eventually find him at the world's core, formed from the ruins of Destiny Islands. There, Ansem explains that Riku viewed his lonely island as a prison, and his yearning to be free made him vulnerable to the darkness. He gives a short sermon about the heart's connection to darkness before attacking, but is beaten back. He falls back to the abyss surrounding the [[Door to Darkness]], where he declares his intention to claim Kingdom Hearts for himself and merges with his battleship, the [[World of Chaos]], for one final fight. Despite temporarily capturing Donald and Goofy, Ansem falls to Sora and desperately reaches out to Kingdom Hearts, begging it to empower him with its darkness. However, as the doors open, Ansem is shocked to learn that Kingdom Hearts is made not of darkness, but of light, and its power vaporizes him. | By this time, Ansem has retreated to the [[End of the World]], the combined fragments of worlds taken by the Heartless. Sora and his friends pursue Ansem and eventually find him at the world's core, formed from the ruins of Destiny Islands. There, Ansem explains that Riku viewed his lonely island as a prison, and his yearning to be free made him vulnerable to the darkness. He gives a short sermon about the heart's connection to darkness before attacking, but is beaten back. He falls back to the abyss surrounding the [[Door to Darkness]], where he declares his intention to claim Kingdom Hearts for himself and merges with his battleship, the [[World of Chaos]], for one final fight. Despite temporarily capturing Donald and Goofy, Ansem falls to Sora and desperately reaches out to Kingdom Hearts, begging it to empower him with its darkness. However, as the doors open, Ansem is shocked to learn that Kingdom Hearts is made not of darkness, but of light, and its power vaporizes him. | ||
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*[[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]] | *[[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]] | ||
*[[Moogle]]s | *[[Moogle]]s | ||
*[[Pongo | *[[Pongo]] | ||
*[[Perdita]] | |||
*[[99 Puppies]] | *[[99 Puppies]] | ||
|valign="top" width="25%"| | |valign="top" width="25%"| | ||
