Kingdom Hearts (game)
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{{Game|KH1|Real}}
{{Game|KH1|Real}}
{{About|the original game||Kingdom Hearts (disambiguation)}}
{{About|the original game||Kingdom Hearts (disambiguation)}}
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{{Q|You never know who you'll run into next.|Tagline}}
{{Infobox CVG
{{Infobox CVG
|title = Kingdom Hearts
|title = Kingdom Hearts
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|developer = {{w|Square Co., Ltd.}}
|developer = {{w|Square Co., Ltd.}}
|publisher = [[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] {{w|Square Co., Ltd.}}<br> [[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px|United States]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] Square EA, Disney Interactive<br> [[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]]/[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] Sony Computer Entertainment
|publisher = [[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] {{w|Square Co., Ltd.}}<br> [[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px|United States]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] Square EA, Disney Interactive<br> [[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]]/[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] Sony Computer Entertainment
|release = [[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] March 28, 2002<br>
|release = [[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] March 28, 2002<br>[[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px|United States]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] September 17, 2002<br>[[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]] November 15, 2002<br>[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] November 22, 2002
[[File:Flag of the United States.png|20px|United States]]/[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] September 17, 2002<br>
[[File:Flag of European Union.png|20px|Europe]] November 15, 2002<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] November 22, 2002<br>
| genre = Action RPG
| genre = Action RPG
| modes = Single player
| modes = Single player
|ratings = {{w|ESRB}}:[[File:Ratingsymbol e.gif|12px|Everyone]]Everyone<br> {{w|PEGI}}:[[File:PEGI 7.png|12px|7+]]7+<br> USK: 6+<br> {{w|OFLC}}: G8+ <br> {{w|ELSPA}}: 11+
|ratings = {{w|ESRB}}:[[File:Ratingsymbol e.gif|12px|Everyone]]Everyone<br> {{w|PEGI}}:[[File:PEGI 7.png|12px|7+]]7+<br> USK: 6+<br> {{w|OFLC}}: G8+ <br> {{w|ELSPA}}: 11+
|platforms = {{w|PlayStation 2}}
|platforms = {{w|PlayStation 2}}
|style=kh1
}}
}}
'''''Kingdom Hearts''''' is the first game in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts (series)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' series. Revolving around a fourteen-year old boy named [[Sora]], it details his adventures after his homeworld is destroyed by sinister creatures known as the [[Heartless]], and his attempts to restore his world and reunite with his friends. In the process, he meets many characters from classic {{w|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}} films and a handful from the ''[[w:c:finalfantasy|Final Fantasy]]'' video game series. The main theme song for the game is "[[Simple and Clean]]", performed by {{w|Utada Hikaru}}.
{{Q|You never know who you'll run into next.|Tagline}}
'''''Kingdom Hearts''''' is the first game in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' series. Revolving around a fourteen-year-old boy named [[Sora]], it details his adventures after his homeworld is destroyed by sinister creatures known as the [[Heartless]], and his attempts to restore his world and reunite with his friends. He meets many characters from classic {{w|The Walt Disney Company|Disney}} films and a handful from the ''[[finalfantasy:|Final Fantasy]]'' video game series. The main theme song for the game is "[[Simple and Clean]]", performed by {{w|Utada Hikaru}}.


Chronologically, ''Kingdom Hearts'' follows ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'' and takes place before ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'', as well as partially overlapping with ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''.
Chronologically, ''Kingdom Hearts'' follows ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'', takes place during ''[[Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-]]'' and takes place before ''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]'', as well as partially overlapping with ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]''.
 
An enhanced version, ''[[Kingdom Hearts Final Mix]]'', features more enemies, additional scenes, and many other elements, and was released in Japan on December 26, 2002.
 
==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 not 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.
 
While Square was given a surprising amount of freedom on what Disney properties are used and how, they still tried their hardest to make sure nothing felt jarring or out of character. A conflict did arise when deciding on a protagonist. The Square developers wanted [[Donald Duck]] while Disney wanted [[Mickey Mouse]]. Nomura decided to create a compromise by having the protagonist be an original character, which eventually became [[Sora]]. All parties agreed to these terms, with Disney's only stipulation that they own the copyright to all characters, settings, and assets original to the series.
 
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 – 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]]'', which has been used for every subsequent re-release.
<!--
[[File:Pre-game Logo.png|thumb|Logo depicted in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' beta trailer.]]
*''Kingdom Hearts'' is the only game in the series to be licensed by "Squaresoft" before it became "Square Enix", and is the only game to receive a rating lower than 12+ from PEGI.
*''Kingdom Hearts'' had a different logo in the beta trailer showing the word "Kingdom" in gold, bold letters on top of "Hearts" in the same style as the current logo.
*Since the protagonist of ''Kingdom Hearts'' was originally planned to be Mickey at one point, Sora's clothes are based on Mickey's clothes, to mesh well with Donald and Goofy.{{fact}}-->


==Story==
==Story==
''Kingdom Hearts'' begins with Sora's [[Dive to the Heart]], which foreshadows the events that will soon take place, but soon progresses to [[Destiny Islands]], where Sora lives with his two best friends, [[Riku]] and [[Kairi]]. The three friends seek to leave the islands to explore new worlds and have prepared a raft for this purpose. One night, the islands are attacked by darkness and [[Shadow|shadow creatures]]. 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 a 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 Sora and Kairi both out of the cave. The islands are soon destroyed, and Sora is left adrift, Riku and Kairi's whereabouts unknown.
[[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 [[Darkside]] [[Heartless]], and is awakened by [[Kairi]] on the beach of [[Destiny Islands]], revealing it was a nightmare. [[Riku]] motivates them to continue working on their raft in order to explore new worlds. While fetching supplies in a secret cave, Sora encounters a mysterious hooded figure 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 the Heartless. 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.
 
[[File:The Start of an Adventure 03 KH.png|thumb|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.
 
Sora and his friends eventually arrive at [[Hollow Bastion]], the home world of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he was fated to have it all along and Sora was simply the "delivery boy". Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, reluctantly leave with Riku. Sora calls on his courage and enters the Bastion anyway, then challenges Riku again, stating that his heart derives strength from his friends. His friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed by defeat, Riku flees and meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness.
 
[[File:The Dark Keyblade 01 KH.png|thumb|left|Riku, possessed by Ansem, showing Maleficent the Keyblade of heart.]]
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.


Meanwhile, [[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]] has left his world to deal with the increasing power of darkness and left instructions for mage [[Donald Duck]] and knight [[Goofy]] to find the "key". Donald and Goofy use a Gummi Ship to travel to [[Traverse Town]], where it happens Sora has also drifted to. Sora encounters the creatures again in the town, and eventually meets [[Leon]], a mysterious swordsman who explains they are Heartless, creatures that consume hearts, and 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. 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. From there, they decide to travel together: Donald and Goofy to find Mickey, and Sora to find Kairi and Riku.
[[File:A Light within the Darkness 01 KH.png|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.


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. At the same time, Maleficent 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.
Beyond the door are Mickey and Riku, back in control of his own body. They help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it, but Riku and Mickey must remain inside to help seal it. Riku asks Sora to take care of Kairi. Mickey and Sora then use their Keyblades to lock the door.


Sora and his friends eventually arrive at [[Hollow Bastion]], the home world of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he was fated to have it all along and Sora was simply the "delivery boy". Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, reluctantly leave with Riku. Sora calls on his courage and enters the Bastion anyway, then challenges Riku again, stating that his heart derives strength from his friends. His friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed, Riku flees and meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness.
[[File:Closing the Door 05 KH.png|thumb|left|Sora promises Kairi that he will return to her.]]
The destroyed worlds reconstruct themselves; Kairi is pulled back to the Destiny Islands, but Sora promises before separating they will all reunite some day. Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey, though they are unsure of where to start. Luckily, [[Pluto]] appears, clutching a letter from Mickey in his mouth; he runs off with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in tow, ready for a new set of adventures. The silent narrator from the beginning of the game states in the final scene that Sora's destiny is to open the door to light. Meanwhile, Kairi finds a drawing in the secret cave of Sora giving her a [[Paopu Fruit]]; Kairi weeps in happiness and reciprocates the drawing.
{{-}}


Sora, Donald, and Goofy, meanwhile, engage and destroy Maleficent. They soon after meet a strangely-behaving Riku with a new Keyblade that unlocks hearts. 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.
==Gameplay==
[[File:Firaga KH.gif|thumb|Sora fighting a Heartless using fire magic.]]
''Kingdom Hearts'' is an action RPG with hack and slash gameplay. It has a lot of features with other JRPGs, such as equipment and accessory customization, magic spells, HP, [[MP]], EXP, etc. Sora attacks with a Keyblade which can change form once Keychains are found. Equipping abilities uses {{AP}}, meaning the player must choose certain abilities instead of all of them.


Ansem retreats to the [[End of the World]], the combined fragments of worlds taken by the Heartless. Upon being found and finally beaten, he explains his belief that darkness is the heart's true essence, and he seeks [[Kingdom Hearts]], the source of all hearts, and therefore the ultimate source of darkness. However, upon opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, it reveals [[Light]], killing Ansem. Beyond the door are Mickey and Riku, back in control of his own body. They help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it, but Riku and Mickey must remain inside to help seal it. Mickey and Sora then use their Keyblades to lock the door. The destroyed worlds reconstruct themselves; Kairi is pulled back to the Destiny Islands, but Sora promises before separating they will all reunite some day. Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey, though they are unsure of where to start. Luckily, [[Pluto]] appears, clutching a letter from Mickey in his mouth; he runs off with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in tow, ready for a new set of adventures. The silent narrator from the beginning of the game states in the final scene that Sora's destiny is to open the door to light.
In the beginning of the game, by choosing between the [[Dream Sword]], [[Dream Shield]] and [[Dream Rod]], the player can choose a growth path that fits their play style—choosing the sword will prioritize abilities that strengthen Sora's offense, while choosing the rod will prioritize abilities that strengthen magic. However, all this changes is the order in which these abilities are learned. Choosing which weapon to keep and sacrifice will also affect Sora's starting stats. The player will be asked three questions which will affect how fast they level up.


One year later, in a secret ending, [[Roxas|a mysterious boy]] wielding two Keyblades finds Riku in [[The World That Never Was|a new world]] demanding to know where Sora is.
Sora is the only directly controlled character, while Donald and Goofy are controlled by AI, although the player can adjust their AI behavior so that they use items and abilities more or less frequently. Because there can only be three party members at a time, the player may swap them out with others, such as Aladdin or Jack Skellington, but only in their respective world. For example, Jack can not become a party member in Agrabah. While the player can stick to Donald and Goofy, the player will need Aladdin in their party during the Cave of Wonders segment in Agrabah to progress.
 
[[File:Gummi Ship Gameplay 01 KH.png|thumb|left|A Gummi Ship segment.]]
There are colored [[Trinity]] marks which are scattered throughout the worlds. Donald and Goofy must be in the party to activate them, and the color of the Trinity must be obtained through story progress. Note that if playing the original version of the game, there is a permanently missable Red Trinity mark in Halloween Town. There are also [[99 Puppies]] scattered throughout worlds; returning them to Pongo and Perdita in Traverse Town will result in rewards.
 
The player travels between worlds in a [[Gummi Ship]]. The player must ride the Gummi Ship upon visiting new worlds, although it is possible to install a "warp" function for the Gummi Ship which warps the ship to worlds already found.
{{-}}


==Characters==
==Worlds and characters==
{|width="80%"
{|width="100%" class="responsive-col"
|valign="top" width="25%"|
|valign="top" width="25%"|
 
;[[Dive to the Heart]]


;[[Destiny Islands]]
;[[Destiny Islands]]
Line 51: Line 91:
*[[Wakka]]
*[[Wakka]]


;[[Disney Castle]]
;[[Disney Castle]] {{note|Cutscenes only}}
*[[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]]
*[[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]]
*[[Queen Minnie]]
*[[Queen Minnie]]
Line 60: Line 100:
*[[Jiminy Cricket]]
*[[Jiminy Cricket]]
*[[Chip and Dale]]
*[[Chip and Dale]]
*[[Brooms]]
*[[Enchanted Brooms]]


;[[Traverse Town]]
;[[Traverse Town]]
Line 71: Line 111:
*[[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]]
*[[Huey, Dewey, and Louie]]
*[[Moogle]]s
*[[Moogle]]s
*[[Pongo]]
*[[Pongo and Perdita]]
*[[Perdita]]
*[[99 Puppies]]
*[[99 Puppies]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
|valign="top" width="25%"|
Line 114: Line 153:
*[[Cave of Wonders Guardian]]
*[[Cave of Wonders Guardian]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
|valign="top" width="25%"|


;[[Monstro]]
;[[Monstro]]
Line 149: Line 187:
*[[Crocodile]]
*[[Crocodile]]
|valign="top" width="25%"|
|valign="top" width="25%"|


;[[100 Acre Wood]]
;[[100 Acre Wood]]
Line 169: Line 206:
*[[Aurora]]
*[[Aurora]]
*[[Kairi's Grandma]]
*[[Kairi's Grandma]]
*[[Xemnas]] {{note|Final Mix only}}


;[[End of the World]]
;[[End of the World]]
*[[Chernabog]]
*[[Chernabog]]
;Other
*[[Dark Figure]]
*[[Simba]]
*[[Dumbo]]
*[[Bambi]]
*[[Mushu]]
|}
[[File:Foreboding (Art).png|250px|thumb|right|Characters from ''Kingdom Hearts'']]
'''[[Sora]]'''<br />
A fourteen-year-old boy who lives on the [[Destiny Islands]] with his best friends [[Riku]] and [[Kairi]], a kind-hearted young man who dreams of seeing other worlds. After the islands are consumed by darkness he finds himself alone in another world. He travels to various different worlds with Donald and Goofy in search of Riku and Kairi. He wields the Keyblade, a weapon capable of destroying the darkness and sealing the hearts of worlds. His name means "sky".


'''[[Riku]]'''<br />
;[[The World That Never Was]] {{note|Cutscenes only}}
Riku is the fifteen-year-old friend of Sora and Kairi and lives with them on [[Destiny Islands]]. He and Sora always competed on everything as friendly rivals. He was meant to be the original wielder of the Keyblade, but he gave in to the darkness of his heart in order to fulfill his dream of seeing other worlds. His name means "land."
*[[Roxas]]


'''[[Kairi]]'''<br />
;[[Dark World]] {{note|Final Mix cutscenes only}}
A fourteen-year-old girl who arrived on the [[Destiny Islands]] when she was little, and has been best friends with Sora and Riku ever since. Her name is based on the Japanese word for "sea" ("''kai''").


'''[[Mickey Mouse|The King]]'''<br />
;Other
The King of Disney Castle who set out on a mission to find out the secret of the Heartless. He left a note to Donald and Goofy telling them to find the Keyblade wielder.
*[[Simba]] {{note|Summon only}}
 
*[[Dumbo]] {{note|Summon only}}
'''[[Donald Duck]]'''<br />
*[[Bambi]] {{note|Summon only}}
Disney Castle's Court Magician. He is searching for his missing King by traveling to various worlds in the gummi ship. He and Goofy team up with Sora in order to find their King.
*[[Mushu]] {{note|Summon only}}
 
|}
'''[[Goofy]]'''<br />
Captain of the Royal Knights at Disney Castle. He is also searching for the King alongside Donald.
 
'''[[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]]'''<br />
The former ruler of [[Hollow Bastion]] who turned himself into a Heartless so he could find Kingdom Hearts, which he believed would give him the ultimate power of darkness.
 
 
===''Final Fantasy'' Characters===
{{w|Square Enix}}, the makers of the game, inserted several characters from their own popular ''Final Fantasy'' game series into the storyline.
 
'''[[Tidus]]'''<br />
Tidus is a young boy who lives on the [[Destiny Islands]]. Sora can challenge him to a duel. He can be found on the bridge and balcony. He uses a wooden stick as a weapon.
 
'''[[Wakka]]'''<br />
Wakka appears as a younger version of himself although he appears to be a bit older than [[Selphie]] and [[Tidus]]. He can be challenged by Sora and uses his Blitzball as a weapon. He is found on the beach and beside the waterfall.
 
'''[[Selphie]]'''<br />
Selphie appears as a younger girl on the Destiny Islands. She appears to be a daydreamer although she can be fought optionally by Sora. She uses a jump rope as a weapon. On both days, she can be found on the jetty beside the boats.
 
'''[[Leon|Squall Leonheart (Leon)]]'''<br />
Squall appears in [[Traverse Town]]. He calls himself "Leon" in the game, taken from his last name, which he chose because he was angry with himself for not being able to save his world. Along with Yuffie and Aerith, he helps Sora along his journey. Leon can also be fought in three separate battles during the [[Olympus Coliseum]] Cups.
 
'''[[Yuffie]]'''<br />
Yuffie is found in Traverse Town early in the game. At first, Sora mistakes her for Kairi. She helps him along with Leon and Aerith. Yuffie can also be fought in two separate battles during the [[Olympus Coliseum]] Cups.
 
'''[[Aerith]]'''<br />
Aerith first appears in Traverse Town. She informs Donald and Goofy about the Heartless and gives Sora munny. Later after the events in [[Hollow Bastion]], she teaches the [[Curaga]] spell.
 
'''[[Cid]]'''<br />
Cid is encountered by Sora in the Accessory Shop in Traverse Town. He gives Sora the book containing the ''Hundred Acre Wood'' world and upgrades the Gummi Ship numerous times. Later, he can be found near the entrance to the Second District and parts for Gummi Ships can be purchased from him.
 
'''[[Cloud]]'''<br />
Cloud appears in the [[Olympus Coliseum]] as a boss, hired by Hades to take out Hercules. He is nearly killed by [[Cerberus]] and teaches Sora the ''Sonic Blade'' ability. He appears twice later as an opponent in the Hercules Cup and the Hades Cup, alongside Leon).
 
'''[[Sephiroth]]'''<br />
Sephiroth can be found after the Hollow Bastion keyhole has been sealed. He appears as an optional boss fight in the ''Platinum Match'' in the Olympus Coliseum. Select the second option "????" and fight him.
 
'''[[Moogles]]'''<br />
The Moogles appear in Traverse Town. One can be seen walking around the World Exit and others can be found in the Accessory Shop and the Synthesis Shop where they synthesize materials for items and equipment.
 
===Temporary Party Members===
Temporary Party Members are world-specific characters that join Sora's party to help him during the time he spends in that said world, and as such, will only be present in the world they come from. They are characters that Sora meets and befriends during his search for Riku and Kairi. Each character can become a party member, by switching him/her with Goofy or Donald.
 
'''[[Tarzan]]''' (from ''Tarzan'')<br />
Tarzan is only available in [[Deep Jungle]]. He fights using brute "jungle-strength" and his stone-tipped spear. His passive abilities boost his attack power and chance of landing a critical hit.
 
'''[[Aladdin]]''' (from ''Aladdin'')<br />
Aladdin is only available in [[Agrabah]]. He fights using "street-smart acrobatics" and a scimitar. His passive abilities boost drops by enemies (HP/MP balls as well as rare items) and also boosts the summon gauge.
 
'''[[Ariel]]''' (from ''The Little Mermaid'')<br />
Ariel is only available in [[Atlantica]]. She fights using potions with certain magical effects and swimming skills. Her passive abilities boost her MP recovery as well as raise rare item drops.
 
'''[[Jack Skellington]]''' (from ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'')<br />
Jack is only available in [[Halloween Town]]. He fights using magic and scare tactics. His passive abilities are the same as Aladdin's.
 
'''[[Peter Pan]]''' (from ''Peter Pan'')<br />
Peter is only available in [[Neverland]]. He fights using his flight skills and a small dagger. His passive abilities are a scattered version of the above four's. He has the critical hit boost of Tarzan, the drop increases of Jack and Aladdin and one of Ariel's MP recovery abilities.
 
'''[[Beast]]''' (from ''Beauty and the Beast'')<br />
Beast is only available in [[Hollow Bastion]]. He fights using animal senses, claws and brute strength. His passive abilities are the same as Tarzan's, yet he has one of Ariel's MP recovery abilities, but it's boosted even higher than hers, because he has two of the same MP recovery ability.
 
===Summons===
Throughout his travels, Sora finds summon gems, which he can bring to the Fairy Godmother, and be granted a summon from the gem. In reality, the gem is the heart of the summon, created when the heart of a world is devoured by the Heartless, but with the heart of one of the residents being too strong to be consumed. Summons take the place of the two AI members of the player's party, and as such, both AI must be conscious before the player can use a summon. Pride Lands, The Land of Dragons and all worlds were destroyed by the Heartless, except Agrabah and Neverland.
 
'''[[Simba]]''' (from ''The Lion King'')<br />
Simba's gem is the first one acquired in the game, and once shown to the Fairy Godmother, she will explain about summons. Simba's attack is a charged attack. Once the charge-button is released, Simba will roar and nearby enemies will take damage. The longer the roar is charged, the higher the damage.
 
'''[[Tinker Bell]]''' (from ''Peter Pan'')<br />
Tinker Bell is acquired after completing Neverland. Peter Pan tells her to help out the party, after defeating Captain Hook. Tinker Bell will heal Sora at timed intervals and if Sora is defeated while her summon is active, she will revive him once and then disappear.
 
'''[[Genie]]''' (from ''Aladdin'')<br />
Genie is acquired by defeating Jafar and completing Agrabah. Aladdin uses his final wish to wish for Genie's freedom, making Genie free to help Sora. Genie uses random magic attacks on locked on targets as his attack. The spell attack power is usually higher than Sora's and Donald's.
 
'''[[Bambi]]''' (from ''Bambi'')<br />
Bambi is a good summon to use, when facing enemies strong against physical attacks, but weak against magic, or if simply fighting Heartless attacking in large groups. Bambi will jump around the stage (while still staying near Sora), sprouting large amounts of MP balls each time he lands, making him an ideal helper for when excessively using magic attacks. From a strategic point of view, this is better than using Genie, as you have no control of what spells Genie will use, which at times can backfire.
 
'''[[Dumbo]]''' (from ''Dumbo'')<br />
Dumbo is yet another summon ideal for dispatching several Heartless at once. When Dumbo is summoned, Sora shrinks in size and latches on to Dumbo's hat. Dumbo attacks by dousing the enemies with water from his trunk and the hit has a wide-area effect. Sora is invulnerable while riding Dumbo.
 
'''[[Mushu]]''' (from ''Mulan'')<br />
Mushu is a fire-breathing dragon that is ideal for dispatching single enemies quickly or significantly lowering a boss' HP. This is because of his ability to rapidly shoot small fireballs at targeted enemies. However, this ability takes the place of regular attacks, and is a just a little weaker, but it can be used at long distances, meaning less risk of taking damage.
 
===Villains===
Most of the villains in ''Kingdom Hearts'' are taken from the various Disney films that are featured in the game. The most notable Disney villain in the game, however, is Maleficent (from ''Sleeping Beauty''), and appears at first, to be the main villain of the game. However, it happens that an original character, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, is the main antagonist of the game. Both of these characters are major bosses with Ansem serving as the final boss.
 
These are the "main" antagonists of ''Kingdom Hearts'', with the majority often seen conspiring together as a group in the ruins of Hollow Bastion.
 
*[[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]]
*[[Riku]]
*[[Maleficent]]
*[[Hades]]
*[[Clayton]]
*[[Jafar]]
*[[Ursula]]
*[[Oogie Boogie]]
*[[Captain Hook]]
 
===Heartless===
{{Main|Heartless}}
The Heartless are living beings, whose hearts were corrupted by darkness, and they play the roles of the "common enemies" [[Sora]] and party must defeat. They exist for no other purpose than to consume hearts, be it the hearts of other living beings or even that of entire worlds. If someone loses their heart to a heartless, they themselves become one.
 
In general, there are two types of heartless, commonly referred to as Pureblood Heartless, who are created "naturally", and Emblem Heartless, who are artificially created. The Emblem Heartless received their name because upon creation, they were all branded with an emblem, in order to distinguish them from the Purebloods.
{{-}}
 
==Worlds==
{{Main
|1 = Universe of Kingdom Hearts
}}
===Playable===
*[[Dive to the Heart]]
*[[Destiny Islands]]
*[[Traverse Town]]
*[[Wonderland]]
*[[Olympus Coliseum]]
*[[Deep Jungle]]
*[[100 Acre Wood]]
*[[Agrabah]]
*[[Monstro]]
*[[Atlantica]]
*[[Halloween Town]]
*[[Neverland]]
*[[Hollow Bastion]]
*[[End of the World]]
 
===Cutscenes===
*[[Disney Castle]]
*[[Pride Lands]]
 
==Other releases==
===''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix''===
{{main|Kingdom Hearts Final Mix}}
''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' is an extended version of ''Kingdom Hearts''. Released only in Japan, it uses most of the revisions made for the North American and European releases. It features other additions to the original game: a ''Final Fantasy X-2'' trailer (named "Special Movie") on the main menu, three new [[Difficulty Level]]s: Beginner, Standard, and Proud mode, new types of Heartless and palette swaps for most returning Heartless, new Keychains and items, and a new secret boss that appears in Hollow Bastion, known only as "[[Xemnas|Unknown]]". It also features an expansion of the secret movie from the first game, ''[[Another side, Another story...|Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]]]'', foreshadowing more of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]''.
 
===HD Remaster===
{{Main|Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX}}
''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' was re-released in high definition as part of ''Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX''. The abilities [[Zero EXP]] and [[Combo Master]] were added to the game. The [[Summons]] menu was moved to the fourth [[Command Menu]] slot and the Reaction Commands that occupied that slot were moved to {{button|t}}. The right analog stick controls the camera instead of the {{button|L2}} and {{button|R2}} buttons, similar to ''Kingdom Hearts II''. In addition, cutscenes can be skipped now. The ''{{wiki|finalfantasy|Final Fantasy X-2}}'' trailer that occupied the third slot on the game's opening menu is replaced with a Back command to return to the ''Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX'' game select menu. Among the models replaced, [[Cinderella]], [[Aurora]], and [[Snow White]]'s were replaced with their models from ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]''.
 
==Trivia==
[[File:Pre-game Logo.png|thumb|Logo depicted in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' beta trailer.]]
*Since the protagonist of ''Kingdom Hearts'' was originally planned to be Mickey, Sora's clothes are based on Mickey's clothes, to mesh well with Donald and Goofy.
 
*''Kingdom Hearts'' is the only game in the series in which the player can deal friendly fire to the party.
 
*''Kingdom Hearts'' had a different logo in the beta trailer showing the word "Kingdom" in gold, bold letters on top of "Hearts" in the same style as the current logo.
 
*''Kingdom Hearts'' is the only game in the series to be licensed by "Squaresoft" before it became "Square Enix".


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/index1.html/ Official US website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406121530/http://na.square-enix.com/games/kingdomhearts/index1.html Official US website]
*[http://www.square-enix.co.jp/games/ps2/kingdom/ Official JP website]
*[http://www.square-enix.co.jp/games/ps2/kingdom/ Official JP website]
*[http://www.kingdom-hearts.com/language.html/ Official EU website]
*[http://www.kingdom-hearts.com/language.html/ Official EU website]
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Latest revision as of 17:39, 17 September 2024

This article is about the original game. For other uses, see Kingdom Hearts (disambiguation).
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Logo KH.png
キングダムハーツ
Kingudamu Hātsu
Developer(s) Square Co., Ltd.
Publisher(s) Japan Square Co., Ltd.
United States/Canada Square EA, Disney Interactive
Europe/Australia Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date(s) Japan March 28, 2002
United States/Canada September 17, 2002
Europe November 15, 2002
Australia November 22, 2002
Genre Action RPG
Game modes Single player
Ratings ESRB:EveryoneEveryone
PEGI:7+7+
USK: 6+
OFLC: G8+
ELSPA: 11+
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
"You never know who you'll run into next."
—Tagline

Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series. Revolving around a fourteen-year-old boy named Sora, it details his adventures after his homeworld is destroyed by sinister creatures known as the Heartless, and his attempts to restore his world and reunite with his friends. He meets many characters from classic Disney films and a handful from the Final Fantasy video game series. The main theme song for the game is "Simple and Clean", performed by Utada Hikaru.

Chronologically, Kingdom Hearts follows Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, takes place during Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- and takes place before Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, as well as partially overlapping with Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

An enhanced version, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, features more enemies, additional scenes, and many other elements, and was released in Japan on December 26, 2002.

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 not 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.

While Square was given a surprising amount of freedom on what Disney properties are used and how, they still tried their hardest to make sure nothing felt jarring or out of character. A conflict did arise when deciding on a protagonist. The Square developers wanted Donald Duck while Disney wanted Mickey Mouse. Nomura decided to create a compromise by having the protagonist be an original character, which eventually became Sora. All parties agreed to these terms, with Disney's only stipulation that they own the copyright to all characters, settings, and assets original to the series.

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 – 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, which has been used for every subsequent re-release.

Story

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 Darkside Heartless, and is awakened by Kairi on the beach of Destiny Islands, revealing it was a nightmare. Riku motivates them to continue working on their raft in order to explore new worlds. While fetching supplies in a secret cave, Sora encounters a mysterious hooded figure 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 the Heartless. 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, 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.

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.

Sora and his friends eventually arrive at Hollow Bastion, the home world of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he was fated to have it all along and Sora was simply the "delivery boy". Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, reluctantly leave with Riku. Sora calls on his courage and enters the Bastion anyway, then challenges Riku again, stating that his heart derives strength from his friends. His friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed by defeat, Riku flees and meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness - possessing Riku's body - addresses the existence of other worlds and their connections.
Riku, possessed by Ansem, showing Maleficent the Keyblade of heart.

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.

Ansem pontificates on darkness to Sora.
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.

Beyond the door are Mickey and Riku, back in control of his own body. They help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it, but Riku and Mickey must remain inside to help seal it. Riku asks Sora to take care of Kairi. Mickey and Sora then use their Keyblades to lock the door.

Sora promises Kairi that he will return to her.

The destroyed worlds reconstruct themselves; Kairi is pulled back to the Destiny Islands, but Sora promises before separating they will all reunite some day. Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey, though they are unsure of where to start. Luckily, Pluto appears, clutching a letter from Mickey in his mouth; he runs off with Sora, Donald, and Goofy in tow, ready for a new set of adventures. The silent narrator from the beginning of the game states in the final scene that Sora's destiny is to open the door to light. Meanwhile, Kairi finds a drawing in the secret cave of Sora giving her a Paopu Fruit; Kairi weeps in happiness and reciprocates the drawing.

Gameplay

Sora fighting a Heartless using fire magic.

Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG with hack and slash gameplay. It has a lot of features with other JRPGs, such as equipment and accessory customization, magic spells, HP, MP, EXP, etc. Sora attacks with a Keyblade which can change form once Keychains are found. Equipping abilities uses AP, meaning the player must choose certain abilities instead of all of them.

In the beginning of the game, by choosing between the Dream Sword, Dream Shield and Dream Rod, the player can choose a growth path that fits their play style—choosing the sword will prioritize abilities that strengthen Sora's offense, while choosing the rod will prioritize abilities that strengthen magic. However, all this changes is the order in which these abilities are learned. Choosing which weapon to keep and sacrifice will also affect Sora's starting stats. The player will be asked three questions which will affect how fast they level up.

Sora is the only directly controlled character, while Donald and Goofy are controlled by AI, although the player can adjust their AI behavior so that they use items and abilities more or less frequently. Because there can only be three party members at a time, the player may swap them out with others, such as Aladdin or Jack Skellington, but only in their respective world. For example, Jack can not become a party member in Agrabah. While the player can stick to Donald and Goofy, the player will need Aladdin in their party during the Cave of Wonders segment in Agrabah to progress.

A Gummi Ship segment.

There are colored Trinity marks which are scattered throughout the worlds. Donald and Goofy must be in the party to activate them, and the color of the Trinity must be obtained through story progress. Note that if playing the original version of the game, there is a permanently missable Red Trinity mark in Halloween Town. There are also 99 Puppies scattered throughout worlds; returning them to Pongo and Perdita in Traverse Town will result in rewards.

The player travels between worlds in a Gummi Ship. The player must ride the Gummi Ship upon visiting new worlds, although it is possible to install a "warp" function for the Gummi Ship which warps the ship to worlds already found.

Worlds and characters

Dive to the Heart
Destiny Islands
Disney Castle Symbol - Crown.png
Traverse Town
Wonderland
Olympus Coliseum
Deep Jungle
Agrabah
Monstro
Atlantica
Halloween Town
Neverland
100 Acre Wood
Hollow Bastion
End of the World
The World That Never Was Symbol - Crown.png
Dark World Symbol - Crown.png
Other

External links