Kingdom Hearts (game)
| Kingdom Hearts | |
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| File:Kingdom Hearts logo.jpg | |
| {{{japan}}} | |
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. |
| Publisher(s) |  Square Co., Ltd. / Square EA, Disney InteractiveEurope/  Sony Computer Entertainment
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| Release date(s) | March 28, 2002
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| Genre | Action RPG |
| Game modes | Single player |
| Ratings | ESRB: EveryonePEGI:  7+USK: 6+ OFLC: G8+ ELSPA: 11+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| This article is about the first game of the series & the second game in the timeline. You may be looking for other uses of Kingdom Hearts. |
Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series & the second game in the timeline after Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep| Birth by Sleep.
Story
Kingdom Hearts begins on Destiny Islands, where Sora, Riku and Kairi live. 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 creatures. Sora seeks out his friends, only to find Riku. He disappears into darkness and Sora obtains the Keyblade. Despite Sora's efforts at battling the shadow creatures, the islands are destroyed, and Sora is left adrift. Meanwhile, 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 Sora has drifted. Sora encounters the shadow creatures again, and meets Leon, who explains the shadow creatures are Heartless, creatures that consume hearts, and that the Keyblade is the only weapon capable of defeating them. A man named Ansem, the leader of Leon's home world, is said to have studied the Heartless. Sora meets Donald and Goofy and the three 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 Disney 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 includes Riku, who Maleficent promises will help find Kairi. Maleficent sows distrust in Riku, telling him that Sora has abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade. An increasingly antagonistic Riku finds Kairi's body, but cannot find her heart.
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 simply the "delivery boy". Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, leave with Riku. Sora then challenges Riku again, stating that his heart derives strength from his friends; his friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. Shamed, Riku meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness. The three engage and kill Maleficent but then meet a strangely-behaved Riku with a Keyblade that unlocks hearts. Sora finds Kairi's body and Riku, who reveals himself to be Ansem, possessing Riku's body. Ansem explains that Kairi is a Princess of Heart and that her heart was trapped within Sora's body since Destiny Islands was decimated. After defeating Ansem, Sora uses Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart, releasing both his and Kairi's heart. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole, while Sora's heart becomes a Heartless. Sora is then returned to human form by Kairi's heart and resolves to follow Ansem.
Ansem is found in End of the World, the combined remnants of worlds taken by the Heartless. Ansem explains his belief that darkness is the heart's true essence, and he seeks Kingdom Hearts, as that would be the ultimate darkness. However, upon opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, it reveals its light, killing Ansem. Beyond the door are Mickey and Riku, and they help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it. Mickey and Sora use their Keyblades to lock the door. The worlds reconstruct themselves, separating Sora and Kairi. The game concludes as Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey.
Characters
Main
Main characters are, in this case, defined as characters with the largest effect on the storyline, who have a direct relation to Sora.
Sora (Protagonist; playable character)
A 14 year old boy who dreams of seeing other worlds. He gets his wish after the heartless destroy his home. He travels to various Disney worlds with Donald and Goofy in search of his two friends, Riku and Kairi. He wields the Keyblade, a weapon capable of harming the heartless and sealing worlds. His name means "sky" in Japanese.
Donald (AI-controlled character)
A magician who is a friend of Sora's. He is searching for King Mickey by traveling to various worlds with the gummi ship. A very powerful partner magic wise.
Goofy (AI-controlled character)
A good friend of Sora's. He is also searching for King Mickey. A very powerful comrade defense wise, but not very high attack. Has useful support abilities, such as MP gift.
Riku (Original Keyblade-wielder)
Riku is the 15-year-old friend of Sora and Kairi and lives with them on Destiny Islands. Initially he is stronger than Sora (story-wise), and because of this, was meant to be the original wielder of the Keyblade. However, he gave in to the darkness in his heart, but managed to transfer a bit of light to Sora, effectively making him the new wielder of the Keyblade. His name means "land" or "shore" in Japanese.
Kairi (Girl of mysterious origins)
Not much is known about Kairi, like where she's from or how she even got to Destiny Islands (this answer is only hinted in a report by Ansem in KH: Final Mix). It is revealed that she comes from Hollow Bastion. Riku and Sora do not seem to care though, as they both enjoy her company and friendship. Her name is based on the Japanese word for "ocean" ("kai").
Temporary
Temporary characters are world specified, 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")
Tarzan is only available in the Deep Jungle world. 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")
Aladdin is only available in the Agrabah world. He fights using "street-smart acrobatics" and a saber. 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")
Ariel is only available in the Atlantica world. She fights using potions with certain 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")
Jack is only available in the Halloween Town world. He fights using magic and scare tactics. His passive abilities are the same as Aladdin's.
Peter Pan (from "Peter Pan")
Peter is only available in the Neverland world. He fights using flight and a wooden 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")
Beast is only available in the Hollow Bastion world. 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.
Worlds
- Awakening
- Destiny Islands
- Disney Castle (Not Playable)
- Traverse Town
- Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland world)
- Olympus Coliseum (Hercules world)
- Deep Jungle (Tarzan world)
- Agrabah (Aladdin world)
- Monstro (Pinocchio world; not an actual world)
- Atlantica (The Little Mermaid world)
- Halloween Town (Nightmare Before Christmas world)
- Neverland (Peter Pan world)
- Hollow Bastion (Final Fantasy world)
- End of the World (partially Fantasia world)
- 100 Acre Wood (Winnie-the-Pooh world)
Final Fantasy Cameo Appearances
Tidus appears as a young boy 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 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 a ball as a weapon. He is found on the beach and beside the waterfall.
Selphie appears as a younger girl on the Destiny Islands. She appears to be a day dreamer although she can be fought optionally by Sora. She uses a jump rope as a weapon. Both days, she can be found on the jetty beside the boats.
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. He can be fought three times: first in Traverse Town and the second and third times in the Olympus Coliseum in the Pegasus and Hades Cups.
Yuffie is found in Traverse Town early in the game. At first, Sora mistakes her for Kairi and she helps him along with Leon and Aerith.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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 die. Summons take the place of the to AI members of the player's party, and as such, both AI must be conscious before the player can use a summon.
Simba (from "The Lion King")
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")
Tinkerbell is acquired after completing the Neverland world. Peter [Pan] tells her to help out the party, after defeating Captain Hook. Tinkerbell will heal Sora at timed intervals and if Sora is defeated while her summon is active, she will revive him once and then disappear. To draw parallels to the FF games, she functions like Regen and Auto-Life.
Genie (from "Aladdin")
Genie is acquired by defeating Jafar and completing the Agrabah world. Like in the movie, 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")
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")
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. While riding Dumbo, Sora is invulnerable.
Mushu (from "Mulan")
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 aspires that an original character, Ansem, is the main antagonist of the game. Both of these characters are major bosses; though, Ansem is in fact 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
- Riku
- Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
- Hades (Hercules)
- Clayton (Tarzan)
- Jafar (Aladdin)
- Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
- Oogie Boogie (The Nightmare Before Christmas)
- Captain Hook (Peter Pan)
- Chernabog (Fantasia)
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.
Final Mix
See article Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix
