Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: RPG

Publisher: Square EA

Developer: Square Co. Ltd.

ETA: Fall 2002

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Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts:

A) Came out of nowhere.

B) Came so far from left field, it was previously in the parking lot.

C) Is yet further evidence Donald Duck is on medication.

D) Could be classified as a big April Fool’s Day prank.

E) Will probably sell 2 Million copies in a week.

The press materials for Kingdom Hearts arrived April 1 -- I thought the whole package was a big joke.  Is Square kidding?    

The Official Line: “KINGDOM HEARTS is the story of Sora, a 14-year-old boy whose world is shattered when a violent storm hits his island-paradise home, and he is separated from his two closest friends, Riku, a 15-year-old boy, and Kairi, a 14-year-old girl. The storm scatters the three to different and unknown worlds. Sora, while searching for his friends in a strange and mysterious land, meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, protectors of the Disney Castle, who are on a mission to find King Mickey. The three learn of ominous creatures known as the Heartless – beings without hearts derived from an unknown dimension and, as it turns out, the ones responsible for the devastating storm. And while the Heartless invade and destroy many worlds, the Disney villains collaborate behind the scenes to realize their devious intentions. Upon discovering the link between the Heartless, the storm and the disappearance of the King, Sora, Donald and Goofy join forces to recover Sora’s friends, return the King to his rightful position and save the universe from the Heartless.”  

I could cynically sum up Kingdom Hearts (KH) as another Final Fantasy game with the addition of Disney characters.  And I think I will – from what I’ve seen and read that’s exactly what KH is (check the names involved: Yoshinori Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura, and Jun Akiyama); 

not that there’s anything wrong with that.  As a series, Final Fantasy (FF) has sold millions of deep and involving games, which have garnered much critical acclaim.  (Final Fantasy XI could be an empty box and I bet it would sell a further million or two.)  Couple the popularity of the FF series with the global Disney license, which gives access to hundreds of highly recognizable characters, and KH could be looking to break sales records.

Not only do we get four new FF-type characters, called "new Disney characters," (Sora, a simple-minded 14-year old; curious Riku, Sora’s best friend; 

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Kairi, a waif with the resolve of steel; and of course of the Heartless), we get a virtual pantheon of classic Disney characters, including (but not limited to) Donald Duck, Goofy, Ariel, Peter Pan, Simba, Tarzan, Minnie Mouse, Hercules, Jafar, Hades, Pluto and, of course, Mickey Mouse (each with character specific actions).  As far as I can tell, Square has not had experience with a license like Disney so it will be interesting to see if they make any character changes.  For example, take Donald Duck.  Orginally, he went into a fury over practically anything (watch Disney’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk with Goofy, Mickey, and Donald) – then along came the Duck Tales cartoon.  It was like he was on medication.  He went back to his roots in the feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  His dueling piano scene with Daffy Duck was one of the highlights of the film (for me).  Judging by the screenshots alone, Donald has renewed his prescription even though he’s definitely in a fighting position. (Expect all the Disney characters to sport FF style clothes with lots of zippers and pockets.)  But the way Disney obliterates anyone trying to infringe on their copyrights, it’s not likely Squaresoft will be able to take such artistic liberties. (And for all the FF fans, there are cameo roles made by the likes of Tidus and Wakka from FFX.)  But with Disney’s gold mine of locations and characters, it would be a travesty if gamers didn’t get a chance to battle Monstro (with Pinocchio's help, of course).  It begs the question as to which Disney movies will be presented that haven’t been announced. (What about Toy Story? What about The Jungle Book? Or Aristocats?)

Having all these Disney characters under one roof causes a bit of a problem.  How do you link up Alice in Wonderland to The Little Mermaid? From the Official Line: “In KH, each world contains a special Keyhole.  The Heartless, originating from the power of darkness, enter through the Keyhole to invade the various worlds.  Sora and company must defeat the Heartless Boss and lock the Keyhole with the powerful magic of the Keyblade to stop the flow of Heartless into the world.”  This situation is akin to Star Wars and Star Trek linked through a temporal rift (or equally silly-sounding techno babble), with Capt. Kirk and Darth Vader getting into a fist fight.

Control and battles look to mimic the formula found in the FF games.  There are the usual assortments of elemental and summon attacks during battles, that “take place right on the field map, eliminating the need for random battles.”  Then there are the usual assortment of weapons and equipment to use to solve puzzles and make progress.  Square has a solid record when it comes to control schemes so to it should live up to the standards.  

My biggest worry about KH (if it can be called a “worry”) is the voice acting.  With the pervasive nature of Disney movies, most players in North America will have an expectation of what the characters should sound like.  There was an outcry when Robin Williams didn’t reprise his role as Genie in the direct-to-video Aladdin 2. (The outcry was from people that were expecting him.)  For the more recent films, some of the original actors could be used – James Woods as Hades in a video game, I doubt it – but what about the old source material like Alice in Wonderland?  Will it use the audio from the movies?  It will be interesting to see how Disney and Square resolve this one.

KH may not try to rewrite the RPG genre, but if it stays close to the FF setup and explores the locales of Disney films, Kingdom Hearts could turn out to be a good game (on top of being an interesting cross-over).

Kingdom Hearts is expected Fall 2002 in North America.

- Omni