Kingdom Hearts (2002)
Kingdom Hearts is celebrating it's 20th anniversary. As someone who was raised by a Disney nerd, it was only natural for me to be drawn to Kingdom Hearts, and this series stands on its own as one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. In celebration of the game that started it all, I'm breaking down this first installment to give it all the love and praise it deserves.
The Awakening
Right off the bat, this game kicks off hard to a great start as little Haley Joel Osment's voice segways us into a beautiful cinematic opening with Utada Hikari's Simple & Clean blaring in our ears. Want the definition of nostalgia? There it is. Because of the Disney Princesses in the Chamber of Awakening & the first appearance of Final Fantasy characters, the game is quickly established as the Disney-FF crossover that it was advertised to be.
This is also where the tutorial takes place, so I'll quickly state my opinion on gameplay (1.5 final mix for the PS4 specifically). Honestly, the gameplay of KH1 isn't anything special. It's not as good KH2 and not as bad as COM or ReCoded. It's pretty well balanced, no OP commands, and overall sets the foundation of all other games. I like how the command deck works. Movement and platforming are awkward at times. This first game is fun to play, though the story for me is what stands out the most.
Destiny Islands
My three earliest Kingdom Hearts memories from childhood are the Land of Dragons in KH2, the opening for ReCoded (?), and, where it all begins, Destiny Islands. This segment of the game couldn't have been done more perfectly. Boring fetch quest aside, the Destiny Islands trio is assembled. We officially meet Sora, the goofy main protagonist; Riku, the boy who wants to explore other worlds; and Kairi, the cute little sweetheart Sora has a crush on. We see scenes of Donald & Goofy as they set off on their own quest as well as the first appearance of.... Xehanort??? The hooded figure, Ansem, whatever you wanna call him. The hooded figure and the disappearance of King Mickey bring a sense of mystery in the first act and set the plot forward.
I also want to mention that of all the iconic scenes here, my two favorite moments are when Riku holds his hand out amongst the darkness and when Kairi disappears into Sora. I don't know why, but those moments give me chills every time.
Traverse Town
"What do you know you big Palooka?"
First of all, Traverse Town is one of my favorite worlds in the entire series. The world design and world theme are just *french kiss*
In 2002, David Boreanez was portraying Angel, and Christy Carlson Romano was portraying Kim Possible. So for them to be playing such esteemed Final Fantasy characters as Leon and Yuffie was very very cool at the time. (Kingdom Hearts always knows how to cast all of their games)
Traverse Town is the end of the beginning as the ultimate trio of getting things done - Sora, Donald, & Goofy - unite and set forth on their adventure. Life long friendships begin. All for one, and one for all!
Before leaving Traverse Town, we get a cutscene where a bunch of Disney villains are in the same room conspiring with each other. As a Disney fan, this is very special to me because we never see anything like this again. The first Kingdom Hearts doesn't have an Organization XIII to look out for since the original lore of the series was just starting. Kingdom Hearts can now stand on it's own and is perfectly fine with an original group of villains. But like I said, I'm a Disney fan. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss moments like this. These days we have Maleficent & Pete wondering around fighting to stay relevant as Disney villains have literally no importance after this first game.
Oh, and gummi ship..... Until KH3 I hate hate hate hate gummi ship segments and that's all I'll say about that.
Wonderland
YESSSS! I love Wonderland! I love the original story & Disney movie & pretty much any book, show, or movie that takes place in this world. Kingdom Hearts did not disappoint me. The world theme and battle theme are both amongst my favorite tracks from the series. The world design and the interactivity is brilliant. There so many quirks and secrets and it's one of my favorite worlds for sure.
Olympus Coliseum
So Olympus Coliseum is.... just a Coliseum. The story isn't too interesting except for the little tidbit with Cloud. Though post-visit, the Coliseum opens up to Coliseum Tournaments that are a good challenge to level up to as well as a way to 100% the game.
Also, Sean Astin cameo????
Deep Jungle
"Tarzan Go! Sora Go Go!"
Alright! Deep Jungle!
I love that moment when Sora sees Kairi in that first scene. It really reveals that something weird is going on and gives an air of mystery to her.
This world is often hated on because it's easy to get lost and this is when platforming is absolute trash more so than literally everywhere else. I personally dislike the world for those reasons as well. But I do enjoy some of the cutscenes.
"Friends, same heart. Clayton, loose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart.... No friends..."
Traverse Town... Again
A 2nd visit to Traverse Town gives us another peek into a couple other places in this world. I love everything about this world and love exploring it so no complaints here! This is also when Riku comes in. These are his final scenes before he become the arrogant dumby dumb that nobody likes.
Agrabah
Not that I like the story here, but exploring the Cave of Wonders was cool. Final boss wasn't that fun tbh. And the Cave of Wonders lion head fight would've been cool if it wasn't so annoying.
Monstro
Blech. I hate Monstro. I hate everything about it, it's disgusting. And so is Riku's attitude. But we got Sora over here delivering a burn as hot as Monstro's stomach acid: "Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience." Boom, roasted. I do like the world and battle themes though.
Atlantica
If you got lost in Deep Jungle, then you had absolutely no idea what the heck you were doing at all ever in Atlantica. Not to mention it all ends with double Ursula final boss fights. So we go from Monstro to this. It makes anyone want to vomit, especially since Ursula is a hard boss to beat so you probably end up listening to her stupid voice over and over.
Halloween Town
Halloween is my favorite holiday. Tim Burton is my favorite director. Jack Skellington is a pop culture icon & I worship him every year. And Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the greatest animated films of all time. Seeing Sora, Donald, & Goofy in their Halloween Town costumes is amazing. Sora specifically looks super cool. That moment when they walk on that infamous mountain in the graveyard is iconic. I love exploring this world, it makes me so happy. The Oogie Boogie fights are kind of annoying, especially the 2nd one since platforming gets to be a hassle here. Overall it's one of my favorite worlds.
"Neverland"
I know Kingdom Hearts 3 came out and had mixed reviews, seen as the biggest disappointment in the franchise to many. But you cannot look me in the eyes and say Kingdom Hearts' "Neverland" is the biggest clickbait disappointment in the entire series. It's Hook's ship floating in space and Big Ben. We're literally everywhere but Neverland.
Despite all this, it's still a fun segment of the game. I love how the gang interacts with Peter Pan and others from his movie. This is the first time we see the glide ability, which is great. That whole thing with Sora's shadow is super cool because if you watch Sora while his shadow is missing, he's the only being, character or heartless, that doesn't have a shadow on the ground. (just nice attention to detail that took me very long to notice)
This is also a good world for those SoKai shippers out there. The way Sora and Kairi feel about each other just hits full blast. There's a moment where Sora reaches his hand out and Kairi's comatose hand falls in his direction. *heart melts* This is also the closest Sora has been to Kairi after searching for her the entire game. That's as satisfying as hearing Sora call Riku stupid.
The 100 Acre Wood
In terms of content, it's better than kh3. But the mini games are not as fun as kh2. I love Winnie the Pooh. Pooh and his friends are wholesome childhood icons of multiple generations. Being able to explore the 100 Acre Wood and interacting with the characters is pleasant. The mini games are boring, lame, & sometimes tedious. If you like the fast pace action, you probably hate this world in this game.
Hollow Bastion
"My friends are my power!"
Hollow Bastion is definitely one of the greatest original worlds, if not the greatest original world, in the Kingdom Hearts series. I refer to all versions of the world, but even in this first installment, it's really fun. Yeah, you can get lost easily, but the Hollow Bastion is well designed both mechanically and aesthetically. The architecture and both music themes really solidify the vibes of this world and I love it.
The boss fights here are pretty good. I prefer the 2nd Maleficent battle over the first, and that goes the same with Riku. The fights are challenging. Maybe annoying at times, but once you win, it's so satisfying.
"It's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me!"
I cannot express enough how much I love the cutscenes here. There's at least 3 major cutscenes from this segment that are defining moments for these characters. Sora's sacrifice is top 5 most emotional moments in the series to this day; it hits me every time. The little intermission in Traverse Town also gave us one of the most defining Sokai moments - when Kairi gives Sora her lucky charm. This becomes such an important plot element in the next couple games. And I can't help but think of KH2's beautiful, satisfying ending when I see this scene.
After the little Traverse Town intermission, you go through Hollow Bastion once more and journey to the fairly easy Bahamut boss. I loved how the Disney Princess were just hanging around with each other giving Sora words of encouragement or wisdom. Again, these are little moments as a Disney fan that I miss in future games. After our Hollow Bastion experience is complete, we're in the real Endgame now. (ps don't forget to pick up the Oblivion keyblade that is apparently just chilling in an easy to get to treasure chest in the room Roxas is born. Took me forever to discover this.)
End of the World
This is the trip to the final boss. Most of it is a bunch of tough fights in rooms designed after all the worlds you visit in the game. There's also a random boss with Chernabog for some reason. One highlight is the random room with the pods that had no meaning until 20 years after this game was released. It's now a huge easter egg to Melody of Memory and Unchained χ. It makes you wonder if Nomura always had these story lines set up as early as the first installment....
The End
"I know now, without a doubt. Kingdom Hearts... is light!"
In terms of final bosses, this isn't my favorite. I find so many other final bosses way more fun. And the final phase here is just weird.
I love the ending though. It's so bitter sweet and emotional. The Destiny Islands trio remains separated even after spending the whole game trying to get everyone back together. We get the one and only scene with Mickey Mouse, which was pretty hype, not gonna lie. As Riku allows himself to be trapped in the Realm of Darkness, Sora & Kairi have one final encounter before Kairi returns to the Islands. Simple and Clean is already blaring as Kairi goes back the cave to see Sora's paopou fruit drawing. Queue the tears. There's one final scene after the credits that promises another adventure to begin. And then that's it. Kingdom Hearts is over, and we've all witnessed the birth of a franchise.
Final Thoughts
While this is probably my 4th favorite game to actually play, this is by far my favorite favorite story to experience in the whole series. It's a fairytale. I loved seeing this new universe unfold as pre-existing stories and characters interacted in these new adventures with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Kairi is such a sweet heart and I loved her story with Sora. Riku was annoying, but so was Zuko in the first season of Last Airbender. All great redemption arcs gotta start somewhere. The combat was fun, though not my favorite. And the music! Yoko Shimamura is a genius. Some of my favorite world and battle themes are from this game. Great work.
I'm so excited for the next phase of Kingdom Hearts. Though it's a treat to go back from the beginning of my favorite gaming franchises of all time. Kingdom Hearts has stood the test of time and remains to be a classic game.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★