Kingdom Hearts Review

Disney make great characters, good and bad. You might dream about what it would be like if all the Disney heroes joined forces to fight all those evil monsters that scared you when you were a kid. Don't think you're crazy, the dream has come true and it's not just the Disney characters that are ready to make this fantasy reality. Square have joined with Disney to create a game that includes the Final Fantasy characters and this time, you won't have to be asleep for it to happen.

In fact, if anything you'll lose sleep playing this game! It's a weird idea that's for sure. The ultra cute world of Disney mixed with violent sword fights and magic isn't something you would expect, but it's actually a stroke of genius. The story begins on the Destiny Islands where a young boy called Sora and his friends Riku and Kairi live. After having play fights with Wakka, Selphie and Tidus from the Final Fantasy games, the island is attacked by monsters known as the Heartless. Sora's wooden sword is replaced with the Keyblade, a sword-like weapon in the shape of a key. He is sent to another world where he meets Donald Duck and Goofy who are looking for King Mickey. Think that's bizarre? Trust me, that's nothing compared to what is to come!

The battles are in real time, which is a refreshing change from Final Fantasy's tedious random battles. Most of the time, you'll be fighting the Heartless, who come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes and always outnumber you. So it helps to have Donald and Goofy fight alongside you. You might think that a duck and. well, whatever Goofy is can't do much to help, but you'd be wrong. Donald is the court wizard back at Fantasia Castle and can use magic, whilst Goofy as the captain of the guards is equipped with a shield to help protect the party. They both have their own abilities but can't be controlled, so you're stuck with Sora.

Many elements from the Final Fantasy games have been borrowed such as magic with weird names (Firaga, Gravija etc.), summoning and leveling up. After killing an enemy, a number appears above their head indicating the amount of experience points you received. When you have gained enough, the character levels up and so does an attribute such as Strength, Magic, AP (Action Points) and Defense. The characters may also learn extra abilities that include extra combos with weapons, attracting treasure to the party and stylish special attacks, which are similar to Limit Breaks in the Final Fantasy series. The battle system is simple and easy to control - you can attack, jump, use your special abilities, cast magic, call for help from your allies and lock onto any enemy on the screen. Although the camera can be dodgy, the lock on keeps it on the enemy and you can rotate the view as you wish.

You can assign up to three spells to a magic shortcut button, but you can't get into the start menu during battles. There is a handy Command Menu used to access magic, summons and items during battle and it also plays a major part in the game. A small box in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, the Command Menu's options change depending on the situation. There are four boxes, and most of the time they will have Attack, Magic, Item and '?' in them. If you near a character, Attack becomes Talk or stand next to a movable object and it will become Lift. After lifting, the option to throw the object appears. The '?' option is also used for special attacks, but this can be fidgety when fighting a boss monster and it takes skill, dexterity and good timing to use the command without being hit in the back of the head.

There are a few worlds with different themes suited to them. The Deep Jungle of Tarzan's world is more action oriented than Alice's Wonderland, where puzzle-solving is the order of the day. Sora and co. travel to and fro in a Gummi Ship, which is a cross between Fruit Pastilles and Lego blocks!! Whilst traveling to other worlds, you can play a mini game, shooting down enemy Gummi Ships and collecting more pieces for yours. This is fun at the beginning and building the Gummi Ship is too, but since you soon are given the option to warp to worlds you have been to and there is no real challenge or indeed anything to gain from these parts, you will soon lose interest in them. This is a real missed opportunity as these could have been some really great Starfox-style levels with the chance to pick up money and items for use in the main game. Also, the graphics of these levels are very basic, which is deliberate but they could have been more exciting and dark, in line with the Heartless.

The worlds are bursting with color and it's a joy to interact in them. They have many similarities to the films and the team even change clothes or gain abilities. You turn into a merman in Ariel's world of Atlantica, fly with Peter Pan in Never Never Land and dress up as monsters in Halloween Town with Jack Skellington, taken straight from The Nightmare Before Christmas. You will be full of expectation every time the Gummi Ship lands, wondering who you will run into next and the memories of the films will come rushing back to you. Get those dusty videos ready, you'll want to watch them after this! But a problem with the different worlds is that I was expecting a bit more from them. Sometimes a world is just a building, market or town. Not exactly what I would consider a world, and although they are big and require a lot of exploring, it seems so small compared to what they were in the films. But the worlds represent the films nicely and you have to revisit them a lot too.

In each world you visit, you'll be greeted either by loveable Disney characters (or a damn annoying monster) and they are just how you remember them. Their voices, the way they move it's as if you've taken control over a Disney movie. The voice actors sound perfect and even though the characters are in 3D, they still look fantastic. Final Fantasy fans will also be right at home as it is the elements of FF that make the game so great.

The Final Fantasy characters make cameo appearances and are as stylish as ever, from Cloud Strife to Squall, your favorite characters are here and some will be happy to know that you can even fight most of them. And there's nothing funnier than seeing Donald Duck hit the mighty Cloud over the head with a small stick! Sadly, the Final Fantasy characters don't have a big impact on the game but this is essentially a Disney game. Even Sephiroth makes an appearance.

Being a Disney game, it's bound to have Disney characters in it and Kingdom Hearts has over 100 of them! Winnie the Pooh and friends, Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Chip 'n' Dale, Huey, Duey & Luey, the 101 Dalmatians, they're all there! And the most evil of the villains have joined forces. Ursula, Hades, Jaffar, Maleficent and Captain Hook are all on the hunt for Sora and are the main bosses when you finish a world's puzzles and traps. But you're not alone and those of you who hate Donald and Goofy don't worry! In most worlds you can replace one of them with another character who are the heroes from the films. Aladdin, Tarzan, Ariel and even Jack Skellington fight alongside Sora. You can even summon characters from the magic menu such as Aladdin's Genie who attacks all enemies, Bambi who finds items for the party, Mushu the dragon who spits out fire machinegun style and even Tinkerbell who heals the party. Everyone has a role to play.

This is essentially an RPG with added elements but some important parts are taken away too. The leveling up, item equipping and planning battles is featured just fine, but if you think you'll be talking to thousands of people and shopping like a 16 year old with her dad's credit card, you're wrong. There aren't many people to talk to compared to other RPGs and there is a total of 4 shops all located in the same world. When you compare this to Final Fantasy X it's very sparse, but keep in mind there is a lot of fighting, platform jumping and exploring to be done. Leveling up is very tough as is finding money, so the game's focus is more on action than RPG.

Some older gamers may be put off by this game. It's not something they would go for - a Disney game. The thing that got me excited about the game is that the Final Fantasy characters in it, but those who have enjoyed any of Square's games will fall in love with this. It may look cute, but it is actually a game aimed at anyone who loves games. A complex story line, tough puzzles and battles, this is a tough game that even the most experienced gamer will have trouble with. Some parts of the game are quite violent and even though the Disney characters are in it, that doesn't make it childish or just for children. It's great seeing the Disney crew again in a new adventure and no matter how old you are, the chances are that you saw and liked a Disney film so you shouldn't miss out on this. If you are allergic to Disney however (you fiend!) you should still at least rent this. Behind the cutesy is a dark, compelling and often bizarre game. Bear in mind as it is a Disney game, the Final Fantasy characters won't play that big a part, so don't expect too much from Tidus and the rest!

The sounds are fantastic. The sound of the Keyblade hitting an enemy's weapon is quite satisfying and realistic. The music is great but you'd expect that from Square. It really sets the mood especially when you're fighting. The magic special effects are nice too, but the best sounds are the voices of the characters. They sound just right and the same as they were in the films. Goofy and Donald's cries for help and when they are hit are also very cool. You'll notice that the Final Fantasy characters voices are familiar. Squall is voiced by Angel's David Boreanaz, Aeris is voiced by the singer Mandy Moore, Sephiroth is voiced by Lance Bass and Sora, the main character is voiced by Haley Joel Osment of The Sixth Sense and AI fame.

Square are known for coming up with the greatest story lines in their games and they haven't let us down with Kingdom Hearts. The story is dark, moody and quite emotional as best friends Riku, Sora and Kairi are separated. There is a lot of romance between Kairi and Sora, even though Riku likes her too (ah yes, the classic love triangle). But what is most compelling is the relationship between Riku and Sora. The best friends are separated and soon begin to have some feuds. You wonder if it will come down to a fight in the end. Their relationship is very powerful and you grip the controller when Riku appears, wondering if the Heartless have taken his heart. You also slowly find out what happens to Ansem, the person who first discovered the Heartless, as you read his reports. It's a big surprise when you find out what he's planning! The story is a bit of a roller coaster ride and can get confusing sometimes, but luckily Jiminy Cricket is ready to help and jots down all the events, characters and enemies you have encountered in his journal!

The graphics are very nice indeed! The detail of the characters is just how you remember from the films. But the in-game graphics aren't that great. Backgrounds are flat, water effects are dull and there isn't a lot of detail to the surroundings. The characters make up for this though, but they don't look all that great with the in-game graphics. Their faces look plain, their mouths move in the same way but in the cut scenes, their faces look very realistic with characters like Donald looking identical to his TV counterpart. Their eyes shift, their hair blows in the wind and when they talk, their mouths move just right so it actually looks like they are talking. This is because the mouths were remodeled for the English versions and speech, which meant it looks authentic and allowed the voice actors to fully express themselves and their characters without worrying about lip-synching. This was a bit of a problem in Final Fantasy X and was sometimes distracting, the way the characters had to have huge pauses whilst their mouths still flapped.

FMVs are a specialty of Square too, producing some amazing FMV movies as seen in the FF games. They even made but that didn't do too well and ever since Square seemed to have held back with the flashy FMVs. Final Fantasy 7 and 8 had some brilliant FMV movies but 9 hardly had any and Square didn't include many in Final Fantasy X. Sadly, Square were a bit stingy again and there are only 2 good FMVs in the whole game, the opening and the ending. They aren't that action packed either, but the game still has some great graphics without them and they are just as entertaining. Magic attacks don't look as good as they did in Final Fantasy but the summons look amazing, as do the monsters. Each looks different and although they don't have a great amount of detail, some look amazing and even scary at times. You can even see them without being punched in the face via the journal.

Another good thing about Square's games is the length. Kingdom Hearts doesn't disappoint. The game takes ages to finish and there is a large amount of exploring and leveling up to do. There are a few sub-quests including building the Gummi Ship, finding the 101 Dalmatians, beating the tournament in the coliseum and finding all the Trinities. The 99 Dalmatian puppies have been scattered around the various worlds and finding them brings rewards from their parents. Trinities are small markings around the worlds and having Donald and Goofy in the party allow you to activate some, getting transported to hidden locations or revealing secret treasure. Finding everything in the game unlocks a secret ending too. You can even try your hand at the tournaments in the Coliseum, fighting hordes of enemies and others such as Cloud, Squall and Yuffie. You can even beat Hercules up, which is very satisfying! There are three cups to win and each one needs the party to be very strong. Once you have managed to beat one cup, you can move onto the next or replay without Goofy and Donald. The Hades Cup is huge and you'll need hours of training to beat it. After this you can fight special matches against powerful monsters, which seem invincible at first.

There are a few mini games too, such as tree surfing with Tarzan, time trials in the Coliseum and the Hundred Acre Wood games with Winnie the Pooh. Most of the time, you'll find yourself lost and not knowing where to go and this can take up hours of the game. You find it a bit pointless when you find you had to revisit the place you just were to get to the next stage in the game. And Square have also included that frustrating thing bosses can do: kill you effortlessly. You'll give up on the game for some time until you finally decide to waste more time levelling up or fighting that damn boss again. Some parts of the game are too easy though, enemies sometimes run into your attacks and they don't do much damage. If you're feeling lucky though, there is an expert mode that can be selected at the beginning of the game which will make sure the game will last. It's not as long as Final Fantasy X, but just as fun.

The only criticisms I can really draw are that the interaction with characters could have been improved and so could the size of the worlds, which are very imaginative but somewhat limited in their size. The camera can get on your nerves too, it could have been more flexible and moved more naturally.

Kingdom Hearts is another masterpiece from Square and mixing the Disney world with the action and gameplay from Final Fantasy was an idea and a half! As usual Square left room for a sequel and this is just the start of something big. With a great story, graphics and gameplay, this is a must have game.