A good portion of the conversation surrounding Kingdom Hearts is focused on its blatant absurdity. The concept alone is so appalling that it obscures a lot of the series' more interesting qualities. It's like a rhetorical black hole. I wonder if, in a theoretical future where Disney loses the copyright to many of their characters, this series will take on a whole new meaning. Will future players see this game's retellings of classic Disney films in the same way we see ancient myths today? How about how we feel about more recent creations like Sherlock Holmes? A lot of weight to be putting on the shoulders of the funny car key sword game, I know, but I found it an interesting thought experiment.

I'm focusing more on the concept of the game, rather than the actual content of it, simply because I don't love any specific parts of this first entry. The combat is fun and challenging if you choose to play on the hard difficulty, and the levels are fun to explore. The story is cute, blazingly earnest, and surprisingly simple. There are some sore spots to be sure, but I don't think it's fair to judge a game off of uncharacteristically poor parts.