When I first played Kingdom Hearts, I didn't expect anything special at first. I grew up loving Disney movies, but I had never played a Final Fantasy game other than 7. Lo and behold, Kingdom Hearts surprised me in ways I didn't expect and made me appreciate not just Disney and Final Fantasy, but the Kingdom Hearts series itself.
The first game follows a somewhat easy to follow plot; Sora, Riku, and Kairi are 3 kids who want to travel to other worlds. One fateful night, darkness attacks their home (Destiny Islands) and seperates the 3 of them. Sora winds up in Traverse Town, where he meets Goofy and Donald Duck (who are looking for Mickey Mouse). Sora wields a weapon called the keyblade, which chose him to help fight the darkness. These monsters called the heartless (created when somebody gives in to the darkness) are out attacking other worlds, so Sora teams up with Donald and Goofy to fight the darkness and look for their friends.
The vast majority of worlds in this game are based on Disney movies, which can be hit or miss. There's some bad worlds like Wonderland or the Tarzan world, but there's also some incredible ones like Halloween Town or Agrabah which bring the worlds of their respective movies to life, making you immersed in the worlds.
The main antagonist of the game is Maleficent, who's teamed up with a council of Disney villains to spread darkness throughout the worlds. It's really charming to see these villains interact, giving the game more of that Disney magic.
But how does the game itself play? Pretty well! While newer entries in the series do make the combat feel dated, it's still enjoyable for what it is. You can utilize different magic spells, as well as summon Disney characters like Simba or Mushu. The melee combat feels a little slow after playing other games in the series, but I still have a blast when I replay the game.
There's another gameplay element when you travel to different worlds; the gummi ship. It's not fun at all. You can customize your ship with different blocks, but I never bothered with that and just stuck with the default ship because I didn't care that much. The space shooter gameplay just feels like worse Starfox.
The music of this game is absolutely beautiful. Each piece fits incredibly well with the world or scenario you're in. The title theme of the game (Dearly Beloved) is one of my favorites. There's also the opening and ending theme, Simple and Clean by Utada. The lyrics kind of suck, but my god is it catchy.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 1 is a classic that's brimming with the magic of classic Disney movies. If not for this game, I would've never found one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. If you haven't played Kingdom Hearts already, what are you waiting for?
The first game follows a somewhat easy to follow plot; Sora, Riku, and Kairi are 3 kids who want to travel to other worlds. One fateful night, darkness attacks their home (Destiny Islands) and seperates the 3 of them. Sora winds up in Traverse Town, where he meets Goofy and Donald Duck (who are looking for Mickey Mouse). Sora wields a weapon called the keyblade, which chose him to help fight the darkness. These monsters called the heartless (created when somebody gives in to the darkness) are out attacking other worlds, so Sora teams up with Donald and Goofy to fight the darkness and look for their friends.
The vast majority of worlds in this game are based on Disney movies, which can be hit or miss. There's some bad worlds like Wonderland or the Tarzan world, but there's also some incredible ones like Halloween Town or Agrabah which bring the worlds of their respective movies to life, making you immersed in the worlds.
The main antagonist of the game is Maleficent, who's teamed up with a council of Disney villains to spread darkness throughout the worlds. It's really charming to see these villains interact, giving the game more of that Disney magic.
But how does the game itself play? Pretty well! While newer entries in the series do make the combat feel dated, it's still enjoyable for what it is. You can utilize different magic spells, as well as summon Disney characters like Simba or Mushu. The melee combat feels a little slow after playing other games in the series, but I still have a blast when I replay the game.
There's another gameplay element when you travel to different worlds; the gummi ship. It's not fun at all. You can customize your ship with different blocks, but I never bothered with that and just stuck with the default ship because I didn't care that much. The space shooter gameplay just feels like worse Starfox.
The music of this game is absolutely beautiful. Each piece fits incredibly well with the world or scenario you're in. The title theme of the game (Dearly Beloved) is one of my favorites. There's also the opening and ending theme, Simple and Clean by Utada. The lyrics kind of suck, but my god is it catchy.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 1 is a classic that's brimming with the magic of classic Disney movies. If not for this game, I would've never found one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. If you haven't played Kingdom Hearts already, what are you waiting for?