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Let's assume for a second that you're not a Disney fan. That you can't stomach Disney. Heck, you despise Disney! Or let's say you couldn't care less about Square. Final Fantasy don't mean jack to you. And as for RPGs in general? Blech!
Fine. But guess what? Which-ever camp you fall into, you're still gonna fall in love with this game. I know I did.
Now, granted, I'm a big FF fan. And I love RPGs. But until recently, I was as indifferent to Disney as I am to tuna on rye (a decent sandwich, sure, but nothing I'd go out of my way to munch on).
Then along came Kingdom Hearts, and everything changed. I've gone from snubbing most Disney releases to owning a dozen Disney DVDs -- and that's just the start of my growing collection. I've seen the light -- I'm now a dedicated Disney devotee.
Kingdom Hearts is also so good that I had to rifle through my notes to remember the problems I encountered. Yes, it's far from perfect. For one thing, it's got an utterly evil camera, one that sometimes swings wildly out of control, wreaking havoc and obscuring my vision at the worst possible times. The combat also suffers from its share of woes. Yet despite these shortcomings, when I finally finished the game some 40 hours later, all I could remember is how much fun I had.
From its very first moments, Kingdom Hearts will grab you -- and it won't let go until well after you've beaten it. The game is a remarkable achievement in pacing, especially when it comes to the story. Sure, I could often guess what was lurking around the next corner; after all, the game is rooted in familiar Disney worlds. I knew, for example, that Clayton was a vicious predator driven by horrible intentions. I knew that Ursula was after King Triton's power and that she'd use sweet Ariel as a pawn in her perfidious plans. I even knew I'd end up facing both of them at the end of their respective levels, in heated boss battles that had me gripping the controller as I bashed away, barely making it out of there alive. Yet I was still surprised every step of the way -- not because the story took an unexpected turn, but because it took that familiar turn so darn well. It proves the old adage that it's not the story itself, but how you tell it that matters. I'd sometimes marvel at the fact that Square got nine Disney worlds, more than 100 Disney characters, and a heaping helping of Final Fantasy cameos to work together in telling a larger tale. The whole thing sticks together tighter than a Pooh bear to a pot of honey.
Some of this can be attributed to the choice of characters: Each Disney world is either so classic as to be deeply ingrained in our collective pop-culture psyche, or new enough that even if you didn't see the film, you're already familiar with these characters through all the commercials, the Happy Meals, the toys, the TV spinoffs and countless other tie-ins.
The graphics also help keep things tight. From the deserts of Agrabah to the burial grounds of Halloween Town, all the backdrops are picture-perfect. More impressive, though, is the way that everything moves. Once you see Sora, Donald, Goofy -- and all the other Disney and Square stars -- strut their stuff, you can't help but believe they all belong exactly where they are, despite the vast differences between all the settings. Simply said, this is the closest I've ever seen a 3D game come to mirroring the majesty of 2D animation.
Rounding out the presentation is the voice-acting. Haley Joel Osment shines as Sora by bringing something that's in short supply in video games: naturalness. He sounds like a real boy really living through these situations. The same can be said for the parts played by the other stars, including a handful of big names who reprise some of their movie roles (my favorite being James Woods as Hercules' Hades).
And then, of course, there's the Final Fantasy connection. While Kingdom Hearts features less than a dozen FF cameos, they're wonderfully placed in the story and the action. The first time you enter Traverse Town, you're likely to be overcome with giddiness as you stumble into a Moogle, bump into Yuffie or espy Aerith. Square threw in tons of details that FF fans will appreciate -- but it's done in a way that won't be off-putting to anyone who hasn't played a Final Fantasy. One of my favorite examples: Leon (a.k.a. Squall) is just as moody and belligerent as ever, but he's also got a soft spot, which manifests itself in a touching moment when Yuffie asks Sora to track down the missing 99 dalmatian puppies scattered throughout the worlds. "Squall can't stop worrying about them," she says as he stands by silently moping. Awww. How sweet. But lest you think Squall's gone completely soft, wait 'til you face him in battle. And did I mention you also get to fight Cloud? And Yuffie? And even Sephiroth?!
Speaking of battles, let's get something straight here: You will die. You will die a lot. Think this is just kid's stuff? Well, think again, because you will get your ass handed to you.
But you'll also have a grand time, even in defeat, thanks to the utterly unique action/combat system. Everything is rooted in real time, but there's a catch: "Everything" includes the menu-driven commands as well. So while you're jamming on the X button to attack, tapping the O button to leap out of the way, or smacking the Square button to dodge, you also have to pull up menus without pausing the action to cast spells, call forth summons, use items, or unleash special attacks. Sounds confusing, but it works like a charm, adding lots of depth to what would otherwise be a basic hack-'n'-slash setup. Sure, it's frustrating to get whacked while you're trying to pull a Potion out of your stock, and battles do get repetitive at times, but this system gives you so many different ways to defeat your foes that you might find yourself picking fights just to try things out. Best yet, Kingdom Hearts features more thrilling boss battles per square inch than any action/RPG in recent history.
The battle system does have its share of flaws, though. My biggest gripe early on was the A.I. for Donald and Goofy. My two companions never seemed to be in the right place at the right times. They also had an annoying tendency to use up any items in their possession, depleting my precious stock of Ethers and Potions far too often. What's more, you can only fiddle with their A.I. when you're not in combat, so if you wander into a brawl without your settings optimized, you can't do a thing about it. I often wished I could pause the action and, like an officer commanding his troops, tell my two pals to try a different tack.
But notice I said, "early on," as midway through the game I finally found the perfect settings for Donald and Goofy. Even cooler, they actually seemed to learn how to fight better as time went on!
The other big problem is the camera, which sometimes drove me up the wall during combat. (It also acts up at other points, but it didn?t bug me all that much.) Yet there's a serviceable solution here: Don't lock on. Since the Heartless tend to jump about, when you lock on to one of them, the camera whipsaws around as it tries to follow your foe. But if you just let yourself naturally target the nearest baddie, you'll be fine most of the time. Granted, there were still some areas where I'd have to blindly bash away at a swarm of Heartless, but during those moments I'd often focus on my health meter and just go at it like a madman. Sure, it's not the best prescription for fun, but it's still enjoyable in moderate doses.
Now, though these flaws are all very real, keep in mind that I had to consult my notes to remember them. After I beat the game, all I felt was an immense satisfaction. All I could think about was how much fun I had exploring the different Disney worlds, how captivated I was by the story, how lost I got in the endless array of extra options and delightful diversions. And most of all, how much I loved the game's "final chapter" -- which was pure FInal Fantasy, thanks to its maze-like dungeons and marathon of mind-blowing boss battles.
One thing's for sure: Kingdom Hearts is incredible enough to convince a doubter like me to eagerly enter Disney's Magical Kingdom and never look back. And once there, I experienced the best revelation yet: it's a Square world after all.
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