Dive Into the Heart

This is a fan post. You have been warned.

A new trailer for the next game in a certain video game franchise was just released. I’ve been meaning to talk about said franchise for a while now. This seems like as good a time as any.

First, here’s the trailer.

Confused?

Don’t worry, keep reading. It’ll make sense soon enough. Kind of, anyway.

Today I’m talking about Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts is one of those ideas that sound absolutely insane on paper. Way, way back at the turn of the century, Japanese game developers had the idea to mix the colorful, iconic worlds of Disney with the epic JRPG stylings of Final Fantasy. The resulting game was a huge success which spawned a franchise, not to mention a diehard fanbase.

Yeah. I’m one of them. I love KH. It’s one of my favorite video game series of all time.

Still confused?

Okay. Let’s break it down.

In the beginning, Sora was a typical fourteen-year-old – until the night his peaceful island home was struck by a storm like no other. The darkness came to life, shadow monsters appearing out of nowhere. Sora ran off to find his two best friends, Riku and Kairi. But Riku stepped willingly into the darkness. Kairi simply vanished. Cornered by the shadows, Sora summoned a glowing key-like weapon to fight back. But his struggle was in vain, as the islands themselves were torn apart by the storm.

‘There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky, one destiny.’

                                                           - Kairi 

Sora woke up in another world. He learned that the shadow monsters, called the Heartless, threatened the entire universe. They had destroyed countless worlds – including his own.

He met Donald Duck and Goofy, court wizard and knight-captain respectively. Their mission: to find the lost King Mickey, who’d sought the key to defeating the Heartless. Sora just wanted to find his friends. A deal was struck; both sides had something the other needed. Donald and Goofy had a ship to travel between worlds. While somehow, Sora had a legendary, Heartless-destroying weapon called a Keyblade…

Thus began an epic, planet-hopping adventure through one of the biggest Disney crossovers ever, with more than a little Final Fantasy thrown in the mix; Sora and company fighting the Heartless alongside Tarzan, Ariel, Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart and more, in a universe where all these characters coexist; where Keyblade-wielders determine the balance of light and shadow; and where Mickey Mouse is basically Master Yoda.

Anthropomorphic rodents for the win.

And this is just the beginning.

So you can see why I loved Kingdom Hearts on sight. It pushed all the right buttons. A vivid, Disney-approved art style. Fast-paced action. Magic and powers galore. Light against darkness. Adventure with a capital A.

And at heart – heh – it was a story of friendship, loyalty and destiny. With just a pinch of romance. Sora spends much of that first game trying to save Kairi – while clashing with Riku. Who becomes his rival on the dark side.1 How’s that for a plot twist?

Okay fine, it’s kind of cliché. But still.

Though I’ve never been a major Disney fan, the KH formula of jumping from one Disney world to the next (and some original ones too, of course) remains tried and true. I have fond memories of running around the Beast’s castle fighting gargoyle Heartless. The enemies reflect the world, and often, so do you. In Atlantica, Sora becomes a merman; in the Pride Lands, a lion cub; in Neverland, he can fly.

Alas, you can’t control your appearance. Wearing the Halloween Town outfit in Agrabah is not an option. Customization – these are RPGs, remember – is limited to weapons. Staves for Donald, shields for Goofy, and Keyblades for Sora - and later others.

Technically, it’s always the same Keyblade. Keychains picked up along the way simply alter its powers and design. Getting a new one is always cool. Every world has at least one, while others are tied to side-quests and plot points. The versions Sora gets for defeating Riku and saving Kairi, for example, are among the most iconic, returning in later games.

Oblivion and Oathkeeper.

But of course, there are flaws, too.

One common criticism is that all those different worlds are, well, kind of flat. You can run around finding hidden treasure chests, talk to beloved characters who rarely have much to say, and fight. Then fight some more. Then even more. That’s pretty much it. Contrast that with the wealth of interactive elements in a masterpiece like Okami,2 and there’s no denying KH falls short.

See, the Kingdom Hearts series has always been about the combat, plain and simple. In it, Disney’s ancient China is really nothing more than a backdrop for fighting alongside Mulan. Action – bright, colorful, explosive action – plays a major role. If you’re not down for that, these games might not be for you.

Also, there’s no denying the story is hard to follow. What started out as a (relatively) straightforward tale of good against evil across the Disneyverse soon morphed into a convoluted skein of black-clad figures, body-snatching, ancient Keyblade wars, and tragic backstories.

Don’t let the kid-friendliness fool you. Those twists get pretty dark. Bad things happen, and people die.3 The prequel game, Birth by Sleep, is probably the best example. Three interlocking stories, and no one gets a happy ending.4

That said, the plot for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 is heavily implied to be ‘everyone who has ever died, good or evil, comes back to life for the final battle’. So there’s that.

The titles are confusing too. The numbers refer to main instalments only. Kingdom Hearts 2 was actually the third game in the series. That was in 2005. Yes, it’s been eleven years since the last main title. In that time, Square Enix has kept the hype going with a string of prequels, interquels, minor sequels, and the assurance that KH3 would be made eventually.

Even more frustrating was how those games were spread out over multiple platforms. You needed to own, rent or borrow different devices to even play them legitimately. Yes, I found ways to play almost every one. Told you I was a fan. But it was a hassle.

Having realized this, in the run-up to KH3,5 Square Enix has been releasing compilations of those earlier games for PlayStation consoles, where fans could finally get them all in one place.

So kind of them.

This is nothing new. Square Enix is well known for re-releasing old games for new platforms, new fans, and more money. Don’t get me started on Final Fantasy.

Ahem.

Anyway – that brings us back to the beginning. That trailer was for the third and final compilation, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, my gosh, that’s a mouthful.

 

Nice cover art, though.

The first two featured high-definition, director’s cut versions of the bigger games, and movie versions of the smaller ones; all of which I’ve already played in their original forms. But the third actually has some new content.

Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover is an hour-long cinematic telling the story of the Foretellers – the misguided Masters who began the Keyblade War. This, I suppose, is the Prologue part. The movie summarizes the story of Kingdom Hearts Unchained x, a multiplayer smartphone game that hasn’t yet been released in Southeast Asia. When it is, you can bet I’ll be all over it like Tigger on Pooh. Yes, of course they’re in the series too. Unchained is one of only two entries I haven’t at least tried.

Kingdom Hearts HD Dream Drop Distance is the other. Originally made for the 3DS, a Nintendo handheld – multiple platforms, remember – the game has been fully remade for the PS4. It’s the meat of the compilation, and has the distinction of being the first title to actually move the story forwards since Kingdom Hearts 2. Though not on the same scale. In preparation for the climactic events of KH3, Sora and Riku are sent on their own Mark of Mastery quest to become full Keyblade Masters themselves. Functionally, it’s KH2.5.

And what I’m really looking forward to is Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage.

Yeah. These things have long names.

After the tragic events of Birth by Sleep, Aqua, having failed to save her friends, now wanders the Realm of Darkness alone. This is the home of the Heartless, where all lost worlds go. The sky is black for a reason.

This is the Final Chapter part. Apparently, Dream Drop Distance ends with Mickey revealing he has secrets to confess regarding Aqua’s fate. Now, at last, we find out what truly happened to her.

Though the trailer doesn’t show much, we see her fighting the Heartless in the ruins of Cinderella’s world. Ventus is seen lying on Snow White’s bier, and the mirror Aqua’s doppelganger emerges from might just belong to the Evil Queen. That’s two of the three princesses from Birth by Sleep. It’s possible we’ll see something from Sleeping Beauty as well.

0.2 is only as long as a standard world, probably two hours at most. That isn’t much. But aside from the intriguing setting, it’s also something of a KH3 beta test. The episode uses technology from Kingdom Hearts 3, and is basically a first look at what we can look forward to.

You have to admit. It looks pretty awesome.

For all its flaws, there’s something special about Kingdom Hearts. Maybe it’s the good old-fashioned Disney charm. Maybe it’s the epic themes of light and darkness, all the magic and powers and badass weapons.

Or maybe it’s just the sheer absurdity of running around whacking enemies with a giant key.

The compilation comes out in January.

You can probably guess I’m going to get it.

1 - I like Riku. Unlike Sora, the character undergoes real growth throughout the series. Of course he turns good again; that’s the point. Riku’s struggle with darkness appealed to me. It’s always interesting having heroes who were villains first.

2 - Another of my absolute favorite games of all time. One of these days I’ll write another long post all about it. It’s set in ancient Japan, and you play as a wolf.

3 - I made a video once about one such death, my sole foray into YouTube. You can watch it here.

4 - The prologue shows the three main characters hanging out in the castle grounds the night before their final exam. They laugh and joke around, optimistic about the future. They talk about how their friendship will never end. 

And as the scene fades you hear their voices, in unison, telling you this was the last night they ever spent together.

5 - Rumoured for a 2017 release, but I’m not holding my breath. Well, okay, I am. But just a little.