You play as Sora, a child from the Destiny Islands. When the game begins, you are in a dream where you face a boss by the name of Darkside, less than 10 minutes into the game. After defeating him and waking up, you meet Sora's friends, Rikku and Kairi. All three want to go on a journey to other worlds, and finally decide it is time to do just that. But, that night, something goes wrong, and their island is invaded by Heartless, the archenemy of the story. Once again, you run into Darkside, the heartless from Sora's dream. Sora is sucked into a portal and ends up in a place called Traverse Town, were he then meets his partners for the rest of the game…Donald Duck and Goofy. Their king, King Mickey, has gone missing, and in what must be a coincidence, so have Sora's friends, Rikku & Kairi. The three join forces to find their missing cohorts.

Each world visited is based on a Disney Movie; and, in each world, there is a Keyhole that you must seal by defeating the boss and then closing it with Sora's Keyblade - a powerful weapon meant only for Sora. You visit worlds like Wonderland, Atlantica, Halloween Town, and Neverland - each of them with their own boss that will com as no surprise seeing the movies including such villains Ursula, Oogie Boogie, and Captain Hook, all of which are now under the orders of the evil Maleficent. As it turns out, Maleficent has captured all 7 Princesses of the Heart, and is planning on destroying all worlds. You must stop her (and a higher power, even more powerful than Maleficent), along with Goofy & Donald, and hope that in the end, you are all back together once again.

In the graphics department, I definitely give Kingdom Hearts a thumbs-up. I just love the look of the game! The characters are designed so well and so closely to the way they were drawn for the movies. I would have liked for the worlds to be significantly larger. Take The Olympus Coliseum: I would have liked it if the game allowed you to explore the world of Hercules a little more. Though not all worlds are like that, there are a few more that could have been a little more expansive.

The sound and music were great. You were able to hear your favorite songs from some Disney movies like "Under the Sea" - this always seems to get stuck in my head. The voice acting was also top notch, using veteran actors for some of the characters.

The level design was excellent. Just like the characters, they looked like you'd expect in the Disney movies, though, once again, on some of them I would have liked to go a little bit farther into some of the worlds.

Battling the Heartless never gets boring. As you run through the worlds, the Heartless appear and you begin fighting but unlike previous Square Enix games, these battles are not turn-based. You can attack any of the Heartless you like, and your teammates will do the same. You, as Sora, can use both Magic and a Sword; Donald uses his magic (very well I might add); and Goofy attacks with his shield. The difficulty isn't too taxing, except for a few of the bosses. The Heartless can be tricky at times, and good luck completing a Coliseum Challenge which requires you to stop at the top, then make your way down to the boss of each tournament without losing once - these can be difficult and rather frustrating at time.

The game is a combination of linear, open-ended, and quest-based play. You must go from world to world and complete tasks but you can choose the order in which you would like to do those tasks. This gives you some control over what you want to do.

This is one of those games that you sucks you in during the first few minutes of gameplay. The story is just so immersive and so interesting that you don't want to stop. I found myself playing it for 5-6 hours a day, not getting bored at any time. What can I say…it's just one of those games.

In conclusion, Kingdom Hearts is a definite must have for those who enjoy Japanese games and RPGs. Definitely one of my favorites, if not my #1 favorite. The story and the gameplay and everything about it make the game so wonderfully addicting and fun to play. If this game doesn't have a place in your videogame collection, you are missing out on some serious fun!

Discuss this Review in Our Forums