Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series developed and published by Square Enix (formerly Square Co., LTD) for PlayStation 2 and directed by Tetsuya Nomura. This action RPG game began as a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive Studios and feature a cast of Disney voice actors.
- Nov 16, 2019 The original appeal of Kingdom Hearts was a game where classic Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy would crossover with some of the major names from the Final Fantasy series like Cloud Strife, Aerith, Squall Leonhart, and Sephiroth.
- Kingdom Hearts 2 is the successor to the original Kingdom Hearts, one of the most popular action RPG titles on the Playstation 2. This game continues the story started in Kingdom Hearts, and follows a young boy named Sora on a quest that's larger than life.
- Kingdom Hearts is great, largely because it successfully captures the spirit both of Square and Disney in a single game. By Greg Kasavin on September 9, 2002 at 6:43PM PDT.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is the successor to the original Kingdom Hearts, one of the most popular action RPG titles on the Playstation 2. This game continues the story started in Kingdom Hearts, and follows a young boy named Sora on a quest that's larger than life. His journey takes him through several worlds inspired by Disney films, and the game is packed full of Disney characters and content. The gameplay is a mix of RPG leveling mechanics and hack 'n slash combat, with an emphasis on both ease of use and strategy. As a sequel, Kingdom Hearts 2 makes many improvements in both the storytelling and gameplay categories. There's more Disney worlds to explore, better combat options, and an even bigger story than ever before.
The story in the original Kingdom Hearts was pretty straightforward, but still drenched in loads of symbolism and hyperbole. Beneath the cute Disney charm, there's a lengthy and complex story involving light versus dark. Kingdom Hearts 2 continues that story, starting off with a brand new protagonist. Players begin the game as Roxas, a young boy living in the joyous Twilight Town. For reasons unknown, Roxas shares a connection with the original game's protagonist, Sora. Before long, Sora is reawakened from his year-plus nap, and sent on another mission through the world of Disney.
The Disney content in Kingdom Hearts 2 is far more varied and enjoyable than the original game, giving players a wide array of franchise and properties. Some of the classic worlds from the first game are still present, including Olympus, Atlantis, and others. However, a slew of new worlds make exploration even more enjoyable. Players can dive into exciting levels based on movies like Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, and more. There's a great mixture of unique visual styles, as each world feels vastly different from the last.
Gameplay remains similar to the original game, with some nice tweaks and additions. As you progress through each of the game's worlds, you'll find new gear and level up. This allows Sora to use new abilities, and generally become more powerful. There's a new feature called “Drive Gauge”, which lets Sora change into a more powerful form. These forms offer brand new combos, exciting special moves, and situational buffs. It's a cool feature that makes combat feel more varied and accessible.
Images For Original Kingdom Hearts Game
The “Gummi ship” portions of the game have also received an update, as the content in the original Kingdom Hearts was underwhelming. In between levels, players still control a space ship hurdling through space. However, instead of being used as a means of transportation, the Gummi ship sections feel more like classic on-rails shooting games. You'll have to blast through hordes of enemies ships, traveling through unique areas that feel distinct. It's a great upgrade from the original game, where the Gummi ship levels were repetitive and boring.
Official JP Website
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 2 is an excellent sequel that will surely put a smile on your face. It continues the story started in the original game, and adds some interesting twists and turns along the way. The overall narrative is still pretty tough to understand at times, but the surface-level Disney content is charming and easy to parse. Both RPG and Disney fans will surely want to check out Kingdom Hearts 2, as it offers a huge amount of nostalgia and quality action RPG gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, stylized as Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX, is an HD remaster compilation of the Kingdom Hearts series, made in celebration of the series's tenth anniversary. It includes full HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories with added PlayStation 3 Trophy support. It also includes a collection of cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days up-scaled in full HD within the compilation's Theater Mode. It marks the first time Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was made available outside of Japan, and the first time Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories was made available in Europe and Australia. The credit roll viewable from the title screen contains cutscene footage from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, hinting at the announcement of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX. The game was released alongside Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX as Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX for the PlayStation 4 in March, 2017, Xbox One in February 2020 and PC via Epic Games Store in March 2021. Development[edit]During August 2011, Tetsuya Nomura expressed desire to release a high definition re-release of the game though he had yet to confirm such plans.[1] The idea for a high definition re-release preceded plans for Final Fantasy X re-release, and was a focus for two Square Enix programmers for over a year.[2] Plans for an HD re-release were further hinted in a Secret Message in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, unlocked during the credits. In September 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. It was revealed that the character models from Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, like Sora, Riku, and Ansem's for example, are being used in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX as a base for the game's characters.[3] The cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, which used English voice acting, would use the original Japanese voice acting, though the Final Mix-exclusive cutscenes would still remain silent for both versions, much like with the original release. The only exception is the cutscene with Unknown,[4] as it used lines recycled from other cutscenes, just like the ones from the English version were used for this cutscene for the original Japanese PS2 release.[5] Every cutscene from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, whether it was originally a prerendered scene or used in-game graphics, would be remade for Theater Mode. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was originally planned to be an HD remade game, however, it would delay the development of the new title, so it ended up being within the compilation's Theater Mode.[6] In January 2013, Jesse McCartney, the voice of Roxas, posted a picture on Instagram showing Roxas clearly displayed on a screen in a recording booth, along with the caption, 'For all you 'Kingdom Hearts' Fans. Recording the next chapter, #KingdomHearts #Roxas #Gamers.' McCartney also posted a minute long video of himself recording battle and combat grunts for Roxas, while also filming what looks like Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. However, when notified, Square Enix immediately removed both the photo and video. After much fan speculation, a 2013 Q3/Q4 release was confirmed for the west on February 25, 2013.[7] It was later announced that the game would come to North America on September 10, 2013,[8] Australia on September 12, 2013,[9] and Europe on September 13, 2013.[10] It was revealed in March 2013 in a Famitsu interview, that 66 tracks spanning across all three games (with a majority of them concentrated in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix) have been re-recorded with live instrumentation, as opposed to the original games' use of the PlayStation 2's built-in tone generator for their background music.[?][11] In June 2013, Nomura stated that the original game assets for Kingdom Hearts had been lost some time ago. He explained, '[The game data] was lost, so we had to research, and we had to dig out from the actual game what was available and recreate everything for HD. We had to recreate all the graphics and it was actually not that easy.'[?][12][13] Changes[edit]Changes to all three games include support for various video outputs (480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) and audio output supported in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and DTS Digital Surround 5.1. There is now PlayStation 3 trophy and an unlockable PlayStation 3 theme for each title. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix[edit]
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories[edit]
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days[edit]Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was featured as two hours and fifty minutes of fully-voiced, high definition cutscenes across 109 'chapters' with several of the characters who were silent in the original game having new audio dialogue. It also includes Roxas's Diary and the Secret Reports. A new 'Character Files' feature was added, profiling the major characters in the game. While this movie version of the game covers the main and most important Organization XIII interactions, the Disney-focused content had to be summarized into short text so it would be under three hours. Roxas's first interactions with Hayner, Pence and Olette had to be removed. One of the more controversial decisions was the lack of a Xion boss fight, as she awkwardly collapses immediately after preparing to fight Roxas. This was remedied when this movie version of Days was ported to the PlayStation 4, although players had to download an additional fight scene as DLC. This extra scene is included by default in all subsequent rereleases of the game, starting with the Xbox One version. Sir Christopher Lee, who originally voiced DiZ, was unable to provide new dialogue, so Corey Burton redubbed all of his lines. The late Wayne Allwine, who originally voiced Mickey Mouse, was retained on the cast list despite Mickey's lines being voiced by Bret Iwan. In addition, several other actors whose roles in the original release were archived sound recordings are also credited, even though their characters do not appear in any of the new cutscenes (such as Haley Joel Osment and Jim Cummings). Several themes were rearranged, including the 358/2 Days rendition of 'Dearly Beloved'. Notes and references[edit]
External links[edit]
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