Disclaimer
This version of Kingdom Hearts is played on the Playstation 3 using the 1.5 collection, and thus this version is also Kingdom Hearts Remix. Other then more things to do and different colors for heartless I'm not aware of any more changes the game may have so bare with me. This review will be as unbias as possible using plot, characterization, gameplay, level and mission design, and secrets and side quests as a criteria for reviewing this game. Thank you for reading.
WARNING possible spoilers WARNING
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So the plot of Kingdom Hearts is fairly complex similar to most Final Fantasy games. You start out on an island with friends Riku and Kairi (you are Sora), and all three of ou are trying to get off the island. Riku opens a door leading to darkness, and the island is destroyed while Sora ends up in a place called Traverse Town with a large key like weapon. Donald and Goofy find Sora and they begin their adventure to seal off other worlds from being destroyed by villains like Jafar, Ursula, and Maleficent. Sora and the gang are also looking for King Mickey, Riku, and Kairi, and slowly learn about some of their going ons. Eventually Riku is tracked down and possessed by Ansem, and Sora must battle him, but Riku is taken into the darkness. Entering the darkness, the gang fight through mountains of heartless to get their friend back.
Is the story any good? Well yes and no. The main story, friends looking for friends and adventuring, is a fun simple romp, but there is so much back story and so much lore, it wouldn't be hard to be confused by all that is going on around Sora and friends. On top of that, each world has its own mini story with their own characters, like Jack Skellington trying to get the Heartless to dance during Halloween, or Aladdin trying to save Jasmine from Jafar, and I didn't even mention the seven princesses of heart needed to open Kingdom Hearts and plunge every world into darkness. There is an absolute ton of information to process, and that can put some people off. For the purpose of this review though, a ton of information is a good thing if it works correctly and creates great lore and a dynamic plot.
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As there is a lot to the story, there are a ton of characters. Sora is a happy kid and an adventurous kid with a strong heart, Riku is the cool friend of the main character, and Kairi is the girl everyone likes and is trying to defend. If that all seems familiar there are similarities to the cast of Naruto. Then we have Donald and Goofy, who besides having the roles of court wizard and knight, are just like Donald and Goofy from the Disney cartoons. Actually a lot of the characters act like their original counterparts from the movies and cartoons, however they have their own spin so the main villains can connect to the plot at hand involving the Heartless. If you are a Disney fan, this is pretty cool. Changes up the dynamic of some of the Final Fantasy characters looming around though, but it is still interesting.
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So the gameplay is pretty simple. You can attack, jump, and dodge. Attack can be swapped for magic and items. You have a team going into battle most of the time. You can make the team stronger in typical RPG fashion by more and more battles. The platforming is decent, dodging is good if you can get the timing down, but there are a few issues here. If you need a specific spell that you normally don't use, it takes a bit of standing around to switch between attacking and spells, or even switching to the item screen, all of which you have to do in real time while dodging enemy attacks, pick the wrong time to try and use a spell or potion and you die. Also I have some issues with certain segments like Atlantica or fighting against Chernabog because you are swimming or flying around and when the enemy is shooting a bunch of spells at you you can't dodge while like this, making certain fights more difficult then need be, while flying makes the Captain Hook fight a joke because he is on the ground. The flying isn't bad, but with the issues of it, it is one of the lower points in the game some of the time. This problem is most obvious in the fight with Chernabog and Ursula but isn't as noticeable against Captain Hook or the final boss fight. That being said, the targeting system is in need of improvement as Sora dead focuses on either the closest foe or a specific target if you chose, but even with switching this can make battles confusing especially if you have a number of difficult foes to fight and the one on the other side of the room is the one you need to get to first. That being said the targeting system isn't bad, just needs improvement is all. Platforming could use some improvements as well as it is sometimes hard to judge where you are due to the camera, and the jumping is already a bit floaty. Not all bad here gameplay wise, but the smaller problems are noticeable for sure.
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There are some original levels and stages like Traverse Town, Hollow Bastion, and World that Never Was, and locations from movies like Halloween Town, Agrabah, Deep Jungle, and Atlantica. All of these locations encourage exploration as there are plenty of treasures and things to find in each new world, ranging from items needed in battle, items that help outside of battle, ingredients for better weapons, things for side quests, and summoning stones every once in a while. The levels are designed well with challenges as well, and some interesting platforming segments. It is fun to explore these locations and fight Heartless for the most part.
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So as I mentioned before, there is a ton of treasure to find in each world. Some unlock new keyblades, some unlock new weapons for Donald and Goofy, and some give you items. There is also a need to find 99 dalmation puppies scattered through a bunch of the worlds which gives you more items worth while when you return enough, and you can also find pages. Pages unlock minigames in 100 Acre Woods which also unlock new abilities and items. There is also a few boss fights hidden in the game, in particular two powerful heartless, the Ice Titan from Hercules, and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy. You can also gain the Ultima Weapon a keyblade you can make through a large amount of side quests. If this isn't enough to do post game then bad news, few games will satisfy.
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If you like Disney and Final Fantasy this game is something to need to try, especially if you like Disney. If you don't hate Disney and want a really good game with hack and slash and RPG elements, this game is easily something you need to try.
I highly recommend this game for most people to at least try. There are some issues with the gameplay side of things, but this game is pretty big so there are times you won't notice them too. Honestly try this game out when you can, though this may be a pain to do since it is a Sony exclusive game still. Not having a Playstation is easily the most difficult thing about this game, but I still recommend picking this game up, and Sony does have some great games for PS3 anyway besides this so it isn't a waste of money for one game. If you have a Playstation and you haven't played this game yet, your Playstation is a PS1 or you haven't tried this game for some reason. It is pretty good and I highly recommend trying it if you haven't yet, though this game isn't perfect either.