Now Viewing: kingdom_heartsTag type: Copyright covers the entire series. Popular action RPG franchise developed by Square Enix and directed by Nomura_Tetsuya who also did the artwork for the game. Shimamura Yoko generally composes the soundtracks for the series and the games have a tradition of featuring songs performed by popular Japanese-American singer Utada_Hikaru. Utada, fluent in both Japanese and English, sings both the Japanese and English versions of her songs. The original game debuted in 2002 for the Playstation 2. The series is one of Square's more family friendly franchises. The franchise is a crossover between Disney and Final_Fantasy (and as of Kingdom Hearts 3D, Subarashiki_Kono_Sekai or also known as The World Ends With You) although the story mostly focuses on the original characters with Sora being the main hero of the franchise. Nevertheless, in all the games the playable characters explore both original worlds and worlds inspired by Disney's animated films. The heroes frequently interact with both Final Fantasy and Disney characters. The non original characters have had their backstories significantly altered and their personalities and designs slightly altered in order to fit in with the series' narrative. Despite the changes, their basic appearances are the same and the characters are still recognizable. Sora is a young boy who lives an idyllic life on Destiny Islands with his slightly older friend Riku and female friend Kairi. Although they live a peaceful existence, the three children crave a little adventure and would like to explore other places in the world. They get more than they bargained for when Destiny Island is suddenly attacked and destroyed by mysterious creatures known as the Heartless; Sora is separated from both Kairi and Riku. Sora is rescued by Donald Duck and Goofy who have been sent by King Mickey to find a key that will save the universe from being covered in darkness. Sora is taken to Traverse Town to meet Leon (Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII) who gives Sora the weapon that will defeat the Heartless, the Keyblade. Sora embarks on a quest to stop the Heartless from enveloping the worlds in darkness while attempting to reunite with his friends. Unlike Final Fantasy, all of the Kingdom Hearts games are linked together; each individual game is more like a chapter in a larger story and because of this, many of the games are not stand-alone. This, combined with the fact that updated rereleases include more plot points that weren't present in the original release, has led to the games' story becoming very complicated. Nevertheless, the games have consistently sold well and it has become one of Square Enix's more successful franchises. The North American version of the original game also included an all star voice cast, including Haley Joel Osment as the lead hero Sora and Mandy Moore as Aerith. Many of these all star voices were replaced in subsequent games but Haley Joel Osment has continued to play Sora even after going through puberty; his voice in the first game is still child like, but deepens after Kingdom Hearts 2. The series is also famous for turning Mickey Mouse into a very powerful action-oriented hero while retaining his cute charm. Other Disney characters like Goofy and Donald Duck get their chance to fight alongside the original and Final Fantasy characters. Like many JRPGs, the games include challenging bonus bosses, but many of them also foreshadow future installments in the series. The final bosses in each game also tend to be very long. The basic concept of the game actually originated in a discussion between Sakaguchi Hironobu and Hashimoto Shinji about Nintendo's Super Mario 64. They wanted to make a game with the free 3d movement seen in that game, but they felt that they had no hope of competing against that game because only Disney characters could possibly rival Mario in iconic status. Kingdom Hearts director Nomura overheard their discussion and volunteered to make a game based off of the concept Sakaguchi and Hashimoto were discussing. The game also benefitted from a coincidental meeting between Hashimoto and a Disney executive in an elevator. Furthermore Square and the Japanese branch of Disney previously had occupied the same building. These connections allowed Hashimoto to directly propose his idea to the company, which agreed to the proposal. The game's title was also inspired by Disney; Nomura was thinking about Disney Theme Parks and came up with the idea to name the series Kingdom like the Disney Theme Park Animal Kingdom. However, Nomura was not able to use Kingdom as an IP so he changed the title to Kingdom Hearts to reflect how hearts are the core of Kingdom Hearts' story. Games in series: Kingdom_Hearts Kingdom_Hearts_Chain_of_Memories Kingdom_Hearts_II Kingdom_Hearts_Coded Kingdom_Hearts_358/2_days Kingdom_Hearts_Birth_by_Sleep Kingdom_Hearts_3d_Dream_Drop_Distance Original Game's Cast: Main Characters: Sora_(Kingdom_Hearts) Donald_Duck Goofy Original Supporting: Riku Kairi Ansem_Seeker_of_Darkness Heartless Disney Supporting: Mickey_Mouse Minnie_Mouse Scrooge_McDuck Maleficent Jiminy_Cricket Hades_(Disney) Daisy_Duck Chip_(Disney) Genie_(Disney) Peter_Pan_(Disney) Captain_Hook Philoctetes Wendy_(Peter_Pan) Alice Queen_of_Hearts Oogie_Boogie Dale_(Disney) Cerberus_(Disney) Pluto_(Disney) Merlin_(Disney) Perdita Jack_Skellington Beast_(disney) Belle Hercules_(disney) Aurora Cinderella_(disney) Snow_White_(disney) Winnie_the_Pooh Piglet Tigger Eeyore Sally Dr_Finkelstein Chernabog Fairy_Godmother Huey The_Mayor_(The_Nightmare_before_Christmas) Dewey Louie Lock_(The_Nightmare_before_Christmas) Shock_(The_Nightmare_before_Christmas) Barrel_(The_Nightmare_before_Christmas) Pongo Aladdin_(character) Jafar Jasmine_(Aladdin) Roo Owl_(Winnie_the_Pooh) Sebastian_(Disney) Ursula Flotsam Jetsam King_Triton Glut Cheshire_Cat Doorknob_(Alice_in_Wonderland) Card_Soldier White_Rabbit Abu Iago Carpet_(Aladdin) Cave_of_Wonders_Guardian Peddler_(Aladdin) Tinker_Bell Captain_Hook Tarzan_(character) Bambi Dumbo Mushu Jane Clayton Kala Ariel Terk Kerchak Pinocchio Geppetto Mister_Smee Crocodile_(Peter_Pan) Flounder_(The_Little_Mermaid) Simba Cleo Sabor Final Fantasy Supporting: Tidus Selphie Yuffie_Kisaragi Moogle Sephiroth Wakka Squall_Leonhart Cloud_Strife Cid Related: Final_Fantasy The_Little_Mermaid The_Lion_King Mulan Final_Fantasy_VII Final_Fantasy_VIII Final_Fantasy_X Dumbo Bambi Snow_White_&_the_Seven_Dwarves Cinderella_(Disney) Fantasia The_Nightmare_Before_Christmas Tarzan_(Disney) Pinocchio_(Disney) Alice_in_Wonderland Hercules_(Disney) Sleeping_Beauty 101_Dalmations Aladdin_(Disney) Fan Work: Dead_Fantasy Crossover: Super_Smash_Bros. Other Wiki Information Last updated: 10/06/21 12:17 PM by jojosstand This entry is not locked and you can edit it as you see fit. |
     
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