#2: Hearts, Keys and Paopus, SOLDIERs and Weird Moons

Originally Posted: December 3, 2009

The 1st Day

It was otherwise an obscenely boring day, but I remember it quite clearly. My parents were shopping for a clothes dryer. My brother and I were tired of watching them do so. So we trekked down to Zellers and went video game shopping. He bought Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, I bought Kingdom Hearts – my first real video game purchase since my SNES days. You see, my other brother had just gotten himself a brand spanking new PS2 – and for the most part, we don’t share tastes in video games, so if I wanted to end my six-year video game drought, I had to find something of my own to play. And to a 16-year-old Disney freak, Kingdom Hearts seemed like a safe bet.

On my first day playing it, though, I was a bit apprehensive. Who were all these androgynous anime-esque characters with weird names? Where were all my beloved Disney characters? And why the HECK won’t they let me off this stupid island? It took a little while, but eventually I got what I came for – and so much more.

My Nostalgic Playground

The original Kingdom Hearts game opens in typical anime fashion – everything is very pretty and nothing is making any sense. The main character, Sora, dreams of events to come – eventually finding himself in a dark world of stained-glass floors and staircases (which bear images of some very familiar-looking princesses). There he is told of his destiny by a mysterious voice – he is “the one who will open the door.” Wooo. After a fight with his shadow (“The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes…”), he awakens on the conveniently-named Destiny Islands – his home. He and his friends Riku and Kairi are up to typical 14-year-old exploits – Riku is keen on building a raft and exploring the world beyond the islands, and Sora and Kairi – though they take Riku’s idea far less seriously – feel it would be fun to tag along. Alas, a supernatural storm soon strikes the Islands, bringing with it a plague of shadow-creatures known as Heartless. In the confusion that ensues, Sora loses track of both his friends, but gains possession of a legendary weapon – the Keyblade (yeah, it sounds like something out of a Care Bear cartoon – but it’s cool in its own right – I promise). After being sucked into a vortex, Sora awakens in Traverse Town and meets Donald Duck and Goofy, who have been sent from Disney Castle to find “the key” (I’m making this sound terribly kiddy – but it’s not – trust me). Following a bit of deliberation (and a very cheesy grin) Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide to join forces to find Riku, Kairi, King Mickey (who’s also mysteriously disappeared), and a way to stop the darkness spreading across the worlds.

The Best Part

Ultimately, what makes Kingdom Hearts so enjoyable is its blatant fan service. The vast majority of the Disney worlds (Wonderland, Deep Jungle (from Tarzan), Olympus Coliseum (from Hercules), Agrabah, Monstro (from Pinocchio), Atlantica, Halloween Town, and Neverland) have been copied straight from their respective movies – almost always down to the tiniest details. You can sit in Aladdin’s house and stare at the palace, climb the Curly Hill in Halloween Town, and even fly laps around Big Ben (something I’m far too fond of doing). On top of that, protagonists in most of the worlds will even join your party, so you can fight alongside Tarzan, Aladdin, Jack Skellington, Ariel, Peter Pan, and the Beast. Add to this numerous cameos by Final Fantasy characters (with some perfect casting – i.e. David Boreanaz as Squall “Leon” Leonhart and Mandy Moore as Aerith Gainsborough) and allusions to storylines from both franchises… and it’s almost too good to be true – but it is true, so that’s good.

The Worst Part

It’s difficult for me to be critical of my favourite video game, though objectively I know it has its flaws – the most obvious of which is that fershlugginer camera. It whirls around enough to make you want to puke, then gets stuck on (or even sometimes in) a wall in the middle of a boss battle. Whee! Okay, so it’s not quite that bad, but… it can be quite annoying sometimes – but still not enough to detract from the game. The controls are also a bit clunky compared to those in the sequels – especially the “Examine” command that must constantly be selected from the left-hand menu every time you want to look at something or open a chest. But like I said before – these are very small gripes.

Not Playing With a Full Deck

After a scrap with Ansem and an all-too-brief reunion with Riku and Kairi (not to mention a tiny glance of King Mickey), Sora finds himself at a crossroads, confronted by a hooded man in black. Spurred on by the man’s cryptic message ("Ahead lies something you need – but to claim it, you must lose something dear..."), Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at Castle Oblivion, believing they will be able to find Riku and Mickey within its walls. Little do they know that – as they advance from floor to floor – their memories are being lost to them – even altered beyond recognition. This is the work of Organization XIII, who seek to manipulate Sora (and his Keyblade) to suit their own ends. Sora eventually manages to defeat Castle Oblivion’s ringleader, Marluxia, and free Naminé, the young witch Marluxia and his followers forced to take apart and rearrange the links in Sora’s chain of memories. She promises to restore Sora and his friends to their former state – but this means they must go into stasis for quite some time.

While Sora is climbing the upper floors in Castle Oblivion, Riku awakens in a grey void. A mysterious voice (yeah, that’s a trend) presents him with a choice – sleep peacefully in the void forever, or leave the void and learn the painful truth. Riku (of course) chooses the latter, and finds himself in the basement of Castle Oblivion. In order to escape, he is forced to face the darkness inside his heart and the presence there that Ansem left behind. Though Naminé (now free of the Organization’s hold) offers to seal away his darkness, Riku refuses, wishing instead to deal with Ansem once and for all – and insisting he has to stay out of stasis so he can properly ream Sora out for not looking after Kairi (I love Riku). After Riku defeats Ansem, he dons the black hood of the Organization to act as spy and protect Sora during his long sleep.

The Best Part

Sora is the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts. And he’s a nice guy – as DiZ puts it, “much too nice for his own good.” That’s why it was a refreshing change to play as Riku – Sora’s older, more badass best friend – in the game’s secondary mode, Reverse/Rebirth. Not only is Riku more fun in terms of gameplay (his Dark Mode makes you feel so crazy-powerful), he’s also more fun (though fun isn’t quite the right word) in terms of story. His sarcastic backlash makes me giggle, and his eternal self-doubt makes me care. KH:COM also serves as introduction for Axel, Organization XIII’s fiery wild card. Though he plays the villain (for the most part) here, he becomes a bit of a tragic hero in the games that follow – and it’s impossible not to like the guy.

The Worst Part

KH:COM is without a doubt the hardest game in the series so far – mostly due to its odd gameplay mechanics. In battle, you have a deck of cards, with various values (0-9) and abilities (Attack, Magic, Summon, Item) attached. You can select any card to play, but its value must be higher than that of your enemy’s card, or your action won’t play out. You can also play combinations (sleights) of cards to produce various effects, or use a 0 card to disrupt the actions of your enemy’s sleight. Once you use a card, you can’t use it again in battle until you recharge your deck. Essentially, it’s like playing the card game War and fighting at the same time. However, this means you can’t hammer the X button with wild abandon – you have to keep an eye on your deck and your enemy’s at all times to ensure your attacks go through – and on occasion, this can lead to some very difficult boss battles, and some very cheap losses (I hate you, Vexen). The Disney worlds also seem to be added to the game merely for show, especially in Riku’s case, as very few story events take place there.

Another Side, Another Story

In essence, this DS game is “What Happened While Sora Was Asleep” – and yes, it’s more exciting than watching Sora float in a stasis pod. This game is actually about Sora’s other half – the Nobody named Roxas who came into being when Sora lost his heart and (albeit temporarily) became a Heartless. Unlike most of the Nobodies that make up Organization XIII, Roxas has no memory of his past life, and no idea where he came from. Xemnas (ho ho, many a juvenile joke has been made of the rearrangement of those letters) discovers him in Twilight Town (no relation to those awful books – promise!) and brings him into the fold. Once in Organization XIII, Roxas makes friends with Axel, as well as the Organization’s new fourteenth member – Xion (pronounced “She-Own”). Together and apart, the trio goes on various missions for the Organization, always meeting up at the end of the day at the top of the Twilight Town clock tower for a sea-salt ice cream snack. But Roxas begins having strange dreams about a “boy in red,” worries about the increasingly odd behaviour of his two friends, and begins to realize the Organization’s intentions are much darker than he once perceived…

The Best Part

As with the Reverse/Rebirth portion of KH:COM, it was refreshing to play as someone other than Sora. Though Roxas was a playable character in Kingdom Hearts II – which was released two years before 358/2 Days – we never got to see what his life in the Organization was like. He and Axel are at their best here – and the friendship between them and Xion is fascinating and believable. 358/2 Days is also quite a departure for the series. Though the Disney worlds are ever present, their characters are only seen for brief moments from afar (since Organization XIII is a covert operation), and not ONE Final Fantasy character makes an appearance. The story focuses almost entirely on characters original to the game series. Is this a bad thing? Heck no. It’s actually quite nice for a change not to have to sit through reworkings of stories you already know. Plus, you get to learn A LOT more about the Organization members – and even generate a sense of sympathy for their cause. You also get a good understanding of the vastly confusing bits of Kingdom Hearts II. Given its “midquel” status, it’s immediately obvious that 358/2 Days will have a sad ending – and you know how I love my sad endings. Though the original Kingdom Hearts remains my favourite game of the series, objectively, I think 358/2 Days is the best one yet.

The Worst Part

About the only major downside to 358/2 Days is the crappy graphics that come part and parcel with the DS. Outside of the voice-acted cutscenes, everyone looks very pixelly and stiff – like they have spatulas for hands. Also, since the game is mission-based, you aren’t able to explore the Disney worlds at random and do as you please – you always have an objective to fulfill and a blocked-off area to do it in. But this is just a minor gripe about an awesome game.

Back – In Black, and Red, and Blue, and Yellow, and White...

Sora wakes up in Twilight Town, completely oblivious (pardon the pun) to all that has happened since he first laid eyes on Castle Oblivion. He soon discovers that the Heartless are still a force to be reckoned with – and on top of that, new enemies called Nobodies have appeared, summoned by Organization XIII. He’d really like to go back to the islands, but knows he must continue on his quest to find Riku and Mickey, defeat Organization XIII once and for all, and restore order to all the worlds.

The Best Part

Kingdom Hearts II is largely a continuation of the style established in Kingdom Hearts, except everything is bigger. There are more cutscenes, more worlds, more allies, more inside jokes, more plot twists, and more battles. Thus more opportunity for fits of giddy nostalgia – especially in the events leading up to the 1000 Heartless (no, that’s not a typo) battle. Cloud and Squall (Leon for the non-FF fans) fighting back to back, Goofy’s near-death experience, the battle up to the Crystal Fissure, even Demyx’s hilarious Michael Jackson-esque scream (“OW!”) – TOTALLY made my day (as did Aladdin’s utterance of “Trust me” – but that’s another story ;->). The glorious hokiness of the Steamboat Willy-inspired Timeless River world was another high point (Mickey has never made me laugh more – that handshake is inexplicably funny to me), as was the incredulity of seeing Donald Duck and Captain Jack Sparrow interact.

The Worst Part

Unfortunately, Kingdom Hearts II is almost too much of a muchness. Many of the Disney worlds feel like plot-less filler – especially the Pride Lands – probably my least favourite place – and not just because I have an avid dislike of The Lion King. Particularly wearing in these filler worlds are their abundant cutscenes, which don’t drive the story at all, and almost feel like bad afterthought fan service. I don’t need a second-rate recap of how those cursed medallions from Isla de Muerta work – I saw the movie, I get it. And if I hadn’t seen the movie… well, I probably wouldn’t care either. On top of that, Drive Forms and Limit Breaks, though undoubtedly cool, make everything almost too easy to kill – so the challenge factor is somewhat lacking, unless there’s a silly “you must kill 10 of these in 10 seconds or you’re dead” rule in place (Demyx, anyone?). Plus we get to see the series’ worst voice acting, courtesy Mena Suvari and her Robot Aerith. Honestly, she sounds like those old Mac voices in SimpleText. Why oh why didn’t they bring Mandy Moore back? Grr!

In Conclusion: Chock Full of Heady Goodness

As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, I love Kingdom Hearts. I love it for its characters: Sora, the sweet, slightly naïve eternal optimist; Riku, the brash, rash badass hero with a dark side; Roxas, a shadow of Sora who just wants a life of his own; Axel, the enigma who learns how to feel with the heart he no longer has – everybody has a story, and it’s a good story, with twists and turns and joy and sorrow – and fan service. It’s proof to me that there still is hope for Disney – that, in the midst of tacky merchandise and terrible movie sequels, something of quality can come from its animated classics. Kingdom Hearts is built upon the same idea that something can be geared towards kids, but enjoyed by adults on a deeper level at the same time.

So, mateys, if you haven’t already, get yourself a PS2 and go play – go drink in the nostalgia. It’s worth the money – I promise.

And that, as they say, is that.