As long as entertainment has existed in the public consciousness, crossovers have been a popular trend. The idea of taking two unique settings, characters, or concepts, each from their own completely disconnected worlds, and letting them interact with and bounce off each other is an oft discussed one, subject of many playground debates and video essays. Video games are no exception, and there were plenty of examples of IP crossovers in games, sprouting up around the mid 90s to early 2000s. Most of these crossovers, though-unique as they were at the time-were limited to a secret character in a fighting or sports game. Even the most ambitious crossovers, though, had a hard time standing up to the pure impossibility of the 2002 Final Fantasy & Disney collaboration, Kingdom Hearts. To say that this game shocked the gaming world would be an understatement; even today it feels incredible that it even exists. But it's done more than just defy its own unlikely existence-it's blossomed into a huge series, with a never-ending amount of spin offs, and has become one of the most instantly recognizable series in video games today.
Square flirted with the action RPG genre in the past, with the Mana series on the SNES and Vagrant Story on the PS1, but Kingdom Hearts was Square's first real exploration into 3D action games. And the results weren't half bad; for a beat-em-up game in the early 6th generation, KH has a surprisingly engaging combat system that rarely feels monotonous. There's also a good degree of challenge here, and the difficulty curve is pretty well executed. The main game is fair enough for most new players, and importantly, doesn't require any serious grinding, but there's plenty of combat challenges for players who want to put their skills to the test. Even if the combat system isn't particularly fleshed out, it's rewarding enough, and a lot of that is due to the worlds in which Kingdom Hearts exists.
It would be hard to deny even the most devout Final Fantasy fan that a majority of the appeal of KH was due to its Disney crossover. But while it would have been easy to use Disney material as an unnecessary add-on to bolster sales, KH actually leaned into strongly, and is a better game for it. The Disney and Disney-inspired worlds are a joy to explore, each one a burst of color and life that was so synonymous with the company around the 90s. And quite impressively, the game manages to cram all these different characters and stories in without relying too much on nostalgia; even for those who've never seen a Disney movie before. The shocking factor might be lost on them, sure-but they're still self-sufficient and pleasant enough to enjoy even with no prior knowledge. Contrastingly, Final Fantasy characters are mostly relegated to cameos, but fighting alongside Goofy & Donald Duck against Cloud is still extremely memorable.
Along with the Disney and Final Fantasy content, though, there's the original characters, whom the story is based around. And while the Disney vignettes are fun and fulfilling, the overall story is a generic, cheesy mess which gets old pretty quickly. The dialogue and voice acting from the original characters is usually mediocre, and the plot as a whole is somehow equally extremely simple and outrageously complex, especially within the context of the KH series. Moments where the story is the focus, especially the first few hours or so, are pretty uninteresting. There are some genuinely nice moments, but they pale in comparison to the amount of poorly delivered dialogue or blatant exposition. And the gameplay isn't perfect either; the gummi ship moments generally feel kind of pointless, and there isn't really any incentive to upgrade your ship at all. In fact, all the non-combat gameplay is, at best, average. But by far the biggest offender is the game's camera. Any part of a world that isn't an open field is going to feel cramped and awkward, and the game's targeting system likely will only serve to complicate things. And it is a terrible shame, because so many of this game's great worlds have sections of them ruined because you can't look where you want to look, all while your controller's right joystick collects dust.
It should be considered a testament to the game, then, that in spite of some pretty glaring gameplay and story flaws, Kingdom Hearts still feels fun to play. As cliché as it is, KH has that patented Disney magic that, when at full effect, makes it such a pleasure to play. The soundtrack is excellent, the worlds are interesting and impressively designed, and it still looks great, especially for an early-era PS2 game. It has its fair share of frustrating moments to be sure, but not enough to make the journey futile. If you're someone who's not a Disney fan, worry not-there's plenty in Kingdom Hearts that makes it worth exploring, and plenty to enjoy. And if you are, well-you've probably already played it.
Square flirted with the action RPG genre in the past, with the Mana series on the SNES and Vagrant Story on the PS1, but Kingdom Hearts was Square's first real exploration into 3D action games. And the results weren't half bad; for a beat-em-up game in the early 6th generation, KH has a surprisingly engaging combat system that rarely feels monotonous. There's also a good degree of challenge here, and the difficulty curve is pretty well executed. The main game is fair enough for most new players, and importantly, doesn't require any serious grinding, but there's plenty of combat challenges for players who want to put their skills to the test. Even if the combat system isn't particularly fleshed out, it's rewarding enough, and a lot of that is due to the worlds in which Kingdom Hearts exists.
It would be hard to deny even the most devout Final Fantasy fan that a majority of the appeal of KH was due to its Disney crossover. But while it would have been easy to use Disney material as an unnecessary add-on to bolster sales, KH actually leaned into strongly, and is a better game for it. The Disney and Disney-inspired worlds are a joy to explore, each one a burst of color and life that was so synonymous with the company around the 90s. And quite impressively, the game manages to cram all these different characters and stories in without relying too much on nostalgia; even for those who've never seen a Disney movie before. The shocking factor might be lost on them, sure-but they're still self-sufficient and pleasant enough to enjoy even with no prior knowledge. Contrastingly, Final Fantasy characters are mostly relegated to cameos, but fighting alongside Goofy & Donald Duck against Cloud is still extremely memorable.
Along with the Disney and Final Fantasy content, though, there's the original characters, whom the story is based around. And while the Disney vignettes are fun and fulfilling, the overall story is a generic, cheesy mess which gets old pretty quickly. The dialogue and voice acting from the original characters is usually mediocre, and the plot as a whole is somehow equally extremely simple and outrageously complex, especially within the context of the KH series. Moments where the story is the focus, especially the first few hours or so, are pretty uninteresting. There are some genuinely nice moments, but they pale in comparison to the amount of poorly delivered dialogue or blatant exposition. And the gameplay isn't perfect either; the gummi ship moments generally feel kind of pointless, and there isn't really any incentive to upgrade your ship at all. In fact, all the non-combat gameplay is, at best, average. But by far the biggest offender is the game's camera. Any part of a world that isn't an open field is going to feel cramped and awkward, and the game's targeting system likely will only serve to complicate things. And it is a terrible shame, because so many of this game's great worlds have sections of them ruined because you can't look where you want to look, all while your controller's right joystick collects dust.
It should be considered a testament to the game, then, that in spite of some pretty glaring gameplay and story flaws, Kingdom Hearts still feels fun to play. As cliché as it is, KH has that patented Disney magic that, when at full effect, makes it such a pleasure to play. The soundtrack is excellent, the worlds are interesting and impressively designed, and it still looks great, especially for an early-era PS2 game. It has its fair share of frustrating moments to be sure, but not enough to make the journey futile. If you're someone who's not a Disney fan, worry not-there's plenty in Kingdom Hearts that makes it worth exploring, and plenty to enjoy. And if you are, well-you've probably already played it.