If you were to ask anyone put off by Kingdom Hearts what their reasoning is, a common one is that the setting is unappealing. There tends to be two sides of the equation, either they think Final Fantasy is lame "anime" stuff or think that Disney is too babyish. Or they just think both. Funnily enough, the setting is probably the easiest aspect of this game for me to accept. This game was a somewhat miserable experience for me though, and it falls entirely on the gameplay.
Just as a disclaimer, I played the game on Proud difficulty which probably added a good amount of time to my playthrough. However, I don't think any of the poor design issues this game has would be fixed by lower difficulties, it would just mean less petty frustration. At first, the main issue are the enemies, and the problems there start and end with the camera. While KH mostly feels fine fundamentally, the extremely limited camera makes each encounter unnecessarily punishing. This was at its worst in Agrabah, with multiple different types of projectiles constantly being fired at once that are borderline impossible to see. It doesn't help that the lock-on feels completely awful at times: With using it the camera can get stuck being yanked along by fast flying enemies and without it the auto targeting can be extremely unpredictable. The level design also makes movement frustrating early on, though this is a bit better by Hollow Bastion.
Further into game, the leaf bracer, second chance ability and aero spells make these encounters more tolerable. This doesn't mean good mind you, spamming heal every 30 seconds isn't any fun either. But the encounters at least become manageable. What remains awful are all of the bosses, and KH might have one of the worst rosters of boss fights that I've ever seen. It's difficult to even find examples to use here because there are so many bad ones. At best you get a boss like Chernabog or Captain Hook, one that is time consuming and dull but not ridiculously unfair. At worst, you get, well, bosses that are time consuming and dull and also ridiculously unfair. Dragon Maleficent, Cerberus, Ansem, and so on all take way too long to defeat, are way too punishing, and just overall miserable experiences. KH encourages defensive play to an absurd degree, sometimes only allowing 2 hits on a boss before needing to run and heal. Part of this is a proud mode problem, but the design of these bosses just feels so careless too. Many of these bosses have weakpoints limited to the head yet have very fast attacks with little to no telegraphing that can hit you while you jump up to attack. I can't think of many deaths I had that felt like genuine mistakes being punished, instead most of them felt like me getting impatient with the tedious design and trying to get an extra few hits in before healing. The boss after Maleficent Dragon is probably the most tolerable in the game, while it isn't all-time great it offers up the most carefully considered challenge. For the most part though, KH1 feels like a game filled with thoughtless fights where the only difference between life and death is getting too bored.
While the story is nothing special, it does work fairly well. My main gripe with it is that it feels really inconsequential for so much of the runtime. While we hear the heartless are an issue at the beginning, most of the worlds feel just like extremely cut down versions of their movies plots. Admittedly, I don't really care for most of these movies but even if I did I don't think I would find them that satisfying. Halloween Town and the 100 Acre Wood are probably the best here, they both feel really considerate of the source material while tying into the plot in small but fun ways. I hope these are the blueprint for future KH worlds.
For a game I only gave two stars, it would be a lie to say I never felt the trademark Kingdom Hearts charm shine through. The clashing elements end up making for a pretty cool aesthetic, and I was intrigued by the original story elements that are hinted at. Despite everything, it only made me want to delve into the series even more. I just want to experience those elements in a better game.
Just as a disclaimer, I played the game on Proud difficulty which probably added a good amount of time to my playthrough. However, I don't think any of the poor design issues this game has would be fixed by lower difficulties, it would just mean less petty frustration. At first, the main issue are the enemies, and the problems there start and end with the camera. While KH mostly feels fine fundamentally, the extremely limited camera makes each encounter unnecessarily punishing. This was at its worst in Agrabah, with multiple different types of projectiles constantly being fired at once that are borderline impossible to see. It doesn't help that the lock-on feels completely awful at times: With using it the camera can get stuck being yanked along by fast flying enemies and without it the auto targeting can be extremely unpredictable. The level design also makes movement frustrating early on, though this is a bit better by Hollow Bastion.
Further into game, the leaf bracer, second chance ability and aero spells make these encounters more tolerable. This doesn't mean good mind you, spamming heal every 30 seconds isn't any fun either. But the encounters at least become manageable. What remains awful are all of the bosses, and KH might have one of the worst rosters of boss fights that I've ever seen. It's difficult to even find examples to use here because there are so many bad ones. At best you get a boss like Chernabog or Captain Hook, one that is time consuming and dull but not ridiculously unfair. At worst, you get, well, bosses that are time consuming and dull and also ridiculously unfair. Dragon Maleficent, Cerberus, Ansem, and so on all take way too long to defeat, are way too punishing, and just overall miserable experiences. KH encourages defensive play to an absurd degree, sometimes only allowing 2 hits on a boss before needing to run and heal. Part of this is a proud mode problem, but the design of these bosses just feels so careless too. Many of these bosses have weakpoints limited to the head yet have very fast attacks with little to no telegraphing that can hit you while you jump up to attack. I can't think of many deaths I had that felt like genuine mistakes being punished, instead most of them felt like me getting impatient with the tedious design and trying to get an extra few hits in before healing. The boss after Maleficent Dragon is probably the most tolerable in the game, while it isn't all-time great it offers up the most carefully considered challenge. For the most part though, KH1 feels like a game filled with thoughtless fights where the only difference between life and death is getting too bored.
While the story is nothing special, it does work fairly well. My main gripe with it is that it feels really inconsequential for so much of the runtime. While we hear the heartless are an issue at the beginning, most of the worlds feel just like extremely cut down versions of their movies plots. Admittedly, I don't really care for most of these movies but even if I did I don't think I would find them that satisfying. Halloween Town and the 100 Acre Wood are probably the best here, they both feel really considerate of the source material while tying into the plot in small but fun ways. I hope these are the blueprint for future KH worlds.
For a game I only gave two stars, it would be a lie to say I never felt the trademark Kingdom Hearts charm shine through. The clashing elements end up making for a pretty cool aesthetic, and I was intrigued by the original story elements that are hinted at. Despite everything, it only made me want to delve into the series even more. I just want to experience those elements in a better game.