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milesonthenet · 2 months

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Kingdom Hearts: A bizarre Disney experiment that took off.

Welcome to the House of Milesverse, and today we will be discussing a truly bizarre series. I promise that I'll try to keep it Simple & Clean when it comes to discussing it. Today's topic is Kingdom Hearts, the iconic Disney-Final Fantasy crossover that you've probably heard of.

This is in late honor of the franchise, in fact. March 28th celebrates the 22nd Anniversary of the first Kingdom Hearts game. That is 22 years since Kingdom Hearts' inception.

What IS Kingdom Hearts?

The Process:

Years ago, the early seeds of Kingdom Hearts were laid in a game idea. Square Enix (Square at the time) wanted to make a 3D game similar to Mario 64. However, they could not figure out an idea on who would represent the series. They believed that only characters from Disney could potentially rival Mario in popularity.

That led to a chance encounter between former game producer Shinji Hashimoto and a Disney Executive. Square as it turned out, operated in the same japanese office building as Disney did. From there, Hashimoto pitched the idea to Disney directly, and it was smooth sailings from then on.

Development soon began in 2000 with character designer Tetsuya Nomura providing the 'look' of many characters in the game. Initially, Disney wanted Donald Duck to be the main protagonist for the game. Square on the other hand argued for Mickey Mouse to be playable.

Instead, a compromise was made, and an original character was created. Sora is the main protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series and wielder of the keyblade. He's recognizable to many people who aren't as familiar with the games.

A fun fact about Kingdom Hearts is its use of Final Fantasy characters. These characters were quite a shocker expected back then. In fact, their appearance was deliberately kept a secret to entice fans.

Success & More:

The first game, Kingdom Hearts 1, was released in 2002. It was a commercial success, and it quickly paved the way for a sequel. As of 2022, the game has sold well over 36 million copies worldwide.

Tetsuya Nomura himself was unsure if there would be room for a sequel. He still snuck in a secret trailer scene in the game for fans. Soon enough, plans for a sequel were made after Kingdom Hearts 1, and other games quickly followed. Chain of Memories, for example, was released in 2003, and directly follows the story from the first game.

Since then, Kingdom Hearts is up to its 13th installment. It has spawned a massive following worldwide. The series just perfectly captures the Disney magic that many people had in their childhood. More than that, it also offers something fun for the Final Fantasy fans.

In 2021, Sora would finally join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as its last DLC fighter. In addition, it was revealed that Sora is the most highly requested fighter to ever appear in the Smash Bros series. It's quite a testament to his character, and how popular he is.

In 2022, Kingdom Hearts IV was announced for the next generation of consoles. It is a sequel to Kingdom Hearts 3, which acted as an ending to numerous old storylines. Kingdom Hearts IV sets the stage for a new story, pitting Sora and his friends against the 'Lost Masters'.

Voice Actors who have worked on Kingdom Hearts:

Kingdom Hearts has boasted many actors over its installments. You would be surprised to see who's been in the series.

The main character Sora is voiced by Haley Joel Osment. Osment played in the Sixth Sense as Cole Sear, a psychic child. You'd know him from the iconic film line, "I see dead people".

The main antagonist Xehanort is voiced by at least three actors.

Leonard Nimoy (Spock from Star Trek)

Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty from Blade Runner)

Christopher Lloyd (Doctor Brown from Back To The Future)

Opposite of Xehanort is Eraqus, who is played by Mark Hamill. He's Luke Skywalker and the iconic voice of The Joker in numerous Batman media. Nimoy and Hamill in a way also represents the Star Trek Vs. Star Wars debate that's pervaded fandoms for so long.

The character Roxas is Sora's 'nobody', essentially his other half. He and Ventus, the character he's modeled after, share the same voice. They are both voiced by Jesse McCartney, a famed popstar in the 2000s. Jesse McCartney would also do the voice for Robin in Young Justice, and later, as Nightwing.

Ansem the Wise, later known as DiZ, is another supporting character in the franchise. Christopher Lee is well-known as Dracula, Saruman, and Count Dooku. After his unfortunate passing, Lee was replaced by Corey Burton.

Hayden Panettiere was the initial voice for Sora's close friend, Kairi. She played Kirby Reed in both Scream 4 and Scream 6. She also played Juliette Barnes in Nashville, and Claire Bennet in Heroes.

Hayden would later be replaced by Alyson Stoner in future installments. Alyson Stoner played Caitlyn in Camp Rock and it's sequel. She was also Isabella Garcia in the popular Disney series, Phineas and Ferb.

The main antagonist of the first game was Ansem, Xehanort's Heartless. Ansem was at first voiced by Billy Zane for the first game. Billy Zane was also the main antagonist of Titanic, aka Caledon Hockley.

In later games, Zane would be replaced by Richard Epcar. Richard Epcar is notable as the voice of Raiden from Mortal Kombat, and Daisuke Jigen from Lupin the 3rd. He's also the voice of Joseph Joestar's older self in later seasons.

All of this is further compounded by the Disney worlds. Kingdom Hearts gets numerous old actors back to reprise their roles. For example, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all retain their current voice actors.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts has a well-crafted cast of voice actors. Numerous notable names have come to play characters in the series. I think that on its own is another impressive fact to add to the series.

The Story (And why it's not as confusing as you think):

What makes it so confusing?

Kingdom Hearts is renowned across online fandom platforms for its plotline. Almost anything about it is guaranteed to create confusion in fans. It's hard enough having to keep up with how many people are just different iterations of other characters. Fans have coined the phrase "Everyone is Sora/Xehanort." for a reason.

In reality, the story itself is not 'confusing' at first glance. It all relies on making sure you play the games in order. Kingdom Hearts' greatest flaw is when people overthink it to the extreme.

There are a lot of people who would prefer to skip to the most recent game. However, that creates its own net of issues. When you don't play the games in order, you end up confused by certain plot elements.

To fully comprehend the bigger picture, you need to accept a few things about the series as well. For example, keyblades are inherently magical weapons. They possess a degree of sentience and can open or lock any door. Only someone strong of heart can wield a keyblade.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts is not a confusing series to get into. It's just a lot to look at. This leads to the games overwhelming people who try to take in every single detail.

Why it works:

The love for Kingdom Hearts is phenomenal. After its release, it quickly gained praise as a best-selling hit under Disney. Much of this praise is given to the story, and characters. Even more praise is added to its scene-stealing music.

Its blending of Disney and RPG tones is also enjoyed by the audience. This is something that you would not expect to work, but it does. Kingdom Hearts itself is a perfect balance of Square Enix's usual flavor, combined with the childhood Disney magic that you are familiar with.

Kingdom Hearts' accuracy toward Disney also works when looking at the films. Fan-Favorite locations in the game are pulled from Disney's various films. They are almost perfectly replicated in Kingdom Hearts' own animation. It is a testament and love letter to the franchise's cartoonish roots.

Kingdom Hearts is something that at first glance, you think would not work. It's effectively a bizarre fusion between two things that have nothing in common. However, the developers behind the scenes do their part in making sure that the game balances it. Everything has a purpose, and nothing feels out of place.

Conclusion:

Kingdom Hearts is an interesting topic to bring up in terms of video games. It's attracted a lot of confusion and shock from newcomers. However, I believe that this zaniness does its part. It is meant to be shocking, and as a series, it does that well.

There's something fun about how the series presents itself. Kingdom Hearts does not take itself seriously. Yet, there's no harm coming from that effect. This only accentuates its deep connections to the Disney franchise.

I think Kingdom Hearts is a fun series that has a lot of heart. I wanted to play the games myself as a kid after seeing how cool they were. I finally had the chance to buy them last year. It was perfect being able to relish every moment in playing them. I would recommend you pick up the game yourself.

What's NEXT?

Remember when I said that I was doing a review of Transformers: Earthspark? I still am. I pushed it back in favor of other topics, but it is still happening.

We'll also talk about X-Men '97 and discuss some other things. Moon Girl season 2 will also be another topic sometime this year. I hope you really enjoyed this one, by the way. If you have any questions or suggestions, please send them my way.

#milesverse #kingdom hearts #kh #disney movies #disney animation #square enix

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