Kingdom Hearts (Video Game 2002)

Beloved Disney characters such as Goofy, Donald, and Mickey interact with many characters from the Final Fantasy RPG series and characters from the Disney animated films.

Director:

Tetsuya Nomura

Writers:

Jun Akiyama (scenario writer: scenario), Keiko Nobumoto (scenario supervisor: scenario),

Stars:

Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, Hayden Panettiere

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haley Joel Osment	...	Sora (voice)
David Gallagher	...	Riku (voice)
Hayden Panettiere	...	Kairi (voice)
Billy Zane	...	Ansem (voice)
David Boreanaz	...	Squall Leonhart (Leon) (voice)
Mandy Moore	...	Aerith Gainsborough (voice)
Steve Burton	...	Cloud Strife (voice)
Christy Romano	...	Yuffie Kisaragi (voice) (as Christy Carlson Romano)
Shaun Fleming	...	Tidus (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Wakka (voice)
Molly Marlette	...	Selphie Tilmitt (voice) (as Molly Keck)
Lance Bass	...	Sephiroth (voice)
Seth Adkins	...	Pinocchio (voice)
Wayne Allwine	...	King Mickey Mouse (voice)
Tony Anselmo	...	Donald Duck (voice)

Storyline

Sora's world is shattered when a violent storm hits his home, and is seperated from his two closest friends. The storm scatters the three to unknown worlds. At the same time, there is turmoil in the Disney Castle. King Mickey is missing, and Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy are out to find him. On their travels they meet Sora, on his own search for his lost friends. The three are told of ominous creatures called Heartless, being without hearts derived from an unknown dimension and are the ones responsible for the devastating storm. The Disney villians, enticed by the power of darkness, manipulate the Darkness to help them gather the princesses of heart, who are needed to open a mysterious final door. Upon discovering the link between the Heartless, the storm, and the disappearance of King Mickey, Sora, Donald, and Goofy join forces and help familiar Disney heroes to save their worlds from the Heartless.

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Plot Keywords:

disney | king | final fantasy | kingdom | reference to daisy duck | 

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Taglines:

There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky - One sky, one destiny

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

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Certificate:

E

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official Website

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

17 September 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Disney Interactive Japan, Disney Interactive, Square Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name that Riku chooses for the raft (Highwind), is the name of the airship in Final Fantasy VII.

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Goofs

In Hollow Bastion, right after you defeat the Maleficent Dragon and before you fight Riku/Ansem, during the movie scene where Sora sees Kairi on the ground in front of the keyhole in the hall containing the Princesses of Heart, Sora lifts Kairi and shakes her up and down to wake her up. The pendant on Kairi's necklace stays suspended in the air when he shakes her until the shot changes.

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Quotes

Oogie Boogie: A heart? That bonehead Jack is really making a heart? I'll be jiggered! That works for me! Ooh, when I get my hands on that... Well, I've got no hands, but I'm still gonna nab that heart and control the Heartless.

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Crazy Credits

While the credits are rolling you see scenes of various Disney characters and characters from the game, including the "missing" characters of Riku and King Mickey. After the credits are finished you see Sora, Donald, and Goofy walking along a path wondering if they'll ever see Riku and King Mickey again.

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Connections

References Private Pluto (1943)

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Soundtracks

"Hikari"
Written and Performed by Hikaru Utada
(Japanese version only)

User Reviews

The most anticipated game for me since Final Fantasy 7! And it doesn't disappoint.

Years in the making and hyped like crazy, Kingdom Hearts for the PlayStation 2 had me eagerly awaiting for months. Although not a big Disney fan, I salivated at the dream of seeing all the great Disney and SquareSoft characters together in one DVD game. When September 17, 2002 came, I ran out to get my copy and have been enthralled by this game's beauty, charm, and playability.

Kingdom Hearts features two stories, one, about a boy named Sora who is looking for his friends who have vanished. and two, Donald Duck and Goofy, who are looking for the missing King Mickey. The three have to work together when they find out that they hold the key from keeping the Disney worlds from being destroyed by The Heartless.

You'll travel through a number of classic Disney films such as Aladdin, Pinocchio, Tarzan, and The Little Mermaid. You'll meet all sorts of cameo appearances from Disney films and SquareSoft's Final Fantasy games. The games play like the Legend Of Zelda series, with real-time battling, you control Sora while the other two characters support you. You'll face classic bosses from the movies, such as Captain Hook and Jafar as the Evil Genie.

The graphics of this game are gorgeous, looking like an animated Disney film itself. The power of DVD games makes all the difference. The gameplay is good, too, although niggles with the camera get in the way. The sound is great, too, although I would have liked to hear the songs from the movies that are used as levels. Of course, the voice acting is first-rate, with one of the deepest casts ever put together. The premier child actor Haley Joel Osment voices Sora. You've got actors reprising their voice roles from the films such as James Woods(Hades), Gilbert Gottfried(Iago), and Dan Castelenatta(The Genie from the Aladdin T.V. series). You've got it all: pop stars like Mandy Moore (Aerith) and Lance Bass (Sephiroth), fading talents like Robby Benson and Chris Sarandon, the cool voice of Billy Zane, rising stars, even Tiny Toons voice for Babs Bunny (Tress MacNeille) is here. The voices for Donald and Goofy are spot-on accurate, too.

Put it all together and you've got a game that's a must own if you have the PS2. A truly landmark game, this proves that cross-marketing, mass-marketing, and celebrity firepower can work. Buy it! ***** out of *****!