Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts is an action role-playing game developed by Square and published by Square for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on March 28, 2002, and in North America on September 17, 2002. Directed by Tetsuya Nomura, it united Square’s original characters and settings with Disney properties under an agreement involving Disney Interactive. The story begins on Destiny Islands, where fourteen-year-old Sora lives with his friends Riku and Kairi. When their island is consumed by darkness and creatures called Heartless attack, Sora obtains the Keyblade, a weapon able to lock worlds’ keyholes and oppose the Heartless across Disney worlds, protecting inhabitants. Separated from Riku and Kairi, Sora travels between worlds aboard the Gummi Ship with Donald Duck and Goofy. King Mickey, missing from Disney Castle, had instructed them to find the “key” and locate his teacher, Yen Sid. Their route includes locations and characters from films such as Tarzan, Aladdin, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sora encounters Squall Leonhart, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid from Final Fantasy VII, although the game uses “Leon” for Squall. Hollow Bastion residents explain that world fell to darkness and that Ansem sought Kingdom Hearts, the source of all hearts. At Hollow Bastion, Riku takes the Keyblade after Maleficent exploits his fear of losing Kairi. Sora continues with a wooden sword until the Keyblade returns to him, responding to his stronger heart. The confrontation reveals that Kairi’s heart had been sheltering within Sora. After Sora uses a Keyblade to release her, he becomes a Heartless but is restored when Kairi recognizes him. In the finale, Sora and Riku close the door to Kingdom Hearts from opposite sides, while Donald and Goofy accompany Sora. Riku remains behind with Mickey, and Kairi returns to Destiny Islands. The final scene sends Sora onward. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was an expanded Japanese version issued in 2002, adding features from the international release and new content. A Game Boy Advance sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, arrived in 2004, continuing directly from Sora’s search for Riku and Mickey. Kingdom Hearts II followed on PlayStation 2, first in Japan in 2005. The series received HD 1.5 Remix compilation for PlayStation 3, which included the original game in high-definition form. Kingdom Hearts established Sora, Donald, and Goofy as the central trio of a franchise whose numbered installments and side stories span multiple Square Enix and Disney worlds.