In the world of comic books, crossovers are commonplace. What better way to spice up the storyline of an aging comic than to throw in the cast of a whole other book? If done properly it's an interesting concept, but outside of fighting games there have been surprisingly few examples of crossovers in gaming. However, Square and Disney have teamed up to deliver one very major exception to that rule. They call it Kingdom Hearts, and it's an Action-RPG (with platform elements) that combines classic Disney characters and settings with both Japanese-style gameplay and familiar faces from the more recent Final Fantasy games. Sound strange? You bet, but after years of video gaming you probably know that that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Kingdom Hearts centers around three original characters created by Square: Sora, Kairi, and Riku. The three have grown up together on the small but lush Destiny Island, completely isolated from other people. One night a shadowy monster, later to be identified as a Heartless, attacks the island. Sora defeats it with a key-like sword that appears out of nowhere. After the battle he finds himself in a strange town and his two friends are nowhere to be found. Fortunately, he soon runs into Court Wizard Donald and Captain of the Guard Goofy -- two Disney characters who have been instructed by the missing King Mickey to protect the key-bearer. Figuring that must mean Sora, they join forces with him and set off to find Sora's friends, catch up to King Mickey, and discover the motives of the sinister Heartless.
Marvelous Sights, Simple Fights
Sora's quest will take him through ten or so worlds directly inspired by classic Disney features. In fact, the very first one throws him down a rabbit hole and into Alice's Wonderland, setting the surreal tone for the rest of the game. Square has done an amazing job of capturing the look and feel of the diverse Disney universes, translating 2D film scenes into 3D game graphics with astonishing accuracy. Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Woods is rendered so attractively that I want to take a vacation there. The character models are similarly well-done, though Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie look just a little too glassy-eyed for my liking. While the game only runs at 30 frames per second, the great detail allowed by the higher polygon counts seems to justify the decision.
See Sora swim. Swim, Sora!
While Kingdom Hearts is an Action-RPG, it has more RPG elements than just about any Action-RPG I've played. Sora and company level up with experience points, and it's mostly these levels, not your hand-eye coordination, that determine the outcome of the ostensibly action-based battles. A majority of battles are won by chasing down enemies and hitting the X button repeatedly, healing as needed; the higher your level, the more damage you'll deal and the less you'll take. Seven types of magic are available through shortcuts tied to the L1 button, but most of the time there isn't much use for anything beyond the basic cure and fireball spells. There are also six or so graphically-impressive summon spells, but these are generally not worth the effort to cast. The simple combat system is adequate and usually fun, but more depth and technique would have been appreciated.
Sora is typically assisted in his battles by up to two computer-controlled partners. These roles are generally filled by Donald and Goofy, but many of the Disney-themed worlds offer new partners that can be used until you depart. Running the gamut from Ariel to Tarzan, they are generally more effective than either of the two standard partners. Thankfully, everyone gains experience whether or not they're being used, so you don't have to worry about Donald or Goofy falling behind in the experience race while they're replaced by more competent characters.
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