Kingdom Hearts Preview

I've said it a hundred times, I'm not easily impressed. However, considering this is the third time I have mentioned it in the last week, I think all you folks may get the wrong impression. Trust me, I'm very particular about what I like. While at E3, I saw one game that caught my eye though, so I went and checked it out. Turns out I was quite impressed, not as much with the game itself, but I was enchanted by the concept. This game was an RPG/Arcade type that mixed Final Fantasy and Disney characters together in Disney worlds. The game is the Squaresoft/Disney Interactive cooperative mix, Kingdom Hearts.

© 2002 Disney Developed by SQUARESOFT Is Goofy high on something?

© 2002 Disney Developed by SQUARESOFT Get 'em Rambo! Err... I mean Dumbo.

Now when you hear Squaresoft and Disney, generally you don't put them together, I understand that. Moreover, one would think that a game with Disney characters in it wouldn't be very much fun. I understand that too. But with the storytelling prowess of Square and the established Disney characters, if you think these things about Kingdom Hearts, you'd be wrong. The game works very well moving over the various worlds of the Disney multiverse. Some of the represented worlds of Disney in Kingdom Hearts? Tarzan, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Hercules, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, even The Nightmare Before Christmas. And other characters make appearances, though not actually set in their worlds, such as characters from Mulan, The Lion King, Dumbo, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Cinderella. And, I will venture the guess that if it isn't on this list, it probably will be before the release. Perhaps even stranger then the teaming up of Disney worlds is the crossover of historical (and current) Final Fantasy characters in the game as well. Old favorites as Selphie and Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, Cloud, Cid, Yufi and Aeris (if rumors are true) from Final Fantasy VII and Wakka and Tidus from Final Fantasy X make appearances throughout the game. Of course, I am eagerly awaiting confirmation of a character from Final Fantasy IX (my favorite in the series) but I have heard nothing yet. Anyway, in short many Final Fantasy characters and even the beloved Moogle will show up in Kingdom Hearts. And if that doesn't at least sound interesting then I suppose you've been living under a rock for the past fifty years.

A few things which jumped out at me as being amazing was the level of detail the animators went to preserve the original flavor of the animation as it existed in that world. I know, you are a bit confused, but think about it this way, the animation style of Hercules in different then that of Aladdin and certainly not even close to Nightmare Before Christmas (mostly claymation) however those worlds will look as they did in the theatrical releases. Also, as you pick up and drop off new characters you will be able to add their play styles to your won. While in the company of Peter Pan, you will be able to fly and with Aladdin, you will have use of his Magic Carpet and so on. So the play looks as if it is up to the usual Final Fantasy par we love Square for. The music will be well done, using the flavor of the original scores from the worlds you travel to. The demo itself showed the graphics engine to be at least the equal of Final Fantasy X and the moment to moment play action makes this less an RPG and more of an arcade game.

One last thing to note, the entire game will be dubbed with familiar and new voices, but with one new twist. Square has promised that for the American release it will redo all of the facial movements of the characters to simulate English speech. Or in other words, The characters will now look as if they are actually speaking, a rarity among Japanese made games.

All in all, I have nothing yet bad to say about Kingdom Hearts, so look at the pics and decide if this one will fit you, I certainly am looking forward to it!