Kingdom Hearts Smorgasbord
Square finally spills the beans on one the biggest collaborations in gaming history with story details and dozens of brand spankin' new screenshots and art.
Published: April 1, 2002
When Square announced their astonishingly bizarre decision to develop a game featuring Disney characters, many people in the industry didn't know what to think. Many (including myself) snickered a bit, but everyone was curious as to exactly what the game would be like, and especially how it would turn out. Now, with the release of the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts, plenty of gamers (again, myself included) have had a chance to check out the final product, and it's nothing less than stunning. If you still have any doubts that the possibilities of a world were Final Fantasy and Disney characters come together is anything but one of the most amusing and exciting concepts ever been introduced into games, perhaps a little more info on the game itself will help pique your interest.
Kingdom Hearts centers around a boy named Sora, who's happy living his life on an island paradise with his two best friends, athletic and competitive 15 year-old Riku and absolutely adorable 14 year-old Kairi. When a massive, violent storm hits the island, the three friends are lifted away and sent hurling to opposite yet equally foreign realms. Sora somehow manages to find himself in a world populated by classic Disney characters, most notably Court Wizard Donald Duck and Captain Goofy, who serve as guards for King Mickey. As Sora slowly begins to adjust to his new digs and companions, the three learn of creatures called The Heartless that are slowly destroying world after world. When they reach the Disney realm, classic Disney villains begin collaborations with the creatures, and the trio of heroes learns there must be a connection between the storm that sent Sora to this world, the separation from his lifelong friends and the disappearance of King Mickey.
Rather than merging old characters and concepts, though, Kingdom Hearts actually manages to push new Disney ground in a few areas. Square mainstay Tetsuya Nomura once again put pencil to paper to create not only new versions of Final Fantasy characters, but new Disney creations as well. Sora, Riku, Kairi and The Heartless are all completely original Disney characters, and Square has said that characters from the game will be making appearances in future Disney projects beyond Kingdom Hearts. In addition to new characters, over 100 old standbys make either cameos or serve as notable fixtures in the game, including Tarzan, Ariel, Peter Pan, Hades from Hercules, Jafar from Aladdin and of course The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. A few key characters like Simba from The Lion King, Muchu from Mulan and of course Dumbo will appear as summons that can be called into battle for an extra punch, Final Fantasy-style.
Late last week we had a CD dropped on us with an absolutely massive number of screens and artwork, which, of course, we're passing along to you in lazily numbered fashion. Enjoy, but make sure you grab a bib first to catch all that drool.
[Coliseum Discussions]
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[Brawl In The Coliseum]
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[Team Up In The Deep Jungle]
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[Jungle Tumble]
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[Reflections On Destiny Island]
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[Dumbo Summoned!]
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[Meeting In Wonderland]
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[Wonderland Gets Nasty]
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[Disney Castle]
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[Traverse Town]
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[Purdy Magic]
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Kingdom Hearts (C) 2002 Disney. Developed by SQUARESOFT.
Tarzan(tm) Owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and Used by Permission. (C) 2002 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Final Fantasy characters (C) 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 SQUARE CO., LTD.
Kingdom Hearts centers around a boy named Sora, who's happy living his life on an island paradise with his two best friends, athletic and competitive 15 year-old Riku and absolutely adorable 14 year-old Kairi. When a massive, violent storm hits the island, the three friends are lifted away and sent hurling to opposite yet equally foreign realms. Sora somehow manages to find himself in a world populated by classic Disney characters, most notably Court Wizard Donald Duck and Captain Goofy, who serve as guards for King Mickey. As Sora slowly begins to adjust to his new digs and companions, the three learn of creatures called The Heartless that are slowly destroying world after world. When they reach the Disney realm, classic Disney villains begin collaborations with the creatures, and the trio of heroes learns there must be a connection between the storm that sent Sora to this world, the separation from his lifelong friends and the disappearance of King Mickey.
Rather than merging old characters and concepts, though, Kingdom Hearts actually manages to push new Disney ground in a few areas. Square mainstay Tetsuya Nomura once again put pencil to paper to create not only new versions of Final Fantasy characters, but new Disney creations as well. Sora, Riku, Kairi and The Heartless are all completely original Disney characters, and Square has said that characters from the game will be making appearances in future Disney projects beyond Kingdom Hearts. In addition to new characters, over 100 old standbys make either cameos or serve as notable fixtures in the game, including Tarzan, Ariel, Peter Pan, Hades from Hercules, Jafar from Aladdin and of course The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. A few key characters like Simba from The Lion King, Muchu from Mulan and of course Dumbo will appear as summons that can be called into battle for an extra punch, Final Fantasy-style.
Late last week we had a CD dropped on us with an absolutely massive number of screens and artwork, which, of course, we're passing along to you in lazily numbered fashion. Enjoy, but make sure you grab a bib first to catch all that drool.
[Coliseum Discussions]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Brawl In The Coliseum]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
[Team Up In The Deep Jungle]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Jungle Tumble]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
[Reflections On Destiny Island]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
Image 6
Image 7
Image 8
Image 9
Image 10
Image 11
Image 12
Image 13
Image 14
Image 15
Image 16
Image 17
Image 18
Image 19
Image 20
Image 21
Image 22
Image 23
Image 24
Image 25
Image 26
Image 27
[Dumbo Summoned!]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Meeting In Wonderland]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
Image 5
[Wonderland Gets Nasty]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Disney Castle]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Traverse Town]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Image 4
[Purdy Magic]
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Kingdom Hearts (C) 2002 Disney. Developed by SQUARESOFT.
Tarzan(tm) Owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and Used by Permission. (C) 2002 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Final Fantasy characters (C) 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002 SQUARE CO., LTD.