Kingdom Hearts (video game)

Did You Know?

• Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was packaged with either a deck of playing cards or a special music CD at launch.
• A limited 'Platinum Edition' of Final Mix included a Sora action figure, a sticker set, and sketches of several main characters.
• A novel series based on the game, authored by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano, was released in North America on March 25, 2008.

Plot

The universe of Kingdom Hearts consists of various worlds, fourteen of which are featured, with thirteen accessible. One world, Disney Castle, appears only in cutscenes, and others are mentioned but destroyed by the Heartless. Ten worlds are based on Disney animated films, and four were created by Square. Each Disney world is designed to resemble its film's artwork and style, inhabited by characters from that film, such as Hercules in Olympus Coliseum and Aladdin in Agrabah. Worlds are disconnected, and most characters are unaware of other worlds. Players travel between worlds via the Gummi Ship. Square-created worlds include Destiny Islands, home of Sora, Riku, and Kairi; Traverse Town, a hub for refugees; Hollow Bastion, home to Final Fantasy characters; and the End of the World, a dark realm formed from consumed worlds. The main characters travel to seal each world's Keyhole to protect it from the Heartless, while minimizing interaction with other worlds' inhabitants, sometimes changing their appearance to blend in.

Development

The idea for Kingdom Hearts began with a discussion between Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi about Super Mario 64, leading to a plan for a game with three-dimensional movement using characters as popular as Disney's. Tetsuya Nomura volunteered to lead the project and was allowed to direct. A chance meeting between Hashimoto and a Disney executive in an elevator allowed Hashimoto to pitch the idea directly to Disney. Disney initially proposed a game based exclusively on Disney properties, but Nomura insisted on an original main character and universe. The production team included over one hundred members from Square and Disney. Development began in February 2000, initially focusing on gameplay with a simple story for Disney's target age range. After Sakaguchi warned Nomura the game would fail if it did not match the Final Fantasy series, Nomura developed the story further. The team chose Disney worlds with distinct looks and interesting characters. With support from Disney's then-president Bob Iger, few restrictions were placed on which worlds could be used, though the team stayed within each character's film boundaries. The name was inspired by Disney Theme Parks, particularly Animal Kingdom; Nomura initially wanted to call it Kingdom, but the trademark was unavailable, so 'Hearts' was added. Telecom Animation Film Company and Kazuhide Tomonaga served as animation supervisors.

Reception

Kingdom Hearts was a commercial success. Within two months of its North American launch, it ranked among the three best-selling games and was a strong performer during the 2002 holiday season. In early November 2002, UBS Warburg reported it as the sixth highest-selling console game for that week. Square announced in April 2003 that the game had sold one million copies in the United States, qualifying it for PlayStation's Greatest Hits line, with over three million sold globally. By early 2004, sales in Japan reached 1.2 million, pushing the worldwide total past four million. The NPD Group noted in December 2005 that it was among the top ten best-selling PlayStation 2 titles in North America. By July 2006, it had sold 2.6 million copies in the United States, generating $100 million in revenue. Worldwide shipments exceeded 5.6 million copies by December 2006. Critical reception was generally favorable. IGN nominated it for PS2's Best Game of 2002 Editor's Choice Award and it came in second for the Reader's Choice Award. Reviewers praised the visuals and the blend of action-adventure and role-playing elements. IGN awarded it Best Art Style/Direction and named it runner-up for Best CG Graphics. GamePro described the graphics as gorgeous and gave the audio a perfect score.