5 Reasons Why Kingdom Hearts is Better as an Adult

Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts

With Kingdom Hearts 3 finally looking like it is about to become a reality in the very near future, I felt it was time to revisit its predecessors. Ten years since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2 and it being almost as long since I played the games last as a young teenager,I wondered if, dare I say it, I may be “too old” to fully enjoy the eagerly anticipated third instalment.

Those fears were completely unfounded as I’ve fallen in love with Kingdom Hearts all over again as an adult and so, here are five reasons why you’re never too old for Kingdom Hearts and actually appreciate it more with age.

Kingdom Hearts

1. The script is hilarious
Quite simply, Kingdom Hearts is jam-packed full of cheesy lines and insane innuendos that go pretty much unnoticed as a kid playing the games. Now, as an adult, you can enjoy them in all their wonderfully cringe-inducing glory. There’s just something so inherently fun and sweet about these games that have stood the test of time, you love the cheesy script because without it it wouldn’t be a Kingdom hearts game.

My personal favourite is from Kingdom Hearts inside Monstro where Sora randomly stumbles upon Riku (for the hundredth time). He has puppet Pinocchio beneath his arm and he appears to be knocked out. He and Sora have some words then he simply says “I have some unfinished business with this puppet” before exiting the scene. No explanations, this is never mentioned in the storyline again and is an absolute classic WTF moment which the series is filled with. Just sit back and have a giggle at the randomness.

2. The storyline reduces grown adults to a blubbering mess (myself included)
Tetsuya Nomura is the grandmaster of hitting you right in the feels and Kingdom Hearts is no exception. For those who haven’t played (where have you been?), the story revolves around Sora who literally spends an entire game searching through all the worlds to be reunited with his friends Riku and Kairi. As a kid, this can seem pretty hard to relate to when your best friend lives right next door and you’ve probably just seen them about two minutes before you popped the game in. As an adult as life gets in the way, you realise staying in touch with your friends isn’t as easy as you thought.

Sora crosses worlds to save his friends and the moment when he gives his heart to save Kairi, or rather her heart was his all along, and turns himself into a Heartless is still arguably one of the most touching scenes in gaming history. It makes you want to pick up the phone and get the old gang back together. Both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 are full of these emotional moments that I think are only truly appreciated and understood as an adult. I defy you not to shed a tear when Sora breaks down in Kingdom Hearts 2 after finally getting Riku back after two entire games of searching. If Sora can cross the worlds for his friends then you can definitely at least message yours, wherever they may be.

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3. You can totally keep up with the plot now that you’re all grown up… sort of
The Kingdom Hearts series has one of thee most complex, craziest story arcs in gaming history. There’s time travel; memory loss, fake versions of real worlds, nobodies who are all reflections of their somebodies, and more forms of Ansem, Xehanhort and possessed Riku hybrids than you can keep track of. Ok, so maybe the plot is still a little confusing, especially when you play the other games on the HD Collection intended to fill in the gaps between the two games, these generally raise more questions than answers. But don’t fret and instead embrace the child within and just get lost in the craziness.

4. The Disney worlds are insanely fun
Disney is just as geared towards the adult market as it is to children and immersing yourself into these worlds as an adult is just as magical. We can only dream about what worlds await in Kingdom Hearts 3, a lot of amazing Disney films have been released after 2005 and I can’t wait to explore them. Who knows, maybe this time we’ll even get open worlds to explore. We can dream.

There’s something for everyone; your favourite Disney movies will crop up at least once. One of my personal favourits was the much hated Atlantica. I’m sorry, but what is people’s problem with it? Life IS so much better under the sea especially with Dolphin Sora dancing and singing around with Ariel,but who doesn’t love that? There’s Halloween Town for those that like their worlds a little more macabre and the Pride Lands for running around on four legs. In Port Royal, you even get to hang out with Jack Sparrow! What more could you ask for from a game? The worlds are still unbelievably fun to navigate around and with the technological developments in the past ten years, I have no doubt that the worlds in 3 are going to be even better. Let’s hope there’s an alternative to the Gummi ship travel too, not a fan.

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5. These games are still challenging
I’m not ashamed to admit that it took me a lot of time, swearing, blood, sweat and tears to finally beat a lot of the bosses in the Kingdom Hearts series but primarily the first instalment. Everyone had their least favourite boss fight. For some, it was Ursula with all her incessant twirling and crazy cauldron magic, or Oogie Boogie and his annoying board game style battle and for others it was dragon Maleficent, but for me, it has to be the final battle with Ansem at the end of Kingdom Hearts in the World That Never Was. The guy refuses to die and you fight him in at least 5 different stages with no opportunity to save in between, so cue seeing a lot of that continue screen. This is repeated at the end of 2 with Xehanohort but at least then the battle system and the quality of your team had improved. Honestly, Donald and Goofy are pretty much beyond hopeless team members most of the time. So don’t revisit Kingdom Hearts thinking you’re going to be playing an easy “child’s game.”

So there you have it I hope I’ve inspired you to replay them before purchasing the third instalment because you’re definitely never too old to play Kingdom Hearts. Embrace the joys of playing Kingdom Hearts as an adult.

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