How Kingdom Hearts Shaped My Life

When Kingdom Hearts was released in November 2002, the world seemed a little less innocent than it once was. It was a year of social confusion, political tensions and an unremarkable year all round for video games, unless you want to count that little-known game franchise involving cars, guns and the occasional prostitute humping.

Fast forward to 2017 and unfortunately not much has changed; social and political apathy is still rife only with the benefit of free Wi-Fi and whilst gamers have probably got a little more choice for their gaming diet, they’re still excited about another little-known game, only this time involving cowboys, horses and perhaps the odd bit of carriage humping should the mood take them.

However, despite its unremarkable year of movie tie ins and annual sports games, there was one game that came out that on paper was laughed at, but is now one of the more memorable, unique and bewildering franchises the gaming world has ever known. A story about light, love, darkness and who would win in a fight between Hercules and Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII. A game that fused Disney and Final Fantasy characters, Kingdom Hearts was a bizarre creature of a concept to say the least. No one really knew how to take this, and as time went by and more details were revealed you had one of two stances on the game prior to its November 2002 release; you wrote it off as lunacy, or had faith in the company and hoped that something in this idea would pay off, keeping in mind Square Enix’s stellar track record.

Any game they released was an almost guaranteed success and in terms of the pre-Bioware/Bethesda RPG world, no one could touch them. I remember during this time being a 14 year-old snot-nosed Goth kid not really knowing what to think about this new-fangled idea. My rebellious side wanted to laugh at this ridiculous idea, however the small remnants of my childlike optimism wondered what it would be like to fight alongside my childhood icons Goofy and Donald Duck. Like many children growing up I was huge Disney fan and as a teen I was starting to form new gaming idols in the characters of the Final Fantasy games. This resulted in the first reason why the Kingdom Hearts games defied me as a gamer; it was unique stepping stone from leaving the world of child-friendly platformers such as Crash Bandicoot or Sonic the Hedgehog and onto more mature, uncharted waters.

Renting this game out from my local Blockbuster, I soon found that Kingdom Hearts provided room to look at games more maturely. The gameplay itself was simple and easy to digest, Chip & Dale giving you instructions on levelling spells, combat and of course, the gummi ship was nothing short of adorable. The combat was fun, free flowing and as smooth as silk on butter, which for a Square Enix game was nothing short of astonishing, considering they were more well known for their complex and sometimes convoluted turn based battle systems. This helped Square usher in a new generation of RPG fans that may have been intrigued by the narratives these games provided but were intimidated at all the cogs and screws that got you from a level 1 paladin, to a level 65 black mage warlord wearing your enemies as if they were trendy clothing.

The worlds you explored were simply to die for, from the sleepy streets of Traverse Town, Captain Hook’s Pirate Ship to Halloween town, the colourful, flamboyant landscapes that are to be expected from any Disney production are here in full force and not afraid to tinker around with your already nostalgic brain. All that was merely eye candy to serve the sinister, yet enthralling plot devices for future games to come. Some critics may want to argue with me about the narrative and yes, I wholly agree that for the franchise as a whole, it is advisable to perhaps gain a PHD in quantum physics before even trying to penetrate the whole narrative. Even the more hardened of Kingdom Hearts veterans have trouble explaining the many (perhaps too many) parallel versions of the games main antagonist Master Xehanort or recounting all of Organisation XIII verbatim.

But this was the first game. It was a simpler time of Kingdom Hearts life, a tale of two friends, one common goal, but completely different paths to achieving it. The overarching plot of Sora and Rikku desperate to reach their friend Kairi at the Hollow Bastion at any cost is fascinating to witness, especially Sora and Rikku’s path into light and darkness, respectively. The moral to this as with all the Kingdom Hearts is a simpler tale of the value of friendship and that’s where the game became sentimental to me.

Growing up, I was seen a little differently in the social hell of high school, and friends were a luxury for me. Overtime my morals in life came from the canvas Kingdom Hearts painted. Not everyone like Maleficent or Jafar are the simple black and white villains we grew up fearing; nearly everyone we interact with has their own story, their own path, their own traits of darkness to fight. Some lose their way, but with others it is almost as easy to unlock the light in their own hearts and become a better person. It’s easy to demonise and make villains in today’s uncertain times, but as a collective we can overcome these times of darkness and lock them away for good.

The HD remakes of both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are coming in one glorious PS4 package on the 28^th March, with 2.8 out in January and Kingdom Hearts 3 still lurking it’s way out soon, about which I can only hope we get to hear more at this year’s E3. There has never been a more perfect time to pick up these games and either experience for the first time or perhaps again. These games perfectly define one of the real reasons why we as gamers keep coming back to our consoles or PC’s on a regular basis and absorb every glorious pixel.