Kingdom Hearts is a 2002 action role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series and is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company. An expanded re-release of the game featuring new and additional content, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, was released exclusively in Japan in December 2002. The Final Mix version of the game was later remastered in high definition and released globally as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix collection for the PlayStation 3. The game was later ported and released as part of the bundled Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix collection for PlayStation 4 in March 2017, Xbox One in February 2020, Windows in March 2021 and Nintendo Switch in February 2022.
The game combines characters and settings from Disney animated features with those from Square’s Final Fantasy series, in addition to original characters and worlds created for the game. It follows the adventures of Sora, a cheerful teenager who fights against the forces of darkness alongside his allies, including Donald Duck, Goofy and other Disney characters. The game was a departure from Square’s standard role-playing games, introducing a substantial action and hack and slash element to the gameplay. The score was composed by Yoko Shimomura. Kingdom Hearts has an all-star voice cast and includes many of the Disney characters’ official voice actors. It was longtime Square character designer Tetsuya Nomura’s first time in a directorial position.
Kingdom Hearts is influenced by its parent franchise, Final Fantasy, and carries gameplay elements over into its own action-based, hack and slash system. The main battle party consists of three characters: Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy. Sora is directly controlled by the player from a third-person camera angle. All other party members are computer-controlled, though the player can customize their behavior to an extent through the pause menu. Donald and Goofy comprise the party in most areas, but many levels feature a character who may replace them. For instance, Jack Skellington can join Sora’s party in Halloween Town, but can’t accompany the player elsewhere. In some worlds, the party changes its appearance, has abilities unique to that world, or both; the characters can fly in Neverland, gain aquatic forms in Atlantica which enable them to survive underwater, and wear Halloween costumes in Halloween Town to blend in with the locals.
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