Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts (Japanese: キングダムハーツ Kingudamu Hātsu) is a hybrid action/RPG that was released in Autumn of 2002, which is notable for being the result of a collaboration between the video game developer and publisher Square and Disney.

Characters

Sora

The hero of the game, Sora is fourteen years old and on a quest to find his friends while saving various worlds from the Heartless. He carries a peculiar weapon, the Keyblade, and travels with Disney characters Donald Duck and Goofy who are looking for their king, Mickey Mouse. As a teenager, Sora has his share of concerns, but overall, he manages to keep an upbeat attitude. He seems too simple-minded at times, but he has a strong sense of justice.

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Riku

One of Sora's best friends, Riku is fifteen years old, and he lived with him on Destiny Islands. Although Riku is Sora's best friend, there's alot of conflict between those two in games, and when Kairi came to their island, there was a rivalry between them for her. Riku is older than his friends and much more serious than them. He cannot stand living in the enclosed world of the islands and seeks to find a way out. He and his two friends start to build a raft in hopes to sail to another world at the start of the game. However, when the Heartless attack the islands, Riku seems to have no fear of the darkness they bring and goes into it willingly. After discovering new worlds, he searches in an attempt to find them, but when he finds Sora with Donald Duck and Goofy, Riku assumes that Sora has abandoned him. After that, Riku joined with Maleficent and starts searching primarily for Kairi. He made several attempts on Sora's life, including stealing the Keyblade and his friends, because Riku was meant to have the Keyblade and he seemingly believed that Sora is far too weak to protect Kairi. But Riku was cast into the World of Darkness after his body was taken over by Ansem. He then assisted Sora in closing the door to Kingdom Hearts, with himself behind it.

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Kairi

Sora's other best friend who lives with him and Riku on Destiny Islands, Kairi is also 14 years old. She's very cheerful and perky and seems to be a bit of a tomboy. She was not born on the island, but came there from Hollow Bastion, presumably 11 years ago (when Ansem lost his mind and body). Her appearance on the island caused a rift between Sora and Riku, and their friendship hasn't been exactly the same since.

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Kairi also disappears after the destruction of Destiny Islands, and Sora doesn't find her until he reaches Neverland. Though she is lifeless here, she reacts to Sora's voice by slowly closing her fist. Riku reveals that she lost her heart sometime between the destruction of their home and his finding her, and that he joined Maleficent to locate her heart. Kairi also seems to have some connection to Hollow Bastion and its mysterious keyhole, which is said to need "seven princesses of heart" to open. Kairi is one of the "Princesses of Heart".

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In Japanese, the word Kai (part of Kairi) can mean "ocean". As Sora means sky and Riku means ground, one can infer their own conclusions from this.

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Donald Duck

Donald Duck appears as a magician, capable of doing various spells from curative to offensive. He, along with Goofy, go to find their missing king, who has gone on a mission to investigate the bedlam the kingdom is under, as well as the Keyblade Master. He contributes to the party with his repetoire of spells and also brings the comic antics he never seems to lose throughout the Disney series'.

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Goofy

Goofy appears with Donald on the same mission. He appears as a warrior, a master in physical stats (HP, strength, and defense). He is the Captain of the Royal Knights and despises weapon usage, so he uses a shield to attack and defend, and is the king's most loyal subject. He is a great help and is the group's pack mule (he carries the most accessories and items). Like Donald, his comical antics never seem to die out.

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Disney villains

The villains of Kingdom Hearts. Led by Maleficent, they are composed of Jafar, Hades, Ursula, Oogie Boogie, and Captain Hook. They use the Heartless for their evil plans in order to obtain seven maidens of the purest heart, called the Princesses of Heart, and to dominate their resident world under their rule or vengeance, etc. As Ansem's journal said, once they had obtained all seven such Princesses, they will be able to unlock the Final Keyhole. Other Disney villians that also appear but are not affiliated with Maleficent are Clayton(Who used the Heartless to hunt Gorillas) and one of the villains from Wonderland (it is debatable whether the Wonderland villain is the Queen of Hearts or the Cheshire Cat, but neither used Heartless.) (In the manga, however, the Cheshire Cat was affiliated with Maleficent, but betrayed them).

Related Topics:
Maleficent - Jafar - Hades - Ursula - Oogie Boogie - Captain Hook - Clayton - Queen of Hearts - Cheshire Cat

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Ansem

The true main villain of Kingdom Hearts, he was hiding in the shadows until Maleficent gathered all seven Princesses of Heart. He was the ruler of Hollow Bastion (previously the home of most of the Final Fantasy characters, as well as Kairi), but he went insane due to his research on the Heartless, believing that only the power of darkness rules existence. He entered the darkness, losing his body in the process, but had a will great enough to withstand becoming a Heartless himself, and instead became something more. Deceiving Riku into letting him possess the boy's body, Ansem regained his physical form and purged Riku's heart from him when he tried to fight back. Sora followed Ansem to the world beyond the Final Keyhole, the End of the World, where the door to Kingdom Hearts awaited, and defeated him before Kingdom Hearts was fully opened. Although Ansem dies in the end of the game, he lives on in Riku's mind and heart and returns in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the sequel.

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He has connections to the man named "DiZ", a strangely bound and bondaged character wearing red. He can be seen in both "Chain of Memories" as well as "Kingdom Hearts II". It is unknown what his true motive is, however, he is said to be "both Ansem and not Ansem".

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Unknown

A mysterious cloaked figure, known also as "The Enigmatic Man" who appears at Hollow Bastion in Final Mix as an optional boss. He serves as a prelude to the game's sequels, being the first member of the organiziation Sora encountered. He doesn't talk; he speaks to Sora in his mind.

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The Heartless

The Heartless are creatures born of the darkness in people's hearts. When they consume a person's heart, their body vanishes and their heart falls to darkness. Almost all of them are branded with the same symbol. The Heartless with that symbol was created by Ansem, using a machine that artificially creates Heartless. They pursue the wielder of the Keyblade, Sora, although their reasons are not entirely clear.

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Final Fantasy cameos

On Destiny Islands, the player meets younger versions of Tidus, Wakka (both from Final Fantasy X), and Selphie (from Final Fantasy VIII). In Traverse Town, the player encounters Squall (under the alias of Leon) from Final Fantasy VIII, as well as Aerith (known as Aeris in the US), Cid, and Yuffie from Final Fantasy VII. Rikku from Final Fantasy X was originally going to be a cameo but she was later replaced with Yuffie, and Irvine from Final Fantasy VIII was replaced by Wakka. In the Olympus Collesium, the player gets to fight Leon, Yuffie, and Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII. In the American and Final Mix versions, the player gets to fight Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII as well, and Final Mix has an additional scene in which Cloud and Sephiroth fight to the death.

Related Topics:
Tidus - Wakka - Final Fantasy X - Selphie - Final Fantasy VIII - Squall - Aerith - Cid - Yuffie - Final Fantasy VII - Rikku - Cameo - Cloud Strife - Sephiroth

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The game also uses other Final Fantasy icons. Moogles make an appearance and help you obtain the ultimate weapon (the aptly named Ultima Weapon). Several other weapons, such as Lionheart and Save the Queen, have a Final Fantasy theme. The Final Fantasy Magic Naming System (ie. Cure, Cura, Curaga, etc.) is also in place. The names of various spells are the names of Gummi blocks, and various summons, weapons, bosses, and monsters are the names of Gummi ships blueprints.

Related Topics:
Moogle - Final Fantasy Magic

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