Kingdom Hearts

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1277 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,103 out of 1277
  2. Mixed: 106 out of 1277
  3. Negative: 68 out of 1277
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  1. SuperkenGaming
    Dec 31, 2016
    8
    Kingdom Hearts
    better adventure than it is a game.
    Hide your kids, hide your princesses because they’re snatching up everybody in kingdom hearts. This game starts out very slow and is just a fetch quest game for the first 2 hours of the total of around 30… But a mysterious door unlocks one night and you and your friends go through cause you’re kids hungry for an adventure of course..    Kingdom Hearts
    better adventure than it is a game.
    Hide your kids, hide your princesses because they’re snatching up everybody in kingdom hearts.
    This game starts out very slow and is just a fetch quest game for the first 2 hours of the total of around 30…
    But a mysterious door unlocks one night and you and your friends go through cause you’re kids hungry for an adventure of course.. You want to leave this island you’ve lived on your whole life...
    But once you get there youre alone, so with your newly acquired keyblade you set out on an adventure to find them...
    Meanwhile king mickey is gone as he noticed the stars are going out… and goofy and Donald are tasked with finding the key... and guess who’s got it…
    You meet up and go on a crazy Disney adventure taking out the heartless trying to consume the different Disney worlds and snatching their princesses, so it’s up to you to battle your way to the key holes and sealing them back up…
    You’ll go to 11 different playable locations in total including places like wonderland and the 100 acre woods, meet all kinds of awesome Disney and final fantasy characters like the beast and cloud
    Some will even join your party while you’re in their worlds..
    This is a great experience for Disney fans…
    But the greatness ends there…
    Not to say it’s bad... it’s a decently fun game… but feels very dated... while it looks amazing remastered in HD… proof that looks aren’t everything...
    The biggest offenses in this game are its platforming and camera…
    The platforming is insanely stiff making some sections of the game ultra-frustrating like swinging on the vines in Tarzans jungle… and the camera locks itself…
    It isn’t 360 freedom…it chooses when you can and can’t look behind you…
    You can adjust the camera a little in the options to get it closer to your personal preferences, but it doesn’t take away the lock which can definitely get frustrating during boss battles… which is a shame because these boss battles are easily the coolest parts of the game and feature the coolest Disney villains, and all for the most part feel unique and different…
    The actual gameplay itself though feels like a bit of a drag.. there’s way too much back tracking here…
    Going to spots in the map and going back to others and back to this other spot and back to the first spot and then back to the third spot to go back to the 2nd spot and then finally back to the 1st…
    The worlds already do a bad job of feeling large as it is.. The constant back tracking makes it feel worse… I feel the game would have greatly benefited from a more linear platforming style in this case…
    Combat here is pretty basic and hack and slashy…
    As you progress through the game and level up you unlock new abilities, moves and magic to eventually be able to roll, block, counter attack, heal yourself, use fire attacks.. Just to name a few…
    And Donald and goofy have their own sets of abilities and moves they learn that can be managed in menu…
    They feel pretty useless in battle though...
    Im not sure if they get better or worse in easy or hard difficulty... but in the default difficulty they feel like theyre just there to be there…
    They have no concept of strategf programmed into them which is frustrated when dealing with shielded enemies or bosses…
    They die frequently... but thankfully do heal after a while or you can use items in battle to heal them yourself…
    You can also use sumons to call in the most fierce characters in Disney history like simba or bambi to take their place for a few seconds to offer support…
    And I cant not mention the annoying ship sections in between worlds…
    Theyre not fun… and I hope theyre gone in future titles…
    Kingdom Hearts feels like it drags on forever with its reliance on back tracking..
    But if you’re a Disney fan it’s still a pretty cool experience, taking on your favorite bad guys, meeting your favorite heroes, getting new weapons as you save their world, and helping restore balance...
    I Give Kindgom Hearts a
    7.5/10    … Expand
  2. WheelzFourReelz
    Dec 30, 2014
    8
    Kingdom Hearts is a very charming beat-em-up that has a lot of fun with its Disney worlds and overly cheesy story. It's flaws are that the game does get tedious after a little bit and the camera is pretty bad. But if you can overlook that, this is a great game.
  3. UltraTektite
    Jul 2, 2016
    8
    Kingdom Hearts is an amazing concept that is amazingly executed. When I first heard about a Final Fantasy crossover with Disney, I thought... well, I wasn't really sure what to think, but what I am sure of is that this game turned out excellent. The combat works extremely well, the rpg elements are simple but well executed, and the graphics are on par for a PS2 game. In addition, theKingdom Hearts is an amazing concept that is amazingly executed. When I first heard about a Final Fantasy crossover with Disney, I thought... well, I wasn't really sure what to think, but what I am sure of is that this game turned out excellent. The combat works extremely well, the rpg elements are simple but well executed, and the graphics are on par for a PS2 game. In addition, the touching storyline is like no other, and the beautiful soundtrack is some of the best I've heard in a game. All that being said, however, the game is not without its flaws. For starters, the Gummi Ship parts are a pain. These low-quality railshooter portions of the game aren't challenging in the slightest, and they feel like a waste of disc space. In addition, there are many tight platforming sequences in the game that don't fit the game's loose platforming mechanics, showing some overambitious game design. Also, the camera is terrible, and objectives can be overly cryptic. But these shortcomings aside, Kingdom Hearts is a magical experience that should be enjoyed by all.… Expand
  4. AriseAndBe
    Aug 5, 2015
    8
    Whilst suffering from poor platforming, this game perfectly combines two major franchises into what can only be described as an extremely enjoyable experience.
  5. ExtaticGamer
    Sep 13, 2016
    8
    Recently got back into this game. It holds up surprisingly well. At this point in the series the story wasn't completely bonkers yet, the characters are quirky and interesting, character progression is immersive. It's just as magical and engaging as it was back in '02. Yes, rotating the camera with the L2 and R2 buttons was an outdated control method even back when the game came out, andRecently got back into this game. It holds up surprisingly well. At this point in the series the story wasn't completely bonkers yet, the characters are quirky and interesting, character progression is immersive. It's just as magical and engaging as it was back in '02. Yes, rotating the camera with the L2 and R2 buttons was an outdated control method even back when the game came out, and battling can grow repetitive after a while, but the hectic nature of the battling is taxing and always demands your attention so it never grows completely stale. Plus, battling simply is a huge part of RPGs so this shouldn't be a dealbreaker. If you're a fan of RPGs you owe it to yourself to play Kingdom Hearts.… Expand
  6. artificeprime
    Apr 14, 2018
    8
    Kingdom Hearts succeeds by telling its own emotional story while transporting you to familiar worlds with iconic characters. It provides a huge variety of fun gameplay experiences that all tie into a story that is surprisingly pretty good. I am a big fan of Final Fantasy and Disney. I have seen every Disney animated movie and played most of the Final Fantasy games but I hate the idea ofKingdom Hearts succeeds by telling its own emotional story while transporting you to familiar worlds with iconic characters. It provides a huge variety of fun gameplay experiences that all tie into a story that is surprisingly pretty good. I am a big fan of Final Fantasy and Disney. I have seen every Disney animated movie and played most of the Final Fantasy games but I hate the idea of combining the two. I hate cross-overs in general. To me it just kills any sense of believability. I honestly think Kingdom Hearts would be a better game if it was just its own thing with all original characters. With that said, I think it does a good job of blending the worlds together in an interesting way. I didn't start out loving Kingdom Hearts. I thought the concept was ridiculous and I found the controls and menus counter-intuitive at first. As it progressed though I quickly found myself getting more immersed in the story and world. The gameplay also got progressively better the further I got. It isn't perfect by a long shot but it delivers on its promise of giving a heart filled journey through magical Disney worlds with Final Fantasy lore and style. That is a tall order so it deserves a lot of credit for pulling it off.

    I give it 80%

    Gameplay 8 - While the controls lack precision and menus are convoluted, there is a huge variety of fun gameplay. It is a great blend of platforming, combat, exploration and problem solving. Every world offers unique puzzles and challenges. The boss battles are mostly excellent and combat becomes more rewarding as you unlock new abilities.

    Story/Progression 6 - The story is definitely convoluted and the Disney plots are basically just dumbed down rehashes of the movie plots but the overarching plot is quite interesting. Once you get past the surface there is quite a bit of depth and lore. The game does a good job of introducing new ideas and plot elements at a good pace and I rarely felt bored. Its a confusing story that is far from being air tight but its a fun adventure that captures the essence of Disney and Final Fantasy games. The story is still much weaker than most Final Fantasy games though.

    World 8 - While I was a bit disappointed by how small each of the Disney worlds was, combined they make up a very big world and there is a lot of variety between them all. Every place offered something new and fun to experience. There are tons of secrets and as you gain more abilities, exploration becomes more fun.

    Characters 6 - The characters are likable and memorable but they are pretty simplistic. Sora is a pretty standard good intention-ed protagonist he evolves a bit but not a lot. Riku is a standard rival. Kairi is the damsel in distress. They all get moments to shine and I liked them fine but they could have had a lot more development. The Disney and Final Fantasy characters are all paper thin. They are basically very basic versions of themselves.

    Visuals 9 - The visual design is mostly excellent. The style is a really nice blend between Final Fantasy and Disney. It captures both in essence but still has a style of its own. My only problem with the visuals is that some of the locations were bland looking. The gummy ship sections also looked awful. Overall though it is a very good looking game with a memorable style that does service to its sources in both franchises.

    Sound Design 9 - The soundtrack is mostly great with memorable theme songs. Some of the world music I found a bit underwhelming but mostly it was fine. The voice acting was good all around. Most of the Disney voices fit the characters quite closely and the new character voices were almost all appealing. Sound affects were good, not the best but they worked well enough.

    Uniqueness/Ideas 8 - Surprisingly there are a lot of good unique ideas. The idea of the Keyblade is a really iconic and makes sense within the story. The idea of the Heartless is also good and fits in well with both Disney and Final Fantasy. There are little things as well such as the way characters and worlds connect to each other that are quite interesting. The way the princesses are used in the story is an interesting idea. There are some really weird ideas like the gummy ships and such but even that has some thought put into it which can be discovered through books in the game. The ideas aren't on par with the better Final Fantasy games but they are still good for what the story is. As weird as the story is I give the creators credit for blending their new ideas into the story fairly well.

    Length/Amount of Content 9 - I put in around 50 hours to complete the main story of the game and some of the side content. The worlds are small but there are 13 worlds and many bosses. There is also a lot of quality optional content.

    Immersion 8 - It took me a bit of time to get into the game but after a few hours I was hooked and rarely wanted to stop playing. There are some boring areas but enough to hold interest.    … Expand
  7. weskergamer
    Mar 12, 2018
    8
    Amo este juego, es uno de los pocos jrpg me gustan. Solamente le critico q la historia es un poco rara, en especial el final. Pero igual es un gran gran gran juego
  8. aditya1101
    Oct 6, 2017
    8
    It has its flaws, and it's hard to say that it's really exemplary in most of the typical ways that games are good. But it's still one of my favorite games of all time for two major reasons. First is that the cast of characters that Kingdom Hearts is able to amass is almost unrivaled across video games - I can't think of another game that blends so many different, well-known charactersIt has its flaws, and it's hard to say that it's really exemplary in most of the typical ways that games are good. But it's still one of my favorite games of all time for two major reasons. First is that the cast of characters that Kingdom Hearts is able to amass is almost unrivaled across video games - I can't think of another game that blends so many different, well-known characters together in the same world so seamlessly. But most importantly, Kingdom Hearts just feels so good to play. It's not the most complicated battling by any means (though it's certainly not easy either!), but its unique brand of hack and slash combo'ing just makes everything you do feel super badass.… Expand
  9. Sebascr12
    Nov 23, 2018
    8
    The combat is ok, nothing special but work fine. The history have some cringe moments but after all is nice to see this characters, interact with each other. The platform parts are bad and feel awkward. The soundtrack is awesome...
  10. Toastclaimer
    Feb 20, 2018
    8
    It's combat hasn't aged perfectly, the plot can be a bit by-the-books and the difficulty spikes like a rocky sales chart but original KH is still a fantastic game. This is not the way to play it as the updated release; despite bugs adds new graphics and features
  11. dggt
    Jul 10, 2019
    8
    Great game, but it have one annoying problem, game doesn't f*ing tells you where you need to go and what you need to do, no map, no waypoins, no current objective. You are needed to look in to every corner (with infinite spawning enemies). You can't skip cutscenes, even after the game is finished, i want to see how much time i spend on it or play after ending, i only see inscription "TheGreat game, but it have one annoying problem, game doesn't f*ing tells you where you need to go and what you need to do, no map, no waypoins, no current objective. You are needed to look in to every corner (with infinite spawning enemies). You can't skip cutscenes, even after the game is finished, i want to see how much time i spend on it or play after ending, i only see inscription "The End", and can't do anything, i can only turn off console. These are trivial things, but if you sum up this that's a problem.… Expand
  12. maturene
    Dec 22, 2018
    8
    Luego escribo una review desas que ahora mismo me da pereza y tal. me cagoento
  13. Eseka_M
    Jan 3, 2019
    8
    Kingdom Hearts es un muy buen juego para su época, por eso esta review va a ir enfocada a esos años entre 2002-2006. Lo primero que hay que destacar es los buenos gráficos que tiene, comparandolo con otros juegos de esos años, Kingdom Hearts explotaba al máximo la capacidad de la PS2. Una de las BSO más increibles en todos los videojuegos que hace que el juego sea mucho más ameno y dan másKingdom Hearts es un muy buen juego para su época, por eso esta review va a ir enfocada a esos años entre 2002-2006. Lo primero que hay que destacar es los buenos gráficos que tiene, comparandolo con otros juegos de esos años, Kingdom Hearts explotaba al máximo la capacidad de la PS2. Una de las BSO más increibles en todos los videojuegos que hace que el juego sea mucho más ameno y dan más ganas de estar atento. Un sistema de combate bastante fluido con el gran defecto de la cámara, que imposibilita mucho al jugador y es realmente una molestia cuando el sistema de combate está tan elaborado, una pena. El diseño de los personajes y de los mundos originales me parece una pasada, sobretodo de sincorazones como el Invisible, Bégimo o Defensor. La historia es aceptable, es un juego que esta destinado a un público bastante joven por lo que cae en algunos clichés y no da rienda suelta a toda la imaginacion que puede tener un guionista aunque pese a esto se le coge un cariño especial a la historia y a veces es incluso arriesgada como por ejemplo cuando (SPOILER) Sora decide clavarse la llave espada para sacar el corazón de Kairi,

    En líneas generales es un gran juego aunque para un público determinado y he de decir que el juego envejece muy mal asi que no hay que crearse grandes expectativas al leer la review.    … Expand
  14. MarioneteGaming
    Feb 13, 2020
    8
    I absolutely loved this game even though i was too new to the series in 2020 but it still holds up today but the game has some flaws like most of the time you dont know where to go and it has lots of puzzles, i do like puzzles for the challenge but some of them are WAY too confusing and complicated but its sstill considered to be one of the best game on ps2
  15. HylianBran12
    Jun 11, 2020
    8
    Kingdom Hearts' mix of Disney and Square may make it odd and strange to approach for some, but that doesn't stop it from being a great game. The combat is fluid and streamlined, giving the player enough tools to give them a diverse arsenal, while never overwhelming the player. The gameplay also allows for various play styles, enhancing replayablity. The presentation is over the top asKingdom Hearts' mix of Disney and Square may make it odd and strange to approach for some, but that doesn't stop it from being a great game. The combat is fluid and streamlined, giving the player enough tools to give them a diverse arsenal, while never overwhelming the player. The gameplay also allows for various play styles, enhancing replayablity. The presentation is over the top as well, with this being one of the best looking PlayStation 2 titles, only hampered by the lack of 480p Progressive Scan support. The soundtrack is also absolutely fantastic, although my lack of musical expertise prevents me from articulating why. The plot is also great, delivering fun set-pieces, engaging conflicts, and memorable characters with clear and potentially relatable motivations. The relationships between the characters in particular really deliver impactful and emotional scenes that will stick with you forever. Despite all this, the game is definitely dated. While the controls are great for combat, they quickly go down the **** when the game decides to attempt platforming, and is awkward every single time. The stage "Deep Jungle" suffers especially from this, along with it also highlighting the awkward, confusing, and sometimes even downright poor design of some stages. The game is also hampered by a piss poor camera, which is always zoomed in way too much, and gets caught on everything. The player can't fix most of this manually, either, as camera control is mapped to L2 and R2. The "Gummi Ship" missions in between stages also drag down the pace, as they are painfully simple, boring, long, and lacking in any sort of mechanical challenge. Even with all that, however, Kingdom Hearts is still a wonderful action RPG, and well worth your time. I recommend the Final Mix version on the PS3 collection Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix, or even better, the version on the PS4 or Xbox One, contained on Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 25 ReMix.… Expand
  16. ZeroBacon
    Sep 3, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Kingdom Hearts is a great game, but it has some flaws with EVERY world. Traverse Town is too empty. Wonderland is boring to look at. Olympus Colosseum is just an enemy gauntlet. Deep jungle’s vine physics are annoying. Agrabah is just platforming, and platforming is not one of the game’s strong points. Halloween town could’ve been better. Monstrous is much like Jabu jabu’s belly, boring and disgusting. Atlantica is atlantica. Never land has so much missed potential. Hollow Bastion is fine, and 100 acre wood is just a bunch of boring mini games, not to mention that the combat is a bit aged as well. All tat aside, it’s still worth every penny, and the music is phenomenal.… Expand
  17. genesisdoes
    Oct 2, 2020
    8
    Kingdom Hearts is quite the unique game, linking the two beloved worlds of Final Fantasy and Disney. Despite neither catching very much of my interest throughout my life, I always had a fondness for Kingdom Hearts. Its a very nostalgic property for me. I used to play KH1 and KH2 a lot as a child but never got very far, always getting stuck due to difficulty or lack of knowledge as to whereKingdom Hearts is quite the unique game, linking the two beloved worlds of Final Fantasy and Disney. Despite neither catching very much of my interest throughout my life, I always had a fondness for Kingdom Hearts. Its a very nostalgic property for me. I used to play KH1 and KH2 a lot as a child but never got very far, always getting stuck due to difficulty or lack of knowledge as to where to go next. I finally decided I would stay dedicated and play through the whole game.

    Despite what most fans will tell you about the controls being outdated and future games being generally better experiences, I still had a lot of fun with Kingdom Hearts. It was pretty difficult at times, especially with the final boss but I managed to get through it on normal difficulty. I've played through most of KH2 at the time of me writing this (November 2019) but I'm stuck on the Roxas battle. Even without having completed it, I definitely prefer the sequel for it's improved gameplay and more interesting worlds to explore. Regardless, the original is still very much worth playing.
    I beat this game in February of 2019.    … Expand
  18. Xrayplayer
    Oct 16, 2020
    8
    Kingdom hearts is a great game but far from perfect.

    the camera can be uncooperative the combat machines can get repetitive at times in the first half of the game. But in the second half there's a handful of upgrades to your abilities there's nice amount of depth to your arsenal you can get a lot of Useful items and magical powers and your party members can also be helpful... the battles    Kingdom hearts is a great game but far from perfect.

    the camera can be uncooperative the combat machines can get repetitive at times in the first half of the game.

    But in the second half there's a handful of upgrades to your abilities there's nice amount of depth to your arsenal you can get a lot of Useful items and magical powers and your party members can also be helpful... the battles themselves are so much fun and the bosses are some of best thing the game can offer they're challenging in good way and required some serious skills to win and it feels so rewarding when you win and you get better and better at this game.

    the biggest flaw in the game are the unskippable cutscenes it's so annoying especially during the hardest boss battles after you die you need to rewatch them again.

    it's easy to get lost in some of the levels so you need to pay attention to the story.. the story is great I love the characters and the plot and the Disney worlds are great they are well designed with catchy and amazing soundtrack.    … Expand
  19. yBazara
    Jun 18, 2021
    8
    [ENG] I really liked this game, despite having some ''bad'' graphics for the ''nowadays'' time, I got used to the graphics, and what impressed me was the great story developed about friendship, companionship and adventure, I found the game very difficult when fighting the bosses, but it was a very fun challenge, I recommend it a lot

    [PT-BR] Gostei muito desse jogo, apesar de ter uns    [ENG] I really liked this game, despite having some ''bad'' graphics for the ''nowadays'' time, I got used to the graphics, and what impressed me was the great story developed about friendship, companionship and adventure, I found the game very difficult when fighting the bosses, but it was a very fun challenge, I recommend it a lot

    [PT-BR] Gostei muito desse jogo, apesar de ter uns gráficos um pouco ''ruim'' para a época de ''hoje em dia'' eu me acostumei com os gráficos, e o que me impressionou foi a ótima história desenvolvida sobre amizade, companherismo e aventura, achei o jogo bem difícil na luta contra os bosses, mas foi um desafio muito divertido, recomendo demais    … Expand
  20. Frosstype
    Oct 28, 2021
    8
    The 3rd best KH game behind KH2 and KH3:ReMind and those two for me is 2 of best games of all time! KH1 is not one of the best games for me but it doesn't mean its not amazing! It's the origin of the franchise which gives it a lot of respect for it but gameplay is lacking in a lot of ways with several rough edges.
  21. Zer0xl
    Nov 20, 2021
    8
    The quality in kh1 is very good, the combat is rough after you play the next numbered games, but it's not bad, and it didn't aged poorly.

    The Pacing is Very good, every disney world feels connected to the whole plot.

    I still prefer 2 slightly, but they are in the same spot in my Kingdom hearts Tier list.
  22. Mr_Fish
    Jun 15, 2022
    8
    even on a first playthrough there's something about this game that just feels nostalgic
  23. Diaboliste
    Jun 4, 2022
    8
    the best game ps2 graphics good level design good scenario taking a secret cutscene for regular players too bad there are only disney worlds and not final fantasy
  24. MacArron23
    May 15, 2023
    8
    Nostalgia User, as good as i remembered
    ......................................
  25. Unemportant
    Feb 9, 2023
    8
    One of my first games and it still holds up as an absolute classics. Say what you will about the series it clearly started out pretty strong.
  26. CharlotteBelmon
    Sep 4, 2023
    8
    For its first outing, Kingdom Hearts is a great game, and in a bubble, an amazing game of its era. Despite being one of, if not the weirdest mashups in gaming, Final Fantasy and Disney (although more leaning on the Disney side of things for the first game), Kingdom Hearts strangely works. The game, as well as its main original characters, strike a good balance between the two seeminglyFor its first outing, Kingdom Hearts is a great game, and in a bubble, an amazing game of its era. Despite being one of, if not the weirdest mashups in gaming, Final Fantasy and Disney (although more leaning on the Disney side of things for the first game), Kingdom Hearts strangely works. The game, as well as its main original characters, strike a good balance between the two seemingly clashing art and writing directions of its creators, with Disney's whimsy and childlike adventurousness and Final Fantasy taking care of the serious and more engaging parts of the story.

    Speaking of the story, the first game in the series is a lot lighter than the rest of the franchise, which came as a bit of a shock to me, as you always here horror stories about Kingdom Hearts' convoluted story, which is what made me pick up the 1.5 + 2.5 HD Collection on Ps4 (In case you're wondering, the HD remakes are the way to go with this game. Better graphics, more moves that make the game less frustrating and more fun). The story has main protagonist Sora going on an adventure with Disney's Donald and Goofy throughout various classic Disney films, such as Hercules, Peter Pan, Aladdin and more in order to find and save his friends Riku and Kairi, all of which were separated due to mysterious shadow monsters called the Heartless. On top of this, Sora can wield the magical Keyblade, a key shaped sword that can rid the Heartless for good. Like I said, its a lot simpler than the rest of the franchise, but it just about kept me interested until the end. Emphasis on the "just about", as the story tends to take a backseat during most of the Disney worlds, where Sora goes about helping the characters from the films in their on condensed story, some original to Kingdom Hearts, and some just straight up being the films they're based on. Its alright for a first game, but nothing ground-breaking or incredibly interesting until the later parts of the game.

    Gameplay-wise, the combat is quite fun. Sora can attack with his Keyblade in melee combat, or use it to cast classic Final Fantasy spells. This being said, I never really used the spells except for the first couple of times using them. This was when I realised that the offensive spells are very underwhelming, and not worth using when you could use your MP for healing or protective spells, or your time going up to the enemy and using the Keyblade. Melee is really the only way to go. There are also various summons you can use. Summons are unlockable moves where Sora calls upon a Disney character and they help out in the fight, such as Simba from the Lion King attack enemies with his roar, or Tinkerbell providing continuous healing. I used these moves every now and again, as they require having Donald and Goofy as party members, which means giving up having the Disney character from the world your in, which is a shame because they don't show up again after completing the world. As a whole, the gameplay is fine, just feels slightly dated in some parts.

    In conclusion, Kingdom Hearts is a game worth your time, and definitely a must play. While it pales in comparison to other games in the series, it still just about holds up today as a legendary start to a legendary franchise. Stick with the game and the series as a whole, and you'll find a new obsession that you will not regret.    … Expand
  27. Gonyaestaba
    Jul 20, 2023
    8
    Despite the fact that Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite games, it is undeniable to say that it has some flaws such as the camera that sometimes does not work quite right, another flaw is the script which is good for the game but compared to the following games it is much simpler than the following although despite these flaws that I have just mentioned, it does not mean that you do notDespite the fact that Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite games, it is undeniable to say that it has some flaws such as the camera that sometimes does not work quite right, another flaw is the script which is good for the game but compared to the following games it is much simpler than the following although despite these flaws that I have just mentioned, it does not mean that you do not have fun with this game and also note that there are many details… Expand
  28. llamayarmybar
    Jul 21, 2011
    7
    At the least- a very uneven game. At the worst? A decent game accompanied by a terrible fan-base full of weird Disney-anime obsessed pasty white tweens that either like the game because it has flashy colors in it- or attempt to justify it as a "deep action rpg with meaningful dialog between a child with gravity defying hair and micky mouse." It has its merits and it also has its boringAt the least- a very uneven game. At the worst? A decent game accompanied by a terrible fan-base full of weird Disney-anime obsessed pasty white tweens that either like the game because it has flashy colors in it- or attempt to justify it as a "deep action rpg with meaningful dialog between a child with gravity defying hair and micky mouse." It has its merits and it also has its boring segments that shouldn't even be in the game. Goofy and Donald duck are an odd duo here and anybody will admit that the melding is a bit strange. The enormous amount of licensed Disney characters included- as well as the lack of original or even "sound-alike" voice actors tells me that this wasn't really a big deal to Disney. They probably knew they could market the crap out this game without even trying: "Final fantasy and disney characters? Kids will eat that **** up!" Thusly Kingdom Hearts was born. Then their was that retarded (but we all loved it) trailer on TV with that catchy 10 seconds of some Japanese song that had been dubbed for the commercial and everyone was suddenly entranced. Its kind of like Pokemon in a way.. even though we get older and stop playing it (most of the sane ones anyway) they keep making them for nostalgic factor. Thats why this game succeeded. No shame in hiding that truth.… Expand
  29. doodlerman
    Jun 12, 2011
    7
    It kinda grows tedious after a while, but to say that this isn't a decent game is a bit much. The very beginning of the game is extremely boring, but as you get further along it gets much better. Even if it didn't have the involvement of Disney characters but still followed its same basic story this would be a good game, but having DIsney characters and the Disney world makes this gameIt kinda grows tedious after a while, but to say that this isn't a decent game is a bit much. The very beginning of the game is extremely boring, but as you get further along it gets much better. Even if it didn't have the involvement of Disney characters but still followed its same basic story this would be a good game, but having DIsney characters and the Disney world makes this game pretty unique and a whole lot of fun. It's great to see some of your favorite movies and characters and have them as their own worlds that you can explore (it's not necessarily open world, but it's good enough).… Expand
  30. Caestus
    Mar 14, 2013
    7
    Better then average RPG, which profits from the Disney and Final Fantasy Characters with a disapointing and way to simple battle system. Story is just absurd.
  31. ninja_dolphin
    Feb 9, 2013
    7
    This game while revolutionary is flawed and hasn't aged very well. The camera is not the best to start with and the gummi ship portions were boring and there was a little too much focus put on them. There are also unskippable cutscenes, which mixed with punishing difficulty spikes for boss battles will have you prepared to throw your playstation out the window. The idea of the game is veryThis game while revolutionary is flawed and hasn't aged very well. The camera is not the best to start with and the gummi ship portions were boring and there was a little too much focus put on them. There are also unskippable cutscenes, which mixed with punishing difficulty spikes for boss battles will have you prepared to throw your playstation out the window. The idea of the game is very inventive however and visiting the disney worlds feels magical. The combat is a little shallow but fun and as I previously mentioned the difficulty spikes are annoying.… Expand
  32. smaugrens
    Dec 26, 2014
    7
    Just finished this game, 12 years after its release. It's definitely not what a lot of fanboys make it out to be. The story is ok, slightly emotional but nothing that would bring one to tears.

    The camera had me tearing my hair out. Gameplay is repetitious and often simply not fun. The (highest) difficulty was uneven through parts of the game and at times required level grinding.    Just finished this game, 12 years after its release. It's definitely not what a lot of fanboys make it out to be. The story is ok, slightly emotional but nothing that would bring one to tears.

    The camera had me tearing my hair out. Gameplay is repetitious and often simply not fun. The (highest) difficulty was uneven through parts of the game and at times required level grinding.

    I will admit, being able to party up with familiar Disney characters is pretty cool. The graphics for their time look very good. Voice casting is excellent, though the dialog at times leaves something to be desired.

    Even with all the negatives I plan to play through the sequel. Just don't go into the game expecting to have your mind blown.    … Expand
  33. geo333
    Apr 21, 2023
    7
    This game is the second kingdom hearts i played and its feel small compare to the rest of the games of the series but knowing it was the beginning i give it a pass, overall a good start to a successful franchise and music as well.
  34. MNNice
    Mar 24, 2023
    7
    Really fun game. Definitely has its flaws. Kingdom Hearts is an Action-Adventure RPG set in the worlds of Disney settings and characters while also mixing in with some Final Fantasy characters.
    I had a ton of fun with this game. Some abilities I never used. I love that you get different "Keyblades". The story is kinda corny with it's "friends forever and friends do anything for each other    Really fun game. Definitely has its flaws. Kingdom Hearts is an Action-Adventure RPG set in the worlds of Disney settings and characters while also mixing in with some Final Fantasy characters.
    I had a ton of fun with this game. Some abilities I never used. I love that you get different "Keyblades". The story is kinda corny with it's "friends forever and friends do anything for each other and we will be evil with the power of FRIENDSHIP".
    If you can I'd play this on the KH 1.5+2.5 ReMIX. Basically remastered for PS4 & Xbox One.
    7.3/10    … Expand
  35. senblade
    Oct 7, 2019
    7
    Удивительная и умилительная коллаборация между FF и Disney. Поразительно, что механически игра до сих пор не особо устарела, и предлагает игроку более динамичный и качественно реализованный геймплей, чем в более свежих жрпг уровня серии Tales. Сюжет хоть детский и наивный, но заставляет игрока проникаться историей Соры, Рику и Кайри. Kingdom Hearts - отличный представитель жанра и одна изУдивительная и умилительная коллаборация между FF и Disney. Поразительно, что механически игра до сих пор не особо устарела, и предлагает игроку более динамичный и качественно реализованный геймплей, чем в более свежих жрпг уровня серии Tales. Сюжет хоть детский и наивный, но заставляет игрока проникаться историей Соры, Рику и Кайри. Kingdom Hearts - отличный представитель жанра и одна из самых ярких игровых серий.… Expand
  36. MrSirPerson
    Apr 24, 2020
    7
    It's hard to describe my feelings on this game. I had a weird play order, where I played KHII and watched 358/2 Days, then came back and played this. While I did have quite a bit of legitimate fun playing this, and did want to keep coming back, I also had quite a few problems.
    The story holds up pretty okay. It has clear plot points, it's pretty cohesive, and isn't a complicated as later    It's hard to describe my feelings on this game. I had a weird play order, where I played KHII and watched 358/2 Days, then came back and played this. While I did have quite a bit of legitimate fun playing this, and did want to keep coming back, I also had quite a few problems.
    The story holds up pretty okay. It has clear plot points, it's pretty cohesive, and isn't a complicated as later Kingdom Hearts Installments. I would say the voice acting hasn't held up the best, but it isn't the kind of acting that makes you want to rip your ears off. The graphics are good for being a PS2 game, but the facial animations are a weird mixed bag. Sometimes, they look great in cutscenes and are very expressive. However, half the time they have this weird flat model for the face where the mouth moves in one way the entire time, and it isn't nice to look at. This is a problem that would continue to plague the series for some time.
    The world design is where almost all the problems I have originate from. In some ways, they're better than the other worlds from other games, seeing how they have a level or verticality not found in other games. Birth By Sleep, for example, has very bland and empty worlds that really only function as a backdrop to Unversed fights and some chests. It's not necessarily bad, just not overly interesting. The reason Kingdom Hearts' worlds have so many problems is the lack of direction. There's no minimap, so finding your way around some worlds at first is a bit of a nightmare. However, there's more to it. Most of the time, you don't have a clear objective. Disney character dialogue can help a little, but prepare to spend a lot of time wandering around until you either A. Give up, B. Find where you were supposed to go by accident, C. Look up a guide, or D. you've played the game before and know where to go. The Jungle for Tarzan is infamous for being confusing and vague, in particular.
    The combat, though slow and shallow, is pretty fun. Your moves have a weightiness to them, which is always good, and the more skills you get, the more stylish it gets, though it never matches the combat of Kingdom Hearts II. However, Square-Enix did not design every enemy around this combat system very well. The biggest grievance here is the heartless in the End of the World, the final level of the game. The heartless specific to that area are fast, hit hard, and have a wide variety of attacks. It would be a fair challenge if it was just those things, but they also have long periods of invincibility frames, meaning you might attack one multiple times, but they all bounce off, and while you try to work your way around that, at least two others attack from behind. You can't make invincible fast enemies if your combat is slower and more methodical.
    It would seem that with this many flaws, this would deserve a much lower score. However, as some other reviewers have pointed out, this game has a certain charm to it that is hard to describe. The core of this game is so magical, so lighthearted, that even with it's many shortcomings, it keeps you coming back for more. This was a good foundation for a series that (mostly) would continue to fix mistakes of the past games.    … Expand
  37. tadnid
    Mar 15, 2022
    7
    PS4 version here. Good game but sometimes frustrating, probably due to its age. Sometimes you don't know where to go and keep moving at random between the rooms to advance the story. Endless waves of heartless can also be tedious. Still, good game. Don't think it's an easy one because of the Disney characters, I found it more difficult than most of the final fantasy I played.
  38. Dantheman707
    Jun 29, 2020
    7
    Kingdom Hearts is a great game. With decent combat and a great story you are sure to have a good time with this game.
  39. Domdom21br
    Aug 7, 2022
    7
    eu não gosto tanto desse kingdom hearts, prefiro o 2, porém não faz feio embora não faça nada de espetacular igual ao 2 além de que eu prefiro a jogabilidade do 2 e do birth by sleep mas esse jogo me deixou feliz
  40. kingdomhearts
    Aug 25, 2009
    6
    This game had a good concept and almost good controls, except for the horrible camera views, and the x-button mashing. If you try to turn one way to see something, you have to walk forwards or backwards, ending usually in you falling off wherever you are. If you try to make up the button mashing with magic, you run out of MP very fast, and the only way to recharge it is either more This game had a good concept and almost good controls, except for the horrible camera views, and the x-button mashing. If you try to turn one way to see something, you have to walk forwards or backwards, ending usually in you falling off wherever you are. If you try to make up the button mashing with magic, you run out of MP very fast, and the only way to recharge it is either more button-mashing or an elixir/ether which are both pains to use because you have to take the time to scroll down and select items, and select what you want to use. In a boss battle, this can be very ineffective. The game also encourages you to buy the guide, because in many places, it leaves you off with a random start. I like the fact, however, that you could decide between Atlantis and Halloweentown, as Atlantis was both incredibly hard, and had horrible controls. Also, if you wanted to repeat the game in a relatively fast time, there is no way to get past the hours and hours of cutscenes.… Expand
  41. TheQuietGamer
    Jan 3, 2011
    6
    Kingdom Hearts had some really good things going for it but in the end it just ended up being an ok game, graphics do show age, voice acting is hit or miss (mostly miss), although it does have an amazing soundtrack, the story is EXTREMELY poorly written and really difficult to follow and when it's not that it's garbage, you'll see famous Disney and Final Fantasy characters and not know (orKingdom Hearts had some really good things going for it but in the end it just ended up being an ok game, graphics do show age, voice acting is hit or miss (mostly miss), although it does have an amazing soundtrack, the story is EXTREMELY poorly written and really difficult to follow and when it's not that it's garbage, you'll see famous Disney and Final Fantasy characters and not know (or care) why they are there, gameplay is the games strong point it's controls are good, but you'll mostly just use them for button mashing, and it's hard to get to your spells and potions, it can be a real challenge at times which is a good thing, but the hardest enemy you will fight is the camera which will rarely work with you, all in all it's not the best game out there but if you are willing to overlook these flaws, and are a huge Disney or Final Fantasy fan, and you like the cheesy plots about darkness and love that you will only find in a Anime straight out of Japan, you will find a fun experience.… Expand
  42. BedhedEdWed
    Nov 22, 2017
    6
    Kingdom Hearts is a game--a somewhat functional game with Disney and Final Fantasy characters. That is all the good things that I can say about it. The game has one of the worst cameras of all time. The combat is just mashing x over and over again. The difficulty is extremely inconsistent; 90% is button mashing, but then you have to strategize. You aren't prepared for that because the restKingdom Hearts is a game--a somewhat functional game with Disney and Final Fantasy characters. That is all the good things that I can say about it. The game has one of the worst cameras of all time. The combat is just mashing x over and over again. The difficulty is extremely inconsistent; 90% is button mashing, but then you have to strategize. You aren't prepared for that because the rest of the game is so easy. The only reason you will ever die is because you were trying to heal and got hit. The level design is horrible. The boss fights are atrocious, specifically Cerberus, Ursula, and Ansem. The end of the game is ridiculously hard unless you do some side-quests, with 15-minute enemy gauntlets that you have to start all over if you die. The story is uninteresting. Mediocre game.… Expand
  43. Aqwin
    Mar 2, 2019
    6
    I don’t have nostalgia for this game but I do love the concept of Final Fantasy meets Disney. And that is why I wanted to play this game.

    Game was relatively simple being a button mashing games and there were many moments of cringe dialogue but it somehow all worked. The series definitely can be better with some tweaking of gameplay and less cringe.
  44. superpyro296
    Nov 11, 2021
    6
    That was my first Kingdom Hearts game and I can say that it was good enough, especially for a 2002 game. I will certainly play KH2 and KH3. I give this game a 6,4/10 rating.

    Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG that mixes Final Fantasy and Disney. I really appreciated to see different Disney worlds with unique features. I think also some worlds are really well done and the exploration part    That was my first Kingdom Hearts game and I can say that it was good enough, especially for a 2002 game. I will certainly play KH2 and KH3. I give this game a 6,4/10 rating.

    Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG that mixes Final Fantasy and Disney. I really appreciated to see different Disney worlds with unique features. I think also some worlds are really well done and the exploration part can be interesting for a few of those worlds. However, here is the less good about this game:

    1. The camera is bad and it will have a negative impact on the combat
    2. The combat is really clunky in general which is a difficulty factor to consider
    3. Some worlds are ugly. I almost quitted the game when I was in the jungle world
    4. At times, game is not intuitive and you don't know where to go
    5. There are giant difficulty spikes near the end which I wasn't prepared for...(See my recommendations in the end of this review)
    6. Story is average, a bit shallow...Don't expect something like Final Fantasy

    However, I still had a good time with this game. If you want to take full advantage of this game and has a smooth experience, you can consider my recommendations:

    1. Don't rush the game ! For exemple, if you finish a world, take the time to revisit the previous worlds and grind a few levels. You will also have the opportinity to unlock new areas or open new chests

    2. There is an important difficulty spike for the last world. Be sure to do a lot of optional content (upgrade all your abilities, find all the dalmatians, synthesise more items, etc...)

    3. Don't bother with the Gummi ship garage...I didn't find this part relevant
    4. Do your first playthrough on normal difficulty (Like I said, bad controls is a difficulty factor)
    5. Take this game for what it is. It has important flaws but has something unique. Personnaly, it reminded me of my childhood and great Disney movies.    … Expand
  45. WolfWorks
    Jul 5, 2020
    6
    If you like a game in which you can travel the worlds of Disney, with clumsy controls, clumsy camera, confusing story but with good voice acting and good music, this is your game.
  46. BEEGBOS
    Nov 15, 2020
    6
    Exploration is dull and boring with hardly any directions given, combat is slow and time-consuming and while the story is good, its not enough to make you want to play this game. Buy this game only if youre 100% sure you want to see what kingdom hearts's story is all about. Not if you want to play for the gameplay.
  47. ND-Bringer
    Feb 1, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The incredible Disney movie crossover, adventure series has brought a lot of joy to people over the years. Though while looking back at the original version of the first game, things didn't exactly start with rainbows and gumdrops. While adjusting to the original controls, I now noticed how polished the sequel really was. Kingdom Hearts One is a fine game and all, but a little dated nowadays, regarding the level design.

    Compared to Kingdom Hearts 2, the levels feel more cramped and uncomfortable to explore, making platforming a little awkward at times. For instance, in the Tarzan level, it's really easy to get lost with all the similar looking jungle terrain. It's really easy to miss platforms with the stiff control and lid you fall down from the tree tops, you have walk all the way back to try again.

    I can't be too upset, after all it was the first Kingdom Hearts game, and the majority of the popular issues were already fixed years ago in the sequels. But for all those players who have never played the first game before, you're in for a tricky time. This game, for being a rated E game, its incredibly difficult. Not unfair, but a little uncomfortable for less experienced players. The heartless are constantly on the hunt for you, filling up large rooms hoping to swarm you.

    Make sure to stock up on plenty of potions for all your party to use, because if you try to rush through levels, their's a good a chance you'll get destroyed by a surprise attack. And its also really easy to get hit in water and sky boss fights, so if you're going for a reckless approach in your battles, you need to be ready to recover from those wounds.

    I say this because I still recommend this game and I want players to enjoy it despite its problems. The story and cutscenes are really cute, with Sora being a great goofball protagonist. The lore is very interesting, reading Ansem's report is like diving into the mind of a soon to be mad scientist. The returning Disney movie voice actors add a nice layer of icing to the cake. Playing these games is still a great way to revisit old favorite films from childhood.

    After all these years later, I'd never thought I would still be playing Winnie the Pooh video games. It's kind of funny to know that Pooh Bear and Sephiroth exist in the same game. Together at last. I doubt I'll be revisiting this game for a while though. The automatic losing battles against Leon and Cloud, are a little annoying, first time players would have no idea whether or not they were supposed to give up during these fights. In game where the main message is to never give up hope.

    And the final boss fight against Ansem, wow. Is it a cold slap in the face, followed by a swift kick to the stomach. Thematically it's really cool, plenty of sinister eye candy for the big clash against the organizer of evil. Though I recommend Sora learns the Magic Point Rage Skill before taking on this challenge. So every time he takes a huge amount of damage he can respond my recovering with the Restore spell. I almost despised this final battle though thanks to the second phase. Ansem is almost impossible to avoid, Donald and Goofy can't support you, worst of all is that Ansem's Dark Guardian can grab Sora and cancel his attacks. I really don't appreciate boss fights that feel this restricting.

    However I don't despise this game, I was still motivated to see it to the end despite these issues. And it's all thanks to the sense of drive. I like these characters, the battle system is engaging, and the story is very entertaining. It's thanks to these elements that I care about trying again. Compare this game to modern action roleplaying games like Yo Kai Watch Blasters.

    Blasters has a boring story, with lots of lifeless cutscenes to explain the plot. The gameplay gets repetitive fast, the characters are obnoxious, and the ending feels pretty stale compared to previous games in the core series games. Kingdom Hearts does the opposite and ensures that even if the experience isn't perfect, the adventure itself still leaves an impact on its players.    … Expand
  48. Jattaman
    Jan 8, 2023
    6
    Storia simpatica, splendida l'idea di unire i mondi Disney e Square. Purtroppo il gameplay dei combattimenti risulta piuttosto limitato e superficiale, e le sezioni platform piuttosto "legnose".
    C'è da dire che l'ho giocato molti anni dopo la sua uscita, e questo sicuramente influisce sul giudizio. Diciamo che non è invecchiato bene.
    Gioco non terminato.
  49. ZangBang
    Oct 30, 2022
    6
    65/100
    Kingdom Hearts is a charming videogame. A unique, whimsical epic tale of friendship, heroes and darkness. Its strength isn't a complex storyline but a cast of great characters with heartfelt interactions and a strong emotional core, enhanced by an enchanting soundtrack that expertly blends solemnity and magical whimsy, giving the game a distinct personality. Combat is fun and    65/100
    Kingdom Hearts is a charming videogame. A unique, whimsical epic tale of friendship, heroes and darkness. Its strength isn't a complex storyline but a cast of great characters with heartfelt interactions and a strong emotional core, enhanced by an enchanting soundtrack that expertly blends solemnity and magical whimsy, giving the game a distinct personality. Combat is fun and satisfying thanks to Abilities, frequently adding new layers and variables to combos, a balanced, diversified Magic system that offers various different ways to approach a fight both offensive and defensive, and last but not least a great enemy variety, although a bosses are of extremely fluctuating quality: some great, others very plain. Level Design smartly works around the modest size of its rooms with rewarding level design with a lot of depth and variety. Every new area has a simple but pleasantly distinct type of progression with different maps, puzzles, platforming challenges and many hidden secrets that add content and flavor to the exploration. The presence of many secret bosses after the main campaign offers an additional great challenge for the more daring players. The weakest point of the experience are definitely the sections piloting the spaceship called Gummiship: a very cute idea to add variety, but so slow and tedious that it would've been better to just put that development effort somewhere else.    … Expand
  50. FireBroFilms
    Aug 15, 2022
    6
    ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎
  51. Magikcarp
    Jul 19, 2023
    6
    Gameplay - 7
    Plot & Characters - 5
    Storytelling - 3
    Pacing - 6
    Music & Sound - 9
    Replayability - 5
    Performance - 10
  52. JoeM.
    Feb 9, 2003
    5
    The gameplay is enjoyable to a point, but... if you heard that nagging little voice in the back of your head saying to you, "Square... and DISNEY?", heed it. It is an unholy pairing which, in the end, drains from the game its possible greatness and drags it down to the level of insipid commercial stupidity. You are fighting side by side with the noble knight... GOOFY! And DONALD DUCK! The gameplay is enjoyable to a point, but... if you heard that nagging little voice in the back of your head saying to you, "Square... and DISNEY?", heed it. It is an unholy pairing which, in the end, drains from the game its possible greatness and drags it down to the level of insipid commercial stupidity. You are fighting side by side with the noble knight... GOOFY! And DONALD DUCK! These are such well-known commercial icons that any sense of otherworldliness or removal from the here and now is completely shattered. They may as well have made the shops into 7-11s and had the cast eat Reeces Pieces to restore health. Blech! The Disney world is not about imagination, it is an entity in and of itself. Hell, you can actually GO there! It's in Florida! I really can't conceive how this did not contaminate the game completely for any of the reviewers I have read. And this is without even getting into the uninspired music and the totally USELESS and INFANTILE Gummi ship sequences. This product cannot even hold the SHADOW of a candle to FFX but, due to its unfortunate success, Square is sure to make another. THAT one I will at least know better than to purchase. So much for trusting the critics. Or the general public, who willingly swallowed this turkey. Definately not recommended if you are over 12 years of age. Quite a disappointment.… Expand
  53. Uter
    Apr 28, 2004
    5
    I like the disney themes, but come on. This game is is seriously unexciting. It's more square table scraps.
  54. PhilQ.
    Aug 27, 2007
    5
    I really wanted to like this game. I endured the bad---infuriating---camera and control response and button-mashing, but gave up at the Little Mermaid level. No way could I take any more when the already bad control/camera scheme was plunged underwater. I picked this up a year later for another try---the game art and cutscenes are just so inviting and I really wanted to like this game. I really wanted to like this game. I endured the bad---infuriating---camera and control response and button-mashing, but gave up at the Little Mermaid level. No way could I take any more when the already bad control/camera scheme was plunged underwater. I picked this up a year later for another try---the game art and cutscenes are just so inviting and I really wanted to like this game. But I gave up even sooner than before with renewed distaste for the gameplay. Too bad. It looks so good. I fully believe this is the most overrated game of all time.… Expand
  55. 400lingrush
    Apr 4, 2011
    5
    Gameplay is incredible, but the plot is nothing more than a 10-year-old's crossover fanfiction. Would be 8-9, but none of the dialog or movies can be skipped.
  56. TsukasaHiiragi
    Dec 16, 2018
    5
    *Warning* This game has, and had alot of corporate shills giving 10s even 8 years ago. This game does not, and never did deserve 10/10. Its a highly flawed, and often frustrating mess with its saving graces of having a somewhat good story, authentic voices and a great soundtrack.

    With Kingdom Hearts 3 finally coming out, alot of players might perhaps be trying to catch up on the    *Warning* This game has, and had alot of corporate shills giving 10s even 8 years ago. This game does not, and never did deserve 10/10. Its a highly flawed, and often frustrating mess with its saving graces of having a somewhat good story, authentic voices and a great soundtrack.

    With Kingdom Hearts 3 finally coming out, alot of players might perhaps be trying to catch up on the previous games. And honestly? Kingdom Hearts has aged very very badly, honestly? Its a great story, but a terrible game filled with all the horrible design decisions you would expect an old game to have, not to mention good luck trying to play the game without a strategy guide on hand as many of the puzzles and backtracking often make no sense at all, and the game gives you absolutely no hand-holding period, it presents you with the end task and thats pretty much it, where to go, how to progress...everything is essentially trial and error, all the time you're harrassed by low level heartless forcing you just to mash your attack button endless, often getting tedious to a point you'll skip many of the random battles.

    Even back in 2002, this game just wasn't that great - It took the world by storm because 1) Its disney 2) Its a JRPG in the disney universe and that is pretty much it, since then its been milked to absolute death with constant games on other platforms, final mixes..compilations etc.

    The combat is boring, the boss battles are either too easy, or frustrating with the poor camera controls often causing no end of issues for the player.    … Expand
  57. Kingofdanerds
    Dec 5, 2016
    5
    Disney and Final Fantasy is OK. But I would rather play a Final Fantasy game just by itself. The game was as good as I expected. The other games are pretty good. 5/10
  58. Denvers
    Apr 24, 2022
    5
    Kingdom Hearts is very fun at times, but quite boring, repetitive, and confusing at others. The designs are very pretty and have a lot of charm to them, which is always a plus, but interacting with the world feels clunky and, oftentimes, strange. The game hardly ever makes sense when it comes to what to do next and has you interact with items and set-pieces in strange and convoluted ways.Kingdom Hearts is very fun at times, but quite boring, repetitive, and confusing at others. The designs are very pretty and have a lot of charm to them, which is always a plus, but interacting with the world feels clunky and, oftentimes, strange. The game hardly ever makes sense when it comes to what to do next and has you interact with items and set-pieces in strange and convoluted ways. The combat is fun, but surprisingly tough and manages to be quite unforgiving. This isn't a bad game, though. If you have a guide by your side, and a lot of spare time, the characters, story, dialogue, and world around you may be enough to pull you in.… Expand
  59. MasterofOrion
    Jan 3, 2003
    4
    The disney characters are cool, but I found the gameplay mucho boring. Whoever was in charge of developing the camera in KH should be fired over there at EASquare. The best thing I could say is that if you liked FFX a lot, you'll probably enjoy KH. That said, I believe FFX to be much better.
  60. [Anonymous]
    Feb 8, 2003
    4
    This game is bad. Anyone who says otherwise, definitely knows very little, if anything, about games. First of all, it tries to pass off as an Action/RPG but it's more of an Action/Adventure game with several Platform sequences than anything else. To add insult to injury, they're bad Platform sequences at that, and they don't even touch the brilliance of a Mario game by a This game is bad. Anyone who says otherwise, definitely knows very little, if anything, about games. First of all, it tries to pass off as an Action/RPG but it's more of an Action/Adventure game with several Platform sequences than anything else. To add insult to injury, they're bad Platform sequences at that, and they don't even touch the brilliance of a Mario game by a long mile. Then you have the camera... or should I say you do NOT have one because you're pretty much fighting blind half the time while walls and objects block your sight. Gameplay is definitely the worse as it's a button-masher experience all the way - every three steps enemies show up which you MUST defeat if you want to have access to simple commands like "OPEN". That's right, you may have that neat little chest right next to you, but if there is one single enemy nearby the game won't allow you to open it. There's more, the AI for your companions is customizable but that's not saying much - either they waste all their resources in a couple of fights or they save them so much it kills them leaving you alone to fight whatever enemies are left on the screen. If there is one thing relatively "good" about Kingdom Hearts is the sound - Music is fine and the Voices are top-notch, but no one buys a game for music alone. You have been warned.… Expand
  61. WakeUpJeff
    Oct 2, 2020
    4
    I don't really understand the praise this game gets. My main problem is that the combat is monotonous and even mind numbingly boring during the games harder sections. It's a button masher where you occasionally have to heal, so you can imagine how dull it gets throughout this 25 hour long game. This isn't to even mention the camera either. When it did impress me, however, is when it layedI don't really understand the praise this game gets. My main problem is that the combat is monotonous and even mind numbingly boring during the games harder sections. It's a button masher where you occasionally have to heal, so you can imagine how dull it gets throughout this 25 hour long game. This isn't to even mention the camera either. When it did impress me, however, is when it layed off with the combat and instead indulged in it's adventure aspects by letting me treasure hunt and find secrets within it's levels. The levels themselves were still fun to play around in, even though they're horribly lifeless by today's standard. It's story is also nothing to write home about. It's nice, but nothing amazing. The soundtrack is also worth mentioning as a highlight of the game. Although i had fun here and there, the combat was simply too prevalent to really enjoy it. I simply spent most of my time mashing the x button mindlessly over and over again for minutes on end.… Expand
  62. DjaySuzi
    Jan 27, 2021
    3
    Easily one of my least favorite games to get platinum on. I got it because I always heard great things about it but aside of the nostalgia of Disney characters that I've always known and loved everything about this game fell flat for me. I didn't care about any of the original characters, the story was a borefest, and the mechanics were awful. Then again, I never played them during theirEasily one of my least favorite games to get platinum on. I got it because I always heard great things about it but aside of the nostalgia of Disney characters that I've always known and loved everything about this game fell flat for me. I didn't care about any of the original characters, the story was a borefest, and the mechanics were awful. Then again, I never played them during their time so that could be why I'm not looking at this game through rose-colored glasses.… Expand
  63. CourtneyI.
    Jun 20, 2004
    2
    Ive got 1 word 4 em hard i got stuck as soon as i started not rrally 4 a 12 yr old gal like me.
  64. MarkA.
    Nov 2, 2006
    2
    This game was so boring I couldn't even finish it. Total waste of money.
  65. MuchoPelicula
    Aug 27, 2019
    2
    Unpopular Opinion: Basura Infame. Mala historia, horribles y planos personajes y mal sistema de progreso de niveles. No hablemos de la cámara. No lo volvería a tocar ni con un palo. No lo recomiendo.
  66. RanmaS.
    Oct 5, 2002
    1
    I am the dancing machine. I love this game. I bought the dance pad for this game and it made the game way better. It is groovy!!!
  67. AnonymousMC
    Dec 30, 2005
    0
    Here are the pros of Kingdom Hearts:
    - It has good graphics.
    - The Disney characters' voices are authentic. The cons of Kingdom Hearts: - "Gameplay" consists of mashing buttons in the general direction of enemies, which appear way too often. - Knowing what to do/where to go at any given time is impossible due to the poorly executed story sequences - Stages are LIFELESS and    Here are the pros of Kingdom Hearts:
    - It has good graphics.
    - The Disney characters' voices are authentic.

    The cons of Kingdom Hearts:
    - "Gameplay" consists of mashing buttons in the general direction of enemies, which appear way too often.
    - Knowing what to do/where to go at any given time is impossible due to the poorly executed story sequences
    - Stages are LIFELESS and utterly mind-numbingly boring.
    - The inter-world trasportation mini-game adds nothing to the game and is unfathomably annoying.
    - There are so many mini-games in this game that are completely unrelated to one another and add very little if anything to the rest of the game.
    - Parts where the story is revealed are few and far between, and they certainly don't make all the work of getting through the various worlds worth it.

    I love Square, but I think this game is a clear indication that they are abusing the fame that they have earned in the past with games that are actually GOOD. It is a chore to play, with little reward. Don't get it.    … Expand
  68. Phuz
    Apr 27, 2021
    0
    The most boring start possible, the most clunky, horrible controls, awful camera. Just unplayable. It started so bad that I just couldn't play any longer. I'd have more fun working my way through a pile of ironing then stabbimg my eyes with a pencil.
  69. someone78374823
    Jul 3, 2023
    0
    Kingdom Hearts is nothing more than an extremely generic JRPG with Disney IPs plus some final fantasy characters copy pasted in. This is one of the most stupid and toxic fandoms on the entire internet. The reason why this game is so popular is because it's just collective nostalgia goggles of being the only Disney game where you can play out big scenes from Disney movies in a video gameKingdom Hearts is nothing more than an extremely generic JRPG with Disney IPs plus some final fantasy characters copy pasted in. This is one of the most stupid and toxic fandoms on the entire internet. The reason why this game is so popular is because it's just collective nostalgia goggles of being the only Disney game where you can play out big scenes from Disney movies in a video game format. Because there are so many IPs from the different Disney movies, you exponentially get idiot fans from them all at once giving you the most amount of nostalgia points.

    Bosses are just "die a few times until you figure it out". This is not good game design, it just pads out the game needlessly. Thanks to this being a Square game, bosses have multiple forms which means another "die" point where they do something new. Usually it's an attack that kills you in one hit so, have fun watching the cutscene and starting over again. Diehard KH losers will tell you that this is part of the "experience". If you're playing on an emulator, use save states to make KH losers mad. You know for sure this was a bad decision because they re-made the game several times and added a skip cutscene feature, but KH idiots still defend it.

    You cannot open your menu to change equipment during boss battles. All this does is pad out the game with pointless deaths. Bosses have nonsensical abilities, a great example is Ursula who is underwater but she uses lightning? Once you figure that out you can equip lightning protection stuff but again, there's no way to know that beforehand and you just waste a boss run to find that out. You can't change equipment in battle and there's a lot of bosses that are like this, ie they are impossible or take a very long time unless you "know" in advance. Again, your average KH idiot has played through this game so many times and has forgotten this. Spending 20+ years to cope with how bad the game is designed and claiming it's "part of the experience" is not a valid argument to say the game is "good", that means it is "bad".

    Oh so very many of the worlds just suck. The entire Atlantica world sucks very bad. The entire place has one texture and they draw yellow arrows to try to tell you where to go - again, very bad game design. Everything looks the same and you get lost very quick. Even people who've played through this game 5 times get lost here. Monstro (Pinnochio's World) is similar but not as bad in this regard. Atlantica has the infamous dolphin kick ability which is extremely janky and stupid and gets in the way more than it helps you for one boss fight where you need it. Tarzan's world completely sucks and so does Wonderland and they are smack right at the beginning of the game to really put you off.

    The game is chock full of jank. Tarzan's vines are jank, jumping on any kind of moving platform is jank, targeting is jank, the fire spell is jank, the menu is dumb. Why do they limit you to 3 spells in the quick cast menu when you have a controller full of buttons? The answer to that is again to make bosses a one way death experience, to pad out the game some more when the solution was to assign a necessary spell to quick cast. Again KH losers tell you this is part of the experience.

    The entire Gummi Ship thing was pointless and 100% unnecessary. Again, more padding out of the game, and they even knew it too before it was released - the entire Gummi Ship blueprint thing is entirely unnecessary.

    The game flips its difficulty much too quickly. There is a certain point in the game where you get a few critical spells which essentially constantly refill your resources. Before you get these spells the game is incredibly difficult (at least on the hard difficulty), because every boss is walking on eggshells where one hit can take you from max health to death, completely skipping the health alert stage. After you get these spells, you essentially cannot be killed but bosses just take way too long.

    The tech system makes you feel like an idiot because it only works when you are swinging cluelessly. Sora's attack has a lag and isn't instant. Most of the time you are trying to learn a boss' pattern, and because Sora's swing isn't instant, you have to essentially take a guess and miss a lot and then take hits to the face. Seriously, 90% of the time when I did a tech it was on accident, so I started button mashing like a noob and then I started getting tech after tech.

    The central story is absolutely an afterthought ie, the main focus of the game was making the nostalgia goggles as thick as possible with the Disney IPs. It's something they made up in the space of a couple days. Just getting on youtube there are all these fan videos "attempting" to explain the story between games - my explanation video would go something like this: "They made it up in a day to get you to not focus on the fact there is nothing tying all these worlds together".

    Very overrated.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best PS2 Game of 2002
2
#2 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2002
5
#5 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 46
  3. Negative: 0 out of 46
  1. Game Informer
    95
    The battles that unfold are as beautful as they are intense, and as difficult as they are easy to manhandle. [Oct 2002, p.76]
  2. Play Magazine
    80
    To say that Kingdom Hearts is magical is an understatement. As cinematic experiences go, it's exquisite. It's not the finest in terms of action, but overall, it's wonderful. [Oct 2002, p.74]
  3. GameZone
    91
    Has a few flaws, but its unique character pairings and jaw-dropping graphics make this a remarkable RPG.
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