Kingdom Hearts Part 1

Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツ, Kingudamu Hātsu?)
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video games console. It is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company. The game combines characters and settings from Disney's animated features with those from the Final Fantasy series, developed by Square. The story follows Sora, a young boy, as he is thrown into an epic battle against the darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck and Goofy, classic Disney characters, who help him on his quest.

Kingdom Hearts was a departure from Square's standard role-playing games by introducing a substantial action-adventure element. In addition, it had an all-star voice cast which included many of the Disney characters' original voice actors. Kingdom Hearts was also longtime Square character designer Tetsuya Nomura's first time in a directorial position.

Kingdom Hearts was praised for its unusual combination of action and role-playing, as well as its unexpectedly harmonious mix of Square and Disney. It received numerous year-end "Best" video games awards and was a dominating presence in the 2002 holiday season and went on to achieve Sony "Greatest Hits" status. Since its release, Kingdom Hearts has sold over 5.6 million copies worldwide and has been followed by two sequels. Three more titles are currently being developed, which have a connection to a future, unannounced games

Discountedgame
Kingdom Hearts I is considered a discountedgame since the price has dropped from $19.99 to $7.95. Click gameplay | discountedgame astore for details.
Kingdom Hearts II is considered a discountedgame since the price has dropped from $19.99 to $18.99 to $9.94. Click gameplay | discountedgame astore for details.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories is considered a discountedgame since the price has dropped from $19.99 to $8.78. Click discountedgame astore for details.

Gameplay
The main character, Sora, fights against Heartless in the Monstro world.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 are the computer-controlled characters that are usable in most areas; nearly every world in the games features its own party member who can be chosen to replace Goofy or Donald in the party while the party is in that world. For instance, Jack Skellington can join the player's party in Halloween Town, but can not accompany the player elsewhere. On some worlds, the party changes its appearance, has abilities unique to that world, or both. For example, the party can fly in Neverland and has aquatic forms in Atlantica, which enable them to survive underwater.

Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player gains experience which can lead up to a "level up", where the characters grow stronger and gain access to new abilities. Unlike other games of its type, Kingdom Hearts allows a certain degree of character development customization through a short tutorial found at the beginning of the game. The tutorial allows the player to select from one of three main attributes―strength, defense, and magic―for Sora to excel in and one to lack in. By choosing certain options, the player is able to manipulate how Sora learns abilities, grows statistically, and even gains levels. Donald, Goofy, and any other additional party members are assigned specific areas of strength from the outset. Donald excels in magic and Goofy excels in defense and special attacks.

The gmaes is driven in a primarily linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cut scene, though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. Most of the gameplay occurs on interconnected field maps where battles take place. Combat in Kingdom Hearts is in real time and involves pressing buttons to initiate attacks by the on-screen character. A role-playing games menu, similar to those found in Final Fantasy games , found at the bottom left of the screen provides other combat options such as using magic and items. There is also a context-sensitive option at the bottom of the menu, usually used for interacting with the environment or performing special attacks. This menu is manipulated by using the right analog stick or digital pad, while movement is controlled by the left analog stick, allowing the player to navigate the menu while avoiding or approaching enemies.


Gummi Ship
The Gummi Ship is the mode of travel between the various worlds in Kingdom Hearts where the player pilots a vessel. The gameplay for piloting the vessel is very different from the rest of the games as it switches to a rail shooter format. The player controls the Gummi Ship from a rear, third person perspective as it travels in an outer space setting. At the beginning of the games , there are few options available to customize the vessel, but as the games progresses, new weapons, engines, and armor become available for it. In addition, many different pre-designed blueprints can be found throughout the games which can be used to quickly construct gummi ships.


Plot

Setting
The universe of Kingdom Hearts is a collection of various levels, referred to as "worlds", which the player progresses through. Thirteen can be accessed throughout the game and one, the Disney Castle, is shown in cutscenes. Additional worlds are mentioned by various characters, but are not accessible because they have been destroyed by the Heartless, beings of darkness. Ten of the worlds are based on Disney fiction, primarily from the Disney animated features canon, and the other four were created by Square specifically for the games.

Each world varies in appearance and setting, depending on the Disney world upon which it is based. The graphics of the world and characters were meant to resemble the artwork style of the environments and characters from their respective Disney film. Each Disney world is inhabited by characters from their respective Disney film; Hercules and Philoctetes inhabit Olympus Coliseum, and Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, and Jafar inhabit Agrabah. Each world is disconnected from the others and exists separately. Most characters in the worlds are unaware of the existence of the other worlds, but some notable ones are aware. Players travel from one world to another via Gummi Ship.

The worlds created specifically for the game mirror the overall appearance of the other worlds and feature either new characters or characters from several Final Fantasy games. The new worlds include: Destiny Islands, where the story initially begins; Traverse Town, which serves as a launching point for most of the game; Hollow Bastion, which many of the Final Fantasy characters call home; and End of the World, a large, dark world created from the remnants of various worlds consumed by the darkness. The main characters travel from world to world to seal each "Keyhole"; this protects the world from the Heartless and ultimately from destruction. They also try to minimize their interaction with characters of other worlds in order to maintain a balance of separation. To blend in with the inhabitants of a world, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sometimes change their physical appearance.