This was written for my Writing Lab portfolio and had to be published, so I figured here was as good a place as any.  ^^; 

Kingdom Hearts Review

Game: Kingdom Hearts

Platform: Playstation 2

Producer: Squaresoft/Disney Interactive

Rating: 9.5/10

Storyline:

            You play as a young boy named Sora who has been thrust from his home by darkness and chosen to wield the ‘Keyblade’, the only weapon capable of destroying the dark entities known only as ‘Heartless’.  It sounds very cliché, I know, but the big twist comes when Disney is thrown into the mix.  Allied by Donald and Goofy, Sora travels to different worlds and meets various Disney characters such as Hercules, Ariel, and Winnie the Pooh, creating a humorous yet touching plot.  I mean, who can not love a game in which you get to summon Dumbo to strike down evil foes?

Gameplay:

            In Kingdom Hearts, Squaresoft abandons its traditional turn-based system for something a little more fast-paced.  The ‘real-time’ combat system that results is reminiscent of the Legend of Zelda series.  Squaresoft does, however, keep the leveling up format of its highly popular Final Fantasy series.  Experience points are gained by defeating enemies and raising levels allows you to acquire new abilities.  The system is easy to understand and use without being a typical whack-at-stuff-with-sword type battle.

Graphics:

            I was completely blown away with the graphics.  They are absolutely stunning, especially in the introduction and ending, where Squaresoft applied real-time graphics.  Real-time is amazing but can only be used during movie clips, not during actual gameplay.  It truly looks realistic, the details going right down to each tiny shadow, every strand of hair.  And in Kingdom Hearts, even the normal graphics are fantastic.

Sound:

            This game has a lovely little feature called voice-overs.  Yes, the characters actually talk during the clips!  Video games have traditionally used speech bubbles, which don’t pull you into the game as much but allow you a bit more interaction in the conversation.  Kingdom Hearts uses speech bubbles when talking to minor characters, but the clips have voice-overs and are extremely well done. 

            The music in Kingdom Hearts is fabulous.  All the pieces have a little bit of the game’s Japanese theme song, Hikari, incorporated into them, so if you listen carefully you can find similarities in the music.  It gives the game a sense of unity that might otherwise be lost.  My favorite, though, is the English version of the theme song, titled Simple and Clean.  It is sung by Utada Hikaru (as is Hikari) and it is absolutely beautiful- my favorite song ever.  The choreography in the introduction and ending when it is played is well organized, too (not to mention the stunning graphics that go with it!).

Length:

            It’s not as long as the Final Fantasy games, but it will still last you for hours.  I had a little over fifty hours on my file when I beat it, and there’s still some optional side quests I haven’t completed yet.  I wish it had been a bit longer, because some elements of the plot seemed unfinished- but then again, they are planning a sequel!

Replayability:

            This is definitely one of those games you can play over and over.  Like any good movie, there’s plot elements you might miss or not understand the first time around, but once you’ve beaten it, they suddenly become clear.  There are some great examples of subtle foreshadowing and irony that would be impossible to catch if you didn’t know what to look for.  The other cool addition is that Kingdom Hearts has two levels of difficulty, so once you beat it on beginner, you can play expert mode for more of a challenge.