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Just putting my comments here all in 1 since mobile screwed me. Have fun reading the wall of text, everyone (I am just very passionate about this series lol). The "coming of age" theme and others of the narrative are often jumbled into the "Shonen-inspired" critique of the story, in other words it borrows heavily from Japanese manga normally marketed toward boys and teens. Rather then focus solely on just the coming of age or other aspect, the critique groups all these inspirations together. It is certainly worth noting however what each of these Shonen inspired themes are, and I'm glad you highlight it nonetheless. KH1, by far, incorporates the Disney aspects the best overall in the series. The fact most world's villains are involved in the overarching narrative alone qualifies it for this. But the fact the worlds also actually develop the characters, their relationships, and have other plot focused importance such as some including Princesses of Heart or revealing answers to questions such as the location of Kairi (later found out to be just her body) further strengthen that opinion. The issue with "filler" really does not rear its head until after this game, with no subsequent one coming close imo. Speaking of, ah the overarching plot. How simple and filled with childish wonder this first game was. However, contrary to what you might hear, it is not the complex nature of the narrative going forward that is the real issue: it is the execution. I think most would agree with this if they could properly convey their frustration. The execution just makes it feel like a narrative with no direction with the twists and turns constantly at odds with what came before (in other words, a ton of unnecessary retcons). Having no direction initially is fine, but good writing normally at least attempts to mask that fact by tying new plot threads with old seamlessly rather then just constantly changing the rules. KH3 is the worst in terms of plot overall imo and that's probably popular opinion along with DDD, but it's at the bottom of a franchise that is already low to the floor. As for the characterization, this is one of the best executed in the series imo, though it still has issues as you point out (I would give "best" actually to "352/2 Days" unironically, since most of its narrative is centered around the group relationship and Roxas learning what it means to be alive with little plot elsewhere). It's not as often brought up as the plot issues, but most games do also have a character problem. Ironically, the popular favorite "KH2" I would say has the worst of this, despite many perhaps citing KH3 (though it's definitely bottom 3). Sora goes from a character realistically reacting to the events unfolding around him to a generic, flanderized Shonen protagonist that is always optimistic in the face of adversity or overly emotional when it comes to his relationships. These are aspects of his character in KH1, but in KH2 they become his entire character with no further nuance whatsoever. And then of course, Riku and Kairi barely have screentime with Riku's entire arc happening off screen and Kairi getting basically nothing besides a tease at her ability to wield a Keyblade, the organization is just an obstacle with no real further personal development, etc. The best character is Roxas by far, and yet his section has its own issues (mostly gameplay and pacing). As for gameplay, it is definitely the most highly debated amongst the internet fandom. I would say most feel KH2 is the tightest in terms of polish and most influencers do prefer KH2 overall, but as for preference that is a bit more contentious. I want to go on record that my favorite as of now, despite the controversy, is KH3 after the combat updates post launch (hard to say considering KH2 had been easily my favorite for a long time). I think most would at least appreciate it now if they gave it another go. It is by far the one with the most options, and when fully explored give you everything you need to easily deal with some of the more complained about enemies in the game without resorting to broken Links or the despised attractions (which you can now turn off btw). Exploration and movement is by far at its best in KH3, having far more options then most and with Flowmotion not being as broken as in DDD requiring you to take advantage of all options to optimize movement.
I really appreciate that you can still critique stuff that you're actually a fan of. I can't stand the ideology that if you like a product/franchise, then you have to like everything about it or at least act like there's nothing wrong with it. Problem is, if you can't critique something then you can't necessarily do better, can you? Great work man. I'm gonna watch some more of your stuff.
Sora losing his keyblade says so much about him. His friends left him and he is helpless, yet he immediately goes over to help Beast because that's the kinda person Sora is. He cares so much for others that he doesn't even hesitate to help another. I love Kingdom Hearts and KH1 will forever be one of my favorite games.
I remember playing through that part as a child my first playthrough and being absolutely devasted the same way Sora felt. So it kinda felt like I was pushing forward and working with Beast the same way Sora did. It was a strong moment in the game to me and really cemented what kind of person Sora was because I related to it.
Fun fact: Talking to Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie multiple times gives us a bit more about Sora, Riku, and Kairi. For example, Selphie reveals that no one knows what S/R/K are working on the raft. Tidus asks if Sora and Riku are really friends, as to someone on the outside it looks like they dont like each other. And Wakka reinforces that Riku is the most mature one on the island.
I love that you gwt lore from these guys, and being able to fight Riku multiple times shows the competitiveness of the two. I stayed on Destiny Island for several hours just having fun and talking to people and fighting and exploring that by the time I left I was a couple of levels strong and had a big attachment to the Island and my friends.
I truly appreciate this video for acknowledging KH as a coming-of-age story. People seem to have a really bad habit of ignoring that interpretation, especially as the series goes on.
@@NamsCompendium when I was a kid I hated that level too, but later on as a adult and learning how the world works, I started to love it it was a lot of fun speeding through it finding the best routes to take for non stop action.
@@Grown_B Yeah I actually really like the exploration and platforming in the original Kingdom Hearts. It’s part of the reason I prefer it to the relatively flatter and more linear sequels. I’ve never found it that clunky.
A small detail that doesn't return except for a few exceptions In kh1 and a little of 2 you get different cut scenes depending on whether you win fights or go to worlds out of order Sora finds out Riku is Ansem early Sora beats Leon and more down the line
Getting to choose your order without random chance is the trade-off for the lack of surprise issue brought up in the video. It really is just preference, and imo I do agree with Nam.
I’ve played the games multiple times. But, I don’t recall learning Riku is Ansem early. Where did you find out? I’ve tried looking it up, but to no avail.
Kingdom Hearts is an incredibly strange and surreal franchise. The story is relatively tame in the first game but goes full "Burning Dumpster Going 80mph" and while some might find that bad, the fact the games are absolutely genuine about it and back up even the weakest Kingdom Hearts game with interesting systems and mechanics... it's just wild. Kingdom Hearts is a franchise you love but also have to sometimes ask what the heck is going on, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE I agree it really is simple to understand especially when approached in order of release as opposed to trying to follow chronologically.
I'm say no the experience is surreal yes but this franchise has this problem where the creator Nomura has a lot ideas that works on paper rather than execution. This franchise has took a nosedive to WTF are you thinking territory, it pretty obvious that Nomura only cares for visual aesthetics. I mean a lot of KH best moments are cool visual and sometimes good to okay story moments, but the franchise has this issue of no one checking or edits on Nomura works. This might be unrelated but I personally think that The World End With You and Neo works as Nomura games, is because they are pretty tamed sure Nomura is the creative producer but at least someone is making sure it doesn't become another KH.
@@zetamangads Nah I respectfully disagree. The execution of the story has always been excellent IMO. It’s not all just visual aesthetics. Nomura is a godlike writer and I’ll die on this hill
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE no he was never a writer, the guy started as a character designer and the moved to game directing, the guy has cool concept that works on visual but he no writter. You might like it, cool but I'm been a fan of KH since Chain of Memories the original GBA not the ps2, and after KH2 it clear to me the guy has no sense of writing. He has cool concept that only works on visual cinematic. I might respect the boldness but there so much I can take other franchise or director like Kojima knows what they're are making, but Nomura is that emo kid that tries desperately to stand out. Nothing wrong with that but it obvious that he needs someone to say this doesn't work, creators are they're own worst enemy because they have no idea that just because an idea works and sound good in your it doesn't mean it executed well. I'm have a love hate relationship with franchise, the love comes from the gameplay the hate is with Nomura. I always stand by that Nomura is not writer because time and time again the only thing he cares is too shock the audience and making cool visual. I have seen and played games,Movie,Anime,Manga,Light Novel and other media that does what Nomura, for example Jojo is a bit similar to KH surrealism but Araki knows how to go too far plus he always try improve or rewrite his older concept, Nomura doesn't do that he always try to out do himself in visual and so on. He never sees or try to improve he always does the same mistakes. You might like him because of the ideas and concept which is fine but not for me I'm already fed up with him KH3 was the last straw and Union Cross ending just made it worse for me.
the coming of age comment and using hollow bastion and the end of the world as metaphors for growing up really hit for me. thanks for reminding me why i loved this game :)
One of the major things that always sticks out to me is how spells interact with the environment for puzzles and such, like freezing the torches and bubbles, fire on the Halloween Town platforms, lightning on the wires, the Deep Jungle camp “experiment”, etc. I haven’t found that much in other games (and very little in the rest of the KH series) and I miss it.
24:55 It's kinda funny to think about how basic the general premise for Ansem was back in KH1, unlike now where he's supposed to be created through a series of taking over a body, amnesia, stealing someone else's name and time travel.
@@ftsar3494 I did read the secret reports, he was supposed to be a scientist driven by his search for knowledge and because of that he fell to darkness and ended up endangering the worlds. There was no indication that he was Xehanort pretending to be Ansem, or about his plan to time travel in order to forge the X-Blade. Sure it's not that "basic" but it is way simpler than what came after.
@@RadinV1 if u agree it wasn’t that basic then why u still replying???, I Never said anything about ansem pretending at all I just said it wasn’t basic
The Disney worlds feeling like filler is a criticism targeted more at the later titles, as the first game is the one that contextualises their place in the plot the best.
Was just about to post this verbatim. It's one of the reasons I feel KH1 is the best game in the series. You actually have a reason to go to the various Disney worlds, they help with character development, and the main Disney characters/princesses actually play a primary role in the overall narrative. Contrast that with KH3 where after Olympus, the game is basically telling you to go to various worlds to waste time.
"Say fellas, did somebody mention the door to darkness?" Is the single most iconic quote from this series and embodies the entire reason why i cannot take it seriously.
@@oreotaku4017 “Kairi’s inside me?” “It’s Riku! They put bugs in him!” “-Guys. I gotta go inside. -Who’s to say it’s even safe inside Riku?” “Darkness within darkness awaits you Riku!” “I have unfinished business with this puppet.” “Xion… who else will I have ice cream with..?” “I do know hurt.” And many more I’m sure I missed.
@@Lord_Sunqu I’m disappointed that out of all the double entendre and exploitables you failed to list Yuffie’s “I’ve heard the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks.” And “Think of this as an adventure.”
Let's not forget, the music is just BRILLIANT! Each score helps tell the story told, and still holds emotional value to the players as we go back to listen to them once more.
The tech points system isn’t purely a exp reward, it’s also a hint for the player. With the example of the elemental heartless hitting them with their opposite gives you tech points but it also kills them instantly. Parrying yuffies ranged attack gives you tech points, but also damages and stuns her. The best example is probably in the secret boss fight against unknown, where casting gravity will give you tech points and opens up a window to land a combo, which is otherwise pretty much impossible.
None of the worlds in KH1 are filler. They each contribute to the Princess of Heart hunt, Disney villain coalition or developing friendship between Sora, Donald and Goofy. The way the Disney villains know from the outset about the wider universe through Maleficent, and some of them falling to their worst indulgences while working with darkness, is easily the best way the Disney villains have been used in the whole franchise.
Best in the series but still not that great. Soras involvement in the world's doesn't do much in terms of finding or saving the princesses. Remove him and the plot still unfolds the same. It is cool that the villains know about each other and the wider world but they're still pretty isolated from each other and the overarching story. Only maleficent really has any impact on the plot
@@samoth5161 Captain Hook escorts Riku and the comatose Kairi on the Jolly Roger to Hollow Bastion, or at least until Sora turns up on the ship. At the end of Agrabah’s story Aladdin uses his last wish to allow Genie the freedom to join Sora, which is how Genie becomes a summon. Quite a few of the Princess of Heart worlds crossover with the villain alliance ones, villains coming to a sticky end because Sora defeated them.
Man, this game has some good emotions for me. When my wife and I started dating 6 years ago, one of the first things we did when we found out that we both loved gaming was to have the other person play a game series that meant a lot to us. It was Halo for me, and for her it was Kingdom Hearts. And let me tell you, playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time on my PS3 with my now wife by my side was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and I would not give it up for anything!
I prefer KH1 in terms of how it went about incorporating Disney into the crossover shenanigans going on. I know KH2 had the worlds as recaps of the movies, but KH1 is not that at all. Major events in each of the plots were changed to fit in with the crossover, for example I don't remember Ariel killing Ursula in Little Mermaid but she helps us do that in KH1. Not only that but we kill Clayton before he can kill Kerchek, that's a major change to the plot of Tarzan. I wish KH would go back to the old days, where Disney characters were allowed to be badass.
I know the programmers talked about how working woth newer properties meant the teams that created them were still around and had strong limits on what they could and couldn't do. It make it harder for them to work Sora into the plot and change things up. Kh3 shows this perfectly with Toy story having some really fun moments and frozen having to be rewritten and not able to be even a proper recap of the movie
MICKEY MOUSE? 🤨Finished the first game before this review, couldn't have asked for a better analysis of the game. I had a hard time with the gameplay, but even as an adult if you can look past the initial juvenile setting it is a great experience
Imagine thinking Dumbo sucks! that elephant is a beast against single enemies you have to deal with with magic. During the Kurt Zisa boss fight, after the spell cancelling orbs are broken Dumbo just *LAYS INTO IT* my god...
Ah, the original Kingdom Hearts, a game I rented from Blockbusters when it first came out... and couldn't get past Wonderland because looking for the next cutscene in the early stages was as if I was wandering through darkness itself.
I hope you will continue offering defense of the story and it's themes. People who hate these games wonder what people see in them, and while I do enjoy the convoluted nonsense I think the fact the series has things like the "Having you for a friend" line and just that entire scene in general is what makes me really care about it. It decides that it doesn't care if the story really makes sense, as long as it can use it to tell poignant stories about simple but interesting characters. It's melodramatic and cheesy as shit, it's that type of anime kicked up to 11, but when it really gets down to brass tacks, if you can allow yourself to get sucked into those moments, it can feel great. People make fun of that line from 2 I mentioned, but I'll always have my heart warmed by it.
@@Xendra Coping with what? The fact that people are too up their own ass with "muh cringe" to appreciate the genuinely well executed parts of this series? I don't need to cope with that, I've already accepted you're all idiots.
People can sit around all day talking about whether or not something is well written; but even something that isn't too terribly well constructed can have good moments and be enjoyable on its own right.
Fun fact: Sora's initial outfit is based on Mickey Mouse himself, and Kairi's design - most namely, her hairstyle - is based on Utada Hikaru, the artist who sang several theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series. (So what was Riku's design based on??)
The only thing I miss is a little discussion about Kairi. I really like her role in this story, even if it can come out as a damsel in distress trope. The concept of Kairi being inside Sora throughout the game, giving him strength without him even knowing is a really cute metaphor for love (in all it's forms). That we don't need to physically be together in order to feel we're helping one another through love and support. It's also an incredibly effective mirror of Riku's story. While he has a scientific, nihilistic, adult possesing his body like a puppet, Sora has a childhood friend giving him strength to face danger. Riku holds a darkness while Sora holds a light. Kairi is actually the core of the entire KH1 narrative, with her memories of her childhood in Hollow Bastion supporting this Nostalgia reading, as well as her returning to Destiny Islands as if it's her home, instead of Hollow Bastion, because she has happier memories of living in the islands than in the castle. Kairi's lucky charm representing memory and remembrance, as well as home, would be used throughout the saga as a contrast for darkness representing oblivion and forgetting something important.
It's so cool seeing videos like this. Even if the story or gameplay seems clunky to some, the people who take the time to enjoy the game for what it is always end up having some connection to the game. Whether it be happy nostalgia, inspiration, recognition and consideration of the game's themes, or something more life changing, this series has really grown a great fanbase. With the words and passion used to describe how people feel towards the game - though it varies from person to person - you can tell it has a place in their heart. It'd be awesome to see you do videos like this on the whole series. Great video, and good work!
YES, THANK YOU! You're one of the few people to cover the game without any kind of sarcasm or cynicism, and I greatly appreciate that. KH1 definitely isn't perfect, but it sets a solid foundation for a series that would go to some amazing heights, and it definitely has its own simple charms that make revisiting it worthwhile, even today. Absolutely agree with you on Deep Jungle, though. I am glad that world never came back
I grew up with the series from the first week of release I begged my grandparents and one day I came home from school and there it was literally the only source of happiness in my childhood I think
Given your choice of title, I wonder if you've watched the video BMask did on this series last year. Either way, this was super enjoyable to watch, and I'm happy you made it. Thank you!
Great video! KH1 is a true classic worthy of the Disney Renaissance movies it features. There are 3 keys to KH1’s lasting legacy: the scenario writing, Yoko Shimomura’s score and Nomura’s character designs. Watanabe, Nojima and Nomura had both recently worked on FFX, and it’s easy to see how much FFX influenced KH’s aesthetic (Destiny Islands/Besaid Island, Hollow Bastion/Bevelle, the Station of Awakening, Riku’s fisherman pants lol...). Musically, KH allowed Yoko Shimomura to explore new territory, fusing her own established style with the style of Alan Menken (and other Disney composers) to create a unique musical identity for the series that has become her namesake. While the quality of many other aspects of the series has wavered since, Yoko Shimomura’s music has always been consistently excellent. I personally feel her music tells the story better than the dialogue most of the time, giving KH an operatic feel. For this reason, I consider Yoko the true “heart” of Kingdom Hearts. But what makes KH1 work so well is ultimately the characters. The two trios of KH1 (Sora/Riku/Kairi and Sora/Donald/Goofy) are both smartly written and believable. The game brilliantly uses its tutorial level for character development, allowing us as players to experience Sora’s friendly rivalry with Riku by letting us spar with him (as well as foreshadowing his future boss battles). Likewise, the fetch quest for Kairi provides a nice opportunity to get to know her and to establish the mystery of her past. My personal image of Kairi, 20 years later, will always be her standing on the raft making the Thalassa shell good luck charm. It’s rare to find characters so instantly likable, and it’s a credit to the scenario writer(s) who were able to lay the foundation for the game’s story and gameplay so naturally. In the end, KH1 withstands the test of time because it makes the most of its parts. Every moment shows the imagination, passion and dedication of its developers. It’s hard to believe Sora has been a friend for 20 years. I’ll always be grateful to Tetsuya Nomura that he had the courage to make such a ridiculous, impossible elevator pitch which has given me so many wonderful memories and been a guiding light in dark times. Edit: writers for KH1: Daisuke Watanabe, Jun Akiyama and Kazushige Nojima
Spoilers ahead for KH1's story: For the story, I also really appreciate the theme of finding the light within the darkness. It starts off very defined as Sora lost his home, his friend, and his family. He's in the darkest situation of his life and through that, he finds it in himself to make new friends and try to get back what was lost. That concept is played back symbolically when he is turned into a heartless, a being completely of darkness, where his friend is able to find him, find his light deep within, and bring him back to the light. This is where he realizes that in the deepest darkness, there's a light that never goes out. This concept is reinforced for him at the end while the door is opening where he knows without a doubt that deep within the core of the darkness of kingdom hearts is that light.
Nice video on KH1. I like that you tried to phrase the reasons why people can resonate with the story. Sora is just an absolute shining beacon of purity and innocence that I find it hard not to be transported back to my childhood days where I had a similar view on friends, morals and the world.
Great vid! Completely disagree with the idea that Riku and Sora don’t have a defined friendship in this game. The fight and race on Destiny Islands is a direct way the player affects and feels their friendship. On top of that, the three of them are building a raft together which, to me, is a great and active way to display their current relationship and dynamic.
One thing you have to remember is that this is an early 2000's game, the combat system is actually the same as in Final Fantasy XII, the only difference being that with Final Fantasy, when you entered a Command, you entered this weird queue, while in Kingdom Hearts they were executed immediately! My mate, whose PS2 copies I initially borrowed, felt that this would have improved XII immensely! The 1.5 and 2.5 HD Remixes, along with the Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Collection are the very reason why I actually got a PS3 in the first place, not, as my late brother believed I wanted one for, to play Blu-Ray! 2.8 and 3, among other games, are pretty much what I now want a PS4 for!
XII is on a cool down system between inputs. It's basically an MMO combat system in a single player game. KH1 is an action game with a menu input system.
For me pretty much hit the nail right on the head great video, the story is very underappreciated and I'm glad someone else brought the better things about it to, well, light
New subscriber here! Just found your channel, and I LOVE the fact that you don’t swear in this video! I’m a Christian, and it bothers me when other KH youtubers seem to swear every few sentences for no reason! Keep it family friendly man! Great video!
Very solid breakdown of the first KH. It's probably the only KH game you could coherently explain the plot of the game without having an aneurism. I think you missed one small detail about the keyblades. Certain keyblades tend to bounce less/more when hitting enemy tough spots or when blocking.
I especially agree on the gummi ship part. My girlfriend watched me play through the entire series over the last few months, and I refused to let her look at the map because it was so satisfying to watch her face light up as she realized what world we were landing in. I wish they kept this in each game!
I never understood why fans say the Disney worlds in KH1 are filler since you pretty much can’t cut out any of them without leaving massive plot holes within the overarching narrative. Sure, I can see the case being made that for other games in the series they are mostly filler, KH2’s Disney Worlds are practically exclusively filler with the exception of Space Paranoids and BBS, DDD and KH3 barely use it’s Disney Worlds either, aside from the occasional run in with whatever the looming threat of the given game is (and then there’s Days, CoM and Coded which mostly use their Disney worlds as sidequests with thematic tie-in to the games narrative). As for KH1, something significant happens in each world that ties into the overarching plot (okay maybe not Olympus), mostly the Disney villain and Princesses of Heart plotline which is the main overarching threat up until about two thirds through the game when Ansem is revealed as the big bad. Wonderland introduces Alice who gets abducted by the villains by the end of the world, Deep Jungle is used to test the relationship between our two protagonists, Monstro is the starting point for Riku’s turn to villainy, Agrabah has another Princess abduction plotline, Halloween Town and Atlantica show the defeat of members of the villain council + worldbuilding for the KH universe, and finally Neverland is the continuation of the Riku plotline and setup for Hollow Bastion. And I guess 100 Acre Woods is basically all filler but it’s cute and I wouldn’t wanna live in a world where it’s not included in KH1. You can’t really cut any of these worlds out of the game without some major questions popping up, like who are the Princesses of Heart? What happened to all the members of that Disney villain council? Why is Riku doing what he’s doing? Wtf is a keyhole? Compare that to f.e. the Land of Dragons world in KH2. Would anything really be lost by cutting that out? Not really, everything that happens in it has zero significance on anything happening outside that world and it’s never mentioned again outside of it’s two visits. Tl;dr, KH1 slaps
On my first full playthrough of kh1 final mix, I had just enough exp to level up during the Riku Ansem fight in Hollow Bastion. I actually like tech points because in certain fights I will block and parry attacks and even if it isn't much, it adds up. Each time I fought that battle before winning, I leveled up by blocking and that's pretty rad.
My 1st Kh game was re coded and then kh2 then Kh and then the 0.2 game and then the Kh 1.5+2.5 remix game where I decided to play KH2FM 1st and then the others and if it wasn’t for Kh re coded and KH2 then I wouldn’t be a KH fan and as a KH fan I love this video dude keep up the good work
Such a good review that I can already figure out how the assessment of KH2 is going to go: while the combat system is a definite improvement, that came at the cost of everything else getting a noticeable downgrade. Exploration's a lot more limited while vertical level design and puzzles in general got gutted, creating very flat level design across the board that got bigger but has little depth because movement upgrades became locked behind the Drive forms and are optional (which the game doesn't do a good job telling you how they even level up). This is made worse with the fact you're forced to revisit the worlds again.
For me the biggest problem with Kingdom Hearts has always been Riku and Kairi. Riku is shown to be a bit of a dick in the beginning, albeit a well meaning one, and then is immediately thrust into darkness. A villain almost from the get go. But we're supposed to believe him and Sora are friends and that he's worth searching for. And he spends the whole game being manipulated and becoming more and more dickish. Until he isn't. He's never given a chance to be his own character. And even in KH2 his whole character is coming to terms with being manipulated. So we never get to see him in his base personality until literally the final boss. Then Kairi is just absent for basically the entirety of Kingdom Hearts. Her only traits are missing Sora and being helpless on her own. It makes searching for her more of a narrative obligation than anything we care about as a viewer of the story.
I remember importing the final mix version from japan way back in the day and having to mod my ps2 due to region locking. For some reason the UI and subtitles were in English but all the voices were Japanese. Which was fine because I like both of the casts. I'd freak out super hard because of all the small differences and bonus content. Great times
Remember when KH was simple. I recently looked into UX because I had heard of it and knew the general premise. I heard time travel in kingdom hearts is broken, I did not realize just how convoluted it was... Looking at this I laugh. Like, "hey kid you think you have it bad? You wanna here about this world that was destined to be destroyed and bring about the death of millions of children?"
Seeing videos like this being uploaded two decades after this games inception makes me happy. People will still talk about this game in a hundred years man
Never finished KH1, Re:Coded, 358/2 days, or Re:Chain Of Memories, but did finish 2, Birth By Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance. Currently working on Melody of Memory, and haven't played 3 yet.
I gave this game 12 hours, I really wanted to see in it what so many others saw but just never grabbed me - specially the gameplay which had me forcing myself to stay awake on several occasions - maybe someday I'll give it another go and feel different
I have a theory about the ‘Paopu Fruit.’ … It’s an allegory for marriage. It is my impression that this idea of ‘a special fruit that eternally binds two people who share one’ could be: - a cultural wedding ritual actively performed by the Natives of Destiny Islands’ ancestors or - a metaphorical way parents explain to their children what a Marriage is Selphie explains the ‘legend’ to Sora as if it’s like a rumor… “Have you heard about…?” Imagine an impressionable child overhearing their parent discussing their wedding plans. Imagine a Rugrats scenario where the child believes that a shared fruit (or rings), symbolizing two people binding each other forever, *actually* has special powers to do just that… instead of the reality where it’s the vows and their love for each other that binds a couple together. It’s also my belief that the *act* of offering the fruit itself could also be a stand-in for a Proposal. Where Sora draws on the cave wall, he draws his portrait extending a Paopu to Kairi… and then at the end of the game… Kairi reciprocates his proposal by offering one in return. Side note: In KH3, it’s Kairi who proposes first and then Sora… albeit slightly confused… accepts. I think this is a bit out of character for Sora, considering KH1 and 2, but maybe he just got over his crush on her by the end of DreamDropDistance… but whatever. The Re:Mind ending solidifies their relationship regardless. We could also look at one of the definitions of ‘marriage’ if it helps: - a combination or mixture of two or more elements Two things coming together, is the basic idea here. Like two people’s fates intertwining forever by sharing a star-shaped fruit, apparently.
Great video man! You had a consistent message throughout the video, that with a different perspective, the simplicity of the game had purpose. I will say that your analysis of the combat made the video more of a game review than an analysis, but I guess it can't be ignored in order to look at the game objectively. Still, good stuff! As a fan of the game since childhood, I think you did the game justice.
Thank you for this!! There really is a lot of great themes and aspects of the story to dig into than people think with these games, and it’s great to see people digging into them like this. I didn’t even put the coming of age part together in all of my personal analysis because I’ve been focused so much on the metaphorical resonance of Nobodies lmao
Beautiful analysis of the story. Cherishing those childhood memories, the Disney worlds, as you push into the strange and dangerous beyond; a true coming of age story. Great video!
This game was reward for best crossover game of the year, seriously, Final Fantasy characters, mechanics as well and Disney worlds, back then was a incredible game
On the jungle everytime you go to the tree house you can actually just engage in the mini game from a certain spot if you jump off. It makes you fall right to the tree slide and an easy way back to the tent
8:00 in my opinion, the Tech Point system is a bit slow in the beginning of the game and completely optional (since aren't many big threats), but as you progress further down the line, the TP system is more reliable and honestly recommended to push through big hoards of Heartless and various mini or major bosses, especially for end game. I can't tell you how many times I needed it to combo streak for the final and post game bosses in Proud Mode.
Absolutely. I think KH1 is a really good game with cohesive theme and plot. KH1's plot is the best that the series can offer for me along with 358/2 and BBS. Each world was relevant to the story on their own. KH2's worlds is probably more of the filler worlds than KH1, and KH3's worlds are just so directionless in the grand narrative of things but tried to sprinkle some ideas that make each of them relevant to the final showdown, but not to the main plot of that game.
I love KH but at what point did you actually explain what makes this game smarter than I think? You literally just said the exact perspective that everyone else already has.
That's what I'm saying! Dead ass, if you went on the web and grabbed a handful of opinions from the KH reddit, you'd practically get everything this video takes half an hour to explain. I used to be happy about the more positive KH videos, but they're all either derivative or defensive.
@@gg.no.re. Thank you! Thought I was going crazy here being the only one to think like this. It might just be me, but I think the fandom took the criticisms laid on the series too personally and all these copy-paste videos are being sent out as some sort of damage control (even though they're literally just repeating the same two things in different ways at this point).
Glad u got to experience them I kinda wish I woulda experienced it later in life it was my first ps2 game I was young and didn’t know how to play games yet 😂 but I loved it
I'm not a fan of Nomura's directing style, and I still stand by the fact that he's a better character-artist than he is a creative director (with TWEWY being the sole exception), but I turned around pretty strongly on Kingdom Hearts as an overall game. I ended up enjoying it. While its cringe moments and "hearts, darkness and light" word soup does rub me the wrong way, the combat was fun in a Paper Mario customization kind of way, and the overall gameplay was engaging enough to carry me through to the end. When it comes to the relationship between the three human characters, I can see how kids my age were so enamoured with this series, and how these characters could stick with them throughout their childhoods and all the way into adulthood. It also helps that I got the All-In-One Package for £22.50...
You say they don't deal a lot of damage, but I remember Donald getting aheck lot of Attack since he doesn't unlock many abilities in his levels. So having Donald customized to hit enemies also helps
I’m glad to see the growing number of videos that offer these games greater respect. They are my absolute favorites and likely always will be. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends. :)
Dude, I have to agree with Deep Jungle Until this day, I still have no idea how I managed to finish that world as a kid. I just, kinda find out the right way and finally seal the keyhole. It kinda made me wanted to replay it to properly finish it and not by accident.
A lot of people genuinely hate Deep Jungle and even I found going though it to be tedious, but I genuinely liked what they attempted to do as far as the aesthetic of the Tree House, Camp, Waterfall and jungle overall.
I loved reading Donald Duck comic books when I was a kid. They were (and are?) pretty big in Europe. So when I saw the box art for the first game in a gaming store in the early 2000s, with Donald and Goofy brooding in front of a giant heart-shaped moon along with some cool teen humans, I pretty much had to buy it :P
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Just putting my comments here all in 1 since mobile screwed me. Have fun reading the wall of text, everyone (I am just very passionate about this series lol).
The "coming of age" theme and others of the narrative are often jumbled into the "Shonen-inspired" critique of the story, in other words it borrows heavily from Japanese manga normally marketed toward boys and teens. Rather then focus solely on just the coming of age or other aspect, the critique groups all these inspirations together. It is certainly worth noting however what each of these Shonen inspired themes are, and I'm glad you highlight it nonetheless.
KH1, by far, incorporates the Disney aspects the best overall in the series. The fact most world's villains are involved in the overarching narrative alone qualifies it for this. But the fact the worlds also actually develop the characters, their relationships, and have other plot focused importance such as some including Princesses of Heart or revealing answers to questions such as the location of Kairi (later found out to be just her body) further strengthen that opinion. The issue with "filler" really does not rear its head until after this game, with no subsequent one coming close imo.
Speaking of, ah the overarching plot. How simple and filled with childish wonder this first game was. However, contrary to what you might hear, it is not the complex nature of the narrative going forward that is the real issue: it is the execution. I think most would agree with this if they could properly convey their frustration. The execution just makes it feel like a narrative with no direction with the twists and turns constantly at odds with what came before (in other words, a ton of unnecessary retcons). Having no direction initially is fine, but good writing normally at least attempts to mask that fact by tying new plot threads with old seamlessly rather then just constantly changing the rules. KH3 is the worst in terms of plot overall imo and that's probably popular opinion along with DDD, but it's at the bottom of a franchise that is already low to the floor.
As for the characterization, this is one of the best executed in the series imo, though it still has issues as you point out (I would give "best" actually to "352/2 Days" unironically, since most of its narrative is centered around the group relationship and Roxas learning what it means to be alive with little plot elsewhere). It's not as often brought up as the plot issues, but most games do also have a character problem. Ironically, the popular favorite "KH2" I would say has the worst of this, despite many perhaps citing KH3 (though it's definitely bottom 3).
Sora goes from a character realistically reacting to the events unfolding around him to a generic, flanderized Shonen protagonist that is always optimistic in the face of adversity or overly emotional when it comes to his relationships. These are aspects of his character in KH1, but in KH2 they become his entire character with no further nuance whatsoever. And then of course, Riku and Kairi barely have screentime with Riku's entire arc happening off screen and Kairi getting basically nothing besides a tease at her ability to wield a Keyblade, the organization is just an obstacle with no real further personal development, etc. The best character is Roxas by far, and yet his section has its own issues (mostly gameplay and pacing).
As for gameplay, it is definitely the most highly debated amongst the internet fandom. I would say most feel KH2 is the tightest in terms of polish and most influencers do prefer KH2 overall, but as for preference that is a bit more contentious. I want to go on record that my favorite as of now, despite the controversy, is KH3 after the combat updates post launch (hard to say considering KH2 had been easily my favorite for a long time). I think most would at least appreciate it now if they gave it another go. It is by far the one with the most options, and when fully explored give you everything you need to easily deal with some of the more complained about enemies in the game without resorting to broken Links or the despised attractions (which you can now turn off btw). Exploration and movement is by far at its best in KH3, having far more options then most and with Flowmotion not being as broken as in DDD requiring you to take advantage of all options to optimize movement.
I never realized that the story was an allegory for growing up, but now that I think about it...
Dang.
I really appreciate that you can still critique stuff that you're actually a fan of. I can't stand the ideology that if you like a product/franchise, then you have to like everything about it or at least act like there's nothing wrong with it. Problem is, if you can't critique something then you can't necessarily do better, can you? Great work man. I'm gonna watch some more of your stuff.
Nam saying "Bambi is an absolute beast" in the least ironic way possible made my day.
Ikr
It never gets old lol been hearing people refer to Bambi as "broken af" since like 2010. Good shit.
Sora losing his keyblade says so much about him. His friends left him and he is helpless, yet he immediately goes over to help Beast because that's the kinda person Sora is. He cares so much for others that he doesn't even hesitate to help another. I love Kingdom Hearts and KH1 will forever be one of my favorite games.
I remember playing through that part as a child my first playthrough and being absolutely devasted the same way Sora felt. So it kinda felt like I was pushing forward and working with Beast the same way Sora did. It was a strong moment in the game to me and really cemented what kind of person Sora was because I related to it.
@@shikadude95 you forgot a few letters in "devastated", my dude. Lol
Fun fact: Talking to Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie multiple times gives us a bit more about Sora, Riku, and Kairi. For example, Selphie reveals that no one knows what S/R/K are working on the raft. Tidus asks if Sora and Riku are really friends, as to someone on the outside it looks like they dont like each other. And Wakka reinforces that Riku is the most mature one on the island.
I love that you gwt lore from these guys, and being able to fight Riku multiple times shows the competitiveness of the two. I stayed on Destiny Island for several hours just having fun and talking to people and fighting and exploring that by the time I left I was a couple of levels strong and had a big attachment to the Island and my friends.
@@wiseforcommonsense Destiny Islands has so much story and character that gets passed up because its the "tutorial level"
I really hope we See them again in 4 and future titles
I truly appreciate this video for acknowledging KH as a coming-of-age story. People seem to have a really bad habit of ignoring that interpretation, especially as the series goes on.
I couldn't be happier that Disney lost the rights to Tarzan in between KH1 and its sequels. Nothing could get me to suffer through Deep Jungle again.
Deep jungle is actually one of the worst worlds in the series imo. I’ve seen a lot of people drop the game because of it, which sucks
@@NamsCompendium you both should watch Novayon’s video defending it.
@@NamsCompendium when I was a kid I hated that level too, but later on as a adult and learning how the world works, I started to love it it was a lot of fun speeding through it finding the best routes to take for non stop action.
Its actually a top 5 world
@@Grown_B Yeah I actually really like the exploration and platforming in the original Kingdom Hearts. It’s part of the reason I prefer it to the relatively flatter and more linear sequels. I’ve never found it that clunky.
A small detail that doesn't return except for a few exceptions In kh1 and a little of 2 you get different cut scenes depending on whether you win fights or go to worlds out of order Sora finds out Riku is Ansem early Sora beats Leon and more down the line
Getting to choose your order without random chance is the trade-off for the lack of surprise issue brought up in the video. It really is just preference, and imo I do agree with Nam.
it happens on bbs too
@@robertomoreno9570 ?????
I’ve played the games multiple times. But, I don’t recall learning Riku is Ansem early. Where did you find out? I’ve tried looking it up, but to no avail.
@@RelatvityUnset you have to skip monstro and go to Hollow bastion it's weird
Kingdom Hearts is an incredibly strange and surreal franchise. The story is relatively tame in the first game but goes full "Burning Dumpster Going 80mph" and while some might find that bad, the fact the games are absolutely genuine about it and back up even the weakest Kingdom Hearts game with interesting systems and mechanics... it's just wild. Kingdom Hearts is a franchise you love but also have to sometimes ask what the heck is going on, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Honestly it really isn’t that hard to understand IMO.
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE I agree it really is simple to understand especially when approached in order of release as opposed to trying to follow chronologically.
I'm say no the experience is surreal yes but this franchise has this problem where the creator Nomura has a lot ideas that works on paper rather than execution.
This franchise has took a nosedive to WTF are you thinking territory, it pretty obvious that Nomura only cares for visual aesthetics. I mean a lot of KH best moments are cool visual and sometimes good to okay story moments, but the franchise has this issue of no one checking or edits on Nomura works.
This might be unrelated but I personally think that The World End With You and Neo works as Nomura games, is because they are pretty tamed sure Nomura is the creative producer but at least someone is making sure it doesn't become another KH.
@@zetamangads Nah I respectfully disagree. The execution of the story has always been excellent IMO. It’s not all just visual aesthetics. Nomura is a godlike writer and I’ll die on this hill
@@BobbyTheGamerOfJUSTICE no he was never a writer, the guy started as a character designer and the moved to game directing, the guy has cool concept that works on visual but he no writter.
You might like it, cool but I'm been a fan of KH since Chain of Memories the original GBA not the ps2, and after KH2 it clear to me the guy has no sense of writing. He has cool concept that only works on visual cinematic.
I might respect the boldness but there so much I can take other franchise or director like Kojima knows what they're are making, but Nomura is that emo kid that tries desperately to stand out. Nothing wrong with that but it obvious that he needs someone to say this doesn't work, creators are they're own worst enemy because they have no idea that just because an idea works and sound good in your it doesn't mean it executed well.
I'm have a love hate relationship with franchise, the love comes from the gameplay the hate is with Nomura. I always stand by that Nomura is not writer because time and time again the only thing he cares is too shock the audience and making cool visual.
I have seen and played games,Movie,Anime,Manga,Light Novel and other media that does what Nomura, for example Jojo is a bit similar to KH surrealism but Araki knows how to go too far plus he always try improve or rewrite his older concept, Nomura doesn't do that he always try to out do himself in visual and so on. He never sees or try to improve he always does the same mistakes.
You might like him because of the ideas and concept which is fine but not for me I'm already fed up with him KH3 was the last straw and Union Cross ending just made it worse for me.
"Dumbo just kinda sucks."
"Complete and total immortality while active" would like to have a word with you.
Okay I believe you.
the coming of age comment and using hollow bastion and the end of the world as metaphors for growing up really hit for me. thanks for reminding me why i loved this game :)
One of the major things that always sticks out to me is how spells interact with the environment for puzzles and such, like freezing the torches and bubbles, fire on the Halloween Town platforms, lightning on the wires, the Deep Jungle camp “experiment”, etc. I haven’t found that much in other games (and very little in the rest of the KH series) and I miss it.
24:55 It's kinda funny to think about how basic the general premise for Ansem was back in KH1, unlike now where he's supposed to be created through a series of taking over a body, amnesia, stealing someone else's name and time travel.
If you read the secret reports in the literal first game you’d know that ansem wasn’t something just basic
@@ftsar3494 I did read the secret reports, he was supposed to be a scientist driven by his search for knowledge and because of that he fell to darkness and ended up endangering the worlds. There was no indication that he was Xehanort pretending to be Ansem, or about his plan to time travel in order to forge the X-Blade. Sure it's not that "basic" but it is way simpler than what came after.
@@RadinV1 if u agree it wasn’t that basic then why u still replying???, I Never said anything about ansem pretending at all I just said it wasn’t basic
@@ftsar3494 I meant basic compared to what we have now, and you're acting as if it was super complex when it wasn't.
@@RadinV1 hey bro all I said was that it wasn’t basic, don’t be mad that what you thought I meant wasn’t true
The Disney worlds feeling like filler is a criticism targeted more at the later titles, as the first game is the one that contextualises their place in the plot the best.
Was just about to post this verbatim. It's one of the reasons I feel KH1 is the best game in the series. You actually have a reason to go to the various Disney worlds, they help with character development, and the main Disney characters/princesses actually play a primary role in the overall narrative. Contrast that with KH3 where after Olympus, the game is basically telling you to go to various worlds to waste time.
Yeah I love Kh2 and 3 but these 2 feel like the disney worlds are really innecesary
"Say fellas, did somebody mention the door to darkness?" Is the single most iconic quote from this series and embodies the entire reason why i cannot take it seriously.
They'll pay for this
I think it’s just one of the most Memed lines in the series when taken out of context.
@@oreotaku4017 “Kairi’s inside me?”
“It’s Riku! They put bugs in him!”
“-Guys. I gotta go inside.
-Who’s to say it’s even safe inside Riku?”
“Darkness within darkness awaits you Riku!”
“I have unfinished business with this puppet.”
“Xion… who else will I have ice cream with..?”
“I do know hurt.”
And many more I’m sure I missed.
@@Lord_Sunqu I’m disappointed that out of all the double entendre and exploitables you failed to list Yuffie’s
“I’ve heard the Keyblade can open all sorts of locks.”
And
“Think of this as an adventure.”
Bruh
This game aged better than I remember, but the navigation is definitely hasn’t.
Let's not forget, the music is just BRILLIANT! Each score helps tell the story told, and still holds emotional value to the players as we go back to listen to them once more.
The tech points system isn’t purely a exp reward, it’s also a hint for the player. With the example of the elemental heartless hitting them with their opposite gives you tech points but it also kills them instantly. Parrying yuffies ranged attack gives you tech points, but also damages and stuns her. The best example is probably in the secret boss fight against unknown, where casting gravity will give you tech points and opens up a window to land a combo, which is otherwise pretty much impossible.
None of the worlds in KH1 are filler. They each contribute to the Princess of Heart hunt, Disney villain coalition or developing friendship between Sora, Donald and Goofy. The way the Disney villains know from the outset about the wider universe through Maleficent, and some of them falling to their worst indulgences while working with darkness, is easily the best way the Disney villains have been used in the whole franchise.
Underated comment
Best in the series but still not that great. Soras involvement in the world's doesn't do much in terms of finding or saving the princesses. Remove him and the plot still unfolds the same. It is cool that the villains know about each other and the wider world but they're still pretty isolated from each other and the overarching story. Only maleficent really has any impact on the plot
@@samoth5161 Captain Hook escorts Riku and the comatose Kairi on the Jolly Roger to Hollow Bastion, or at least until Sora turns up on the ship. At the end of Agrabah’s story Aladdin uses his last wish to allow Genie the freedom to join Sora, which is how Genie becomes a summon. Quite a few of the Princess of Heart worlds crossover with the villain alliance ones, villains coming to a sticky end because Sora defeated them.
Man, this game has some good emotions for me. When my wife and I started dating 6 years ago, one of the first things we did when we found out that we both loved gaming was to have the other person play a game series that meant a lot to us. It was Halo for me, and for her it was Kingdom Hearts. And let me tell you, playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time on my PS3 with my now wife by my side was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had, and I would not give it up for anything!
That honestly sounds amazing
I prefer KH1 in terms of how it went about incorporating Disney into the crossover shenanigans going on. I know KH2 had the worlds as recaps of the movies, but KH1 is not that at all. Major events in each of the plots were changed to fit in with the crossover, for example I don't remember Ariel killing Ursula in Little Mermaid but she helps us do that in KH1. Not only that but we kill Clayton before he can kill Kerchek, that's a major change to the plot of Tarzan. I wish KH would go back to the old days, where Disney characters were allowed to be badass.
KH3 had it's fair share of badass Disney moments like the Woody burn and the famous Yeetus Vanitas.
I know the programmers talked about how working woth newer properties meant the teams that created them were still around and had strong limits on what they could and couldn't do. It make it harder for them to work Sora into the plot and change things up. Kh3 shows this perfectly with Toy story having some really fun moments and frozen having to be rewritten and not able to be even a proper recap of the movie
MICKEY MOUSE? 🤨Finished the first game before this review, couldn't have asked for a better analysis of the game. I had a hard time with the gameplay, but even as an adult if you can look past the initial juvenile setting it is a great experience
You seem really cool do you do videos too🤔
@@PunchinBag01 only a spoonful
Omg you made a kh video like you said. Can we give this man a thumbs up for appreciating great games!
I love that when Nam likes a game he goes, "in case you haven't noticed, I loved this game"
Imagine thinking Dumbo sucks!
that elephant is a beast against single enemies you have to deal with with magic. During the Kurt Zisa boss fight, after the spell cancelling orbs are broken Dumbo just *LAYS INTO IT* my god...
i personally wasnt too big on the combat and "slowness" of it all, but its still a charming classic game
Ah, the original Kingdom Hearts, a game I rented from Blockbusters when it first came out... and couldn't get past Wonderland because looking for the next cutscene in the early stages was as if I was wandering through darkness itself.
Yeah, I always saw the cutscenes early in the game as a checkpoint to tell me that "yeah you finally found the place you were supposed to be in"
Riku in this game is a textbook example on tunnel visioning on the final goal without thinking about the consequences until it's too late.
I hope you will continue offering defense of the story and it's themes. People who hate these games wonder what people see in them, and while I do enjoy the convoluted nonsense I think the fact the series has things like the "Having you for a friend" line and just that entire scene in general is what makes me really care about it. It decides that it doesn't care if the story really makes sense, as long as it can use it to tell poignant stories about simple but interesting characters. It's melodramatic and cheesy as shit, it's that type of anime kicked up to 11, but when it really gets down to brass tacks, if you can allow yourself to get sucked into those moments, it can feel great.
People make fun of that line from 2 I mentioned, but I'll always have my heart warmed by it.
copium
@@Xendra Coping with what? The fact that people are too up their own ass with "muh cringe" to appreciate the genuinely well executed parts of this series? I don't need to cope with that, I've already accepted you're all idiots.
@@ElectricBarrier when you gaslight yourself into thinking kh is well written
@@Xendra Uh huh, yeah. Whatever, man.
If it makes you feel any better, I think the fact there are like a billion Xehanorts is pretty funny too.
People can sit around all day talking about whether or not something is well written; but even something that isn't too terribly well constructed can have good moments and be enjoyable on its own right.
The biggest problem with pre-Final-Mix Kingdom Hearts is of course the camera. L2 and R2 are not appropriate camera controls!
Fun fact: Sora's initial outfit is based on Mickey Mouse himself, and Kairi's design - most namely, her hairstyle - is based on Utada Hikaru, the artist who sang several theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series.
(So what was Riku's design based on??)
Kairi's hairstyles over the years are actually based off Utada's hairstlyles at that moment. There's a pic comparing Kairi's and Utada's hairstyles.
The only thing I miss is a little discussion about Kairi.
I really like her role in this story, even if it can come out as a damsel in distress trope. The concept of Kairi being inside Sora throughout the game, giving him strength without him even knowing is a really cute metaphor for love (in all it's forms). That we don't need to physically be together in order to feel we're helping one another through love and support.
It's also an incredibly effective mirror of Riku's story. While he has a scientific, nihilistic, adult possesing his body like a puppet, Sora has a childhood friend giving him strength to face danger. Riku holds a darkness while Sora holds a light.
Kairi is actually the core of the entire KH1 narrative, with her memories of her childhood in Hollow Bastion supporting this Nostalgia reading, as well as her returning to Destiny Islands as if it's her home, instead of Hollow Bastion, because she has happier memories of living in the islands than in the castle.
Kairi's lucky charm representing memory and remembrance, as well as home, would be used throughout the saga as a contrast for darkness representing oblivion and forgetting something important.
Kingdom Hearts series in general is my favorite video game franchise of all time. Love this story!
Will there be follow up videos on KH2 and 3? This is great!
I want to get around to talking about all the series at some point. Not exactly back to back, but I'll be covering them all
Before going to 3, he needs to cover the other games and covering all the games is actually hard to understand
I can't enjoy this review because you didn't explain the entire kh lore. 10/10. Unsubscribed.
Wut you mean he just posted it you didn't even watch it
@@liptontea7455 Wow. A person posts an obvious joke commet at the very beginning and someone doesn’t understand that?! How revolutionary...
True!
It's so cool seeing videos like this. Even if the story or gameplay seems clunky to some, the people who take the time to enjoy the game for what it is always end up having some connection to the game. Whether it be happy nostalgia, inspiration, recognition and consideration of the game's themes, or something more life changing, this series has really grown a great fanbase. With the words and passion used to describe how people feel towards the game - though it varies from person to person - you can tell it has a place in their heart. It'd be awesome to see you do videos like this on the whole series. Great video, and good work!
Maybe it’s just me, but the interactivity in KH1 worlds is the best out of the whole series imo
It's so funny that the simple plot of "Final Fantasy meets Disney!" Turned into this... and it's not bad at all
YES, THANK YOU! You're one of the few people to cover the game without any kind of sarcasm or cynicism, and I greatly appreciate that. KH1 definitely isn't perfect, but it sets a solid foundation for a series that would go to some amazing heights, and it definitely has its own simple charms that make revisiting it worthwhile, even today.
Absolutely agree with you on Deep Jungle, though. I am glad that world never came back
I grew up with the series from the first week of release I begged my grandparents and one day I came home from school and there it was literally the only source of happiness in my childhood I think
Given your choice of title, I wonder if you've watched the video BMask did on this series last year. Either way, this was super enjoyable to watch, and I'm happy you made it. Thank you!
Great video! KH1 is a true classic worthy of the Disney Renaissance movies it features. There are 3 keys to KH1’s lasting legacy: the scenario writing, Yoko Shimomura’s score and Nomura’s character designs. Watanabe, Nojima and Nomura had both recently worked on FFX, and it’s easy to see how much FFX influenced KH’s aesthetic (Destiny Islands/Besaid Island, Hollow Bastion/Bevelle, the Station of Awakening, Riku’s fisherman pants lol...). Musically, KH allowed Yoko Shimomura to explore new territory, fusing her own established style with the style of Alan Menken (and other Disney composers) to create a unique musical identity for the series that has become her namesake. While the quality of many other aspects of the series has wavered since, Yoko Shimomura’s music has always been consistently excellent. I personally feel her music tells the story better than the dialogue most of the time, giving KH an operatic feel. For this reason, I consider Yoko the true “heart” of Kingdom Hearts.
But what makes KH1 work so well is ultimately the characters. The two trios of KH1 (Sora/Riku/Kairi and Sora/Donald/Goofy) are both smartly written and believable. The game brilliantly uses its tutorial level for character development, allowing us as players to experience Sora’s friendly rivalry with Riku by letting us spar with him (as well as foreshadowing his future boss battles). Likewise, the fetch quest for Kairi provides a nice opportunity to get to know her and to establish the mystery of her past. My personal image of Kairi, 20 years later, will always be her standing on the raft making the Thalassa shell good luck charm. It’s rare to find characters so instantly likable, and it’s a credit to the scenario writer(s) who were able to lay the foundation for the game’s story and gameplay so naturally.
In the end, KH1 withstands the test of time because it makes the most of its parts. Every moment shows the imagination, passion and dedication of its developers. It’s hard to believe Sora has been a friend for 20 years. I’ll always be grateful to Tetsuya Nomura that he had the courage to make such a ridiculous, impossible elevator pitch which has given me so many wonderful memories and been a guiding light in dark times.
Edit: writers for KH1: Daisuke Watanabe, Jun Akiyama and Kazushige Nojima
Why couldn't you have made the video? This paragraph alone reads better than everything this generic ass video had to say.
Spoilers ahead for KH1's story:
For the story, I also really appreciate the theme of finding the light within the darkness. It starts off very defined as Sora lost his home, his friend, and his family. He's in the darkest situation of his life and through that, he finds it in himself to make new friends and try to get back what was lost.
That concept is played back symbolically when he is turned into a heartless, a being completely of darkness, where his friend is able to find him, find his light deep within, and bring him back to the light. This is where he realizes that in the deepest darkness, there's a light that never goes out.
This concept is reinforced for him at the end while the door is opening where he knows without a doubt that deep within the core of the darkness of kingdom hearts is that light.
Nice video on KH1. I like that you tried to phrase the reasons why people can resonate with the story. Sora is just an absolute shining beacon of purity and innocence that I find it hard not to be transported back to my childhood days where I had a similar view on friends, morals and the world.
Great vid! Completely disagree with the idea that Riku and Sora don’t have a defined friendship in this game. The fight and race on Destiny Islands is a direct way the player affects and feels their friendship. On top of that, the three of them are building a raft together which, to me, is a great and active way to display their current relationship and dynamic.
One thing you have to remember is that this is an early 2000's game, the combat system is actually the same as in Final Fantasy XII, the only difference being that with Final Fantasy, when you entered a Command, you entered this weird queue, while in Kingdom Hearts they were executed immediately! My mate, whose PS2 copies I initially borrowed, felt that this would have improved XII immensely!
The 1.5 and 2.5 HD Remixes, along with the Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Collection are the very reason why I actually got a PS3 in the first place, not, as my late brother believed I wanted one for, to play Blu-Ray! 2.8 and 3, among other games, are pretty much what I now want a PS4 for!
XII is on a cool down system between inputs. It's basically an MMO combat system in a single player game. KH1 is an action game with a menu input system.
For me pretty much hit the nail right on the head great video, the story is very underappreciated and I'm glad someone else brought the better things about it to, well, light
Who else just got into kingdom hearts
I'm just on Aqua's story in KH BBS
@@finecastleie am still in kh 2 lmao
Just finished 2 today.
@@finecastleie good luck on Aqua, she have the lowest grinding exp besides of Terra and Ventus, but her kit compensates that
@@saxistaja2 just completed her story
New subscriber here! Just found your channel, and I LOVE the fact that you don’t swear in this video! I’m a Christian, and it bothers me when other KH youtubers seem to swear every few sentences for no reason! Keep it family friendly man! Great video!
Kingdom Hearts 1 owns. The music. The gameplay.
Very solid breakdown of the first KH. It's probably the only KH game you could coherently explain the plot of the game without having an aneurism. I think you missed one small detail about the keyblades. Certain keyblades tend to bounce less/more when hitting enemy tough spots or when blocking.
Back when the series was Simple and Clean...
I especially agree on the gummi ship part. My girlfriend watched me play through the entire series over the last few months, and I refused to let her look at the map because it was so satisfying to watch her face light up as she realized what world we were landing in. I wish they kept this in each game!
I never understood why fans say the Disney worlds in KH1 are filler since you pretty much can’t cut out any of them without leaving massive plot holes within the overarching narrative. Sure, I can see the case being made that for other games in the series they are mostly filler, KH2’s Disney Worlds are practically exclusively filler with the exception of Space Paranoids and BBS, DDD and KH3 barely use it’s Disney Worlds either, aside from the occasional run in with whatever the looming threat of the given game is (and then there’s Days, CoM and Coded which mostly use their Disney worlds as sidequests with thematic tie-in to the games narrative).
As for KH1, something significant happens in each world that ties into the overarching plot (okay maybe not Olympus), mostly the Disney villain and Princesses of Heart plotline which is the main overarching threat up until about two thirds through the game when Ansem is revealed as the big bad. Wonderland introduces Alice who gets abducted by the villains by the end of the world, Deep Jungle is used to test the relationship between our two protagonists, Monstro is the starting point for Riku’s turn to villainy, Agrabah has another Princess abduction plotline, Halloween Town and Atlantica show the defeat of members of the villain council + worldbuilding for the KH universe, and finally Neverland is the continuation of the Riku plotline and setup for Hollow Bastion. And I guess 100 Acre Woods is basically all filler but it’s cute and I wouldn’t wanna live in a world where it’s not included in KH1.
You can’t really cut any of these worlds out of the game without some major questions popping up, like who are the Princesses of Heart? What happened to all the members of that Disney villain council? Why is Riku doing what he’s doing? Wtf is a keyhole? Compare that to f.e. the Land of Dragons world in KH2. Would anything really be lost by cutting that out? Not really, everything that happens in it has zero significance on anything happening outside that world and it’s never mentioned again outside of it’s two visits.
Tl;dr, KH1 slaps
Lmfao Dumbo is the most useful summon during level 1 runs. Invincibility frames go brrrr
On my first full playthrough of kh1 final mix, I had just enough exp to level up during the Riku Ansem fight in Hollow Bastion. I actually like tech points because in certain fights I will block and parry attacks and even if it isn't much, it adds up. Each time I fought that battle before winning, I leveled up by blocking and that's pretty rad.
My 1st Kh game was re coded and then kh2 then Kh and then the 0.2 game and then the Kh 1.5+2.5 remix game where I decided to play KH2FM 1st and then the others and if it wasn’t for Kh re coded and KH2 then I wouldn’t be a KH fan and as a KH fan I love this video dude keep up the good work
I love disney! This seems right up my ally 🙂. Thank you Nam's Compendium
Such a good review that I can already figure out how the assessment of KH2 is going to go: while the combat system is a definite improvement, that came at the cost of everything else getting a noticeable downgrade. Exploration's a lot more limited while vertical level design and puzzles in general got gutted, creating very flat level design across the board that got bigger but has little depth because movement upgrades became locked behind the Drive forms and are optional (which the game doesn't do a good job telling you how they even level up). This is made worse with the fact you're forced to revisit the worlds again.
For me the biggest problem with Kingdom Hearts has always been Riku and Kairi. Riku is shown to be a bit of a dick in the beginning, albeit a well meaning one, and then is immediately thrust into darkness. A villain almost from the get go. But we're supposed to believe him and Sora are friends and that he's worth searching for. And he spends the whole game being manipulated and becoming more and more dickish. Until he isn't. He's never given a chance to be his own character. And even in KH2 his whole character is coming to terms with being manipulated. So we never get to see him in his base personality until literally the final boss.
Then Kairi is just absent for basically the entirety of Kingdom Hearts. Her only traits are missing Sora and being helpless on her own. It makes searching for her more of a narrative obligation than anything we care about as a viewer of the story.
I remember importing the final mix version from japan way back in the day and having to mod my ps2 due to region locking. For some reason the UI and subtitles were in English but all the voices were Japanese. Which was fine because I like both of the casts. I'd freak out super hard because of all the small differences and bonus content. Great times
Remember when KH was simple. I recently looked into UX because I had heard of it and knew the general premise. I heard time travel in kingdom hearts is broken, I did not realize just how convoluted it was...
Looking at this I laugh. Like, "hey kid you think you have it bad? You wanna here about this world that was destined to be destroyed and bring about the death of millions of children?"
BAMBI SQUAD RISE UP
Seeing videos like this being uploaded two decades after this games inception makes me happy. People will still talk about this game in a hundred years man
Never finished KH1, Re:Coded, 358/2 days, or Re:Chain Of Memories, but did finish 2, Birth By Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance. Currently working on Melody of Memory, and haven't played 3 yet.
Can't count how many hours I've put into KH1, and I had no idea there were keyblade lengths. lol
LOVE YOUR VIDEOS MAN
I gave this game 12 hours, I really wanted to see in it what so many others saw but just never grabbed me - specially the gameplay which had me forcing myself to stay awake on several occasions - maybe someday I'll give it another go and feel different
Let's GO
That broke me at the end Persona Kingdom Hearts and DMC my three favorite game series
I have a theory about the ‘Paopu Fruit.’
…
It’s an allegory for marriage.
It is my impression that this idea of ‘a special fruit that eternally binds two people who share one’ could be:
- a cultural wedding ritual actively performed by the Natives of Destiny Islands’ ancestors
or
- a metaphorical way parents explain to their children what a Marriage is
Selphie explains the ‘legend’ to Sora as if it’s like a rumor… “Have you heard about…?”
Imagine an impressionable child overhearing their parent discussing their wedding plans.
Imagine a Rugrats scenario where the child believes that a shared fruit (or rings), symbolizing two people binding each other forever, *actually* has special powers to do just that… instead of the reality where it’s the vows and their love for each other that binds a couple together.
It’s also my belief that the *act* of offering the fruit itself could also be a stand-in for a Proposal.
Where Sora draws on the cave wall, he draws his portrait extending a Paopu to Kairi… and then at the end of the game… Kairi reciprocates his proposal by offering one in return.
Side note:
In KH3, it’s Kairi who proposes first and then Sora… albeit slightly confused… accepts.
I think this is a bit out of character for Sora, considering KH1 and 2, but maybe he just got over his crush on her by the end of DreamDropDistance… but whatever.
The Re:Mind ending solidifies their relationship regardless.
We could also look at one of the definitions of ‘marriage’ if it helps:
- a combination or mixture of two or more elements
Two things coming together, is the basic idea here.
Like two people’s fates intertwining forever by sharing a star-shaped fruit, apparently.
Great video man! You had a consistent message throughout the video, that with a different perspective, the simplicity of the game had purpose. I will say that your analysis of the combat made the video more of a game review than an analysis, but I guess it can't be ignored in order to look at the game objectively. Still, good stuff! As a fan of the game since childhood, I think you did the game justice.
26:26 I forgot how much this broke me. 😭
Thank you for this!! There really is a lot of great themes and aspects of the story to dig into than people think with these games, and it’s great to see people digging into them like this. I didn’t even put the coming of age part together in all of my personal analysis because I’ve been focused so much on the metaphorical resonance of Nobodies lmao
I love swimming around Atlantica with fairy harp
Beautiful analysis of the story. Cherishing those childhood memories, the Disney worlds, as you push into the strange and dangerous beyond; a true coming of age story. Great video!
This game was reward for best crossover game of the year, seriously, Final Fantasy characters, mechanics as well and Disney worlds, back then was a incredible game
On the jungle everytime you go to the tree house you can actually just engage in the mini game from a certain spot if you jump off. It makes you fall right to the tree slide and an easy way back to the tent
Excellent analysis as always. Really enjoyed the part of how nostalgia from Disney movies and Sora's adventures were connected.
8:00 in my opinion, the Tech Point system is a bit slow in the beginning of the game and completely optional (since aren't many big threats), but as you progress further down the line, the TP system is more reliable and honestly recommended to push through big hoards of Heartless and various mini or major bosses, especially for end game. I can't tell you how many times I needed it to combo streak for the final and post game bosses in Proud Mode.
Awsome Video! You should make a video about Octopath Traveler sometime.
"Donal can provide healing when you properly set his parameters." wow. That's a rather pointed bit of snark, isn't it? XD
Sora announced for smash and then this gets recommended, good job RUclips
Such a shame the KH story didn't stick to the simplistic Disney style found in this game and instead went full Square Enix in the sequels.
No.
No it got much better,can't take people serious who say the story got bad
Agreed
I grew up with KH. You definitely have shown me a lot of stuff about this game that I didn’t realize before. I hope more people can see this video.
I thought the jungle world was just me. I never knew where I needed to go
Absolutely. I think KH1 is a really good game with cohesive theme and plot. KH1's plot is the best that the series can offer for me along with 358/2 and BBS. Each world was relevant to the story on their own. KH2's worlds is probably more of the filler worlds than KH1, and KH3's worlds are just so directionless in the grand narrative of things but tried to sprinkle some ideas that make each of them relevant to the final showdown, but not to the main plot of that game.
I love KH but at what point did you actually explain what makes this game smarter than I think? You literally just said the exact perspective that everyone else already has.
That's what I'm saying! Dead ass, if you went on the web and grabbed a handful of opinions from the KH reddit, you'd practically get everything this video takes half an hour to explain. I used to be happy about the more positive KH videos, but they're all either derivative or defensive.
@@laststrike4411 yeah bro you ain't kidding. Really hit the nail on the head with that one.
@@gg.no.re. Thank you! Thought I was going crazy here being the only one to think like this. It might just be me, but I think the fandom took the criticisms laid on the series too personally and all these copy-paste videos are being sent out as some sort of damage control (even though they're literally just repeating the same two things in different ways at this point).
Glad u got to experience them I kinda wish I woulda experienced it later in life it was my first ps2 game I was young and didn’t know how to play games yet 😂 but I loved it
I'm not a fan of Nomura's directing style, and I still stand by the fact that he's a better character-artist than he is a creative director (with TWEWY being the sole exception), but I turned around pretty strongly on Kingdom Hearts as an overall game. I ended up enjoying it.
While its cringe moments and "hearts, darkness and light" word soup does rub me the wrong way, the combat was fun in a Paper Mario customization kind of way, and the overall gameplay was engaging enough to carry me through to the end. When it comes to the relationship between the three human characters, I can see how kids my age were so enamoured with this series, and how these characters could stick with them throughout their childhoods and all the way into adulthood.
It also helps that I got the All-In-One Package for £22.50...
"...and Dumbo just kinda sucks." Me playing level one "Dumbo is the most broken overpowered summon right next to mushu."
You say they don't deal a lot of damage, but I remember Donald getting aheck lot of Attack since he doesn't unlock many abilities in his levels. So having Donald customized to hit enemies also helps
"The dialogue is kept simple for kids to understand"
That goes waaaaay out the window starting with Chain of Memories...or Birth By Sleep
I mean, CoM includes the line "That would be an unfortunate dénouement."
Oh yeah? What's 9+10?
I’m glad to see the growing number of videos that offer these games greater respect. They are my absolute favorites and likely always will be.
Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends. :)
Dude, I have to agree with Deep Jungle
Until this day, I still have no idea how I managed to finish that world as a kid. I just, kinda find out the right way and finally seal the keyhole. It kinda made me wanted to replay it to properly finish it and not by accident.
A lot of people genuinely hate Deep Jungle and even I found going though it to be tedious, but I genuinely liked what they attempted to do as far as the aesthetic of the Tree House, Camp, Waterfall and jungle overall.
KH1 was truly ahead of it's time. Developed prior to 2002 and the combat is so fluid and smooth it can even be compared to modern RPGs released today.
I loved reading Donald Duck comic books when I was a kid. They were (and are?) pretty big in Europe.
So when I saw the box art for the first game in a gaming store in the early 2000s, with Donald and Goofy brooding in front of a giant heart-shaped moon along with some cool teen humans, I pretty much had to buy it :P
“If you couldn’t tell” I really couldn’t