For a first time partnership, Disney & Squaresoft pull off a highly entertaining and fulfilling experience for the PS2.
Gameplay feels comfortable, the battles this time, instead of regular turn-based fights, take place in real time. Similar to previous FF games, the characters gain experience & abilities as they progress through the game. It all seems pretty linear, with a few options to change the order of proceedings, but some of it will start to feel tedious. One of the only faults in the gameplay has to be the camera, which confuses if you try to fiddle about with it too much (which you no doubt will). Another weakness is the in-between travelling to other worlds, which has you as a ‘gummi’ spaceship battling against other ‘gummi’ ships in order to progress. I have to say that this is the only aspect of the gameplay that I am not comfortable with, it just feels too samey. Especially seeing, as you have to do it every time you finish a world. Apart from that, it’s great.
The sound is absolutely stunning; with A-list voice acting from stars such as Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) and James Woods (Hercules), there is no shortage of talent involved here. Music is upbeat and cheerful, everything you’d expect from a Disney/ Squaresoft production. Composed by Yoko Shimomura, the soundtrack sometimes sounds repetitive and borrows various tunes from previous Disney films.
Graphics are beautifully realised, with Disney and Squaresoft both having various expertise in the field of visual storytelling. Arguably KH’s strongest feature is in its production. Every single Squaresoft and Disney character is fantastically made, offering nothing but the best in detail.
Kingdom Hearts is an often brilliant, beautiful and magical experience that fans of Final Fantasy and Disney will enjoy vastly. There is plenty to do with plenty of time to do it, value for money is not a problem here. Kingdom Hearts truly captures the essence of all things Disney & Square. Definitely worth a look.