So you thought you were too "grown up" to play a Disney themed game? Think again.
The gameplay in Kingdom Hearts is not the traditional turn/semi-turn based combat that is common in Square's Final Fantasy series. Instead, all of the combat is real-time. There is little strategy involved in many of the games' enemy encounters, and the vast majority of them can be taken care of with simple button mashing. Those familiar with the Final Fantasy series (or other Square Enix games) will find that the character development to be quite similar to these games. You'll level your character, gain abilities, spells, and increased attributes depending on you're class you chose at the beginning of the game. You'll also get new equipment and weapons as you progress through the game, each of which has certain advantages (i.e. More power, longer range, critical strike chance and magic boosts). Your character, Sora, is accompanied by two classic Disney characters throughout the game; Goofy and Donald Duck. The trio is tasked to drive back the Heartless and seal the keyholes of different worlds using Sora's keyblade. Your party will always consist of 3 members at most, and although you meet different party members in different worlds, these particular members cannot traverse worlds with you... so the majority of the time, it will just be Sora, Donald, and Goofy in your party. This may seem like a weak point, but after a while, you'll realize that Goofy's defensive abilities and Donald's magic really compliment your character just as well as any of the other characters in the game.
Graphically, the game does a pretty good job of making the characters look and feel true to what you'd expect from seeing their respective Disney movies. There are many Final Fantasy cameos in the game as well, some of which have had a bit of a make-over to make them feel as if they belong in this universe in which the game takes place. At the time of this writing, the game is a few years old, but the overall quality still holds up to today's standards in terms of the look and feel of the game.
The sound also does it's part in setting the mood of any particular area. As expected from a Square Enix game, the music is phenomenal. A lot of the tracks are taken straight from the Disney movies and others composed just for the game. A lot of the tracks are short and loop quite often, but this is only a problem if you don't like the particular track.
The time spent in designing Kingdom Hearts really shows, as the story is well constructed and told in such a way to make it feel epic. For those looking for a fun, somewhat lighthearted approach to an action oriented RPG, look no further. Skeptics, do yourself a favor and give Kingdom Hearts a shot. Whether you're a fan of the source material or not, you are sure to find something to love in Kingdom Hearts.