Game Debate #103: Kingdom Hearts

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

[Strange | 1,700]

I gave it an 8. Pretty good game and was the first game I got with my PS2 as a kid. Kingdom Hearts 2 is the pinnacle of the series so far, but this is the one that started it all.

[TDIRunner | 2,737]

I've never played it myself, and it's not something I plan to ever play, but from what I know about it, I can absolutely understand why some people would love this game so much.  

[The Count | 527]

I liked the characters and also having to re-explore areas for different items. 8/10.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,526]

I have no idea what I'm gonna score it.  It was one of the first PS2 games I bought, and I played it to 100% completion, including every mundane little side thing.

But every KH game I've played since has been less and less enjoyable.  And the story has made less and less sense.

So now I have to wonder what my modern take on the original would be.

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

Meh.  I couldn't really get into it.

 

[AstralSoul | 502]

Bought a PS2 for this game back in 2003 or whenever it came out. Absolutely LOVED this game back in the day. Then, I finished it...and never continued the franchise. Even to this day this is the only game in the series I've played despite owning the collection on PS4. So going back a few years, when I first got the collection, I was really excited to Kingdom Hearts HD because I hadn't played it in 15 years or so and last I left it, I had very good memories of it. However, this is one of those dreaded cases in which the game does not hold up. Maybe objectively it's still an okay game, but in 2003 it was one of my favorite games. In the 2020's? Not so much. I found the entire game to be an extreme chore. To the point that I couldn't even force myself to finish it this time around. I really wanted to play through it so I can finally play the other games in the series, and sure I could just move onto KH2 but I wouldn't feel right moving on without finish KH one more time.

I used to hold the original game in such high regard, for years despite only playing it through once, now close to 20 years ago, but the realization has hit me: I don't really like the game that much. I tried to assess why that is. I think at the time I was so excited to see Disney themed worlds mixed with Final Fantasy characters, the charm was through the roof. The combat system was pretty unique at the time and I enjoyed it. The story was halfway decent. The soundtrack was (still is) phenomenal. But playing the game today has taken the blindfold off to see the ugly reality of a game that really isn't all that special, where the gameplay is a slog and extremely repetitive, and worst of all the level design is atrocious. I can only think of 2 levels in the entire game that I enjoyed in my most recent attempt at a playthrough (Monstro and Halloween Town). Even just the first two levels are enough to make me delete my save file, turn the system off and throw the disc out the window.

I don't think it's a terrible game, I just don't think it's all that fun. It feels like a chore. I hate chores. It would feel more appropriate to play this game if someone were to give me a weekly allowance for it. I really do want to finish my KH HD playthrough and finally see if KH2 and 3 are better, but my hopes are not that high that will ever happen. Shame.

6/10

[Gloves | 11,777]

I've tried to play it but I always get to the colosseum, kill Sephiroth, then stop playing. Dunno why.

[Brickman | 3,984]

4/10 for me.

Bought it on release and put a few hours into it but got bored of it.

A few years later I swore this time I’d try and finish it because everyone was praising it so maybe I missed something. Tried again and got bored.

I just can’t get into KH and don’t understand the obsession with it.

[RH | 4,903]

I bought this and played it probably around 2007-8.  My wife managed to get a bit into gaming, and since we became Disney nerds after going to WDW for our honeymoon, and choosing to vacation there year after year for about 5 years, playing this was a no-brainer.  I think this is the only game I've played where my wife watched and we didn't play together.

Those were good memories, but we stopped around the time she got pregnant with our first kid so I think we got about 75% of the way through and never went back.  It has a soft spot in my heart because of that, but I don't remember much.  I do think it felt more like a platformer game with RPG elements, rather than an RPG with platforming elements.

Anyway, I gave it an 8 but I kind of want to revisit this one and see if it holds up.  Someone above mentioned the story has gotten weird and hard to follow.  From my casual observations, that seems to be the case and good grief, the naming conventions of this series is up there with being as bad as the Microsoft console line, if not worse.  Anyway, if I ever finish KH1, I think I want to play KH2 and call it a day, unless there are simple, main story adjacent titles for the handhelds.  I might get into those.

[Webhead123 | 675]

Never played it and, if I'm being honest, I probably never will. The idea of mashing up Disney characters with a JRPG was a neat one but RPGs (particularly JRPGs) are already a genre I don't have a lot of time and patience for and this game/series sits pretty low on my list if I'm going to start making up for lost time.

[Foochie776 | 1,052]

Playing for my first time right now!! It’s so fun so far 

[CMR | 519]

Never played it.  It just looked dumb to me.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

I loved it back in 2003! I tried to replay the 1.5 remix, but couldn't get into it. I do love a good button bashing hack and slash with rpg elements, so this was a nice game to kill some time with some classic Disney mixed in.

[OptOut | 8,884]

RPG? Strike 1.

Random mash-up of characters I've no interest in? Strike 2.

Playstation 2? Strike 3! You are OUTTA HERE!!! 

[Sumez | 2,950]

Ah yes, the Kingdom Hearts series while it was still cute, innocent and unspoiled.

Honestly a great game, it's amazing how much they eventually managed to screw up that series.

8/10

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

7 for me. I'm not a JRPG guy, but enjoyed how unique the mashup was, and it has platforming and exploration stuff that I sure do like. Never bothered with the rest of the series though.

[Renmauzo | 1,201]

I went with a 5. There's nothing mechanically wrong with the game, and there are a few strong points (combat fluidity and graphics), but an obtuse story really kills any chance I'd ever play it again. Isn't this also where all the 'belt' jokes started with regards to Nomura's designs? While there were a few games before this that gave me this feeling, this game really cemented that the Square I knew and loved as a teen would never be the same.

Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind when I think Kingdom Hearts is that it's story reminds me of something an edgy and angst-filled teen wearing a sweater two sizes too big while writing 'poetry' under a tree on campus would write thinking they were being clever and profound.

[Sumez | 2,950]

50 minutes ago, Renmauzo said:

Isn't this also where all the 'belt' jokes started with regards to Nomura's designs?