Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. 358/2 was skipped by many. For others, it is an emotionally engaging game. This game was originally released for the Nintendo DS.

Every Kingdom Hearts Game (& What Order You Should Play Them In)
See Full List On En.wikipedia.org
Ranking Every Kingdom Hearts Game Ever Made From Worst To Best
Official JP Website

Every Kingdom Hearts Game (& What Order You Should Play Them In)

From the Kingdom Hearts Wiki: A world of information not accessible by Gummiship

See Full List On En.wikipedia.org

This article is about the series.
You may be looking for other uses of Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts (キングダムハーツKingudamu Hātsu^?) is a series of action role-playing games (RPG) developed and published by Square Enix. It is a collaboration between Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square character designer. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover between Square Enix and Disney based in a fictional universe. The heroes of the series clash against the multiple incarnations of the primary antagonist, Xehanort, throughout the series. The series centers around the main character, Sora's, search for his friends and his encounters with Disney and Square Enix characters in their worlds. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance included characters from The World Ends with You, another Square Enix property, while properties from Pixar and Einhänder were included in Kingdom Hearts III.

The series consists of various games across different video game platforms which was initially a point of contention for many players who could not afford all the platforms, although in the 2010s, most of the games were released in compilations on the PlayStation 3 and later, the PlayStation 4. The main bulk of the series can all be played on PlayStation 4, and those that can not such as Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts coded were adapted into movies for these compilations. Some of the games were re-released as remakes or enhanced ports with the subtitle 'Final Mix'. There are currently 14 main installments released in the series (bolded in the 'Games' section below, although note that the tenth is a movie).

There have been several types of merchandise released along with the games, such as soundtracks, figurines, and companion books. In addition, the games have also been adapted into a manga series and novels.

Most of the games in the series have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, though each installment has seen varying levels of success. As of December 2006, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over ten million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.

Overview[edit]

Further information: Characters of Kingdom Hearts

Tetsuya Nomura, the creator and director of the Kingdom Hearts series.

Kingdom Hearts features a mixture of familiar Disney and Square Enix characters, nearly all of them coming from the Final Fantasy series, as well as several new characters designed and created by Tetsuya Nomura. Though the series features locations unique to the Kingdom Hearts franchise, worlds from Disney films are heavily explored. Sora must visit these worlds and interact with popular Disney characters to protect them from enemies. Often, Sora's actions in these worlds follow closely to the stories featured in their accompanying Disney films. However, in later games in the series, there is less focus on the Final Fantasy aspects and more focus on the Kingdom Hearts characters, instead making small nods and references to Final Fantasy. In one of the dialogues, Donald Duck tells Sora not to interfere with the worlds too much, since such interference would cause problems. Moogles, small creatures from the Final Fantasy series, are another common element in the games. They provide the player with synthesis shops in order to create items for use in the game.

Creation and Influence[edit]

Early sketch of Riku, Sora, and Kairi.

The Kingdom Hearts series is directed by Tetsuya Nomura, who also works as the character designer of the games. Nomura has stated that unlike working with Final Fantasy characters, keeping the main character Sora alive and interesting over multiple games is a challenge. He has also stated that though many of the Disney characters are not normally dark and serious, there were not many challenges making them so for the story, and despite this, their personalities shine because they maintain their own characteristics. Though Disney gave Nomura freedom in the characters and worlds used for the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of the worlds. When deciding which worlds to include in the game, the development staff tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting.

The inclusion of specific Final Fantasy characters was based on the opinions of fans and the development staff. Another criteria for inclusion was whether the staff felt the characters would fit into the storyline and in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Initially, Nomura was hesitant to use characters he did not design, because he was unfamiliar with the background work of such characters. For Kingdom Hearts II, he changed his mind after receiving pressure from his staff. Throughout the development of the games, Nomura has often left certain events and connections between characters unexplained until the release of future games. Nomura did this because he feels that games should have room for fans to speculate and use their imagination. He stated that with speculation, even though a game gets old, people can still be happy with it. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Tetsuya Nomura used characters from The World Ends with You, another Square Enix series, and in Kingdom Hearts III a boss from Eihander was used.

Gameplay[edit]

Once protagonists have obtained the Keyblade, they are able to fight using various spells inspired by the Final Fantasy series, such as 'Firaga'.

The Kingdom Hearts series contains both 3rd-person fighting and role-playing game elements. The games are driven by a linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cutscene, though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. Furthermore, there are allies to aid the main character, Sora. The allies in play rely fully on A.I. controls, though players could later modify and customize their ability usage frequency. The combat system takes on real-time, meaning Sora could engage the enemy directly; various actions, such as attack and magic, are executable, during or after the battle.

In Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories the combat system was altered as Sora is no longer aided by his friends, and all of his combat commands are only executable via cards, with special attacks being executed with sleights. Additionally, combat no longer takes place in the same space as exploration; rather, whenever Sora engages an enemy, he is taken to a confined field for combat.

The Gummi Ship is another common theme in the series, where it serves as a means of transportation for Sora and company to travel towards other worlds. Players can modify and customize these ships via blueprints and selected parts. In the release of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the first game contained Gummi Ship side quests. However, due to the criticism regarding the complexity of the Gummi Ship customization, the third game's Gummi Ship was toned down, providing easier and wider modifications, allowing players to customize it into either a small classed battle ship, or a grand carrier.

Another recurring element of the Kingdom Hearts series is Jiminy's Journal, which functions as a bestiary and provides hints and simple character information. The jo

Original Kingdom Hearts Game