Alex Lehr

Staff Writer

The Playstation 3 has been a wonderful device for bringing beautiful games back from the grave of outdated systems, and one of the most shining examples of such as been the release of the beloved “Kingdom Hearts.”

In 2002, Square Enix and Disney collaborated to bring gamers a beautiful compilation of characters, themes and a variety of treats derived from classic Disney films and “Final Fantasy” titles. The PS2 was its home front.

“Kingdom Hearts” was the first in a series of very fun, very child-like adventures, and received an HD remastering in September of 2013, restoring to the Ps3 a graphically updated “Kingdom Hearts,” “Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories,” as well as cutscenes from the spin-off game, “Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.”

With updated resolution in its cartoon-like, colorful graphics, North American players were also given the International version perks, being able to find new bosses to fight in “Kingdom Hearts”, as well as being able to relive the classic game on a contemporary system.

I first played “Kingdom Hearts” back in 2006, and I was blown away by how adult you can make a “kid’s story”. Sora, the main protagonist, is swept away from his home on Destiny Island when enemies known as the Heartless come to rip the world he lives in apart. Finding himself in another world, he soon realizes that he has been chosen by unseen forces to become a Keyblade wielder, harnessing the power of a key-shaped sword capable of destroying the Heartless who are overwhelming all the other worlds.

As Sora, I felt a little clumsy at first. Being made by Square Enix, I was used to games like “Final Fantasy X” where they utilize turn-based combat, but “Kingdom Hearts” introduced me to the classic “hack and slash” style with throwing in the same spells you would find in the “Final Fantasy” games, as well as summons. Summons were among my favorite uses because you could get Simba the Lion King or Mushu the Dragon to fight alongside you.

Story-based and gameplay based, Sora already has two faithful companions who never leave his side in their war against the Heartless: Donald Duck and Goofy, two old Disney veterans. Donald has taken on the role of the Black Mage, and Goofy the knight. In battle, the two of them are mixed in usefulness: usually, when I play it, my two allies usually heal me after I’ve already healed myself, and they often get clobbered when faced with high numbers of enemies, so I would have to say that the AI on them is not exactly up to high standards.

The creativity behind the Heartless designs speak to me as an artist, with their many colors, shapes and forms that are based on different animals and creatures really standing out on the imagination side. The primary villains of the game are the evil Malificent of “Sleeping Beauty,” Captain Hook of “Peter Pan,” Oogie Boogie of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” as well as Aladdin’s nemesis Jafar, and the mysterious dark entity who calls himself, “Ansem.”

All of the voice acting for the game’s characters are decent at best. I believe that Haley Joel Osment, who voices Sora in the series, humorously went through puberty during the progression of the games, leading to a funny transition of deepness in the main protagonist’s tone. Probably the funniest surprise of all was discovering that the game’s most annoyingly destructive boss, the famous Sephiroth of “Final Fantasy VII,” was voiced by N’Sync’s Lance Bass.

“Kingdom Hearts” brought back colorful nostalgia as it took the player battling through worlds such as Agrobah, The Jungle of Tarzan, Wonderland, the Mount Olympus Coliseum and even Monstro, all from classic Disney films. Througout these worlds, the player will meet the characters associated with these worlds, Disney and “Final Fantasy” alike in nature.

I like the battle system because of its fast-paced, silly feel. Every time you go into battle, you still feel the color of the surrounding areas and the admittedly goofy personality of the three unlikely heroes. “Kingdom Hearts” is a timeless classic to me that started an amazing series and showed us that in even the darkest of situations, silliness will always prevail, because that’s where light is.

I recommend “Kingdom Hearts 1.5” to anyone who wants to relive the classic game, its mid-qual, and the cutscenes of another of its spinoffs that give much needed depth and life to the characters and their dark situations. Go into “Kingdom Hearts” with the perception of a child: you’ll come out more adult afterwards.

Kingdom Hearts is available for the Ps3 right now, with a common price of $19.99. This December, the game will be followed up with “Kingdom Hearts 2.5,” allowing Ps3 players to experience the second game, as well as “Birth by Sleep.”