Kingdom Hearts (game)

Gameplay during the battle in the world of Monstro ( Jap. モ ン ス ト ロ Monsutoro , Eng. Monstro )

Kingdom Hearts was created under the influence of its “predecessor,” a series of Final Fantasy games ^[6] , but at the same time has the dynamics of “ Hack and slash ”, that is, battles take place in real time ^[7] . The game uses a third-person view ^[8] . The player uses the buttons and the joystick to run and jump, in addition, there is a menu on the screen consisting of “teams” ( English Commands ), for example, “Attack” (attack), “Magic” (magic), “Items” (things). During the battle, the player selects a “team” from the menu and uses it. The player controls only the main character of the game, Sora , but he can have unplayable ^[9] partners (most of the game is Goofy and Donald Duck ) ^[10] who help during the battles. Although partners are unplayable, their behavior and battle tactics can be changed in the settings ^[11] . Passage is divided into levels consisting of separate locations - worlds based on Disney cartoons , as well as worlds made specifically for the game. In some worlds, the heroes of this world join the player: for example, in the world of Halloween City ( Halloween Town ロ ウ ィ ン タ ウ ン Harovin Town ), Jack Skellington can be a partner. In some worlds, characters change, and gameplay changes slightly. For example, in the Atlantic ( Japanese ア ト ラ ン テ ィ カ atorantica , Eng. Atlantica ) , Sora grows a mermaid tail, and at the same time, the hero gains the ability to swim in space.

Like many role-playing games , Kingdom Hearts has an experience system . The more enemies defeated, the more experience the protagonist and his companions have, and, accordingly, the stronger the heroes and the more abilities they have ^[12] . Before the game, the hero undergoes training, where he decides which of the three characteristics - attack, defense or magic - to strengthen, and which to sacrifice in return. Certain partners have better developed certain characteristics ^[13] . For example, Donald is good as a magician, and Goofy is very hardy. You can also improve the various characteristics of the main character and his partners if you give them other weapons, which are obtained by completing quests or in the story.

The game also has a diary of crickets Jimini - a collection of texts that can be viewed at any time. If a player meets a character, passes a certain storyline or defeats a certain enemy, then the corresponding entry opens in the diary of Jimini. There are several additional secret pages - Ansem's reports, hidden in different worlds, by reading which you can get additional information about the plot. There are ten in total in the game (not in the American version and not in the Japanese Final Mix add-on). If you collect all ten pages, then the secret ending opens, giving information about the next parts of the series.

Gummy Ship

In Kingdom Hearts, you need to use the Gummi ship to travel between worlds. During the flight on the ship, the gameplay changes dramatically. This time the game takes place in the genre of " rail shooter ", that is, the ship flies strictly along a certain path and only forward - it is impossible to turn back. It is necessary to pass the level without dying, simultaneously destroying the enemies. If the ship was not destroyed during the mission, then it is completed. After each mission, a new world opens on the Gummy ship. Before departure, you can add new details to the ship, improving certain characteristics ^[13] .

Game Universe

Kingdom Hearts universe consists of worlds - there are thirteen available in the game. There is the fourteenth, Disney Castle ( デ ィ ズ ニ ー キ ャ ッ ス ル didzuni: kyassuru , English Disney Castle ) , but it appears only in commercials . Of the fourteen game worlds, ten are based on Disney cartoons ^[14] , the rest were invented specifically for the game. There are also worlds mentioned by different characters, but they are inaccessible, since they are destroyed by the Heartless. Heartless - creatures that are creatures of darkness, the main antagonists of the game. They can be found in all game worlds.

Each world has its own design and its own characteristics, depending on which cartoon it is based on. In each world, based on the Disney cartoon, live respective characters, for example, in Agrabe ( Jap. アグラバー aguraba:, Agrabah) heroes meet Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, Jafar and the Genie, and the Olympic Coliseum ( . Jap オリンポスコロシアムorimposu korosiamu, Olympus Coliseum ) - Hercules, the satyr of Phil and Hades. Worlds exist separately and do not intersect. There are exceptions: you can meet Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII in the Olympic Coliseum, and Sora finds the Beast from Beauty and the Beast in the Empty Bastion. To travel between worlds, the heroes use the Gummy Ship.

In worlds that are designed specifically for the game, you can often find characters in the Final Fantasy series of games. For example, on the Islands of Fate ( Japanese デ ス テ ィ ニ ー ア イ ラ ン ド desutini: ayrando , Destiny Islands ) live Tidus , Wakka and Selfie, in the Cross City ( Japanese. ト ラ ヴ ァ ー ス タ ウ ン Torais, u.T. Many Final Fantasy characters lived in the Empty Bastion until it was swallowed by darkness. There is also the End of the World ( Japanese エ ン ド ・ オ ブ ・ ザ ・ ワ ー ル ド Endo the Duz Wah: Rudo , End of the World ) , which is the remnants of worlds absorbed in darkness.

Characters

Since Kingdom Hearts was created jointly by Squaresoft and Disney , in the same fictional universe there are characters from the Final Fantasy series of games, and characters from Disney cartoons, as well as characters created by Tetsuya Nomura specifically for the game ^[15] . The protagonist of the game is the fourteen-year-old boy Sora , who was elected Key-Blade - a sword-shaped weapon to fight the forces of darkness. An important role in the plot is played by Rika ( リ ク анг , Eng. Riku ) and Cairo ( カ イ リ , Eng. Kairi ) - his best friends. Throughout almost the entire game, Riku is one of the main villains. Gora travels with Goofy , the head of the royal guard, and Donald Duck , the court magician ^[16] . Goofy and Donald are looking for the King of their world, gone to fight the forces of darkness. The main villain of the game is Ansem the Seeker of Darkness ( 闇 の 探求 者 ア ン セ ム yami no tanku: Xia ansemu , Ansem, Seeker of Darkness ) , who seeks strength and knowledge using the Heartless.

During their stay in the worlds, about a hundred Disney characters can be found in the game ^[17] . Some Disney characters greatly influence the plot, others are secondary. Some characters can be summoned, including the Djinn from Aladdin , Ding Ding from Peter Pan , Mushu from Mulan , and Simba from The Lion King . ^[13]

Squaresoft also included characters from developed games in the game: there are Tidus and Vacca from Final Fantasy X on the Islands of Destiny, as well as Selfies from Final Fantasy VIII ^[18] . In Cross City, the player meets Squall Leonhart (known under the pseudonym “Leon”) from Final Fantasy VIII , and the game also has Yuffy , Iris , Sid , Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII . It was also planned to add Rikka from Final Fantasy X , but then it was replaced by Yuffy ^[19] . In addition, there are mugles that help in the synthesis of things ^[12] .

History

The game begins on the Isles of Fate, where Sora , Riku and Cairo live. Friends have long dreamed of seeing other worlds and have been preparing for a journey for a long time ^[12] , but Suddenly Heartless attack the Islands of Fate ^[9] . Sora searches for her friends and meets Rika. Rika in front of Sora’s eyes disappears into the dark portal and pulls Sora with her. Sora immediately appears Key-Blade - a weapon effective against the Heartless. Sora reappears on the islands and begins to search for Cairo. He finds her in a cave nearby, but Cairo does not react when he tries to talk to her. Some unknown force pulls Sora out of the cave and leads him to the giant Heartless, with whom Sora fights in an attempt to save the islands. Sora defeats him, but the Islands of Fate are still captured by the Heartless, and Sora is thrown out of this world through the opened portal. Meanwhile, the King leaves his homeworld to fight the darkness and orders Goofy and Donald to find the “key” that will save the worlds from darkness. Goofy and Donald set off in search of the "key" and the King.

Donald and Goofy on the Gummy Ship get to the Cross City, where Sora was thrown. Sora encounters the Heartless again and meets with Leon , who explains to him that the Heartless consume hearts, thereby creating their own kind, and that the Keyblade is the only way to permanently destroy them. He also mentions that a man named Ansem once studied the Heartless. Sora meets Donald and Goofy, and they decide to travel together to find King, Rika and Cairo. Heroes wander through different worlds based on Disney cartoons, simultaneously finding and closing with Key-Blade “Keyhole” - loopholes to the heart of the world, which, if closed, protect the hearts from the Heartless, and, therefore, destruction. A group of Disney villains led by Maleficent are looking for seven “Princesses of the Heart” - seven girls in whose hearts there is not a drop of darkness. “Princesses of the Heart” are necessary for the villains in order to open the last Well, leading to the “Kingdom of Hearts” ^[8] - the source of unlimited power. Among the villains is Riku, who made a deal with Maleficent. The deal was that if Riku sided with her, she would help him save Cairo. Maleficent makes Rika doubt Sora - supposedly Sora exchanged him and Cairo for new friends and Key-Blade. An embittered Riku finds Cairo's lifeless body without a heart.

Sora and his friends arrive at the Empty Bastion - Ansem’s homeworld and Maleficent’s headquarters. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, claiming that he is the true owner of the Keyblade and that Sora got it by taking advantage of his absence. Donald and Goofy, following the King’s order to follow the “key,” leave Sora. After a while, Sora meets Rika again and challenges him, while his friends return to him, as does the Key-Blade. Defeated Riku sees a stranger in a cloak, which prompts him to take advantage of the darkness. Meanwhile, the three kill Maleficent, but after that they meet Riku strangely behaving with another Keyblade. Sora finds Cairo and finds out that Ansem moved into Rika. It turns out that it is Ansem who is the main villain of the game. Ansem explains to Sora that Cairo is the seventh Princess of the Heart, that Ansem’s Key Blade is made from the hearts of the Princesses of the Heart, and that her heart has been inside Sora all the time, starting with the Isles of Fate. Defeating Ansem, Sora pierces himself with his Keyblade, releasing his heart and the heart of Cairo. The heart returns to Cairo, and Sora becomes Heartless. Cairo recognizes in Heartless Sora, and her light turns him back into a man. Sora decides to put an end to Ansem and save Rika, in whom he possessed.

Ansem is found on the Edge of the World, in a world that is the remnants of worlds consumed by the Heartless. Before the battle, Ansem clarifies his point about the heart, stating that darkness is “the true essence of the heart,” and he wants to find the Kingdom of Hearts, which is the source of the absolute power of darkness. But the door opens to the Kingdom, and from there comes a very powerful light that destroys Ansem. The King and Rika remain behind the door, helping Sora close the door, since there are so many Heartless people behind her. The King and Sora use their Keyblade to close the door on both sides. Worlds destroyed by darkness are reborn, including the Isle of Fate. Cairo returns home, and Sora goes with Donald and Goofy to seek Rika and the King, promising Cairo to return as soon as possible.

After the credits, the heroes meet Pluto , who is holding a letter from the King. Pluto runs away, and the heroes run after him - towards new adventures.

The idea of ​​the game was born during the development of Final Fantasy VII , when the artist Tetsuya Nomura played Super Mario 64 . This game gave him the idea of ​​creating a three-dimensional action RPG with elements of a platformer . Burning with the desire to create such a game, Nomura began to discuss this idea with Hironobu Sakaguchi and Shinji Hashimoto . During the conversation, the developers agreed that the game will be successful only if it contains characters comparable in popularity with Disney ^[20] . When Shinji Hashimoto met an employee of The Walt Disney Company in an elevator (the Squaresoft office and the Japanese office of The Walt Disney Company were in the same building), he did not fail to take the chance and invited the company’s management to create a game together ^[21] . The development team was recruited from both Square and Disney Interactive ^[7] . Looking back into the past, Nomura recalled that he had a great difficulty explaining Disney his idea, especially considering that he did not know English at all. Many of the ideas put forward by Disney employees were rejected by Nomura ^[20] .

Разработка игры началась в феврале 2000 года ^[22] , а сама Kingdom Hearts изначально позиционировалась как очередная диснеевская игра, целевой аудиторией которой были дети ^[23] . Так было до тех пор, пока исполнительный продюсер, Хиронобу Сакагути, не сказал Тэцуе Номуре, что проект окажется провальным, если разработчики не будут стремиться к тому же уровню, что и у популярной серии Final Fantasy , после чего руководитель решил доработать сюжет ^[24] . Когда разработчики выбирали диснеевские миры, они старались выбрать как можно более разнообразные ^[23] . При выборе также учитывалась оригинальность самих персонажей ^[23] . Хотя команде было позволено выбирать любые миры и менять их сюжетные линии, она постаралась не искажать изначальный сюжет мультфильмов и оставить персонажей ^{[20] [25]} . В июне 2013 года Номура рассказал, что название игры появилось, когда Номура начал размышлять о диснеевских тематических парках , в особенности « Animal Kingdom ». Тем не менее, у Номуры не получилось зарегистрировать интеллектуальную собственность под названием «Kingdom», поэтому разработчики решили добавить второе слово в название. Когда разработчики решили, что центральное место в сюжете будут занимать сердца, было решено добавить слово «Hearts» (с англ. — «сердца») — таким образом, получилось Kingdom Hearts ^{[26] [27]}

В американской локализации было добавлено то, чего не было в японском оригинале ^[17] : новые дополнительные боссы , один из которых был назван в честь победителя конкурса на сайте «Name-In-Game», Курта Зисы ^[17] , новый уровень сложности ^[28] и трейлер Kingdom Hearts II , который открывался при определённых условиях. Номура создал трейлер, чтобы проверить реакцию фанатов на ожидание сиквела : он знал, что если игра будет непопулярной, то можно будет оставить необъяснёнными некоторые моменты в игре и таким образом подогреть интерес ^[29] . Все нововведения, включённые в американскую версию, появились в дополнении игры под названием Kingdom Hearts Final Mix , изданном только в Японии.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix — международная версия игры , вышедшая только на территории Японии . В ней английское, а не японское озвучивание, тогда как текст был оставлен на японском ^[30] . Включены новые ролики , среди которых путешествие Рику и новая секретная концовка игры. Появилась возможность пропускать ролики перед боссами по желанию игрока, если он проиграл ^[30] . Были также включены дополнительные боссы, представленные впервые в английской версии; кроме того, был добавлен ещё один босс — незнакомец в чёрном плаще , который должен был подогревать интерес к продолжению игры.

Другой попыткой привлечь внимание к продолжению была секретная концовка игры «Another Side, Another Story 【 deep dive 】», которая открывалась, если игрок выполнил определённые побочные квесты ^[31] . Включены новые музыкальные темы: «Disappeared», «One-Winged Angel», «Another Side. Another Story» и « Night on Bald Mountain ». «Night on Bald Mountain» и «One-Winged Angel» уже были в американской версии. Другие изменения — новое оружие, вещи, способности, враги, перекраска некоторых Бессердечных ^[32] , а также два новых уровня сложности ^[31] .

Music

Музыка к игре написана японским композитором Ёко Симомурой . Саундтрек также состоит из музыки, взятой из оригинальных диснеевских фильмов, хотя большинство тем написаны специально для игры. Вводная и финальная тема были сочинены Каору Вадой и исполнены Новым Японским филармоническим оркестром . Главной вокальной темой японского релиза игры является песня «Hikari» ( яп. 光 , свет) . Английская версия «Hikari», « Simple and Clean », используется в западном выпуске и в японском дополнении Final Mix . Обе версии были сочинены и исполнены известной японской певицей Хикару Утадой . О её причастности к сочинению альбома, а также о японском названии песни было объявлено в январе 2002 года ^[33] . Номура изначально рассматривал Утаду, как исполнительницу заглавной темы ^[34] . «Hikari» является первой работой Утады в индустрии компьютерных игр . Сингл «Hikari» был выпущен в Японии 20 марта 2002 года ^[35] и стал очень популярным — к августу 2002 года было продано 860 000 его копий в Японии ^[34] . Саундтрек Kingdom Hearts также был выпущен на двух CD-дисках 27 марта 2002 года в Японии и годом позже в США. Также саундтрек был включен в сборник Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete , который вышел в Японии 28 марта 2007 года ^[36] . Музыка из Kingdom Hearts также была включена в сборник лучших работ Ёко Симомуры, который называется Drammatica ^[37] .

Scoring

В озвучивании Kingdom Hearts принимали участие многие известные актёры . В японской версии Сору озвучивает сэйю Мию Ирино , Каири — Риса Утида , а Рику — Мамору Мияно . Другие примечательные сэйю — Коити Ямадэра , Хидэо Исикава и Маая Сакамото ^[38] . Особые старания ушли на то, чтобы голоса диснеевских персонажей были похожи на оригинальные. Вместо некоторых актёров из оригинальных фильмов постарались набрать актёров из связанных с фильмами произведений (например, Дэн Кастелланета в роли Джинна вместо Робина Уильямса ). В английской версии озвучивания в роли Соры выступает Хэйли Джоэл Осмент , в роли Каири — Хейден Панеттьер и Дэвид Галлахер в роли Рику ^{[39] [40]} . Кроме этого, в озвучивании принимали участие: Билли Зейн , Лэнс Басс , Дэвид Борианаз , Джеймс Вудс , Мэнди Мур и Кристи Карлсон Романо ^{[39] [41] [42]} .

В общем и целом Kingdom Hearts получила положительные отзывы и хорошо продавалась. За первые два месяца существования американской локализации она вошла в тройку самых продаваемых игр в США ^[43] . В ноябре 2002 года UBS Warburg включил Kingdom Hearts в список шести самых продаваемых консольных игр недели ^[44] . В конце апреля 2003 года Square Enix объявила, что миллионный экземпляр Kingdom Hearts был продан в США, что дало игре право на место в списке « Sony Greatest Hits », а по всему остальному миру было продано 3 миллиона экземпляров ^[5] . Продажи достигли 1,2 миллиона экземпляров в Японии в первой четверти 2004 года и 4 миллионов в других странах ^[45] . В декабре 2005 года NPD Group включила Kingdom Hearts в список «десяти самых продаваемых игр на PlayStation 2 в Северной Америке всех времён» ^[46] . В декабре 2006 года было продано 5,6 миллионов копий по всему миру, из них — 1,1 миллион в Европе, 1,5 миллион в Японии и 3 миллиона в Северной Америке ^[47] .

Отзывы

The game received high marks in the reviews. Kingdom Hearts received the Editors' Choice Award from the reputable gaming site IGN and was nominated for the title of “Best PS2 Game of 2002” and ^[60] . In 2007, Kingdom Hearts took 22nd place among the best games on the PlayStation 2 of all time according to IGN ^[61] . Critics praised the game’s graphics, music, sound and the mixture of genres in which it was performed: a kind of mixture of action and role-playing . IGN gave the game the titles of "Best Draw Style" and "Best Animation" in the "List of the Most Beautiful PS2 Games" ^[62] . GameSpy included the secret ending and the introductory splash screen of Final Mix in its article “List of twenty-five cinematic clips of computer games”, assigning them the 20th and 7th places respectively ^{[63] [64]} . The GamePro reviewer called the graphics "luxurious," rating the game at 4.5 out of 5 points ^[14] . The sound was also greatly appreciated, in particular scoring ^{[9] [11]} , as well as music. GamePro gave the music a maximum rating of 5 out of 5 ^[14] .

Gameplay ratings were very different. Many reviews criticized the game for controlling the camera - in some places it was simply uncomfortable. GameSpot called the missions on the Gummy Ship “tedious” and described their imitation of the Star Fox series , although the battles, according to the magazine, are interesting, especially the boss battles ^[11] . Dengeki Online commented that the camera often comes across obstacles when a player twists it ^[65] . GamePro compared the battle system to the “old Zelda games on N64 ” and spoke well about the artificial intelligence of Donald and Goofy ^[14] .

GameSpot suggested that the serious elements of Final Fantasy seemed impossible in combination with more children's Disney cartoons, but the combination still turned out to be good. That is why they gave the game the title of “Best Crossover Game After Capcom vs SNK ” in the list of best and worst games of 2002 ^[3] . GameSpy noted that periodically deviating from the storyline in favor of the events of Disney cartoons was a disappointment and that "... the plot is spoiled by an intricate jumble of fuzzy phrases and characters that make more sense to the project manager than to the final product." But, despite the criticism of the plot, GameSpy claims that the game is worth it to complete it to the end ^[9] . Other critics, on the contrary, responded positively to the plot, as, for example, G4 gave her the award for "Best Story" ^[66] . Ordinary players also spoke favorably about the game: according to the results of the vote, Kingdom Hearts took 19th place in the list of “best games of all time” by Famitsu magazine ^[67] , 16th place on the GameFAQs website ^[68] , and 92nd place among users IGN ^[69] . She also entered the IGN list of “The List of Twenty-Five Best PS2 Games of All Time” ^[70] .

Based on the game, a comedy manga was created, created by the manga Siro Amano . The plot almost completely repeats the plot of the game ^[71] . Event volumes from Final Mix were later released. In Japan, the manga was published in Famitsu Magazine, and in separate volumes has been published by Enterbrain since October 2003 ^[72] . In the United States, Tokyopop took up translation and publishing (the first volume was released on October 11, 2005 , and the final fourth was July 10, 2006 ^[73] ), in addition, the manga was published in Italy , Germany and Sweden ^[74] .

Manga was also a success. The first volume took 95th place on the USA Today 's List of One Hundred and Fifty Best Sellers for its first week of release ^[75] . IGN praised Amano's work, but criticized manga for the lack of new developments. ^[71] After that, in addition to the manga, volumes based on the sequels of the game came out: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories , Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days ^{[76] [77]} .

In August 2011, Nomura expressed interest in releasing HD- remastering of the game, although he noted that this has not yet been resolved ^{[78] [79]} . In September 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix for the PlayStation 3 , a collection that includes HD versions of the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories . Trophy support has been added to these versions. The models of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance were taken as the basis for character models. The gameplay was slightly modified and became more similar to the one in Kingdom Hearts II . In addition, the collection also includes screensavers from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days in high resolution. In Japan, the collection was released in March 2013, throughout the rest of the world release in the fall of that year ^[80] .

Kingdom Hearts received several sequels and branches, becoming the first game in the eponymous series of games. The first game was followed by a direct sequel - Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on the Game Boy Advance console, released in Japan on November 11, 2004 ^{[81] [82]} . Kingdom Hearts II was the third game in the series, which takes place a year after Chain of Memories . She was released in Japan in 2005 on the PlayStation 2 ^[83] . Like the first game, it was reissued under the title Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix + . In November 2008, Kingdom Hearts coded , continuing the plot of Kingdom Hearts II , was released on mobile phones only in Japan. In December 2008, a remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on the PlayStation 2 was developed under the name Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories . Midquel , called Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days , was released on the Nintendo DS in Japan on May 30, 2009 and in North America on September 29, 2009. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep , which is the background to the first Kingdom Hearts , was released on January 9, 2010 in Japan on the PlayStation Portable , which takes place ten years before the start of the original game ^[84] . Since coded is only available in Japan, his remake Re: coded was released on the Nintendo DS. The next game in the series to be released was Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance 2012, released on Nintendo 3DS ^[85] . At the E3 2013 game show , Kingdom Hearts III was announced for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ^{[86] [87]} .

• Kingdom Hearts Official Website
• Official Kingdom Hearts International Website
• The official website of the Kingdom Hearts manga on TOKYOPOP
• Kingdom Hearts on Final Fantasy Forever (Russian)