Level Story

The art of adaptation is a task more accurately equated with walking a tightrope than riding a bike. Translating ideas from one medium to another is never easy, though in many cases this process becomes a comedy of errors with corporate meddling and lazy decision making in order to make

After the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, the internet was inundated with fans and newcomers streaming and experiencing the game. One such streamer was a newcomer to the series, aided with the help of revolving commentators who had prior experience with the games. The conversation eventually came to an interesting

The Kingdom Hearts series is notorious for being labeled convoluted when it comes to its narrative. The label is both fair and unfair and is something to be explored once the magazine approaches later games. But what stands out about Kingdom Hearts 1 is that despite the poor exposition and

In our popular media, the heart has somehow become acquainted with emotion. We experience a broken heart, we wish with all our hearts, we trust our hearts to guide us. This sentiment, primarily encouraged by Disney films, is far from what the actual heart is as the organ that pumps

I can’t speak for everyone, but I think it is safe to say that many came to the Kingdom Hearts series due to their love of something else. Kingdom Hearts works with beloved properties: Disney and Final Fantasy. The original intent was to replicate the success of Nintendo’s

A common critique aimed at Kingdom Hearts 1 is that the villain, Ansem Seeker of Darkness, is revealed far too late in the story. For most of the game it seems Maleficent is the big baddie, only to be pushed aside for some random dude who loves darkness. Ansem can

Riku’s story in Kingdom Hearts 1 bears similar attributes to Sora’s. He is the chosen wielder of the keyblade. He is searching for and trying to rescue Kairi. He experiences a loss of innocence and comes of age. Riku’s story is the hero’s journey with a

“And then there’s also Kairi, a.k.a. the girl. And that’s kind of it.” – SuperButterBuns There is a scene at the beginning of the third act of Kingdom Hearts 1 where Sora talks to Kairi after rescuing her and freeing her heart. It is clear that Sora

In Joseph Campell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell coins the trope popularized in epic stories as “the hero’s journey.” It is very common and appears in several games, including the Legend of Zelda series, Journey, Final Fantasy VII, the Uncharted series, Gone Home, and of course

If you had to settle what the core theme is from Kingdom Hearts 1, the answer would be friendship. When Sora loses the keyblade to Riku, he pronounces that, “I don’t need a weapon…My friends are my power!” Ignoring the fact that Donald and Goofy had abandoned him