Pap the Disney
Gamer Presents a Year Long
Celebration

Ten Years of
Hearts, Keyblades and Disney
Magic: A Kingdom Hearts 10thAnniversary
Celebration
Last time on the
Kingdom Hearts Retrospective
'It is time
to start the journey! Light
versus dark! New worlds!'
And now...
Part 9: Is any
of this for real, or not?
Before I begin
with part 9 of this
retrospective, I want to answer
a question that might or might
not be in your minds... Why
wasn't this posted on the third
Tuesday of September? Well, that
is because this entry of the
retrospective lies on the actual
tenth anniversary of Kingdom
Hearts! That's right, ten years
ago, the very first entry in the
Kingdom Hearts series was
released! As previously noted in
earlier entries in the
retrospective, the release of
Kingdom Hearts came as a big
surprise to everybody: a Disney
themed RPG that was aimed at an
older audience using every asset
from Disney's legacy to tell an
epic and elaborate story that
would go on for ten years. I
will leave the legacy of Kingdom
Hearts for another part of the
retrospective, as well as my own
views on the franchise as a
whole. Now, I want to focus on
how Kingdom Hearts actually
begins.

In the intro, Sora sees his best
friend out in the ocean, about
to be engulfed by the tidal
wave. Could the wave symbolize
how Riku will be involved in
something dark and dangerous?
Square Enix is
primarily known for their
elaborate computer generated
introductions and endings, and
Kingdom Hearts is no exception
to the rule. As we load the game
for the first time, we see our
young hero and protagonist Sora
reflecting upon some dreams that
he is having, leading him to
wonder whether any of his dreams
are real or not. This serves as
a metaphor of how he is about to
be plunged into a complex world
where its fate lies on the
course of his actions. While
Utada Hikaru's 'Simple and
Clean' plays, Sora is seen
flying through the skies, all
indicating something bigger that
is about to happen. When the
scene ends, Sora lands upon a
tower. As he lands, the darkness
turns into doves that reveal a
beautiful painting of Snow
White, the very first Disney
character we see in the game.

This is where
two things start: Sora's
journey, and the tutorial that
introduces the game's mechanics.
Usually, gamers lament the
existence of the tutorial level.
They feel it is slow,
cumbersome, and if the game is
very complicated, very long and
tedious to endure. Square Enix,
however, made this introductory
level one that is mysterious and
engaging while teaching players
the basics of gameplay. First we
have the enigmatic image of Snow
White painted as a saint and
adorned by elements from her
story (the seven dwarfs, the
apple, the old hag). It is here
where a chilling voice asks Sora
questions about his character.
This serve as both an element of
the story as well as character
development and RPG mechanics.

Sora is given
the option to choose from three
weapons: a sword, a staff and a
shield. These weapons are
actually representations of how
Sora will level up as an RPG
character through different
means. For example, if the
player chooses the sword, Sora's
attack prowess will be higher
when he levels up, whereas the
shield will elevate his
defenses, but lower his attack
abilities. In RPGs, it is very
crucial how you decide to
develop your character. Battles
will either be easier or harder
depending on what class or stats
you decided to pick for your
character.

As soon as Sora
has decided his path, the Snow
White image begins to collapse,
leaving Sora to fall into the
dark void. He is, however,
quickly sent to another tower
(called stations in Kingdom
Hearts): a Cinderella themed
station. Much like Snow White's,
Cinderella's story is
beautifully told through stained
glass images, indicating yet
again her enigmatic role in the
story. In here, Sora (and the
player) is taught to attack his
enemies using the weapon he has
chosen earlier. It is here where
Sora meets the most common enemy
in the game: the Heartless.
Once Sora
defeats them, the station is yet
again destroyed, this time
engulfed by dark shadows. When
he wakes up, he finds himself in
another station. On this
station, there are three hearts
with three silhouettes of
princesses. This is a plot point
that is later revealed down the
line. In here, the player learns
how to move crates in order to
reach new areas. Once the tasks
are completed, the door opens,
and leads us to a tropical
island. This island is named
Destiny Islands, the home of our
heroes. We will talk about that
later when we discuss the worlds
we will visit. In here, Sora
finds himself face to face with
his face, all asking questions
that seemingly define his
character once the player picks
the best answers.

A blinding light
then transports Sora to another
station: Princess Aurora's
station. Here, Sora does battle
with even more Heartless.
Gameplay wise, we are instructed
about the save points, small
circles of light that recover
your life points and lets you
save the game. The whole scene
concludes with Sora ascending a
set of stairs, which lead to the
final station in this segment:
Belle and the Beast's station.
To fully prepare the player,
Sora does battle with a giant
Heartless. When the Heartless is
destroyed, Sora is captured by
the darkness. The scene then
cuts to Sora sleeping on the
beach, it was all a dream... or
was it a premonition of things
to come?
And with that
ends this month's article on
Kingdom Hearts. Stay tuned next
month as we are introduced to
the characters that will make
this journey an unforgettable
one, as well as take a look at
the actors that bring them to
life.