Kingdom Hearts | |
---|---|
![]() North American cover art featuring the main characters, from top: Sora, Riku, Goofy, Kairi and Donald | |
Developer(s) | Square |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Tetsuya Nomura |
Producer(s) | |
Programmer(s) |
|
Artist(s) | Tetsuya Nomura |
Writer(s) | |
Composer(s) | Yoko Shimomura |
Series | Kingdom Hearts |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
Release | Final Mix
|
Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Kingdom Hearts[a] is a 2002 action role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation 2 video game console.[1] It is the first game in the Kingdom Hearts series and is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company. An expanded re-release of the game featuring new and additional content, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, was released exclusively in Japan in December 2002. The Final Mix version of the game was later remastered in high definition and released globally as part of the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix collection for the PlayStation 3. The game was later ported and released as part of the bundled Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix collection for PlayStation 4 in March 2017, Xbox One in February 2020, Windows in March 2021, and Nintendo Switch in February 2022.
The game combines characters and settings from Disney animated features with those from Square's Final Fantasy series, in addition to original characters and worlds created for the game. It follows the adventures of Sora, a cheerful teenager who fights against the forces of darkness alongside his allies, including Donald Duck, Goofy and other Disney characters. The game was a departure from Square's standard role-playing games, introducing a substantial action and hack and slash element to the gameplay. The score was composed by Yoko Shimomura. Kingdom Hearts has an all-star voice cast and includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors.[2] It was longtime Square character designer Tetsuya Nomura's first time in a directorial position.[3]
Kingdom Hearts received critical and commercial success and was praised for its unusual combination of action and role-playing elements, its unexpectedly harmonious mix of Square and Disney elements, and Shimomura's music.[4] It was a large presence in the 2002 holiday season, receiving numerous year-end game awards, and went on to achieve Sony "Greatest Hits" status.[5] The game's success spawned a franchise and numerous sequels, with the Kingdom Hearts series going on to ship over 36 million copies worldwide and becoming one of Square's most popular franchises. Kingdom Hearts is the tenth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time, and is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time.
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