Some may think these are kid's games due to their affiliation with Disney, but that is not true at all. This games are just as amazing, perhaps even more so, as all of the Final Fantasy games. They tell the quest of a boy, Sora, who leaves his home to go find his lost friends. Along the way, he meets many Disney characters, like Donald, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse, as well as many Final Fantasy characters, like Leon (Squall, FFXIII), Yuffie (FFVII), Aerith (FFVII), and Cid (all).

All the great themes of Final Fantasy and Disney are combined into these three brilliant games. Love plays its part along with betrayal, loyalty, sacrifice, and strength of heart. The many complexities of these games is one of the things that make them so great. Sora will stop at nothing to reunite with his two best friends again, while Donald and Goofy are on a quest to find their King Mickey. The mysterious Heartless, a wave of shadowy creatures that feed off the hearts of the weak, are dead-set on finding something, as are the Nobodies. Everything is tied together through a series of links, and it would take days to explain it all.

The graphics on this game are absolutely amazing. There's no more turn-based battles; the real time battle system is both interesting and fun! Another great thing is the fact that you can jump, an ability none of the Final Fantasy games has yet accomplished. There are so many great things that are so small alone, but together they make up the greatness that is Kingdom Hearts.

If you haven't played these games, I recommend that you buy them right now. No matter how old you are, you may be surprised at how fun they are.

Prologue and Destiny Islands, Day 1

The game starts out with a nicely done opening scene in which you see the three main characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Sora, the brown haired kid, is the one you'll be playing.

When the cut scene ends, you find yourself in a dark place with platforms. This is where the game teaches you what to do. You battle creatures that resemble shadows, and for a boss you have to fight a very large shadow creature that looks completely different from the rest. When you beat it, you lose your weapon in a cutscene and start getting swallowed up by darkness.

Hey, guess what? -- It was just a dream! Sora wakes up on an island where Kairi, a reddish-haired girl, reprimands him for sleeping on the job. He asks her if she can remember her home town, and she says she can't. Riku then comes up, a boy with silver hair that's long for a guy, and Kairi tricks the two guys into racing each other.

After this little cut scene, you regain control and are told by Kairi that you have to go find supplies for building "the raft". So you go around gathering items and talking to the people on the island: Selphie from FFVIII, Tidus from FFX, and Wakka from FFX. You can fight them and Riku if you want to.

After you gather the stuff you need and give it back to Kairi, you can choose to be tired and wrap up or to play around a little more. When you decide you're tired, there's another cut scene in which Riku, Sora, and Kairi are all talking.

Apparently, Sora and friends are building a raft so you can "journey to other worlds". Riku got the idea after Kairi came when they were younger, and now they're putting the plan to action. Finally, after some time, you all decide to go home. Riku stops you and tosses you a paopu fruit, which has a legendary power: if two people share a paopu fruit, their destinies become intertwined. Riku jokes around about Sora wanting to try it.

In another world, Donald Duck has just found out that the king is missing. Pluto, the king's loyal dog, gives Donald a letter from the king. Donald reads it and freaks out, then goes to find Goofy, who's sleeping in the gardens. Donald tells Goofy that there's a big problem but that he can't tell anyone, but then Queen Minny and Daisy come up to them before Donald can tell Goofy what it is.


Destiny Islands, Day 2

You're back on the island at last! Cut scenes are annoying, eh? Anyway, you go find Riku, and he and Sora decide to race to see who'll be captain of the raft when y'all set sail. Just before you race, Riku changes the rules and says, "The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."

You race, and whatever the outcome, the winner becomes the captain. Riku says to lighten up, that the paopu thing was just a joke. You go see Kairi, and she tells you to get some food for the trip. Again, you go around gathering items and talking to people. This time, instead of being able to fight Riku, you can race him, but you can still fight the others.

When you first talk to Wakka, he says something about the "Secret Place". Since one of your food items is in there, you're forced to go in, and here comes a cut scene. Sora looks at a drawing on the mini-cave's wall that sort of resembles Kairi. He has a flashback where he and Kairi are sitting next to each other drawing on the wall, each making a portrait of the other. Back in the present, Sora draws his hand giving Kairi a paopu fruit.

When he finishes, a mysterious voice sounds out in the cave, accompanied by a mysterious figure in a cloak. He talks about doors and knowing things and darkness, and then he disappears. Sora wonders who he is and how he got there, but he thinks nothing more of the matter. There's a strange door there that you can examine if you want, but nothing really happens.

After giving all your food to Kairi, she asks the same question as the day before. When you're tired, there's another little cut scene in which just you and Kairi are talking. She says that Riku's changed, and then she jokingly tells Sora that they should take the raft and go, just the two of them. She talks about the journey ahead and tells Sora to never change.

Meanwhile, back at Disney Castle, we see the contents of the note that the king left. He says that the stars have been blinking out, and he's going to check into it. He tells Donald and Goofy to find someone with a "key" and stick with him, and he says that Leon in Traverse Town can point them in the right direction.

Donald and Goofy say their goodbyes, Donald reassuring Queen Minnie that they'll find the king and the key. Queen Minnie sends Jiminy Cricket along with them to keep a journal of their travels.

While Donald and Goofy are walking down some stairs, Jiminy Cricket's explaining that his world's gone and that he can't find his friends. He figures he's the only one who made it to the castle. Then Goofy says that they can't tell people in other worlds where they're from because they have to protect the world border ("Order," corrects Donald).

They get on board a Gummi Ship on which Chip and Dale work, and they blast off rather unceremoniously into SPACE!


Destiny Islands, Departure

Sora sits up in his room, thinking about Kairi's last words to him earlier that day: "I just can't wait, once we set sail. It'll be great." However, when he looks out of his window, he sees that there's a weird storm going on over the island. "The raft!" he cries, sitting straight up.

He heads straight over to the island on his little canoe and finds that the shadow creatures from his dream are all over the place, and that the storm isn't a storm at all but a giant reddish black ball hovering over the island. You regain control and try to attack these, but your wooden sword's not doing any damage to them at all. You go off to find Riku, and another cut scene is triggered.

Sora asks where Kairi is, but Riku just says that the door's open and they can go to other worlds now. Sora says they need to find Kairi, but Riku snappily says that she's coming with them. He goes on to say that they might not be able to come back, but that he's not afraid of the darkness. Darkness tries to engulf the two of them, and Riku calmly holds out his hand to Sora, who can't quite reach.

Suddenly, the darkness goes away, and Sora's left standing there with a weird key-type weapon in his hand. The words Keyblade fly around everywhere. When you gain control, you find that you can kill the shadow creatures with your new weapon.

You head on over to the secret place and find that a pretty door is standing there. You go through it and the tunnel and find Kairi standing in front of the door that's over there. Cut scene! She turns around and says, in a very creepy voice, "Sora..." The door behind her flies open, and the strong wind pushes her towards Sora, but she disappears just as he tries to grab her. Sora is pushed backwards out of the secret place.

Sora suddenly finds himself standing on what looks to be the circular sandy remains of Destiny Islands. The big huge shadow boss monster from the dream is there, and you once again have to beat it. When you do, Sora's pulled into the big black and red swirly ball that's floating above him, and he blacks out.


Traverse Town, First Visit

A cutscene predictably starts up, this one with Donald and Goofy walking in a strange town called Traverse Town. They look up and notice that a star's going out, which means that a world is blinking out of existence. They decide they need to hurry and find Leon and the key.

They come to a split in paths. Donald takes one way and Pluto the dog takes the other. Goofy tries to tell Donald maybe Pluto's onto something, but Donald doesn't listen, and Goofy calls Pluto and follows Donald.

Pluto sniffs on the ground and comes across a certain sleeping boy, Sora, leaning on a wall behind some crates. Sora wakes up, and Pluto hears Goofy and runs off, leaving Sora alone and confused.

You take control and roam around the city. When you enter the Accessory Shop, Sora tells his story to a guy named Cid, who tells you to try looking around town for your friends. You leave and enter the Second District, where you see a guy's heart get taken by an armored shadow creature.

Here, you fight more of those shadow creatures that were in your dream and on your island. You can explore and level up in this place. If you go through certain doors, it'll show Goofy and Donald coming out of another door someplace else, looking for Leon and the key. Of course, you don't run into them, and they don't run into you.

When you get tired of running around fighting, you go back to the First District to find that the shadows have taken over here too. You go back into the Accessory Shop and talk to Cid again, and he tells you to take another look around town.

Upon leaving, some guy starts talking about the Keyblade and wondering why it chose you. He wants to see it, but of course Sora's not letting him touch it. You wind up fighting the guy, who just so happens to be Squall Leonhart from FFVIII. -fangirls squeal here-

Whether you win or lose the fight, the result is that you pass out. Yuffie from FFVII comes up, and "Leon" says that things are worse than they thought, referring to the fact that a kid got the Keyblade.

Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy are walking around looking for Leon and the Keyblade while Aerith from VII comes up behind them. She asks if the king sent them, and they immediately perk up.

Meanwhile (I use that a lot, don't I?), Sora's waking up from his little nap. He's surprised but glad to see Kairi looking down at him. She tells him that the shadows and things that keep attacking you are after the Keyblade, but that they really want his heart. Sora just says he's glad she's okay, but then she says, "What are you talking about? I'm the great ninja Yuffie!" and Kairi turns into smoke only to have Yuffie replace her.

Only a hallucination. Oh well. Yuffie turns to Leon and says, "I think you overdid it, Squall." He says his name's Leon, and then Sora notices that his Keyblade's over by the door. Yuffie explains that the creatures were tracking him by it, so they had to get it away from him. Leon again expresses his doubts that Sora's going to be a good "Chosen One", but there's nothing he can really do about it anyway.

Sora demands to know what's going on, and the cutscene switches between Leon, Yuffie, and Sora and Donald, Goofy, and Aerith. Aerith, Yuffie, and Leon do most of the talking as they explain about other worlds and how they're now connected because of the Heartless, those shadow creatures.

Apparently, Heartless are attracted to the darkness in people's hearts, and a guy named Ansem was studying the Heartless. He made a very detailed report, but the pages are scattered, and Aerith believes that the king went to find them.

Apparently, for some reason, the Heartless fear the Keyblade and will therefore keep attacking Sora until he's dead. Sora says he didn't ask for it, but Yuffie says that the Keyblade chose him. "Tough luck," Leon says. Sora wonders how it all happened and freaks out about his island. He wonders what happened to his home and his friends, and Leon just says he doesn't know.

You gain control again. You can talk to Yuffie, and she'll tell you that you can open locks with the Keyblade. You talk to Leon, and he'll ask if you're ready to fight for your life. When you say yes, another cutscene shows up. A Heartless shows up in the room, and Yuffie runs through a door into the room with Aerith, Donald, and Goofy. Leon takes Sora and jumps outside to face the Heartless, but then he basically leaves you to fight them.

If you want to level up, steer clear of the Third District. If you want to rest, the First District's free of Heartless, and you can go there to talk to Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid. Once you think you're ready for a boss battle, head on over to the Third District.

There, Donald and Goofy will finally find you and notice the Keyblade. You three have to fight some armored Heartless, and then a big Heartless will fall from the sky. Once you beat him, you're basically done; Donald and Goofy tell him they were looking for him, and they invite him to go to other worlds with them.

Sora wonders if he could find Riku and Kairi, and Leon, who conveniently came after the boss fight, tells Sora that he should go with them if he wants to find his friends. Donald tells Sora that he has to cheer up and stop frowning if he wants to come, so Sora smiles a very ridiculous smile, then decides he'll go with them.

After this, there's a very dark, shadowy meeting of evil voices that you may or may not be able to place. One doesn't believes the kid beat the boss, but another says that it's because of the Keyblade's strength, not his own. Someone else wants to turn him into a Heartless. Someone else notes that he now has the help of the "king's lackeys". There's a small dispute between this person and another, and then female voice tells them to stop. She wonders if he (Sora) will conquer the darkness, if it'll be the other way around. "Either way, he could be quite useful..." Light is cast on her, and we see that she's the villain from Sleeping Beauty.

Back in Traverse Town, Sora and co are getting ready to leave. Leon's group gives him 100 munny to buy stuff with. Donald and Goofy gives him the spell Fire and the ability Dodge Roll. You can explore Traverse Town some more, or you can leave now.

When you leave, you have a choice of going to one of two worlds. You can't see what they are currently, but they're Wonderland and Olympus Coliseum. Let's just assume you went to Wonderland next.

You know those days when you feel like playing the game, but you don't really want to advance the plot line any? Maybe you're waiting for something to happen and don't want to get wrapped up in a world's story, or maybe you just feel like a break from all the drama. Well, whatever the reason, here are some ways you can pass the time.

Kingdom Hearts 1

Level Up
Yes, that's right, level up. Seems so basic, doesn't it? Well, if you love the battle system as much as I do, leveling up can really make time fly! It relieves stress as well; after all, what's more satisfying than beating the crap outta some annoying Heartless? Here are some good places to level up:
- The Gizmo Shop - Located in the second district of Traverse Town. Wave after wave of Heartless come only to meet their Keyblade-y demise.
- The Coliseum - Enter some tournaments, beat up some Heartless, get some experience and prizes!
- A world you've visited with strong Heartless - You know those little stars above the world names on the Gummi Ship map? Those tell you how powerful the Heartless in that world are. If you're up for a challenge, just pick a world with a lot of stars.

Explore
Hey, don't underestimate the power of exploration. Go back and take a good look around some of the worlds you've completed, especially when you get new abilities like High Jump. You can find some great items hidden in chests in unlikely places. If you have High Jump, Glide, and Super Glide and still can't get to an area to open a chest, you're either doing something wrong or there's another way to get to it.

Side Quests
Side quests take up plenty of time and can be more fun than the main quest itself, even. There are many to work on, such as
- The Clocktower - After sealing the Neverland keyhole, you can go back to Big Ben and get prizes. At the beginning of every gameplay hour (from x:00 to x:15), a door on the tower will be glowing. Examine it to get a rare prize, ranging from synthesis items to stat boosters. You can get a total of 12 prizes by doing this. More information can be found Here. Since you'll need to kill a lot of time while doing this quest, you may want to do some of the other side quests while waiting.
- Postcards - In Traverse Town, there are 10 postcards hidden in the three districts. If you mail these postcards at the mailbox in the first district, you'll get items. The prizes get better which each postcard.
- 101 Dalmatians - Pongo and Perdita, located in the big house in Traverse Town's second district, have lost their 99 puppies. The puppies have been scattered throughout the world, and it's your job to round them up. They can be found in groups of three, attained from chests. Pongo and Perdita will give you plenty of great rewards for finding their puppies, including a complete gummy block set if you find them all.
- Torn Pages - After completing Wonderland and Deep Jungle, return to Traverse Town and Cid will get you to deliver a book to Merlin, located in the Mystical House in the third district. This book is missing some pages, which can be found in various worlds. Find the pages to have some fun adventures with Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
- Trinity Marks - Trinity marks come in various colors and can only be activated by Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They can be found anywhere, and they often give you some great gifts. Try to find all the trinity marks in all the worlds!
- Item Synthesis - After you get the green trinity ability, you can pull down a ladder in the Accessory Shop that will lead you to the moogle synthesis shop. They make a variety of great accessories, stat boosters, and other items. Also, if you synthesize everything at least once, you can synthesize Sora's ultimate Keyblade: Ultima.

Mini Games
Info coming soon

Optional Bosses
Info coming soon