Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (formerly Square). It is the result of a collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive Studios and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square character designer. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors. Characters from Square Enix's Final Fantasy series make appearances and interact with the player and Disney characters. The series centers around the main character Sora's search for his friends and his encounters with Disney and Final Fantasy characters on their worlds.
The Kingdom Hearts series currently consists of four games across different video game platforms, and future titles are planned. Most of the games in the series have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, though each installment has seen varying levels of success. As of December 2006, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over ten million copies worldwide, with 2.0 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America. There have been several types of merchandise released along with the games, such as soundtracks, figurines, and companion books. In addition, the games have also been adapted into a manga series and novels.
Main games[]
Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series, and was released in Japan on March 28, 2002 for the PlayStation 2. Kingdom Hearts introduced most of the main characters for the series and established the plot's framework involving hearts and the Heartless. This was Nomura's first time in a directorial position. It also established the presence of previous Disney fiction, with character cameos from the Final Fantasy series. Kingdom Hearts was released in North America on September 17, 2002, and featured additional content that was not in the original Japanese version. It was later re-released exclusively in Japan as Kingdom Hearts Final Mix on December 26, 2002. Final Mix included the content from the North America version and additional enemies, cut scenes, and weapons.
The second game in the series is Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It was released on the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in Japan on November 11, 2004 and in North America on December 7, 2004. Chain of Memories was touted as a bridge between the two PlayStation 2 installments, introducing and previewing plot elements that would be played out in the next game. The gameplay was based on a card system; player composed decks of cards, each card allowing the player to perform an action in battle, such as attacking or using magic. It was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29, 2007.
Kingdom Hearts II is the third game in the series, set one year after Chain of Memories. It was released in Japan on December 22, 2005 for Sony PlayStation 2. It furthered the "heart" concept by involving the Nobodies and "bodies". The gameplay is based on the first Kingdom Hearts's, with the addition of more options to attack enemies and the Reaction Command, which utilized the triangle button to perform preset actions in battle and interaction with characters and the surroundings. Kingdom Hearts II was revised into Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which contained more material than the original release, such as additional cut scenes and bosses. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was released with Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, a remake of Chain of Memories for the PlayStation 2, containing polygon graphics instead of the sprites used in the original Game Boy Advance game. This collection is titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ and was released in Japan on March 29, 2007.
Titles[]
Main series[]
Spinoffs[]
- Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
- Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
- Kingdom Hearts coded
- Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance