I have been thinking about Kingdom Hearts lately, I know a dangerous prospect but I have just been here thinking about it. I first came across Kingdom Hearts in a commercial for Chain of Memories I watched on Disney Channel, or ABC Family while I was watching power rangers or some other place but I knew the moment I saw that commercial I knew I wanted to play it. A game where I got to hang out with my favorite Disney characters from the movies I watched on VHS who wouldn't want that, so for Christmas that year I asked for a copy and a gameboy advance sp and I got both. I spent most of my time at my family Christmas hangout that year just playing it, not the last time I would do that with a Kingdom Hearts game, but I did not get very far I got to Hades in Olympus and I just couldn't fight him, so I reset and did the Alice world and got to the boss there and reset the world card again, at some point I gave up. Really I didn't know how the game worked or how to deck build, I was not a smart 10-year-old, I didn't really come back to that game and just kinda resented it, but there was still something about KH that just worked for me.

The next year I got a PS2 for Christmas and went to GameStop to get some games for the system. One of the games I picked was, of course, the original Kingdom Hearts and I was in love from the moment simple and clean played on that screen. I wanted to know more about that world. I wanted to know more about Kairi,Riku, and Sora. I wanted to know about the world they inhabited, escape the destiny islands, beat Riku in a fight, to know what the heartless are and what they want what was Maleficent doing hanging out with Jifar, what the keyblade was, and more importantly where was Mickey Mouse. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far again I made it to Tarzan and got lost, well I got lost at alice world and traveled to tarzan world and also got lost there, even with the strategy guide and the whole page for cheat planets page for the game printed out and taped to the living room wall, that original game was not great for giving players good clues about where to go combine that with the camera being controlled by the 1 buttons it just made it hard for me to know where to go,I also don't think I beat Cerberus at the time either, but that love and fascination for the series was still there.

Finally, Kingdom Hearts 2 came out and I would finally beat a kingdom hearts game, after dying to Demyx a lot as a kid I just didn't know how quickly you can get through that fight with the right reaction command timings but I just kept failing to “dance water dance” until I didn't. KH2 was one of the few games I rented multiple times in a row from a Hollywood Video, a testament to how much I loved that game before I would get a copy of my own. The way combat in 2 flows with Sora and his aerial movement just made that game feel so special, doing combos that ended in big explosions just made me feel so powerful in addition to the spectacle it brought. As well the story with all its melodrama and mystery, trying to stop organization 13, as well as the true nature of the universe of kingdom hearts but the beautiful reunion of the trio that happens towards the end of the game. I would go on to beat that game at the point about 7 times over the various of that game to say KH2 is one of my favorite games would be an understatement. I was never patient or good enough to do the secret bosses that were required to do them, though I would look up the ending online after hearing about it on a forum somewhere probably screwattack.com, and once again I was in love and wanted to know more about who would become the birth by sleep trio.

Kingdom Hearts also got me to check out Final Fantasy, I rented advent children based on clouds appearance in KH and wanted to know more about him. I could do over the rest but I think the rest of my history like how my copy of 358/2 was I bought from a dying game crazy attached to a Hollywood Video and how both were important stores that helped me form my love of games and media but the death of rentals is probably a story for another day. Kingdom Hearts is a series that just means a lot to me, it brings me comfort to go back into that world even if it is kinda ridiculous, so I think I am going to replay all the kingdom hearts games again and maybe I will make a little diary blog here about my experiences as I make my way through these games that I hope I have proven to mean something important to me.

I liked the Tron level and that's about it

Good write-up!

I love the KH series. I remember seeing video promotions of KH1 at thegame store I would frequent and it just blew my mind that my favorite series(at the time) Final Fantasy was mashing up with Disney which I watched a LOT as a kid. I was 17 when it came out but I stilled played through all of it. Then, Final Mix came out and included the secret bosses that weren't in the original Japanese release and I bought it again and beat it all and the secret bosses. I didn't own a Game Boy Advance so I didn't play Chain of Memories in real time but it worked out for me because when KH2 Final Mix was released it was remade with PS2 graphics and included with the game! Oh, should I mention I also bought the Original KH2 as well as the Final Mix?

Dropped off KH when it focused on handhelds but I caught up when all the games were re-re-released on PS4. Blazed through them all in canonical order like a huge nerd before KH3 came out. KH3 was.....fun.

I got distracted and have not bought the KH3 DLC yet. I'll get to it eventually.

@chamurai: Nice to have a kingdom hearts person play the game and actually like it. Really a bummer beating the dead horse on this site when that kingdom hearts playthrough was going on. Felt like that shemnue playthrough were everyone got their cathartic jimmies from dunking on how bad a game is, for people the game was never for.

KH the way people look at it now, makes it seem like its this unplayable mess. It has flaws for today's gamers due to the lack of a waypoint, confusing layouts and camera, fighting system that is basic in 1, gets better in 2 (but the opening act is so dull i couldnt get past it, so never saw the rest of the gameplay but saw videos and played a bit of other games that base the gameplay off what you do in that game so i assume its good), and the story gets hard to parse by 3. Still think just hanging with disney characters is a cool idea even if people growing up hate disney fans or disney adults etc...for some reason your supposed to hate that which you thought was a decent time in your childhood...but let me stop my rant lol.

Back on topic, the games have a few issues but like you all said, doesnt distract from it being a cool idea and a fun time. Games back then didnt need to be mindblowingly good and set up. Heck even elden ring has its share of not being modern enough. One of the best of the best. I guess i just dont expect that much more from a game than to be a nice romp in a creative setting that doesnt make me want to throw it away or get angry. lol wanna finish 2 one day though it looks good. 1 too i got lost so often and never went back. XD. Still liked them all, though the demo for 3 put me off but maybe ill try it one day since you all said its not bad. Only beat the one before 3 but not 2, damn you and your weird namings.