Kingdom Hearts Sucks (But it does not have to)

After a decade, two main games, and four spinoffs, Kingdom Hearts has solidified itself as an RPG juggernaut. A cross-platform, cross-universe, East meets West monster of a game. And after learning about Keyblades, princesses, and this Ansem guy, one thing has become abundantly clear:

Kingdom Hearts, as a story, totally sucks.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Being a So Cal resident, and having grown up with Disney, Kingdom Hearts is the one franchise I want to like. I just bring myself to finish an entire game.

[MsclMexican]

Agreed.. I have tried really hard to get into KH, but I just can't. The plot line is nonsensical at best.

I am surprised that I am agreeing with the points of an IGN writter.

Especially when he said The world ends with you it the best JRPG of this generation.

That game needs a sequel

So true.. hell, was the only JRPG I ever bothered finishing (unless those Mario and Lugi games were JRPG'S as well)

[ShinMaster]

And most won't even bother to read through the article.

Yes the plot is ridiculous. Yes it can be convoluted - especially when you're forced to(and can't) buy a new system for every new KH game that came out after KH2.

[KeybladeMaster]

@Shin

There are these great sites called kingdomhearts.wikia.com and wikipedia.

If you missed a game than read up on it if you are lost. This series is really not that hard to follow. Play the games, if you don't then read up on what you have missed. If you don't want to do that and you just want to hate on the game then your just a troll.

[FriedGoat]

Kingdom Hearts went downhill after the first.

[MsclMexican]

Yawn @ J-blaze

Sure, I may not like most JRPG's simpily because it is not my thing. I have tried a few, and the only one I really liked was TWEWY.

If thats what you are into I respect that, but it is not my thing.

But you don't see me go to every JRPG related article and troll JRPGS.

Unlike you, whom for whatever reason likes to bring up Naughty Dog into every article here.

Mate... get a life.

[lizard81288]

There supposedly is something in the works.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/...

[Anon1974]

I tried hard to like these games. I honestly did. I put about 8 hours into the first two before finally admitting I wasn't having any fun and I just didn't care where the story was going.

I'm not going to knock people who like it - and there's a few people out there, I'll just never understand this games appeal.

[RedDead]

I've played 1,2 and BBS. The Boss battles show that the battle system is actually good(bb>KH1>KH2)...but the normal battles are so crappy and repetitive. Seriously you just fight repeating enemies running through hallways. Boredom.

I myself can't stand Disney cheesyiness, not anymore. As a child of course I liked them, KH also shi*s all over FF characters. Game needs to give you a break from battles since that's the only thing you do in it, if it did the normal battles might be fun too.

KH should take a page form the old FF's too with...just anything to stop you from battling just for a little while, hopefully versus Xiii is this way too and not like KH

As for the story, yes it's very convulated. I liked organization XIII but they were a straight rip from Naruto(something Tetsuya Nomura seems to take a lot of inspiration from these days)

Also still wondering where the hell unversed came from?

[TheBossMan]

Kingdom Hearts 1 was great. I was one of the people who really got into it, though. I was pimpin' Gummi ships like nobody's business, hunting for black mushrooms, trying to see how long I could glide around the Halloween Town pit where Oogie's house was, Kurt Zisa, Watchtower Phantom, etc. Good stuff.

Kingdom Hearts 2, however, had some big flaws. One, it was confusing as all hell at first if you didn't play Chain of Memories. Two, a lot of the world plots were awful. The Pirates world was just... bad. Little Mermaid in the first game was actually really good, with Ursula being a legitimate villain and the shark terrorizing you at random moments. I shall not even mention what happened to that world the second time around. Travel between planets was dumbed down, world's were less complex and dumbed down, the whole game was dumbed down. Only Organization XIII, drive forms, and the final world in the second game lived up to the original.

The series is at its best when you feel like you're being thrust forward and have to adapt on the fly and figure out what's going on. Key moments would be when you first arrive at Traveler's town in the first game, Hollow Bastion's entire story line, the World that Never Was... that's gold.

[Lazy_Sunday]

It's a fun game, if you're trying to play Kingdom Hearts for the story you're doing it wrong

[firefoxprime]

The gameplay(action-rpg) sucked me in.

KH1- freakin awesome. Challenging boss battles too.

KH2- Updated graphics. Yet the button smashing was really lame.

CoM- Never played it. Won't even touch the RE:CoM for PS2.

358/2 Days:

KH in a DS???? And GTA:ChinaTown Wars was supposed to be graphically groundbreaking HAHAHAHAHA! The missions based gameplay was...different. The story was alright, but a bit rigid. Gameplay returned to KH1 style!

BBS: Never played it. Bought it for my lil bro, so "technically" I have access to it. Unfortunately, my hands are big. So...the psp lil analog slide nub just doesn't cut it. Argh....I just don't like the psp. Vita looks way more comfortable. Really wished BBS got an HD remake or somethin...I can't touch DDD or KH3 until I beat this...

RE-Coded: Its better than 358/2 Days, but I just don't care to finish it. I'm burned out with all the same old worlds. Its annoying, repetitive, and i'm pissed.

DDD: Can't touch it until BBS.

[Lazy_Sunday]

Exactly firefoxprime. Exactly.

[Shang-Long]

its funny cuz i found myself playing 4 the story,
i actually like the story.

[Lazy_Sunday]

The story isn't bad, it's actually really fun. The fluid gameplay, graphics, and overall fun of Kingdom Hearts is what makes it such a good game. It was definitely my favorite game growing up, end of discussion. The story was great, but it's a very playful story--and much like undubbed anime for most people, unless it is aesthetically and functionally superior, it's hard to get into. Kingdom Hearts is superior, and because of it's superiority, it allows for easier ingestion of the story. I'm not saying "THE GAME'S STORY IS TERRIBLE," I'm saying it was a great experience but it's not what defined the game for me.

It was a fun, responsive, playful and innovative cultural bending game. That's why I liked it.

[MEsoJD]

I,II, and BBS are among my favorite, but I do agree that the story is kind of all over the place. I like donald, goofy, and mickey, but I can live without them if Nomura broke off from disney. Hell we can't even download BBS on the ps store because of disney's insecurity.

[Snookies12]

It does not suck, just because you can't understand it, doesn't make it suck. Some people can't wrap their head around the Metal Gear story, does that make it suck? No, it's amazing... To be honest, Kingdom Hearts as a whole is a fantastic piece of work, that has so much going into it, you have to get into every minute detail to fully comprehend the happenings going on in the universe of the games.

It is one of the only few stories (Game, movie, book, or otherwise) that has actually made me sit there and ponder how things connect to each other. It takes some research at times, and some serious thinking, but things DO make sense.

[Arnagrim]

Don't kid yourself into thinking this game's story is anything but garbage.
The series had a simple story that due to Square Enix wanting to milk the series to fill their pockets by tagging on half assed side stories and unnecessary plot additions (Mark of Mastery exams are you fucking kidding) has become a cluster fuck of ideas it seems like a fourth grader came up with.
Do these plot points line up and have connections? Yes. Are they good, hell no. It's not that people don't understand it, it's that people DO understand it and realize how much of a mess the plot became after the first game.
This series has had the ugliest fall from grace plot wise of any game I've ever seen.

[rezzah]

Because you have reasons that are logical to you for not enjoying the series doesn't mean people will think the same way.

It is you who should not kid yourself into thinking everyone is just like you.

Edit for missing word.

[brodychet]

This game is fun. My personal favorite game of all time, and I've played... hundreds of games. Maybe more.

I love the fun of the game, and the fact that it can still be difficult. Point is.. The story isn't everything. But I love it; Personally..

[Knight_Cid]

The article was fine until the proved there butt hurtness and said exclusives were bad

[MsclMexican]

*face palm*

No, for the love of god... did you read the context as of why he said KINGDOM HEARTS AND OTHER THIRD PARTY EXCLUSIVES ARE BAD?

"It's become a cruel joke that fans of the series have to purchase a new console or handheld every time they want to play the newest Kingdom Hearts game. So at the very least, when Kingdom Hearts 3 finally comes out it should be on all major consoles. Let's stop messing around, the days of console exclusivity for third parties doesn't make sense anymore. "

I agree... if you want to tell a story, stop jumping around from one console to the other, or at least have the decency to include A PREVIOUSLY ON KH... so new comers actually have an idea of whats going on with out being confused as f**k.

Or keep it on the console you started on, but if you plan to move it to a new one, help the new audience catch up. Not every gamer is fortunate to own a PS2,DS, PSP and 3DS.

Hell the only KH games I played was 358/2 days and BBS, and I could not finish either because of how confused I was.

Look at MGS.. although they started on Sony consoles with Metal Gear Solid, they eventually brought most of the games onto other consoles in order for new players to catch up.

MGR requires no past knowledge of previous MGS games, but fans of MGS will get more out of it.

Imagine if a game like Halo 1 came out on Xbox, Halo 2 came out on the PS2 and Halo 3 came out on the wii.

It would not make any sense.

[Knight_Cid]

I read exactly what he said and its still ridiculous.

The way square is doing it is just fine.

They put titles on the most popular systems. They have a history doing that with alot of there series

[adamant715]

The only KH games youve played is 358/2 and BBS?

*facepalm*

No wonder you're confused..

[rezzah]

That is the main issues with the series, but as a person who follows the story even without playing them all, I find it to be one of the best series for me.

[TheGOODKyle]

Google is your friend if you truly want to know the story. Don't say it doesn't make sense or it's bad because you refuse to learn what really goes on in the series.

[BlackTar187]

MsclMexican

is just a hater :)

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

Are you serious?

Is it not frustrating that one has to buy a new console in order to play a new Kingdom Hearts game?

The only KH spin-off I bought was chain of memories. The rest I did not play because it would be foolish for me to buy a new handheld just to play ONE game.

I'm hopping SE does a HUGE Kingdom Hearts collection that brings KH1, KH2, Chain of Memories, Re:coded, 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance all to consoles.

[BlackTar187]

That would be amazing. I cannot buy s system for 1 game. When people say read about it i get it yes thats cool. I don't want to read i want to play that is why i am playing a video game. Of course i can get over it.

[Godmars290]

In the case of this series, which system hops, it being "exclusive" is ridiculous.

This is perfect example of why Final Fantasy has become what it has. Of Square exploiting their franchises rather than telling a story.

Actually, aren't all the stories after KH2 prolongs?

[Sorrow24]

I don't know about DDD but BS and the DS one were prologues.

[paybackprahl]

Re:Coded, a DS remake of the mobile phone game, is a direct sequel to 2.

[Megaman_nerd]

If KH2 was any indication of how KH3 will be then prepare to buy a PsP, a DS and 3DS (plus games) to even be able to comprehend a third of its insanely convoluted story. =/

[Ascalon94]

and maybe a Vita

[Eamon]

Look, its true that KH2's story was convoluted.

The whole identity mystery of Xehanort and the whole Roxas and Namine subplot and the real Ansem's backstory did make things confusing but it was no way bad.

Also, the story would be really confusing if you did not play Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which is set in between KH1 and KH2.

It was a very entertaining story and kept me wanting to find out what happens next. The only boring parts of the game is when visiting the Disney worlds and then having to revisit them again.

[TheFirstClassic]

I was considering buying kh on psp, would I be that confused from the storyline? It would be my first kh btw.

[jacksonmichael]

It's the earliest in terms of story. It's a good place to start.

[Lavalamp]

It'll be a great experience, sure, but you'd be doing yourself a disservice by going from the title with the strongest combat system to the rest which vary in quality and depth. I'd start with Kingdom Hearts 1 just so you can experience the gradual improvements over time until you hit that sweet spot in BBS.

[rezzah]

You can follow Lavalamp1138 example if you are into gameplay over story, or follow Jacksonmichael if you enjoy story over gameplay.

[Sorrow24]

I'd say read up on KH1 and KH2. Then play BS. Afterwards, read on BS and its story.

[TheFirstClassic]

Hey thanks for the advice everyone +bubs for helpful. I think I'll probably go with Sorrow's advice.

[smashcrashbash]

To some degree I agree. KH's story at times just seems like a reason to toss a bunch Disney and FF characters together. It really doesn't have much structure or integration or development. The cut scenes have lousy dialogue and Sora's personality never really formed into anything likable or memorable.Even the Disney characters that were in the game could have had more life to them.Maybe they could have acted a little more like they do in the cartoons.

The whole game kind of reminds me of Ben 10 Alien Force. Trying to be child like and serious at the same time and never quite succeeding at either one. Even the side quests that you did just seemed more trouble then they were worth. I also tried my best to love the Kingdom Hearts series but it always seems like Disney and Square trying to mash everything together rather then combining it smoothly.It makes it worse that they keep trying to make little prequels and remakes and card battle games and all sorts of nonsense instead of just getting off their @$$es and making KH3.

[versusALL]

I'll admit that the Kingdom Hearts story is not the best in gaming(HA not even close) but the gameplay more than makes up for it.

[Arnagrim]

The butthurt in the comments section of the IGN page is legendary.

[rezzah]

The game has a cult following, people who actually are interested in the deep and confusing story. Once you spell everything out it all makes sense for KH.

Then there are those who can't wrap their heads around the story and look for reasons to complain or disagree with everything done. KH series is the worst way to promote the series with one game per system, yet that should not be a reason to dislike the whole story.

[Arnagrim]

Except the series's story isn't deep; it's just a bunch of shallow side stories attached to a slightly deeper overarching plot to create a poorly constructed narrative encompassing all of the above. Hell most of Kingdom Heart's characters are relatively one dimensional or clichéd.
The games are good, I'm not hating on the way it plays; but the half-assed story telling and progressively more obvious we-made-it-up-as-we-went-along -for-money plot points (Xion, Mark of Mastery Exams, Unversed (seriously these guys showed up and other than, "Herp Darkness!" very little was given about their purpose and then they just sort of go away) have turned me away from the series; which is a shame because Kingdom Hearts 1 to this day is still an amazing game.

[Eamon]

Arnagrim, its true that Kingdom Hearts story isn't among the best in the JRPG genre, especially compared to 90s JRPGS.

However it is A LOT better than most contemporary JRPG stories out there.

I would agree that most of the characters in the KH series are quite cliche but not one dimensional (except perhaps Sora who is immune to being bad or sad).

Also, while it may appear as though the story "is-made-up-as-we-went-al ong" you should be aware that you are very likely to be wrong. It's Tetsuya Nomura. The man who brought us Final Fantasy VII's story. Nomura has planned a HUGE story for the series. I think he completely planned it after the success of the first Kingdom Hearts game.

Some side stories like the 2 DS games were kinda crap. 358/2 Days only served to reveal Roxas' backstory of his day in the Organisation and how he left it and what happened that eventually led to the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2. The second DS game (Re;coded) pretty much served nothing as far as I know. There was a hidden movie at the end that teased fans but that's about it.

Birth By Sleep however was a major title. It was supposed to show us the origin of Xehanort. While I can agree that BBS' plot was somewhat easy to predict it wasn't bad at all. And BBS has the best gameplay in the series. As for the Unversed, its explained in BBS that they created from Vanitas. And when Vanitas is eliminated, so is the Unversed. And the Heartless originally existed in the Realm of Darkness until they were unleashed by "Ansem" (Xehanort's heartless) into the Real of Light.

[Knightofelemia]

Disney is protective over their characters like DC Mortal Kombat creators had to play by DC's rules which is kinda pointless it ruins a game. It puts a leash on the creativity of the developers because everything has to abide by rules. Honestly they need to open up more Disney levels like the Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Sword in the Stone, WallE. Hell a level based off of Gargoyles, Darkwing Duck, Mighty Ducks the cartoon, or even Ducktales would be fun to play. As for the Square side the can open up more world besides the FF franchise or dive into the older FF game characters. Why not have a Xenogears level, or a Vagrant Story Level or a level based off of Parasite Eve. KH is not a bad franchise it hasn't faded out of boredom like FF but its still a fun game to play. Wish they would make an actual KH 3 game for PS3.

[WildStyles]

Good article. I used to be a big fan of the series before they went spin off crazy. Just unnecessary milking that's convoluting the plot event further.

[Hawkhunter12]

It's better than any story CoD or Battlefield game can pump out.

[SilentNegotiator]

herp-de-derp-de...DUH!

But then games like that are focused around gameplay, not story.

Must EVERYTHING be compared to COD/BF? People are OBSESSED. Comparing a jRPG to a FPS shooter? That's insane.

[Hawkhunter12]

Yes because they're by far the few overrated franchises in this generation, whereas rpg games like Nier, Tales of Xilia, Kingdom Hearts, Valkyria Chronicles, and plenty others deserve more attention than those two shooters.

[SilentNegotiator]

So you must poop on the popular games....and for their STORIES?!

[Hicken]

First "Why Zelda Sucks" and now this?

Is it the greatest story ever? Maybe not.

Is it terrible. Most definitely not.

KH has a solid story. The unfortunate part is that it was solidified on extra consoles, instead of being on just one. That Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance will be on different systems than the first two games, that 358/2 and Chain of Memories are on different systems, that Re:coded and KHIII will not be on the same system: THAT sucks.

But the story is decent, at the least. And it's one I enjoy a lot.

[KeybladeMaster]

I whole heartily agree with you. Everyone can have their opinions and yeah it does suck that a lot of the games are spread over many consoles and handhelds. That being said (if you actually play any of the games from start to finish) the stories are fantastic. It's like Assassins Creed and Metal Gear Solid. If you miss a game you will lose some of the story elements. That is your fault for not playing the game or reading up on what you missed in the last few games. I never played Re:Coded or CoM but I completely understand what's going on in the story. Why? Because I read up on the story of both games before I moved on.

Would you blame the player or the developer if someone said Assassins Creed was a convoluted story but they only played AC2 and Revelations. That is exactly what is going on here with all these haters and this article. Obviously the author is very misinformed and the haters are just sheep that follow IGN to the ends of the earth.

Kingdom Hearts to me is one of the best series I have ever played and has some of the most emotional moments in a video game I have ever seen. And FYI to the author, its when you go out of the disney worlds that the game really shines not the other way around. End of the Worlds and The World That Never Was are some of the best levels I have ever seen in a video game. And they are original Kingdom Hearts levels along with Hallow Bastion/Radiant Garden, Twilight Town and Traverse Town.

I know a lot of people won't agree with me, but I don't care. This is a series I have been a big fan of for 10 years. Kingdom Hearts and every game in the series after it was the first and only games that made me cry. As long as you actually play and read up on all the games, even a simpleton can understand the story. I will always stand behind the Kingdom Hearts Series stories. I can understand the criticism for everything else but the story and characters ARE the BEST PART of Kingdom Hearts.

Keyblade out.

[8BitBrian]

I have to say that KH it's one of my favorite series. I personally have BEEN confused by the story, but I cleared up whatever confusing I had by playing it again.

The only thing I don't like is that we had to play the remixes for extra bosses. Not cool.

[aNDROiD17_]

i never thought about it but yeah it kinda does, but the games is so amazing it doesnt really bother me

[TheGOODKyle]

The story isn't confusing if you truly know the story. I love KH and obsess over it constantly (sad I know) and I can answer any question one has regarding the KH series. It's just a matter of playing the games long enough and finding all the journals. KH is one of the best story based games out there right now.

I don't care if anyone disagrees, your simple click of a button won't change my mind that has been in love with KH since 2002.

[Ghost250]

sorry not a fan of Square Enix or their games in general.

[TheUnbiasedLion]

If you can afford all the consoles, the story is a very deep and complex story with lots of twists, plus it has meaning and morals. ONe that will stick in my head forever.

I think this site is fishing for hits even though it tries to make a valid point.

I for one am excited to see this conclusion... hopefully on the ps3. 3D KH has already got my pre-order :D

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

IGn just dosent understand good story telling how do you think it got this far?

[izumo_lee]

The problem with the KH story is that it is cut up & if you wanna know the entire story you need to get multiple systems to do so. At a whole the story for KH is pretty deep & very detailed, however if you have been following the games on a sony system you will miss out or get lost on other plot points if you do not get a DS or 3ds.

That is my gripe with how Nomura & his team are handling the series. Have the games on one system & than port them over to others. Or have them come out at the same time on different systems. I do not plan on buying a 3ds for Kingdom Hearts even though i am a fan of the series so i will miss out on important plot points that game will introduce.

[Megaman_nerd]

And to make things worse, the 3DS game will be a direct sequel to KH2. -_-

[WildStyles]

I can't believe some posters on here are asshurt over this. IGN is in the right. This series has unfortunately become extremely flawed. Not only does this series have a Metal Gear level of a clusterfuck story but Square Enix is just whoring the series out until the well runs dry.

[TheUnbiasedLion]

I could easily tell the story to anyone with a brain. While i do agree some characters are unrelatable, I disagree the story is flawed. People these days just don't like deep stories cause it requires them to think.

[Kte]

Can't agree with this one. You people are crazy for disliking KH, it just goes a long way what is wrong with that lol most epic RPG games do that

[JeepGamer]

Right from the word go I never liked KH but it wasn't until the second game that I realized 99.99% of the 'fandom' for the games revolved around the inclusion of FF7 characters.

When I pointed this out fans of the game screamed bloody murder then a month later the voice actor list was released and it was a 5-6 page form discussion on who was voicing the FF7 characters... Just the FF7 characters.

I linked back to my comment and did a 'lol whut?' at them and left it at that.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Obviously it's fine if people out there like it, but it just doesn't interest me anymore. It was kind of cheesy in it's own charming way for the first game, but the Disney touch has all but faded from the series at this point. It's just a sappy, overly melodramatic mess of convoluted plots, piled upon subplots, piled upon subplots.

[trenso1]

Didn't read the article but if the story sucks you prabobly just don't understand and yes I know it is complex but that's what i love about it.

[Petebloodyonion]

Mr IGN don't like the series? fine!
I love it and can't wait for part 3

You think the story is weak and full of hole. Then I guess you must hate starwars for it seem the KH story is a blatant ripoff (keyblade wielder, Chosen, Light and dark, blablabla)

You say Disney make crappy moves with the series and we wont see cool worlds like Robin Hoods. How about TRON? Jack Sparrows? Jack Skellington? I do thing that were far from crappy moves.

Now let me explain simple about the consoles thingy

The main game is currently on ps2 and 3 will probably on next gen consoles. side stories are on handheld.I know it suck if your fan of it and want every possible games
Just like... God of wars, Final Fantasy, resident evil, Castlevania and now Uncharted
Do I see IGN whine that you needed a psp a mobile phone, ps2 and ps3 to play the whole GOD of war Story (now you just need a phone and ps3).

My point rest simple. You don't like it for some reasons fine!
I do fine.

Use the forum to voice your mind not the 1st page spot of your media that could easily been use to showcase upcoming game.

[Me_My]

It's Kingdom Hearts that sucks is the deveolpers running it into the ground, same thing with Halo, Call Of Duty and Metal Gear Solid.

[NeXXXuS]

The should just make Kingdom Hearts 3 already.

[spektical]

I'm gonna disagree, the KH (the main series 1 & 2) had great story lines. If you couldnt follow, I'd have to question your literacy skills. RPG elements were so-so, I wish you could dictate where your stats went instead of having it be automated, there could be more weapons. More importantly KH3 has to be announced, its been far too long.

[KrimsonKody]

I think KH1 story was pretty good. It was 'semi-emotional', gameplay was fresh & fun, & it opened your curiosity as to what they were gonna do next.
KH2 story was great also, suiting for a sequel.
& let's be honest; the 'side stories' don't really count.
358/2days
Chain of Memories
Birth by Sleep
The remakes with a little more story added
All they do is elaborate on the same grounds that KH1 & 2 built. & the only thing that can/will close out the KH story is KH3.
But yeah, the story is simple to follow, decent & fitting, But I got exhausted after 358/2days. I've learned to just wait for KH3.
Also, I hope they go all out for KH3. I'm talking, possibly;

John Carter world (imagine the graphics when you go into that world!)
Lady & the Tramp world (thought it would be cute, & the characters turn to dogs)
Monsters Inc. world
Spirited Away world (drooling)
Toy Story world
Finding Nemo (maybe, because we're all tired of Ariels' mermaid water world)
Cars (would be a nice mini game)

You know. I just want them to get exotic with it.

[D3mons0ul]

unprofessional opinionated garbage

[Neko_Mega]

Kingdom Hearts is a good game but they are just milking it, I mean most of the ones that were made wasn't past Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix never made it out of Japan.

I think they need to stop wasting are time and make Kingdom Hears 3.