Kingdom Hearts Greatest Hits PS2 - PlayStation 2

This game was an instant classic. Fewer and fewer games nowadays can claim that title. Many games in today's world thrive on celebrity franchises, like Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, and the like. While this particular game's PR strategy is that way, the game itself shines brightly, just like the light of Kingdom Hearts. The biggest original selling point was the integration of two VERY different franchises: Final Fantasy and Disney. Bringing these two realms together into one product, particularly an RPG-style video game, must have been a big gamble. However, the geniuses at Square Enix pulled it off spectacularly, and created an entirely new franchise (that can now succeed in part because of its name). Kingdom Hearts takes the story of three young teens, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, who seek the unknown; what lies beyond their tiny island? What other worlds are out there? When their home is attacked by the Heartless and swallowed by the darkness, they are thrust into an imaginative adventure, and find out. Also, King Mickey (yes, it is that Mickey) of Disney Castle senses trouble brewing across the worlds, and departs to fight it. He leaves a note for his Royal Guard, Goofy, and Court Magician, Donald, ordering them to "find the key" and follow it. Sora finds himself in Traverse Town, a safe haven for people whose homes also fell to darkness, where he learns about the power of his new weapon, the Keyblade, and the Heartless that destroyed his home. Donald and Goofy also land here looking for the "key" mentioned in the note. Eventually, the three cross paths and decide to journey together to find Riku, Kairi, and the King, and return to their homes. The gameplay is also very noteworthy. It takes all of the elements of standard RPG's, like menus, countless items of all kinds, magic, summons, experience, HP, MP, etc, but eliminates all of the waiting. Battles start instantly, right in the field, and the basic menu, with all your commands, like Attack and Items, has to be sorted through on the fly, literally. Certain menus and actions can only be reached in the pause menu outside of battle. These include equipping items, choosing weapons and accessories, and customizing your characters. You have no control of any partners; just Sora. Given the gameplay style, this was a very wise choice. Also, in certain Disney worlds, new partners will join you, all Disney heroes. This game is not nearly as difficult as many RPG's can be, but you will likely struggle at points. Fortunately, the exploration in the game, trying to find all of the treasures, makes an easy excuse to fight some more battles and boost your stats. By then, that boss fight, or whatever it is, shouldn't be too hard. Battles could get a bit repetitive as well. The game has plenty of puzzles as well, most of them optional. However, since the rewards are usually great, I wouldn't miss them. While some of the enemies may be a bit irritating (like Black Fungus), for the most part, they're all pretty enjoyable. Here's a hint to make this game a bit easier: you can never overuse the Dodge Roll or Cure magic. Trust me, they will save your life. I'm not sure they picked the best Disney worlds, but what they did use, they used well. Certain Disney worlds contributed to the overall story very well. As for as technology is concerned, I'd say Kingdom Hearts is pretty average for PS2. It does feel very old when you go back to it after playing the sequels. The animation style is completely anime, in every way. The English dubbing is okay, but it feels awkward sometimes. The gestures and facial expressions don't always match what the characters are saying exactly. However, since that would require completely new animations, it's understandable why they kept it. Still, the voiceovers were well done, and they recreated the Disney characters pretty well. The music is cool. Some more of the original music from the movies would've been nice, but, again, that's expensive. At any rate, for its level, and time period for the system, Kingdom Hearts is pretty good. Overall, I'd give Kingdom Hearts five thumbs up, if I could. The story is immaculate, well-paced, and has a good balance between the somber Final Fantasy world, and the lighthearted, feel-good Disney world. The gameplay defines true action-RPG style. It's not too hard, not too easy. There are lots of fun cameos, good animation, and fun voiceovers. It creates an entirely new aspect of life, the heart, and explores it, with a little magic, and a little science. It's something that could only make sense in the world of Kingdom Hearts. Again, Kingdom Hearts is an instant classic, the perfect action-RPG, and a game for every RPG fan to try (and yes, I could write a book about it if I wanted to). Remember, there will always be a door to the light...

When I'd first played Kingdom Hearts almost seven to eight years ago, I was skeptical on its possibilities as a RPG. I wasn't too fond of Disney's creations at the time, and I also knew Square Soft was a bit down in their capability. However, I gave the game a shot. When I began playing, I became enticed by the simplistic yet complex play style. The graphics were nice at the time as well, but I was drawn more towards the storyline, music, and battle system. Let's break them down, shall we? - Storyline A door to the heart of all worlds. The key to the heart. Kingdom Hearts 1 seems to revolve around the battle between light and darkness. It is an age-old battle, but it's always interesting to see one's interpretation of it. For this game, it's the interpretation that the battle occurs mostly within oneself. To fight that which is wrong and to follow the light within one's heart. I won't go too far into detail, for spoilers' sake. However, the story does move along the lines that one should do what they feel is right even if it means going against all odds in order to make things better for everyone, and that one should never give up on their true friends. - Game play system The play style of this game is both simple and complex. No standing in one spot and hitting an enemy. Rather, due to the 3D nature of this RPG, it is a real time battle system - requiring the player to always be on their toes and aware of their surroundings. Yes, if you aren't fully prepared, you will see the 'Game Over' screen. But don't despair! Just adjust your strategy and be more careful. The simple nature comes from that you technically can overcome any enemy by overpowering it simply with jumps, moving, and physical attacks. The complexity comes from that you have many other techniques as well as magic at your disposal in order to come up with a strategy against an overwhelming opponent force. Knowing the balance of what to use and when is the key to your success. - Music Yoko Shimomura did a wonderful job at this. Her compositions for Disney worlds and even some original areas were stunning and quite fitting for the areas. The inclusion of battle themes specific to each world is also pleasing to the ear, as it means one does not constantly hear the same battle music over and over through the course of the game (unless one tends to 'grind' like I do). - Graphics For the PS2 at the time of Kingdom Hearts' release, the graphics were actually better than even I anticipated. Yes, they are seemingly 'kid-like', but they are fitting for this game. However, as you play, you realize that even with such graphic design, some enemies can still be quite surprising and to not base your strategy merely on how the enemy may look. A good amount of detail was put into the game in all aspects. Environments actually are done well and have quite a bit to just look at in some areas. Characters are rendered wonderfully, especially several of the cameo characters. It was nice to see some of the older Final Fantasy characters redone in a new way and some even still looking almost exactly the same - with the exception of greater detail on their character model. - Final Say I must say that even if you aren't sure about the game, it is worth a shot to play. I didn't think it'd be too good, and I ended up loving it. If you aren't sure still, find a place to rent it from or someone to borrow it from. Personally, I believe it'd be worth the time to delve into the heart for the first time.

J'ai rencontré des difficultés avec ce jeu. Premièrement, il a du mal à passer dans ma console, ensuite il est en anglais alors que je le voulais en français. en résumé, je regrette cette achat d'ailleurs je ne joue pas avec ce jeu.

Bem embalado, a capa chegou inteira, o jogo é um dos meus favoritos

Completamente nuevo y buen precio

Such a nostalgic game! This was one of the first video games I ever played so my review is typed through rose-coloured glasses but I started playing it through again last month and it's still so good! Really fun game play, great graphics that still hold up even after all this time. So colourful and happy, good for any age group. Highly recommend!

happy with product