214-485: The Kingdom Hearts video game series, developed by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney , is set in a universe consisting of numerous self-contained worlds based on intellectual properties from both companies. Most worlds are based on different Disney films, although several original worlds also appear. The series centers on the character Sora , a boy who searches for his lost friends and encounters Disney and Square Enix characters as he travels between worlds. In
428-519: A collectible card game , and a manga series. Kingdom Hearts features a mixture of familiar Disney and Square Enix characters, as well as several new characters designed and created by Nomura. In addition to original locations, the Kingdom Hearts series features many worlds from Disney films. Sora must visit these worlds and interact with various Disney characters to protect them from enemies. Often, his actions in these worlds closely follow
642-720: A job in Final Fantasy . Like the Emblem Heartless, the Nobodies have an insignia—an upside-down, incomplete heart—which was designed to resemble a splintered heart as a complement to the Heartless emblem. Upon being defeated, a Nobody fades into a state of non-existence until its Heartless counterpart is destroyed with the captive heart released, recreating the original being. Within the series, two Nobodies, Roxas and Naminé are considered "special cases" regarding
856-418: A "delightful mixture of two enchanted worlds". Video game critics of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories expressed disappointment at the limited number of new worlds to explore in the game. 1UP.com 's Bryan Intihar lauded Kingdom Hearts II ' s environment, calling it appealing and stating it was an improvement over the first title's. He described the level designs as "impeccable", citing the presentation of
1070-507: A Disney executive in an elevator (Square and Disney previously shared the same building in Japan) allowed Hashimoto to pitch the idea directly to Disney. Development began in February 2000 with Nomura as director and Hashimoto as producer. While Nomura had done previous work in the Final Fantasy series as monster designer and graphic director, he did not gain widespread recognition until he
1284-584: A Heartless in the first game-after he was forced to defeat and absorb Xion, a Replica of Sora in Kairi's image. In Kingdom Hearts II , after Roxas was integrated back into him, an awakened Sora and his friends resume their search for Riku and King Mickey, the latter's mentor Yen Sid re-familiarizing the trio with the Nobodies and Organization XIII's remaining members whom they deal alongside Maleficent and her right hand Pete . The three reunite with King Mickey and encounter Organization XIII's leader Xemnas , him and
1498-500: A Keyblade wielder to combat Xehanort's reconfigured Organization XIII. In Kingdom Hearts III , Kairi trains with a reformed Axel in a secret place created by Merlin 's magic. After completing her training, she reunites with her friends and shares with Sora a paopu, a legendary fruit that binds the destinies of those who eat it together. Afterwards, she participates in the final battle against Xehanort and Organization XIII, but Xehanort destroys her body to motivate Sora into helping recreate
1712-491: A Keyblade with the power to unlock people's hearts, intending to free Kairi's heart from Sora's. Sora restores their hearts after using Ansem's Keyblade on himself to revive Kairi, destroying it. The other princesses remain at Hollow Bastion to contain the darkness coming from the Keyhole until the door to Kingdom Hearts is sealed and subsequently return to their homeworlds. Birth by Sleep reveals that Master Xehanort also seeks
1926-582: A Nobody, Ansem seeks out the Door to Darkness to gain access to an artificial Kingdom Hearts created from the hearts of worlds, while Xemnas seeks to create his own artificial Kingdom Hearts from the hearts of people. These artificial constructs, however, are only small-scale versions of the "true" Kingdom Hearts, which can only be accessed with its counterpart, the χ-blade. Each Kingdom Hearts takes different shapes depending on from which hearts they are created. The first game's Kingdom Hearts, artificially created from
2140-512: A Princess of Heart and the location of her heart, Sora sacrifices his own heart to release hers and allow it to return to her body. While Sora disappears, Kairi escapes from a revived Ansem along with Donald Duck and Goofy. Soon after, Kairi finds Sora's Heartless and restores to human form. Kairi later remains behind on the restored Destiny Islands to await Sora's return from his journey. In Kingdom Hearts II , Axel approaches Kairi and asks her to come with him, but she flees with help from Pluto and
2354-623: A Riku Replica completing the group, at the Keyblade Graveyard. After initially losing the fight, Sora once again uses the "Power of Waking" to restore the guardians and call upon the "Lingering Will" armour, to assist in the fight. Afterwards it is revealed that Saix and Vexen sabotaged the Organization's plan by restoring Roxas as Sora's group manage to defeat all of Xehanort's remaining selves while freeing Xion and Terra from his control. Xehanort kills Kairi to force Sora to manifest
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#17327839656542568-483: A collaboration between Square and Disney Interactive , and would feature worlds developed by both companies and Disney characters. New characters were designed by Nomura and include Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the Heartless. On May 14, 2002, a press release announced a list of the English voice actors. The list included Haley Joel Osment , David Gallagher , and Hayden Panettiere as the three new characters introduced into
2782-667: A copy of the Book of Prophecies, which details their master's prediction of the future and the manifestation of worlds. After the Master disappears, the Foretellers' paranoia of a traitor among themselves results in infighting that eventually leads to the Keyblade War and the destruction of the world. With the exception of Ava, the Foretellers appear in the epilogue of Kingdom Hearts III , where they are summoned by Luxu and informed of
2996-461: A dark corridor made by Riku. Saïx soon kidnaps her to motivate Sora towards acting in the Organization's wishes. She escapes with help from Naminé and Riku, who gives her her Keyblade "Destiny Embrace" to fight alongside Sora, while the former merges with her to become a whole being once again. After Sora and Riku defeat the Organization's leader Xemnas, Kairi reunites with them at Destiny Islands. In Dream Drop Distance , Yen Sid summons her to train as
3210-445: A discussion between Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi about Super Mario 64 . They were planning to make a game with freedom of movement in three dimensions like Super Mario 64 but lamented that only characters as popular as Disney's could rival a Mario game. Tetsuya Nomura, overhearing their conversation, volunteered to lead the project and the two producers agreed to let him direct. A chance meeting between Hashimoto and
3424-598: A fifth series based on Kingdom Hearts III has been serialised monthly in Gangan Online with Amano returning to do story and artwork. Yen Press also licensed the series and published it online in English on apps such as Comixology and BookWalker alongside the Japanese release. This series will soon have two volumes published in tankōbon format. The games have also been adapted as a light novel series, written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. Like
3638-519: A fortress controlled by a mysterious group of non-existent " Nobodies " called Organization XIII , the castle's overseer Marluxia using the power of a girl named Naminé to alter the group's memories for his agenda. After Marluxia's defeat, the three are placed in a year-long sleep by Naminé to restore their original memories while losing their experience in Castle Oblivion. At the same time Sora ventured through Castle Oblivion, Riku ended up in
3852-467: A group of Disney villains whose ability to control the Heartless was given to them by Maleficent , who enlists Riku's aid in seeking seven maidens called the Princesses of Heart whose power would open the way to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds. Though eventually defeating Maleficent and reunited with Kairi after sacrificing himself to restore her heart to her body, Sora learns that Maleficent
4066-475: A heart, despite originating from people's hearts after darkness consumes them. Initially, the Heartless existed within an all-encompassing variety, the "Pureblood", and, prior to the events of the first Kingdom Hearts, they were typically only encountered in the realm of darkness, although people with a strong will may summon them to the realm of light. While studying the Pureblood Heartless, as
4280-423: A letter from King Mickey. The letter, written by Mickey during the events of Kingdom Hearts Coded , describes the parts of their past that Naminé learned while restoring Sora's memory. As they read the letter, they learn of Xehanort 's true identity as a Keyblade Master who sought the secrets of the Keyblade War which created their current reality and the fates that befall the apprentices of his friend Eraqus during
4494-494: A lot of originality. We want variety... so we don't want too many of one sort of world, that would look the same. For each world there has to be some meaning for it, in the plot... Also, gameplay-wise, is that world something that would make gameplay fun?" The game does not feature any worlds based on Final Fantasy . In addition to the Gummi Ship mini-game , mini-games feature prominently in certain worlds. While Atlantica
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#17327839656544708-521: A machine. The hearts overload the machine and cause it to self-destruct, with Ansem allowing himself to be engulfed by the blast to atone for his mistakes. Birth by Sleep's epilogue reveals Ansem to be alive in the realm of darkness, where he relays his intact memories of Sora to Aqua. In Dream Drop Distance , a digital copy of Ansem appears within Sora's heart to present Riku with research data he has hidden regarding Roxas, Xion, and Ventus's hearts. During
4922-500: A means through his former apprentice Ventus and his personified darkness Vanitas , who Xehanort created and enlisted to ensure his plans succeeded. Though Ventus and Vanitas fuse back into one being with the χ-blade in hand, the unstable χ-blade explodes due to Vanitas' destruction within Ventus. Dream Drop Distance reveals that, as a contingency to his previous plan, Xehanort arranged the formation of his thirteen "Seekers of Darkness",
5136-425: A means to track down the king, and reluctantly abandoning him after learning that Riku is the rightful owner of Sora's Keyblade. However, both eventually grow to care for Sora as a friend and remain with him. The two are also unlockable characters for play in 358/2 Days 's "Mission Mode". Maleficent, an evil fairy and the main antagonist of the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty , appears as the secondary antagonist in
5350-591: A new lair after losing Hollow Bastion, she and Pete search for the Master of Master's Black Box throughout most of Kingdom Hearts III before witnessing Luxu summoning the Foretellers. Pete is included in Kingdom Hearts II as Maleficent's bumbling henchman, who first encounters Sora's group while amassing a Heartless army for her, unaware of her earlier defeat. He was originally a steamboat captain based on his depiction in Steamboat Willie , but
5564-525: A new program. Nomura had wanted to include a world based on The Lion King in the first game, but was unable to since the engine could not process quadrupedal character models properly, a feature included in Kingdom Hearts II . Birth by Sleep introduced several new Disney-based worlds to the series: Castle of Dreams , Enchanted Dominion , Dwarf Woodlands and Deep Space . Dream Drop Distance included more new Disney worlds, such as La Cité des Cloches , The Grid , Prankster's Paradise , Country of
5778-404: A part of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue , as Aqua explores the realm of darkness. In Kingdom Hearts III , Terra's restored body appears at the Keyblade Graveyard as one of Xehanort's thirteen "seekers of darkness" in his plan to open Kingdom Hearts, serving again as a vessel for Xehanort's heart from the past. The Lingering Will also appears, being summoned by Naminé after Sora uses
5992-517: A playable character in the Re Mind scenario of Kingdom Hearts III . As one of the seven Princesses of Heart , she was cast adrift from her homeworld of Radiant Garden at a young age as part of Xehanort 's experiment to locate the key bearer, which eventually brings her to the Destiny Islands, piquing Sora and Riku's interest in other worlds. Birth by Sleep reveals that her arrival on
6206-405: A playable role in the "Reverse/Rebirth" story mode of Chain of Memories , the multiplayer mode of 358/2 Days , and the core story of Dream Drop Distance . He is also a computer-controlled party member in the final level of Kingdom Hearts II , and is temporarily playable during a sequence where Sora is incapacitated in the game's final boss battle. Riku is also briefly playable at several points in
6420-477: A portal at Disney Castle, and ventured through it to find a mysterious armour referred to as 'Lingering Will'. During their exchange, it mistook Sora for Xehanort, after which Sora fought the mysterious armour. Sora won the battle, and the Lingering Will merely knelt down after this, saying that he once felt the power Sora possessed. Sometime later after the events of the game, Sora, Riku, and Kairi receive
6634-540: A replica of Roxas, takes on his appearance while fighting Xigbar. Ventus is also referenced by Xigbar in Kingdom Hearts II and 358/2 Days while Xemnas , the Nobody of Xehanort, searches for him in Castle Oblivion. Birth by Sleep introduces Ventus as an apprentice of Master Xehanort, who tries to condition him into a dark component of the χ-blade . Due to Ventus's reluctance to use darkness, Xehanort extracts it from his heart and creates Vanitas, damaging his heart in
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6848-604: A resident of her original world, the Castle of Dreams. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians are featured in a side-quest in the first game, where players must retrieve them after they were scattered throughout the game's worlds in exchange for prizes, however Cruella de Vil does not appear in any of the games. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty appear in Kingdom Hearts II , where they provide Sora with new clothes that grant him access to Drive Forms. Kingdom Hearts III includes Remy from Pixar 's Ratatouille as
7062-470: A result of in-game events, while others can be obtained by completing mini-games. A driving element in the first game is the ability to seal the "heart" of a world by locking the keyhole to the door leading to it, preventing it from being destroyed by Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts II , the player uses the Keyblade to unlock pathways between worlds that were closed after the events of the first game. While Sora
7276-498: A role in summoning the Lingering Will to help Sora against Terra-Xehanort after being temporarily separated from Kairi's heart. Later, when Kairi's body is destroyed by Xehanort, Naminé's heart is released and stored in a replica body which Riku had provided to Ansem the Wise and his apprentices, allowing her to exist as a separate person. Organization XIII ( XIII機関 , Jūsan Kikan ) is a group created by Xehanort in his plan to acquire
7490-489: A search for him after opening a portal to another reality in the Final World. Elsewhere, Sora meets Yozora, a supposedly fictional character from a video game. During their exchange Yozora claims that he is tasked to "save Sora" and the world is transported into Shibuya. Sora is challenged to a fight by Yozora, whom he defeats. Yozora fades away as Sora returns to The Final World. Both Sora and Yozora wonder if their meeting
7704-401: A sequel. One was the development team's desire to showcase Mickey Mouse more; Mickey's inclusion in the first game was restricted to a very small role. Nomura had planned for the sequel to take place a year after the first and originally intended for the events of that year to be left unexplained. To bridge the gap between the two games, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was developed. Nomura
7918-399: A side effect of their research to control the mind through the heart, Xehanort and Ansem's other apprentices found a way to create artificial "Emblem" Heartless via the corruption of living hearts, which are differentiated from Purebloods by an insignia on their bodies. Unlike Purebloods, Emblem Heartless release hearts once defeated. However, unless the Keyblade is used to defeat the Heartless,
8132-489: A simulation of Twilight Town to eventually merge with Sora. In Kingdom Hearts II , DiZ's plans fall apart when Sora does not function as he wants upon awakening. Upon realizing the harm he brought to Sora and his friends, DiZ becomes remorseful and abandons his desire for revenge. Ansem later reveals himself to Mickey at the World That Never Was while attempting to digitally encode Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts within
8346-466: A spirit. Aqua ( アクア , Akua ) is a Keyblade Master who serves as one of the three playable characters of Birth by Sleep , and the sole playable character of A Fragmentary Passage , a direct sequel bundled with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue . She is also playable during one fight in Kingdom Hearts III . In gameplay, she is nimble and specializes in magic attacks. As
8560-555: A spirit. Ventus ( ヴェントゥス , Ventusu ) , commonly nicknamed "Ven" ( ヴェン ) , before being introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep , camoed in the secret endings of Kingdom Hearts II and its re-release, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix , which depict him and his friends Terra and Aqua battling Master Xehanort and Vanitas . Ventus also makes a cameo appearance in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days , when Xion,
8774-571: A standard version and a limited edition version. The limited edition was available in four different covers and included a copy of Jiminy's Journal along with 400 stickers. Sora has made guest appearances in other video games, including World of Final Fantasy and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . A manga based on the Kingdom Hearts storyline has been released in Japan and the United States. The story and art are done by Shiro Amano , who
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8988-524: A surprise. He praised the level designs, commenting that many familiar elements from the Disney films were integrated into them. Marriott further stated that though the stages were small, interacting with beloved characters and exploring familiar settings were enjoyable aspects. Maura Sutton of Computer and Video Games attributed the Disney elements as a major factor in creating the game's "astounding worlds". She summarized her review by calling Kingdom Hearts
9202-470: A television adaptation of the first Kingdom Hearts game was commissioned in 2003 for the Disney Channel , but did not go forward as a series. In October 2022, the pilot's director, Seth Kearsley, uploaded the pilot animatic to his personal YouTube channel and shared more details on the production. The cast of the games reprised their roles for the pilot with the exception of Haley Joel Osment , who
9416-736: A transit system between worlds, an ice cream business, and a restaurant in Twilight Town. The Beagle Boys , as depicted in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers , reprise their roles from the film as Pete's minions in the Dream Drop Distance world "Country of the Musketeers". Other characters, such as Horace Horsecollar , Clarabelle Cow , and Clara Cluck , make minor appearances in Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep . Ludwig Von Drake does not appear physically, but
9630-425: A type of Dream Eater called Chirithy appears in Kingdom Hearts χ and Kingdom Hearts III as NPCs. Keyblades ( キーブレード , Kīburēdo ) are key -shaped melee weapons created to combat darkness and are the only thing that can free hearts from a Heartless form, thus allowing the restoration of complete beings. Keyblades are also capable of locking and unlocking doors and keyholes. Initially, Keyblades were crafted in
9844-414: A weapon called the Keyblade that allows him to fight creatures called Heartless, before ending up in another world, Traverse Town, where he meets Donald Duck and Goofy , two emissaries from Disney Castle sent to find the Keyblade wielder under orders from their missing king. As the three band together and travel to save various worlds from the Heartless while searching for their companions, they encounter
10058-421: A world based on The Jungle Book was considered for the first game, but was omitted because it was similar to Deep Jungle from Tarzan . They also took into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting. For example, Nomura chose to include a Mulan world for its unique atmosphere. The Tron world's design was meant to emulate an old computer game in the style of the 1982 film. Nomura got
10272-629: A world of nothingness and formed Organization XIII. Ansem disguised himself as DiZ, an acronym for "Darkness in Zero", and escaped to exact revenge on the Organization. In Chain of Memories , DiZ guides Riku through Castle Oblivion under the guise of Xehanort's Heartless. Along with Riku and Naminé, DiZ oversees the restoration of Sora, Donald, and Goofy's memories throughout 358/2 Days , moving them from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town for safekeeping. When Roxas unwittingly begins absorbing Sora's memories, DiZ orders Riku to retrieve Roxas, whom he places inside
10486-557: Is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company , and is under the leadership of Nomura, a longtime Square Enix employee. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney properties based in an original fictional universe . The series centers on the main character, Sora , and his journey and experiences with various Disney characters, as well as some from Square Enix properties, such as Final Fantasy , The World Ends with You , and Einhänder , in addition to original characters and locations created specifically for
10700-435: Is a magician proficient with various offensive and supportive spells, and Goofy is a peaceful knights' captain who wields a shield and can perform supportive and defensive techniques with a shield. In Kingdom Hearts , Donald and Goofy embark on a journey to find their missing king, with orders from a letter left by Mickey to find the Keyblade wielder. They accompany Sora for this reason, initially viewing him as little more than
10914-696: 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 Enix and Disney Interactive Studios , and is a crossover of various Disney settings based in a universe made specifically for the series. The series features Disney, Final Fantasy , The World Ends with You , and Pixar characters, as well as several original characters designed by Tetsuya Nomura . In addition, it has an all-star voice cast which includes many Disney characters' official voice actors. The series centers on Sora, his friends, and their encounters with various Disney and Final Fantasy characters along
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#173278396565411128-490: Is able to deduce with Riku that Sora is in a location outside of their own reality called "Quadratum". As Riku departs to save Sora, Kairi stays behind to train with Aqua. Nomura has stated that Kairi's name can be interpreted as "sea", as the on'yomi pronunciation of the Japanese word for "sea" is kai ( 海 ) . Kairi also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit. Roxas ( ロクサス , Rokusasu )
11342-764: Is accessible from the main menu. This journal keeps track of information regarding the story, characters, enemies, and locations. In Kingdom Hearts , Chain of Memories , Kingdom Hearts II , and Kingdom Hearts III , the journal is kept by Jiminy Cricket , who was appointed by Queen Minnie as the royal chronicler. In 358/2 Days , Birth by Sleep , and Dream Drop Distance , the main characters write their own journal entries. The games are influenced by their parent franchise, Final Fantasy , and carry its gameplay elements over into their own action-based, hack-and-slash system. Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated,
11556-530: Is also known for his manga adaptation of the Legend of Mana video game. The story follows the events that took place in the video games with differences to account for the loss of interactivity a video game provides. The manga was originally serialized in Japan by Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan and eventually released in tankōbon format. The first tankōbon was released in Japan in October 2003. The manga
11770-527: Is also mentioned in the secret ending of the remake Re:coded , where Mickey Mouse and Yen Sid discuss his and Ventus' whereabouts following the events of Birth by Sleep . Terra briefly appears in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance , first during Sora's dream where Sora's friends, Riku and Kairi , are transformed into Terra and Aqua; and again when Sora declares his pride in being connected to many Keyblade wielders. A vision of Terra appears in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage ,
11984-501: Is an ordinary world in Kingdom Hearts , albeit with a unique "underwater" control scheme, it becomes an interactive rhythm game in Kingdom Hearts II which is unrelated to the overall story and serves as filler. Space Paranoids features a Light Cycle mini-game that strongly deviates from the original film, which Nomura included because he knew people associated the Light Cycles with Tron . The worlds created specifically for
12198-434: Is an unwitting pawn of Xehanort, who first informs her of the princesses during the prequel Birth by Sleep as part of his plan to gather components for the χ-blade. Her defeat results in her becoming trapped in the realm of darkness, but she returns after her raven forces Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to recall their memories of her, allowing her to resume her conquest of worlds. Following Maleficent's attempts to acquire
12412-729: Is banished to another dimension by Queen Minnie for incessantly causing mischief around Disney Town under the masked superhero guises "Captain Justice" and "Captain Dark", as seen in Birth by Sleep . He becomes indebted to Maleficent after she frees him, and vows to help her conquer the worlds in return. He makes recurring appearances throughout Kingdom Hearts II and later installments, menacing Sora's group alongside Maleficent and other Disney villains. A version of Pete based on his depiction in Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers also appears in
12626-579: Is connected with Sora's. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance , Sora briefly takes Ventus's form during a dream, and when his heart is wounded, Ventus's armor appears to protect his body. In the game's ending, Ventus is seen smiling in Castle Oblivion, still asleep. An apparition of Ventus appears in the realm of darkness in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage , a playable episode included in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue . Kingdom Hearts Union χ , which
12840-504: Is defeated and his past selves are eliminated during a showdown against Sora's group, Xehanort surrenders and allows his heart to pass on together with his former friend Eraqus. Kingdom Hearts χ reveals him to be Ephemer's descendant. Naminé ( ナミネ , Namine ) is first introduced in Chain of Memories , and is revealed in Kingdom Hearts II to be Kairi's Nobody, who was created when Sora released Kairi's heart from within himself during
13054-521: Is directed by Tetsuya Nomura , who is also the games' character designer. Nomura has stated that unlike working with Final Fantasy characters, keeping the main character Sora alive and interesting over multiple games is a challenge. He also stated that though many of the Disney characters are not normally dark and serious, there were not many challenges making them so for the story, and despite this, their personalities shine because they maintain their own characteristics. Though Disney gave Nomura freedom in
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#173278396565413268-521: Is eventually destroyed in a fight meant to prove his right to exist after discovering his origins. In Kingdom Hearts III , Riku finds the replica's heart in the realm of darkness and gives it refuge within his own heart. A past version of the replica called "Dark Riku" also appears in the game as a member of the real Organization XIII, masquerading as Riku's younger self. After Dark Riku is defeated, Riku Replica sacrifices himself to extract Dark Riku's heart from its vessel, which he provides for Naminé. Ansem
13482-589: Is introduced in Birth by Sleep as one of the few remaining Keyblade Masters alongside Xehanort, and is later revealed to be descended from the Keyblade users that survived the Keyblade War. He is in charge of the Land of Departure and is both a mentor and father figure to Terra, Aqua and Ventus. He is also noted for being biased against the existence of darkness in favor of light, a key factor behind his eventual falling out with Xehanort. Nomura described his relationship with Xehanort as that of old friends and classmates. At
13696-574: Is mentioned on the Classic Kingdom posters found in Twilight Town in Kingdom Hearts III . Characters from other Disney films also play prominent roles in the games' story. Jiminy Cricket appears as a chronicler of Sora's travels, recording information about the people, places and events they encounter in his journals; he also retains his role from Pinocchio as the titular character's conscience . Merlin from The Sword in
13910-545: Is normally not possible, and they are protected from extraterrestrial interference by an invisible shell. When the heart of a world is opened, the shell breaks apart, appearing as a meteor shower. Fragments from the wall are called "Gummi blocks" and are used to make spaceships called "Gummi Ships", which can be shaped into any structure, and the origin of the material used to build them allows travel to other worlds. Gummi blocks serve different functions, from navigation to offense and defense. Other methods to travel between worlds are
14124-475: Is now 16 years old, he acquires another Keyblade of his own, the "Way to the Dawn"; this Keyblade is later broken in Kingdom Hearts III , leading him to obtain a new Keyblade, "Braveheart". Riku also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit. Kairi ( カイリ ) is the main female protagonist of Kingdom Hearts and Sora and Riku's best friend. She is a non-playable character in most games, but debuts as
14338-517: Is set many years before Birth by Sleep , reveals Ventus to have been a member of the Dandelions and one of the five Union leaders chosen after the end of the Keyblade War. Along with the other leaders, he forms Union Cross to prevent history from repeating itself. Ventus returns in Kingdom Hearts III after being restored and reunites with Terra, Aqua, and his Dream Eater partner Chirithy. Ventus also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as
14552-496: Is stopped by Terra. After battling with his student, he is struck down by Xehanort and fades away, leaving his Keyblade behind. However, the game's secret ending reveals that Eraqus had hidden his heart within Terra, allowing Terra to resist Xehanort's influence after being possessed by him. Eraqus returns in Kingdom Hearts III , emerging from Terra's restored body and persuading Xehanort to surrender, after which their hearts ascend to
14766-494: Is subsequently destroyed within Ventus's subconscious, but are temporarily restored following his return during the events of Kingdom Hearts III . Kingdom Hearts Coded includes software bugs , referred to in-game as Bug Blox ( バグブロックス , Bagu Burokkusu ) or simply "Bugs", who serve as the game's main antagonistic force. To investigate a message hidden in Jiminy Cricket 's journal that Naminé left, King Mickey has
14980-464: Is the initial player-controlled character of Kingdom Hearts II , who is featured during the game's prologue segment. He is introduced as a youth living in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town, who discovers himself to be Sora's Nobody , having been born when Sora transformed into a Heartless to restore Kairi's heart during the events of the first game. He is also revealed to be a defector from Organization XIII, which sought to utilize his ability to wield
15194-417: Is the only one who uses the Keyblade in the first game, later games reveal more characters who wield Keyblades. In Birth by Sleep , Keyblades can be transformed into hovercraft called Keyblade Gliders, which can be used to travel from world to world, making Keyblade wielders the only people with the means of transportation between worlds before Gummi Ships are used. The "gates" Sora would open later are known as
15408-494: The Final Fantasy games, a series of " Ultimania " books were released in Japan for many of the games. These books include game walkthroughs, interviews, and extra information from the developers. Kingdom Hearts -Another Report- was released along with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ and features game information, visuals by Shiro Amano, and a director interview. In North America, Brady Games released strategy guides for each game. For Kingdom Hearts II , they released two versions,
15622-694: The Genie appear in Agrabah from Aladdin . The game worlds consist of interconnected field maps where battles and plot-related events occur. Players travel between worlds in different ways in each game, such as the "Gummi Ship" in the original Kingdom Hearts , "Keyblade glider" in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep , "Corridors of Darkness" in 358/2 Days , and "Sleeping Keyholes" in Dream Drop Distance . Worlds created specifically for
15836-835: The Kingdom Hearts series feature computer-controlled characters that join the player's party in a specific world. The first game features six different party members in addition to Donald and Goofy: Tarzan in Deep Jungle; Aladdin in Agrabah; Ariel in Atlantica; Jack Skellington in Halloween Town; Peter Pan in Never Land; and Beast in Hollow Bastion. In addition, six characters can be acquired as summoned allies: adult Simba , Genie , Dumbo , Bambi , Tinker Bell , and Mushu . Chain of Memories features
16050-427: The Kingdom Hearts series, most of them appearing at Disney Castle and its adjacent urban area, Disney Town. Minnie Mouse is depicted as the queen of Disney Castle who rules in the absence of her husband, King Mickey; Daisy Duck , Donald Duck's girlfriend, is her lady-in-waiting . Pluto reprises his role as Mickey's pet and makes recurring appearances throughout the series, accompanying Donald and Goofy's search for
16264-532: The Kingdom Hearts series. During the first game, she leads a group of other Disney villains — Hades from Hercules , Jafar from Aladdin , Ursula from The Little Mermaid , Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas , and Captain Hook from Peter Pan —to capture the Princesses of Heart and harness the power of Kingdom Hearts, which she intends to use to conquer all worlds. In reality, she
16478-449: The Kingdom Hearts universe. Despite this, Nobodies can gain new hearts of their own over time, separate from their original selves. Nobodies typically assume malformed, inhuman shapes, but the members of Organization XIII keep their human forms because they possessed strong hearts as humans and thus remember their original self. Most members of the Organization control one type of Nobody suited to their fighting style, each corresponding to
16692-473: The Unversed manifested from Vanitas's negative emotions. While Vanitas succeeded in merging back into Ventus during their final confrontation at the Keyblade Graveyard, their reunion produced an unstable χ-blade, which is destroyed along with Vanitas in a metaphysical battle against Ventus within their combined heart. However, he briefly appears alongside Young Xehanort in Dream Drop Distance in reaction to
16906-413: The Unversed to strengthen him. Upon meeting Xehanort, Ventus rediscovers his purpose in the χ-blade's creation. Ventus refuses to battle Vanitas and create the weapon, but is forced to do so after Vanitas threatens his friends. They battle within the Keyblade Graveyard, where Vanitas merges with Ventus and obtains the χ-blade. However, the fusion is incomplete, allowing Ventus to destroy both Vanitas and
17120-447: The greenlight . In October 2007, a fan-made web series of CG action films called Dead Fantasy was created by late web-based animator and writer, Monty Oum . Dead Fantasy featured Kingdom Hearts characters teaming up with Final Fantasy characters and competing against Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden characters in battle royale-style brawls. [REDACTED] Category Organization XIII Kingdom Hearts
17334-515: The "Country of the Musketeers" world in Dream Drop Distance , which is based on the film. Yen Sid is the sorcerer from " The Sorcerer's Apprentice " segment of Fantasia , who appears in the series as King Mickey's old mentor and a retired Keyblade Master who resides in the Mysterious Tower. He first appears in Kingdom Hearts II , where he informs Sora's group of their task at hand on Mickey's behalf. In addition to providing counsel to
17548-457: The "Dark World" in Kingdom Hearts III and in its Re Mind expansion. His signature weapon is the "Soul Eater" sword, a manifestation of the darkness in his heart. During the first game, Riku is revealed to be the rightful owner of Sora's Keyblade, which Terra bequeathed to him during the events of Birth by Sleep ; however, his reliance on the power of darkness caused the Keyblade to reject Riku in favor of Sora. In Kingdom Hearts II , where Riku
17762-510: The "Meow Wow" Dream Eater from Dream Drop Distance . A common element in the Kingdom Hearts series is the inclusion of levels based on various Disney and Pixar films , as well as related media. Several key characters from the films appear in their respective worlds, closely following their roles from the film and playing a small role in the main story. Several characters from the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck universes appear in
17976-430: The "Star Seeker" he is seen using during his apprenticeship to Yen Sid in Birth by Sleep . Mickey is absent for most of the original game, as he departs from his world to find a solution to the Heartless invasion, leaving behind instructions for Donald and Goofy telling them to find and protect the Keyblade wielder. He has a more active role fighting alongside Sora and his allies in later installments, which first required
18190-423: The "corridors of darkness" and the "lanes between"—interdimensional pathways through which frequent travel eventually erodes unprotected users' hearts with darkness. Heartless and Nobodies normally use these paths, but other characters have used them, including Riku and Mickey Mouse. Those who travel between worlds are advised to limit their interactions with their inhabitants to avoid causing chaos. For this reason,
18404-437: The 2004 Square Enix E3 press conference, the producer, Shinji Hashimoto, stated that many mysteries of the first game would be answered. To help market the games, websites were set up for each game and demos were on display at gaming events. Each game in the main series was also re-released in Japan with additional content and served as canonical updates to the series. The additional content foreshadowed later plot elements in
18618-548: The Armor of Eraqus ( アーマー・オブ・ザ・マスター , Āmā obu za Masutā , lit. "Armor of the Master") , appears in Birth by Sleep Final Mix as an opponent in the Mirage Arena. The Foretellers ( 予知者 , Yochisha ) are a group of Keyblade Masters trained under the Master of Masters, each a leader of one of the five Unions established to gather light and combat darkness. They first appear in Kingdom Hearts χ , where they are each given
18832-811: The Heartless Ansem revealed to the splintered halves of the real Ansem's apprentice Xehanort. The Organization's plan is also revealed: regaining their lost hearts by using Keyblade users to create an artificial Kingdom Hearts from slain Emblem Heartless. Axel, a rogue Organization member who is Roxas' friend and first encountered Sora in Castle Oblivion, abducts Kairi in an attempt to see Roxas. Axel's action only give Saix, his former friend and Xemnas' enforcer, leverage to force Sora into finishing what Roxas and Xion began. Axel sacrifices himself to help Sora's group reach The World That Never Was (Organization XIII's headquarters) and, after defeating Xemnas's right hand Xigbar, reunite with Riku and Kairi. DiZ, revealed to be
19046-447: The Heartless are more powerful and uncontrollable. They invade worlds through corridors of darkness, which are unpredictable pathways that interlink the worlds. When Heartless are created, the body and soul of those with strong hearts that have lost their hearts to darkness become another type of creature called a Nobody ( ノーバディ , Nōbadi ) . As they lack hearts possessing light and darkness, they are "nothing", yet still exist within
19260-402: The Heartless, Nobodies, and other forces of evil. Nomura has stated that Sora's name can be interpreted as "sky", as the Japanese word for sky is sora ( 空 ) . Riku ( リク ) is a childhood friend and rival of Sora who resides with him and Kairi on the Destiny Islands. He originally appeared as a non-playable character in the original game, where he is introduced as a 15-year-old boy, and has
19474-403: The Keyblade War and become the new Union leaders, forming the joint group Union Cross to ensure the event would never repeat itself. The other Dandelions, like Elrena, had their memories rewritten to forget the events leading to the Keyblade War. When the digital Daybreak Town is about to be destroyed, the five leaders and Elrena escape and are sent to the future, appearing in different times, while
19688-442: The Keyblade, and after the restoration of Beast's Castle, he becomes a pawn in the plot of Organization XIII during Kingdom Hearts II . During the development of Kingdom Hearts II , Nomura had more creative freedom due to advances in technology, which Port Royal/The Caribbean , Space Paranoids , and Pride Lands benefited from. In Port Royal and Space Paranoids, the character models were generated from live-action pictures using
19902-504: The Keyblade. Roxas serves as the main protagonist of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days , which revolves around the circumstances leading to his eventual defection from the Organization. Roxas sacrifices his existence to merge with Sora at the end of Kingdom Hearts II 's prologue, but is restored in a replica body during the events of Kingdom Hearts III . Terra ( テラ , Tera ) is introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as an apprentice Keyblade wielder who trains alongside Aqua and Ventus at
20116-506: The Land of Departure. Early on in the game, Terra is denied the rank of Keyblade Master when his mentor and father figure, Master Eraqus, detects strong darkness in his heart. Despite initially being disheartened, Terra is given a chance to redeem his failure when he is dispatched to eliminate an insurgence of dark creatures called the Unversed in neighboring worlds. During his journey, the vagabond Master Xehanort appeals to Terra to channel
20330-745: The Land of Dragons. Other new party members include Auron in Olympus Coliseum, Jack Sparrow in Port Royal, and Tron in Space Paranoids. Chicken Little and Stitch are also included as new summons. Birth by Sleep removes the standard party system utilized by previous games, instead using characters as temporary partners during certain portions of the game. These characters are Prince Phillip in Enchanted Dominion; Hercules and Zack Fair in Olympus Coliseum, with
20544-479: The Lanes Between, which can be accessed by any Keyblade wielder. The χ-blade ( χブレード , Kīburēdo , pronounced the same as "Keyblade") is an ancient weapon of unknown origin introduced in Birth by Sleep that is capable of directly unlocking Kingdom Hearts. It is a double-handed weapon that takes the shape of two "Kingdom Key" Keyblades that intersect in an "X" shape, with additional features that give it
20758-548: The Lingering Will that defeats Xehanort and remains in the Keyblade Graveyard. Following Terra-Xehanort's battle with Aqua, Terra's heart begins resisting Xehanort with the aid of Eraqus's heart, which is revealed to have entered Terra's own before his apparent death, while Xehanort ends up in an amnesic state by the time Ansem the Wise took him in as an apprentice. Terra appears in Kingdom Hearts Coded alongside other characters who are bound to Sora 's heart. He
20972-401: The Musketeers , and Symphony of Sorcery . Kingdom Hearts III introduces more worlds, such as Kingdom of Corona , San Fransokyo , Toy Box , Monstropolis , and Arendelle . When questioned on the possibility of including worlds based on Disney-purchased properties such as Pixar , Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm , co-director Tai Yasue said, "We have to come up with a world that has
21186-483: The North American and European releases. Utada was the only singer Tetsuya Nomura had in mind for the first Kingdom Hearts theme song. This marked the first time Utada had produced a song for a video game. Both of the first two theme songs reached notable popularity; on weekly Oricon charts, "Hikari" reached No. 1 in 2002 and "Passion" reached No. 4 in 2005. The initial idea for Kingdom Hearts began with
21400-461: The Organization's true purpose is to serve as vessels for Xehanort's heart in his plan to forge the χ-blade. A second, "real" Organization XIII is assembled from several of the Organization's older members, who willingly return to their Nobody forms, and various incarnations of Xehanort brought from the past using artificial replica bodies. The first Organization's members also serve as computer-controlled party members of 358/2 Days , and are playable in
21614-432: The Princesses of Heart, spurring Maleficent into gathering them; it is later explained in Dream Drop Distance that the princesses' hearts represent the seven fragments of light broken off from the χ-blade, which Xehanort intends to use in his plan to reforge the weapon. To prevent this, Yen Sid prepares to substitute the princesses with seven Keyblade wielders to fight Xehanort's reformed Organization XIII. Several games in
21828-510: The Realm of Darkness while an amnesic Xehanort ended up Ansem's apprentice alongside his accomplice Braig (Xigbar's original self). King Mickey also discovers that the destruction of "Ansem" and Xemnas has led to Xehanort's restoration. To combat the new threat Xehanort poses, Sora and Riku take an exam to attain the Mark of Mastery that will allow them to become Keyblade Masters themselves. During
22042-628: The Stone acts as Sora's mentor in performing magic and keeps an enchanted book that allows players access to the Hundred Acre Wood where Winnie the Pooh and his friends came be found. The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella appears in Merlin's house in Kingdom Hearts , where she transforms "summon gems" collected throughout the game into summoned allies; she also appears in Birth by Sleep as
22256-536: The Timeless River stage's atmosphere. Intihar further commented that the expansions and changes to previous worlds made them "feel fresh". In contrast, Reiner described the Disney elements in Kingdom Hearts II as "tacked on". Kingdom Hearts Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games created by Japanese game designers Tetsuya Nomura and Shinji Hashimoto , being developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square ). It
22470-400: The Wise ( 賢者アンセム , Kenja Ansemu ) is the former sage king of Radiant Garden, who first appears in the "Reverse/Rebirth" storyline of Chain of Memories as a bandaged figure known as DiZ ( ディズ , Dizu ) . His true identity is revealed in Kingdom Hearts II , which also reveals the similarly named antagonist to be an impostor. Nine years prior to the first game's events, Ansem studied
22684-457: The Year awards. IGN named Kingdom Hearts "Best Art Style/Direction" in their 2003 list of "Best Looking Games on PS2". G4 awarded it "Best Story" at their 2003 G-Phoria awards show. Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded Kingdom Hearts II "Best Sequel" of 2006. It tied with Resident Evil 4 as Famitsu's Game of the Year 2005. The manga series has also been well received. Several of
22898-419: The afterlife. Dark Road explores Eraqus's childhood and his friendship with Xehanort leading up to the events of Birth by Sleep . Eraqus' name is an anagram of "Square", referencing series developer company Square Enix , and acting as a parallel to Yen Sid 's name being Disney in reverse. He also resembles Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi . An boss modeled after Eraqus' armor, called
23112-404: The appearance of boss-level Heartless that Sora had defeated in Kingdom Hearts . Villains and boss-level Heartless make use of the bugs to assist them in fighting Data-Sora. It is later revealed that the recording of Sora's Heartless had gained sentience and is responsible for the journal being blank even after Sora's memories were restored, because the book revolved around him. It seeks to devour
23326-477: The approval of Disney. He is a playable character in Kingdom Hearts II , stepping in to replace Sora whenever the player is defeated during certain boss battles until he is able to revive Sora. He is also available for play in the "Mission Mode" of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as an unlockable character. In various games, Donald Duck and Goofy serve as the player's main computer-controlled partners . They are depicted as members of Disney Castle's royal court; Donald
23540-445: The basement levels and ascends to the ground floor with Mickey's aid while dealing with a Replica of himself that fought Sora. Finding the comatose Sora while joining forces with the mysterious DiZ , Riku helps Naminé keep his friend safe until he is awoken. In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days , a snag in the plan over the year forces Riku to capture Roxas —Sora's Nobody and Organization XIII member that came into being when Sora briefly became
23754-426: The beach and uses it to open a door to the Realm of Darkness, finding Aqua who has been consumed by darkness after Ansem was abducted by Xehanort's Heartless. Once Aqua is purified by Sora and Riku, she leads them to Castle Oblivion which she restores to its true form as the Land of Departure to revive Ventus despite Vanitas' interference. The group are joined by Kairi and Lea as they face Xehanort and his followers, with
23968-468: The book digitized to uncover the mystery. However, due to the "hurt" the message contains, most of the data ended up corrupted and caused the data worlds to be infected with bugs. They primarily take the form of cubes that the game's main protagonist, a virtual replica of Sora called "Data-Sora", can destroy or use as platforms. There are several different varieties of Bug Blox, with the most common, breakable variety being black-and-red in color. Other bugs take
24182-401: The characters and worlds used for the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of the worlds. When deciding which worlds to include in the game, the development staff tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting. The inclusion of specific Final Fantasy characters was based on the opinions of fans and
24396-473: The characters' likeness have been produced, including figurines and jewelry. The characters have garnered praise from several video game websites and magazines for the quality of their voice acting and visual style. Comments have focused on the accurate presentation of Disney characters, the unique visual style of Square Enix characters, how well all the characters blend together, and the consistent quality performances from voice actors. The Kingdom Hearts series
24610-399: The circumstances of their births. Both were created when Sora used Xehanort's Keyblade of heart to release his and Kairi's hearts, respectively, but coexist alongside their original selves, rather than in lieu of them. Unlike most of Organization XIII's members, who resemble their original selves with their memories and personalities intact, Roxas resembles Ventus rather than Sora due to holding
24824-457: The current best selling title in the series. As of March 2022, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 36 million copies worldwide. The games have also received high ratings and positive comments from reviewers. All of the main games in the series have scored a 36 out of 40 or higher from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu , known for its harsh grading. All six games have been praised for their visuals. Game Informer considers
25038-530: The current incarnation of the ancient Keyblade Master Luxu from the time of the Keyblade War, summons the Foretellers, his fellow Keyblade Masters, to the present for the next phase of his mission. A year later, all attempts to find a clue to Sora's current whereabouts have proven to be futile until Riku and Kairi, with the help of the Fairy Godmother, find clues that lead them to believe that Sora has been transported outside of their reality. Riku embarks on
25252-407: The darkness in people's hearts for the benefit of his world after taking in an amnesic Terra-Xehanort. After meeting with King Mickey and learning his research may be connected to a crisis happening in other worlds, Ansem ceased his experiments. However, Xehanort secretly continued the experiments under Ansem's name alongside Ansem's other pupils—Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo—who exiled Ansem to
25466-497: The destruction of Ansem and Xemnas, who are revealed to have been created to reenact his original plan by gathering seven "guardians of light" and thirteen "seekers of darkness" in the form of the Princesses of Heart and Organization XIII, respectively. He also uses time travel to assemble Ansem, Xemnas, and other versions of himself from across time into a new Organization, sending their hearts into replica bodies to co-exist with their present self. In Kingdom Hearts III , where he
25680-513: The development of the games, Nomura has often left certain events and connections between characters unexplained until the release of future games. Nomura does this because he feels that games should have room for fans to speculate and use their imagination. He has stated that with speculation, even though a game gets old, people can still be happy with it. The first Kingdom Hearts was announced at E3 in May 2001. Initial details were that it would be
25894-407: The development staff. Another criterion for inclusion was whether the staff felt the characters would fit into the storyline and in the Kingdom Hearts universe . Nomura was hesitant to use characters he did not design because he was unfamiliar with the background of such characters. For Kingdom Hearts II , he changed his mind after receiving pressure from his staff. Throughout the development of
26108-489: The dying Xehanort to surrender peacefully. Afterwards, Terra and his friends return home before joining their allies in celebration on the Destiny Islands. Terra's role in Birth by Sleep is reprised in Tomoko Tanemaki's light novels based on the game. Additionally, the final chapter shows the Lingering Will fighting Sora from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix . Terra also appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as
26322-596: The end of the exam, Riku is declared a Keyblade Master; in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue , Sora embarks on another journey to regain his "Power of Waking" while Riku helps Mickey find Aqua, Yen Sid training Kairi and Lea so they can help in the final battle against Xehanort and keep him from the Princesses of Heart. In Kingdom Hearts III , Sora regains his "Power of Waking" in his group's travels while Riku and Mickey retrace Aqua's steps to find her and Terra. Sora later discovers Eraqus's Keyblade on
26536-410: The end, Kingdom Hearts was consumed in the darkness caused by the conflict, and the worlds became separate from each other. During Birth by Sleep, Master Xehanort seeks the return of Kingdom Hearts, and while it does appear over the Keyblade Graveyard, the flawed reunion of Ventus and Vanitas causes the unstable χ-blade to explode and Kingdom Hearts to vanish. After splitting himself into a Heartless and
26750-466: The events of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep : Terra having ended up possessed by Xehanort and made into the original being that Xehanort's Heartless and Xemnas were split from; Ventus sacrificing his heart by fighting his dark counterpart Vanitas, while trying to prevent Xehanort from recreating the legendary χ-blade which allows the user to control Kingdom Hearts, and hiding within four-year-old Sora's heart; and new Keyblade Master Aqua trapped within
26964-507: The events of Kingdom Hearts III , Ansem is brought back to the realm of light by Xehanort's Heartless to locate one of his former test subjects for the Organization before being rescued by Vexen's intervention. Following Xehanort's defeat, Ansem resumes his role as ruler of Radiant Garden. Vanitas ( ヴァニタス , Vanitasu ) is a Keyblade wielder and antagonist who first appears in Birth by Sleep , created by Master Xehanort from darkness extracted from Ventus's heart as part of his plan to forge
27178-405: The events of the first game. She has the ability to manipulate the memories of Sora and those close to him, for which she is called a witch. She originates from Castle Oblivion, and is forced by Marluxia to alter Sora's memories so he remembers her as a close friend from Destiny Islands, allowing Marluxia to manipulate him. Axel later lets her escape so she can reveal the truth to Sora, and oversees
27392-502: The events that occurred in their absence. The Dandelions ( ダンデライオン , Danderaion ) are a group of Keyblade wielders recruited by Ava, each deemed strong enough to resist the darkness. They are sent to another world before the Keyblade War to prevent being caught in the battle and to help rebuild the world in its aftermath. In the new world, five of the Dandelions, including Ventus and Lauriam, are chosen to retain their memories of
27606-461: The field of battle to heal oneself or one's party members. Gummi Ships are another common element of the series, which serve as the main mode of transportation between worlds in the games. The gameplay for the Gummi Ship sections is more akin to a rail shooter . Because it received negative criticism in the first game, it was modified in the third game. Most games also feature a journal which
27820-576: The film. Most worlds that appear in the games are based on Disney films and follow abridged versions of their stories, such as in Wonderland , the Land of Dragons , and Castle of Dreams . Agrabah covers the first two Aladdin films in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II , while Atlantica and Halloween Town have original plots in the first game and plots based on their films in the second game. Worlds like Monstro and Neverland focus heavily on
28034-607: The final boss of each game has several themes played in the various phases of those fights. The fights with Sephiroth feature a modified version of Nobuo Uematsu 's " One-Winged Angel " from Final Fantasy VII . The main theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts games were written and performed by Japanese pop star, Hikaru Utada . The three main themes are " Hikari ", originally from Kingdom Hearts , " Passion ", from Kingdom Hearts II , and "Oath" from Kingdom Hearts III . Each song has an English counterpart, " Simple and Clean ", " Sanctuary ", and "Don't Think Twice" respectively, for
28248-409: The first game, Kingdom Hearts , he fights against the villainous Heartless and seals each world he visits to prevent their return. In Kingdom Hearts II , he helps the residents of these worlds again while searching for his friend Riku . The Kingdom Hearts games have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and the design of the worlds have been praised for their faithfulness to
28462-570: The former's heart within himself, and lacks Sora's memories due to the short duration of Sora's Heartless state. Meanwhile, Naminé was born of Kairi's heart through Sora's body and, in addition to not having Kairi's memories, has the ability to alter the memories of Sora and those close to him. The Unversed ( アンヴァース , Anvāsu ) are creatures that are introduced and predominantly appear in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep . Described by Nomura as being "those who are not well-versed in their own existences", they are Vanitas' emotions given form and feed on
28676-480: The game would be a failure if it did not aim for the same level as the Final Fantasy series, he began to develop the story further. In June 2013, Nomura stated the name of the game came from him thinking about Disney Theme Parks , especially Animal Kingdom . However, Nomura could not get the IP with just "Kingdom", so the development team began to think about "heart" as a core part of the story, so they decided to combine
28890-633: The game's "Mission Mode". Excluding Xemnas and Roxas, the initial members and their original names are, in order of rank: Riku Replica ( リク=レプリカ , Riku-Repurika ) is a replica of Riku created by Vexen from his combat data, who first appears as an antagonist in Chain of Memories . He initially appears to be Riku under the influence of darkness, but his true nature is revealed after he battles Sora to protect Naminé, who altered his memories so that he believed himself to be real as part of Marluxia's plan to manipulate Sora. The game's "Reverse/Rebirth" story mode depicts Riku's confrontations with his replica, who
29104-534: The game's Osaka development team, as he enjoyed the idea of adding more connections between characters. He chose the name "Vanitas"—Latin for "emptiness"—for its similarity to Ventus's name, and because its Japanese translation, kara ( 空 ) , could be reinterpreted as Sora's name, which means "sky". A secret boss based on Vanitas called the Vanitas Remnant ( ヴァニタスの思念 , Vanitasu no Shin'en ) appears in Birth by Sleep . Eraqus ( エラクゥス , Erakūsu )
29318-474: The game's enemies; and benevolent "Spirits", which the player can create to serve as party members and combat the Nightmares. Several boss enemy Nightmares appear under the control of Young Xehanort and various Disney villains throughout the game. Riku temporarily turns into a Dream Eater by subconsciously entering Sora's dreams upon sensing Xehanort's interference within the Mark of Mastery exam. Additionally,
29532-416: The game's final dungeon. The series' setting has garnered mostly positive reception from critics. Following Kingdom Hearts ' initial announcement, publications expressed skepticism towards the first game's viability. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer stated that despite the extreme differences between Final Fantasy and Disney properties, they blend well together along with the new content created for
29746-562: The game. It was also announced that many of the Disney characters would be voiced by the official voice actors from their respective Disney films. A secret trailer in the first Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix hinted at the possibility of a sequel. Rumors for a sequel on the PlayStation 2 were spurred in Japan when a Japanese video game site, Quiter, stated that "an internal (and anonymous) source at Square Japan" confirmed that development of Kingdom Hearts II had begun. It
29960-471: The game. The main cast from The World Ends with You also makes an appearance in the series in Dream Drop Distance , and Kingdom Hearts III features characters from Pixar films such as the Toy Story series and Monsters, Inc. , as well as Schwarzgeist, one of the bosses from Einhänder . Nevertheless, the usage of Disney characters is not without restrictions. For example, Nomura had requested
30174-582: The games, Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II , had a soundtrack released to coincide with the video games. These were followed by a nine CD complete set which featured both soundtracks and unreleased tracks. Kingdom Hearts has been adapted as a trading card game by the Tomy corporation of Japan. An English version of the game was released in November 2007 by Fantasy Flight Games . The video games have also been adapted into manga and novel series. Like
30388-420: The games, Nomura has often left certain events and connections between characters unexplained until the release of future games. Nomura did this because he feels that games should have room for fans to speculate and use their imagination. He stated that with speculation, even though a game may get old, people can still be happy with it. Sora ( ソラ ) is the main protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series, and
30602-438: The hearts of worlds, has the appearance of a sphere of light beyond a white door. The Kingdom Hearts made by Organization XIII, on the other hand, takes the form of a yellow heart-shaped moon. The authentic Kingdom Hearts called upon by the χ-blade is depicted as a blue heart-shaped moon in Birth by Sleep and yellow in Kingdom Hearts III . The Kingdom Hearts universe is divided into planes of existence called "realms". Most of
30816-538: The idea to include this world after seeing a Disney employee working on Tron 2.0 . He hoped that the fact that it was so different from the other worlds would make it enjoyable to players. The Heartless ( ハートレス , Hātoresu ) are creatures born from the darkness of people's hearts, and lack a body or soul. They are the most common type of enemy the player encounters in the Kingdom Hearts series, acting as forces of darkness who seek to consume more hearts, including those of worlds. Their name derives from their lack of
31030-652: The image of the original "χ-blade" by those who wanted the light within Kingdom Hearts for themselves and those who sought the opposite. Wielders acknowledged as "Keyblade Masters" can bequeath the power to wield a Keyblade to one they deem worthy by letting them touch the handle of the blade or connecting their heart to another. There are also Keyblades like Xehanort's, which are passed down from different owners through generations. Keyblades change in both appearance and strength with different keychains, which augment its wielder's fighting capabilities; some are obtained as
31244-434: The islands was the result of an encounter with Aqua , who gives the four-year-old Kairi a protective charm to shield her from the darkness; Kairi gains the ability to wield a Keyblade after touching Aqua's Keyblade. During Kingdom Hearts , where Kairi is 14 years old, her heart is stolen by darkness bugs commanded by Ansem, sending her body into a coma while her heart takes refuge within Sora. Upon learning her of identity as
31458-673: The king in the first game. Chip 'n' Dale act as Disney Castle's technicians, managing the Gummi Ship that Sora's party uses to travel between worlds; they play a major role in Coded , where they construct the machine used to digitize the contents of Jiminy Cricket's journal. Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie appear as shop owners in Kingdom Hearts , Kingdom Hearts II , and Kingdom Hearts III , where they attempt to save up money to go on their own adventures. Scrooge McDuck appears in Kingdom Hearts II , Birth by Sleep , and Kingdom Hearts III, where he attempts to open business venues, such as
31672-662: The latter being based on his appearance in Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core ; and Stitch, who is named "Experiment 626", in Deep Space. Hercules and Jack Sparrow return as party members in Kingdom Hearts III , with new party members including Woody and Buzz Lightyear , Rapunzel and Flynn Rider , James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski , Marshmallow , and Baymax , in worlds based on their respective films. Wreck-It Ralph , Simba, Ariel, and Stitch also appear as summonable "Link" characters alongside
31886-411: The look of the worlds. GameSpot referred to the worlds as "wonderfully rich familiar environments", and GamePro described the worlds as "spot-on with the original movies." Following the release of the first game, the Disney settings were well received by critics. Allgame 's Scott Marriott stated the Disney settings are the most attractive feature of the game and considered some of the world choices
32100-436: The main characters change their appearance in certain worlds to avoid standing out. In the worlds based on The Little Mermaid and The Nightmare Before Christmas , Sora, Donald, and Goofy transform into undersea creatures and Halloween monsters, respectively. For The Lion King , they transform into savannah animals because Nomura felt that it would be odd to have them appear in their standard forms when no humans appear in
32314-813: The main characters of Birth by Sleep , he oversees Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam in Dream Drop Distance to prepare them for the showdown with Master Xehanort and trains Kairi and Lea to serve as two of the potential seven "guardians of light". The Princesses of Heart, known as the Seven Princesses ( セブンプリンセス , Sebun Purinsesu ) in Japanese, are maidens whose hearts are made of pure light and devoid of darkness, with Kairi being one of them. The other Princesses include five official Disney Princesses — Snow White , Cinderella , Aurora , Belle , and Jasmine , as well as Alice from Alice in Wonderland . Kingdom Hearts III introduces new inheritors of
32528-534: The main plot, the latter being reduced to Captain Hook 's ship, where Riku reveals to Sora that Kairi has lost her heart. These worlds would not be able to be explored fully until the releases of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance , Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep , respectively. In Beauty and the Beast , the Beast appears in Kingdom Hearts to aid Sora when he temporarily loses
32742-569: The main vocal themes and the ending themes. The orchestral music was performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra . Soundtracks were released for the first and third installments following the release of their respective games. A compilation soundtrack was later released that included soundtracks for the entire series, including reworked tracks for
32956-410: The manga series, it is divided into separate series based on the games. Kingdom Hearts is divided into two volumes; "The First Door" and "Darkness Within". Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is divided into two volumes. Kingdom Hearts II is divided into four volumes; "Roxas—Seven Days", "The Destruction of Hollow Bastion", "Tears of Nobody", and "Anthem—Meet Again/Axel Last Stand". A pilot for
33170-419: The manga volumes were listed on USA Today ' s "Top 150 best sellers". The highest ranked volume was Kingdom Hearts volume 4 at #73. Every volume listed stayed on the list for at least two weeks; Kingdom Hearts volume 4 stayed the longest at four weeks. Both Square Enix and Disney have released a wide variety of Kingdom Hearts merchandise including toys, figurines, clothing, and jewelry. Two of
33384-444: The means to transplant his heart into the bodies of others, which he uses to orchestrate the events of the games up to Kingdom Hearts III as part of his agenda. Throughout the series, Xehanort is driven by an obsessive interest in the Keyblade War, a historic cataclysm that resulted in the universe's present, fragmented state. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep , he attempts to use the hearts of his pupils Ventus and Vanitas to forge
33598-504: The month after its release in North America, Kingdom Hearts II sold an estimated 1 million copies. As of February 2019, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 30 million copies worldwide. This number reached to over 35 million copies shipped by October 2021. On April 11, 2022, Kingdom Hearts III was revealed to reach a total of 6.7 million units as of September 2021 surpassing Kingdom Hearts 6 million units to become
33812-423: The negativity of others, which allows them to assume more powerful forms. Vanitas pits these creatures against his counterpart, Ventus, to strengthen him as part of Master Xehanort's plan to obtain the χ-blade. Upon defeat, the Unversed's negativity reintegrates with Vanitas, allowing him to recreate them no matter how many times they are destroyed. The Unversed cease to be after Vanitas integrates back into Ventus and
34026-403: The new Organization XIII composing of his various incarnations and vessels, to fight the Keyblade users, who would form seven "Guardians of Light". The titular Kingdom Hearts ( キングダムハーツ , Kingudamu Hātsu ) is the "heart of all worlds" and the source of hearts. It is an object of immense power, which caused conflict as its light drove many to fight over it in what became the Keyblade War. In
34240-401: The number of worlds in the universe, Nomura picked ones he felt would fit into the series' scenario, which was then evaluated by his team and Disney representatives. He tried to maintain the same number of worlds in each game and tried to minimize any overlap in the overall look and feel of each world, which he and his staff did by categorizing Disney worlds by appearance and setting. For example,
34454-456: The only one among her friends to achieve the rank of Keyblade Master by the start of the game, she is tasked by Master Eraqus to watch over Terra and retrieve Ventus when he runs away from home. While attempting to protect Ventus and save Terra from Xehanort's control, she becomes trapped in the realm of darkness, where she remains suspended in time throughout the series while fending off the Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts III , Sora rescues her from
34668-477: The original Princesses' powers called the New Seven Hearts ( ニューセブンハート , Nyū Sebun Hāto ) —including Rapunzel and Anna and Elsa —with only Kairi retaining her original role. Throughout the original game, Maleficent kidnaps the princesses for their ability to summon the Keyhole to Kingdom Hearts when brought together. Xehanort's Heartless "Ansem" later uses six of the princesses' hearts to forge
34882-500: The original bug and resets the entire datascape. Dream Eaters ( ドリームイーター , Dorīmu Ītā ) are primarily featured in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance . Like the Heartless, they are beings of darkness that inhabit the Sleeping worlds isolated from the realm of light and are compelled to find the worlds' keyholes. Dream Eaters manifest in two kinds: hostile "Nightmares", which devour good dreams and create bad ones and serve as
35096-522: The overall look and feel of each world. The inclusion of specific Final Fantasy characters was based on the opinions of both fans and staff. Another criterion for inclusion was whether the staff felt the characters would fit into the storyline and in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Initially, Nomura was hesitant to use characters he did not design, because he was unfamiliar with the backstory of such characters. For Kingdom Hearts II , he changed his mind after receiving pressure from his staff. Throughout
35310-419: The player gains experience which culminates in a "level-up", where the characters grow stronger and gain access to new abilities . The amount of experience is shared with all party members and each character grows stronger as experience is gained. The music for the series has been primarily composed by Yoko Shimomura . Kaoru Wada works as the arranger for orchestral music, including orchestral renditions of
35524-509: The player primarily controls the principal protagonist of the series, Sora . Sora is usually accompanied by Donald Duck and Goofy, who are artificial intelligence-controlled non-playable characters that aid Sora in battle. In the first and third game, their behavior can be altered to suit different combat objectives. The games feature real-time combat that incorporates physical attacks, magic, and summonings, though each game handles battles differently. The game also allows for items to be used on
35738-403: The player progresses through. Worlds vary in appearance, typically dependent on the Disney setting on which they are based. The worlds' graphics resemble the art style from the originating Disney film, and the worlds are inhabited by characters from their respective films; for example, Hercules and Philoctetes appear in Olympus Coliseum from Hercules , while Aladdin , Princess Jasmine , and
35952-638: The power of darkness freely, creating a schism between him and his friends as they grow troubled by his actions. This eventually leads Terra to clash with Eraqus when he finds his master inexplicably attacking Ventus, which ends with Xehanort vanquishing the weakened Eraqus. After realizing the conflict was engineered to stimulate his inner darkness, Terra confronts Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard and succumbs to rage, allowing Xehanort to transplant his heart into his body to prolong his own life. The process that turns Terra into Terra-Xehanort also transfers his disembodied mind into his discarded armor, which becomes
36166-484: The power of waking to undo his allies' initial defeat. During Sora, Aqua, and Ventus's battle against Terra-Xehanort, Terra's heart awakens from within Terra-Xehanort's "guardian" Heartless, which aids Sora in banishing Xehanort's heart and restoring Terra to his true self. After reuniting with Aqua and Ventus, and later aiding in keeping Kingdom Hearts closed, Terra releases Eraqus's heart and spirit, who persuades
36380-421: The presence of Ventus's heart within Sora's. In Kingdom Hearts III, Vanitas is inducted into the real Organization XIII as one of the thirteen seekers of darkness, using a replica body with the intention of reclaiming Ventus's heart. Vanitas returns to his original time upon being defeated for a second time. While developing Birth by Sleep , Nomura created Vanitas's relationship with Ventus under suggestion from
36594-419: The process. Xehanort brings Ventus to the Destiny Islands, where his heart connects with a newborn Sora to prevent it from collapsing. An amnesiac Ventus is placed under Master Eraqus's care alongside Terra and Aqua, whom he forms a sibling-like bond with. At the beginning of the game, Vanitas provokes Ventus into pursuing Terra during the latter's search for Xehanort, pitting him against dark creatures called
36808-482: The re-released Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories . While the themes for some of the Disney-based worlds are taken directly from their Disney film counterparts, most of them are given entirely original musical scores. In addition to each world having unique background music, each is given its own battle theme rather than having a common theme to cover all fights. Several of the main characters have themes, and
37022-557: The real Ansem, attempts dissipating some of the artificial Kingdom Hearts before being engulfed in an explosion when his extraction device self-destructs and is sent to the Realm of Darkness. Sora and his friends then battle Xemnas. After Sora and Riku defeat Xemnas, they get trapped in the Realm of Darkness, but a letter from Kairi summons a gateway for them, and the two are reunited with their friends at their home. Sometime after his first adventure in Disney Castle, Sora discovered
37236-520: The realm of darkness, and she joins him in the final battle against Xehanort. Xehanort ( ゼアノート , Zeanōto , English: / ˈ z eɪ . ə n ɔːr t / ) is the main antagonist of the Dark Seeker Saga, the first phase in the Kingdom Hearts series. He is initially introduced as the original form of the sentient Heartless Ansem and Nobody Xemnas, but is later established to be an elderly Keyblade Master from Destiny Islands who acquired
37450-470: The remaining Dandelions' hearts merge with their Chirithies, becoming Dream Eaters. Mickey Mouse is depicted in the Kingdom Hearts series as the king of Disney Castle, and is frequently referred to in-game as "King Mickey" or simply "the King" ( 王様 , Ōsama ) . He is also an experienced Keyblade Master, alternatively wielding a golden version of Sora's "Kingdom Key" retrieved from the realm of darkness, and
37664-421: The rest of the digital Heartless for power and escape into the real world to sate its hunger for hearts. While its most basic form is the weak and common "Shadow" variety of Heartless, it grows increasingly powerful and gains the ability to take other forms, such as an entirely black lookalike of Sora with yellow eyes or an enormous variety of Heartless called "Darkside". The bugs cease to be after Data-Sora destroys
37878-508: The same party and summoned characters from the first game, with the inclusion of Cloud Strife as an additional summon. Aladdin, Jack, and the Beast return as party members in Kingdom Hearts II , with Ariel appearing in a non-playable capacity, and Peter Pan appearing as a summon along with Tinker Bell. Adult Simba is featured as a party member in the Pride Lands, while Mushu becomes a supporting ally along with new party member Mulan in
38092-434: The series has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. The three main games in the series all met with positive sales at the time of their releases. In the first two months since the North American release of Kingdom Hearts , it was one of the top three highest-selling video games. Chain of Memories sold 104,000 units in 48 hours in Japan, a record for a Game Boy Advance game at the time. Its positive debut sales placed it in
38306-465: The series mirror the overall appearance of other worlds and predominantly feature characters from Square Enix games and original characters. Though Disney gave director Tetsuya Nomura freedom to choose which characters and worlds would be used in the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of the worlds. Nomura found managing and keeping multiple worlds consistent to be problematic. After determining
38520-428: The series predominantly feature original and Square Enix characters and are more integral to the series' overarching plot. The first world of each game serves as a tutorial to introduce new gameplay elements and frame the story. Both they and the Disney worlds are fragments of the original world, which is identified in Kingdom Hearts III as Scala Ad Caelum, the seat of power for the ancient Keyblade masters that serves as
38734-492: The series takes place in the "Realm of Light". Opposite the Realm of Light is the "Realm of Darkness", where Kingdom Hearts resides and where Heartless are born. The "Realm Between" is a plane where Nobodies come into existence. Additionally, there is the "Realm of Sleep" where the Sleeping Worlds featured in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance are located. In the Kingdom Hearts universe, travelling between worlds
38948-401: The series the eleventh "must-play PlayStation 2" series. The individual games have also won several awards. GameSpot commented that the concept of mixing the serious elements of Final Fantasy with the lighter elements of Disney seemed impossible, but was pulled off quite well. Because of that they awarded Kingdom Hearts "Best Crossover Since Capcom vs. SNK " in their 2002 Best and Worst of
39162-457: The series. The series consists of thirteen games available for multiple platforms, and future games are planned. Most of the games in the series have been positively received and commercially successful. As of March 2022, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped more than 36 million copies worldwide. A wide variety of related merchandise has been released along with the games, including soundtracks , action figures , companion books, light novels ,
39376-479: The series. A second Game Informer reviewer, Matt Miller, described the concept as a "hard sell", describing the combination of the two properties as "ridiculous". He also stated his belief that the franchise's formula is successful. The graphics of the games have received generous praise, with particular focus on their similarity to the source material. IGN stated that the "worlds look very much like their filmed counterparts". Japanese gaming site, Gpara.com also praised
39590-495: The series. The rereleases of the main series games had the term "Final Mix" added after the title, while Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Coded were re-released as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded and released on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, respectively, with 3D graphics, voice overs during some cutscenes, and new game content. The Kingdom Hearts series has been critically and commercially successful. As of March 2014,
39804-408: The shape of an actual sword. It has the power to open the heart of all worlds, and exists alongside Kingdom Hearts as its guardian. It led to "Keyblades" being crafted in its image by those seeking Kingdom Hearts' power, those who sought to extinguish the light, and those who sought to protect it. This resulted in the Keyblade War, which ended in a world known as the Keyblade Graveyard; the aftermath led
40018-584: The sole playable character in the original game. He is portrayed as a cheerful 14-year-old boy who lives on the Destiny Islands with his childhood friends Riku and Kairi. When the Islands are attacked by creatures of darkness known as the Heartless , Sora comes into possession of a weapon of light called the Keyblade , and he embarks on a journey alongside Donald Duck and Goofy to protect other worlds from
40232-490: The source material. Nomura intended hearts and the strengths and connections of the heart to be a common theme in the games. Characters within the Kingdom Hearts series are composed of three parts: body, soul, and heart. The body acts as a vessel for the heart and soul, with the soul giving life to the body. The heart holds their memories and gives them emotion, light, and darkness. The Kingdom Hearts games are divided into various game levels , referred to as "worlds", which
40446-452: The start of the game, Eraqus passes Aqua the Mark of Mastery but denies Terra, basing his decision on the darkness in his heart. He sends Terra and Aqua to deal with the appearance of the Unversed and the disappearance of Master Xehanort and Aqua to retrieve Ventus, fearing that Xehanort will use Ventus to create the χ-blade. When Ventus confronts him over this and confirms his fears, Eraqus attempts to destroy Ventus to foil Xehanort's plan, but
40660-432: The stolen hearts go to the realm of darkness and turn into Heartless again. This, combined with Maleficent's quest to gather the seven Princesses of Heart by using the forces of darkness, make the Heartless a common sight within the realm of light by the time of the first Kingdom Hearts . Ordinarily, the Heartless are mindless and function on instinct, but obey those with a strong will. However, in worlds closer to darkness,
40874-457: The storylines of their respective Disney films. The main characters try not to interfere with the affairs of other worlds, as it could negatively affect the universe's order. Various Final Fantasy characters also make appearances within several worlds throughout the series. This includes Moogles , small creatures who are another common element in the games. They provide the player with a synthesis shop in order to create and purchase items used in
41088-437: The test in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance , Sora and Riku enter the Realm of Sleep where they encounter a young version of Xehanort who can travel through time. The two Keyblade wielders also learn how Xehanort has long manipulated events since Birth by Sleep with Organization XIII's true purpose in providing thirteens vessels for him to inhabit and use against seven hearts of pure light in an ultimate battle to recreate
41302-519: The top spot of sales charts in Japan. In the first month of its North American release, it was ranked 1st on GameSpot 's ChartSpot for portable systems and 6th for all consoles. Within three days of the Kingdom Hearts II release in Japan, it shipped 1 million copies, selling through within a month. By the end of March 2006, the NPD Group reported that Kingdom Hearts II was the highest-selling console game in North America, with 614,000 copies. In
41516-445: The two to form "Kingdom Hearts". Nomura placed a secret trailer in Kingdom Hearts in hopes that fans would want a sequel. He was unsure if fans would want a sequel and felt that if they did not, then it would be best to leave certain events in the first game unexplained. After Kingdom Hearts Final Mix was completed, development for Kingdom Hearts II began. There were several obstacles to clear before development could begin on
41730-467: The use of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Kingdom Hearts III , but the response from Disney was that the character would be "too difficult" to use, with no further clarification or details from Disney. The series starts with Kingdom Hearts , where a boy named Sora is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when their home Destiny Islands is consumed in darkness. At that moment Sora obtained
41944-515: The way. Players primarily control Sora, though there are numerous characters that join his party as computer controlled members . Most characters were introduced in the original game Kingdom Hearts , with subsequent installments featuring new original, Disney, and Final Fantasy characters. Dream Drop Distance introduces characters from Square Enix's The World Ends with You , while Kingdom Hearts III introduces characters from Pixar franchises. Various types of merchandise modeled after
42158-531: The worlds. Nomura has stated that though many of the Disney characters are not normally dark and serious, there were not many challenges making them so for the story and despite this, their personalities shine because they maintain their own characteristics. He also felt managing and keeping multiple worlds was problematic. When deciding which worlds to include in the game, the development staff tried to take into account worlds with Disney characters that would be interesting and made an effort to minimize any overlap in
42372-468: The year-long process to restore him and his friends' memories to their original state. Naminé also saves Riku in "Reverse/Rebirth" from Zexion, disguising herself as Kairi. In Kingdom Hearts II , Naminé visits Roxas in the virtual Twilight Town to help him discover his true identity as Sora's Nobody. She returns in the game's final world to help Kairi escape from the Organization's dungeon, after which she merges with her. In Kingdom Hearts III , Naminé plays
42586-428: The χ-blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts to incite another war, desiring to create a new world where light and darkness exist in perfect balance. He also transfers his heart into Terra 's body to prolong his own life. However, he is defeated through the combined efforts of Ventus, Terra and Aqua , gaining amnesia in the process. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance , Xehanort returns to his original form following
42800-521: The χ-blade to shatter into seven pieces of light and thirteen pieces of darkness. These seven lights, which are said to be the source of all light in the World, later became the hearts of the Princesses of Heart, who are targeted by Organization XIII as a result. In Birth by Sleep , Master Xehanort 's over-eagerness to obtain the weapon causes him to seek two hearts of equal strength—one of pure light and one of pure darkness—to fight each other. He finds such
43014-408: The χ-blade within his heart, but causing him to lose his heart in the process. Aqua reconfigures the Land of Departure into Castle Oblivion to keep Ventus's catatonic body safe, while his wandering heart finds its way back to Sora, who accepts it into his body. Ventus makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts Coded , where Mickey Mouse —whom Ventus befriended in the previous game—discovers his heart
43228-445: The χ-blade, revealing his true plan is to use the true Kingdom Hearts to wipe the slate on reality clean before finally being defeated. Xehanort departs with Eraqus's spirit into the light as Sora closes Kingdom Hearts. Sora also sacrifices himself by using the "Power of Waking" once more to revive Kairi. Sometime later, all the guardians, including their close friends and allies, celebrate victory at Destiny Islands. Xigbar, revealed to be
43442-554: The χ-blade. But Sora's interference forced Xehanort to retrieve his alternate selves, Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, Luxord, Vanitas, and Xion from across time in Replica bodies to form his ideal Organization XIII with Xigbar, Saix, and Vexen. Sora is narrowly saved from being Xehanort's final vessel with the aid of Lea (Axel's original self) and Riku learns about data that Ansem the Wise had implanted within Sora during his year-long sleep, which may be used to save those connected to Sora. At
43656-476: The χ-blade. Vanitas was initially faceless at the time of his creation until Ventus connected his heart to the newborn Sora, considering Sora as a "brother" like Ventus since their connection defined him as a person. Though he aids in Xehanort's scheme, Vanitas acted on his own whims to lure Ventus away from home to strengthen him into his equal to commence their reunion. He also attacked him and his friends with
43870-517: The χ-blade. Following Xehanort's defeat, Sora departs to restore Kairi by using the power of waking; in the final scene of the game, Kairi is shown to have been revived by Sora before he fades away as a consequence of overusing the power. In the "Limitcut" episode of Re Mind , Kairi is revealed to be in a deep sleep in Ansem's lab, as Ansem The Wise and his apprentices analyze her heart for clues on Sora's whereabouts. In Melody of Memory , she awakens and
44084-471: The χ-blade. They are introduced as thirteen Nobodies who seek the power of Kingdom Hearts to become complete humans, with Xehanort's Nobody Xemnas ranked first as their leader. With the exception of Xemnas, who uses Ansem's name, each Organization member's name is an anagram of their original self's name with the letter "X" inserted. While Nobodies initially lack true emotion and morality, they gradually grow hearts over time. Dream Drop Distance reveals that
44298-500: Was hesitant about releasing a game on the Game Boy Advance because he felt the 3D graphics of the original game would not translate well into 2D. He changed his position after hearing that children wanted to play Kingdom Hearts on the handheld system. Though Disney gave Nomura freedom in the characters and worlds used for the games, he and his staff tried to stay within the established roles of characters and boundaries of
44512-409: Was later reposted by minor channels. On May 27, 2020, it was reported that a TV series based on the franchise was in development for Disney+ . On April 29, 2024, The DisInsider reported that a Kingdom Hearts film was in the works. While previously having been a show for Disney+, it was changed to a theatrical film. It was also noted that these are just rumors and nothing had officially been given
44726-426: Was manipulated by a sentient Heartless who possesses Riku and claims himself to be the Heartless researcher Ansem. Though Sora defeats Ansem, he is forced to trap Riku and Mickey in the Realm of Darkness after sealing the door and resolute to find them while Kairi remains at the Destiny Islands for their return. In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories , Sora's search for Riku and Mickey leads his group to Castle Oblivion,
44940-527: Was not until Kingdom Hearts II was announced, along with Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories , at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2003 that rumors were confirmed. Initial details were that it would take place some time after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories , which takes place directly after the first game. Other details included the return of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, as well as new costumes. At
45154-403: Was real, with neither character making sense of it. The Kingdom Hearts games contain elements of action role-playing video games with hack-and-slash elements. The games are driven by a linear progression from one story event to the next, usually shown in the form of a cutscene , though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters. In most games,
45368-609: Was released in the US by Tokyopop two years later in October 2005. Yen Press now holds the rights to publish the books for the USA market. The first series, Kingdom Hearts , consists of four volumes, while the second series, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories , has two volumes. The third series, Kingdom Hearts II , has ten volumes total, taking a hiatus to publish a fourth series based on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days which has five volumes total, after which Kingdom Hearts II resumed. As of April 2019,
45582-497: Was the lead character designer for Final Fantasy VII . Kingdom Hearts marked his transition into a directorial position, though he also served as the game's character designer. Scenarios were provided by Kazushige Nojima who was a scenario writer for Square from Final Fantasy VII until he left in 2003. Originally the development focused on the gameplay with a simple story to appeal to Disney's target age range. After Kingdom Hearts executive producer Hironobu Sakaguchi told Nomura
45796-400: Was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced with Bobby Edner . According to Kearsley, the pilot tested well with their test audiences, but the decision was made not to go further into production due to the franchise's expansion and the difficulty of maintaining consistency with the ongoing game series. The animatic was later taken down by Kearsley at Disney's request, though it
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