More Thoughts From Me #199: Revisiting Kingdom Hearts

I’m a huge fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. I love how you get to visit different Disney worlds and interact with the characters. All of the Disney stuff is great. And so I was very happy when I bought the Kingdom Hearts The Story So Far collection recently. I decided to start playing the first Kingdom Hearts again. Here are my thoughts on the game.

I never thought I’d be playing the first Kingdom Hearts again. Well, unless it came to the Nintendo Switch (please Square Enix! I will buy the game again). But I couldn’t resist the Story So Far when it went on sale recently.

And now here I am, playing Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.

What do I think of this game after all these years?

The graphics look so good on the Playstation 4. Yes, I know they gave it the HD treatment but still, wow, it holds up well. Especially considering Kingdom hearts 3. Yes, KH3 looks better but the first game still looks like a playable Disney cartoon.

Gameplay wise, it mostly holds up. The platforming in the first game is still terrible. I love the battle system though. I always have. I do wish Square had somehow made the platforming better. Oh well. The first Kingdom Hearts is still really fun.

It was neat to see the Tarzan jungle again and now I’m in Aladdin’s world! I can’t wait to see the Nightmare Before Christmas world again, one of my favorites.

Its also been awhile since I’ve seen the Peter Pan and Little Mermaid worlds. Looking forward to them!

What also holds up very well is the game’s voice acting and music. Kingdom Hearts is like a Disney cartoon in many ways and the voice acting and music especially sell that. I love seeing all of these Disney characters talking (Donald! Goofy!) and of course the game’s excellent music stands the test of time.

The first Kingdom Hearts is such a joy to play again. That said, I cannot wait to play Kingdom Hearts 2 again. It has some of my favorite worlds: Steamboat Willy and Tron! Plus other worlds I’m sure I’m forgetting.

The Story So Far also contains a Kingdom Hearts game I’ve never played: Birth By Sleep. I look forward to checking that one out a lot.

Well, I haven’t played Chain of Memories before either but I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about that one…

Its great to have The Story So Far and Kingdom Hearts 3. I own all the games now. Wow. Never thought that would happen.

What do you think of the Kingdom Hearts series? Have you played The Story So Far and Kingdom Hearts 3?

Next week: More Thoughts From Me turns 200! And so I’m asking all of you for video game questions again. What do you want my thoughts on?

More Thoughts From Me is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed here are mine and mine alone. Simple and Clean.