How did you get into Kingdom Hearts?

[Deleted member 252753]

For me, the first time I remember knowing anything about Kingdom Hearts was in 2005 when I saw a copy of KH1 in the supermarket. What immediately caught my eye was the heart-shaped moon on the front cover, which I just thought was really beautiful (I still do). Then I looked at the back and saw Aladdin and Jafar were in it so I had to play it right away. I slipped away after KH2 but have been even more hooked on the series since getting the Remixes.

 

[Noivern]

Honestly, my history with KH is almost my life story as well as both are deeply connected.

You see, I'm not american nor from any country where english is the first language. So I was this 7~9-ish old kid in the mid 2000's and I had a 2 year older neighboor who really loved videogames. Through him I found out about Final Fantasy (VIII, then VII) and neither of us spoke english, but he had the magazines with walkthroughs that helped a lot.

Some time later he got a PS2 (it was still fresh here, while everyone else in the world was getting ready for the PS3 at this point) and KH1 and oh boy.. Love at first sight. I loved seeing him play and cherished the moments where he would let me play it myself.

I had a computer so I spent a lot of my free time reading everything I could find about KH on the net.

Some time later I got my own PS2 and managed to get KH2 (couldn't find 1), played it, finished it. Then I later got 1 but never finished it because the final fight kept kicking my ass.

Kingdom Hearts was not the first videogame I fell in love with (Megaman and it's interactions as well as Spyro got that spot), but it was the franchise that defined the direction my life took till it made me who I am today. I pretty much learned english by playing videogames and reading discussions online which started with KH, specially when the spin off era (days, bbs, coded) was announced.

Every single Videogame I have gotten after that was also mainly for the franchise. Specially the PSP, lol. (but I'm glad for that one, I really learned how to love the tiny thing). It also really affected my music tastes as I love JPOP and I specially love Utada Hikaru, whom I admire deeply.

I'm really glad that one elevator meeting between staff members more than two decades ago happened because it's the reason that one little foreign kid could grow into the adult I am today.

 

[Clue.Less]

For me, the first time I remember knowing anything about Kingdom Hearts was in 2005 when I saw a copy of KH1 in the supermarket. What immediately caught my eye was the heart-shaped moon on the front cover, which I just thought was really beautiful (I still do). Then I looked at the back and saw Aladdin and Jafar were in it so I had to play it right away. I slipped away after KH2 but have been even more hooked on the series since getting the Remixes.

Same, except it was 2003 or 2004 and I remember reading somewhere (maybe Kids' Mania?) that it was an FF/Disney mash-up, so being a massive FFX and Disney fan I begged my parents on my knees to get it for me. Picking it up at the store, that heart-shaped moon... and the Disney characters at the back... And then I slipped away after KH2 and came back hard with the PS4 remixes.

I'm glad I took that break. Playing through all the games in a short amount of time before unwrapping the KH3 copy I got for Christmas... that was brilliant. No wait and frustration, just

Also that artwork:

 

[2 quid is good]

Saw the commercial for Kingdom Hearts 1 and lost my mind. Like I don’t think people fully understand how impressive the commercials for Kingdom Hearts 1 were. It was so bizarre and intriguing, and the voice over nailed it.
Ah nostalgia.

I think specifically the TV adverts for KH are very well presented and sure they might all follow a very similar formula (barring KH3) but the way they use that formula invokes great interest pretty much every time. I could talk more at length about why KH3's tv advertising was rather disappointing but I've done it many times before and don't feel like bringing it up again

As for me, I originally saw an advert for KH2 on TV which made me interested but I forgot about it as I didn't have a ps2 at the time. Then when I saw an advert for Days on the TV. I was immediately captured by it and suddenly remembered about that *so cool* game I saw a couple years ago, and fortunately by that point in time ps2 games were super cheap and I got KH2 and Days about a year later in 2010. The rest is very much history.

 

[Cumguardian69]

My first KH game was CoM for the GBA in 2005. Bro when I say I was LOST, let me tell you. I was trying my absolute hardest to figure out where Hollow Bastion came from, what Disney movie "Sora" and "Riku" were from, and what they had to do with Donald and Goofy. I never did beat the game. Flash forward a year later, my cousin came over and brought a game called "Kingdom Hearts" over for the PS2. It looked so corny, but I gave it a shot. It didn't play like Final Fantasy XII or Star Ocean 3 so it didn't immediately catch my attention, but then I saw the Darkside appear on Destiny Islands and I just loved the game since then. We didn't have the best Internet connection but I discovered a game called Kingdom Hearts II. Silly, right, KH2 must've been the GBA game I played like a year ago.

I saw screenshots of it on Wikipedia and the lower right hud had this dude's face that somehow reminded me of Naruto. Except it wasn't Naruto. I found a copy of KINGDOM HEARTS II at my local GameStop and spent all of my money on it. BRO let me tell you, KH2 is the best game in the series and it all stems back from my first time playing it. The reaction command Break Raid against Twilight Thorn was EPIC for my 11 year old mind. Bro. BROOOOO

Now, i stuck with KH through thick (KH2, Re:coded) and thin (the rest of the series) but my interest is basically gone in the series. I bought KH3 in ENG and JPN digitally (never making that mistake again btw), got burned, then I bought Re:MIND for both my ENG and JPN copy of the game only to get burned on that so...yeah. I'm not buying MoM brand new, and I'm not gonna buy any numbered KH game out the gate since it's clear SE doesn't care about the existing fan and merely is a slave to Disney (and money)'s whims.

 

[Somnus cealum]

my older sister got me into the seires when i was 3 or 4 when kh2 came out, then i played kh1 and rechain. good memories

 

[Kimmy1980]

My sister n law got me KH1 as a Christmas gift in 2005. I was 25 at the time. I became obsessed from that point. I can remember playing all the way up to Ursula on just the Kingdom Key. Obviously didn't read the instructions correctly on how to equip keyblades. I can remember having dreams on how to get through battles, especially the clay centipede thing from Agrabah. I remember him being torture.

After replaying the KH games over and over, I think have over 7 saves on most of my devices for each game, then I got hooked on FFX (another gift from the same sister n law). Her hubby told me to cross train my players. I was on my way to cross training for a third round, when the final Sin battle came. 3 shots of holy and he was toast! It was epic.

 

[astertide]

Alright, so... I think I'm technically not a true Kingdom Hearts fan but I don't care because I still love it.

The only games I've played in KH are Union X and Dark Road.

I only got into Kingdom Hearts like, way after KHIII. In fact, I think it was the same week Re:Mind released.

I found KH through *sighs* a crossover fanfic on Ao3. I liked it, so I was like "wHo'S tHiS sOrA pErSoN" and searched it up-

Then I proceeded to spend the next thirty hours playing through every single cutscene on YouTube.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Alright, so... I think I'm technically not a true Kingdom Hearts fan but I don't care because I still love it.

The only games I've played in KH are Union X and Dark Road.

I only got into Kingdom Hearts like, way after KHIII. In fact, I think it was the same week Re:Mind released.

I found KH through *sighs* a crossover fanfic on Ao3. I liked it, so I was like "wHo'S tHiS sOrA pErSoN" and searched it up-

Then I proceeded to spend the next thirty hours playing through every single cutscene on YouTube.

You aren’t any less of a fan for not playing. My best friend never played the games but loves the series.

People don’t have to play the games to enjoy the story.

AO3 doing the lord (Nomura’s) work

 

[kohrin]

i feel like such a rookie hearing all these stories of getting into kingdom hearts in like... 2005, 2007. i was a wee tot then, a toddler. i didn't even get into kh 'till this year!! my friend ruby was telling me about it and screaming to me about how good it was... i knew i had to check it out lol. i didn't even pay attention to the storyline 'till, like, 358/2 days, cause that was when i really started to get invested in the characters. even though the game is so depressing lol

 

[LBJENmariposa]

Me over here being like: I wasn't alive in 2005

 

[kohrin]

Me over here being like: I wasn't alive in 2005

lmaoooooo i felt this. everyone's like getting into the games in like 2005 and 2006, and i'm like.... i was a baby

 

[kaseykockroach]

I was bound by law as a child to seek out anything that had Donald in it.
A RPG where he fights alongside you on some delightfully nonsensical fantasy quest with anime twerps? Sure, I’ll take it.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

i feel like such a rookie hearing all these stories of getting into kingdom hearts in like... 2005, 2007. i was a wee tot then, a toddler. i didn't even get into kh 'till this year!!

Me over here being like: I wasn't alive in 2005

Aww, no need to feel that way. So long as you are fans and into the series you're every bit a fan as the rest of us. I wasn't born around the original Star Wars, but am a fan.

 

[2 quid is good]

Wow... And here I thought I was a young fan being 21, at least I always felt like I was the youngest being in fandom spaces for over 5 years like forums and..... Well just forums.

;~; never thought it'd be KH that would make me feel old

 

[redcrown]

My friend gave me a copy of KH2 that she didn't want (she said it was too weird lol), around 2007-2008 ish. I had it sitting on a shelf for awhile until I was bored and wanted to try a new game. Started it up and was immediately interested, but since it was a sequel I was confused as hell, but I was curious what was behind the KH1 flashbacks during the Roxas prologue, so I stopped playing, went to the local gamestop and bought KH1 for $15 and started playing it.

From there I was in love with it and it was all over, now I'm still semi stuck with the series 10+ years later. Lucky for me it was also right around the time Re:Com came out (which I really needed since KH2 was still a confusing frustrating mess without it, and ended up loving the dual CoM stories even with the card system), Days a year later (which I actually hated) and BBS a year after that, so it was easy for my attention to be kept by it.

 

[Ink Ribbon]

I saw the commercial for KH1 on tv. I loved the fact it had Disney in it and Utada's song was just icing on the cake. I still have my original KH1 copy with the annoying price tag sticker that never wanted to completely peel off lol. I always tried to pick up every game upon release, but never quite got into the non console titles too much. Handheld and cell phone games really aren't my thing but I always keep up with the lore.

 

[Noivern]

i feel like such a rookie hearing all these stories of getting into kingdom hearts in like... 2005, 2007. i was a wee tot then, a toddler. i didn't even get into kh 'till this year!! my friend ruby was telling me about it and screaming to me about how good it was... i knew i had to check it out lol. i didn't even pay attention to the storyline 'till, like, 358/2 days, cause that was when i really started to get invested in the characters. even though the game is so depressing lol

One of my best friends who is the same age as me only got into the series shortly before KH3 came out, buying the compilation game on PS4 and marathoning the entire thing to get ready for 3!

I'm always glad to see new fans showing up because your opinions can be so different and refreshing compared to us as you get to experience everything at once and won't have to deal with years of theorys and fanmade headcanons for characters before we got to truly know them. I remember you mentioned in another thread that there's still 3 games left for you to play, so I hope you will make a thread telling your experiences because those are always a fun read.

 

[pastel.goblin]

When I was finally allowed to get a PS2 they had a deal where you could pick one out of four games as a bonus, Kingdom Hearts was one of the options and the moment I saw the cover art I wanted it. Had no idea what it was about but I fell in love with that drawing and still love it today. My mum saw the Disney characters, decided it was a game for little kids and got my FFX instead lol (which I also love so I can't resent her too much). Didn't even think about Kingdom Hearts until years later, my friend and I would go to the video rental store to pick a game each to try out when we had sleepovers, I saw KH2 in the new releases, remembered it being a thing and got it. I had about as much of an idea of what was going on Roxas, but adored him and skateboarding around Twilight Town. The mystery and vibe had me totally hooked, though my friend didn't end up being interested at all haha. Only got to play a few hours before we had to return it, so I saved up and tracked down both KH and KH2 and the rest is history. Still didn't find out about CoM until some time later lol, but have gotten every other game on release, even bought a PSP just for BBS.

 

[Heleran]

My cousin had KH 2 for his ps2 and I just jumped on and started a new game, and becae quickly obsessed. I also feel dumb because I couldnt get past Agrabah in KH1 because im bad at puzzles