I remember, in 2002, a commercial aired for a game that actually looked pretty decent. I was only eight back then, so the few things I remembered were a Clock Tower, a guy with silver hair in front of a wave, and some kid swinging a weapon around. For some reason, in my adolescent mind and out of all of the things that could have stuck, the name "Kingdom Hearts" was forever etched in my brain. Ever since that moment, I looked far and wide for Kingdom Hearts and I had eventually found it in the room of my babysitter's son. Unfortunately, it was scratched up and unplayable. So, I searched some more. I came across a copy of it that I could rent from a video store and from that point on, I would save up my hard earned allowance to pay for a seven day rental. I had no memory card, so I would have to sit through the entire game every time I turned on my PS2, but I really couldn't care less. It was Kingdom Hearts. I must have played through Destiny Islands and Traverse Town over twenty times, but that didn't bother me. Every time I would beat Traverse Town and get to the World Map, it would freeze until I restarted the game, but that didn't chip away at my happiness. I had played the game and that's all that mattered. The hour or so was enough to keep me happy.
It was now 2004 and I was still stuck in the seven day rental loop of Kingdom Hearts. I had gotten a PSP and a GBA Advanced for my birthday and Christmas respectively, which pretty much meant I was the bee's knees, and I had been searching Wal-Mart for a KH game on the PSP, but to no avail (A few years later, though, haha!) As I looked into the glass cases, I noticed a silver packaging labeled "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories". Gameboy Advance. Oh. My. Kingdom Hearts. I couldn't believe it. I had to have it. I even had the money for it! A huge smile came across my face and stayed there until the I had finished my purchase of this glorious game. My very first KH game. No one would take it from me after a week had passed and it wouldn't freeze up on me after an hour. I popped it in and booted up the GBA and instantly fell in love. Dearly Beloved in all of its beautiful, GBA glory. I had spent hours, days, and months mastering the game and beating it, half-understanding what Sora and the gang were talking about when they thought back to their old memories. I beat it.
End of fifth grade. 2006. Free day during class, so I head down to the library and pick up one of those small, Disney magazines. As I flip through, I catch a glimpse of a brown haired teen... :O KINGDOM. HEARTS. II. My mind was BLOWN! I couldn't even begin to FATHOM the amount of excitement I was feeling at that moment. I went home and told my parents and grandparents about it, slurring words and stuttering in jolly feelings. My grandparents decide to put it on Lay-Away without telling me, while my mother went searching three Wal-Marts for a copy of Kingdom Hearts I. On one night, while looking at videos on the internet, I was given a box and a bag. I had no idea what was going on, but as I peeled off the tape on the card board box, I could make out a silver cover and the brown haired boy I had grown accustomed to. I smiled. Large smile. Gigantic smile. Biggest smile on my face at that point in time. Then I opened the bag. My life had become complete. The moment I could, I went to pop in KH1 and began playing it completely for the first time in my life. Well, I beat KH1 in time for sixth grade to start. It was a great moment in my life and I felt happier than ever.
Unfortunately, that would change. I started getting bullied in middle school. About my weight, my nerdiness... anything, really. It was a horrible time for me as it was during my time of puberty and big changes. I didn't know how to take it all, so I sat around, ate food, and had little interaction with anyone outside of my neighborhood. I hadn't touched KHII yet, so as a way to pass the time, I put the disk in. As Dearly Beloved began playing, all of that joy began to flow back. From that point on, Kingdom Hearts was my way to cope with the challenges of making friends and trying to fit in. Instead of eating due to boredom, I would play KH. It was one of the things that helped me and... Once I beat it, I was at a loss for words. "The series is over," I had thought, "What am I gonna play now?" As the final CG cutscene rolled by, Sora and Riku get a bottle and a letter. It had a symbol resembling King Mickey's head... That music. That scene. That mysterious letter. It wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
I began following KHInsider from that point on and stayed up to date with all the news. I got Re: Chain, KH 358/2 Days on release date, as well as Birth By Sleep, and Re:Coded. Every game released in NA. I spoiled a lot of these games and couldn't enjoy them near as much as I did the first three games. And that's where 3D comes in. A next, huge step FORWARD in the story. I vowed to myself to keep myself from intentionally spoiling any story elements of the game. I've listened to the entire soundtrack and seen every Dream Eater, aside from the bosses. I have unintentionally seen things that I wish I wouldn't have, but the whole entirety of the story has yet to be uncovered and that's what drives me forward to keep waiting. I have one more day left. One more day. Then, I can take home my Mark of Mastery box and beat KH: Dream Drop Distance with the same enthusiasm as I had with the first three games.
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