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Kingdom Hearts Wii - A Series Savoir?



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Monkey

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Kingdom Hearts Wii – A Series Saviour?

Posted on January 11, 2007 by Alex Donaldson I’m pretty tired of Kingdom Hearts.

The first game in the series was undoubtedly a revelation in gaming. It certainly was to me. Disney… and Final Fantasy… in a real-time battle adventure with turn based elements? All made by Square? Wow. I mean, the first few screenshots looked a little ridiculous, even crappy, but the game certainly turned into a Disney/Final Fantasy fans' dream, and managed to sell millions worldwide.





The game then spawned two sequels; Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was a Game Boy Advance game. For this reason alone it sold less copies than the other two games in the series – the Kingdom Hearts fanbase lies mostly with Sony’s Playstation 2, and they weren’t about to buy a Nintendo console for a single game. Despite its lacklustre sales, Chain of Memories was an interesting addition to the series, and was very fun to play. Most importantly, it was different. It featured a battle system that was a refreshing change from the ‘tap x to win’ system in the PS2 games.

Kingdom Hearts II was more of the same from the original game. For me, it added some very nice things, but not enough. Animation when fighting was certainly a massive step up from the original, and the new ‘Reaction Commands’ added an exciting and cinematic aspect to battles. There were also the all new “Drive Forms” – transformations for Sora, the main character, to give him different fighting styles.

In another sense, while Kingdom Hearts II looked more polished, it was a step back in many ways. While the fighting (the bulk of the gameplay) was simple in the first, the second game eliminated almost any need to use Magic, Summon Monsters or any advanced skills at all – most battle could be won simply by locking on and tapping X until the enemy’s health is depleted.

Similarly, the number of Disney worlds included in the game was raised, but the choice the Square team had was clearly depleted – the game has you revisit worlds from the first game to go through virtually the same plot as you did in the first game over again. Admittedly, this can’t be blamed on the development team – Disney is furiously protective of their Properties. They actually have a department who watches all films, cartoons, games and other Disney productions to ensure their characters aren’t defiled or portrayed in the wrong way in them. Incidentally, this is why there is not and will be no Kingdom Hearts movie – a test animation was made, and this team turned it down, unhappy to see Donald and Goofy doing anything violent. Why they are allowed to do such things in the game is beyond me.




Square’s team has pretty much been outright told they are not allowed to tell new stories within the Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts. Sora & Co. must be inserted into a story that already exists (in a movie or cartoon) rather than an all new one. This is why some worlds have become rather tiresome in Kingdom Hearts II – Alladin’s world has you going through the same setup and eventually fighting the same boss as in the original game, for example. Square needs new worlds.

Spoiler Warning: Skip this Paragraph if you have not completed Kingdom Hearts II.
Another issue I have with the series is the plot. I sometimes wonder what the series wants to be – a happy, fun crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy or a dark, brooding story of good people turning evil and wars and magic. The biggest example I can give involves Kingdom Hearts III – how are the Disney worlds and characters supposed to fit in with this ‘Keyblade War’ made up of thousands of keyblade wielders. It was a ridiculous enough moment already when in Kingdom Hearts II an angry Mickey runs away to avenge Goofy, who he believes killed. It’s the production values of Final Fantasy shining through, and while it works well in that series, it does come off as a little silly in Kingdom Hearts which is, essentially, a Disney game.
Spoilers End.

The fact that it’s a Disney game is why this rumour carries so much clout – Disney have just set up a studio devoted to just the Wii and nothing else, and Disney and Nintendo are of course companies with a similar aim and target audience – Like Nintendo wants to create games to be played by the whole family, Disney wants to create children’s films that everybody can watch – the Lion King, for example, is loved by kids and adults alike for very different reasons, and is in my opinion the greatest animated movie of all time. The two companies are undoubtedly similar.




The rumour states that Disney has told Square that they want the next Kingdom Hearts game to be on the Wii – something which is perfectly possible considering the excellent Disney/Nintendo relationship. From there, it’s down to Square – if they want to make another KH – and frankly, it’s too successful not to – they will have to follow Disney’s lead.

Despite all the problems I’ve listed above, I do enjoy the series. There’s something satisfying about visiting those Disney worlds in the way you do and the trio of Donald, Goofy and Sora are a genuinely fun party to be running around the worlds with. No game is perfect, and I think what holds Kingdom Hearts up despite it’s flaws is that it’s truly charming, much like the Disney movies it copies.

The charm and wonder of being able to visit all your favourite Disney characters in one game helps people to overlook its very simple gameplay and at times a headache of a plot. There’s also the fan factor – huge fans of Final Fantasy will buy this game regardless, just to see Cloud and Sephiroth face off one last time. However, this greatest asset of the series is beginning to fail – they are running out of worlds to visit, and revisiting them can be tiresome and boring, as KHII proved. But how can being on Wii help this series?




Well, let’s stop for a second. Nintendo. What’s their greatest asset? Their properties. We all know they’re also not afraid to lend their properties out to other companies, with a Mario edition of Dance Dance Revolution, and Mario appearing in EA games for the Gamecube.

That’s right, I’m going there. How’s that for some interesting new worlds to visit? With the allegiance that Square has shown Nintendo recently, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Nintendo lend them some of their IP’s for a new Kingdom Hearts with Super Smash Bros levels of joy - Sora, Donald and Goofy can land in Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom, Planet Zebes or travel across the Lylat System with Fox McCloud.

Of course, I’m not saying the game should lose it’s Disney worlds – there’s several interesting Disney worlds left unvisited, and some movies not covered – the straight-to-video sequels to The Lion King and Peter Pan, for example, have remained untouched. Similarly, Jafar wasn’t always the villain in every episode of the Aladdin cartoon – so episodes of that could be taken and turned into exciting and different episodes in the Kingdom Hearts story.




Instantly, my interest in Kingdom Hearts III is raising at the mere thought of seeing Heartless invade Hyrule Castle Town – Some people will call it fanboyism or call it fanwank, but the entire Kingdom Hearts series is one big Disney/Final Fantasy fanwank – why not add Nintendo into the mix?

How would the controls work on the Wii? Personally, I imagine it controlling similar to Twilight Princess. Swinging the Wii remote around will be the equivalent of pressing X to attack. The D-Pad would be used to browse the Final Fantasy-style menu used to select Magic Attacks and so on, with the B-Trigger on the back of the Wii Remote used to activate whatever is highlighted. The Nunchuk Control stick controls Sora’s movement, while the Z-Button locks onto enemies. The A button on the front of the Wii Remote would be used to activate reaction commands. As you can see, the current controls fit on the Remote/Nunchuk perfectly with plenty of buttons to spare. Motion control could be used sparingly, as it was in Zelda – for example, in Twilight Princess Link’s spin attack is performed by shaking the Nunchuk. Special Keyblade moves could be activated with certain motions in either one of the controllers.




The one major advantage the PS3 has over the Wii is of course graphics. For me, for Kingdom Hearts, this isn’t all too much of a big deal. If this were Final Fantasy we’re talking about than hell, I’d be in favour of the PS3 or 360 – while I have no doubt the Wii can do epic, beautiful worlds, as demonstrated well by Twilight Princess which barely uses any of the system’s power. The Final Fantasy series is an established graphical powerhouse. In comparison, Kingdom Hearts requires little in the area of graphics – its cartoon worlds can be easily rendered with the Wii’s power. The only world from the games that would’ve benefited directly from being on a more powerful system is Pirates of the Caribbean.

There are those who'll say the problems I have with the series - particularly the gameplay ones - could be fixed on the PS3. I don't deny that - the game could easily be released on PS3 with a slightly more complex engine to reduce the button bashing, but the Wii control scheme just interests me far more.

Does the series really need saving? The fact remains that both Kingdom Hearts games have sold millions and the series is far from in a ditch in the most important area - sales. Despite that, the games aren't perfect, and I feel the best path for the series to evolve would be one on Nintendo's Wii, least of all because the younger audience of the Kingdom Hearts series cannot afford a console that is $500 in it's cheapest form. The gameplay of the series is very simple, and the series needs to evolve rapidly to remain interesting in it's third version.

Of course, this is all mere speculation based on a rumour that has no real source. While the rumour is a more believable one, thanks to Disney’s love of Nintendo and the Wii, the lack of a real source means there’s little I can truly say about it all. What I can say with certainty is that to me being on the Wii would give Kingdom Hearts a whole new lease of life. Here’s hoping.

http://ps2.rpgsite.net/articles/11/91.html

I'll have a KHI link in a bit too. ^_^;
 

SuperEclipse

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Disney

Sora, Donald and Goofy can land in Hyrule, the Mushroom Kingdom, Planet Zebes or travel across the Lylat System with Fox McCloud.
I love that Idea.

and I agree, like said KH just needs a little upgrade in gfx.. We don't need Gears of War gfx. So the Wii gfx could work out great

Do you mind if I post this on Spirasdestiny?
 

New2Ya

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Hmmm... I dont agree with him. Nintendo mixed with Kingdom Hearts would suck majorly. I dont need Princess Peach needing help from Sora. Please...

Another thing that PS3 has over the Wii is the fact that it can handle more NPCs. So worlds would finally become worlds like they should be. Full of life.
 

New2Ya

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http://www.khinsider.com/news/people-voice-their-opinions-kingdom-hearts-wii.html

KHI'fied.

But anyway, I think we can definantly get worlds. If the Gamecube or PS2 could handle Twilight Princess and FF12, the Wii should be able to make great worlds. I'm not so hip on the Nintendo idea, but everything else I am all for.
Yeah thats true... In KH2, it was sooo... dull. Every world had 2 characters walking in it. In the movies, there were always lots of people and things going on. I want living environments... But FF12 could pull it off... and Rogue Galaxy can do it as well... and you say Zelda TP can, so thats not an argument. But of course the PS3 can, in theory, handle more NPCs that actually have individual actions, all have their own speech, etc.

The reason why I rather not have a KH3 Wii, is because I will buy a PS3 for FF13/vs13, and that means that Im not gonna spend my money on the Wii. It would be sad if I missed out on KH, ya know? I think this counts for most KH fans here. Unless they jump ship if it goes to the Wii...
 

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Hmmm... I dont agree with him. Nintendo mixed with Kingdom Hearts would suck majorly. I dont need Princess Peach needing help from Sora. Please...

Would you rather have tingle fighting with you if you don't want to help peach? I think kingdom hearts would work great on the wii, the controls, the new envirments. The wii has alot of possibilities with the controller functions. Theres people that want games the way like they imagine them (i.e square). Get my point?
 

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This sounds okay with me. The Playstation 3 price is ridiculous, no matter how much crap they think they added onto it.

Yes, the PS3 has graphics, but the the Wii is the cheapest console and has the cheapest games as well. The gameplay for the Wii is very good. I can't say the graphics are any better, but I'm sure Square Enix can raise them to a good exstant. The new gameplay on the Wii will offer a lot to the series and I say 'Go ahead,' SE.:thumbup:
 

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interesting point, and you put all of it together without being rude or stupid, it was actually quite a step up from what I've been hearing.

However I see that Nintendo would not be a good addition to Kingdom Hearts. I am not interested in Mario, or Zelda being invovled. Can you really imagine it? With the disney worlds some of the plots are indirect and there are places where Sora can jump in, as he did in Mulan, since he knew Mushu, there where plenty of times when he wasn't trusted, etc. Who can seriously say they could see Sora going up to link and trying to help him, and link being normal about that? Anyways, Mario just isn't good enough for a KH involvement, theres a plot, and then the game, its a good game series, but not good for KH.

Another reason for the negative side of the Wii: Wii is a family console. Families means all ages, and that would mean that with Ninetindo and Disney working together, you'd have two major censoring wigs against Square. I can't imagine . . . wait yes I can, and that image of KH being more sensored is horrible. Not to mention that KH takes 50-60+ Hours to get gaming experience.

If the family is playing it, then each member has to take turns with their own storyline. Gaming stores who usually try to buy back games at cheaper prices and then resell them to makes profits would get screwed out by this. I mean 1 player games are 1 players for a reason.

Not saying the Wii would kill the KH series, it would add a fun element, but I'm not convinced it should move to the Wii, JUST FOR THAT.
 

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Man...

I think the idea of adding Nintendo worlds would be retarded...

Like seriously, i'd just stop playing Kingdom Hearts period. That would ruin everything.

Then they'd be adding freakin' Pokemon and crap like that. That would just mess it up for me.
 

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Man...

I think the idea of adding Nintendo worlds would be retarded...

Like seriously, i'd just stop playing Kingdom Hearts period. That would ruin everything.

Then they'd be adding freakin' Pokemon and crap like that. That would just mess it up for me.

Same here.

But, this made a lot of sense, it's a refreshing change from the usual "BRING KH TO THE WII" threads.
 

SuperEclipse

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I'm sick of hearing The Wii is a kid system and its just a family system.. Guess what its getting more M games etc and I call KH a family game. It is for everyone.

Yea, it may be stupid for Nintendo worlds, but it would also be kind of cool..

Like omfg, I bet some of you be singing a different tune if Sony said they wanted to added some worlds form their games..
 

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I'm sick of hearing The Wii is a kid system and its just a family system.. Guess what its getting more M games etc and I call KH a family game. It is for everyone.

Yea, it may be stupid for Nintendo worlds, but it would also be kind of cool..

Like omfg, I bet some of you be singing a different tune if Sony said they wanted to added some worlds form their games..

while it may not be directly a kids system, its mainstream charachaters (the ones that would be include if kh3 would go to the wii) ARE kid charachters (mario, pokemon ect) sure there may be minor exceptions to the rule but a majority of the M or so rated games are 3rd party titles, thus overal wii will still retain its title of a kids system/family system
 

SuperEclipse

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while it may not be directly a kids system, its mainstream charachaters (the ones that would be include if kh3 would go to the wii) ARE kid charachters (mario, pokemon ect) sure there may be minor exceptions to the rule but a majority of the M or so rated games are 3rd party titles, thus overal wii will still retain its title of a kids system/family system

KH fits right into that.

(.....)
 

Hypoxium

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That's like...

Having Kirby in your party.

Man that's a crappy idea. Ok, maybe Disney is a little kiddy, but it blends in more with Final Fantasy than Nintendo games.

What plot would you have with Mario? ZOMG SORA JUMP ON BOWSER'S HEAD BEFORE HE HITS YOU WITH A SHELL!!!!11111
 

╬ProperArtist╬

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I mean I know it's somewhat of a good idea to put the kingdom hearts series on the Wii because it could open up new ideas and such for the games, but at the same time I think Kh series is just fine on the sony systems, I mean using Nintendo worlds would deffinately turn it into more of a kids game when the story lines in each one have been getting darker with each title......

personally I would lose respect for the kh series if it turned to the Wii, the graphics are improving so it should very well go on the ps3 I mean look at the secret ending they can't recreate that on the Wii....
 

SuperEclipse

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personally I would lose respect for the kh series if it turned to the Wii, the graphics are improving so it should very well go on the ps3 I mean look at the secret ending they can't recreate that on the Wii....
One who knows nothing can understand nothing..

The Wii is more power then the xbox, Cube and Ps2. The Wii can play it just fine and it will look great on it, KH dosn't need Halo3 or Gears of War gfx..

We don't need super realism gfx for KH, damn..
 

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i strongly dissagree with everybody that wants the series in the Wii.
1- it will look pretty much like TP.
2- the graphics for PotC looked passable over the ps2, imagine for the wii!
3-Kingdom hearts is sorely for Disney. which btw there is not a kingdom perse in the movies. in nintendo, there's mushroom kingdom, TP kinda kingdom and so on.
4-just because Disney has a major influence in the game does not freaking mean they own it. SE's Tetsuya Nomuragot the idea, he is the one that will decide whats best n by that he will mean sony. most of the SE games are in the sony family Except by the 1st FF's.
5- just because keyblade wars are the theme of the game, does not mean that there will be a SMB meele type of game for KH3. there has been many imitations to SMB like shrek. still SBM killed them so making KH3 a meele type of game, its like sacrificing the whole FF/Disney precious thing of a game. Am going to send a video viewer mail to X-Play and hear their comments on this issue.

but what they will prob'ly say:
There are nothing to it! the only thing that we know is
-"Next Project"
- Black-hooded man (org. type coat) with an armored man (chaser on my opinion) saying "Friend"
-and the secret video that's on kh2 along with the pic with the broken mask.

there's lil info to be making these assumptions.
when we get something juicy like a gameplay video or a TRAILER for it (prob'ly in '09+) THEN we can think and guess about the future of the series.

---Edwin
 

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The game needs to go the way of final fantasy & be made on the ps3 i mean those types of games were made for the ps3

I don't like the Wii as it is....

I mean with Disney in it (seeing as they have uber dark overtones as it is) are good for the series cause it darkness the stories path which the storylines have been going towards more and more with each title and combining that with Final Fantasy & their own characters it better inhabits the dark undertone of a story....

but Nintendo characters and worlds would just *cuteify* everything in the game up...I like that series cause it knows when to be funny & happy and knows when to be dark & adventrous...if they put it on the Wii we'll probably lose that dark edge
 

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Yuck.lol The sound of Disney and Nintendo, I don't like the sound of that. Would KH even be considered the same if something like that happened? I got this wierd vision of fire flower shaped Keyblade.lol I don't like this idea. If this sort of thing was to happen I think KH would be stripped of everything it has left.

I think KH should remain on Sony's console. I'm not saying that it should be completely realistic, but it should show off some amazing graphics like Heavenly Sword. I think I see KH going into a more mature direction, but I don't think it will be anything major, I think the change would be similar to how Jak and Daxer changed into Jak II. Besides Square Enix should have more autority over this title and it could be made into PS3 material, I don't think it would turn out to be Wii material.

If it was put on the Wii, in my opinion I believe it would be like taking 1 step back in terms of technology and maturity but I'm not saying the Wii is made for specifically for kids.
 
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