History FranchiseOriginalSin / KingdomHearts

* Kingdom Hearts has become infamous for the copious amounts of characters who have come BackFromTheDead or otherwise suffer from a DisneyDeath. This has been a constant in the series since the first game, with Sora removing his own heart to free Kairi’s, which turns him into a Heartless but he gets restored to a human a few minutes later. This was seen as passable given the game's [[AllThereInTheManual journal entries made it explicitly clear]] '''how''' Sora came back so easily, and it fits with the LighterAndSofter nature of the game, being akin to a Disney fairy tale, and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' showed there were repercussions to this act that Sora wasn't aware of. Furthermore, Sora's DisneyDeath occurred over a single game making it easier to swallow, than if it had been dragged out across multiple games. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' would continue the trend by having Maleficent, Oogie Boogie, and Ursula all come BackFromTheDead but that was balanced out by having the latter two get quickly disposed of again and Maleficent suffering from a lack of resources to be a proper threat again, along with numerous casualties from both sides. Yet despite the series progressing through CerebusSyndrome, the games would bring numerous characters BackFromTheDead or reveal they never actually died hampering the emotional impact of prior stories. The fact the series often achieved this by [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] prior games to shoehorn in characters who had natural ends to their storylines (such as Xehanort, Ansem the Wise, Axel, and Xigbar) through increasingly convoluted means, for seemingly no reason other than the character's popularity. Not helping matters was that the explanations provided contradicted what had been established in prior installments (such as ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' revealing a human can come back to life if their Heartless and Nobody are both destroyed when every game prior indicated that this would result in both halves undergoing CessationOfExistence). The nadir for this trend came with ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' where [[spoiler: '''every''' member of the Guardians of Light suffers a DisneyDeath (with Kairi going through this twice), along with restoring the hearts and bodies of Roxas, Namine, Terra, and Xion. The last of these especially stands out, as prior to the game's DLC there was no clear explanation as to how Xion managed to return [[{{Retgone}} when all memories of her had been erased from existence]]. Compounding the issue is that the game ends with Sora suffering a HeroicSacrifice to counterbalance everybody's return, but any emotional impact that could come from this is hampered by the implicit knowledge [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt that Sora will eventually come back]], with the game's secret ending practically confirming this.]]

** The decision to publish on a different console. ''[=CoM=]'' was released for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance instead of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 like [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]]; this was considered acceptable if not ideal in 2004 since the GBA was the only widespread handheld, so if there had to be a spin-off there were few other options. The game is also barely required viewing to understand ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. However, over time more of these handheld "spin-offs" ("spin-offs" in quotes because they were actually critical to the MythArc all along, ''[=CoM=]'' included) were released exclusively on competing Creator/{{Nintendo}} and Creator/{{Sony}} systems; when all was said and done, playing every game on release and avoiding the ContinuityLockout required five different dedicated gaming hardware[[note]][=PS2=], GBA, UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable and UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS[[/note]] ''and'' a compatible Japanese cellphone. Remakes and remasters have rectified this; as of 2020 you only need a UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, or UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch to experience basically the entire series[[note]]to be fair, the two UsefulNotes/NintendoDS games are presented as cutscene compilations and not proper games, and the collections don't include [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX the second mobile game]], but you probably have a smartphone that can take care of that these days[[/note]] as well as ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory''. That said, ''Melody of Memory'' is also on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, where ''none'' of the other games were playable for a few years, though this was mitigated by ''Melody of Memory''[='=]s story mode being a RecapEpisode for the entire series up to 2019 if Switch-only owners didn't mind a plot that consists almost entirely of summarizing every single LateArrivalSpoiler. Later on, the Platform/EpicGamesStore would make every game available, allowing the entire series to be accessible through a PC.

** This game completely recycles the Creator/{{Disney}} worlds and characters of the original game (except [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Deep Jungle]], which had to be axed due to Disney losing the rights to ''Literature/{{Tarzan}}''); the only new worlds are originals (and aren't deeply explored anyway due to the nature of the game). Between the game's memory-based premise, the new gameplay, and the different visual style, the experience was fresh enough to avoid many complaints. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', being a numbered sequel with a larger budget, could focus on new worlds and expand the returning ones[[note]]Olympus Coliseum lets you explore the Underworld, which also makes it a proper world instead of a glorified bonus area; Halloween Town also includes Christmas Town; Atlantica adds music based game mechanics and some focus on the surface world much like in [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 the original film]]; Agrabah is completely overhauled with the Magic Carpet as a ride and incorporates plot points from ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar''; and Hollow Bastion has ''nothing'' in common with its ''KHI'' incarnation, to the point that it eventually gets its name changed to Radiant Garden[[/note]]. But subsequent games (most blatantly the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS games ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Days]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Re:coded]]''[[note]]''Re:coded'' is an especially egregious case, since its forays into Disney worlds are essentially a retread of the original game's plot with references to glitches shoehorned in, similar to how ''[=CoM=]'' just repeated the same plot points as ''KHI'' with references to memories shoehorned in, with the main plot for both games being mostly relegated to cutscenes after each world's boss. Except ''[=CoM=]'''s plot introduced important characters and concepts to the series' MythArc, while most of ''Re:coded'' ended up being {{filler}} outside of the final chapter.[[/note]]), kept on recycling worlds, characters, and scenarios to some degree or another, and specifically based them on their KHI incarnations (among the DS games, the only Disney world not reused is Beast's Castle, which was from ''KHII'', though ''358/2'' also used portions of II's Agrabah, added new areas to [[WesternAnimation/PeterPan Neverland]], and brought in WesternAnimation/{{Pete}} from II as a minor antagonist for both of the latter worlds), and it has worn thin for many, who wish Square would take advantage of other Disney movies. ''[=CoM=]'' was likely meant as a cheap gateway title for players who didn't own a [=PS2=], so the rehashing was less of a problem back then, and it was less noticeable with a few years between games, but with the full CompilationRerelease in 2017, visiting Agrabah and Olympus five times each on the same disc is exhausting. Fortunately, later games (''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]''[[note]]which technically came before ''Re:coded'', but after the original ''coded''[[/note]] and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'') finally addressed this by finally introducing multiple new worlds each.

* A common criticism of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is that Terra comes off as TooDumbToLive and a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter for falling prey to the manipulation of several Disney villains and '''especially''' [[BigBad Master Xehanort]]. But Terra isn’t the first Keyblade wielder ([[AnachronicOrder release-wise anyway]]) to be manipulated by ObviouslyEvil characters. [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts1 In the first game]], Riku was suckered into working for Maleficent and kidnapping the Princesses of Heart because of a lie that doing so would restore Kairi’s heart. It was more believable in ''Kingdom Hearts I'' as Riku was only 15 years old and had never left Destiny Islands before. This combined with Riku displaying exploitable [[ArrogantKungFuGuy personality]] [[GreenEyedMonster traits]] and [[VillainousRescue being rescued from his island’s destruction by Maleficent]] makes it believable that Maleficent could so easily manipulate Riku. By contrast, Terra is 20 years old and shown to be an overall NiceGuy with implicit knowledge of the outside world, making it harder to accept he could be so easily manipulated. Compounding the issue, the only reason the game ever musters for Terra to trust Xehanort, is that Master Eraqus also trusts Xehanort, which comes across as a flimsy excuse given Xehanort is preaching things that go completely against Eraqus’ teachings and a flashback in the game reveals Eraqus [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt knows about Xehanort’s plans]] and received his scar from Xehanort, meaning there’s no logical reason for Eraqus to trust him either.

* Kingdom Hearts has become infamous for the copious amounts of characters who have come BackFromTheDead or otherwise suffer from a DisneyDeath. This has been a constant in the series since the first game, with Sora removing his own heart to free Kairi’s, which turns him into a Heartless but he gets restored to a human a few minutes later. This was seen as passable given the game's [[AllThereInTheManual journal entries made it explicitly clear]] '''how''' Sora came back so easily, and it fits with the LighterAndSofter nature of the game, being akin to a Disney fairy tale, and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' showed there were repercussions to this act that Sora wasn't aware of. Furthermore, Sora's DisneyDeath occurred over a single game making it easier to swallow, than if it had been dragged out across multiple games. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' would continue the trend by having Maleficent, Oogie Boogie, and Ursula all come BackFromTheDead but that was balanced out by having the latter two get quickly disposed of again and Maleficent suffering from a lack of resources to be a proper threat again, along with numerous casualties from both sides. Yet despite the series progressing through CerebusSyndrome, the games would bring numerous characters BackFromTheDead or reveal they never actually died hampering the emotional impact of prior stories. The fact the series often achieved this by [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] prior games to shoehorn in characters who had natural ends to their storylines (such as Xehanort, Ansem the Wise, Axel, and Xigbar) through increasingly convoluted means, for seemingly no reason other than the character's popularity. Not helping matters was that the explanations provided contradicted what had been established in prior installments (such as ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' revealing a human can come back to life if their Heartless and Nobody are both destroyed when every game prior indicated that would result in CessationofExistence). The nadir for this trend came with ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' where [[spoiler: '''every''' member of the Guardians of Light suffers a DisneyDeath (with Kairi going through this twice), along with restoring the hearts and bodies of Roxas, Namine, Terra, and Xion. The last of these especially stands out, as prior to the game's DLC there was no clear explanation as to how Xion managed to return [[{{Retgone}} when all memories of her had been erased from existence]]. Compounding the issue is that the game ends with Sora suffering a HeroicSacrifice to counterbalance everybody's return, but any emotional impact that could come from this is hampered by the implicit knowledge [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt that Sora will eventually come back]], with the game's secret ending practically confirming this.]]

* Kingdom Hearts has become infamous for the copious amounts of characters who have come BackFromTheDead or otherwise suffer from a DisneyDeath. This has been a constant in the series since the first game, with Sora removing his own heart to free Kairi’s, which turns him into a Heartless but he gets restored to a human a few minutes later. This was seen as passable given the game's [[AllThereInTheManual journal entries made it explicitly clear]] '''how''' Sora came back so easily, and it fits with the LighterAndSofter nature of the game, being akin to a Disney fairy tale, and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' showed there were repercussions to this act that Sora wasn't aware of. Furthermore, Sora's DisneyDeath occurred over a single game making it easier to swallow, than if it had been dragged out across multiple games. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' would continue the trend by having Maleficent, Oogie Boogie, and Ursula all come BackFromTheDead but that was balanced out by having the latter two get quickly disposed of again and Maleficent suffering from a lack of resources to be a proper threat again, along with numerous casualties from both sides. Yet despite the series progressing through CerebusSyndrome, the games would bring numerous characters BackFromTheDead or reveal they never actually died hampering the emotional impact of prior stories. The fact the series often achieved this by [[{{Retcon}} retconning]] prior games to shoehorn in characters who had natural ends to their storylines (such as Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem the Wise, Axel, and Xemnas) through increasingly convoluted means, for seemingly no reason other than the character's popularity. Not helping matters was that the explanations provided contradicted what had been established in prior installments (such as ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' revealing a human can come back to life if their Heartless and Nobody are both destroyed when every game prior indicated that would result in CessationofExistence). The nadir for this trend came with ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' where [[spoiler: '''every''' member of the Guardians of Light suffers a DisneyDeath (with Kairi going through this twice), along with restoring the hearts and bodies of Roxas, Namine, Terra, and Xion. The last of these especially stands out, as prior to the game's DLC there was no clear explanation as to how Xion managed to return [[{{Retgone}} when all memories of her had been erased from existence]]. Compounding the issue is that the game ends with Sora suffering a HeroicSacrifice to counterbalance everybody's return, but any emotional impact that could come from this is hampered by the implicit knowledge [[LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt that Sora will eventually come back]], with the game's secret ending practically confirming this.]]