History VideoGame / KingdomHeartsI

** The Dive to the Heart ends with Sora being told that he will be the on to open the door. The first [[TheStinger Stinger's]] last line elaborates on this:

** In most ''Kingdom Hearts'' games (except ''Chain of Memories'' and ''coded''), the journal entry for a character not original to the series will include the work and sometimes year they debuted in (or the work that particular incarnation of the character debuted in, like the Gullwings in ''II'' coming from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' despite two of their members originating from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''). In this game, said character’s debut is mentioned at the end of their journal entry, with Jiminy writing a fourth-wall breaking sentence to describe the debuts of the Disney characters[[labelnote:e.g.]]Ariel’s profile ends with "Her voice enchanted us in ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''," and Jiminy writes "Look for me in ''WesternAnimation/Pinocchio1940''," about himself.[[/labelnote]] while the ''Final Fantasy'' characters only have the title and year. Subsequent games would put the debut work at the beginning of the journal entries and do away with the short sentence descriptions of Disney character appearances.

''Kingdom Hearts'' is an ActionRPG developed and published by [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] in collaboration with [[Creator/DisneyInteractiveStudios Disney Interactive]], and the first installment in [[Franchise/KingdomHearts the eponymous series]], first released exclusively on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 on March 28, 2002 in Japan, September 17 in America, November 15 in Europe and November 22 in Australia.

The game got two {{Updated Rerelease}}s. The first, called ''Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix'', was released in [[NoExportForYou Japan only]] on December 26, 2002. It uses the English dub with Japanese subtitles and text, adds the {{Regional Bonus}}es given to the North American version, and contains a slew of bonus content: a new difficulty (Proud Mode), weapons, items, abilities, cutscenes, a new {{Superboss}}, and a new secret ending. The second, an HD remaster of ''Final Mix'', came with the CompilationRerelease ''Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD [=ReMIX=]'' released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 in Japan in March 2013 and everywhere else in September. Outside of the graphical upgrade, it has [=PS3=] Trophy support, some slight gameplay tweaks such as assigning the camera controls to the second analogue stick and converting certain special commands into Reaction commands, two new abilities (EXP Zero and Combo Master) and an orchestrated soundtrack. This version was then ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and later the UsefulNotes/XboxOne as part of the ''HD I.5+II.5 [=ReMIX=]'' compilation with all of the aforementioned enhancements from the [=PS3=] version as well as the addition of a Cutscene Theater Mode (as optional free [=DLC=]) and increasing the in-game framerate from 30 to 60fps. That compilation, alongside ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue]]'', ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII + Re Mind'', and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory'', arrived on Windows PC via the UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore on March 30, 2021.

** In terms of gameplay, the first game's combat system and the general "feel" (such as the speed Sora moves around, the camera system, the magic system, and etc.) have kind of become the odd duck in the series. The newer games have generally been ''much'' faster, flashier, and varied in terms of the combat. This is especially true of the original, non-Final Mix version of ''Kingdom Hearts''; Sora is missing several combat abilities that enhance his combos, and their absence makes his skill with the keyblade look practically pedestrian compared to what he can do in ''II''. There's also only a handful of spells in the game and they're generally not as useful as simply attacking, a far cry from the huge variety of powerful spells offered by titles like ''Birth By Sleep'' and ''3D''.

** At the beginning of the main numbered games, the player picks between the paths of the Warrior, Guardian or Mystic to decide what type of skills (offensive, defensive or magic, respectively) are given priority and learned at lower levels. However, this game is the only one that then prompts the player to give up one of the two paths they didn't take. Additionally, both of these choices directly impact your starting and final potential stats, while later games would tie this to other choices or not give the option at all. It's also the only one that presents choices that influences the level up rate: faster up to level 50 and slower afterwards (referred to as "starting your journey at dawn"), vice versa ("midnight"), or consistently throughout ("midday").

* LastDayOfNormalcy: it starts with Sora, Riku, and Kairi playing around with their friends and each other in their hometown of Destiny Islands, while building a raft to set out at sea. There were signs that something is wrong, like Sora's {{Mind Screw}}y dream or the mysterious stranger that showed up out of thin air, but nothing indicated that Destiny Islands would get destroyed and the whole world would fall into darkness.

** Atlantica is essentially a litmus test on the game's Magic system: The cocktail of a slow-paced control-scheme, awkward weapon combos with little momentum to push you forward and numerous StoneWall enemies lends itself to slow battles of spell-slinging attrition and Ether management. Expect being frequently interrupted by torpedo-ing Screwdrivers and having to navigate hordes of teleporting Search Ghosts with slow, awkward Keyblade swipes. Not even the "Mermaid Kick" you get for clearing the world changes this much, as it's too fast to be reliable in combat beyond quick getaways.

** Sora and Donald behave a bit like this in the Deep Jungle world when Sora and Donald get into a fight over looking for Riku and Kairi in Deep Jungle. They even gave each other a bit of silent treatment and turn their backs against each other when they regroup. They get distracted from more bickering through helping Tarzan and Jane Porter stop Clayton from hunting and killing gorillas and they got Sora and Donald to reconcile and become friends again.

* WhyDontYaJustShootHim: The minimalistic cutscenes make an exchange in Neverland come across as this. Captain Hook offers Sora the chance to hand over the Keyblade in exchange for his life, but eventually retreats inside of the ship when he sees the crocodile that ate his hand is nearby, leaving things to his first mate Mr. Smee. Smee, in contrast, immediately makes Sora walk the plank without attempting to reopen negotiations.

* AnachronicOrder: Ansem's Report is collected page by page as you defeat the members of the Disney Villains alliance in the second half of the game, and you never get the pages in consecutive order. For most of the game, you only obtain odd-numbered pages (starting with page 1, which Jafar has), but they do give you a fair understanding of what Ansem was doing before he went missing. Later on, you get all the even-numbered pages at once from Aerith ([[note]] except for page #8; that one's in the hands of Hades in the Hades Cup, who is the last of the villain's conspiracy that can be fought and can only be accessed after clearing Hollow Bastion, and you still have to go through his tournament to get to him[[/note]]), and [[spoiler:they change the meaning of the rest of the report ''completely'']].

** [[spoiler:Sora was never meant to wield the Keyblade. It was Riku's fate to use the weapon and set to other worlds. However, because Riku has jumped too far into darkness, the Keyblade switches its allegiance to the next best thing: Sora.]]

The game got two {{Updated Rerelease}}s. The first, called ''Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix'', was released in [[NoExportForYou Japan only]] on December 26, 2002. It uses the English dub with Japanese subtitles and text, adds the {{Regional Bonus}}es given to the North American version, and contains a slew of bonus content: a new difficulty (Proud Mode), weapons, items, abilities, cutscenes, a new {{Superboss}}, and a new secret ending. The second, an HD version of the ''Final Mix'' version, came with the CompilationRerelease ''Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD [=ReMIX=]'' released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 in Japan in March 2013 and everywhere else in September. Outside of the graphical upgrade, it has [=PS3=] Trophy support, some slight gameplay tweaks such as assigning the camera controls to the second analogue stick and converting certain special commands into Reaction commands, two new abilities (EXP Zero and Combo Master) and an orchestrated soundtrack. This version was then ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and later the UsefulNotes/XboxOne as part of the ''HD I.5+II.5 [=ReMIX=]'' compilation with all of the aforementioned enhancements from the [=PS3=] version as well as the addition of a Cutscene Theater Mode (as optional free [=DLC=]) and increasing the in-game framerate from 30 to 60fps. That compilation, alongside ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Kingdom Hearts HD II.8: Final Chapter Prologue]]'', ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII + Re Mind'', and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory'', arrived on Windows PC via the UsefulNotes/EpicGamesStore on March 30, 2021.

* StormingTheCastle: Sora and company's only goal in Hollow Bastion is to inavde the castle to defeat Maleficent once and for all.

** This is the only game (along with the original ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'') where Creator/HaleyJoelOsment's voice as Sora is pre-pubescent, as he was 14 (Sora's age) at the time of recording. While most later games depicted Sora as slightly older and [[VocalEvolution Osment's voice deepened to go with it]], others depict Sora as his ''Kingdom Hearts'' self and he's nonetheless stuck with the same deeper voice codified by ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', resulting in VocalDissonance.

-->''When you walk away\\

It's hard to let it go...''

* ForWantOfANail: [[spoiler:Kerchak lives both because the Heartless got to Clayton first, and because Sora confronts him right before he can pull the trigger.]]

** The ''Final Mix'' version, which is only released in Japan. It has all of the RegionalBonus from the international versions and adds a slew of new content, including: a {{Superboss}} (the Unknown), 11 Heartless varieties, 4 palette swapped bosses for the Coliseum Cups, 2 weapons for Sora, Donald, and Goofy each, 11 abilities, 15 accessories, 6 cutscenes, 3 more Ansem Reports (11-13), more Gummi Ship missions, a Beginner difficulty level, and a new secret ending. All existing Heartless varieties are recolored, cutscenes can be skipped after you already saw them once, and the infamous fixed camera is made movable. The game uses English voice acting with Japanese subtitles, so content featuring speaking parts are either voiceless or use archived footage.

* ThreeAmigos: [[TheHero Sora]], [[TheLancer Riku]], and [[TheHeart Kairi]].

** The three questions Wakka, Selphie and Tidus give effect the speed you level up; the game implies the questions have an effect but never says what.

* In most ''Kingdom Hearts'' games (except ''Chain of Memories'' and ''coded''), the journal entry for a character not original to the series will include the work and sometimes year they debuted in (or the work that particular incarnation of the character debuted in, like the Gullwings in ''II'' coming from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' despite two of their members originating from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''). In this game, said character’s debut is mentioned at the end of their journal entry, with Jiminy writing a fourth-wall breaking sentence to describe the debuts of the Disney characters[[labelnote:e.g.]]Ariel’s profile ends with "Her voice enchanted us in ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''," and Jiminy writes "Look for me in ''WesternAnimation/Pinocchio1940''," about himself.[[/labelnote]] while the ''Final Fantasy'' characters only have the title and year. Subsequent games would put the debut work at the beginning of the journal entries and do away with the short sentence descriptions of Disney character appearances.

* In most ''Kingdom Hearts'' games (except ''Chain of Memories'' and ''coded''), the journal entry for a character not original to the series will include the work and sometimes year they debuted in (or the work that particular incarnation of the character debuted in, like the Gullwings in ''II'' coming from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'' despite two of their members originating from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''). In this game, said character’s debut is mentioned at the end of their journal entry, with Jiminy writing a fourth-wall breaking sentence to describe the debuts of the Disney characters while the ''Final Fantasy'' characters only have the title and year. Subsequent games would put the debut work at the beginning of the journal entries and do away with the short sentence descriptions of Disney character appearances.

* RespawningEnemies: The Heartless. They attack like piranha and they're ''everywhere.''

* ShiftingSandLand: Agrabah (''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'').

* StormingTheCastle: Sora and company do this at Hollow Bastion.

** Sora, Kairi, and Riku.
** A minor one is Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka.

* UnderTheSea: Atlantica (''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', [[TropeNamer naturally]]).

** When Sora first confronts Riku in Hollow Bastion.
-->'''Riku''': But it all ends here. [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne There can’t be two Keyblade masters]].
-->'''Sora''': What are you talking about?
-->'''Riku''': Let the Keyblade choose...[[TheChosenOne its true master]].