You’ve seen me cry about
E3. You’ve seen me moan about
Prometheus. You’ve endured my constant
peddling of an over-the-top love comedy without complaint. And now, finally, the Kingdom Hearts
Retrospective returns with a vengeance -- a vengeance so vengeful, you’ll want
to avenge the vengeance. Vengefully.
I know I’ve made this
fairly clear already, but just in case anyone needs to hear it directly, I’ll
say it now. Not only do I like Kingdom Hearts 1, but I prefer it over
its mechanically-superior sequel Kingdom
Hearts 2. Why? Because KH1
has a better story. Not the most complex
story, mind, and likely not the best story ever told in a video game -- but for
what it was worth, it succeeded. Keeping
in line with its “simple and clean” veneer, it satisfied from start to finish.
But in spite of that “simple and clean”
veneer, it offered its fair share of depth and subtleties. It was -- and is -- a self-contained story
with plenty of themes to explore, unburdened by the need to play its cards
close to the chest for sequels. Whatever
the case, it’s certainly a story that leaves you feeling good, and without any
complexities weighing you down. Makes me
wonder what happened when the sequel came around -- seriously, what the hell
happened, Squeenix? -- but we’ll get there when we get there.
For now, let’s do
something that’s been long overdue.
Let’s talk about Kingdom Hearts 1’s
story.
Story
Let’s get the basics
out of the way. You play as Sora, a
fourteen-year-old kid who hangs with his pals Riku and Kairi on Destiny
Islands. They want to build a raft and
head out to explore the world -- but their childish wish ends up getting
granted in a way none of them expected.
When the Heartless -- beings from the shadows hungry for the souls of
the living -- come a-knocking, the trio gets separated and scattered across the
universe as the islands sink into the shadowy depths. Fortunately, all three of them manage to
survive; while the other two are MIA, Sora teams up with Donald Duck and Goofy
(sent on order of their missing
friend, King Mickey); their mission is to explore the worlds to find their
pals, and use the Keyblade entrusted to Sora to stem the Heartless advance, as
well as cut down the Disney villains as they come and rescue the Princesses of
Heart.
And that’s, for the
most part, all there is to it. Yeah, you
get a fair number of twists and turns and developments, but basically it’s just
an inter-dimensional “save the princess” story.
Given what essence this game tried to evoke, I wouldn’t ask for anything
else. But in the ten or so years since
the game’s release, I’m starting to realize that there are some deeper ideas
and themes inlaid within the story.
So here’s what I’m
going to do. I’ll try and separate the
deeper stuff from the main story, and tackle each idea as best I can. Sometimes it'll be a positive comment. Sometimes my theorizing. Sometimes my nitpicking. Whatever the case, and whatever my interpretations, I think it's important to note that merely having the ability to interpret the story in different ways is a strength -- certainly not something you'd expect from kiddie fare like a half-Disney production. But that's enough of that. Let's get to it.
Who is Sora?
He’s our hero, at a
base level. He’s bright, cheery, a
little dense and naïve at times, but always has his heart (hurr hurr) in the
right place. He’s about what you’d
expect from a JRPG hero, and likewise, what you’d expect from a Disney-styled
hero.
And maybe that’s what
makes him so scary.
Heroes are known for
their fantastic willpower -- their ability to practically bend reality merely
by way of getting psyched up. They’ll
fight their way to the end of the story, and win by virtue of their emerging
power (by resolve or raw strength). But
what happens when that willpower is used against him? What happens when being brave and unflinching
and determined actually end up becoming detrimental?
To KH2’s credit, this idea is made into a central plot point when
Organization XIII uses Sora’s rampant-yet-noble Heartless-slaying to their
advantage. But that same idea emerged
years earlier in KH1 more
subtly. Late in the game, when Sora’s
stripped of his Keyblade and his comrades, he decides to keep on traveling,
partnering up with Beast to infiltrate the baddies’ sanctum. Bear in mind that without the Keyblade, Sora
can’t attack the Heartless (though in a bit of a gameplay oversight, he can
still hurt them with magic). What’s so
special about that, you ask? It’s
because at that moment, you start to realize that Sora and Beast -- the goddamned Beast, of all people --
have a lot in common. They’re both
untrained but ferocious and deadly fighters.
They’re both determined to keep moving forward, even when there’s no
hope of success. They’re both
campaigning to save the Princesses of Heart from their respective worlds…both
of which, mind, are their love interests.
They’ve both traveled a huge distance to reach their loved ones
(especially the Beast, since he didn’t even have a Gummi Ship), and both have
had their worlds swallowed by darkness.
It’s a stark reminder of what Sora COULD be if he devotes himself to
this idea of being a hero -- and given that he’s something of a chosen one,
it’s very possible that we could see him crack before the series’ end. He’s even proven himself to put on a brave
face throughout the story. From an early
scene where Sora puts on a big, goofy grin as a test for powering the Gummi
Ship, all the way to a late-game scene where (after letting a comatose Kairi
slip through his fingers), he remains optimistic and hopes to tell her about
the fun he had flying. Okay, that bit is
up for interpretation, but still…
Probably the biggest
question is why Sora ended up getting the Keyblade. Or, to be more precise…
What if Riku was the hero?
I think it’s a law
somewhere that half of all heroes in fiction have to be good at heart, but
inherently stupid. That’s likely why
Riku, who is supposed to be the
Keyblade wielder, ends up getting shafted.
Apparently, having ambition in the KH
universe automatically makes you evil and prone to corruption by darkness. What a positive life lesson!
I guess Riku’s
cockiness gets the best of him. In the
opening hours of the game, he asserts that he’s not afraid of the darkness, and
is promptly swallowed by it. When we
meet him next, he’s more than capable of handling himself via his
Keybla…actually, no. It’s more of a real
sword, which is an important distinction given that there’s THE Keyblade and no
others. (At least there would be if not
for Squeenix deciding to arse up a good thing…but I digress.) Even though Riku’s something of a douche, I
can’t help but like him as a character; ambitious, intelligent, driven, and far
more aware of his surroundings and circumstances than Sora, when the
silver-haired punk calls Sora out it’s hard to disagree.
Several of Sora’s adventures are only
tangentially related to helping Kairi.
For example, even though he heads to Olympus Coliseum where Disney
villain (and evil alliance member) Hades resides, Sora’s more interested in
proving to a goat-man that he’s a real hero…and then proceeds to smash barrels
for half an hour. Even when Hades goes
on the attack, finishing off the lord of the underworld comes in an optional
event. Compare that to Riku, who goes
right to the damn source to figure out a way to save Kairi -- this, well after
he succeeds in finding her soul-stripped body.
What was Sora doing at the time?
I can only wonder; probably looking for Dalmatians or something.
It’s established that
Riku is the superior of the two and the one originally planned to wield it;
yeah, you could argue that Sora’s got the stronger heart, but given that Riku
is still fighting for a noble cause -- the
same cause as Sora -- should he really be locked out of his fated heroism
just because he used a different means?
Come to think of it, why didn’t the Keyblade immediately come to him when the Heartless attacked the
island? If the object of the game (so to
speak) is to stop the Heartless, wouldn’t the Keyblade want to put itself in
the hands of someone not only destined, but eager to wield power for a good
cause? Wouldn’t all the problems of his
story arc -- and the problems the universe faces -- be relieved if he just held
onto the Keyblade?
I’ll come back to this
later. But for now, I’ll switch gears
and ask a different question:
Why Kairi?
Alternative title:
“Why, Kairi?”
Kairi is…problematic, I
think. In the first part of the game,
she looks primed to be a major part of the cast -- something of a balancing act
between the Sora’s naiveté and Riku’s tunnel-vision. She’s certainly spirited enough, and lends a
charming air to both Destiny Islands and the game as a whole. And then she ends up disappearing and spends
ninety percent of the game in a coma.
And even beyond that, she’s still a damsel in distress that has to be
saved even if she could move under her own power. And even beyond that she’s utterly alone --
without partners like Donald and Goofy, or cohorts like Maleficent -- and
without powers. Sooooo…I guess another
life lesson in the KH universe is to
never be a girl.
That seems kind of odd,
since as I understand it Kairi may be one of the most powerful characters in
the whole series.
In this series, hearts
= power. Stronger hearts = stronger
power. The Princesses of Heart all have
the purest, brightest hearts imaginable (except Alice, who IIRC was kind of
pissy and lazy). Therefore, shouldn’t
Kairi, by virtue of a 100% percent pure heart, have gotten a Keyblade long
before Sora and Riku? It’s demonstrated
that she has some sort of power; I interpret her heart being inside Sora as a
failsafe, a measure taken by Kairi to
save Kairi. And I interpret Sora’s resurrection from
Heartless -- becoming a creature acting solely on instinct, trying to reunite
with Kairi…hmmm -- to human as a result of Kairi’s influence. And in the ending CG cutscene, how the hell
did Kairi suddenly go from Traverse Town to the End of the World? Okay, you could argue that the
world-restructuring temporarily put the two in close contact, bit I like to
think that just as Beast made it to Hollow Bastion on willpower alone, Kairi
could have made it to the abyss with her pure heart. A pure heart, I might add, given an impetus
via her love of Sora.
You could argue that
this was the only way the game could play out if it wanted to keep that Disney
feel. There had to be a princess to
save, and Sora’s tangential relation to the other six would have left the story
weaker overall without a major stake -- i.e. Kairi -- in the matter. It’s a necessary evil for setting the
characters’ journeys and developments into motion. If not for Kairi’s capture, Sora would still
be living in Riku’s shadow, wanting her but remaining powerless. Likewise, Riku wouldn’t have begun his
pure-hearted descent into darkness if it wasn’t for Kairi coming under
fire. I guess that for what it’s worth,
two out of three interesting characters isn’t bad. It’s just a shame that we couldn’t have three.
What are the Heartless?
What, indeed. Let’s have a look at the wiki:
“The Heartless are
physical, living manifestations of the darkness within people's hearts. They
manifest in two forms; ‘Pureblood’ and ‘Emblem’ (Emblem Heartless being created
artificially), and they behave entirely devoid of emotion, hence the name ‘Heartless’.”
Ehhhhhhhhhh…yeah, that
sounds about right. So basically, the
Heartless are the enemies you spend 90% of the game bashing. Some of them look cute and cuddly (in an evil
demon sort of way); others look a lot nastier.
Whatever the case, they’re all after the same thing: hearts. Hearts, of course, is the franchise’s analogy
for souls.
But in spite of that
definition, there’s something about the Heartless that intrigues me. If they’re supposed to be the darkness within
people’s hearts, what does that mean about the darkness itself? If the heart is supposed to be a
conglomeration of light, given strength and form by one’s pure emotions, then
that would make the darkness the negative emotions around said heart. Given that the heartless are animalistic
creatures, that (by proxy) makes the darkness little more than unformed, base
emotions -- the null-space from which rational thought emerges and becomes a
heart. And given that the worlds -- and
the universe itself -- have hearts and darkness, you could argue that darkness
is just a void from which matter (worlds, hearts, what have you) emerges and
takes form. In other words, the natural
state of the universe is chaos, but from within it emerges light -- and with
that light, hearts. Or alternatively,
that chaos can take a semi-living shape and act on those primordial
instincts. That is, it becomes a
Heartless.
…Ancient Greek
metaphysics? In MY Kingdom Hearts? It’s more
likely than you think.
What role do the Disney heroes
play?
What role, indeed. Given that they’re bound to their particular
worlds, their impact on the plot as a whole is debatable. Their events are isolated incidents for the
most part. They don’t have any bombastic
powers; hell, I’m surprised Ariel is even a party member, given how much “help”
she was in The Little Mermaid. Still, they do have at least two important
roles to play.
1) They’re
mentors. Ansem’s words at the start of
the game are important: “One who knows nothing can understand nothing.” Sora doesn’t have much to go by in terms of
power, skill, or intelligence. You could
even make the argument that he’s motivated by jealousy, desire, and that
ever-so-evil ambition at the start of the game.
Basically, he needs to explore the worlds in order to broaden his
horizons -- and who better to show him the way than tried-and-true Disney
heroes? Granted, most of them exist in
some strange alternate continuity where they’re either in the midst of their
movies’ story arc or somewhere beside it (which would make Sora something of an
OC-insert in a fan fiction), but just as they go through their strides, so too
does Sora. With each world comes a
valuable lesson, and with that knowledge comes newfound strength -- and given
the dissection of the universe’s nature from above, committing that knowledge
to the heart is vital in order to avoid become a part of the chaos once more.
2) They exist to build
the bonds of trust. In line with the
series’ Prime Directive, Sora can’t just build an army out of Disney heroes and
go stomping up to the baddies’ doorstep (but man, how sweet would that
be?). So when one baddie’s beaten and
it’s time to head out, Sora has to say farewell to his new comrade…but what
happens when the mission isn’t quite the success they were hoping for? In Aladdin’s case, even though Jafar gets
taken out, Jasmine (as a Princess of Heart) still ends up kidnapped. What then?
Naturally, Sora has to go rescue her, but can you imagine what would be
going through Aladdin’s mind? He’s
supposed to be the hero of the story, but suddenly he’s left powerless and
forced to twiddle his thumbs while a kid does all the work. He’ll just have to make the best of it; he’ll
have to put his faith in Sora, and as a result even with the distance between
them, their bond remains incredibly strong.
One begins to suspect that Sora, as well, is aware of that bond -- and
with it, the burden of fulfilling the promises made to his friends. Seriously, it’s only a matter of time before
this kid cracks.
What about the FF crew?
There’s a pretty
telling scene in KH2 that I’d like to
bring up. Sora and friends are heading
through Hollow Bastion, going about their business and trying to figure out how
to deal with the Heartless and Nobodies.
But then, before you can go any further, you have a cutscene that stops
you in your tracks. Cloud (in his Advent Children outfit, so you KNOW it
must be important) wants to know where Sephiroth is so they can settle the
score. Ignoring the fact that the player
could stamp Seppy out in the previous game -- and that Cloud himself has
stamped him out in both Final Fantasy 7
and Advent Children -- the fact that
we need to completely stop the plot so we can deal with Cloud, who does
jack-all to help the cause besides faffing about and leaning against walls
looking surly, is a slap in the face.
And then you get another slap in the face when, in the middle of a Heartless
onslaught, Sephiroth shows up out of nowhere, spouts some cryptic nonsense at
Cloud, and leaves. Does their debate impact
the plot? Does it affect Sora? Does it lead up to a major shift in the
story? Hell no! It’s just Cloud and Sephiroth going through
the motions.
I wish I could say that
Cloud (and to a lesser extent, Sephiroth) fared a little better in KH1, but in retrospect they’re not much
better off. Cloud gets a new outfit
straight out of Vincent’s closet, and spends his time looking surly and moaning
about darkness and his past failures and looking for his light…and he’s
actually trying to prevent the plot from moving. Sephiroth is just an optional boss. Their saving grace is that the developers had
the sense -- back then, at least -- to keep them out of the way. “Here’s Cloud and Sephiroth, kiddies! Say hello!
Now wave bye-bye!”
I think that’s the best
thing KH1 can do: keep the Final Fantasy characters out of the
way. Regulating them to cameos and
support gives Sora room to breathe and develop.
Even if Squall is technically stronger than Sora is, Sora’s still the
one wielding the Keyblade. It’s his
story. Let a playa play, as they
say. Although…there are some other
niggling issues. If the Keyblade is
supposedly the only weapon that can defeat the Heartless, why do things like
gunblades and ninja stars work on them?
Since it’s implied that the others -- Disney or FF -- are fighting them
off when Sora’s not around, how is it that they can combat them? Is it only Sora that can’t hurt
Heartless? Does the Keyblade project
some kind of aura that lets others attack Heartless? I guess you could argue
that it’s because the FF crew comes from Hollow Bastion and maybe picked
something up from Ansem the Wise, but that’s a tenuous connection at best.
But that’s enough
thinking about that. Let’s move on.
Is technology inherently evil in
the series’ canon?
Rather appropriately, KH1 is decidedly low-tech. Given the worlds that Sora visits -- the most
“modern” of the bunch being Halloween Town -- there’s not much of a showcase
for new machinery throughout the game.
As you’d expect from Disney…barring Tron,
of course.
Actually, scratch
that. KH1 still has Hollow Bastion, a world that fuses the sensibilities
of an evil overlord’s castle with plenty of mechanical bits. Consider it a synthesis of magic and
technology; there are fantastic bits like bubbles and sparks and lights, but
there are also elevators, switches, lifts, pipes, and gears whirring in
place. Also of note: Holly Bastion is
THE hideout of choice for the villains. With
the exception of the Gummi Ship, the good guys don’t use any technology (and
considering that the ships are powered by “smiles” the mechanics are a little
suspect). Meanwhile, the only time a
computer appears in the game is in the last hour or so of the game…and its
owner is none other than big bad Ansem.
That’s pretty damning evidence right there.
It makes me wonder if
there’s a right way to seek knowledge and a wrong way. Ansem tried to use technology to brute-force
his way toward knowing all the world’s secrets, and he ended up turning into an
asshole. Meanwhile, Sora goes on a
magical journey -- slow, but even in pace and naturalistic -- and comes out
both wiser and stronger as a result.
Also note that even though Ansem and the main trio have a similar goal
of using boats to see the world and broaden their horizons, the trio has a
plain-old raft. Ansem, on the other
hand…
Technophobia aside, I
can see why they’d try to put machines in a lesser position. We call it “Disney magic,” not “Disney
mechanics.” Technology is powerful and
vital, but it takes away some of the mystery and whimsy out of our lives. It’d be easy to Google the meaning of life,
but you won’t get the same result unless you go out and learn for
yourself. I guess it’s good to get off
the old laptop every once in a while.
Wait a minute...
…Anyway, let’s move on.
Is the Keyblade alive?
There are a few
throwaway lines in the game about how “the Keyblade chooses its master” and they
should “let the Keyblade decide.” Said
throwaway lines may change the very fabric of the mythos.
If the Keyblade really
is alive, then that means that it enjoys some level of sentience. It also has some control over its actions and
movements; it self-activates to lock keyholes, and moves into the hands of its
master (either Sora or Riku), particularly after a wielder proves himself
worthy. It’s not too far-fetched to
assume that the narration done at the game’s start during Sora’s Dive into the
Heart is actually the then-unrevealed Keyblade speaking to him. If that’s the case, then maybe the reason why
the Keyblade prefers to be in Sora’s hands is because it sees some quality in
him that others lack -- well beyond just having a “pure heart.”
What is the Keyblade,
really? Is it the aggregation of pure
hearts -- the light emerging from the chaotic depths given form? Is it a single heart that transcended its
human form? If it IS alive -- or again,
capable of thought -- then why would it choose not to tell Sora about
incredibly important details (like how Ansem’s behind everything, or even how
to use the Keyblade). It leads me to
believe that even though it’s important to follow the ways of light, being pure
light isn’t exactly the best option. If
we’re still dark -- that is, we still contain formless chaos within our bodies,
then wouldn’t that mean that the darkness isn’t all bad? Maybe the reason the Keyblade chose Sora is
because he is (or has the potential to be) the most balanced of the trio. Kairi’s too pure by way of being a Princess
of Heart, and Riku’s too dark by way of getting his feet wet with the
darkness. Also, the fact that the
Keyblade would purposely screw with its potential wielders suggests that it’s
riding on a pretty high horse.
It’s a concept inlaid
within KH1’s narrative, and explored
a bit more in KH2. Of course, KH2 and BBS had to go and
arse everything up by making Keyblades little more than common swords, so…way
to be, Squeenix.
What the hell is Kingdom Hearts?
“Kingdom Hearts is one
of the major objects in the Kingdom
Hearts universe. It is the heart of all worlds, and a source of great power
and wisdom. It can be seen as the heart of everything. Due to its great
significance, it has repeatedly been sought by the villains of the Kingdom
Hearts series, in particular the series' main antagonist, Xehanort.”
Uh…huh. So essentially, it’s a world…but it’s also
pretty much a library with all the information in the universe. And it can only be accessed through a door to
darkness, and resides solely in darkness.
And…the realm of darkness also has a Keyblade, the counterpart to Sora’s
Keyblade with inverse colors and wielded by King Mickey at game’s end. So…Kingdom Hearts is full of darkness…but is
also light…but is also darkness as well?
Okay. I guess that all these points -- depending on
how you interpret them -- all tie together if you’re willing to make a few
assumptions. One: Kingdom Hearts is
whatever someone with a strong heart wants it to be. Ansem claimed that Kingdom Hearts was filled
with darkness, and for a moment that looked like it was the case; then Sora
comes along, and -- because his heart was stronger -- he willed Kingdom Hearts
to be light, rewarding the strength he’d gained from his journey. Two: Kingdom Hearts is transmutable, but is
highly dependent on its surroundings.
That is, because it’s surrounded by darkness and Heartless, by nature it’s
dark. Think of it -- whatever it is -- as being covered in mud, and
only a strong heart can clean it off and reform it. Alternatively, it takes a strong heart, one
with just the right balance of light and darkness, to bring form to the
formless chaos. In doing so, one can
obtain the true answers -- that is, one of those “It was inside you all along”
moments. Given that Kairi’s heart was
chilling out inside Sora for most of the game, it’s not TOO far-fetched. Or as an alternative to that, perhaps Sora
himself is Kingdom Hearts. Or at the
very least, the container of Kingdom Hearts.
…I’m starting to wonder
if this franchise’s cosmology is kind of bullshit.
Final Thoughts
Kingdom Hearts 1 doesn’t make any sense.
Nobody bats an eye when
a talking duck and a talking dog -- both of which are several times their usual
size -- strut through the worlds. The
main character, beyond having ridiculous hair and elephant-sized feet, swings
around a giant key (ignoring the fact that he was very nearly a lion-boy with a chainsaw).You have spaceships powered by smiles and happiness, and somehow
maintained by chipmunks who aren’t even big enough to lift a wrench…and if the
villains can use darkness to teleport at will, you’d think that the heroes
could use light -- and the very embodiment of divine destiny, the Keyblade --
to move at their leisure. The heroes’
Prime Directive tells them not to meddle in other worlds’ affairs, and then
they do the exact opposite in every world
they visit. And of course, it
features Disney and Final Fantasy
characters largely coexisting.
Kingdom Hearts 1 had no reason to be as successful as it was. But somehow, it managed to exceed everyone’s
expectations; snappy gameplay, a satisfying story, and varied worlds to explore
helped spark a new franchise. More
importantly, it shut up every last one of the haters. “It can never work!” they said. “What were they smoking?” they asked. But whatever they were on, it worked wonders.
I’d argue that KH is an example that, even though
certain sensibilities might be different, Eastern and Western media and
storytelling and traditions aren’t entirely dissimilar. We all know that Final Fantasy and JRPGs like it are weird, but that’s only because
we’re outsiders looking in. Have you
ever put any thought into how absurd Disney can be? Jamaican crabs! Cheerleading genies! Ducks that refuse to wear pants! In fact, I think that the two brands have a
mutual weirdness that makes them MORE compatible with each other. Granted, that balance needs to be maintained
very carefully (or you get KH2), but
the fact remains that the series has the potential to bridge cultural
gaps. It’s not a matter of “He’s got
crazy hair, so it’s weird” or “That mouse isn’t wearing a shirt, it’s weird”;
by embracing that weirdness and connecting with others, you get a product that
delights in the best of both worlds.
I will admit that the
balance I mentioned is debatable; the FF
characters don’t have too big of an impact on the plot at large, so you could
argue that KH1 is too
Disney-heavy. But then again, is that
such a bad thing? KH1 manages to not only maintain, but successfully sell its
whimsical spirit. It pretty much nails
that Disney style that appeals, no matter what your age -- whether you’re a kid
just looking to taste the magic, or an adult charmed and reminded of simpler
times. Was it a perfect game? Nope.
Was it the ultimate be-all and end-all of artistic expression and
cross-cultural synergy? Nope. But for what it’s worth, Kingdom Hearts 1 is a damn fine game, and worthy of being the game
that started a revolution. There’s a
reason why people eagerly await Kingdom
Hearts 3; even the most jaded gamer
is lying in wait, ready to see the next magical adventure.
So, bottom line? Thanks for the memories, KH1. You’ve done well.
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