Kingdom Hearts (キングダム ハーツ Kingudamu Hātsu) is a series of action-adventurerole-playing games developed and published by Square Enix. It is a collaboration between Square Enix and Disney Interactive Studios, and is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, a longtime Square Enix character designer. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disneysettings based in a universe made specifically for the series. The series features an all-starvoice cast, which includes many of the Disney characters' official voice actors and well-known celebrities such as Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, Jesse McCartney, Hayden Panettiere, Mark Hamill, Christopher Lee and Leonard Nimoy. Characters from Square Enix'sFinal Fantasy series make appearances and interact with the player and the Disney characters. The series centers around the main character Sora's search for his friends and his encounters with Disney and Final Fantasy characters on their worlds, though the most recent games have centered around other characters.
The series currently consists of seven games including remakes across different video game platforms, and future titles are planned. Most of the games in the series have been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, though each title has seen varying levels of success. As of September 2008, the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over 12 million copies worldwide, with 2 million copies in PAL regions, 3.0 million copies in Japan, and 5.6 million copies in North America.A wide variety of related merchandise has been released along with the games, including soundtracks, figurines, and companion books. Also, there is a novel series in manga style.
Current titles
Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series, and was released on March 28, 2002 This was Nomura's first time in a directorial position. Kingdom Hearts introduced the main characters for the series and established the plot's framework involving hearts and the dark beings known as the Heartless. It also established the role of Disney characters in the series, with character cameos from the Final Fantasyseries. Kingdom Hearts was released in North America on September 17, 2002,and featured additional content that was not in the original Japanese version. The game was later re-released exclusively in Japan as Kingdom Hearts Final Mix on December 26, 2002.Final Mix includes the content from the North American release and additional enemies, cut scenes, and weapons.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is considered the second game in the series. It was released on theGame Boy Advance in Japan on November 11, 2004 and in North America on December 7, 2004.Chain of Memories was touted as a bridge between the two PlayStation 2 titles, introducing and previewing plot elements that would be explored in the next game.The gameplay is based on a card system; player-composed decks of cards, with each card allowing the player to perform an action in battle, such as attacking or using magic. It was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29, 2007. The remake was released as a standalone title in North America on December 2, 2008.
Future Titles
Two new Kingdom Hearts games are in development: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and Kingdom Hearts 3D. Kingdom Hearts IIIis currently in the conceptual stages and has yet to have an official announcement.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix is an international version of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for the PlayStation Portable. It was announced in an issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in September, 2010, one week after the original game's release in North America and Europe, despite Tetsuya Nomura's previous claims that a remake of Birth by Sleep was not in the works,and it is known that it will have all the additional features from the North American and European versions as well as new content. It is set for release in Japan on January 20, 2011.
Kingdom Hearts 3D for the Nintendo 3DS is the working title of the seventh installment of the series and the next major installment afterKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. "3D" is a short form for the subtitle of the game which has not been revealed. The game will focus on Sora and Riku Nomura has previously stated that the game would be connected to 358/2 Days, coded and Birth by Sleep, and would be more of a main game than a spin-off or sidestory.The game was teased in a secret movie, titled Blank Points, shown as the secret ending toBirth by Sleep, the secret movie of Re:Coded and will be teased in Birth by Sleep Final Mix.
Kingdom Hearts III: In an interview with Tetsuya Nomura, he stated that his team is currently too busy with other projects to work on Kingdom Hearts III. He also stated that his team was doing research concerning the high-definition graphics of the game, and that depending on the technical limitations of the next generation consoles, Kingdom Hearts III may see a release on the existing platforms.
