Feature: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here’s What I Liked and What I Didn’t

I’m not really sure what made me think playing Kingdom Hearts was a good idea.

I’ve never really gotten into RPGs. I think it’s mostly because they take so much time to play, and their fantasy settings often feel pretty predictable and unoriginal.

Honestly, from what I could tell as a viewer, a lot of people were making fun of “The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales,” and especially its world, Philabieldia. It just didn’t seem to click with audiences, at least initially.

I generally find role-playing games difficult to get into; they really need to grab my attention right away. But I think my feelings about them are starting to shift.

I played Sea of Stars because I was a big fan of the developers’ last game, The Messenger. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it, even though it’s a lengthy game and includes many familiar elements from the genre that I typically don’t enjoy.

I totally slept on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at first, but after seeing all the amazing reviews, I decided to give it a shot. Honestly, I was blown away! I really didn’t think I’d love it as much as I did, and it’s easily become one of my favorite games of 2025.

I had a sudden urge to replay Kingdom Hearts around the holidays. Having loved classic Disney animated movies as a kid – and still enjoying them today – I figured it would be fun to give it another try.

Well.

I picked up Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix during the January sale and recently completed the first game in the collection.

It’s hard to know where to start – there’s a lot to talk about, good and bad. I really enjoyed myself overall, so let’s break down the best and worst parts.

Highlight: All the Disney stuff

Looking back, Disney movies really helped me get through tough times. Like a lot of people, I grew up watching them, and the animated films were especially important to me. I have fond memories of getting lost in the worlds of movies like Aladdin, Peter Pan, and The Sword in the Stone – they felt both new and comforting.

Although I hadn’t played Kingdom Hearts before, I’ve seen most of Disney’s animated movies countless times. It was really enjoyable to revisit those familiar worlds and characters in a new way, and I can see why that’s a big draw for so many players.

Lowlight: The Gummi Ship segments

I’m still a little unclear on the purpose of the Gummi Ship sections, or what they contribute to the game as a whole.

I didn’t really spend much time customizing things, mostly just adding better armor and weapons as I neared the end of the game. After getting the Warp Drive, I only did those Gummi Ship sections when I had no other choice.

Those sections just felt sluggish, boring, and didn’t really matter to the overall game. Honestly, I think you could remove the whole Gummi Ship part without impacting the experience at all.

I get why it’s included in the story, but the action sequences felt unnecessary and didn’t add much.

Highlight: It’s quite easy breezy

I often find RPGs are too long, which can be discouraging. Luckily, Kingdom Hearts is a fairly short game and doesn’t drag on, making for a good experience.

I finished it in about 30, 35 hours, and felt very satisfied with that.

Moreover, it’s a pretty simplistic game to play, and I mean that as a compliment.

The game doesn’t overwhelm you with complicated gear, and it’s clear how each item helps your team. Plus, I liked that the story flowed in a straightforward way – I always knew where to go and what to do next.

Lowlight: Ursula

Looking back at Kingdom Hearts, there’s one boss battle that really frustrated me – it was definitely fighting Ursula. Seriously, she was the worst!

In particular, the latter fight, where she becomes giant.

I didn’t enjoy the Little Mermaid level as much as the others. It felt confusing to navigate, and the altered controls for swimming made it frustrating to play.

The Ursula battle was challenging, and some of her moves didn’t make much sense. I had to search online for a strategy because I kept getting stuck near the end. It was such a relief to finally beat her!

Highlight: Hearing Goofy and Donald say quite serious things with their ridiculous voices

I got a big kick out of Goofy and Donald being your constant companions throughout Kingdom Hearts.

If anything, I’ve grown to like them even more because of this game.

What I really loved about these characters was their incredibly unique and funny voices. It’s hilarious to hear them delivering serious lines about important themes like saving a friend, being yourself, and overcoming evil.

It made me laugh many times.

Lowlight: I’m invested and I’m scared

I’ve always been hesitant to get into Kingdom Hearts because people say the story is really confusing. The first game itself isn’t too bad, but it’s clear it lays the groundwork for things to get much more complicated later on.

Looking at the other games in the series, I’m starting to think I’ve gotten too involved with what might be the most confusing and frustrating one.

The Kingdom Hearts series has a lot of games, and they each play differently with storylines that jump around quite a bit. This collection I got doesn’t include everything – to experience the complete story, I’ll also need to get 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and Kingdom Hearts 3.

Okay, so the story in the first game was a little messy, but you could still generally understand what was happening. Honestly, I’m really worried that the newer games are going to be even more confusing and lose me completely. I just want a story I can actually follow!

A few other things to mention

Here are some other little things that didn’t quite fit into the highlights and lowlights.

I was actually under the false impression the combat of Kingdom Hearts was turn-based, so I was quite surprised when it turned out to be real-time, albeit with a command menu. The more you know.
I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that most of the characters in the game have their original voices; I was expecting mostly soundalikes.
I really enjoyed how different and how peaceful the Hundred Acre Wood world is. I love that you have to find the pages, and that they introduce new little areas and cute stories when you return to the book.
Riku being tempted by the darkness and manipulated by the villains is so unbelievably predictable I found it comical.

Overall, Kingdom Hearts isn’t perfect, but its charm, humor, and simple approach really appealed to me.

What are your thoughts on the original Kingdom Hearts? Tell us in the comments section below.

2026-04-06 14:39