Opinion: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here's What I Liked and What I Didn't 4

It's difficult to pinpoint the precise reason why I thought it would be a good idea to play Kingdom Hearts.

Generally speaking, I've always found it hard to engage with RPGs, which I tend to put down to how long they take to play, and their often complex fantasy worlds that, to my mind, are quite cookie-cutter.

That's how it feels from the outside looking in, at least. There's a reason people were laughing about The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales and its setting of Philabieldia.

Anyway, RPGs are tough for me. They really need to hook me in somehow. I feel like my attitude towards them is slowly changing, however.

I reviewed Sea of Stars, mostly because of how much I loved the studio's previous game, The Messenger. I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it, despite it being fairly long and bearing a lot of the genre hallmarks that usually put me off.

When Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was suddenly getting rave reviews, I looked into it properly, having previously written it off, and I took a risk on it. Again, I really didn't expect to enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did; it's easily one of my top games of 2025.

Opinion: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here's What I Liked and What I Didn't 2

To get back to Kingdom Hearts, it struck me very suddenly, somewhere between Christmas and New Year. I grew up on classic animated Disney films, and still enjoy them now; surely it's worth a pop.

Well.

I bought Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix in the January sale, and have now played and finished the original game.

I don't really know where to begin; there are so many things to unpack, both positive and negative. Overall, I had a blast, but let's go through the highlights and lowlights.

Highlight: All the Disney stuff

This is ultimately what carried me through. Like for many people, Disney movies were a massive part of my childhood, especially the animated ones. Spending time with characters from Aladdin, Peter Pan, and The Sword in the Stone felt so novel and nostalgic.

I might not have played Kingdom Hearts before, but I've watched a majority of Disney's animated films over and over again. Being reintroduced to some of those worlds and characters in a new context was wonderful, and I imagine it's a huge part of the game's appeal for many.

Lowlight: The Gummi Ship segments

I still don't fully understand the Gummi Ship sequences, or more accurately, what they add to the overall game.

I barely touched the customisation stuff, only slapping on some more armour and better weapons as I got towards the end. Once I unlocked the Warp Drive, I only ever did those Gummi segments when I absolutely had to.

They just felt so slow and repetitive and inconsequential. In my view, you could cut the Gummi Ship stuff completely and you'd lose no value from the game.

Obviously I understand its role in the story, but the shoot-'em-up gameplay bits were complete fluff.

Opinion: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here's What I Liked and What I Didn't 1

Highlight: It's quite easy breezy

One of the big turn-offs for me with RPGs is how long they tend to be. Fortunately, Kingdom Hearts is a (relatively) short game that keeps things moving along at a decent pace.

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.

There isn't a crazy amount of equipment, and it's very easy to understand what each item does and what'll benefit the party the most. I also really appreciated the linear structure; I was never really left guessing where to go next.

Lowlight: Ursula

When I think back on the parts of Kingdom Hearts I dislike most, one boss fight sticks out in my mind as the biggest pain in the neck, and it was undoubtedly fighting Ursula.

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

To be honest I probably liked the Little Mermaid world the least; it felt a bit of a maze, and the changes to the controls to accommodate moving up and down in the water made the game feel far worse to handle.

This Ursula fight was tricky for that reason, but some of her attacks were nonsense. I actually looked up how best to go about the boss fight because I was getting close but losing in the later phase. What a relief when it was finally done.

Opinion: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here's What I Liked and What I Didn't 3

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.

However, the main reason I loved these guys is because they have two of the silliest, most distinctive voices in cartoons, and here's a game that forces them to say quite serious, earnest things about saving Kairi and staying true to yourself and fighting back the darkness.

It made me laugh many times.

Lowlight: I'm invested and I'm scared

What's always scared me away from Kingdom Hearts is all the talk about its convoluted story. If we're talking purely about the original game, I don't think it has that issue, but I can definitely see how it sets things up to go that way.

As I look at the other titles in the collection, I worry that I've become invested in what I think might be the messiest series in video games.

There are a billion Kingdom Hearts games, and they're all quite different from one another, and they don't follow a linear story progression at all. The collection I bought doesn't cover the whole saga; if I want to live the whole experience, I need to buy 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and, of course, Kingdom Hearts 3.

The original game's story is kind of all over the place but you can follow it; I'm not excited about later games being even more all over the place and not being able to follow it anymore.

Opinion: I Played Kingdom Hearts for the Very First Time, Here's What I Liked and What I Didn't 5

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.

That's pretty much it. I think Kingdom Hearts has some rough edges, but it's also a very charming, silly, and in some ways straightforward game that really won me over.

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