WHY I LOVE KINGDOM HEARTS

There’s so many reasons why Kingdom Hearts means the world to me and has become one of my biggest special interests. My first introduction to the series was actually through the original DS version of 358/2 Days. I know, crazy point to jump into the series, I was BEYOND lost. But from what I could gather from the story I was so intrigued! I truly felt like Roxas was during that game, out of the loop and lost on what was happening in the outside world (or in this case the greater plot). From there I ended up exploring the rest of the series and here I am, absolutely obsessed.

One reason I love it is its story, it's what has kept me coming back to Kingdom Hearts all these years. I like to call it the “Homestuck of Games” because of how crazy and complex its lore can get. Some people hate that but I really love when stories are like that since it gives me more to explore, piece together, and dig through endlessly. I love how the series doesn’t shy away from exploring darker themes within its story too (I’m looking at you Union X). It’s batshit insane and I love it so much.

I love the characters too, I really don’t think there’s a character at all that I hate in this series. My top favorites would be Axel, Riku, Roxas, and Sora! Axel’s my top comfort character of all time, he’s gotten me through so much and I would love for him to be my parent. Roxas I relate to a lot and I really loved his backstory in the Organization and with Axel and Xion. Speaking of them, I love the Sea Salt Trio in general as a whole. They hold such a special place in my heart (probably cuz of 358/2 Days) and are my favorite trio out of all of them. Sora’s just an amazing protagonist, he’s silly, he’s dumb, he’s adorable, and he’s a badass when he needs to be. And Riku is a whole other thing.

I relate to Riku IMMENSELY, and I understand his struggles having to battle and come to terms with your own “Darkness”. I won’t write too much about it here since there’s gonna be a whole page dedicated to it and Soriku but, Riku to me is VERY CLEARLY written to be gay. Viewing his story through a queer lens, of trying to deny who you are for so long, of viewing yourself as a monster, of how long and hard the journey is to accept who you are, it really impacted me a lot. It can also be read as Riku dealing with trauma and guilt as well, another thing I really relate a lot to with his character. Riku has helped me learn to love and accept parts of myself I never did before, to realize my own “Darkness” is not a bad thing. It’s who I am, and I shouldn’t deny it. It’s also why Soriku as a ship in general means so much to me. They’re my number one favorite fictional couple ever.

Kingdom Hearts as a whole has so many powerful themes within its story that have helped me in ways like that. Like, Coded/Re:Coded really represents repressed trauma so well, and how if you don’t address those feelings and memories inside you they’ll continue to grow and get worse and you won’t be prepared for the hurt that the future will bring. Even Sora admitted in the game how he’s basically a sponge and absorbs other people’s negative emotions, showcasing how even our happy protagonist has really unhealthy ways of dealing with stuff like this. That game was pretty unpopular but it holds such a special place in my heart and god I will cry everytime I replay it. It’s also really helped me come to terms with a lot of my trauma I put aside.

Another big reason I love Kingdom Hearts is its soundtrack. I think it has one of the best video game OSTs ever, it's definitely on my top 5. Might even be my top 1. Yoko Shimomura did such masterpieces for these games. And Utada Hikaru has made unforgettable theme songs and ending themes for them. KH also helped me get introduced to Utada’s music in general outside of KH! My top favorite 5 songs from the games would have to be “Traverse Town”, “Traverse in Trance”, “Cavern of Remembrance”, the KH3 version of “Cavern of Remembrance”, and “Sacred Moon”. In terms of the opening/ending themes “Sanctuary” and “Don’t Think Twice” are my favorites.

I also just have a really big special interest in Disney, so this really adds to it too. I know some Kingdom Hearts fans out there are only really here for the non-Disney stuff but I really appreciate the Disney side to KH. I get to explore and interact with all my favorite Disney media! It’s also really cool seeing how the Disney worlds tend to parallel or foreshadow events happening within the main story. Kingdom Hearts also likes to include more underrated Disney media within it too so it also helped expose me to things I had never checked out before.

I could go on about even more stuff I love about KH like its worlds, its mechanics, the voice actors, my favorite games, etc. but I feel like I’ve written enough. I love so much about this series and I’m so glad to have discovered it. Thank you Square Enix, Nomura, and everyone else who has worked on these games for creating an amazing story ♡