Why Kingdom Hearts Matters

I remember, back when KH3 came out, my girlfriend at the time was baffled that I took scheduled time off of work for the first time to power through the story in three days. And all I could tell her was "they were my childhood friends".

I remember going over to my friend’s house after school. Meeting his grandfather, a coin collector, and then after an hour of talking with him about coins, I went up to play Kingdom Hearts. I still collect coins, I still play Kingdom Hearts. I begged my parents to buy me a ps2 and they did, when Kingdom Hearts II came out I couldn’t beat Demyx in Hollow Bastion, my friend did. I still have that save data. I played all other games, hearing rumors of a final mix version, not knowing what it was. After years I went to the same GameStop to pick up Kingdom Hearts III. I saw friends that night who I hadn’t seen in 7 years we picked up where we left off. I put in Kingdom Hearts III in my PS4 and I cried. I spent the weekend playing it. I was alone in my house, which hardly ever happens. I beat the game. I thought I would be ok, but the second Don’t Think Twice started playing I fell to my knees and cried. It was something I didn’t know I needed, a moment of intimacy just me and a cathartic experience with a game I loved.

Opening essay made me tear up, so many memories attached to this and this hit way to close to home.

I love the subversion of the chosen one trope the first game has. It's something I don't often see in media. One of my favorite lines from the series comes from Dream Drop Distance where Sora is being plagued by the villains telling him he was never supposed to be a hero the keyblade never chose him and he simply responds with "I know it didn't choose me. But I'm glad to play a small part in something much bigger!"

I got Kingdom Hearts in October 2002. I was 8 years old. We had just moved into a new house after my parents had reunited from a nasty divorce. My dad and I went to Best Buy one night to look for a new microwave and he ended up letting me get this game that I’d been wanting for months. I’d seen every commercial for it on Disney channel and I was SO excited to finally be holding it in my hands. I had hardly any furniture in my room at the time - just my bed and my TV on the floor. I ran inside, overwhelmingly excited, turned on my PS2 and saw what was the most beautiful opening to any game or movie I’d ever seen before. Simple and Clean filled me with these big, huge, unexplainable feelings that still stick with me to this day. My friend Sarah (who was 3 years older than me) started playing it every weekend with me when she would come over. Like your older sister - she was much better at it than I was and I loved watching her play because of it. My room felt like its own little world when it was just the two of us on the edge of my bed flying through Neverland until 1 in the morning. After a long winter and my ninth birthday had passed, my parents were back to fighting. Big fights that no 9 year old should be subjected to. My mom would leave for days on end without saying why. My dad’s work would force him to go out of town on a weekly basis. It was just me and a fridge full of frozen dinners to tide me over until one of my parents came back. I was an only child doing the very best I could to keep myself afloat. Things were dark to say the least and I was having to grow up at an alarming rate. But the one, single thing that kept my inner child alive during this time was this silly little RPG that I loved so much. Even in an empty house on those nights when I really didn’t want to be alone, I still had Sora and Neverland. I still had those weekends with Sarah to look forward to. Things were far from ideal but I mean it wholeheartedly when I say this game saved me. It was my biggest source of comfort during some of the hardest times and I’ll always be so thankful I had it. Somehow, I’m turning 29 this year and I’m still getting to watch new trailers come out for it. It’s followed me for almost my entire life and I still very much feel like that weird 8 year old girl jumping up and down at Best Buy when I see those trailers. We might have had different experiences but the intro to this video hit me like a ton of bricks because I completely understand that nostalgia you described. Every word you said was so true. I recently got a Kingdom Key tattoo as a tribute to the spikey-haired boy who made me laugh when I didn’t think I could. This game will always mean so much to me and I’m so glad that it’s had the same lasting impact on others. This video was wonderful to watch 🤍

These games helped me through my depression (clinical) and PTSD from almost dying in 4th grade. I was always had existential dread after that. And I remember my older cousin finishing KH1, and I cried along with everyone in my family watching the ending, I had played KH2 and Days and I remember when Xion was forgotten and didn’t exist anymore. I felt so seen but I still felt like I was destined to be forgotten and to be eventually forgotten by everyone. I remember watching Playthroughs of KH3 and when Xion was starting to be remembered by Axel, and when she came back. BROOOOO I legit cried. So hard. Because I was at a time in my life where I genuinely believed I wouldn’t be forgotten and that I DO exist and that I have family and friends that genuinely care and love me. Took months of intense therapy to get there but man. Having Xion come back was like this wound in my heart automatically stopped hurting and helped me heal even more. Sounds like a lot but I freakin love this series man…

As someone who grew up hiding under the protection of my imagination, the Kingdom Heart series defined my childhood. Two decades later, I'm a mom, I've lost people I loved, and yet I still revert to Kingdom Hearts as an emotional sanctuary. There, I am safe, I am worry-free - I am back to being the 13 year old child hiding in her room playing a game. Thank you for this video. It captures a lot of how I feel about the series. It's irrational, but that's OK. And I am glad that many others also shared this beautiful attachment to something that isn't just a game - it is a story, a place, a time, a life.

Always love these kinds of long nostalgia filled videos

I clicked on this video to fall asleep to; I didn’t expect to start crying. My mind is swarmed with the realization I wasn’t the only one who thought of this game as a sort of “way point for memories.” That’s such a good way to put it. One of many. I can’t believe there are people who understand? Just. This world is so big. I was always so isolated. But it feels good to know I wasn’t actually alone, at least in some ways.

If my friend at the time hadn’t brought this game over and played it on my TV, I never would have played it myself, and I shudder to think how different I would be because of that. I even used Hayner’s line about “it’s not about how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other” at my grandfather’s funeral.

I got into kingdom hearts through 358/2 days. It hit me when I was 7 and going through a ton of trauma. I connected with roxas when he laughed and ate ice cream after having to be told what a friend was or even at the conclusion of the game. I felt like that game was made for me. It took me five years to beat but I can still remember bawling my eyes out as a 12 year old when I could see the trajectory of the story in those final 7 days. In so many ways kingdom hearts has shaped me, even into my adult life and how I treat others.

I def cried. My sister was 2 years older than me, I was 6 and it was brand new. Only brand new game I ever got when I was younger come to think of it. I was making a big deal out of it I was probably gonna find a way to buy it myself. Believe it or not though, I was beating bosses for my older sister so she could progress the story lol. My sister is gone now. I miss her dearly. My memories of our childhood makes me sob but this was bittersweet and made me smile quite a lot. I really wanted to thank you for this. It has meant a lot to me.

There's a third option to Donald's line about happy faces: Donald genuinely doesn't want Sora to be overcome with grief. Not only would that be bad for Donald and Goofy and their goals; it would hinder Sora's ability to pursue his own dreams and goals.

Sora is my role model because of how wonderful of a person he is. He's always optimistic but logical about it. He has hope for the future even if it is a challenge. He's willing to go through so much pain and tragedy, even willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Kingdom Hearts in a way molded me when I didn't have any self identity at young age. It made me who I am today and all the lessons it taught me I still live by.

5 minutes in and I can already relate with you nearly 100%. This series has played the biggest part in my imagination and childhood happiness. So happy to hear others feel the same way.

I’ve only begun to watch, but your opening narration genuinely brought tears of joy to my eyes.

that opening monologue made me cry genuine tears. for some reason it made me face the fact that I'm an adult now and I won't ever have fun like I did when I was a kid playing this game.

This series is easily the most important cornerstone in my hill of scattered memories. I was too young to have experienced the first game through my own merit, and my family was broke so we didn’t get a gaming system until we got a Wii. I come from a broken home, and never really had a strong relationship with my father, and with him living on the other side of the country it wasn’t something that was easily worked on. One year however, me and my younger brother were surprised with a trip to go visit our dad. I don’t remember much from this trip but there is one thing my lil 10 year old ass would never forget. We were visiting one of our uncles and his son had this really cool sword that looked like a big ass key. He told me it was his keyblade, and said he wanted to show me a video. At this time kh2 had probably been out 5 years, and so he loaded up this video on YouTube called “Roxas doesn’t like waffles” in which Roxas beats the fuck out of the computer in simulated twilight town because it was playing the do you like waffles song. The design of the character was so interrupted to me, and for hours after this he explained to me the story of Kingdom hearts. Later on that day we went to the pool and pretended we were keyblade wielders. As soon as I got home I begged and begged for a ps3, but without my knowledge we had had a ps2 in the garage from my moms last relationship. In that box with that console was a copy of the first Kindgom Hearts. It was magical, as if my hopes and dreams had manifested themselves before me. I played the fuck out of that game. Then I played the second one, and by the time I was 11 I had played every game that had come out with DDD being the first entry that I got to play on launch. For a while after DDD though I mainly interacted with these games through videos and fan theories patiently awaiting the 3rd main line entry, but with no one to share my love for the game with I resigned it to this secret part of me. That was of course until I entered high school. Going into high school I was pretty insufferable, typical class clown “gifted” burnout type. I had decided to take French as my language class, assuming that much like it’d been in the past I’d probably be one of if not the only black kid in my class. As people came in at first I was correct. Until something crazy happened. Now I myself am a very tall guy, but entering the room was another black dude of equal if not taller height, and even worse. He. Was. Funny. It was like an assault on my pride I tell you, for about 4 weeks of class me and this guy loathed each other, always attempting to one up each other, but occasionally seeing the beauty in our humor as a unit. Well one fateful day during this class, we were put into groups. My group was of course with my new found rival, or so I thought as this interaction would change my life forever. I sat down next to him and sat my phone face down on the table, out of the blue I hear this dude who up until now I’ve had no real reason to be friendly with asks me “YOOOOOOO IS THAT A SORA PHONE CASE” and indeed it was. I just remember being as awe struck as I was when I’d first discovered the series. That same very day as soon as school was over me and this dude who up until this day had been someone I disliked went to his house, and in a chair entirely too small for the size of us 2 we sat and we played through the entirety of the first game. That guy is my best friend to this day, and all because we shared the love for a dumb ass game about friendship and the fragility of childhood. It’s more than just a game though, it’s a story. One that reaches far wider than its source material, as every connection that’s been made because of this game is the story of kingdom hearts. It is a story of shared experiences, and one that’d I’d give anything to experience for the first time again. I love these games, I love these characters but more than anything I love the impact that this series, this idea has had on my life. Thank you Nomura, no matter how crazy your stories may be you’ve done something that is literally my dream. You allowed kids to dream, to question, to grow. I hope that someday I can write something that does half of what you’ve done for me, that I can give some form of hope to the next generation of dreamers.

I share every nostalgiac sentiment with you. While for me it wasn't Apple Cider, or an older sister... the significance of these memories is the same. Kingdom Hearts is intrinsically tied to my history as a person. Kingdom Hearts is such a pillar of my formative years that I will think of it on my death bed. Theres almost no point in objectivity when it comes to this series for me for that reason. I just don't care about it as a 'product' Its easy to find videos laughing at Kingdom Hearts, and its also easy to find long-form videos praising it. But to find one that feels so much like it came from my own mind as you discuss mortality and existentialism was a real treat. Thank you for this video.

Nice video. I played Kingdom Hearts the Christmas it came out and am now 34 years old and have a 5 year old son. He and I have been playing the series together since last year, and just finished Birth by Sleep last weekend. I never played Kingdom Hearts 3 because I didn't have a playstation when it came out. I will be playing it with my son soon. It's not just nostalgia. These games are special.