Positive Post: When did you realize this series is special?

[Way2Dawn 80]

Hey Guys and Gals!  There's been a good string of Positive Posts recently (the negative ones are getting boring anyway), so I wanted to continue the positive vibes with some simple questions that will open up our feels and help us remember the magic that this series has brought to our lives.  I'll start with an easy one that all of us should be able to relate to:

 

When did you realize that this series was going to hold a special part of your heart, or when did you have your first "Oh WOW!" moment with this series?  It can be a cutscene, mechanic, a game as a whole, whatever you want.  Follow your heart!

 

Mine actually came before KH1 was released.  I was sitting at home and I believe I was watching one of my favorite TV movies on Disney Channel Johnny Tsunami (Hows that for a dated reference?).  When the commercials came around, Disney Channel was giving an inside look to a new game called KINGDOM HEARTS.  At first, I was only slightly intrigued.  All I remember before they showed gameplay was some girl going on about how the game had been in development "For TWO WHOLE YEARS!"  Whoa, younger me thought.

 

Then they showed it.  My first glimpse of the series that would steal my heart.  The series that would later become my favorite of all time, one that I would love unconditionally, one that would lead me to tattoo myself TWICE in commemoration to this masterpiece.  It started with a young boy swinging on some vines, but what really grabbed my attention was when this boy, along with Donald and Goofy for some reason, came running into an arena to face off against Cerberus of all things.  CERBERUS!?!? AMAZING!!!! 

 

I knew from that moment on that this game was going to be amazing and I had to have it, and I am happy to say that I feel as if I still feel the same magic for this game as I did back when I was only 12 years old.

 

Please share your experience, I think we'd all love to hear it

[The 13th Kenpachi 4,279]

I always found KH1 to be special from the moment I first played it

 

When I played KH2 Final Mix on critical I came to realise that the game was very 'special' due to the way you had to play the game and how the combat worked. I only consider KH1 and KH2FM (Specifically critical mode) 'special'. I don't appreciate the other games.

[Felixx 6,646]

When I played KH2 for the first time I had to cry at the scene of Goofy's "death".

 

Was the first time a video game made me cry, and that's really special to me.

[Komali 594]

You know, the first time I encountered the series was at E3 2009, when Nintendo showed that 358/2 Days trailer with Sanctuary song. I immediately knew this series was special, but the "WOW" moment was when I saw the intros of both KH1 and KH2. I loved every part of it.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

I realized it the moment that it began to parallel certain moments and aspects in my life. There's always many things you can identify with, but rarely do you ever come across something that almost feels like a metaphor for your life...it's almost haunting, in a feel-good kind of way. o3o""""

[bjshepp 6]

Saw a commercial for Chain of Memories back in 2004 with Mickey Mouse wearing a edgy looking black coat walking next to some anime character. That alone sold me on the entire series.

[EchoFox23* 318]

When I defeated Xion in 358/2 Days. It was my first Kingdom Hearts game and before I got into Kingdom Hearts all I ever played was Mario and Sonic games (not the Olympic games). So when I saw her dying, I was on the verge of crying until Roxas said that pathetic line, which has never happened when I played a video game. Ever since then I wanted to play the rest of the Kingdom Hearts series.

[Sorarocks93 678]

When I bought it. 

 

I already was amazed when I saw a friend play it on his PS2, but then a year later I got a PS2 myself and went to buy a game, wasn't even looking for KH, but then I saw it on the shelf and never looked back.

[Dustin Newton 60]

when it (KH1) was sitting in the middle of the candy shelf near the register at a Target. It was still before the game was marked as one of the "greatest hits".

[RikuFangirl2008 1,368]

When I first saw the commercial way back on Saturday morning, I was so filled with determination of getting at my first PS2 game. Me and brother didn't have a PS2 at the time. And our dad got us one when we came back from our Christmas Break at our mom's house. Then came the day, when we went to Walmart to get games for it. And I was so ready to get Kingdom Hearts, but I was heartbroken to hear they were sold out. I ended up getting Jak and Daxter instead. A really BIG mistake I made as I grew older and realized something about that game.   Don't get me wrong, the Jak and Daxter was alright, but there was one thing about it that ticked me off. MOVING ON!

 

Then I think when I was in the 7th grade, that's was when I FINALLY got Kingdom Hearts (with the "Greatest Hits" label). I was late to the party. LOL I started playing it when my brother was helping my dad out with something. It was so mysterious and awesome. I don't think at the time I felt the game was special at all, since I dived in it. It did get me interested with Final Fantasy, since I wasn't interested in it. Then came more and more Kingdom Hearts games, and I played all of them except for Re: Coded. (I still took at good look of the gameplay and cutscenes of it.) I felt like the series was connecting like a puzzle and the story was like something I've never sunk into before. It was so freaking interesting! Heck, I felt like it totally puts stories fictional I've read in grade school to shame!

 

And then came Dream Drop Distance. When I played it all the way through and holes started to fill in, I have to say right now, the series has grown REALLY special! And it really holds a special place in my heart! It does reminds me of way back when I said that the series made me into a complete Disney fanatic. But as I grow older, it really reminds me of what I've been taught about life. It also reminds me of what I've read in my World Literature class, when I was a college student. Everyone has a story to tell and has a way to tell it. Video game and other things serves as a medium to show these stores being told and come to life. And there is so many magical things within this series! 

 

It reflects my childhood as I watch a lot of Disney movies, it reflects of the very innocents I felt as a kid, I felt like I mentally left home and started a new life in a world no one could understand (somewhat turning me into an outcast), and it does cheer me up when I hear things relating to Kingdom Hearts. The fans, everything.  

Edited July 24, 2016 by RikuFangirl2008

[Kupo 31]

I saw and played KHII after we saw that there were Disney characters on the front of it. I played it, and no idea what was going on and absolutely loved it.   I then, by the time I was around 9 or 10 began to pick up more on the story, and I would have never thought I would get to this point of something I love so much more than most normal kid things    Now I'm old and Kingdom Hearts is a reason to smile! 

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

When I played the first game back in 2010. I kinda got lost in it, playing from the Station of Awakening to Agrabah in one day. I got really into the story because of the Disney elements, and it drew me into buying the later games, when things got a bit darker. So I knew the game was special from the get go (Well, sort of..since KH 1 was my second KH game), and have since come to appreciate it more as time went on. 

Plus, the game meant a lot to me in a really dark period, and that sort of cemented it as special to me. There isn't one game in the series I can say I hate or that I'd refuse to play, because everyone has that strange little spark the original did, of going into Disney films to fight evil and darkness. 

This got way cheesier than I'd meant, but whatever. That's how I feel. 

[Hoshiko Hikari 306]

My brother bought KH1 for me when I was around 13 (11 years ago!) because he knew I liked both animé and Disney. As soon as I saw the case for it I was intrigued by the combination of my two favourite things so I started playing it the same evening. When the opening sequence began I immediately had my first "Oh wow!" moment. I had no idea what was happening in the opening but the graphics, character designs, scenery and the moment when the birds fly away to reveal Snow White in stained glass form all told me that this game was going to be amazing. I've been a huge fan ever since!

[Svard 164]

"That's not true! The heart may be weak and sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light that never goes out!"

 

That quote was what made me realize how special this series is.

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

When i was 7, i saw the first Kingdom Hearts game (KH1). When i watched the opening of KH1, i knew that this was going to be something awesome. As i watched the rest of the cutscenes, apart from getting the nostalgia of seeing the Disney characters again, i kept getting more into Kingdom Hearts. When i finished watching them, i was hooked. The rest is just me watching more cutscenes of the other games as i got older.

[Trece the Xam ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) 3,859]

Never

 

When I heard the 13th Dilemma at the start of Demyx's fight. Organization XIII was too much.

[A Heartless Nobody 120]

For me I can't really say there was just one moment like that.

 

The first moment was when I realized that there wasn't a dedicated attack button. The unconventional control scheme was not what I expected, and it showed me just how much games were limited by resorting to over used simplistic control set ups. A lot of games prioritize approach-ability, and while that's good to an extent, it often puts a lot of limitations on gameplay and isn't rewarding. Kingdom Hearts wasn't made to be approachable. It was made to be Kingdom Hearts. It's gameplay took a few cues from Final Fantasy, but besides that it was completely different from anything at the time and even today.

 

The second moment was when I was playing the game alone with the lights out in my room. Before then I only played games with friends or family, but never on my own. At that moment I realized that Kingdom Hearts was the first game that I ever really enjoyed.

 

The third point was when I played Kingdom Hearts 2 for the first time at my friends house, and was immediately hooked by the fast paced fluid gameplay and vibrant yet ominous aesthetics. I knew that it was going to be my favorite game of all time so I immediately went to go get it. It wasn't Christmas or my birthday and my older siblings didn't want to pitch in, so it was the first game that I bought wholly with my own money, which made it the first game that I could ever call my own, and it's still my favorite game of all time.

 

The last point was a few years ago when I sat down and watched the Kingdom Hearts 2 main menu for a considerable period of time. The game was broken so I couldn't play, but in the midst of a lot of things I was struggling with at the time, I couldn't think of anything better to do than to listen to Dearly Beloved for multiple hours one end.

[KairiKeybasH 851]

I was 11 years old when i saw the first Kingdom Hearts Game... I don't want to repeat the same story....

 

To be honest for me what makes it special it's the crossover itself. Who ever even thought Disney and Final Fantasy characters could be in one game? Really Kingdom Hearts was the sole reason why i love and make my own crossovers. Prrrtt but that's just me. 

[Kittenz 4,281]

When I saw the cover of kh2 in 2006, when I was 8, and then when I played the game. I saw Kairi as role model, as she's kind but also doesn't just give up, and is a tomboy like me. 

[Aang 649]

When I aw all the Disney worlds you could travel to. I mean how is that not something that makes it special?

[AzureAce 544]

From the moment my three year old hands first touched the controller.

[Joker 1,560]

I was at my grandmas house and my uncle was still in high school at that point he was playing KH1. I was amazed by what I saw 0.0 I wanted it so bad, so eventually we bought a ps2 along with Kingdom Hearts and there off I went. My mom loved the game for a while to but then the series became "to dark and devil worshiping for her taste"

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

i want to say it was after i played KH2. i remember loving the final sequence of that game and i guess that's what kept me interested in the series for so long. i don't think i've followed another game series as closely as i do for KH. 

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

I was always reluctant to try Kingdom Hearts at first. The Disney aspect kind of sent a kiddie vibe to me and steered me away. But I ended up getting it for Christmas so I gave it a try and the rest was history.

[Hallowseve 143]

For me it all came down to the theme and the setting. I thought it was amazing how the game is a Disney/Final Fantasy hybrid with a great story and memorable characters. Also since I love the Disney films that was another reason I fell in love with the series. Can't forget about the beautiful soundtrack either. I pretty much love everything about the series. It's a unique experience.