This is your hero. He doesn't look like much, but you know how it goes.

Final Fantasy and Disney--the very notion of this combination may seem absolutely absurd to some, but when you actually see it executed in Square's new role-playing game, Kingdom Hearts, it almost seems like a natural fit. But to call Kingdom Hearts an RPG, or even a typical Square RPG, would be incorrect, because, like its premise, Kingdom Hearts is quite different from what you would normally expect from the creators of the Final Fantasy series. For instance, the battle system is in real time, as opposed to the turn-based system featured in the Final Fantasy games. You also have much more control over the lead character; you can make him climb over rocks, jump over chasms, and perform other actions. Even the overall structure of the game and its levels bear a stronger resemblance to a platformer than an RPG. Though this could've been a conscious decision by Square to make Kingdom Hearts appeal more to the younger audience, ultimately it seems like Kingdom Hearts will appeal to the older crowd as well.

Donald and Goofy are two of your early party members.

The game's protagonist, Sora, is an appropriate amalgamation of the Square and Disney universes. Since the character designs were done by Square's Tetsuya Nomura, most of Sora's upper body and head distinctly resemble those of a Final Fantasy character. But his arms, legs, and his oversized shoes are akin to something you might see in a Disney film. Other characters in the game aren't quite as unique in design, which is understandable because it's only Sora who must travel through different Disney worlds, such as Wonderland, the coliseum from Hercules, and even the jungle from Tarzan, to rescue his friends, help Donald and Goofy save King Mickey, and destroy the heartless--shadow creatures that have started invading both Sora's and Disney's universe.

Kingdom Hearts begins with a CG introduction that gives a look at Sora and some of his friends and generally sets the tone of confusion for the game, as Sora questions whether or not what he just experienced was a dream or was real. After the introduction, you get the first taste of the Final Fantasy and Disney combination with a brief cutscene that shows Sora plummeting toward a stained-glass representation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. As you walk forward toward the top of the window into a small sliver of light, three stones appear from behind. On top of each stone, you'll see an item: a sword, a shield, or a wand. These items essentially represent Sora's character statistics, so the items that you choose will have a slight effect on Sora's abilities when you start the game. After selecting an item, Sora is sent plummeting toward another stained-glass window depicting yet another well-known Disney property, and it's here that you'll get the first opportunity to try out Kingdom Hearts' battle system, which, as previously mentioned, has little in common with most Square RPGs because it's in real time. Square has chosen to use a proven method to ensure that combat is as effortless as possible.