There are many memorable beginnings to video games I love. Let me name a few examples: Metal Gear 2: Sons of Liberty’s Tanker mission with Snake sneaking around to discover its military secrets. Devil May Cry 3 has a young Dante do over-the-top combat and taunting in the cutscene, immediately followed by brutally punishing hardness at level 2. These are some of the memorable experiences that leave me in awe. Today, I want to talk about the Kingdom Hearts I and II’s beginnings. Minor spoilers ahead.
Kingdom Hearts I
In Kingdom Hearts I, you start the story with Sora on Destiny Islands. The island is a tropical paradise; there are plenty of activities for you and your friends to do. You race your best friend Riku in a friendly competition. Afterwards, you laugh and sit together with Riku and Kairi and watch the sunset. Many other Final Fantasy characters make appearances. Tidus, Wakka and Selfie are some of the cheeriest kids you can meet. Sword fights with Riku are hard but victory is possible. After you win, the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming. Just so you know, Riku keeps a score. He will make you feel he is still the better fighter no matter how many times you win. Kairi is a sweet young lady. She is not a local. Your conversations with her hint that there is a bigger world out there. Everything was happy until the darkness swept up your friends and the island. Off you go trying to find them, for the rest of the game. Destiny Islands remains an anchor in Sora’s heart. This is the place he will always go back to no matter where the journey takes him.
Kingdom Hearts II
In Kingdom Hearts II, you start the journey as a new character, Roxas. His playground is Twilight Town during summer vacation. You have three best buddies that help you decide how to use your remaining summer vacation time. There are even more activities you can do this time around. Part time jobs are fun activities to raise money. Battle tournament and mystery hunting are way more complex and full of story. At the end of the day, I love hanging out with friends at the top of the clock tower with sea salt ice cream in hand.
However, everything is not as it seems. Roxas slowly realizes that things are breaking at the seams. The world around him is glitching out. Many things don’t make sense. When he reaches the realization that he doesn’t belong to the real world, Roxas eventually faces his destiny: to rejoin Sora. I felt so much sadness when I watched him approach where Sora sleeps. Is it fair that Roxas' experiences and wishes don’t even matter? His friends don’t know about him in the real world at all! It was one of the most memorable beginnings of a game! I played the game at the end of my summer vacation, too. The feeling of the end of free and fun time is so relatable. I associate sweet sadness with Roxas' theme every time I listen to the original soundtrack.
Crafting a great beginning attracts the player in to the rest of the story. The player will be eager to find out what happens next. Emotional investment with the protagonist’s mission will help a long way until the end. Cheers to the memorable beginnings of great games!
Author: Yuay
Last modified on 2021-05-22