Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts: Two Series’ Intertwined

[Monkey]

Let’s step back in time. Over a decade, back to the year 2002. I, like many of us, was in that awkward phase between child and teenager. Young, imaginative, naïve, and very easily influenced. I would imagine I was watching a television channel meant for kids back then, Nick or Cartoon Network, and this commercial catches my eye:

Sephiroth and Donald Duck in the same commercial!?

Make no mistake, Disney was literally a pillar of my childhood. My times at Disney World as a young kid are still fresh in my mind as some of the most nostalgic moments of my early childhood. Through the years, I always carried a stuffed Simba plush with me wherever I went. Duck Tales was (and to some extent still is) my favorite cartoon series.

Despite all this, the Disney facets of what I saw only spiked my curiosity. The nail on the coffin that determined my rush to the store was actually the Final Fantasy cameos. You see, introduced with Final Fantasy IX and just a few days later VII, I was in a bit of a phase with the series, something leaning towards obsession (one that would go on to help define my adolescence). And thus I was hooked to Kingdom Hearts, thanks to Final Fantasy.

From characters to spells and weapon names, the Final Fantasy brand has strong roots in the Kingdom Hearts series. And there is no doubt at all that the two franchises have many cross over fans. In many respects, Final Fantasy is what built Kingdom Hearts. And it benefits from it too: as fans of the Kingdom Hearts series get older, it becomes only natural for them to check out the Final Fantasy series. We have experienced this within our own community.

But does Final Fantasy still have a place in the series, and does it even matter?

For me at least, that answer in undoubtedly yes on both accounts. There was no experience quite like having Leon and Yuffie save my behind in Traverse Town, or Auron tagging along in the Olympus Coliseum. I even got to meet my favorite character, Vivi, for a small bit. These characters whom I had played as in other games were now assisting me in my own adventure, it was a wholly unique feeling at the time.

The climax of all this awesomeness was felt in the latter half of Kingdom Hearts 2, during the heartless battle in Hollow Bastion. One after another, a Final Fantasy veteran would temporarily join the party to assist in this very tense moment. From Leon to Yuffie to Cloud to Tifa, every second of game play during these moments is a delight. This is on top of seeing the extended cast (Aeirith, the Gullwings, etc) also joining the fight in cut scenes. These moments made Hollow Bastion one of my favorite worlds!

But since then, Final Fantasy fans have not been so blessed. Other than a very meaty role for Final Fantasy VII’s Zack in Birth by Sleep (well suited, considering Crisis Core’s success on the PSP), the best we have gotten is small cameos by Moogles as shop keepers for the many items one can buy.

The latest entry, Kingdom Hearts 3D, scrapped Final Fantasy all together in favor of another, much more niche series, The World Ends With You. (This title debuted on Nintendo hardware, and was a cult favorite among RPG fans).

Is that the best we will get going forward? As adorable as the Kingdom Hearts rendition of the Moogle is, they really do not do much at all but provide menu text, something any NPC can do. The series deserves much better.

Hopefully, with an eventual Kingdom Hearts 3 expected for more powerful hardware, we will see the return of multiple Final Fantasy cameos, including as party members. I am not exactly sure how far Square Enix is willing to push it, but it would be pretty awesome if in Kingdom Hearts 3, additional party members, both Disney and Final Fantasy, were able to travel with you to other worlds (making them permanent, akin to Donald and Goofy).

We have seen the release of three major Final Fantasy titles since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2: FFXII, XIII and XIV. Personally, it is an absolute must that Balthier show up in the series eventually. He is easily my most wanted character. It would be a grave injustice for the sky pirate/ladies man NOT to show up to muddle things up for Sora and co. And if I had to pick a character from the dreaded XIII series, I would not mind seeing the duo of Fang and Vanille.

And there is still an extensive back catalog of Final Fantasy characters to go through. My top picks would have to be Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII (love interest for Leon anyone?) and Zidane from Final Fantasy IX.

But to be honest I don’t think Final Fantasy has the brand power that it used to, Kingdom Hearts can certainly sell copies on its own. Nobody will be picking up Kingdom Hearts 3 just because it has Lightning in it.

---

What are your thoughts: Does Kingdom Hearts still need to include Final Fantasy characters, and if it does, what characters would you like to see in Kingdom Hearts 3? Share your suggestions below!

 

 

[ajmrowland]

I was evern more easily influenced, so I myself dont know where to begin. I remember seeing this commercial in a theater of all places before a movie. Maybe it was Spy Kids 2 as it feels like it was August, but I dont quite know. 12, easily the most impressionable kid on the planet, and Disney was a pillar of my entire childhood and now a pillar of my entire life. Didnt play the FF games back then as I wasnt really interested, though a while later I knew they were cameos. They did resonate with me though all the way through to that meaningful 1000 Heartless Battle.

But I dont think FF was too important besides that. I've enjoyed the games, even XIII(and Nomura said somewhere that Sahz would be his choice for KH) and Balthier is freakin badass, but they're not really too necessary anymore. The FF cameos were put in to sell to the hardcore FF fanbase and nothing more.

Forgot about the game until i saw it sitting on a video store shelf, begging me to be rented. 5 days later and I didnt get past clayton. second time some weeks later I rebooted, or at least continued and didnt get past clayton, or at least barely got past him. Finally, I got it for Christmas and beat the game about two weeks into January. the rest is history.

 

[skyfoxx]

I was evern more easily influenced, so I myself dont know where to begin. I remember seeing this commercial in a theater of all places before a movie. Maybe it was Spy Kids 2 as it feels like it was August, but I dont quite know. 12, easily the most impressionable kid on the planet, and Disney was a pillar of my entire childhood and now a pillar of my entire life. Didnt play the FF games back then as I wasnt really interested, though a while later I knew they were cameos. They did resonate with me though all the way through to that meaningful 1000 Heartless Battle.

But I dont think FF was too important besides that. I've enjoyed the games, even XIII(and Nomura said somewhere that Sahz would be his choice for KH) and Balthier is freakin badass, but they're not really too necessary anymore. The FF cameos were put in to sell to the hardcore FF fanbase and nothing more.

Forgot about the game until i saw it sitting on a video store shelf, begging me to be rented. 5 days later and I didnt get past clayton. second time some weeks later I rebooted, or at least continued and didnt get past clayton, or at least barely got past him. Finally, I got it for Christmas and beat the game about two weeks into January. the rest is history.

I'm sort of in the same boat here. I never even heard of Final Fantasy when playing Kingdom Hearts. I thought Cid, Yuffie, etc. were original characters for Kingdom Hearts. It wasn't until I brought the game over to a cousin's house that he introduced me to Final Fantasy and explained that these characters were cameos.

I feel that KH in of itself is very similar to FF, so maybe that's why I never noticed much of a difference when Zach was the only FF character in BBS until people started pointing it out. KH3D was the first where I really noticed it. Mainly because they had SUCH a good opportunity to put Tidus and Jecht as a cameo to a world, seeming that in FFX they were physical manifestations of "dreams." Sure, Tidus was already a kid in Destiny Islands, but then again you saw two different Mickeys in the dream worlds. You could've easily made the same logic with Tidus. That would have just been a perfect cameo. Despite this, I enjoyed the game very much. And I think that I think Kingdom Hearts is at the point where it can stand on its own.

HOWEVER there is definitely an exciting feeling about seeing your favorite Final Fantasy characters, much how there is an exciting feeling about seeing your favorite Disney movies. I keep saying that my envisioning for the perfect Olympus Coliseum would be take Hades plot to unleash the titans, and then have Jecht be the pawn that Hades tends to get with different FF characters. And it's always cool when they tie in plotlines together. Having Auron in the Underworld in KH2 was great because people who never played FFX could still get it, but it's even cooler when you have played FFX and you realize that Auron's reason for being in the Underworld is because he's dead. Stuff like that is always neat. Of course, this is an issue that they also need to fix with Disney worlds along with it.

 

[ajmrowland]

yeah, sephiroth and cloud does resonate a bit more after FFVII, and I felt a little ping for Zach in the credits of BBS.

 

[ShardofTruth]

I disagree somewhat with you Monkey because from my point of view KH is mainly a Disney/Square mix than a Disney/Final Fantasy mix. I think the numerous appearance of FF characters in KHII (10 of them alone in Hallow Bastion) did not help the story or the atmosphere of the game, that's why I'm glad they were reduced in BBS.
The main problem I have with most these guys is that they are bringing their own plot from their own games with them and are constantly refering to it, even to the point that you won't understand what's going on if you don't know (or read about) the games they are from (Cloud and Leon mostly).
That being said I don't have a problem with crossovers, fanservice or whatever but I'd like better to give them their own new background (like it's done for Tidus, Wakka and Selphie and the important Disney characters), their own world or reduce their appearance drastically.

tl;dr: I would love to see a FF character that is developed in the same way the original characters are in the next KH title, but cameos for the sake of cameos are often just missed opportunities.

 

[Sonja Taylor]

Oh, Kingdom Hearts! The first game brings such memories with it!

 

[Eternal Dream]

I know I fell in love with the series with the first trailer I saw. (although since it was one that had some of the opening in it, I admit to thinking for some reason that Riku was a girl; and being a silly, romantic minded girl at the age of twelve, I also admit to being an unintentional RikuxSora shipper before I was educated. *I blame this on the fact that it looks like Riku's wearing eyeliner and and that his hair was just long enough...*) Even though I didn't get to play the game until 2004 when my parents finally got a PS2 for me for Christmas with Kingdom Hearts included in the deal; nice when the listen, huh?

I knew a little bit about Final Fantasy because we'd just gotten IX, the one that'll be my favorite forever because it was also my first. While I was disappointed that Zidane and the others didn't show up, I liked seeing the other FF characters in there; and my brother, being the know-it-all that he likes to pretend he is, informed my about Leon, Yuffie, Cloud and the rest of them. I think I probably would have find my way over to Final Fantasy in a little while because of IX, but Kingdom Hearts gave the extra little shove to get me over there quicker, and thus, hooked a lot faster.

I'm going to admit to being one of the ones disappointed by the lack of FF characters in recent games; Zack was terrific in BBS, and I'd like to see more characters integrated into the story in a fluid way, something the series has been falling short on since KH. Do I think KH needs FF to carry it? No, I don't. Do I appreciate the cameos when they don't feel tacked on? Not just yes, but hell yes! I'd love to see Cecil in here; as someone else said, his struggle between the light and darkness as he went from a Dark Knight to a Paladin would fit very well in the series, especially if he was made a party member!

 

[Xagzan]

Beatrix, please.

Oh, and Beatrix.

 

[Zephyr]

I disagree somewhat with you Monkey because from my point of view KH is mainly a Disney/Square mix than a Disney/Final Fantasy mix. I think the numerous appearance of FF characters in KHII (10 of them alone in Hallow Bastion) did not help the story or the atmosphere of the game, that's why I'm glad they were reduced in BBS.
The main problem I have with most these guys is that they are bringing their own plot from their own games with them and are constantly refering to it, even to the point that you won't understand what's going on if you don't know (or read about) the games they are from (Cloud and Leon mostly).
That being said I don't have a problem with crossovers, fanservice or whatever but I'd like better to give them their own new background (like it's done for Tidus, Wakka and Selphie and the important Disney characters), their own world or reduce their appearance drastically.

tl;dr: I would love to see a FF character that is developed in the same way the original characters are in the next KH title, but cameos for the sake of cameos are often just missed opportunities.

I think that's mostly concerning Kingdom Hearts II because the execution of their cameos were poorly thought of compared to the first game. I mean, it could have been better if the script was changed but for some odd reason they decided to borrow too heavily from their respective game scripts.

 

[NarutoXIII]

Yes, Final Fantasy definitely still has a place in Kingdom Hearts, and in my opinion, it needs a bigger role. In fact, all characters, whether Disney or Final Fantasy, need to have their roles upgraded. You can only go through carbon copies of Disney Stories with cloned characters for so long before it becomes very stale, same with FF. In my opinion, they need to do away with this "only Keyblade wielders (and Donald and Goofy) can travel to other worlds" business. It just doesn't make any sense. I'd rather be able to pick and choose my party, sorta like an FF game. Cameos do not do anything for me. We need this whole Cloud/Tifa/Sephiroth thing explained and resolved. We need FF characters with real power (Keyblade anyone?). AND we need an FF world, but not, for the love of God, XIII. In short, Kingdom Hearts has been the same for 10 years. It needs to evolve.

 

[Zephyr]

Final Fantasy characters with Keyblades? No thank you. They don't need Final Fantasy worlds because they have original worlds for them to reside by. The series is using newer mechanics such as flowmotion, the command system, etc. They are trying on implementing newer concepts.

I can agree with you with the heavily borrowed script and upgraded roles of characters would be much better like Maleficent used to have a group of collaborated Disney villians and that just suddenly disappeared into lesser roles.

 

[Memory Master]

I love the Final Fantasy characters in the Kingdom Hearts series. To be completely honest I really really miss Leon and the rest of the restoration committee. I remember when I first KH2 and was reunited with Leon and the others, it felt so good to see them again. And then to have them team up with Sora during the battle of the 1000 heartless was an amazing display of their friendship. I was surprised when Leon and the others didn't appear as kids in BBS (Although they were originally meant to) and I think they missed a good opportunity to go more into detail about Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth's KH version of their backstory.

Without Leon and the others the series would loose a bit of magic for me to be honest, because in my opinion the restoration committee is just as much a part of the main cast of characters as Mickey and the Disney Castle crew.

In KH3 I expect and hope that the restoration committee team up with the apprentices of Ansem, and considering that Radiant Garden is where Xehanort performed a lot of his research, it is likely that it will be a major battle point in KH3 and so hopefully we'll see the restoration committee teaming up with the Guardians of Light for an epic battle with the Seekers of Darkness. I'd love to see Leon fight Xehanort since it was Xehanort that caused Radiant Garden to fall to the heartless years ago.

As for new characters I think could appear:

1. Rinoa (Hinted at with the letter Leon receives during the credits of KH2)
2. Vincent (Cloud was wearing some of his clothing in KH1 and he was originally supposed to appear in KH1. So he is definitely a possibility.)
3. Lightning (Yes the XIII series has it's flaws, but Lightning is one of the bright spots of the series. The girl is the type of girl I like. Serious, smart, beautiful, responsible, yet compassionate and a loyal friend. Plus I can easily see Sora and Lightning developing a relationship similar to Hope and Lightning in some respects)
4. Jenova (Yes, this character can be done in a new way in KH. Instead of Jenova being the alien in a tank that Sephy thinks is his momma, Jenova could be a more active character in KH. She could be an experiment of Xehanort's or Ansem that went really wrong or something. But I think there is some interesting potential for her if they use her in KH.)

 

[Zettaflare]

I have being dying to see sora and lightning interact. Sora's carfee personality clash with lightning's no nonsense attitude would make my day. She just has to appear in kh, she just has too. Also, i would like to see a return of cloud, and a resolution with his conflict with sephiroth.

 

[SoraroS]

We really don't need Final Fantasy Characters in the next Kingdom Hearts game. The fact of having FF characters in the previous games made the game more appealing to fans of the Final Fantasy series. However the series sold so many games that we have a very consistent fanbase. Despite that we also have to consider that there are many things needed to be told in this next KH3 so Nomura needs to worry about the things that we're left undone instead of working on characters from FF to have a good place in the game, or creating side-missions for them...

 

[SquarePhoenix]

I think they have to. How can we even call it an alliance (of Disney and Square) if it's very one sided?
In my opinion, future titles should introduce FF characters from some of the older games, like how Disney did with some of their older movies.
I would love to see the Warrior of Light, or maybe even Cecil Harvey interact with Sora and/or Riku.
Hell, why not Gilgamesh! Have him appear out of the Rift, (Realm of Darkness, or something) he sees Sora, mistakes him for Bartz and have one hell of an epic boss fight!
Now THAT would make my day.

 

[Flaming flame]

 

[skyfoxx]

The main problem I have with most these guys is that they are bringing their own plot from their own games with them and are constantly refering to it, even to the point that you won't understand what's going on if you don't know (or read about) the games they are from (Cloud and Leon mostly).

I disagree. They do refer to the plot, yes, but not to the point where anyone who has never played the game can't understand them. When playing KH2, I never played FFVII. I just barely got done with my first Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy X. But was I confused throughout the time? No. Because even if they refer to it, they explain it enough to where it makes sense for new audiences. And this was before I turned eleven years old. It's really not that hard to understand, guys.

I think that's mostly concerning Kingdom Hearts II because the execution of their cameos were poorly thought of compared to the first game.

I disagree completely. I thought the cameos in KH2 were the best they ever were. And what's wrong with borrowing from their own game? That's like complaining about Disney worlds borrowing too much from the movies they came from. And I already said before how I thought the cameo of Auron was absolutely fantastic.

 

[siegleeagle]

I think the series needs to keep its balance of disney, final fantasy, and original content. I love the final fantasy cameos and I don't want them to go anywhere. FF is one of my favorite game series and if it wasn't for Kingdom Hearts I would have never touched a Final Fantasy game because I thought they look boring.

 

[AdrianXXII]

I personally feel that FF very much still has a place in KH and should actually be stronger represented. For a Disney/Final Fantasy crossover game there's not really a lot of Final Fantasy characters in it. In my opinion they don't even have to have big roles they could just be background characters.

That said KH doesn't need FF characters to sell itself and help promote it, it's become strong enough after just KH1 not to need it anymore, though I'm sure it doesn't hurt. Still it's nice to have the characters in it. I feel the presence of FF characters can actually benefit both series, it can bring FF fans into KH and KH fans into FF, even if this benefit isn't needed to sell games. I probably wouldn't have gotten interested in FF if it weren't for KH.

As skyfoxx said there's something special to seeing your favorite FF character in KH. Personally the FF characters were one of my favorite things in KH1 and in KH2. I might not have know who they were when I first got the game, but even so I liked them very much they felt so cool and interesting. After I learned more about FF and got KH2 it felt very special seeing Tifa, Yuna, Rikku, Pain and Auron in it. I really like how they have their own plots going on it just makes the KH universe feel bigger.
I was quite disappointed that we didn't get any cameos of the Restoration Committee characters in BBS, they didn't even show up as npcs that you could talk to...

 

[ajmrowland]

To say that there was really a 3 sided balancing act is not very logical. I love the cameos and miss them but they arent that important anymore. Maybe in kh4