Revisiting Destiny Island : An updated perspective on Kingdom Hearts

It is two o’clock in the morning on an island off the coast of Florida. An alarm rudely thrashes into the anesthesia of the night. A seven year old boy propels his torso up and blindly waves his hand toward the bedside table in an attempt to silence the alarm. He misses the first time and manages to succeed the second. He quietly tiptoes past his parents room and that of his sisters. His trajectory is clear: straight to the living room television. He hops on the chair, manually turns the TV on, and hushes the volume to a level comparable to his father’s snores. The PlayStation 2’s power button goes from a dull grey to it’s copy written shade of blue and his friend Sora begins to matriculate from the millions of pixels. Sora, a fellow island dweller who has run out of things to do, encounters his friends Riku and Kairi. They sit on a curved palm tree staring out into the digital sunset wondering if there is anything more than Destiny Island. “I want to see other worlds — ” Sora freezes as the seven year old boy hits the pause button. The seven year old boy gets up to grab cereal from the kitchen with the same desire for adventure that is ravaging his digital friend’s brain.

Kingdom Hearts, the unlikely PlayStation 2 open world collaboration between Square Enix and Disney Interactive is about three kids who long to escape their serene home of Destiny Island and later find themselves jumping in between iconic Disney worlds. The project was originally conceived by two executives from Square (now Square Enix) who were discussing the classic Super Mario 64: a revolutionary open world game. They toyed back and forth with the idea of creating an open world experience similar to 64, but with a different set of characters that the public would easily recognize. One of the executives joked that using Disney characters would be an excellent way to rival the bushy mustached italian plumber. The two liked the idea, but they knew it was Disney they were talking about. The company known for gripping the shoulders of every one of their characters and guiding them on the path to saturated profitability and political correctness. With this in mind they both resigned to the likelihood that this idea, was just an idea. Although, a few months later the ball was thrown into Disney’s court. The Square executive, with the open world Disney-Square hybrid still clouding his mind, stepped into the elevator. Another man speedily entered, and asks for him to hit the third floor, coincidently the same floor that housed Disney Interactive’s executive branch. The door closed at the lobby and when it reopened on the third floor… boom, Kingdom Hearts.

For myself, a seven year old living off the coast of Florida with a bunch of old people, Kingdom Hearts was a much needed escape. Destiny Island became a second home with a group of people who understood the monotonous activities of island life. Sora, Riku and Kairi gave me the youthful companionship that my grandmother’s friends could never provide — sorry LuLu. In addition, I admired the protagonist Sora’s bravery. Sora is constantly confronted by evil lurking in every corner, in particular by a mysterious breed of dark matter villains called the Heartless. The Heartless are made from the evil within people’s hearts, and are used by Disney villains for their own insidious endeavors. Over time Sora and pals Donald and Goofy become a Heartless extermination crew and help eliminate the these dark beings in various worlds. On his path to Heartless extinction, Sora develops friendships with the Disney and Final Fantasy characters he encounters on his journey. In addition to the Heartless, Sora is faced with other hurdles including the arduous task of locating the whereabouts of his two best friends Riku and Kiari. Riku disappears in a grim fashion when he fully embraces the darkness and journeys to other worlds with the assistance of the Heartless and Disney villains like Maleficent. On the other hand, Kairi’s disappearance is extraordinarily different which brings me to my first double take of my beloved childhood game.

My heart still throbs for my love of Kiari. She is a gorgeous strong willed redhead that quite possibly remains as the only female I would potentially date — again, sorry LuLu. Her and Sora maintain a special bond that is childlike in nature, yet shows a degree of maturity my seven year old self thought only thirteen year old’s possessed. However, upon second review of the game, I realize Kairi is not a valued person, but rather an object of value. In the first ten percent of the game Kairi is everything I remember; however, when a mysterious storm hits Destiny Island, Kairi’s loses her bubbly personality and becomes as flat as tap water. During the mysterious storm, Kairi in a seemingly possessed stupor stumbles to Sora, but evaporates when Sora attempts to grab her. This specific moment marks her transition from a human being to an object of power that is fought over for almost the entire game.

Anita Sarkeesian discusses the damsel in distress trope. A trope that is commonly seen throughout many forms of media including but not limited to movies, TV shows, and — you guessed it — video games. It is strongly associated with the “subject object dichotomy.” Sarkeesian describes this dichotomy as the relationship between the subject, or the thing that acts, and the object, the thing that is acted upon. In many instances the damsel just becomes an object, and her objectification becomes a perpetual plot point that litters the entire story. In the original Kingdom Hearts, it is safe to say that the damsel trope guides the plot between Sora, Kairi and Riku. A key component of the distress trope is that the female is essentially being passed around between those seeking power. Her ownership becomes a symbol of authority, similar to the conch in Lord of the Flies. Sarkeesian compares the female to a basketball stating that whoever has the ball is in power, while the other tries to steal the ball. In the first Kingdom Hearts this is essentially Kairi’s role throughout the entire game. She is passed back and forth between the forces of light, or allies of Sora and Disney heros, and those of darkness, or allies of Riku and Disney Villains. This struggle becomes a plot catalyst that drives Sora and Riku’s aggression towards one another other and eventually climaxes in a battle over their childhood object — I mean friend. In addition, Sarkeesian discusses how the characterization of females in many video games begins to flirt with a sense of artificiality that is solely an ideal rather than a reality; unfortunately, Kingdom Hearts has quite a few examples of the phenomenon.

My first few, or six rounds, of playing Kingdom Hearts as a kid exposed me to an ideal female. She was kind, pure, naive and essentially perfect. Fourteen years later, I realize that she doesn’t exist. The ideals that curse Kingdom Hearts are mainly due to the franchise they are chained to. Disney characters like Snow White, Alice, and Belle are linked to nonviable human traits that when analyzed are seen as artificial. As a young viewer, we adjust our youthful perspective of what a female should be to this artificial model. Anita Sarkeesian associates this phenomenon with the damsel in distress trope, and says that it commonly used to dehumanize the characters to a level of purity that is simply too unrealistic. While Square did not create the personality traits of the Disney princesses they certainly could have attempted to guide the story in a direction that did not emphasize their artificiality. Instead they chose to highlight these artificial characteristics by creating the Seven Princesses of Heart.

The Seven Princesses of Heart are a group of six Disney princesses that include Jasmine, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, and Alice with the addition of Kingdom Hearts own Kiari. These women are all described as being so pure that when put together they have the capability to open (not to be confused with the title) Kingdom Hearts: a tappable energy source that makes those who access it invincible. The Seven Princesses of Heart are the game’s primary example of putting females under an imbalanced standard of purity that is simply unattainable. By stripping away these women of their resourceful qualities and highlighting their white as snow purity, they become helpless. In fact, Cinderella even goes so far to say “we have been waiting for you” after Sora impedes on the Heartless’ kidnapping of the princesses. This process of disempowering the seven princesses harks back to Sarkeesian’s observations of object subject dichotomy. The disempowerment of females is quintessential for the subject object dichotomy to take place. Since the seven princesses are disempowered and unable to fend for themselves they become a set of collectable items that the main powers trade like Pokemon cards. This is primarily seen in Kairi’s transformation of person to object. Kairi a once resourceful girls loses these traits and thus becomes disempowered. When she becomes disempowered she is no longer Sora’s friend but rather a trial that Sora needs to overcome. In addition, the fluctuation of Kairi’s levels of empowerment points out a contrast, between the Square Enix characters and those of Disney, that is much starker than I originally thought.

Playing Kingdom Hearts as a child I did not realize the mix of my favorite Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters had such a strong contrast. Characters from Square’s Final Fantasy are viewed as independents rather than dependents like many of the Disney characters. The female characters like Yuffie and Aerith are strong and able to hold their own without any aid. These females’ resourceful traits are harmoniously marinated with those of their Final Fantasy male counterparts, and are a force that drives the plot forward. Meanwhile in the Magic Kingdom, Minnie and Daisy are tied to constricting gender normed roles, and Sleeping Beauty is awaiting true loves kiss. After listening to Sarkeesian discusses the damsel trope, I realize that this the trope that clogs Disney’s plot lines time and time again. Furthermore, Kairi is in essence a true hybrid of Square and Disney. She is at times tough and a force to be reckoned with; although, she is still shackled to the same patriarchal leash, that Disney frequently puts around the necks of their female characters. Because of these constrictions she is not able to go to the same heroic lengths as her Final Fantasy counterparts.

Is fighting always the solution? According to Kingdom Hearts the answer is yes. As a young child I dreamed that one day, I would possess my own keyblade. The magical key shaped sword that changes the world with every swing. But after reading Anna Antropy’s Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form I realize that my sister’s disapproval of Kingdom Hearts may have been warranted. Antropy argues that most games are being made primarily for men and involve “men shooting men in the face” (5). While Kingdom Hearts does not have guns, one could see the similarities between men bashing men with oversized keys and men shooting men with guns. This kind of monotonous gameplay leads to situations where certain groups feel ostracized from video games. While there are some female warriors in Kingdom Hearts, a majority of the battles are Sora fighting against another man. Looking back with this knowledge at hand, my sister’s’ disapproval when I would change the input from cable to the PlayStation 2 was certainly warranted. However, I may have suffered a little PTSD from the keyblade wars as well.

As a child I remember taking a stick and pretending to be a keyblade wielder. This led to several family members receiving accidental bruises and while they were accidental, the fact that I was pretending to fight the air is worrisome enough. While I would never resort to violence automatically like Sora and Riku, I certainly fantasized about being able to protect my friends and family with the power of the keyblade. Sarkeesian, in her damsel video series, points out that many games show men resorting to violence as the only available source of conflict resolution. Sora and Riku are life long friends that know each other in and out, and one would presumably think that these two could talk it out rather than whacking one another. However, Riku and Sora resort to fighting one another multiple times, with little to no effort spent discussing the problems at hand. While this is a videogame, it is important to acknowledge that the only conflict resolution within this game is violence. This could be extremely troublesome considering that the target demographic for the game is a child to young adult. Pouring dopamine into children brain for every enemy conquered, children are positively reinforced for the violence they participate in. In addition, because the combat in Kingdom Hearts may be mentally damaging, it is disappointing that doing the damage is not as fun as it used to be.

When I originally played Kingdom Hearts, I was enthralled and heated in every moment of combat. Now when I return to gameplay I can’t help but think back to mobile gaming. Ian Bogost discusses the game Cow Clicker and mobile games at length in a 2012 article on his personal website. While Kingdom Hearts is a console games occasionally the button mashing and customization options strike a chord with the mechanics seen within Mobile Games. In addition, Square Enix recently released a mobile addition to the Kingdom Hearts series, with essentially the same battle system just a tad bit streamlined. Similar to how Cow Clicker rewards players for essentially just tapping right click on a cow, the Kingdom Hearts battle system rewards players for repeatedly mashing the X button. While yes Kingdom Hearts does require joystick action for movement, it is important to acknowledge that the battle system is a one button solves all system. This lack of maturity echos the juvenile mechanics of mobile games that Ian Bogost speaks of. In addition, Ian Bogost speaks of optional customization which happens to be a cornerstone of Kingdom Hearts.

Bogost describes “optionalism” as a feature commonly seen in mobile games that allows players to customize their characters, however, these adaptations are essentially unnecessary. In Kingdom Hearts, while there are certain customizations that are essential, like the Keyblade upgrades and a few abilities, a vast majority serve little to no purpose to the forwarding of the plot and gameplay in general. This is seen particularly when one is instructed to customize their gummi ship. The gummi ship is the vessel Sora, Goofy and Donald use to travel to other worlds. Throughout one’s time playing Kingdom Hearts, one is encouraged on multiple occasions to make the gummi ship their own. However, whenever one adds any new features to the ship they do virtually nothing. When I originally played the game, I did not like the gummi ship aspect of the game. It was an annoying and naggy portion primarily because it derailed the player’s main quest. Ian Bogost’s post about optionalism in mobile gaming is reminiscent of the the gummi ship feature and only validates my original second grade criticism. While at this point, I have certainly criticized Kingdom Hearts multiple times for its plot as well as its pointless features, I do love the series. More importantly Kingdom Hearts had quite a few moments that my childish self thought were “cool,” but now armed with my video game critiquing vocabulary, I can call progressive content.

It is important to point out that game designers did have certain aspects within the original game that for the time were progressive to the North American videogame market. Near the final 10th of Kingdom Hearts, the damsel trope actually becomes swapped up about three times. First Sora saves Kairi; however, he must sacrifice himself in order to do so. Sora is then put in a situation in which he is powerless, and has no means of helping himself. This disempowerment of Sora gives Kairi a moment of empowerment where she is the only one that can rescue him. While this is an awesome move by Square, Sarkeesian reminds us that instances of a male being saved by a female do not invoke or reinforce any regular culture activity or stereotype. However, since the trope of male saving a female is commonplace, when Sora saves Kairi this reinforces a weak and defenseless feminine stereotype. In addition, the developers do this so late in the game that it is hard to fully recognize Kairi as an independent figure, because she has been objectified for so long. Square does not stop with Kairi saving Sora, but soon after Riku becomes the damsel for Sora to save as well. This derails the game’s initial story and brings about a tale of friendship rather than a narrative of a traditional patriarchal male trying to rescue his love interest. However, Square’s should receive a larger round of applause for their commitment to progressive content as seen in the later additions to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

The Kingdom Hearts franchise does not have an impermeable membrane. The franchise over time has adopted newfound social understandings in media, in order to accurately represent the world. When I was younger I didn’t understand why, but the new games in the franchise felt different. The games began to broaden their spectrum of emotions: sad moments became grimly sadder, and glorious moments became triumphantly more glorious. After my experience in Video Games: Content, Industry and Policy I realize that this spectrum of emotions has broadened because the spectrum of experiences within the franchise has broadened. This can be seen primarily with the addition of strong willed female protagonists that spawn realistic personality traits. In Birth by Sleep, the PlayStation Portable prequel to the original Kingdom Hearts, the female protagonist Aqua is in charge of rescuing the two male protagonists (Terra and Ventus). In addition, she is given the most power out of the three and the only one to be awarded with the title of Keyblade master: a title that one only receives when he or she passes the Mark of Mastery exam. Aqua essential begins as an independent female and finishes the game as independent female. While her self reliance may have lead to a few of her shortcomings it is refreshing to see a female character who truly does not rely upon a male figure. Furthermore, a young Kairi who actually receives her powers from Aqua ten years prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts, begins to take a few lessons from her pal.

In Kingdom Hearts 2 Kairi is a true force to be reckoned with. She actively seeks ways to help out her pals and acknowledges her promise to Sora that “no matter where he (Sora) is…. I’ll find him (Sora) one day.” Furthermore, since Aqua blessed Kiari with the gift of keyblade wielding in Birth by Sleep, she will become crucial to the franchise in games to come. Kairi discovers this power near the end of Kingdom Hearts 2, and while she is untrained, she is destined to become a keyblade master. According to the prophecy seven keyblade wielders of light will be necessary to bring balance to light and darkness. At the end of Dream Drop Distance, one of the most recent additions to the franchise, Yen Sid reveals that Kairi is indeed the seventh master and thus she is necessary in order to create balance within the worlds. These are big steps for Square, a company that nearly a decade ago objectified women in front of the eyes of millions of children.

Slam. The last box is put in the back of the moving van. The twenty year old boy verging on adult mentally keeps tally: four states, and twelve houses. He thinks back to his initial boredom thirteen years ago and wonders if he could have ever known. Another group of friends made, but not lost. His thinks back to his buddy that taught him this mentality. Truthfully he is the only buddy that has been there with him state after state. He hops into the back of the moving van, grabs the box labeled video games, and plugs the PlayStation 2 right back in. He just wants to see his friend one last time.

Sources Cited

Anthropy, Anna. Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Drop-outs, Queers, Housewives, and People like You Are Taking Back an Art Form. New York: Seven Stories, 2012. Print.

Bogost, Ian. “Cow Clicker.” Ian Bogost. 21 July 2010. Web. 01 May 2016.

“Damsel in Distress: Part 1 — Tropes vs Women in Video Games.” Youtube. Feminist Frequency, 7 Mar. 2013. Web.

“Damsel in Distress: Part 2 — Tropes vs Women in Video Games.” Youtube. Feminist Frequency, 7 Mar. 2013. Web.

“Damsel in Distress: Part 3 — Tropes vs Women in Video Games.” Youtube. Feminist Frequency, 7 Mar. 2013. Web.

Kingdom Hearts 2. Square Enix. 2005. Video game.