A kid with an oversized key, Donald on his left, and a melancholy that should never have worked.

The community profile is surprisingly even, and it is high. Kingdom Hearts sits ahead of 93% of games on the desert island question, ahead of 91% on connection, ahead of 93% on soundtrack, ahead of 89% on art direction. Fun and hands-on feel follow solidly, ahead of 68% of titles. Only one line stands out: rediscovery, which falls back to average. The catch is that it rests on a single vote, so no verdict there. One to confirm.

Next to the action RPGs of its era, the formula stays one of a kind. Mixing Disney with Final Fantasy could have turned into a gimmick, and it produced the opposite: a game people would take with them, whose music they keep, whose look does not fade. Few action RPGs tick that many boxes at once.

So, who is it for? For you if you want a sincere, colorful adventure carried by a soundtrack you will hold on to, and if you can accept a story that goes very far out. Much less if the Disney frame is a dealbreaker or if you want a dry, demanding combat system.