STORY OVERVIEW
It Began with a Letter
K
ingdom Hearts 1 begins with a dream sequence. A boy wakes up on a pillar of stained glass. In the dream he ventures to many different pillars, learning different ways to fight strange shadow enemies until he comes face to face with an enlarged version of his shadow. Once the shadow is defeated, the boy sinks into a pool of darkness and wakes up. The boy is named Sora, who resides on Destiny Island with his friends Riku and Kairi. The three children are trying to build a raft and set sail to discover other worlds. While gathering materials for their journey, Sora messes around and plays games with his friends. He has a bit of a rivalry with Riku, who is older and always seems to be better than him at various tasks. Sora has feelings for Kairi, who he longs to share a paopu fruit with. When two people share a paopu fruit, it is said that they are connected for eternity. Sora visits the secret place where he and Kairi used to draw on the cave walls with rocks, and there he draws himself sharing a paopu fruit with her. Then, a mysterious figure appears. His face is kept hidden beneath a hood and what little he says makes hardly any sense to Sora. He talks of what lies beyond the door and Sora looks over at the mysterious door in the cave with no handle and no lock. It can’t be opened. When he looks back, the man is gone. Meanwhile, trouble is abrew in another world called Disney Castle. King Mickey has left on an important mission, leaving only a brief letter to explain himself. He tells his royal knight, Goofy, and royal mage, Donald, that the stars in the sky are disappearing one by one. This means trouble and he has gone to investigate. He advises Donald and Goofy to find the person with the “key” by talking to Leon in Traverse Town. The two set off. Back on Destiny Island, a storm has arrived and the island is littered with the weird shadow creatures from Sora’s dream. Above the island is a large ball of energy. Sora finds Riku beneath the energy and he is acting strange. Riku extends his hand to Sora, saying it is time for them to depart and he is not afraid of the darkness. Sora hesitates as dark matter latches onto Riku like snakes pulling him into the ground. Sora
reaches out to his friend but there is a flash of light. Suddenly, Riku is gone and all that is left with Sora is a strange weapon called the keyblade. Sora uses the keyblade to fight his way through the Shadows to a mysterious door in front of the secret place. When he gets inside, he finds Kairi standing in front of the mysterious door. She seems out of it and as Sora walks toward her, the door opens and a gust of wind sends Kairi flying toward Sora. He opens his arms to catch her, but it is almost as if she passes through him before she disappears. The wind pushes Sora out of the secret place and he lands on the only patch of land left to his home. His enlarged shadow from the dream has returned and now Sora must fight him in real life. After the defeat, the orb of energy in the sky begins to vacuum Destiny Island into its clutches. Sora tries to hold on but gets swept away. He lands in Traverse Town. The Shadows are here too. After exploring a bit, Sora meets Leon who challenges him to fight. After, Sora collapses. When he wakes, he sees Kairi standing above him. She begins to explain that the weird creatures Sora saw on the island are after him because of the keyblade, but then it is revealed that it isn’t actually Kairi he sees but someone named Yuffie. Leon is also there. They explain that the creatures Sora fought are called the Heartless. They are attracted to the keyblade. Sora is now the chosen keybearer and has to take on the responsibility that comes with that. Meanwhile in the next room, Donald and Goofy have met Aerith who tells them about the wise ruler, Ansem, who was doing research on the Heartless and kept a detailed report on his findings. With the worlds in turmoil, his reports have been scattered and must be collected. Suddenly, Heartless attack. Sora flees with Leon. They enter the third district of Traverse Town and meet up with
Photo credit: Devurr https://twitter.com/devurr https://devurr.tumblr.com
10
ISSUE 3 | LEVEL STORY
