Why do so many Christians like KH so much?

[Seaniel]

I can only assume it's a Disney thing. Your parents probably all raised you on Disney movies or something. Me, I just kind of watched them casually when the good ones were out. Never put that much stock in them though. Hi production values, crowd-pleasers. Is there such a thing as artificial heart?

Now I'm not criticizing any of you. But I frankly found Kingdom Hearts to be rather monotonous and a little tedious. The only fun parts were seeing certain Final Fantasy characters, particularly when they interacted with the Disney characters. It was well scripted, I'll give you that. But I demand games where geting there is half the fun.

A last disclaimer, I'll be the first to tell you that taste is taste and to each his or her own. Don't take anything I say personally.

[Tommy]

I have a Kingdom Hearts thread already. You can post your opinion there, it`s titled:
"Kingdom Hearts." Write that down.

I personally liked that game as unexpected as a crossover as it was. I least expected Sephiroth and Mickey to be game......ever!

[Cap'n Nick]

Saying that people like something only because they are conformist idiots isn't very nice, and tacking on "no offense" doesn't make it inoffensive. If you want to criticize the game, criticize the game. Leave the psychology of its fans out of it.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

... dude... not only christians like KH.... animefans in GENERAL like KH... go to a convention, and ask if anyone likes KH... you'll get a LOT of replies

as for me... im not a fan of KH.. am i Christian? yes i am

[Link Antilles]

Kingdom Heart isn't one of my most favorite of PS2 games, nor is it my near my least. It's just a middle of the road game for me. The interaction between the Final Fantasy and Disney was definately the only real selling point for me.

I was actually quite dissappointed by the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts. It wasn't bad, it just felt very unpolished. Now this would be fine and all, if it was not for the claustrophobic locations. Both the gameplay and the location never meshed or even came close to feeling like they should be in the same game.

After a few hours of play, the actual "playing" of the game became a chore. And for finishing these "chores" the game would reward you with nice little amusing cutscenes. That was alright, until they threw in this "drug-trip-of-a-space-shooter", which as much as it sounds a little interesting is not even close to entertaining.

Then again, I only paid $15 for it, so I'm not going to complain to much. As for Kingdom Hearts II, I'll wait for the drop to the same price.

[Jasdero]

Why do so many Christians like KH so much?

Because we have good taste.

[MasterDias]

What does being a Christian have to do with enjoying Kingdom Hearts? That makes no sense.
But, anyway...

Kingdom Hearts isn't my favorite game, but I enjoyed it and am looking forward to Kingdom Hearts II.
Heh. Pirates of the Carribean...

If you wish to know my main complaints about it:
1. The main story and the stories of the worlds never felt like they went together particularly well. Sometimes it felt very strange.
2. The clausterphobic locations.
3. Not everyone had a voice-actor, something that felt extremely awkward to me, as it would switch back and forth between being voice-acted and text dialogue. This kept annoying me quite a bit.
4. The gummi-ship thing.
Interestingly enough, I felt the story flowed more smoothly in KH:COM than in KH.
I didn't really find the battle-system particularly tedius, however. Not like say .hack or something. I found the optional boss battles quite well-done. The arena battles were fairly fun.

[The Last Bard]

What does being a Christian have to do with enjoying Kingdom Hearts? That makes no sense.

I'll second that. What are you talking about? I've never played Kingdom Hearts but I've watched my friend play it a bit, and I liked it. But what does it have to do with being a Christian? Just about half the PS2 owners enjoy this game...

Is there such a thing as artificial heart?

What are you asking? I seriously don't understand the question.

Later,
TLB

[Tommy]

A artificial heart is in Kingdom Hearts.

You could make a heart out of plastic and it would be considered an ARTIFICIAL heart, so that question was patheticially obvious.

And being a Christian made Kingdom Hearts so much less enjoyable (Sarcasm).

The battle system was more realistic than an FF game. You didn`t "Take Turns" which really works better for old RPGs but alot of my favorites are turn-based which is an unrealistic way of fighting. Who would take turns shooting someone or wait for their ATB bar to fill up? i just felt like getting that off my chest.

Kingdom Hearts was meant to be a combination of FF fighting style and an average Disney game battle style. I played Kingdom Hearts before FF, so I didn`t expect much but I still knew who Sephiroth was and watched my cousin play Chrono Trigger and FF7 numerous times. He is the only person that has heard of Chrono Trigger without my assistance I`ve talked face-to-face with.

[Seaniel]

Bah. Okay I can see I have more disclaimers to make.

I was merely making an observation. I know a lot of Christians and a lot of non Christians. seems to me all of my Christian friends like Kingdom Hearts. All of them. Very few of my non Christian friends liked it. It's not that it necesarily had any connection, it was a carelessly made and only half-serious speculation. To he who said "don't bother worrying about their psychology", this is why I did. I was afraid to offend people, because it wasn't my intention, and even something I wanted to avoid.

My only intention was to look for some sort of connection between Christians and this game, by observing your reasons for liking it. The Disney comment I made was another sloppy generalization, but one also based on some truth.

So on that note, I'll cancel my entire point in favor of their already being a Kingdom hearts thread.

[Radical Dreamer]

Man, I loved this game...Not necessarily because I'm a Christian, though. It had good characters, Squall/Leon, lots of nostalgia as far as Disney was concerned, cool Final Fantasy Characters (the main reason I bought it), the fights weren't too hard, and they were very fun, and did I mention that Squall/Leon is in it? *is a fangirl of FFVIII* XD
Anyways, it's just a good game, and believe me, Christians aren't the only ones who like that game...There are PLENTY of non-Christian people who adore that game. I'm SO excited about KH2!! Cap'n Jack Sparrow's in it, mate! XD Anyways, so yeah, good game.

[Tommy]

And the battle system for KH2 is much more challenging and has more rules.

[Tommy]

I`ve only met one Christian face-to-face that likes that game and I know alot of Non-Christians and Christians. Most non-christians i know like it and hate FF while my Christian friends are the other way around.

[kazekami]

It had good characters, Squall/Leon, . . . *is a fangirl of FFVIII* XD.

YAY another Squall loving FFVIII fangirl!!! Squall rocks. I liked the game I have non christian and christian friends who loved it. I liked the game alot. It had a good story. The gummi ship sucked. It was annoying. But overall I loved the game. And I loved Sora. Personnally I thought Donald adn Goofy were annoying. I like the game because it had a good story.

[Yojimbo]

I don't think it's mutually exclusive obviously as to whether Christians or non-Christians like the game or not. It's all up to their tastes in games. I'm a Christian and while I liked this game somewhat I never went out and bought it. I have a non-Christian friend though who couldn't put this darn game down till he beat it. But yeah it was a fun game but I was never really into it alot, but then I only played it for maybe 8-10 hours altogether.

[Hephzibah]

Strewth maties, no need to get all uptight! I've noticed that trend too. My friend Rita who is on this forum (the one that doesn't know what anime is ) has KH, and doesn't really understand all the FF references but she still loves the game.

Myself, I loved the game (only got up to the Hercules level... only got to play it for a few days), though looking back on it now I don't think I would want to play it again.

[cbwing0]

Saying that people like something only because they are conformist idiots isn't very nice, and tacking on "no offense" doesn't make it inoffensive. If you want to criticize the game, criticize the game. Leave the psychology of its fans out of it.

I don't think that was implied by the original post or any subsequent posts. Seaniel was merely asking why a supposed connection existed between Christians and Kingdom Hearts. At any rate, there are far more tactful ways to disagree. Criticism of the game was secondary to the question of the "psychology" of the fans. Asking such questions is perfectly valid; in fact, I can gaurantee that game companies study the psychology of their fans, through the use of demographic analyses. That's why Microsoft says that it wants to appeal to "hardcore" gamers, while Nintendo caters to the "family" crowd. These are just two examples of a basic marketing principle that is used for all products, including videogames.

the overall concept of Kingdom Hearts never interested me. I don't play Disney games, and I rarely play games in the FF series. I have not played the game for that reason, although from the reviews that it received I am sure that it is a good game for RPG fans. Still, it's not for me.

[Cap'n Nick]

Soooooorry guys. *eats foot*

EDIT: I really mean that. On the second reading I see it's not as mean-spirited as I originally assumed. Today is apparently not my day for subtlety on the internet.

[cbwing0]

No problem...everybody misreads things from time to time.

[Myoti]

I've never played the first one, but I loved CoM. Not because it had Disney characters. I mean, heck, half the time I forgot I was playing a Disney game. I liked it because it was so creative and fun.

I have a friend, who I now highly doubt is Christian, who loves the game because it's fun, not because it has Disney themes. On the other hand, my other friend, who is a very strong Christian, hates the game, but only because of the Disney characters. ;.; They're both hard to deal with some times... XP

[Mr. SmartyPants]

The Disney comment I made was another sloppy generalization, but one also based on some truth.

XD the only truth in that would be that EVERY kid was raised to be a disney kid

[Stephen]

I see you are a fan of sweeping generalizations Seaniel. I grew up never watching Disney films. I bet in my life I have seen maybe 4. I abhore Disney and what it stands for. (I have my own reasons for that) However, I did enjoy KH because it was a light fluffy game with fun characters. There could also be the chance, that since its such a family friendly game...that might help with larger Christian circles. (A fairly simple idea really)

[Fsiphskilm]

Yea

[LorentzForce]

2 out of 3 beta-testers recommended our product. The other one got fired.

As such, anyone can make up some stupid statistics that doesn't even make sense and generalise everything based on it. This forum has Christians, and it just so happens to be that it's a gathering of Christians who also like anime, who also happens to like playing games because it's kinda related. It just so happened that some of us love Kingdom Hearts so much, regardless of the fact that most of us haven't even played it, let alone finished it.

Please stop generalising and stereotyping based on small sample of statistics.

I personally watched Disney shows when I was a kid, but then, everyone saw at least one episode of something that's Disney. Not everyone is a rabid Disney fan.

[Hephzibah]

I do believe a STREWTH is appropriate here as well. Stop attacking the poor bloke everyone! Just because he has had differing experiences from you, doesn't mean that he is making generalisations or stereotyping. He simply found that most of his Christian friends loved the game, whereas his non-Christian ones didnt.

[cbwing0]

I see you are a fan of sweeping generalizations Seaniel.

As such, anyone can make up some stupid statistics that doesn't even make sense and generalise everything based on it.

It would seem that there are several people in this thread that desperately need a lesson in tact. Normally I would let it slide, but I have been noticing a trend of needlessly harsh and mean-spirited responses in the videogame forum.

For those that don't know, tact is the ability to allow others to "save face." What is that, you ask? Allowing someone to save face is the ability to restrain oneself from capitalizing on the mistakes of others by mercilessly harping on and criticizing them.

When someone has realized their mistake (as Seaniel undoubtedly has), it is best not to continue to ridicule and criticize them. Remember, we are talking about games. A videogame discussion is not the best place to make an example of someone in a crusade to prevent inaccurate generalizations.

Even that wouldn't be entirely inexcusable if we were not representatives of Christ on an openly Christian forum. If someone like Seaniel was not a Christian, do you honestly think that they would come back to hear the gospel after such treatment? Would you if you were in the same situation?

I regret that I have to speak this way to those that should be ambassadors and leaders, who should be more concerned with loving others than winning arguments. Remember, the ability to show tact is a strength, not a weakness; and it is a trait on which we could all stand to improve.

[dragonshimmer]

*applauds cbwing*

*huggles her Seaniel*

*sprinkles love dust on thread*

Back on topic.

This is something I've noticed as well. I think, as someone else has already possibly vaguely referenced to, it's because it's more of a family game. Non Christians are sometimes a bit more prone to desire something a bit more racy for their attention, while most Christians tend to stay away from things that convict them, although I do realize that some might stay away from this game because of the magic involved. So this game is well within the "safe and enjoyable" realm.

That being said, I agree that the game play wasn't the best at times. I fully agree. However, because the story line was so awesome, I fell in love with it and eagerly await the next one.

[uc pseudonym]

This may not directly answer your question; as a Christian, I am merely stating my feelings about the game, for whatever that is worth on the subject.

Personally, the only reason I really liked it was because I liked the combat system. However, I didn't play the game for an extremely long period of time, so I cannot comment upon those who felt it became old quickly. Beyond that, I disliked the use of Disney characters, but felt this was balanced by the appearances of those from Final Fantasy. Most of the time Donald and Goofy messed around off screen while I killed everything, so they were rarely a true issue.

[Stephen]

Please Cbwing, feel free to write your local congressman.

While on the topic of things we notice on CAA. I notice a large movement of people who love to take up defenses. Perhaps its a way to make themself feel better about themselves in the real world...who knows. But it seems like no matter what is said...someone is always running along. "Don't say that" "You shouldent do that" Grow up folks. If someone says somthing foolish, more often then naught...there gonna get unkind responces. Personaly...since i am being lumped in with the tactless people... I think what I said was fine.

[termyt]

[quote="uc pseudonym"]This may not directly answer your question]

Funny, that's why I didn't like the combat system. Donald and Goofy were pretty much useless. But you're right on the money for me, too, UC. The appearance of FF characters was a big draw for me and the story was engaging as well, even if I had Donald Duck following me around everywhere.