10 Essential JRPGs You Need To Play Before You Die

It’s weird to think that a game like Kingdom Hearts exists. Disney has made fun, family-friendly films since its conception, while Square Enix has created games with more heavy themes with its Final Fantasy series, and yet, the crossover between the two works beautifully.

Instead of having a direct crossover between both franchises, the game follows an original story following main characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Throughout the game’s grand opening in Destiny Islands, you will quickly grow attached to three, showing you each of the characters’ lives and what they all want more than anything: to be free.

The story then unravels as Destiny Islands is engulfed by darkness, and Sora sets out on his quest to find his friends after being separated from them. This narrative somehow manages to perfectly balance the childish Disney aspects with the more anime-like ideas of Final Fantasy, creating a simple yet profound game that will stick with you way after the credits roll.

While the story is excellent, the combat is also engaging, being one of the first games to perfect the action RPG genre with enemies that can’t be defeated by mashing wildly, forcing you to develop clever ways to tackle each encounter.

Battling Disney villains is fun; exploring each world and finding each secret never fails to be engaging, and even though later games in the series would take the story to different levels, the very first is the one that nailed it.