I wrote this, hope you guess like that article. I think it should spark some good discussion both here and wherever else. That's all I can ask for. ;)

The story line is pure beauty and it's so captivating and emotional the whole way through. It may appear as a little kid's game, but I doubt a child would be able to comprehend the plot. Or maybe it's just the mixture of Disney and FF characters? Hmmm....

I disliked KH1, but nowhere as much as KH2.

I found the main characters incredibly annoying and the villians to be more likeable.

Because finding and beating Sephiroth in KH2 is kickass.

Loved Kingdom Hearts...now Kingdom Hearts 2 not so much, liked the story but everything else was kind of a letdown.

I bought a ps2 just for kingdom hearts if that means anything.

Because it has the FF7 characters in it.

Oh it would probably still be popular without them, but I would imagine that without the FF characters and the FF7 characters in general nobody would care that much.

As proof of this I go back to KH2 where the boards across the net lit up like a Christmas tree the moment the voice actors were revealed, and 90% of the conversation about them was who was voicing Cloud or Sephiroth.

For me, the story and gameplay made me love this series. Plus, Riku is awesome. I like KH2 more than KH1. Felt KH1 Sora was ehh.

I remember when Kingdom Hearts first came out, at first glance, it looked kiddy to me but I gave this game a try cause of Squaresoft. Now, I can't wait for KH3 (If it ever happens)

amazing story

Kingdom Hearts Popular? no

good characters, fun gameplay, emotional plots.

I don't know if it's true that it's the hype that makes kingdom hearts so popular, at least for me. I followed none of the hype for any of the kingdom hearts games yet KH1 was the best game I ever played till I played MGS3. It was also my first rpg now that I think about it but I digress.

Kingdom Hearts is just very well put together. Great story, great gameplay and Sephiroth (I actually beat him once in it).

It holds an emotional significance to me, cause many of the characters from my childhood are in here + good story (both of them), and ive allways been a huge fan o all Squaresoft games... Can't wait for the third ^^

I remember getting the kingdom hearts when it first came out thinking it would be whatever(my love of final fantasy made me buy it initially). I found myself not being able to put down the controller for hours on end.

Whether its the story, combat, and etc... it just keeps pulling you in.

Kingdom hearts 2 today still gets much attention on my 60gb ps3(Looks and plays better compared to my old ps2).

My love for this series makes me really yearn for Versus XIII being it was made by the same guy.

My only gripe with the kingdom hearts series is the difficulty isn't too the level I would like it.

Great story and great gameplay. One of my top games for the PS2.

I absolutely cannot stand the ridiculous melodrama, ridiculous plot-lines, and ridiculous voice acting. I can't help but ask "why is this popular?" every time I see the title in print. I can barely tolerate Final Fantasy games, let alone their collaborations with Disney.

Personally I think it comes down to world wide fan service. Mixing characters from 2 popular universes is always a recipe for success. Look at Smash Brothers, Capcom vs SNK, Mario and Sonic at Bejing. If you blend 2 or more popular franchises, prepare to make some serious money.

Though I'd admit that all game cross-overs sell well, but if they are treated with some respect and are competent in the play department then the loyal fans are more than happy to overlook any failures that the game has.

In the end if you can capture the imagination of your audience and take them out of their humdrum existence then you stand to gain boatloads of money.

I draw you attention to Harry Potter, these books are by no means work of a literacy genius. However J.K.R. does create and imaginative universe for the impressionable tween market to lose themselves into. The same could be said about Star Wars, and any book written by Stephenie Meyer.

*Fades Back into darkness*

When I first heard about this game, I thought maybe it would suck, but when you understand the plot between Sora and Kari, and the inclusion of the idea of "darkness," and Famous Disney Characters, including the original voice overs, then you production values that are unseen in a game at the time. Still love it and hopefully will play KingdomHearts 3.

Because everyone heard of the special ending, where Micky will butt rape the hero then he will give berth by sleep in a 1080p cg cut seen.

I dont judge a game on the combination of factors in its development, and then say it must not be a good game. thats BS. it plays well, is fun, etc. and thats why i like it, thats why it sells well etc.

END OF STORY!

If you were a kid watching disney movies like lion king, aladin or watching these movies with your kids it should bring back nostalgia and you should be playeing it for that disney nostalgia alone. also final fantasy is like best rpg series of all time and since its action rpg and kind of a dark story it really just is awesome. I mean clouds in it. keyblades is like light sabers its got a small touch of star wars fill also. disney characters seem more bada$$ and epic. I dreamed this game up when I was a kid at how cool it would be if the disney castle gotten tooken over and stuff like that when i went to disney land.

I had played FF9 and FF4, so I loved playing this game. It's a realtime RPG. That's probably the best reason.

It's kinda sad, I was in 8th grade middle school when KH1 came out. A 12th grader in highschool when KH2 released. I'm probably gonna be a college graduate when Kh3 comes out. Man I'm getting old!

Kingdom Hearts is the only reason i don't sell my PS3 hoping to see number 3 on it or MS already buy it? hmm...