History KingdomHearts / TropesAToD

** With Kairi, the games teased she had the potential to be one for a looong time before she earned it. She begins to gravitate from DistressedDamsel to this in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', where she gets a Keyblade and fights a horde of Heartless alongside Riku, even if at this point she's still a beginner. But it's solidified at last in ''Re:Mind'', which shows she is able to put former FinalBoss Xemnas on the defensive prior to him having to drain her energy in order to kidnap her, and later takes on Armored Xehanort as either a party member or a playable character as a full-fledged BattleCouple with Sora.

** ''II'' likewise had ShipTease for Roxas and Naminé that hinted they had a history together. ''358/2 Days'' instead made Roxas' ImpliedLoveInterest Xion. He and Naminé never even ''meet'' in ''Days''.[[note]] Though Naminé worked with Xion in her final days to help her return to Sora (through Roxas) - and when Xion disappeared, all sense of knowing was likely transferred to Roxas.[[/note]] The credits for ''HD II.8'' bring the ShipTease back, to implied OfficialCouple levels, but ''III'' then reverses it back to Xion, with Naminé being paired up with Riku.

* AllMythsAreTrue: The concurrent existence of multiple Disney worlds based on different real-world cultures and mythologies has some interesting implications. Agrabah proves the existence of the djinn of Islam through Genie, Olympus shows the Greek pantheon is real, The Land of Dragons shows some Chinese religious beliefs in regards to ancestral reverence are real, and Halloweentown shows that Christian holidays like Halloween and Christmas exist in this universe, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy's pre-existing knowledge of Santa Claus implying that Christmas is observed on their own worlds. From all that, one could extrapolate that Jesus and the Judeo-Christian God exist in this universe too.

* BioData: [[EmperorScientist Ansem the Wise]] hides research data within [[TheHero Sora]], although it is left vague on how he does this.

* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: All of the main games in the series let you level up to Level 99, but you can play through the games and beat the final bosses just fine at around level 50. {{Bonus Boss}}es need more level grinding, and are often still very difficult at level 99, but they're not part of the main story.

** In the ''Final Mix'' version, BonusBoss Unknown (a.k.a. Xemnas) is normally extremely difficult, but there's an easy way to get him stuck in a loop. Not only is Gravity the one spell type he's not immune to, it also stuns him for a ridiculously long time if it lands. Stun him with it, get in a combo while trying to blow him back to the centre of the arena, jump slightly back while casting Gravity, and jump over the electric balls to reach him and repeat the whole process. He can break out of it for his final phase spinning laser attack and his fourth-wall-breaking command menu attack, but the former is rare and can be Cure-spammed through and he's too polite to use the latter while a summon is visiting, which ever so coincidentally also stops Donald and Goofy from interfering with your combo. Summon Genie and Bambi, tell them to do absolutely nothing and loop the combo until you win.

** When fighting [[BonusBoss Vanitas's Lingering Spirit]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', going behind the large rocks in the battlefield will cause him to try to run through them to you without attacking. As long as you keep him there, you can cherry tap him to death with Strike Raid and its variants without retaliation since they go through the rocks, or heal yourself with potions.

** In ''Birth By Sleep'' and ''KHIIFM+'' the Lingering Will is another one. ''Birth By Sleep: Final Mix'' add Eraqus' and Master Xehanort's empty armor as a pair of {{Bonus Boss}}es, Armor of the Master and No Heart.

* BonusBoss: This series loves this trope. The most [[NintendoHard insane]] bonus bosses are usually an EarlyBirdCameo for plot-central characters. To clarify:
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' has Phantom, Kurt Zisa, Ice Titan, Sephiroth, and, in ''Final Mix'', Xemnas.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' has Sephiroth again, Hades Paradox Cup Match 49, the five Absent Silhouettes, Organization XIII Data, and Terra's Lingering Will (the last three only appear in ''Final Mix'').
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' has Dustflier.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' has Vanitas Remnant and [[spoiler:the time-travelling young Master Xehanort.]] The Mirage Arena has Mimic Master and four incarnations of the Iron Imprisoner. The ''Final Mix'' re-release adds three more in the Mirage Arena - Monstro and the animated armors of Eraqus ("Armor of the Master") and Xehanort ("No Heart").
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' gives us [[spoiler:Julius from ''WesternAnimation/RunawayBrain'']], a boss fight NO ONE saw coming.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage'' has a hidden gauntlet ending in a fourth match against Phantom Aqua with a completely new and much more powerful set of attacks, often referred to in this incarnation as Zodiac Aqua.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' has the Dark Inferno, a beefed-up Invisible that dual-wields swords and a bevy of powerful attacks, with the ''Re Mind'' DLC adding The Thirteen Seekers Data and [[spoiler:Yozora]]. The Gummi Ship segments have the Schwarzgeist from ''VideoGame/{{Einhander}}''.

** A rare non-FightingGame example; in ''[=KH2=]'' and ''[=KH3=]'', some bosses have a "revenge value," which causes them to instantly retaliate in a specific way if you hit them too many times in succession. [[BonusBoss Sephiroth]], for instance, will teleport out of Sora's combo and attack from a safe distance. The Payback moves in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]'' allow the player to do this, to some extent, by retaliating immediately after being knocked back by an enemy.

* CameraLockOn: Tapping R locks you onto an enemy. Although with the loads of enemies, it's one of the few times in a game that this trope does not avert CameraScrew; it can be hard to lock onto a specific enemy.

** The Master of Masters is poised to become the primary antagonist of the Lost Master Arc, which began with ''Melody of Memory'', the first game post-Dark Seeker Saga. [[spoiler: ''III'' reveals that his apprentice Luxu had been helping him pull Master Xehanort’s strings to bring about another Keyblade War and orchestrate Sora’s disappearance as part of the Master’s long-running, extremist scheme to destroy the Seven Darknesses.]]

* DistressedDude: For a series with most of it's women DamselsInDistress, a few males in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series wind in this situation, such as WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}, [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Santa Claus]], [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Phillip]], and [[spoiler: even [[TheHero Sora]] himself]].

** Kairi [[DamselInDistress sees herself in danger often]], but every time she's escaped (or in the process of it) before Sora arrives in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. For instance, when she's captured by Axel [[spoiler: escapes from him but is later captured by Saïx and escapes him (with help from Namine, who, in an ironic doubling of this trope, actually IS her) and is confronted by nobodies and about to fight them when help from Riku arrives. Then she and Riku save Sora from a buttload of Heartless that Saix calls on him]]. Taken further in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind]]'' in which [[spoiler: Kairi is PromotedToPlayable and becomes a devistating GlassCannon]].

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* ContinuityLockout:
** You ''have'' to play all the previous games in the series, or at least know their stories, to understand any other given game. ''Birth By Sleep'' tells its own story since it's a prequel, but a lot of references and foreshadowing to the rest of the series will be lost on newcomers.
** This is not helped by the ''Final Mix'' versions including cutscenes that later games treat as canon, and the ''Final Mix'' versions were originally never released outside Japan. Thank goodness for the internet and newer compilation releases, though some versions pare down certain handheld titles to just cutscenes.
** Additionally, the series spans multiple consoles -- [=PS2=], PSP, GBA, DS, mobile phones, browser games, and 3DS. Anyone who does not own all those consoles is left out.
** As of ''3D'' and the [=PS3=] era, the series is finally making an effort to avert this and make it easier for new players to catch up. ''3D'' contains plot summaries of the past games with character bios and plot points recapped, and the entire series was ported to [=PS3=], including the ''Final Mix'' versions at last. Thus, all you need is a [=PS3=] to play most of the games, and the two left out (''358/2 Days'' and ''coded'' were given cutscene plot summaries, not full ports) are still on the DS, so once you get a 3DS for ''3D'', you can play those two as well.
** Even better; thanks to 1.5 and 2.5 getting remade for the [=PS4=], every single title save for ''Unchained X'' is available in at least some form on a single system.

* DamselScrappy: Kairi from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' becomes one in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''. [[spoiler:Despite being trained to use her Keyblade, Kairi is once again kidnapped and then killed by Xehanort]]. One of the biggest complaints about it is [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter how Kairi’s potential was wasted.]]
** Mercifully, the backlash toward this got so bad that a course correction transpires in the ''Re:Mind'' DLC, where Kairi is [[spoiler: shown to be as strong as Xemnas which forces him to drain her energy ''before'' kidnapping her, and after Sora resurrects her, she fights Xehanort alongside him as, by player's choice, either a party member or [[PromotedToPlayable the playable character.]]]] As a result, public opinion on Kairi has shifted back toward positive.

** Other examples include [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]] (Who's a noncombatant in her film. She's just as tough as any other GuestStarPartyMember in the first game, and commonly thought of as one of the most helpful in fighting the Heartless), [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast The Beast]] (Who in the movie is already incredibly strong, but having enough willpower to survive the destruction of his world and force his way to where Belle was taken to is quite bit beyond what was originally implied of the enchanted prince), WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} (In the movie and most Greek-related media, Hercules's powers are limited to SuperStrength. Here, he's given a few [[LightEmUp light-based attacks]] that he didn't have in those mediums) and the list goes on.

** Near the end of ''Kingdom Hearts II'', Sora basically turns into an overpowered action movie character. Case in point: he carves his way through entire buildings using a key. Using cuts that travel the length of said buildings. [[ActionCommands This may not count, however]], depending on your definition of "[[IncrediblyLamePun cutscene]]".

* TheChick:
** Both Ariel and Mulan, the only two female guest party members in games I and II respectively, fill this role. Ariel and Sora seem to form a TrueCompanions bond, with a little flirting in the first game. And of all the new party members you meet in II, Mulan is among the closest allies. Also Kairi plays this role in the series overall.
** Tinker Bell is the only female summon in the games, being summonable in the first, and appearing alongside Peter Pan in the third.

* ArtEvolution: The hand-drawn artwork has gotten much more anime-influenced, angular, and thick-lined over time, but this is less an aspect of this series and more one of Tetsuya Nomura himself. There's also a good deal of evolution in the character models, but that makes sense due to better technology. Even so, it's hard to tell Aurora from ''[=KH1=]'' and Aurora from ''Birth by Sleep'' are the same person.
** Not to mention the upcoming ''Kingdom Hearts IV'' has the human character models looking more realistic than ever.

** Both Ariel and Mulan, the only two female guest party members in games I and II respectively, fill this role. Ariel and Sora seem to form a TrueCompanions bond, not to mention with a little flirting in the first game. And of all the new party members you meet in II, Mulan is among the closest allies. Also Kairi plays this role in the series overall.

* AdultFear: Imagine this: It's stormy outside - really stormy. Your child has been in his room all evening. You go upstairs to call him in for dinner... the window's open, he's gone, and so are his two friends and their boats. He doesn't come back for a year - during which you have no idea where he is, or if he's safe, or if he can ever come back. (The parents of the main characters never get more than a shadow in a doorway...) On the other hand, ''Dream Drop Distance'' states that a world remains frozen in time once it is swallowed by the darkness. Also, due to events of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'', the parents forget about their son until Naminé restored Sora's memories, which means that they only started worrying at the beginning of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. Which might make it worse for them once they realize they completely forgot of their missing son's existence.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' might be the most horribly realistic game of the whole saga. While most of the other games have their share of horrors, most of them are on the fantastic side of things. Days on the other hand relish on basing its story on real life problems, social issues, and horrors. From fear of being fired from your job for not being able to perform due to external reasons, to fear of not being able to sleep well due to nightmares and performing horribly in your job as a result, to the most horrible ones like watching your friendship wither and die because of the very things you did to save it or finding out you have a short time to live and there's nothing you can do about it. There's a reason why the Kingdom Hearts III recap video about this game asks you to think about your real life friends before putting yourself in Roxas' shoes.

** The first part of the series, the Dark Seeker Saga, revolves around Master Xehanort’s attempts to claim Kingdom Hearts and begin another Keyblade War. While Master Xehanort is the OverarchingVillain of this storyline, he only appears in a handful of games as his proxies Ansem, Xemnas, Young Xehanort and others serve as the main antagonists of most of the games, before eventually coming together to serve under him for the FinalBattle.