At first glance, Kingdom Hearts and Naruto appear to be worlds apart (no Kingdom Hearts pun intended). One franchise features classic Disney stories and characters, while the other takes place in a world of ninjas and often tackles serious themes that Disney would never venture into for fear of ruining multiple childhoods.
Despite the greater list of their differences, die-hard Naruto fans should still enjoy several things that Kingdom Hearts has to offer. The similarities are often subtle, but other times, fans will be left wondering if Square Enix and Masashi Kishimoto were sharing notes this entire time.
10 Anime-Centric Character Designs
Kingdom Hearts gives many two-dimensional Disney characters from movies like The Little Mermaid and Hercules the chance to show off their angles in a three-dimensional playing field, but where the character designs will especially appeal to Naruto fans is with the series' original characters.
Naruto fans won't find it hard to appreciate the wide, colorful eyes, spiky hairstyles, and intricate outfits that scream the personality of these characters before they say a single word. Admit it: Sora looks like he'd rock Naruto's famous orange and black jumpsuit with a Keyblade any day.
9 Sora, Kairi, Riku
Kingdom Hearts' main protagonists bear many similarities to Naruto's protagonist trio. For one, the two main characters of each franchise, Sora and Naruto, are both mighty warriors destined to bring peace to their respective universes, and both are filled with an unwavering sense of duty to protect their friends. While both characters start their journeys as relatively goofy and inexperienced, they learn to master their latent powers.
Both characters have powerful rivals, Riku and Sasuke, who go missing after straying over to the dark side. Finally, the characters of Kairi and Sakura both serve as a romantic interest for the main character (although in Naruto, he eventually abandons his pursuit of his pink-haired teammate). They're also unfortunately regarded as some of the most useless warriors in their respective franchises.
8 Summons
Across most titles in the Kingdom Hearts series, Sora retains the ability to summon powerful allies to the battlefield to aid him during fights. In Kingdom Hearts III, he can summon a flaming version of Simba from the Lion King, as well as a creature known as Wonder Balloon, who he can ride into enemies to blow them away.
Summons often come at a price, though it's no way comparable to the literal blood that must be spilled to summon the quirky animal-like monsters that ninja in Naruto often call to the battlefield. Naruto fans won't be able to contain themselves once they've unlocked this ability in each of the Kingdom Hearts games. And plus, Lady Katsuyu kind of looks like Wonder Balloon if you squint just a little.
7 Customizing Your Team
Long-time fans of Naruto are well aware of how things are done in the ninja world. Squads of three or four are usually selected to go on missions, and depending on the mission's details, certain ninjas are better suited for specific tasks than others.
In Kingdom Hearts, control over which characters players can select for a mission is limited to the present world, but players can customize the combat styles of their party members, as well as their weapons and armor. Now, go grab Goofy and Mulan and recreate the Disney version of Team 7!
6 Rage Form
In Kingdom Hearts III, when Sora is backed into a corner, he is able to utilize the powers of the Rage Form, a transformation that engulfs him in darkness while also granting him extraordinary power. When he first uses it, players will be shocked that this hero of light so casually dabbles into the powers of darkness to achieve his goals.
Naruto fans will surely be reminded of the iconic moments in the series when Naruto becomes so enraged that he draws on the power of the nine-tailed demon fox within him. Just like Naruto's wrath, enemies at the end of Sora's rage usually don't live to tell the tale. Naruto definitely could have beaten Sasuke before Shippuden even started if he had a giant key-shaped sword to go along with that red chakra.
5 Elemental Spells
Ask even the most casual of Naruto fans, and they would be able to tell you what the five chakra natures are: Fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. Combine two of them, like water and wind, and you get ice.
Kingdom Hearts players will never find themselves creating new spells, but they can incorporate the powers of ice, lightning, fire, and even gravity, into their own play styles, much like how ninja incorporate chakra-based jutsu to get the job done.
4 Sora Versus Heartless Armies
Madara Uchiha first displayed hints of his godly power when he decimated the Allied Shinobi Forces without even trying. Both Kingdom Hearts II and III allow players to put themselves in Madara's shoes during the moments in which they force players to defeat swarms of Heartless.
Using Sora's abilities, this proves to be an easy task in both games, but Naruto fans will enjoy envisioning themselves as Madara as they slash away at thirty Heartless at once, knocking them into one another as they perform combo after combo.
3 Organization XIII
The Akatsuki aren't the only villains who look good in dark cloaks. Organization XIII, the primary antagonistic force in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, look just as stylish in their uniforms. They're a group of powerful beings with the ultimate goal of recreating the world in their image, envisioning themselves almost as a force to create order in the chaos of the universe. Sound familiar?
In Naruto, the Akatsuki had a similar goal in mind, attempting to expedite world peace by starting and stopping cycles of chaos. Noble goals, but terrible methods.
2 Flowmotion
Outside of popular Naruto videogames, Kingdom Hearts III lets players experience maneuvering through their environment with all the flare of a Konoha ninja. The perfection of the Flowmotion system grants players the abilities to run up walls, swing around poles and branches to close in on enemies, or even slide on rails and lines of ice during combat.
Not to mention since Kingdom Hearts II, Sora had already demonstrated his affinity for acrobatics. Naruto fans will surely appreciate this Square Enix hero pulling off feats that they've all tried at least once in their lives.
1 Cinematic Openings/Endings
Every Kingdom Hearts game has a unique cinematic opening, and although the song may not be new in every case, these openings are mesmerizing, and often foreshadow the events of the game. Naruto fans will immediately feel as though they've become the main character of their own anime from the very beginning.
The flashy, quick cuts in these cinematic openings introduce players to each game's heroes and villains, and Naruto Shippuden fans will definitely be able to appreciate the image of Sora falling deeper into a neverending body of water just like Naruto in Shippuden's eighth opening. Believe it!