Kingdom Hearts: 10 Memes That Sum Up The Franchise

Although it’s considered one of the most popular video game franchises ever created, the general consensus about Kingdom Hearts is that it’s extremely fun to play, yet wildly confusing and full of head-scratching contradictions. In particular, the long-awaited release of Kingdom Hearts III left fans feeling cheated due to the endless hours spent going in circles trying to make sense of the game’s overcomplicated storyline.

As such, a host of internet images have proliferated that poke fun and perfectly articulate the action RPG’s most glaring inconsistencies, thematic motifs, strange characterizations, and a whole lot more.

Evolution Meme

Fans of the Kingdom Hearts franchise are fully aware of how wildly inconsistent it is from game to game. In a perfectly illustrated response by fans as seen through various Sponge Bob characters, the image, shared by KnowYourMeme gets to the heart of the franchise’s loudest critics.

After starting the franchise with aplomb, fans often tend to grow weary, exhausted, rejuvenated, enraged, focused, engaged, happy, and downright out of patience by the final franchise entry, as the unhappy and cynical Squidward looks on in disgust.

Donald Duck The Killer

One of the darkest and most shocking character motifs in the Kingdom Hearts franchise comes when the normally urbane Donald Duck is portrayed as a ruthless killing machine. Loaded for bear and ready to pull the trigger in a second flat, Donald’s evil ire will not quit in the franchise.

This mordantly hilarious image via Fandom Spot accurately depicts Donald Duck as the Grim Reaper, having already slaughtered Goofy, Kairu, and Riku on his way to dispatching Sora next. Donald may as well be included in Kingdom Hearts’ most loved villains.

Superfluous Tasks

Among the most nonsensical aspects of Kindom Hearts is the wide array of unnecessary and superfluous tasks Sora needs to perform on his various missions. He’ll often be guided to perform a duty that’s already been done or build an item of which he’s already in possession.

As seen in the image posted by Vivid_Cantaloupe_219 on Reddit via Meme Center, Sora is often commanded to do things like building a raft in order to get off the island and continue the mission, only to find a trio of boats on the other side of the island completely intact and ready to go. The silly oversight exemplifies the types of illogical occurrences in the franchise.

Riku Vs. Aqua

Another common refrain among Kindom Hearts gamers is Sora’s glaring disdain for Aqua compared to Riku. While all three are supposed to be allies who protect and support each other, Sora’s favoritism of Riku becomes more and more apparent as the franchise progresses.

Despite rescuing Aqua in KH3 and inviting her to join him in the battle versus Xenahort, Sora never gives Aqua the same respect or sense of pride that he has for Riku, who actually spends much time in the series as Sora’s rival (after being childhood friends). The meme, created by Keyblade Master via aminoapps.com, emphasizes the character inconsistencies that have defined the franchise for decades.

Random Characters Appearing

Speaking of crazy character contradictions, anyone who has extensively played the popular Disney video game is very familiar with random characters appearing out of nowhere with absolutely no rhyme or reason. Playable characters like Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and others spend a lot of time wandering around meeting people and looking for clues and directions, only to happen upon NPCs that have zero consequences to the story.

Moreover, the game will often ask if you want to delete a character before even getting to know who they are, where they came from, and why they’re in the game at all. The meme first appeared on a Reddit thread posted by Elfdemon and perfectly illustrates the confusion.

Boss Battles

Another common conception about the franchise is how confusingly inconsistent the various boss battles are and how strange the musical soundtrack becomes during them. Gamers will often defeat a boss with ease, only to realize the level has not been completed, leading to a vexing mix of sensorial sight and sound that leaves most players with a furrowed brow. Or in this case, bulging eyeballs.

The accuracy of the image created by Redditor XYPlayer437 can’t be overstated, as Kingdom Hearts has some of the strangest boss battles imaginable. The blend of lighthearted Disney with hardened Japanese anime creates a jumbled tone that manifests when Sora and the others fight the franchise’s biggest villains.

Cold Hard Logic

For an ordinary boy armed only with a giant key, it does not seem likely that Sora would be able to defeat such evil villains as Xenahort, Maleficent, and other supernatural sorcerers with immense superhuman powers.

Yet, that’s precisely what the entire franchise is built around: the notion that young inexperienced Sora can overpower such mighty paranormal foes. It’s a sound logic meme created by SpiritGuardianTaylor via imgflip.com that challenges the absurdity of the game’s basic conceit and underscores one more reason why Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that makes no sense when one stops to think about it.

WTF Moments

By now, a common theme about Kingdom Hearts‘ confusing plotlines and inconsistent characters are coming into sharp focus. At some point, players have to resign to the fact the game is very difficult to decipher no matter what transpires in the story.

Whether Sora is completing a clear-cut mission or doing a randomly bizarre King Tut dance as seen in the image courtesy of FandomSpot.com, it’s important for players to take a deep breath, repeat to themselves that it’s only a game, and do their best to make heads or tails of mind-scrambling affair.

Delayed Kingdom Hearts 3 Release

In one of the funniest and truest internet memes of all, the decade-long wait between Kingdom Hearts II and III turned babies to teens, teens to adults, and adults to seniors as they all collected waited for the game to come out.

Among the longest release delays of any video game sequel, Kingdom Hearts III was finally released in 2019, 14 years after Kingdom Hearts II was released in 2005. While there were several spinoffs and interstitial games in between, the image created by Derriere Connoisseur @BardockObama on Twitter perfectly illustrates fans’ frustration in waiting for the third main game to hit the public.

Kingdom Hearts 3 Backlash

The general consensus among most Kingdom Hearts gamers is that part III is by far the most confusing and difficult to grasp. Part of it has to do with the epic expansion of the worlds the game is set in, with another due to the massive DLC and secret easter eggs that Kingdom Hearts offers.

No matter the case, Kingdom Hearts III is harder to navigate and more difficult to conquer than previous franchise installments, a sentiment aptly articulated in the image by Alex @realmofsora on Twitter. Whether a novice or expert, KH3 will leave players in a constant state of chaotic confusion that may or may not lead to abandoning the franchise in the future.