After Playing Kingdom Hearts Yearly, I Think a Remake Could Fix These 6 Problems

Playing the original Kingdom Hearts after so many years feels like looking back at a sweet, but outdated, memory. While it still has a lot of charm, a complete remake could improve the rough animations and update the way combat works. More importantly, it would give the developers a chance to fix problems that have appeared in later Kingdom Hearts games on different consoles and in various versions. Because the series has such a complex story, going back to the beginning and making improvements could subtly streamline things and set the franchise on a better path for future installments.

Although Square Enix hasn’t officially announced a Kingdom Hearts remake, a recent leak suggested a complete overhaul of the original game, tentatively titled Kingdom Hearts ReLux. While those rumors have mostly been debunked, they sparked some thoughts about what a full remake could – and should – include. Even with the already-released and well-received remasters, some aspects of the original Kingdom Hearts feel outdated or weren’t quite right to begin with.

Kairi Deserves to Be More Than a Motivation

Kairi has always been the emotional heart of the Kingdom Hearts series, but she hasn’t often been a key player in the action. In the first game, she’s mostly someone who needs rescuing and serves as a connection for Sora. While later games try to give her more to do, like Keyblade training and a few moments of gameplay in Kingdom Hearts 3, she’s still often portrayed as someone who needs saving, even in Melody of Memory, which was her first game as the main character. A remake could really improve her role in the original game’s story. Instead of disappearing for long periods, she could have short playable sections in places like Traverse Town or Hollow Bastion, giving players a fresh perspective.

Showing more of the story through Kairi’s eyes would help establish her as someone who actively shapes events, instead of just being the goal. Even better, giving her more to say and more interactions with other characters would make her a more developed person. There’s a lot of potential in exploring her past – her time on Destiny Islands, her relationships with Sora and Riku, and what it was like losing her home in Radiant Garden. If the series wants players to see Kairi as a powerful Guardian of Light, just like her friends, they need to build that understanding from the start.

Gummi Ship Combat Needs to Be More Than a Loading Screen

Image via Square Enix

The Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts was a creative idea – a customizable spaceship meant to connect the different Disney worlds with fast-paced, Space Foxinspired battles. However, it often feels like a required break from the main game. Later installments tried to improve it: Kingdom Hearts 2 made the ship sections into intense shooting challenges, and Kingdom Hearts 3* turned it into an open-world experience. While I enjoyed the shooting-style version, a remake could really make traveling with the Gummi Ship a more meaningful part of the game.

Updating the Gummi Ship customization to be more user-friendly would greatly improve the experience, while still offering plenty of ways to personalize your ship. Instead of feeling clunky like building with LEGOs, ship designs could directly impact how you fight. Similar to how Sora customizes his Keyblade, players could focus on speed, defense, or attack power through a more complex system. Adding unique events between worlds, optional boss fights, and different paths to take would make traveling through space feel like a full-fledged game within Kingdom Hearts, turning what used to be a tedious task into something truly exciting.

Lip Sync and Presentation Need a Modern Pass

Playing the original Kingdom Hearts now, one of the most noticeable issues isn’t the camera angles—it’s the way the characters’ lips don’t match up with what they’re saying. They’ll be delivering heartfelt lines while their mouths move in a repeating, unnatural pattern. This isn’t just a visual problem, though; Kingdom Hearts is intentionally dramatic. When the acting works, it’s fantastic, but when it doesn’t, it’s very obvious.

As a huge Kingdom Hearts fan, I’ve always dreamed of a remake built using today’s technology. Imagine seeing Sora and Riku’s first clashes, or even Sora’s heartbreaking sacrifice in Hollow Bastion, with truly expressive faces and perfectly timed acting! Those scenes are so important to the story, and they’d be incredible with a real cinematic touch. It would really do justice to the emotional impact of the whole series, especially Ansem’s big reveals.

It’s Time to Abandon Text-based Cinematics

Image via Square Enix

The Kingdom Hearts series relies a lot on displaying dialogue in text boxes, especially during calmer scenes or when focusing on the Disney worlds. While this was appealing when the game first came out in 2002, the difference between scenes with voice acting and those with just text now feels jarring. Giving voice lines to all the dialogue would make the story flow more smoothly and help side characters feel more developed. It would also improve the game’s rhythm, allowing actors to add emotional depth that text can’t always deliver.

Considering how much more talking there is in the newer games, it would make sense for the remake to update the original game’s story to match. Plus, with new voice actors already used for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, this could be a chance to improve some of the less exciting conversations in Kingdom Hearts and make them more engaging.

Donald and Goofy Deserve to be Smarter

Players of Kingdom Hearts often find its AI companions frustrating. Donald, though well-meaning, frequently runs out of magic at the worst possible times, and Goofy’s actions can be unpredictable. The AI controlling these characters swings wildly between helpful and hindering. While Donald and Goofy are functional, Kingdom Hearts could improve their behavior by adopting a system similar to the Gambit system from Final Fantasy 12.

Instead of just letting Donald and Goofy act randomly, imagine being able to tell them how to behave. For example, you could set it so Donald automatically casts healing spells when an ally’s health gets low, or focuses on attacking when the boss is vulnerable. This wouldn’t make the game too easy, but it would give players more control over their team. Players who prefer a supportive Donald could program him to prioritize healing, while others could make him a powerful attacker. The same idea applies to Goofy, letting you decide when he should use his defensive skills or control enemies.

A Parallel Riku Campaign Could Redefine the Story

One of the biggest improvements would be a complete story mode focused on Riku, running alongside Sora’s adventure. Riku’s struggle with darkness and his eventual return to the light is a powerful part of the series, but much of it happened behind the scenes in the original game. While later versions added some extra scenes, players mainly see what Riku did after making difficult choices, not the choices themselves. A separate campaign would let us experience that journey firsthand.

The Game Boy Advance game Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories previously explored a similar idea, and I vividly remember the excitement of finishing the game as Sora and then seeing Riku’s image appear on the menu. That unlocked Riku’s campaign after completing the main story, but a Kingdom Hearts remake could handle things differently. Instead of unlocking a separate campaign, the remake could alternate chapters, letting players control Riku during important parts of the story – like when he teams up with Maleficent or seemingly rescues Kairi. Giving Riku unique combat abilities – perhaps based on darkness, with risk-reward mechanics, or even temporary transformations – would make him feel different to play. By the time Sora and Riku’s stories meet again at Hollow Bastion, players won’t just know what Riku went through – they’ll have experienced it firsthand.

Playing Kingdom Hearts again every year reminds me why it became so popular. The unique blend of Disney’s lightheartedness and Final Fantasy’s dramatic storytelling still feels special. The music is as captivating as ever, and wielding the Keyblades remains incredibly satisfying. However, even fond memories can’t hide the game’s flaws. A well-made remake wouldn’t need to drastically change the core experience, just polish it up. If done correctly, it wouldn’t just be a visually updated version of a beloved game – it would be the perfect base for all future installments.

2026-02-25 13:36