Kingdom Hearts V CAST

Kingdom Hearts V CAST is a  game that was developed exclusively for V Cast, 's broadband service. It was released on October 1, 2004 in Japan and on February 4, 2005 in the United States as one of the launch games for the V Cast services. It was developed by Superscape and published by Disney Interactive Media Group (formerly known as Walt Disney Internet Group), making this installment of the series to be the first to be made by a company other than Jupiter and Square Enix.

Development
Kingdom Hearts V CAST, aside from some familiar characters and settings, has no connection to the plot of the Kingdom Hearts series, and is considered non-canonical. Both Swordman Island and Maleficent's Fortress are exclusive to Kingdom Hearts V CAST and do not exist in the official Kingdom Hearts universe.

{{a|Swashbuckler's Island{}} is an entirely new character that hasn't appeared in the canon series. He assists Sora in the first chapter, suggesting that he should build a raft to leave Swashbuckler's Island{.

Sora is helped by "more than 20 characters" over the course of the game. .

Maleficent is the main villain in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, and she is often shown after chapters looking down at Sora from a magical cauldron filled with green, misty water.

Story
Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket are traveling across the universe in the Gummi Ship when they decide to go to sleep. They put the Gummi Ship on autopilot, and in their sleep, a strange creature creeps undetected into the vessel and subsumes the dreams of Sora. When he wakes up, he is shipwrecked on a deserted island called Swashbuckler's Island, and Donald and Goofy are nowhere to be found. His goal is to find his friends and leave the island, but even after searching every nook and cranny of the island, Sora cannot find Donald and Goofy, so he builds a raft and leaves the island to find them.

Gameplay
Kingdom Hearts V CAST brings back the gameplay elements featured in the original Kingdom Hearts, though it was modified for compatibility with mobile phones. Sora moves similar to a tank, with one button on the control pad moving him forward, another moving him backwards, and two more turning him left or right. Even with these new controls, Sora can still perform a number of moves aside from running and jumping. He can climb trees and ladders, grasp the edges of platforms and pull himself up, lift and throw objects, and use the Keyblade to slide down zip lines. A single context-sensitive button allows Sora to perform a range of actions, such as attacking an enemy and opening a Treasure Chest.

Sora can still use the Keyblade and also magic, the first spell he learns being Blizzard, to fight like in Kingdom Hearts. Munny and Experience are still earned by defeating Heartless. As opposed to Kingdom Hearts, however, Kingdom Hearts V CAST introduced "assistant characters", such as the Caterpillar and Swordman Parrot, as opposed to guest party members.

', also called ', is a world and the first chapter in Kingdom Hearts V CAST. Sora is shipwrecked there alone, but the Swordman Parrot assists him around the island. Sora does not find his friends on the island so he builds a raft at the parrot's suggestion. To do this, he collects parts from all over the island, taking him to beaches, coves, a watchtower that requires a kite puzzle to enter, a lava-filled chamber, and high rocks, where Sora must uncover four gems on a strange altar. After retrieving the four gems and all the parts, Sora assembles the raft and leaves the island, concluding the chapter.

Agrabah is the second chapter and world with a boss battle against Jafar, who is in the form of a cobra.

Wonderland is the third chapter and world, with The Caterpillar from  also makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, despite his lack of appearances in the canon series, aside from the. He can be given Potions to make him talk or activate other effects, similar to the Flowers from Kingdom Hearts.

', also called ' is the final chapter and world. Where Sora battles Maleficent in the final chapter. It has the strongest Heartless in the entire game.

Notes and references
Kingdom Hearts V CAST Kingdom Hearts V CAST