Kingdom Hearts V CAST

Kingdom Hearts V CAST is a Kingdom Hearts game that was developed exclusively for V Cast, Verizon Wireless'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.

Story
The story of 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.

Sora, Donald, 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 Swordman 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.

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.

Characters
Several gaming websites have said that Sora is helped by "more than 20 characters" over the course of the game. It is unknown who exactly those characters are, other than the following list:
 * Sora
 * Donald Duck
 * Goofy
 * Jiminy Cricket
 * Jafar
 * Maleficent
 * Caterpillar
 * Swordman Parrot

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.

The Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland also makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, despite its lack of appearances in the canon series. It can be given Potions to make it talk or activate other effects.

The Shadow and Bandit Heartless have also been seen in some screenshots.

Worlds

 * Swordman Island
 * Wonderland
 * Agrabah
 * Maleficent's Fortress

Both Swordman Island and Maleficent's Fortress are exclusive to Kingdom Hearts V CAST and do not exist in the official Kingdom Hearts universe.

The Swordman Island, also called Swashbuckler's Island, is a world and the first "chapter" in Kingdom Hearts V CAST. Sora wakes up on the island after the Gummi Ship is shipwrecked by a strange creature, and Donald and Goofy are no where to be found. In place of your friends, there is, however, a parrot who helps you around the island. He says it would be a good idea to look around, so Sora explores the island. After searching he can still not find Donald or Goofy, so the parrot says it would be wise to gather parts to make a raft and leave the island. Doing this requires you to explore the beaches, coves, and crags to get parts, much like in the beginning of Destiny Islands in Kingdom Hearts. There is a kite puzzle that lifts you into a watchtower, a lava-filled chamber, and a mission where you must uncover four altar gems on a strange altar among the high rocks. After retrieving the four gems at the altar and finding all the parts to assemble the raft, Sora leaves the island and the chapter ends.

In Agrabah, there is a boss battle against Jafar, who is in the form of a cobra.

Maleficent's Fortress is the final level in Kingdom Hearts V CAST. This is 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