Kingdom Hearts V CAST

Kingdom Hearts V CAST is a Kingdom Hearts game that was developed exclusively for V Cast, Verizon Wireless' 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) with no input from Square Enix or Tetsuya Nomura.

This game is often confused with Kingdom Hearts coded, which was developed by Square Enix.

Story
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.

The story of Kingdom Hearts V CAST, aside from familiar characters, settings, etc., has nothing to do with the original plot of Kingdom Hearts, and is almost completely irrelevant to the series because its plot is not canon. Kingdom Hearts V CAST also appears to have no plot of its own other than finding Donald and Goofy and it was never directly stated when the events in Kingdom Hearts V CAST happened during Kingdom Hearts because it was not considered a side game of importance, but there are many theories. The first is that it could have taken place in or during Kingdom Hearts because Sora has already met Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket and they are traveling in the Gummi ship. It could have happened when they were traveling between different worlds, namely Hollow Bastion and the worlds before it because of the periodic cutscenes showing Maleficent watching Sora through a magical cauldron with green, misty water. These cutscenes suggest that Maleficent is attempting to stall Sora in a dream-like state as he is reaching Maleficent's lair.

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.

Characters

 * Sora
 * Donald Duck
 * Goofy
 * Jiminy Cricket
 * Maleficent
 * Caterpillar
 * Swordman Parrot

The above characters are all known to be characters in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, but several gaming websites and other websites such as Kingdom Hearts Ultimania have said that Sora is helped by "more than 20 characters" over the course of the game. It is unknown who exactly those 20+ characters are.

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, though it may be safe to assume she is not the only villain from Kingdom Hearts to also appear in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, as Jafar may appear as a boss in the Agrabah chapter.

The Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland also makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, even though it has never appeared in any of the official Kingdom Hearts titles. The Caterpillar is the same as the flowers in Kingdom Hearts. You may give it potions for effects or to make it talk.

Heartless
The Heartless have been proven to exist in Kingdom Hearts V CAST, though screenshots are only available of Sora fighting Shadows and Bandits. The most frequently occurring Heartless are Shadows.

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, though, 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.

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 of the entire level.

Trivia

 * This game introduced Assistant characters as opposed to guest party members with the characters of Caterpillar and Swordman Parrot.
 * This is the first game made by a company other than Jupiter and Square Enix.
 * This game is the only game ever released that is not considered to be official Kingdom Hearts canon.

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Kingdom Hearts V CAST