Summary
You can callKingdom Heartsweird, convoluted, and nonsensical as much as you want, but there are two things about the series you can never deny - it has great music and great art. Even when a Kingdom Hearts game might be lesser than others, you can never say they aren’t carried by the beautiful score and gorgeous style.
Of course, a game is much more than its art direction, and they say never to judge a book by its cover, but, well, that’s exactly what we’re about to do. Specifically by the box art because it’s the one part of Kingdom Hearts that never fails to please.
This article specifically covers the box art of all original releases rather than the collections, remakes, or Final Mix versions.
9Kingdom Hearts: Coded
You would be forgiven for forgetting Kingdom Hearts Coded exists. Not only do the majority of fans side-eye the game for just how odd of a filler game it appears to be, but you can’t even play it anymore. Both Coded, and the remake, Re:Coded, are locked to portable consoles you can no longer access. And then on top of it, it’s cover art isn’t even that stellar.
No Kingdom Hearts cover art is bad, mind you, but Coded’s is just a good chunk weaker than all the others. It has our mysterious cloaked figure, followed by Riku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy in descending order. For some reason, Mickey Mouse has his face buried quizzically in Jiminy Cricket’s journal. There’s just not much to say for it, really.
8Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Ah, Birth By Sleep. That was the beginning of a point in Kingdom Hearts when you realised that, sadly, every game was mainline and canon, whether it featured Sora or not. Birth By Sleep undeniably had an interesting structure about it with its three campaigns, but it ultimately left you treading old ground multiple times over.
At least it has a beautiful cover art. It’s comparatively simple when viewed next to other games in the series, but it also personifies each character. Terra, with all his muscles, is somewhat reserved. Ventus is poised to strike at any little thing. Aqua, with a more refined form, is ready to react. And then, sadly, there is Mickey Mouse.
Now, if you thought Birth By Sleep threw a wrench in the works of understanding Kingdom Hearts' lore, just wait until Dream Drop Distance. You’ve never seen a time travel story quite like this one, and some of those boss fights are just evil.
And then we have the box art. Against a backdrop of watercolour clouds, we have Sora falling (as he always does in these games) sound asleep. Mickey falls after him, hand outstretched, while Riku looks upward. It shows the characters quite well but even hints at late-game reveals, too.
6Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
We begrudgingly have the discussion every now and then ofwhat the joy is in playing games that just make us emulate reality. Death Stranding and its deliveries, Powerwash Simulator’s cleaning, and so on. Well, 358/2 Days is exactly that. You might be beating up Heartless, but it’s just a day job of task after monotonous task. Yet it also has one of the most emotionally charged narratives in the series.
The cover art does a great job of conveying that, too. Roxas stands ahead of everyone as if by himself. Mickey looks at him with apprehension, while Axel simply gazes as if nothing is bothering him. Right down the middle, we have the split between Destiny Island and The World That Never Was, and Roxas caught between it all. Top-tier box art design.
5Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories
Chain of Memories is an awkward game to look back on. It was the first spin-off in the series, and its story proved fairly essential to both its mainline sequel and later games. Released on the Gameboy Advance, it used a card-based battling system that worked much better in its original release than in the subsequent remake.
The cover art, however, is a banger. Sora floats carelessly in the centre, a stern look on his face. He’s surrounded by cards holding the memories of those who are special to him. Those cards are the only thing he can trust and are his literal power in the game. Themes and art are brought together in one, and it’s pretty informative to the gameplay to boot.
It’s fair to say Kairi gets shafted by the story of Kingdom Hearts fairly frequently, relegated to Sora’s love interest and plot device. She straddles the line between poorly-written female character and just generally neglected, which is honestly the worst combination of all. Melody Of Memory felt like, maybe, a chance to set that right. Sora still fights the final battle for her anyway.
We can forgive some of that for the cover art, though. Pulling heavily from other promotional images and even the all-in-one collection, we seeKairi sitting asleep on a velvety throne, surrounded by massive picture frames. Each and all of them are her memories or memories of those attached to her. It shows the legacy she’s had, and the potential of her character yet to be realised.
Kingdom Hearts 3 was definitely long-awaited, and though it may have gotten mixed reception, it put a cap on a long-running story that needed some closure. It opened a new path forward and brought us some character meet-ups long in the waiting. Sometimes, even where it falls, the legacy of its characters uplifts it.
Like many others, the cover art symbolises that legacy. Stood atop an unnamed cityscape, we see all our trios together, all joined by the Paopu Fruit. Only Naminé sits alone, herself the vestiges of everyone else’s memories. We got what the cover promised us.
2Kingdom Hearts 2
Launched back in 2005, many would claim that the series has never reached the same peak Kingdom Hearts 2 ascended it to. It was a masterpiece that started with lofty ambitions and managed to reach them, and set in progress aspects of the story that are still yet to be resolved.
Its box art is also one of the most iconic in the series, if not in all of gaming. Sora and Kairi with Roxas above them. Donald and Goofy look into the distance, and Mickey Mouse, cloaked, looks onward. Softly in the clouds, we see DiZ and a cloaked figure. It is a piece of art that feels uniquely 2005 and simultaneously timeless.
The game that started it all. The original Kingdom Hearts, spawned from a literal elevator pitch, would come to encompass a decades-long franchise. No entry in the series has ever matched the sensation of exploring Disney worlds as the original, and it’s unlikely they ever will. Kingdom Hearts 1 will always have that to its credit.
The cover art of Kingdom Hearts 1 is packed with nostalgia, whether you played the series in your youth or not. Sora stands at the top, illuminated by the light of the heart-shaped moon. His friends, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, are all below him, looking to the sky along with him. In the darkness, we feel the light of our youth having to come to terms with a world beyond our understanding. It’s just a beautiful piece.
