Due to the success of the first game’s sales, the real time aerial action RPG battle system of Kingdom Hearts became the main basis for some modern Final Fantasy games, particularly the arena fighting game spin-off series Dissidia Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy XV. This started a trend of games getting the Final Mix treatment, with most of them being exclusive to Japan for years. The game received a Director's Cut re-release in Japan with this new content along with more content made specifically for this version, titled Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. The release outside of Japan is notable for having content that was not in the initial release due to time constraints. The game is considered a major factor in the financial recovery of Square, which allowed them to merge with Enix in 2003. The game was a critical and financial success both in Japan and internationally, eventually becoming the tenth best-selling game on the system. The game eventually morphed into Kingdom Hearts, which released for the PlayStation 2 on March 28, 2002. However, after a meeting with Sakaguchi, Nomura elevated the storyline to better appeal to Final Fantasy fans. The storyline and narrative would be helmed by Nomura, marking his debut as a director and lead writer, and it was originally planned to be a simple narrative meant to appeal to Disney's core audience. Disney approved the concept on the condition that all original characters, settings, and assets would be fully owned by them. Nomura decided to compromise by creating an original character, Sora, to serve as the protagonist instead, combining Disney's character design aspects with his own. The lead protagonist was undecided between the two companies, with Disney wanting Donald Duck and Square wanting Mickey Mouse. It was eventually decided that the game would be a crossover title with Disney and Final Fantasy characters interacting with original characters, however contention arose when settling on the game's premise and direction. By a stroke of luck, Square and Disney of Japan shared an office building at the time, and Hashimoto would have a chance encounter with a Disney executive in an elevator which allowed him to pitch the concept of using Disney properties in this game, which was eventually approved in 2000. Final Fantasy character designer Tetsuya Nomura overheard these conversations and volunteered to create this project. The two bemoaned about Square needing a game like Super Mario 64, but realizing only a company like Disney has characters that could rival the popularity of Mario. The developer was in a financially unstable position at the time and needed a blockbuster success to save them from going bankrupt. The origins of Kingdom Hearts can be traced back to conversations between Squaresoft executive Shinji Hashimoto and Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi in the late 1990s. 3.12 Kingdom Hearts III / Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind.3.9 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
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