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Haley Joel Osment to lead all-star voice cast for Kingdom Hearts
Posted by: Leonard Teo, Thursday, 13 June 2002
Square and Disney Interactive today announced the all-star voice cast for Kingdom Hearts, the 3D action role-playing game for the PlayStation2. The player will assume the role of the lead character, Sora, voiced by Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"). Osment will lead an all-star voice cast, which includes David Gallagher ("Seventh Heaven") as Riku and Hayden Panettiere ("Ally McBeal," "Remember the Titans") as Kairi. Kingdom Hearts will also feature the voice talents of Sean Astin ("The Lord of the Rings," "Rudy"), Lance Bass (member of *NSYNC), David Boreanaz ("Angel," "Valentine"), Mandy Moore ("A Walk to Remember," "The Princess Diaries") and Christy Romano ("Even Stevens," "Kim Possible"). In addition, many of the original film star voice actors are reprising their role for this project.
Kingdom Hearts is the first project between Square and Disney Interactive, combining classic Disney characters and worlds with newly introduced characters and environments created in the renowned Square style. New Disney characters making their debut in Kingdom Hearts - Sora, Riku, Kairi and the Heartless - are designed by Square's Tetsuya Nomura, director and character designer of Kingdom Hearts, best known for his creations in the breakthrough titles Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X.
Kingdom Hearts follows the story of 14-year old Sora, who, while searching for his friends Riku and Kairi, in a strange and mysterious land, meets Court Wizard Donald and Captain Goofy, protectors of the Disney Castle. Donald and Goofy are on a mission to find King Mickey. The three learn of ominous creatures known as the Heartless - beings without hearts derived from an unknown dimension and the perpetrators of the devastating storm. Upon discovering the link between the Heartless, the storm and the disappearance of King Mickey, Sora, Donald and Goofy join forces to recover Sora's friends, return the King to his rightful position and save the universe from the Heartless. Kingdom Hearts is an epic tale of adventure, heroism and, ultimately, the sacrifice of what is held dearest for the greater good.
For the first time, multiple Disney characters and worlds co-exist in one interactive product. More than 100 Disney characters appear in the game including Jafar and Aladdin from Disney's Aladdin, Clayton and Tarzan from Disney's Tarzan, Hades and Hercules from Hercules, The Queen of Hearts and Alice from Disney's Alice in Wonderland, Oogie Boogie and Jack Skellington from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Simba from Disney's The Lion King. In addition, Final Fantasy characters, including Cloud from Final Fantasy VII, Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, Tidus and Wakka from Final Fantasy X along with others will make special guest appearances. There will also be new features added to Kingdom Hearts exclusively for the North American release that will bring additional challenges to the player, further enhancing gameplay.
http://www.kingdomhearts.com/
