Simple and Clean: A Kingdom Hearts Podcast

Deep Jungle, based on Disney’s Tarzan, is such a vast and exciting world in the first Kingdom Hearts game, one that really shows off what their level design could do… which was then legally barred from ever being mentioned in a KH game again. In a game series built on the backs of bedraggled and sleepless IP lawyers working out how all these properties can work together, how did Tarzan become the...

Welcome to the new year - what some might consider our “Year of the Nobody.” And so we really needed to get this one out of the way early! A remnant of the body left behind when the heart falls to darkness, Nobodies are a new enemy type for Kingdom Hearts 2, sure… but as they can retain their form and memories after the transition, the term “Nobodies” encompasses many crucial characters to come as...

The colorful and cartoonish aesthetic of Kingdom Hearts masks some deep tragedies - and perhaps none suffers underneath bright streaks of color more than Naminé. She’s a sketchbook-wielding "witch" with the power to change the hearts of those closest to Sora, born an anomaly among anomalies, imprisoned as the villains’ plaything, and convinced of some of the worst lies Nobodies tell themselves… be...

While Sora struggles against the machinations of the Organization in the floors above, Riku climbs his way out of his own personal darkness in the basement of Castle Oblivion in Reverse/Rebirth , the secret second half of Chain of Memories . Where Sora’s journey is about the lies others tell him, Riku’s journey is more about the lies he tells himself. But luckily, in this game he’s got King Mickey...

GAWRSH! The final pillar of the core Kingdom Hearts trinity, Goofy & his trusty shield are often the grounding force for Sora and Donald, the voice of reason and honest virtue to balance their impulsivity. But is that really in line with his characterization in wider Disney media? It may have more to do with his status as the only real fatherly presence among the core Disney cast… which is why...

How could the distillation of every dark thought a person’s ever had be so… cute? The Heartless may be the manifestation of evil, but they’re also a part of the natural ecology of the Kingdom Hearts universe. The only problem, it seems, is when the hubris of man throws the natural ecology out of balance - sounding familiar? We’ll take a look at the different types of Heartless, where they come fro...

We can show you the world: shining, shimmering, splendid… Today we’re covering that desert jewel, that diamond in the rough, the world of Agrabah from the movie Aladdin . Its vast rolling dunes hide deep and rare magical secrets… but is it enough to make the world feel full for the video game? Is Agrabah an entire Cave of Wonders, or merely a place that’s flat and immense, where the heat is intens...

Let’s get our feet wet! We’re talking about Donald Duck, that famously-hotheaded waterfowl from the core Disney cast. Because of his notable temper you might expect Donald to be placed in more of a melee-berserker role in the game… but as it turns out, Donald means much more to the makers of Kingdom Hearts than we may consider here in the West. Why does Donald get such a spotlight? Is there more t...

You’d be forgiven for thinking a game that came out on a handheld console in between numbered installments is just a simple side game, easily ignored. Unfortunately, you’d be dead wrong! Today we’re covering the plot of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a deckbuilding action game for the Game Boy Advance, with one hell of an impact on the wider KH story. As Sora & friends climb the many floor...

We welcome filmmaker, podcaster & avid gamer David Tilstra back to the show to check back in on his KH progress! Some of the biggest twists, the baddest fights, and the best story beats happen in the back half of Kingdom Hearts 1 - how do they stack up against David’s expectations from Disney, other games, and storytelling in general? How many times did it take him to finally beat Riku? And wh...

Few intellectual properties are as well-protected as the iconic Disney Princesses™. So how did this quirky little game handle having so many all at once? Enter: the “Princesses of Heart,” a translation of the cultural weight of those princesses (and also Alice) into the Kingdom Hearts cosmology. Who made the cut? Who else was left on the bench? And why don’t they ever make eye contact with each ot...

As your world is crumbling to pieces all around you, and you fall into unknown depths of pure darkness… if you’re very lucky, you may find yourself deposited onto the gaslamp-lit streets of a cozy little haven. Today we’re talking about Traverse Town, the first hub world of Kingdom Hearts - packed tight with little shops, therapy dogs, and anything else you might need on your way through to worlds...

Recording artist Pom Pom Squad - aka Mia Berrin, Mayanna’s younger sister - hops into the booth to gush with us about the music of Kingdom Hearts. A complex & mature score for what is purportedly a game for children, full of rich character details for a sprawling ensemble, the score of these games manage to weave together some of the most well-known musical themes of all time, original composi...

What if we told you there was a character vital to the Kingdom Hearts narrative and world in multiple ways, who possessed all the qualities that make Sora a hero and TWICE his raw magical potential, who starts their journey across the universe by bravely forging into darkness at the exact same time Sora does, who learns to wield the legendary Keyblade right alongside him… and yet we all shove this...

We’re so glad you’ve followed your heart back to us! Today we’re talking all about Hearts: what they are, what they can do, and why everybody wants ‘em so dang much. Not just the core of every person’s being, driving their every action - they’re also a source of limitless power, whose true nature eludes even the most learned scholars of the Kingdom Hearts universe. Could that true essence really b...

Welcome to the beach! It’s very spooky here. Today we’re covering Destiny Islands, a little backwater world somehow drawn deep into the heart of everything. It’s home for Sora, Riku, Kairi, and so many more - it’s their safe place, the place where nothing bad could ever happen. So why do so many bad things keep happening to it? How do so many of the heroes and villains of this series find themselv...

“We’ve always been rivals, haven’t we?” This week we’re talking about Riku, best friend turned villain turned deuteragonist of Kingdom Hearts. He’s strong, he’s confident, he’s ambitious, and when others turn away in fear Riku dives in head-first… but of course, that also leaves him vulnerable to forces he hasn’t even begun to understand, and paves the way for ultimate darkness to overtake the uni...

Mischa & Mayanna have been fans of Kingdom Hearts for a long time, they’ve dived deep into the lore… but there’s one thing they’ll never understand: what it’s like to first experience these games with a full adult brain! To that end they’ve invited Mayanna’s partner, filmmaker, podcaster & gamemaster David Tilstra, to give his impressions of the series as he progresses through them for the...

It’s a big key, and you hit stuff with it… but of course, it’s also SO much more. We’re taking a look at Keyblades, the signature weapon of the series. Filled to the brim with personality, power, panache, and plot relevance, these unique weapons make Kingdom Hearts simultaneously iconic and ridiculous. We’ll unlock all the important info for you: What can they do? Where do they come from? Why are...

Hop in the Gummi Ship with us and journey to Olympus Coliseum, the world of Disney’s Hercules - one of the most prolific Kingdom Hearts worlds (for some reason), and the KH capital for death, heroes, and seemingly-random yet oddly resonant Final Fantasy cameos. Under the shadow of warriors both triumphant and fallen, it’s here that Sora learns what it means to be a capital-H Hero - and where we al...

Oh Sora, the boy that you are! We start our dive into the KH series by covering the protagonist of (most of) the games, and the moral center around which the entire KH universe revolves. And sure, he has to be that way to be the main character of a game about love and connection - but where does that leave him? Does relying on his friends make him weak? Does believing in goodness make him dumb? An...

If we’re gonna make any amount of sense of this series, we have to start at the beginning: Kingdom Hearts . The story of three friends who wanted to see worlds beyond their own, and ended up with much more than they bargained for… and also every Disney character, just for good measure. And because we know that our friends are our power, we invite along our friend Oscar Montoya to help us find our...

Hello, nice to meet you! We’re Mischa & Mayanna, and we love Kingdom Hearts. Allow us to introduce ourselves, say what we’re about, and explain why we want to spend so much time talking about this silly game series to you all. We can’t wait to get started! Credits - Created & hosted by: Mischa Stanton & Mayanna Berrin - Music: “Sunset Dew” by Lupus Nocte - A member of  Multitude -...

I've been having these weird thoughts lately... Like, is any of this for real, or not? Simple and Clean is a show where hosts Mischa Stanton and Mayanna Berrin (and friends) talk about Kingdom Hearts , a little video game franchise about really big feelings. We attempt to unravel how this deceptively expansive game series has touched an entire generation of deeply earnest weirdos - and along the w...