Game Information
Character Cameos in the Kingdom Hearts series

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts II

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Kingdom Hearts

First released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002, the original Kingdom Hearts was a collaboration between Squaresoft and Disney. This game follows the adventures of a boy named Sora as he travels to different worlds with Donald Duck and Goofy, in search of lost friends. Although Kingdom Hearts primarily features characters and worlds from Disney's animated films, some Final Fantasy favorites make appearances as well.

There are five Final Fantasy VII characters that appear in Kingdom Hearts: Yuffie, Aerith (yes, it is spelt "Aerith", and not "Aeris", again adding further mystery to the Aerith/Aeris spelling), Cloud, Cid, and Sephiroth. Moogles also make an appearance, as well as Chocobos, although the latter appear only in the form of a weapon that Cloud gives to the main character, Sora.

Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid all appear in a town called Traverse Town, and aid Sora on his quest. You also have the opportunity to battle Yuffie at the Olympus Coliseum (Kingdom Hearts' version of Battle Square), but she is quick with her shuriken, so watch out!

Cid starts out in the Accessory store, but after a bit you will learn that he is a famous Gummi Ship pilot, and from that point on, Cid will help you fix, build, and upgrade the Gummi Ship that you use to travel between worlds. Note that your Gummi Ship is originally called the "Highwind". A Cactuar Gummi Ship becomes available later (although it doesn't fly...).

Cloud is first encountered at the Olympus Coliseum, where you fight him. After the battle is over, you have the opportunity to speak with him. He tells you that he's looking for somebody...

Sephiroth is an optional boss and appears in the Platinum Match at Olympus Coliseum. As in Final Fantasy VII, he is a difficult boss to beat unless you are properly levelled up (and even when your stats are at maxiumum, his is still a very hard battle). A newly-recorded rendition of the track "One Winged Angel" also makes its appearance here.

Like the other three optional bosses, Sephiroth didn't appear in the original Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts, but was first seen in the North American version of the game. Japanese gamers got their taste of this bonus battle in a special-edition rerelease titled Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, which also included an extra cutscene of Cloud fighting Sephiroth.

Below are the Kingdom Hearts designs of these characters, as featured in the DigiCube artbook Kingdom Hearts Visual Art Collection. Click on the links to see the artwork. Listed beside the name of each character is their English-language voice actor.

Aerith/Aeris Gainsborough - Mandy Moore
Cloud Strife - Steve Burton
Sephiroth - Lance Bass
Cid Highwind - (no voice actor assigned)
Yuffie Kisaragi - Christy Carlson Romano

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Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories In 2004, a spinoff GameBoy Advance title called Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released. Set directly after the original Kingdom Hearts and about a year before Kingdom Hearts II, this game follows Sora, Donald, and Goofy in a new adventure set in the mysterious "Castle Oblivion". This castle consists of numerous rooms and floors, and to advance through them, Sora collects and uses various types of cards. For battles, cards and card combos called "sleights" are used to defeat the enemies Sora encounters along the way. The Final Fantasy VII characters making return appearances in this game are Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Cloud. One of the first "World Cards" Sora obtains is Traverse Town, where he can meet and talk to Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid. Olympus Coliseum is another World Card that is obtained early on; it is here where Sora meets—and fights—Cloud (whose battle cries are supplied by Steve Burton). After defeating the boss in this latter world, Sora will receive a special card from Cloud, which allows him to summon the spiky-haired warrior in battle. Additional Cloud cards can be picked up later on, either in the field or at "Moogle Shops", and can be used in powerful sleights such as Cross-Slash, Omnislash, and Reflect Raid. One unusual thing about Cloud in Chain of Memories is that, as a character, he doesn't sport the wing that he had in the original Kingdom Hearts, but as a summon, he does.

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Kingdom Hearts II

The highly-anticipated Kingdom Hearts II was released for the PS2 in 2006. This latest chapter in the series once again follows Sora, Donald, and Goofy in their adventures. There are appearances from several of the characters from the first two games—both Disney and Final Fantasy—as well as quite a number of new ones.

As far as FFVII cameos go, Tifa Lockheart makes her Kingdom Hearts debut. Like Yuffie and (the now-wingless) Cloud, she wears her Advent Children garb. Besides Yuffie and Cloud, other FFVII characters making return appearances are Aerith, Cid, and Sephiroth. All six of them can be encountered, at one point or another, in Hollow Bastion.

Aerith, Cid, and Yuffie are the first FFVII characters you meet; they are part of a "restoration committee" for Hollow Bastion, their hometown which was taken over by the malicious Heartless in the first game. As mentioned before, Yuffie wears the same outfit that she did in AC, but Aerith's new dress is from her Before Crisis appearance. Cid, on the other hand, hasn't changed in looks since the previous Kingdom Hearts games, but he does have a voice now. Speaking of Cid, he no longer runs a store, but instead maintains the computerized security system for Hollow Bastion. Moogles (all named after ones from FFIX this time) are present as shopkeepers, and there are now multiple Gummi Ships named "Highwind" (each one separated by a number and different design).

Cloud is first encounted in Hollow Bastion as well, where he broods over his arch-nemesis Sephiroth, and even comes face to face with him at one critical point in the story. Like Cid, Sephiroth hasn't changed in appearance since the first Kingdom Hearts.

At around this same time, Tifa makes her first appearance. In the game, she seeks out a guy with spiky hair—spikier than Sora's.

One less noticable reference to FFVII characters are shopkeepers named Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie in Hollow Bastion and Twilight Town.

Also worth mentioning are the mini-games and sidequests, which include tournaments where various characters (including Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud) can be fought. A separate sidequest is a solo fight against Sephiroth; as in the original Kingdom Hearts, this is perhaps the toughest optional quest in the game.

Here are the voice actors for the FFVII characters in Kingdom Hearts II. The linked names lead to CG art for that character:

Aerith/Aeris Gainsborough - Mena Suvari
Cloud Strife - Steve Burton
Cid Highwind - Chris Edgerly
Sephiroth - George Newbern
Yuffie Kisaragi - Christy Carlson Romano
Tifa Lockheart - Rachel Leigh Cook

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Original Kingdom Hearts summary written by ChibiTaryn, May 2003. Last updated by Reeve, July 2006. KH artbook scans by Reeve; KH:CoM sprite captures by Nemu and Incognito.