Man, that was quite the match-up. Still, as hard as The Lord of the Rings tried, it couldn’t take down the giant known as Marvel. In fact, while it was relatively even for quite awhile, Marvel ended up 64% of the vote.

Now that we’ve tackled two of the greatest cinematic giants, we turn to a couple of the greater video game franchises of our day, The Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts. Let’s get this started.

Opening Argument: The Legend of Zelda

You’re kidding me, right? Kingdom Hearts is going to try to take down the video game king, The Legend of Zelda? Let’s just mention a couple ways that Zelda crushes Kingdom Hearts. First, we’ve got to mention the story. Each Zelda game has a compelling, relatively self-contained story that motivates, inspires adventure, and even tugs at the heart strings. Characters are unique, fun, and well fleshed out. Compare that to the cluttered mess of the Kingdom Hearts story and you find that Zelda wins easily.

On top of that, Zelda has a track record that simply can’t be beaten. I was considering which 3D Zelda game to replay, and I found that even my least favorite 3D Zelda game was still fantastic, a 9/10 at least. Sure, Kingdom Hearts 2 was spectacular, but let’s be honest- Chain of Memories was pretty weak, as was Coded. Even Kingdom Hearts 3 has had mixed reactions from fans. Zelda easily wins this as well.

I could go on, but I feel like those two points are enough. Compare the epic stories of Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, or Skyward Sword to the muddled mess of Kingdom Hearts 3, Coded, or even Dream Drop Distance. Then compare the quality of all those games. Case closed.

Opening Argument: Kingdom Hearts

Now hold on a minute. Zelda is far from perfect. Most of their games are way too similar. Kingdom Hearts, on the other hand, constantly changes up gameplay in a effort to push the genre forward. We’ve had hack and slash combat,  in-depth RPG elements (much greater than anything that Zelda has ever done in that regard), card based combat, turn based combat, and even board games! In other words, Kingdom Hearts does far more with their games and does it spectacularly.

Further, Kingdom Hearts easily wins in the character department. Think for a moment- Kingdom Hearts has Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Aqua, and Axel, just to name a few of my favorite original Kingdom Hearts characters. On top of that, we’ve got some of the best versions of Donald, Goofy, and Mickey that we’ve ever experienced. It’s engrossing. That’s not even to mention the Final Fantasy characters. What do we get from Zelda? Tingle. Tingle is what we get.

You’ve been on a journey with these characters. You’ve seen them grow. It’s part of what makes Kingdom Hearts so captivating. Sora isn’t the kid from the first games anymore. With Zelda, you rarely get more than one or two games with a particular incarnation of any character. And Link is often a blank slate that can’t compare to the personality that comes from Sora and gang. Zelda just can’t keep up with how immersive the Kingdom Hearts experience is.

Rebuttal: The Legend of Zelda

First of all, I am firmly of the opinion that Zelda doesn’t have to change much of the gameplay between games. You don’t mess with perfection. Second, they changed a great deal from the typical series in Breath of the Wild, to critical acclaim. And if they go back to the usual type of gameplay, I’ll be more than happy. Kingdom Hearts’ argument is weak, especially considering how weak some of the gameplay changes that Kingdom Hearts has brought (and then dropped). Seriously, who wants to go do another musical with Ariel?

To say that Zelda’s characters are lacking is just categorically wrong. Sure, it purposely has weird side characters, such as Tingle or Agitha, but they aren’t the point. Look at the huge character arcs from the following characters: Midna from Twilight Princess, Zelda from Breath of the Wild, and the King of Red Lions from Wind Waker. Think of the huge personalities that we got from all the different incarnations of Zelda, my favorite likely being Skyward Sword. More time has been spent on Link and Zelda’s relationship in that game than anything that Sora and Kairi have experienced.

Further, look at the intimidating depth of the villains from Zelda. We’ve had monsters and calamities, but we’ve also had the conniving Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time. We’ve had the malicious Ghirahim. Majora is just creepy. My favorite, by far, is Ganondorf from Wind Waker. He has in-depth character and motivations, almost to the point of being a sympathetic villain. Other than Master Xehanort from Birth By Sleep, you’ve got to admit that Kingdom Hearts is lacking in the villain personality department. Probably because they try to have too many of them in one game. But that’s par for the course for Kingdom Hearts.

Rebuttal: Kingdom Hearts

Sure, there are many side villains constantly throughout the Kingdom Hearts franchise, but they are far better than the previous paragraph suggests. First, Master Xehanort is the villain of the entire series (currently) and he’s one of the best video game villains ever. Birth By Sleep puts a new spin on the entire series. Further, Riku/Xemnas from the original Kingdom Hearts was also fantastic, with Riku receiving some of the best character development of any video game franchise ever.

Look to the guest villains as well. Hades in Kingdom Hearts is likely even better than his film adaptation. The same can be easily said for Maleficent, who climbed from one of the most forgettable movie villains to being one of the best due her appearance in Kingdom Hearts. And all of those optional bosses, such as Sephiroth, are great additions that are incredibly memorable and fun.

All of that highlights the main difference between Zelda and Kingdom Hearts- content. Kingdom Hearts jams it full of crafting, optional bosses, and added difficulties. The side quests are fun. Zelda’s endgame is often lacking, with just finding more heart pieces- fun for the completion, but not for the average gamer. Kingdom Hearts is just more bang for your buck.

Concluding Argument: The Legend of Zelda

Let’s take the past five Zelda games IGN critical score and compare that to Kingdom Hearts’.  Breath of the Wild- 10/10. Twilight Princess HD- 8.6/10 (the original was a 9.5). Triforce Heroes- 8.5/10. Majora’s Mask 3D- 8.7/10 (the original was a 9.9). A Link Between Worlds- 9.4/10. That gives us a grand total of 45.2/50! That would have gone up to 47.3, if we had used the originals. What does Kingdom Hearts give us? Well, they gave us a ton of remakes (KH2.8, 2.5, and 1.5). The lowest score among them being a 7.5, they got a 41.6/50, a clear victory, especially considering the huge leap between an 8 and a 9 in reviews. Kingdom Hearts never broke 8.5.

Honestly, as great of a game series as Kingdom Hearts is, it’s not better than the best video game franchise of all time, Zelda. We all know it. The claim that Zelda doesn’t pack its games to the brim is just ridiculous, For those on the fence, just be honest with yourself. You know Zelda is better. It’s not a secret to everybody. Vote Zelda.

Concluding Argument: Kingdom Hearts

Well, those were a lot of numbers. But everyone knows that reviews aren’t the be all and end all. The gaming experience is what matters. And I’m sure that many readers love both of these franchises. But the truly unique experience comes not from solid gameplay, though both have it. No, it comes from memories, things you can hold on to well after the game is back on the shelf. Kingdom Hearts has more of them.

Kingdom Hearts has those boss battles that you tried again and again for hours until you finally got it. It has those epic story moments that we’ve mentioned before, such as Sora saving Kairi in the first game or Riku and Sora fighting off Xemnas in KH2. It has the memorable characters that will never be replaced, unlike every Link and Zelda. It’s just more memorable. Zelda is just a far-off memory that’s like a scattered dream. Vote Kingdom Hearts.

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