sign in sign up
<<
Home , Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts, Peter Pan (1954 musical), Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Tron (franchise)

Running Head: AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 1

Kingdom Hearts and the Narrative Paradigm Kyle Friedrich Undergraduate Marketing and Communication Student University

KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 2

Abstract

Kingdom Hearts is a video series that began in 2002 as a collaboration between Disney and

Square . It is one of -selling and fan-loyal series in the world and continues to exert strong influence on our culture. This paper seeks to answer the questions of how the series maintains coherence in its narration when combing different established stories together into a new plot and how the values expressed in the series resonate with the audience to create an emotional connection and loyalty to the series. When analyzing the using Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm, which explains why certain stories are more popular than others, it was found that the series was consistent with both key elements for a story to resonate with its audience — coherence and fidelity. Despite mixing multiple stories from different franchises together, the games do so in a way that it makes sense to the audience. By structuring a narrative around universal “good” values and identifiable characters, the series is able to connect with the players of the games. Because Kingdom Hearts offers a narrative that is both coherent and has fidelity to its ideal audience, it can appeal to a large, worldwide audience and create a lasting impression.

KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 3

Introduction

During the 21st century, the economic power of the has come to rival the impact of the and toy industries (Abrudan & Prundaru, 2009, p. 30). Following the release of the first Kingdom Hearts game in 2002, the franchise has since released seven additional titles across seven gaming platforms, with all games in the series having now received a remake. Given that Kingdom Hearts ranks in the top 80 best-selling video game series in the world, the socio-economic impact of the games is quite significant (“Best-selling video game franchises,” 2015).

Kingdom Hearts is a video game series that crosses over the universes of Disney stories and ’s Final franchise. The main plot of the series is as follows: The universe is in danger from the forces of darkness known as the Heartless. One day, a teenage boy named is chosen by the mysterious weapon known as the Keyblade to protect the worlds from the Heartless and other forces of evil. Sora teams up with the Disney characters Donald and

Goofy, and they travel to different worlds battling the darkness and seeking to reunite Sora with his lost friends — Riku and Kairi. While some of these worlds are unique to the Kingdom Hearts series, most of them are based on Disney movies (mostly the animated ones, but the worlds of

Pirates of the Caribbean and have also appeared). In addition to dealing with the Heartless threat, Sora and company also thwart the plans of Disney villains and take down a group known as Organization XIII, a shadowy collection of beings called Nobodies with its own secret agenda.

Spinoff titles such as Birth by Sleep and 358/2 Days feature characters other than Sora as the protagonist and provide backstory to the characters and events found in the main titles.

Prior to the 2014 release of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, Square Enix released a video titled Inside the Kingdom, With Heart. The video captured the feelings of Kingdom Hearts KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 4 fans from around the world (most of them young adults who had first played the games as children) as they expressed why they love the series and what it means to them. With comments such as “It’s the story that I needed to hear,” the video was a clear demonstration that the series is more than just a mode of entertainment; it connects with millions of fans on a personal level

(Inside the Kingdom, With Heart, 2014).

As relates to Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm model, this raises two main questions:

Q1: How does the series manage to combine classic Disney and , two fairly

different story types, into a narrative that is coherent?

Q2: Why does the Kingdom Hearts series resonate with the audience, in terms of “good

reasons” as Fisher defines them?

This paper seeks to demonstrate that Kingdom Hearts’ popularity is due to its ability to seamlessly weave together the stories of Disney and Final Fantasy in addition to its appeal to universal ideals and experiences.

Media Background

Kingdom Hearts is a video game franchise first introduced in 2002. The series is a collaboration between the video game company Square Enix and entertainment company Disney.

It is created and directed by , the famed character designer for the Final Fantasy series. Since that time, there have been a total of two main titles in the series, with a third in development, as well as six spinoff games that serve to link the stories of the main titles together.

The games have also been adapted into a series by artist Shiro Amano. Within the franchise’s 14 year history, every game has been remade and rereleased at least once, and the series has sold over 20 million copies (“Best-selling video game franchises,” 2015). The Kingdom Hearts Unchained alone has over 1 million downloads on the KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 5 store. Popular not only in the United States and , the series maintains a large global fan base.

Video games are defined by their game type (how the game is played) and game genre

(the narrative content of the game) (Grace, 2005). Role-playing games (RPGs) let the player become immersed in the character’s situation, and is driven by storytelling (Grace,

2005). A game’s genre will affect the narrative structure and story elements. Thus, Kingdom

Hearts, a fantasy RPG, can be expected to attempt to immerse the player in the personal story of the protagonist and adhere to common elements of the fantasy narrative.

As one can imagine, a game based on popular Disney titles was bound to attract cultural attention. People across the world have grown up watching Disney , and they are often the versions that we tend to think of when calling to mind classic stories. Even adults feel a certain nostalgia for and connection with Disney stories, which can be reflected in the games’ popularity with audiences older than children. Indeed, when examining the social media presence of

Kingdom Hearts fans, most of the fan base seems to be concentrated in older teens or young adults — people who began playing the games as young children and remained fans even as they grew up.

When asked why they are loyal to the series, fans will commonly state how they identify with the characters and emotionally connect with the story. This seems to suggest that the narrative elements of the fantasy RPG and the inclusion of Disney stories create a system of values that resonate with the audience. This prompts one to ask what factors lead to a sense of identification between the players and the game.

Along the way, the protagonists of the series also meet characters from Square Enix’s

Final Fantasy and video games. These characters mostly inhabit the KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 6 non-Disney worlds unique to Kingdom Hearts, although characters such as from

Final Fantasy VII will occasionally show up in a Disney world. While much of the series’ appeal is due to the ability to adventure in a Disney-based universe, the inclusion of Final Fantasy also creates a large draw to the games. The Final Fantasy series, which includes over 60 main or spinoff games, three feature length movies (including the internationally award-winning Final

Fantasy VII: Advent Children), and countless other adaptions, is one of the most iconic and successful game RPGs in history, ranking in the top-ten best-selling franchises in the world

(“Complete game list,” 2013; “Best-selling video game franchises,” 2015). Therefore, the

Kingdom Hearts series has two large fan bases to draw from: those who enjoy Disney stories and those who love the Final Fantasy franchise.

Final Fantasy, however, does not necessarily fit within the definition of what one would typically define as a Disney story, as the stories are often darker and more mature than what one would find in a classic Disney film. Yet the fans still accept the combination of the two.

Additionally, the injection of the Kingdom Hearts narrative into the Disney stories leads to a disruption of their original plots, oftentimes with elements that were never present in the world of the story. This prompts the question of how Disney stories are able to maintain their wholeness in spite of interruptions from such different stories.

Theoretical Foundation

The narrative paradigm model proposed by Walter Fisher asserts that people are essentially storytellers. This theory states that most human communication, with the exception of phatic communication, such as greetings, can be viewed as a narrative (Griffin, Ledbetter, &

Sparks, 2015). According to Fisher (1989), the narrative paradigm becomes relevant when viewing human communication that deals with transferring the meanings of beliefs, attitudes, or KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 7 actions (p. 57). The genre of communication does not matter, all that is required is the invitation of the audience to believe or act on the message (Fisher, 1989, p. 56). Narrative in this sense can be viewed as “symbolic actions — words and/or deeds — that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create, or interpret them” (Fischer, 1987, p. 58).

According to the narrative paradigm model, we make decisions based on “good reasons,” and these reasons can often motivate us to strengthen or modify our beliefs and actions (Stroud,

2001). What we view as good reasons are determined by our history, culture, and character, and the reasons that we use to interpret a message are determined by the communication situation, media, and genre (Griffin, Ledbetter, & Sparks, 2015). The reality of a narrative is created when we are able to test its good reasons (Roberts, 2004). This test of “good reasons” does not necessarily mean a fully conscious and deliberate comparison of the values of the story to our own, but rather an intrinsic feeling, for “the operative principle of narrative rationality is identification rather than deliberation” (Fisher, 1987, p. 66).

Even though most communication is told through stories, Fisher believes that some stories are better than others. He believes that people evaluate stories based on the standards of narrative rationality, and their degree of acceptance of a story is determined by how it measures up to their standards (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks, 2015, p. 307). The concept of narrative rationality is what he believes makes his theory unique and provides its value (Warnick, 1987).

The two elements of narrative rationality are coherence and fidelity, which are measures of a story’s truthfulness and humanity (Fisher, 1987).

Narrative coherence is how well the story “hangs together” (Griffin, Ledbetter, & Sparks,

2015). The elements of coherence for a story to fit the “logic of good reasons,” he believes, are structural, material, and characterological (Fisher, 1989, p. 57). Essentially, this means that the KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 8 story has to sound probable to its audience. In a coherent story, characters will act consistently with their motives, personality, and history. The events that are portrayed logically fit with one another and make sense when viewed as a whole. If a story has glaring contradictions in its plot or people begin to act out of character, then the audience is less likely to accept the story.

Coherence does not mean that the story has to play out exactly as it would in the real world, but rather that the world of the story is internally consistent. For example, a medieval story with dragons can be considered internally coherent, so long as one doesn’t have things like space- ships randomly showing up.

The other standard of narrative rationality is that of fidelity, which is the congruence between the values found within a message and the values of the audience (Griffin, Ledbetter, &

Sparks, 2015, p. 309). If a story has fidelity, then part of it will resonate with the beliefs and values of the listener. According to Fisher, we are concerned with the values expressed in a story and how those values affect the decisions made in the story (Griffin, Ledbetter, & Sparks, 2015).

He believes that the ideal audience is one that embraces stories because they contain messages that appeal to the better values of human nature -- goodness, love, friendship, etc. (Fisher, 1987).

While some people might listen to stories based on bad values, the narrative paradigm asserts that people generally prefer the “good” stories because we want to identify with them. Fisher additionally believes that once we accept a story as having fidelity to our views, it can influence our behaviors and actions for the better and act as a powerful means of persuasion (Griffin,

Ledbetter, & Sparks, 2015). He states that “values determine the persuasive force of reasons, and that values may constitute reasons in and of themselves” (Fisher, 1987, p. 138).

When it comes to role-playing video games such as Kingdom Hearts, the narrative paradigm is a perfect fit for analysis. Abrudan and Prundaru (2009) state that the nature of video KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 9 games is particularly relevant from a narratological point of view as the player actively takes on the role of the character. This enhanced level of personal identification with the story’s protagonist opens up new ways to examine the role that fidelity plays in the audience’s acceptance of the story. Indeed, Fisher (1987) asserts that because each of our lives is a story, we identify with the actions of others through their stories (p. 65-66). Within the genre of the fantasy

RPG, there is a heavy focus on rich character and story development, which allows one to explore both the values expressed and the overall consistency of the story, both of which play major roles in the audience’s attitude toward the game.

Application

How the series maintains coherence.

Despite the crossovers in that occur in the games, coherence can be found in how the

Disney characters and franchises are represented. One of the key plot points emphasized in the series is that while the worlds are connected, it is important they remain separate of each other’s affairs. Generally speaking, the Disney characters remain within the confines of their respective world and only interact with Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy characters. There are a few exceptions to this rule, yet these exceptions do fall within the parameters of acceptable coherence.

Donald and are Sora’s constant travelling companions, and there is the occasional appearance by or the villain , yet as these are classic Disney cartoon characters who are not tied to any specific Disney story and frequently appear alongside movie characters in other Disney content, they don’t feel out of place ( travels along too, but he general stays hidden and never interacts with anyone but Sora and company or characters from ). will often appear to scheme with the villain of whatever world the KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 10 story is taking place in, but since she is frequently depicted as the leader of the villains in other

Disney media (the show Fantasmic at the amusement parks comes to mind), this too makes sense to the audience. The only other times when characters from Disney movies meet with each other is when the Princesses of Heart (, Belle, Aurora, , Jasmine, , and

Kingdom Hearts character Kairi) are gathered together at the end of the original Kingdom Hearts game and when Merlin and the Godmother teach magic to Sora in the same game. Since the Disney princesses are marketed together, though, and since both Merlin and the Fairy

Godmother fill the role of magical guide in their movies, these meetings feel natural and logical to the audience.

By keeping the Disney franchises largely separate, this allows the series to maintain the narrative coherence of the original stories. While the worlds are dropped into the conflict of the

Kingdom Hearts series, they maintain their environment, as opposed to the breakdown of plot that would occur if, for example, was flying around in .

While these Disney stories are changed because of their involvement in the conflicts of

Kingdom Hearts, this does not change what Fisher would define as the truthfulness of the stories.

When analyzing how the narratives of video games such as Kingdom Hearts affect stories such as Peter Pan, Martin and Taylor (2006) argue that people are willing to accept the new narratives offered by the games because the original story’s structure matches the narrative schema of adventure video games, in which a band of heroes journeys together to defeat a villain (p. 173).

This type of story has become a part of general cultural knowledge, and we feel comfortable reading new versions because they match our cognitive set of expectations of what to find in the adventure genre. According to Martin and Taylor (2006), when retelling a familiar tale, not all of the original elements need be present or stay the same in order for the audience to feel that the KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 11 story remains intact (p. 181). For example, while the do not make an appearance in the original Kingdom Hearts, there is still the narrative of Peter Pan attempting to rescue Wendy from ’s pirate ship. This narrative schema is mirrored on Sora’s side of the story as it is in this world where, for the first time since the destruction of Destiny Islands, he finally sees

Kairi, the rescue of whom is one of the chief objectives of the game.

Similar to Peter Pan, the other Disney stories appearing in the games have become a part of our general cultural knowledge and have narrative schemas that we instantly recognize and can adapt to. In Kingdom Hearts, while the Disney characters have different events going on in their lives than in the traditional story, they still behave consistently with how they are portrayed in other Disney media, and so the audience feels that the story remains true to its core elements.

For example, during the Alice in Wonderland storyline in the original Kingdom Hearts game,

Alice is brought to trial not for making the Queen of Hearts lose her temper during a game of croquette, but because she was framed for trying to steal the Queen’s heart, and it is up to Sora to prove her innocence. While the Kingdom Hearts version of the story differs from the Disney movie, familiar elements are still present: Alice, trying to defend herself from a ridiculous charge and being the only logical person in the room; the , being his usual frantic self; the

Cheshire Cat, mysteriously appearing and offering vague pieces of advice; and the temperamental Queen of Hearts, who, regardless of whether Sora is able to prove that the real culprit was a Heartless will order “Off with their heads!”

As previously mentioned, most Final Fantasy characters appear within worlds made specifically for Kingdom Hearts and interact with a select few Disney characters, thereby preserving the integrity of their own respective universes. There is one notable exception, and that is in the world based on the movie . In this world, one frequently encounters KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 12 characters from Final Fantasy such as Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, and Auron. However, when examining the roles that these characters play in the Hercules storyline, they seem to be a perfectly natural fit. Zach Fair from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is well-known for his ideal of wanting to become a , and so when he joins Hercules to train to become one, he fits in perfectly with the “true hero” of the Hercules movie. Audiences would have no problem understanding how he and Hercules both want to train under Phil and how they become friends when both share the same dream. People familiar with the story of Final Fantasy VII know of

Cloud’s desire to hunt down and defeat Sephiroth and his beginning status as a mercenary, and so one is not surprised to find Hades manipulating him into working for him. In Kingdom Hearts

II, the character Auron is found sulking about the Underworld, a fitting role given that in Final

Fantasy X he exists as a dead person still inhabiting the world.

While many of the Final Fantasy games have a much darker narrative than the typical

Disney story, this does not cause a conflict when combining these franchises. This is because it is only the characters from Final Fantasy, and not the plots (with the exception of the Cloud and

Sephiroth conflict), that carry over. For example, Aerith is able to appear in the games without being tragically murdered as she is in Final Fantasy VII. Thus it is that Kingdom Hearts is able to hang together despite combining vastly different stories together.

The fidelity of Kingdom Hearts.

Fisher’s belief that the best stories are the ones which the audience relates to and shares positive values with rings very true in the Kingdom Hearts games. While the heroes of the games face setbacks, losses, and betrayals, there is always the theme that in the end the light triumphs over the darkness. As Sora declares at the end of the original Kingdom Hearts (2002), “The heart may be weak and sometimes it may even give in. But I've learned that deep down, there's a light KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 13 that never goes out!” The series is able to resonate with its audience because it appeals to the belief that people are essentially good and that we all have an inner strength of character.

While Sora might be a character that exemplifies always staying true to what is right, the series is not without characters who extend this theme to the idea that even when one has done wrong, or given into the darkness, it is never too late to return to the light. In the original

Kingdom Hearts, Sora’s best friend Riku is an antagonist for much of the game, having let himself be tricked by Maleficent into using the powers of darkness and eventually being possessed by the Heartless Ansem. Riku is eventually returned to his normal self, however, throughout the rest of the series he feels guilty about how he so easily gave in to darkness and struggles with the remnant of Ansem that still dwells within him, tempting him to becoming stronger with darkness. Despite some of the terrible things that he did, though, Sora, Mickey, and

Kairi forgive him and are always reminding him that his lapse into darkness does not define him.

As Riku states after he reveals himself to Sora while still looking like Ansem in Kingdom Hearts

II (2005), “In the past, I was overcome by the dark and betrayed you. Look what's become of me.

I wasn't sure I wanted to see you, but Kairi insisted.”

The Kingdom Hearts series offers stories of redemption less extreme and more relatable than being possessed by a Heartless in a quest for power, too. In Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of

Memories, members of Organization XIII attempt to gain control of Sora by having Namine alter his memories. While she does this in part because she is their prisoner and doesn’t have much say in the matter, Namine is also motivated to alter Sora’s memories of his past to one in which she exists rather than Kairi because she wants to have a friend. After learning of her deception, however, rather than getting angry and abandoning her, Sora tells Namine, "It's like this. I'm KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 14 really not happy about you messing with my memories. But, you know, I can't really get mad at you for it, either” (Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, 2007).

Forgiveness, redemption, and fighting temptation are values that are applauded in stories from all cultures. In the character Riku, people find many elements of the flawed hero archetype that they have come to love in storytelling, and some audience members may be able to relate his personal conflicts to their own. In the character Namine, people recognize the story of one who does wrong not because of evil motivations, but because they don’t know what else to do, and they can sympathize with her. The mercy that Sora shows to both of them exemplifies the universal value of forgiveness and healing in relationships that people strive to achieve. Thus, the audience is offered a story in which characters can be emotionally identified with and admired.

Another strong theme in the games is that of the power of friendship. The heroes always develop strong bonds with his or her companions, and their overarching motivation is always to protect their friends and stay connected with them. Lines such as Kairi’s “Don't ever forget.

Wherever you go, I'm always with you!” (Kingdom Hearts, 2002) and Sora’s “I don’t need a weapon. My friends are my power!” (Kingdom Hearts, 2002) remind audiences of the importance believing in one’s friends and being there to support them. But friendship isn’t always easy. In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the friendship of Roxas, Axel, and Xion is constantly tested and strained, even breaking out into fights between them. And yet, even as he prepares to fight Xion for the final time, Axel tells her, “Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!” (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, 2009). Moments such as these remind the audience of times when they may have fought with their friends while still striving to restore the happiness to a relationship. Few people would dispute the importance of having good and loyal friends, and most people are able to identify with the desire to maintain friendships in KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 15 the face of hardships and difficulties. By creating emotionally engaging stories of friendship, the games resonate with the personal values and experiences that the audience holds dear.

In addition to these appeals to greater values, the series also has fidelity in that it creates emotional conflicts the player can identify with. Roxas, who is the main character of 358/2 Days, is an example of how the series is able to connect with the real-life experiences of the fans. Many fans may admire and identify with aspects of Sora, but his exceptionally positive and optimistic personality makes him a little difficult to completely relate to; and so it is in Sora’s other half,

Roxas, that people find a more realistic character. When 358/2 Days was released, the original fans of the series would have been in their teenage or young adult years. Fittingly enough,

Roxas, the main protagonist of that installment, experiences the same emotional troubles and questions that many young people do.

“What makes you so sure about that?! I have the right to know the truth! How did

I even get here?! Why am I so special?! Where did I learn how to use the

Keyblade?! I hardly know who I am! What is so wrong with wanting some

answers?!” (Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX, 2013)

“No one would miss me.” (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, 2009)

Being told very little about who he is or what is going on by Organization XIII, Roxas struggles to define who he is and what his purpose in life is, something which young people trying to form their own identity can easily relate to. Roxas, Axel, and Xion share a great friendship, but they also hide much from each other. Similarly, most people know what it means to deeply care about someone while hiding something important from them because we think it’s for the best that they don’t know. Roxas also has a tendency to buckle under the pressure of his KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 16 existential angst and lash out at people, a trait that, while making him less than a perfect hero, makes him more realistically human and identifiable to the audience.

According to Fisher, a story has provided good reasons when it provides characters that we can aspire to be like (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks, 2015). He also states that he “would place love as the highest virtue or motivation in life” (Fisher, 1987, p. 136). Kingdom Hearts certainly provides role model characters and highlights the values of love, and as the video Inside the Kingdom, With Heart shows, the series has had a positive impact on the lives and attitudes of its fans. As one fan in the video stated, “Kingdom Hearts is everything you could want” (Inside the Kingdom, With Heart, 2014).

Conclusion

The popularity of the Kingdom Hearts series can be explained by the elements of Walter

Fischer’s narrative paradigm.

Despite deviations from the original Disney and Final Fantasy stories that Kingdom

Hearts is based on, the games are constructed in such a way that any crossovers occurring between characters from different franchises makes logical sense. Additionally, while the narratives of the original stories are changed by the introduction of the Kingdom Hearts plot, the characters behave consistently with how they do in the source material.

The fans of the series can be viewed as Fisher’s ideal audience as they appreciate the good values of friendship, forgiveness, loyalty, and love. Thus, it is no surprise that a series emphasizing these things as the core values of the story will find a receptive audience.

Additionally, the games offer a wide variety of characters that players can identify with. Because they share common experiences and values, the players are able to connect with the characters on an emotional level. KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 17

The series’ ability to retain fans from childhood into adulthood shows that it has created a universal story for all ages. As one fan stated, “It was a really big game because it was the first time that I actually felt like video games could have stories that were as good as or better than movies” (Inside the Kingdom, With Heart, 2014). Economically speaking, the narrative is compelling enough that some fans have bought new game consoles specifically for the purpose of playing the next game in the series (Inside the Kingdom, With Heart, 2014.) As there are more

Kingdom Hearts games planned for many years to come, the series will continue to exert its influence on its fans in new ways and continue to draw more people into the community.

Thus it is that Kingdom Heart’s popularity is due to its ability to seamlessly weave together the stories of Disney and Final Fantasy and its appeal to universal ideals and experiences.

KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 18

References

Abrudan, E., & Prundaru, G. (2009). Social representations and ideologies in digital games.

Journal of Media Research, 5, 30-41. Retrieved from http://www.mrjournal.ro/

Best-selling video game franchises. (2015). Video Game Sales Wikia. Retrieved from

http://www.vgsales.wikia.com/

Complete game list. (2013, November 12). The Final Fantasy. Retrieved from

http://www.thefinalfantasy.com/

Grace, L. (2005). Game type and game genre. Retrieved from aii.lgracegames.com/

Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. (2015). A First Look at Communication Theory (9th ed.).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Fisher, W. (1987). Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason,

Value, and Action. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.

Fisher, W. (1989). Clarifying the narrative paradigm. Communication Monographs, 56(1), 55-

58. doi: 10.1080/03637758909390249

Martin, C., & Taylor, L. (2006). Playing in : Peter Pan video game revisions. In D.R.

White & C. A. Tarr (Eds.), JM Barrie's Peter Pan in and Out of Time: A Children's

Classic at 100 (pp. 173-192). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Roberts, K.G. (2004). Texturing the narrative paradigm: Folklore and communication.

Communication Quarterly, 52(2), 129-142. doi: 10.1080/01463370409370186

Scott, S. (2015, February 22). Kingdom Hearts- A woven world of dreams [Web log message].

Retrieved from https://rtf331spring2015.wordpress.com/author/repapuno/

Square Enix. (2014, December 3). Inside the Kingdom, With Heart [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyARjSZj_tY KINGDOM HEARTS AND THE NARRATIVE PARADIGM 19

Square Enix. (2002). Kingdom Hearts [Video game for PlayStation 2]. Tokyo, Japan: Square

Enix.

Square Enix. (2005). Kingdom Hearts II [Video game for PlayStation 2]. Tokyo, Japan: Square

Enix.

Square Enix. (2009). Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days [Video game for PlayStation 2]. Tokyo,

Japan: Square Enix.

Square Enix. (2009). Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX [Video game for PlayStation 3]. Tokyo,

Japan: Square Enix.

Square Enix. (2007). Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories [Video game for PlayStation 2].

Tokyo, Japan: Square Enix.

Stroud, S. (2001). Multivalent narratives: Extending the narrative paradigm with insights from

ancient Indian rhetoric. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Western States

Communication Association. Coeur d’Alene, ID: (n.p.). Retrieved from

http://www.eric.ed.gov (ED450429)

Warnick, B. (1987). The narrative paradigm: Another story. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 73(2),

172-182. doi: 10.1080/00335638709383801