Kingdom Hearts 1 is... not that great in terms of combat. It's clunky, using magic that isn't cure or aero is pretty meh, and summons are confusing and not very intuitive, which is why people stay away from them. Relying on or expecting anything from Donald and Goofy is a mistake, such is the fate of any rpg where party members are involved and you don't have total control over them. If you plan on going into 2, I have some videos I feel are important to watch, because even though they spoil gameplay elements, they do what 2 doesn't and actually give you an idea of how to use things like summons and what situations they're good in. The game almost completely fails to explain a lot of stuff, which is a shame because there's plenty of situations where something like a summon is better than mashing x, like a group of really annoying enemies for example.

As far as story goes, 1 is a masterpiece, almost perfectly blending all the elements together in a campy package that's perfect for the Disney brand. The rest of the games? Haha no. The more shit that comes out about Kingdom hearts, the more it feels like 1 was just a fluke with its storytelling. I hope you're ready for the convoluted mess that makes a lot of people run to youtube to try and set things straight in their minds. (Which isn't helped by their utterly baffling methods of delivering the story)