#but my end of the deal was that i had to play KH

[noritaro]

i cant stop looking at his clown shoes during cut scenes

[dreamsy990]

so it all comes to this.

to say i was excited to play 3 would be wrong. actually i was sort of dreading the game. i went in with expectations for the worst and was pleasantly surprised. which is not to say that its good. but its certainly a game! that i played! and now you get my thoughts. unfortunately a lot of my thoughts about the end of the game are kind of hard to separate so. if youre wondering where my thoughts on endgame stuff is. its at the end.

(also i havent played remind so theres no remind thoughts here. its all just base game kh3)

combat (with some other gameplay notes)

so. im not a big fan of the combat. to preface, i played the rest of the series on standard, but with kh3 i was told it was easy so i did proud! and yet it was still the easiest kh game.

kh3 is the first game in the series where i feel as though 'mash x to win' is a valid criticism <- thats not entirely true at the start, but later in the game it does feel a lot like that. almost every fight is mindless because of how easy it is. you can see it in the enemy health bars, theyre absurdly large because of how easy it is to take them down. they need to have that high of health so the fight isnt over in under a minute.

i dont think the base combat is bad. unsatisfying, maybe. But not bad. except for attraction commands.

attraction commands feel like part of a pattern in kh3, where they try to recreate what made the other games so good without understanding WHY it was good. what theyre recreating ofc being reaction commands. technically its the same as some reaction commands, sure, being a giant dramatic attack, but it doesnt work because theres no situational awareness in them.

attraction commands dont feel cool because theres nothing in them that requires use of your surroundings or that is tailored to the enemies youre fighting, since theres only a couple that can be used at any time. there's nothing strategic about using them either- reaction commands normally would give you a specific advantage, or could be used to avoid attacks, only sometimes dealing damage on their own. in kh3, all attractions do is deal damage. they are impersonal and often obtrusive- if youre like me and hate attractions, youll still often accidentally use one, since theres no way to disable them.

this is more abstract than anything, but something about attacking feels unsatisfying. the combat feels like it lacks any real sense of impact or weight to me. but thats all personal and not exactly good criticism so. i digress

also the bosses in 3 suck. you know its bad when the most memorable boss fight in your game is the tutorial. most of the boss fights in this game are so unmemorable that ive literally forgotten them. except of course demon tide. i despise demon tide. it was fine in 0.2 but not here. every time you fight it feels like a missed opportunity for something cooler.

i think flowmotion is worse now. i get that it was a bit too overpowered, but with how much it was limited i ended up hardly using it. i didnt like flowmotion because of the attacks, i liked it because of the movement. so to me, it ended up being a reminder of how kh3 failed instead of a fun feature.

also i know a lot of people like being able to switch keyblades in fights, but honestly i feel like it removes an element of strategy the other games had

the ui (and other visual things)

this isnt something i talked about in my other reviews. but in kh3 i must bring it up. if you follow me you may know my hatred for kh3s ui. so im going to talk about it again! this is the abridged version though. heres my whole rant if you want my full thoughts on it. but the short version is that i dont like it. i am someone with terrible vision and i can play every single kh game without glasses because the ui is just big enough that i can read it. most of the time i can read subtitles too. but in 3? i struggle even WITH glasses to read anything. the ui is too small to make out anything almost all the time. its really only by muscle memory that im able to play. my glasses broke while i was playing, and i literally couldnt play until i got new ones because i couldnt make out a single word on screen. its bad design.

im also upset that there ui art has been replaced with renders. its just a shame honestly. i loved the art in the older games. the renders feel bland in comparison.

and thats generally my take on the look of modern kh. sure its pretty, but its bland. kh has always had a certain cartoonish vibe to it thats starting to die out, and i think the shift to unreal engine was the first marker of that change. i like the look of old kh. its not too technically impressive but its incredibly charming. kh3 is anything but. the characters feel far less expressive, the worlds are realistically rendered, it feels unfitting for a series like kh. its hard for me to find kh3 as charming as the other games. the only word i can think of to really describe it is corporate.

i dont know if this is a rare take, but i think technically impressive visuals are far worse than distinct ones. kh used to have a unique look! now it just looks like every other semi-realistically rendered rpg.

story (featuring: more gameplay notes)

my problem with kh3's story was unavoidable really. dream drop distance set this game up for failure and so im not going to complain about dream drop distance. ANOTHER TIME ill talk about dream drop distance. i dont have time to make a post that long. i do have a lot of problems with the story that werent a result of ddd being terrible so i guess ill just bring up those.

one of my biggest issues with the game is how unimportant the roxas plot is. youre led to believe the game will revolve around it but then sora does nothing to further it. at all. at the start he CONSIDERS doing something, and then hes told by ienzo "no its fine ive got it. go do something else" and its barely ever mentioned again until the end.

this relates to my overarching problem with the plot: it feels aimless. in every kh game theres a REASON theyre going on a journey. soras looking for his friends, roxas is working a 9 to 5, the wayfinders are all following each other, etc. but in kh3 sora is looking for "the power of waking". what is the power of waking? i literally have no clue. thats how poorly defined it is. its an abstract goal, its not tangible or even really achievable. its just a macguffin. when the plot suddenly decides to happen at the end the whole journey feels pointless. you could skip every disney world past twilight town and you would probably be fine. it's not a journey, you're not exploring for a purpose, you're just killing time until other people handle the plot.

i also really hate the new organization (i refuse to call them the real organization. theyll never be the org). theyre painfully boring and poorly put together. the old org had structure, they had very specific goals, every member had a purpose. you knew how they worked and why they did what they did. the new org is just completely lacking in that. calling it an 'organization' is stupid because there's nothing organized about it. and even disregarding all that, the new organization also lacks any real personality. the members feel so boring, which sucks, because almost all of them are returning characters who used to be really fun. and why are most of them even there? no one except maybe xigbar seems to actually care about their mission. the old organization had a common goal and a reason everyone was there. they were nobodies, they wanted their hearts back. there's no reason for any of the new members to stick with xehanort. and if you say "well they were norted!" i then must ask. what exactly is norting? like really. it hasnt been possession since birth by sleep. norting is whatever nomura needs it to be in the moment. its not clearly defined, its just another macguffin.

also because i dont know where to put it, the battle of 10,000 heartless is just a terrible successor to the original fight. there's no stakes, no buildup, no friends fighting by your side, no reason to care. they just throw thousands of heartless with no ai at you. literally no ai, if you stand still they wont attack you. its a drag if anything, an homage to a better game done absolutely no justice.

back to what i was saying about the roxas plot, roxas' return is just such a nothing scene. theres nothing about it thats cathartic, his lines are impersonal and bland, theres nothing 'roxas' about it. roxas' defining feature has always been how emotional he is, and there's none of that here. its nothing. and then he does nothing afterwords. he has seven whole lines in this entire game, six of them are in this scene, and the last one is an inconsequential jab at sora at the very end. and then he fades into the background.

the writing in this game in general is actually weirdly worse than normal. it feels a lot less, idk, human? the older games were weird and absurdly cheesy but this is just. strange. look at the scenes with riku and mickey in the realm of darkness and youll see what i mean.

WHILE IM ON THAT SUBJECT. RIKUS KEYBLADE BREAKING IS BULLSHIT. remind me to rant about that another time though im not gonna go on a tangent about that here

also i would give my thoughts on the ending but i literally couldnt care less about xehanort. so i dont really have any! the final boss was alright though

i have more specific thoughts, but generally, the game feels aimless and underwhelming.

positives

i love axel and kairi! theyre a fun duo and ill never shut up about their parallels so seeing them together is nice. i wish they did anything but thats BESIDES the point im being POSITIVE here

also. the music is great. i love the music sm. its nowhere near my favorite kh soundtrack, it feels a lot more grand which isnt my thing but its still some of yoko shimomuras best work. also hearts as one. its the PERFECT conclusion to roxas' theme and arc. the progression of it from melancholic (roxas) to desperate (the other promise) to triumphant (hearts as one) is just so good. i wish the rest of this scene was as good as the music so i could compliment it more wholeheartedly yknow?

its actually funny also! kh isnt the funniest series, most of the time when it IS funny its completely on accident. but kh3 is like days in the way that it just. actually has funny writing. the jokes intended DO land and its just a breath of fresh air.

oh also riku being well adjusted is the funniest possible conclusion to his character arc. 10/10 im so happy hes normal. never give that boy an emo arc again nomura

conclusion

over all, kh3 is exactly like how my teachers described me in elementary school: it has a lot of potential, but doesnt apply itself. this couldve been a decent game but it simply doesnt do most things very well. i give it a 5.2 / 10. its not an actively bad game but its a game i have trouble enjoying. sidenote im retconning my opinion on bbs to say its 4.7 / 10 because a: my opinions have changed and b: i think 3 is better but i dont want to give it a very high score.

[rosie-kairi]

With KHDR all but confirming Vanitas is the combination of the original Darkness that possessed Ven and his natural born darkness when Xehanhort ripped his heart in half Vanitas is technically the longest relationship Ven has ever had. Like no wonder this emo fuck is obsessed with him he literally singled him out as a child and has just been there the whole time even during their 4 years of separation he counted the years and days until they could reunite so he could take his rightful place in Ven's heart and mind. It makes his whole claim that they're brothers and that he's darkness in KH III so much more ominous (classic mobile games adding new context in horrifying ways to the mainline games).

Furthermore when Ven inevitably does regain his full union x memories I want him to have kill bill sirens and pummel Vanitas the minute he sees his smug ass again. Just absolutely beat the shit out of him screaming his anger out like, "YOU MOTHERFUCKER YOU RUINED MY LIFE I WAS 10! I WAS FUCKING 10 AND YOU DESTROYED ANY CHANCE OF ME LIVING A NORMAL LIFE! YOU MAIMED MY HEART NOT ONCE NOT TWICE BUT THREE FUCKING TIMES LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY I'M NOT YOUR PUPPET YOU CAN PLAY WITH UNTIL I BREAK AGAIN!"

And Vanitas just does not understand why Ven isn't all for their extremely destructive co-dependent relationship since he essentially gave Ven what he wanted but he also immediately took it away after threatening the union leaders. And Ven is literally all he has. If he doesn't have Ven he has nothing and if Vanitas is around Ven's life will only become worse.

I have to rewatch all the BBS and KH III Ven and Van scenes again with this knowledge because Vanitas' actions make so much more sense that he sees Ven as a thing he owns and can do whatever to since he's had him since he was a child.

I'm far from an expert on Vanitas and his whole deal (because he honestly never really caught my attention that much) but I am really looking forward to how the games will address the events of union x in relation to him.

Like, is he even aware that he also comes from ancient darkness, and not just Ventus? If he does, is it a "I fully remember all of these events happening and I take all responsibility for them" awareness or a more subconscious kind? He feels things and remembers bits and pieces and he's not really sure why.

Going from there, how much of union x in general does he remember? Since he comes from both Ventus and the ancient darkness, would he get memories from both sides? Maybe, he only has memories from Ventus's perspective and because of that has never even stopped to consider that he might -even partially- come from someone else? Of course this is all hypothetical, Vanitas is an enigma of a character.

Old man Xehanort must've just been like "yeah you come from Ventus" and Vanitas was like "ok 👍 why do my memories hurt so much to think about"

On an end note, I hope Ventus does lose it a bit. You don't just... remember events like That (accidentally killing someone, the end of the actual literal world, etc.) and not collapse under the weight of it all.

[haveievermentioned]

sending you back top 5 fic recs and top 5 fics you’re written for the ask game!! :)

Sorry this took so long! I got busy. Top Recs:

"You must fix your heart" series by @screechthemighty as much as I like Valhalla, it didn't come CLOSE to what I want from a post Ragnarok story like these fics do. They are kind of interlinked and honestly, after (Massive GoW ragnarok spoilers) this really helped me with all of that.

Angry Words by PoH. Actually anything by PoH. They are my best friend and all of their writing is fantastic. They Semi sincerely wrote fics about William Birkin having a love affair with the element fire, they wrote a GORGEOUS fic about Jack and the Little Sister's first Christmas on the surface, and a lot of great Ace Attorney and KH stuff that fill in blanks or are post series. But this is maybe the funniest ones they did (outside of William/Fire which was a sort of parody) where Xigbar gave Roxas and Xion a PS3 and a copy of Bioshock with no context and they learn about Swear words! Like "Communist!" and "Goddess!" It's great.

Dripping Diamonds (between my thighs) by @empresscirque Okay I haven't read it. But Empress is another fantastic friend and this is maybe their most popular piece. I skimmed it a bit and it's written really well. (Just not my ship, and they know that)

The Mallard Family by GreyLiliy as a MASSIVE Darkwing Duck fan I can't emphasize enough how much this completely changed how I thought of his yuppie neighbors, the muddlefoots.

Pearls of Portent by Zophaer Link/Mipha fic where Link wakes up with 7 of Mipha's eggs next to him. Link is mute, everyone is confused, it's really sweet and sad.

Okay, on to mine

As long as you should have lived - a Resident Evil post village story where Chris proposes a legally real but otherwise fake marriage to Mia in order to fulfill his promise to protect Rose. Mia agrees, and things don't go as well as they planned. Chris is a Demiromantic Asexual in here, Mia has loads of trauma to unpack from 7 and 8, and their fake honeymoon keeps running into complications, like Ethan's sister who never bought anything Chris said.

The Jecht/Maleficent series Kingdom Hearts universe, some time shortly after BBS, Maleficent mistimes a teleport and ends up on Destiny Islands, where she runs into Jecht - recently of Radiant Gardens - and falls ill. A combination of exoticism and Florence nightingale leads them to having a one night stand. After THAT it splits into 3 universes. In all of them, Jecht has promised to love her forever. In all of them, How that plays out depends on what happened right after that promise.

Italian Beef Sandwiches and Spaghetti! Introducing Chef Carmy! Look, in 2023, The Bear and Delicious Party Pretty Cure came out. Both stories had people using food to deal with dead family members. I had to smash them together, and I had a LOT of fun doing it. It was written before S2 came out so it's not exactly canon compliant even before the girls show up, but like... I had Yui and Carmy talk about food and dead relatives and Ritchie trying not to swear in front of kids.

You are not alone stand alone story in my Quadratum series, Sora figures out he's Aro Ace after being very confused by the X-files. Aya, Garrett, NieR, and Sora all have great moments, Ash gets introduced and as much as I love Xem, xeir pronouns make me frustrated (but non binary people deserve more non they/them rep) and Garrett also learns something about himself.

Welcome, Curious Friends a zine piece where Sora went to Phantom Manor and woke up looking at a ticket taker skeleton. It's got a mystery, it's got danger, it's got a LOT of catharsis for anyone who has ever wanted to punch (spoiler)

(honorable mention: Xion, the soap opera lover, Lover of the Light, The Secret Diary of Quincey Morris, Mia Goes Shopping, and Tell me it won't hurt.

[blackmageeljin]

Hey! Just wanted to reach out and let any followers mostly here for my work on Repeat:|| know that I AM STILL WORKING ON IT! I REALLY AM!

I have about 20-25k words currently unpublished and am like... 1/2 to 2/3 to the end. I'm sure with Missing Link dropping soon KH will be driving the serotonin bus again and the hyperfocus will Get It Done.

Previously, it was easy to denote a section as 'done' when they moved on from a world, and so I could easily publish those sections. But as I entered the finale, keeping all the timey whimey stuff sorted and dealing with significantly more moving parts and suddenly a much larger cast of characters, I resolved to not begin posting again until the whole thing was done so I would have the luxury of shifting things around as needed.

It has taken a lot of time and recovery to just be able to feel comfortable using Tumblr again, or posting any kind of writing. I have a few Hazbin fics up because that fandom is generally less changed and it is easy to hide behind the Asexual Vore Demon. Also, I am not playing 5 dimensional time travel chess writing for it haha, so it is something that is just a lot easier to produce if I am not having a good health day. But honestly, even that took a lot of courage and I waited a long time before posting, as my agoraphobia became significantly more severe for a while. I spent a lot of time catching up in JJBA in the past few years too, but haven't posted any of the writing I've done for it for fear of the witch hunting doxxing campaigns that go on over ships and things over there.

Admittedly that has taken longer than anticipated for a lot of reasons ranging from ye olde social anxiety and fandom drama to just real world stuff. A tree fell on my house! On a happier note, I now have two goats and they are named Xehanort and Eraqus.

Admittedly, besides logistics, I am waiting until it is done to post because I don't want to deal with any drama/fallout for how I handle things like Xehanort's Actual Motivations™, how characters who have previously not had screen time get characterized, my understand of certain metaphysics, people being upset things Are Wrong when in fact I am referencing something that is explicitly canon from KHUX and such that they haven't played, a lack of understand of the inherent themes of moral philosophy and the duality of history, and, you know, people generally being bitchy. The finale is a turning point in a few ways, in that both the tone shifts and that it's when all the 'hot takes' come fully to light, so I am nervous. For people who have been nothing but supportive I will finish this. For you and for myself and for Sora and Xeha. But fuck if fandom spaces aren't as safe as they used to be, and I'm tired.

As a teaser some general things to look forward to are: Riku finding out about The Boyfriend, light squad screen time, yelling at Yensid, Ansem SoD but he has awkward estranged dad energy, ominous Vanitas implications, things that come out of Lea's mouth, Kairi being relevant.

And if you read this far, here's a lil preview snippet for you:

"After I do that, you gotta hand over your guardian.” Sora clarified. When Ansem nodded he reached his own hand forward and shook.

“Deal.”

Sora half expected some kind of sinister dark magic to flare up when they shook hands… but nothing happened. It was almost anticlimactic, just a normal handshake. That was… good? But it still left Sora waiting for the other shoe to drop again.

Sora turned around to face the other two who had come with him. “Alright then. I… guess I have some work to do.”

Xehanort began to answer, only to be cut off.

“Oh, and Sora? One more thing.”

Sora half turned back to the heartless, getting ready to give him an ear full for trying to pull something, but-

“Be sure to take careful care of my youngest self. By Vanitas’ logic, he is as my precious baby brother. It would be remiss of me not to do my familial duty and ensure the well being of his heart.”

To which Sora, unsurprisingly, turned bright red and began floundering helplessly.

“You!” Xehanort was not faring much better.

And Vanitas had gone from poorly hidden laughter to full blown cackling. Then he stepped forward and high fived the Heartless.

And that was… huh.

Something about that, about seeing Ansem of all people acting like a regular guy… high fiving his friend and laughing over something stupid and- and normal like teasing someone over their boyfriend and not something super evil or sadistic. He was a Heartless- and in a way, Vanitas sort of was too, right? But right now they were just acting like regular everyday people…

Sora adopted an overly dramatic serious expression and gave Ansem a salute. “I’ll have him back by 10, sir!”

“Sora!” Xehanort hissed full of betrayal. Sora flashed him an apologetic grin. Ansem’s grin was significantly less apologetic, if not amused.

“Good man.”

[kingdomheartsmarts]

I know I don't really post on here too often anymore. I still love Kingdom Hearts, I just haven't had any KH juice recently but I wanted to put this here since my love of Kingdom Hearts birthed this blog.

I've loved kingdom hearts since I was a kid. I really loved watching my brother play and it was enough of everything to be magical. I got older. I went through hell. And Kingdom Hearts got me through it. My grandma died, my uncle died, my other uncle died, my grandpa fell, my grandpa got worse, my grandpa died, my mom got cancer, my dad went through work hell, my brother was dealing with a lot, my mom lost her job of almost 40 years, we lost my step-grandmother, I lost an aunt and uncle to COVID, and I always ended up running back to Kingdom Hearts as an escape and comfort.

I started this blog in high school. It was before COVID and I was trying to be happy with myself and learn my way through life. The pandemic happened and all in all, I had it better than a lot of people.

Since 2020-2021, I really haven't had that fire I had to write for Kingdom Hearts, but I've still loved it. So here I am today.

I have an unfortunate cynical view that whenever my life feels too good, some tragedy comes and ruins me. And that happened this week.

My family is quite tight-knit, for the better and worse, and this last Thursday, after a family shopping trip, my brother's dog passed away very suddenly. She was 3. And It's been really hard. We got her in the pandemic and she was a lot of love we needed through our misery. And we lost her, suddenly, without warning, and without real foreseen reason. And it's so fucking hard. I keep hearing my brother when he was told; I keep hearing him crying and wailing while I went back out through sobs and got the rest of the groceries. And then I went and I sat at a spot I went to as a child. I used to have a shitty little kindle where I would listen to a piano cover album of Kingdom Hearts music, and I just sat. And that day I sat and I just. Sobbed. And these last few nights I've been having to listen to Dearly Beloved to get by. To cry, to mourn, to move forward. I hate it.

I hate that I keep reliving when I was told, I hate I keep thinking about her, I hate that I feel trapped in my mourning because that's my only option, I hate it so fucking much. But. There's that little, almost childlike comfort, that Kingdom Hearts has given me through that.

I have to mourn. I wish I didn't have a brain like a checklist, but I do, and I have to fully mourn to move on and I know it and I don't want to. I don't want to have to move on. At the same time, I have to be strong. I'm the one who takes care of the house, who takes care of our other animals, who cleans for the most part. It's me. And I'm forced to keep going even when I want to break down.

It's going to be hard for a while now. It's hell. I can't go to sleep without crying. My glasses keep getting cried tears on them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this blog helped me to love Kingdom Hearts a lot more than I probably would have, and that's come back to help me now. I don't even know what I"m trying to say, but. I'm typing this through tears while a Megamind fanart stares me down in the bottom corner. I feel like that's a true tumblr experience.

I guess I just want to say thank you for letting me love this with all of you. Thank you for giving me a place to escape to and grow and learn and be myself when I didn't have anywhere else to go.

[selenityshiroi]

FFVII REBIRTH COMPLETED

Well...that was a complicated ending. I understand why people are as torn over it as they were Remake's ending.

The multiple worlds thing is confusing af but I do actually think they have a fully realised plan for it. This isn't a 'keep tacking things on because we have to make multiple portable games' like KH deal. They've been able to plan the full scenario and whilst they keep leaving the endings confusing and complex to keep people talking about them till the next game I do hope that the finale of game 3 WILL wrap things up.

Things I liked:

BARRET. HOLY SHIT. HE HAD SO MANY GOOD SCENES. His VA is phenomenal, the banter and connection with all the characters was amazing, we got to see his back story (and even got a glimpse of Myrna :((()...They did him SO GOOD.

Yuffie. She was perfect. She came in like a wrecking ball and didn't let up. They didn't soften her laser focus on materia and it still got her into trouble (and I'm sure the great betrayal will happen in part three still) but you also got to see her bond with the crew and get invested in things and provide a different persepective.

NANAKI. I LOVE HIM. I love how they dealt with the reveal of him actually being a baby. I love that the crew often call him Nanaki after the reveal (I actually squealed the first time Cloud referred to him as Nanaki instead of Red). I really...really hate that Nanaki stiil gets referred to by the designation Hojo gave him. And the trial at the Temple of the Ancients reinforced that for me. So the crew calling him Nanaki is very important to me. But he had such great scenes with Cloud, the trial with Barret was great...I already loved Nanaki but the game was like VINDICATION.

Cait Sith. I still don't forgive them for the mispronunciation but Cait meows the Victory Fanfare sometimes so I am slightly healed. He was amazing. I got a little teary when 1.0 met his fate, even though I knew about 2.0 because I've played OG.

Aerith.

Tifa. OMG they gave Tifa a lot in this game. I was expecting her to take a bit of a back seat, since she will become super relevant next game and I was expecting it to be Aerith's time to shine. But instead we got Tifa caught up in the weapons plot.

Which leads me to Cloti. OMG.

The kiss has gone viral and it was so shocking that they went there this early. But also not because they've been building this more intimate and physically close bond between Cloud and Tifa throughout both games. The target is obviously the Highwind and eventually AC so it's nice to see the relationship building. And it also deepens the 'Cloud's mind' plot. Because we know Tifa draws out real Cloud. It's why she can help him in the lifestream, it's why he remembers stuff about their past even when everything else is messed up, it's why he is drawn to her because he's stil that young boy who was head over heels for his next door neighbour (underneath the trauma).

But it was actually everything about Gongaga that made me go wow. because, again, it's set up. For Cloud's breakdowns, for future conflict as we approach the Northern Crater, for Tifa being able to use the lifestream to help Cloud.

Cloud was also wonderful, still (when in the right frame of mind) opening up to everyone, building bonds, softening up. And the breakdowns were handled so well. I also liked how they adapted his recollection of Zack.

I love the world, I loved the exploration. Combat was AMAZING. At first I stuck to my favs but at one point I realised that I had SO MANY weapon passives to unlock so I spent some time playing the other characters and EVERY character is super fun to play.

The whispers didn't affect the story too much so we got to experience the plot mostly as expected with some fun twists and turns and a few exceptions to the fun bit.

I love the piano mini game. I love the baby chocobos. I love that you can pet Fluffy.

Now...there is one character I didn't mention above. And I'm sure some will think it's because shipping. But, no, it's because they fumbled her.

In what SHOULD have been her game, where she bonds with the crew and makes them (and us) DEVESTATED at her death, they barely gave her anything of substance. MULTIPLE TIMES when they would wrap up a storyline the entire cast of characters would have something to say and take place in post mission banter...except Aerith who would be doing idle animation in the background. She got two significant scenes. Cosmo Canyon and TotA. Cosmo Canyon was a monologue so we didn't even get to see her bond with the crew over it and TotA her most powerful scene was her trial, which none of the others witnessed. And then they dropped the ball on her death scene, too (and, yes, conspiracy theories shut up...she's dead) by making it a header note in a poorly paced ending sequence that includes a marathon boss frenzy.

I don't ship her with Cloud. At all. I can barely see any romance in even their most intimate scenes as it all seems very platonic to me (especially in the context of Tifa and Zack existing). But the ending scenes of Aerith and Cloud were super sweet and melancholic. The failure of a date, the good bye, his brain just not able to process her death just like he couldn't process Zack's...it was pretty touching. But you just DIDN'T GET CHANCE to realy feel it. Because PRESS BUTTONS...TAKE PART IN 12 BOSS BATTLES...HAVE NEW BATTLE MECHANICS WITH ZACK...GHOST AERITH IS HERE SO NOW YOU DON'T FEEL HER LOSS

SE fucked that up. Even if they pull off the whole complacated multiple worlds stuff that a lot of people don't have faith in...they will not get that moment back.

Finally, there is one gameplay thing I hated. And that is the combination of Queens Blood, Fort Condor and that stupid Robot Battle thing. Because that is three tactical/stratagy based mini games to deal with in a non tactical/stratagy RPG. And I hate them. Queens Blood less so than the other two, because at least replays are cheap and easy. But they are not my cup of tea AT ALL. And I'm so annoyed that the Cosmo Canyon Protorelic is locked behind the stupid robot game.

BTW I clocked in at about 95 hours. I've not done everything but I did a very high chunk.

Edit: yeah...one final thing. Cid and Vincent might as well not have been in the game. They were less relevant than Johnny to the story.

But I'll end on another positive: the Junon Parade. Not only did I greatly enjoy the actual parade but MIDGAR 7th INFANTRY.

Please get them as the crew for the Highwind. I also loved Cloud's mini arc of becoming a successful leader. A+++

Overall my score of the game is probably 9/10. Might drop down or go up depending on the final game. But I'm super satisfied with it.

[eradicatetehnormal]

It's Over For Now

The questions! Lilith made a deal to stay in heaven? BITCH. What do you want Alastor? To be free, I guess. They formed parts of the hotel around angelic metal and that's how the building falling hurt that angel. Sir Pentious went to heaven? So is hell essentially more like a purgatory as opposed to a final destination? You would think that human souls would have more incentive to fight off the angels than the citizens of cannibal town. Aren't they natives of hell?

That's the main issue with the show. Partially because they didn't have the time, and partially because they were moving too fast, there's not a lot of good world-building or lore. The lore that does exist is in the comics or the live streams and it's like, I shouldn't have to do homework to watch something that isn't a sequel. (Though, I'm hypocritical as a KH and Descendants fan. Maybe I should just watch and play better shit, idk).

I generally liked the series though. I just wished it had more time. Like everyone else has already said, the standout is the songs. Man, these songs slapp. I even like the ones hated by song writers like the songs in episode 2 and 6. Although the one in episode 7 where she goes to Cannibal Town? I didn't like that one at all. It was not a vibe.

Even with its lack of world and character building, there are still characters that manage to stand out. Namely, Angel, Alastor, and Lucifer, though Charlie is also great.

I remember Korey Coleman from Double Toasted saying that this Lucifer was his favorite iteration of the character. I see why. A lot of iterations portray him as pure evil and if they go for good, he's straight up a good guy. I guess Persona 5 is the best example of what I can come up with right now. Here, he's still a good guy, but he's torn down by his loneliness and feels like a failure. A decent reimagining of the cocky, manipulative, self-righteous, biblical character.

The reason Angel is so good is pretty simple. The show actually took the time to humanize him and get us to understand him. When you think back to episode 4, it's almost disappointing that Sir Pentious got to heaven before he did. That's all I'll say about episode 4. I feel like if you're anywhere that isn't Twitter, you've seen more people, survivors and others alike, defend the episode as opposed to despise it.

Alastor is by far my favorite character even if he didn't do much. Most people agree that they're happy that he's the one thing the show has managed to shroud in mystery. Who's leash is he on? How is Charlie going to help him? What favor did he ask of Charlie? Why was he so into the idea of rebelling against heaven? What made him think he could take on Adam? Was the whole Charlie's Dad thing a jist? If so, why was he irritated at Lucifer showing he was close with his daughter? Why was there an emphasis on Charlie being under his guidance in the episode 7 song? IT'S GOTTA BE LILITH'S LEASH HE'S ON.

Technically, this show isn't more than a 6 out of 10 and that might be generous, but, so much has changed for me and everyone, really since the pilot last dropped 4 years ago. Combined with the years of fan songs, animatics, VA Q&As (Man, rip the old vas dude, that's some bullshit), fan art, HELLUVA BOSS (HOW IS THE ENDING GOING TO EFFECT HELLUVA BOSS?), the property is almost nostalgic for me. I was going to see this thing through to the end no matter what. It could've been a lot worse, and I'm fairly satisfied with what I have.

[greetings-inferiors]

Today I fought Xion’s data battle in remind and

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

It goes SO HARD

Like I love Xion but Jesus Christ she might have the best data fight, not only is she just FUCKING BADASS with how she zooms around and shoots pillars at you like it’s a fucking dragon ball fight, but her music is also just really fucking good? Like 100% better than the original, which was already one of the series’ best themes.

And

HER LIGHT PILLARS DECREASE YOUR MAX HEALTH????????????

I kind of wish Xehanort couldn’t do this because I think it would be way cooler if it was unique to Xion (Yozora can keep his, I’ll talk about him later). Overall a fucking fantastic fight, my only wish was that for her dm she turned into a massive mech like in days but instead of being an Ursula ass boss actually be a massive giant fight with mobility and you have to climb her and stuff it’d be sick. Seriously imagine the floor breaks away to reveal the sky of twilight town and she’s flying around as a massive mech as you dodge and try to fight her it’d be sick.

Anyway 10/10 boss fight, only usurped by Yozora, who HOLY SHIT HE’S SO FUCKING GOOD. I HAVEN’T EVEN BEATEN HIM YET. BUT I SPENT ALL DAY FIGHTING HIM AND WANT MORE.

I think this is the closest kingdom hearts has gotten to a perfect fight. My literal only problem with it is that his life/item steal can seem random (sometimes I stop it in one hit and sometimes he takes my entire stock of potions, no inbetween), and I can’t figure out how to escape his dm’s final hit. But those both seem like skill issues, like there’s a way to counter them and i’m just missing it. Oh also the robot attack is lame, it’s a cool reference but the only reason I get hit by it is it’s so easy and long my eyes glaze over and whoops I got hit.

But the rest of the fight is fucking perfection. Every move of his is brutal and fair. Everything can be dodged or blocked, there’s just a tight window, and the way they do his openings are so sick. Basically he knows when he’s open for attack, so before “finishing” his combo he’ll jump back and say “nope” or “no chance” and get out of danger. So if you can predict when he’ll feint and end his combo and chase after him you can get massive damage in, but if you preemptively block you are massively punished. It really feels like an all out brawl with a fighter just as skilled as Sora.

Anyway I’ll try again tomorrow, I got him to his last healthbar on one of my attempts, I just run out of steam and had no recharge and no hi-potions left. I’ve sort of figured out a semi consistent method to deal with the item steal attack, make sure you’re in ultimate form and hit him just as he turns vulnerable but before he sucks your items, but sometimes he still just ignores you and hits you anyway. Firaga spam sometimes works but it seems less consistent. I still haven’t figured out his dm yet, if anyone has any advice for those moves that’d be appreciated but part of me wants to beat the fight on my own. Truth be told it is on standard, so maybe when I eventually replay kh3 I’ll do all of remind in critical. Who knows. (I did do my initial playthrough of kh3 on critical but just wanted to get through remind so replayed it on standard, and I just now returned to it since if i’m not gonna finish the kh marathon may as well play the only story content I haven’t experienced.)

[andrewskhblog]

KH: ReCoded will be the LAST game I do Crit Level 1 for (rant)

Sep 30

Recently, I finally beat KH: ReCoded on my 3ds and while I didn't have a bad time playing it, I've had much better times playing basically every other game in the series.

When it comes to Crit Level 1 runs, it's better when the game is somewhat balanced around that challenge. For example, KH1 would be incredibly difficult if it didn't have the pseudo-Second Chance and damage storage or KH2 would be tougher if you didn't have the damage multiplier which made it so that you didn't do chip damage against everything.

As far as I know, KH: ReCoded is entirely balanced around the idea that you are going to use the Stat Matrix as well as you can in order to get strong alongside the rest of the enemies. The way that the game is set up, you do not get enough stat chips from system sectors to be strong enough against enemies so that they die in a quick manner, and you can take more than a couple of hits.

Normally, you'd argue that that's how it's supposed to be. You chose to play on Crit Level 1. However, it just gets ridiculous at some points. The number of enemies that are up against you coming at all angles that you can't see make it all the more frustrating to accomplish anything in the game. These are supposed to be challenging rather than frustrating. And there is a difference.

Going back to what I've said in the title, I will do every KH Crit Level 1 run at some point, but I will leave the one for ReCoded at the back of the line because I am nowhere near ready to deal with the frustration and hundreds of deaths that surely await me. If there is something I'm missing that actually makes this run a lot easier than I'm thinking it will be, feel free to let me know and I might respect this game more than I would after dealing with a basic playthrough. I had misconceptions about KH 358/2 Days and KH DDD as level 1 runs, but I ended up enjoying them after putting in the time.

With that, hopefully this little rant wasn't too negative. Next post will surely be more positive. See you all then!

[roseprincessarts]

I Beated Kingdom Hearts Final Mix... My Thoughts...

Well, y'all Kingdom Hearts fans (for those KH fans that is), I recently finished Kingdom Hearts Final Mix just last month I believe. I know it's late, but I wanted to tell you my experience of this game and how I felt about it.

Here are my thoughts...

SPOILER ALERT for those who hadn't played either the original Kingdom Hearts, or Kingdom Hearts Final Mix! If you don't want spoilers, I suggest reading this after playing Kingdom Hearts and experiencing it for yourself as I did (even though sometimes i was a bit clueless, but managed to do well!). Be alert on that, or read this at your own risk. For those who DID play Kingdom Hearts, both original and Final Mix, enjoy this journal piece as I explained how my experience went!

I love the first game! The CGI cutscenes are so pretty, and absolutely the graphics are fantastic! Although the same as the original, even though we never had the original for the PS2. The controls were a pain to deal with, but I a

My favorite worlds are Traverse Town, Wonderland, Olympus Coliseum, Monstro (not a world, but one of my favorites), 100 Acre Wood and Hollow Bastion. Olympus Coliseum and Hollow Bastion is probably my top favorite worlds! To be honest, the Coliseum tournaments got harder by the time I was finished with other worlds, and I couldn't help but fear of losing ^^;. Hades Cup is probably the one hard tournament I didn't even THINK I would win, ha ha ha ha ^^;. Cloud battle is probably one of my favorite battle, even though it's hard. I did most of the solo and time trial (except the Hades Cup, since I feared of losing lol). Hollow Bastion, however, is gorgeous :3. Both the music themes are incredible and became my favorite ^^, except somethings. The room levels, Maleficent boss fights and Riku/Ansem battle (which this battle I struggled with). Monstro I liked, because the music and the storyline became my favorite as well. Along with Deep Jungle, the music became my favorite with him. 100 Acre Wood I enjoyed, some mini games I did enjoy, others had me frustrated lol. Hadn't watched Winnie The Pooh for quite a bit, and (don't judge me plz lol) I am kinda interested into watching those ^^. If there were books of them (if they still existed or something like that), I would read them ^^;. Wonderland is my favorite because of how it looks (well one of them that are okay), and depicting the first world story, how they all started to travel to many worlds for the first time. Traverse Town is my favorite. I really like how they did the settings and all (and had Final Fantasy characters, and Destiny Islands had some too lol)

Worlds that are okay are Deep Jungle, Agrabah, Halloween Town, and the End of the World. Deep Jungle's soundtracks are unique, and creates more fitting of a jungle atmosphere. As for Deep Jungle, vines are the ones I STRUGGLED for days. And, gosh darn, I didn't know there was a rope I can pull up to another vines area that can get me into the tree area. Stupid me had actually done the vines for nothing lol. Since I love Tim Burton (actually a fan of him), Halloween Town is the world I like, except it's graphics are dark that I can't see anything (except for one area to where I can fight Oogie Boogie lol). However though, it can eventually get into my favorites list when I play more Kingdom Hearts games throughout the future ^^. Agrabah.... Well.... It's okay. I actually never liked how it turned out. Especially how it's set up that are a 50/50 for me. But I managed to get through it. End of the World is the same as well. I wanted to get Meteor Strike staff, but that didn't happen. At least I got through the whole world.

Worlds I didn't like was Atlantica and Neverland. The battle platform I didn't really like. And one thing I did like is I didn't know Ariel can actually fight ^^. That is one thing Iiked, but the rest of the world... I think not. The boss Ursula I struggled :/. Not a fan of that boss. Neverland is the same. Not a fan of how it's settled up, and the battles gotten harder (well, obviously). And that's where the optional boss got me boiling lol.

And let's not forget Destiny Islands. It's design and music is pretty:3.

I did manage to do optional bosses as I progressed the game. Kurt Zisa and Ice Titan is probably the hardest I did. I sometimes didn't like how it went, but at least I managed to try to get them done. Phantom is, my lord, the WORST. I didn't like how it went at the worst bosses, and I WAS about to give up, but I manage to do it. The one I was really looking to fight Sephiroth at the Coliseum. He was HARD 0_0. He became one of my favorite Final Fantasy villains that couldn't stop thinking about lol. It took me quite a bit to beat him, until I finally won. The cutscene with Cloud and Sephiroth was pretty cool :).

One boss I did forget to do is the Unknown, but you know what, that's fine. I don't really have to get everything, or 100% the Story So Far. It's not really my game, it's actually my brother's. He had KH3 for an Xbox, so I might either get it for the PS5 digitally or Steam (maybe get the 1.5, II.5, and II.8 for Steam. Maybe, idk.). KH4 is coming out next year or so (from what I heard).

And most of all, the story is beautiful ;3. I was in shock when Maleficent (and Ansem) manipulating Riku into betraying his friendship with Sora and to get rid of him in order for Maleficent and Ansem to bring darkenss into the world. Kairi protecting Sora from the heartless and bringing him back into his own self is gorgeous, indeed for what I see. However, I was going to see how they will end up being, which I'm not gonna tell until I understand their stories and play every one of the Kingdom Hearts games. I really love the ending. It's just majestic 🥰. The whole story is what I like most because you wanted to fill your heart with friendship and wanting to protect others instead of hate and cruelty. ❤️

One one of the most shocking things is I didn't know they actually added Final Fantasy characters into the game franchises. Isn't that pretty cool though? The song Simple and Clean is so pretty as well ^^

I just started Re:chain of Memories after beating KH: FM. To be honest... I didn't like how the battle looks like, and I Sorry if it's a late thing to get this journal done, I was super busy, and tired lol. I couldn't wait until what happens next in this game after the first.

Anyways, I am hoping to beat Re:chain of Memories when I had a knack for it to actually do well instead of stressing myself out too much.

Welp, have a good night!

[mejomonster]

So far about halfway through ff7 rebirth. My biggest thoughts so far are:

While i get that FF7 Remake was trying to do something unique. And because of its choices it make Remake and Rebirth SEQUELS to the original ff7. The actual design of the game I really dislike, specifically how many hours long tine wasting dungeon areas there are. The plot changes? Fine. I know everyone just wanted a remaster, me included cause I just wanted pretty normal ps1 ff8 or ff9 or better proportion models with voices so Id hear cloud say mosey and ride a dolphin. I think making these new ones sequels does give them the freedom to say "well since its not the original plot, but a sequel, if you dont like changes then your original ff7 is still the original plot in the first timeline." And i honestly think it gave them the excuse to say Ever Crisis phone game is the actual ff7 original remaster (except its not, because its in installments, its too linited hardware wise to do the regular mini games, and its a lose lose for anyone who wanted just a plain remaster with voices... i guess theres always mods).

But anyway. The bulk of ff7 Remake is mostly like the ff7 original, just a sequel so its got a few wild changes pretty common to the ff7 expanded universe like Crisis Cores addition of Angeal and Genesis. The only sucky part of it to me is it felt like it needed to be a 20 hour game, not a 40 hour one. I did not need to be in midgar that long. More importantly the dungeons felt bloated. I think they were trying to prove they needed multiple games so they made Midgar too long, or thought ppl would be mad if it was a 20 hour game. I qouldnt have been mad. But because it does have bloated dungeon segments i may never play it again. Its redeeming feature is the chapter select at the end, so i can redo certain parts i liked and skip a ton of annoying time wasting chunks.

Is ff7 remake worth playing? Sure. Especially if you liked or played Crisis Core or Dirge of Cerberus and are used to the ff7 sequels kind of flavor. And if you loved ff7 original, it is cool seeing some moments re-realized and some expanded on in nice ways. But if you dont like feeling time wasted, it may irk you at some points. If pacing is as big a deal to you as it is for me, this may be a grating issue.

Ff7 Rebirth though? Im about halfway through and i love it. I get why this chunk took until ps5 to come out. I dont like that it took so long sure. But i get the GOAL they had with this game, and they met the goal. I see everything the gane team learned from making kingdom hearts active combat, from open world in ff15 and kingdom hearts, in perfecting active combat with a slowdown to select actions (kh never slows down). I see an open world vastly busy and realistic sized while small enough it feels comparable to other great open world playstation games, levels/cities being 1-2 hours long like typical worlds/levels/cities in other games. So in short: Rebirth is NOT bloated. Its paced MUCH better. Its the best attempt ive seen square enix do of open world (but naybe ff16 is better as i need to play that too). The chocobos, boat, airplane, climbing, grappling hook, all do aa much as the ff7 ps1 in terms of FULL open world exploration, except the world is way richer now and its as fluid as modern games (like ghost of tsushima, tomb raider, kh3) to explore. Knowing how much SE struggled to develop jumping or open world basic lol, this is eons more than theyve ever been able to do before. And Rebirth doesnt fucking glitch! I played Fallout 4 open world and would save in fear constabtly cause i could get stuck walking in the ground or risking trying to climb a hill. In Rebirth ive went right into all kinds of weird terrain with cloud and many vehicles and havent gotten stuck OR glitched once. The whole game hasnt glitched once. It plays phenomenal. So the whole combat system is great, modern while still having more turn based action control than Kingdom Hearts and ability to control each party member uniquely, its open world is well paced and rich and fun and easy to maneuver, AND the game kept and increased the mini games! And the side missions are all integrated into building party member relationships so even boring missions have some nice relationship building moments at least. Meaning you can do side stuff you like, skip others. The game is very fast paced if you stick to main story. And its fun to sink into the world and side stories if u go off playing around. Rebirth feels like a phenomenal execution so far of what they really WANTED a final fantasy 7 redone to be like. Its clear during Remake they didnt know how to do full open world yet (or just wanted to pad with dungeons so much it felt so closed and forced often, i just HATE Remakes pacing tbh). In Rebirth it feels great. Its fun just exploring the world i remember from ps1 tbh. To drive in the desert, fly by cosmo canyon on the chocobo, boat into the ocean and fuck around.

[karla-the-elemental-dreamer]

Terra Week 2023 - Day 2 Package

@terrakhweek

Prompts Addressed: Loyalty

Pieces: 1. Drawing of Lingering Will 2. Last minute convo. with Ventus re. Loyalty

To be acknowledged/shared: THU 23 MAR or FRI 24 MAR

Requires mod/re-share on Twitter (written pieces)?: No - published via Twitlonger.

-------------------------------------------

Drawing done of Lingering Will; ‘Guardian of the Keyblade Graveyard’:

Keyblades are from pre-made assets (2022).

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To have a bit more content, here is a last minute conversation that I decided to pull Ventus aside for; re. ‘Loyalty’:

Me: “Hey Ventus. Can I have some of your time?”.

Ventus: “Yeah sure. What’s the deal?”.

Me: “I just wanted to ask you some a question or two about loyalty.

Ventus: “Uh… Okay? First I have to know what the question is. You could just ask Terra as he’s your dream guide”.

Me: “It’s for Terra-Week, and it sounds a little silly complimenting yourself. So I wanted to know, from a friend’s perspective; what makes Terra a loyal guy?”.

Ventus: “Oh, right! Well he’s not just a loyal guy, he’s one of the most loyal guys I know. He showed Aqua and I what you wrote for Day 7, and those three reasons you gave for Terra being a hero… Well… Being a hero and being loyal go hand in hand. He didn’t have to come and jump in when I was in trouble with Eraqus. Anything that Terra did, he said he was doing it for his friends. Tell me, why did you draw the Lingering Will to give them on the same day?”.

Me: “Because I think the Lingering Will is a sign of loyalty and guardianship. My slogan for that piece was going to be ‘Guardian of the Keyblade Graveyard’. Loyalty and perseverance do go hand in hand, and he wasn’t going to leave that place until either something was done with Xehanort, or you guys returned; which I bet none of you were expecting to get a full trio reunion”.

Ventus: “Bingo! I just played ‘dream guide’ with you”.

Me: “Hehe. Getting me to think a bit hey? Can you give me some more scenarios where you think Terra was literally exercising loyalty in your Birth By Sleep timeline?”.

Ventus: “Mmm… If I do that, I’ll be giving away all of your Day 7 work. Hey, while you were getting a drink, I just had a thought to extend this topic a bit more. Y’know Terra says some iconic quotes in that timeline, right? So why don’t you find a couple of quotes and list them at the end of our chat?”.

Me: “That is actually a good idea, Ventus. Thanks for all the help on this, and I guess the reason you’re here is because you are Terra’s friend, and in my opinion, you and Terra actually have a two-way thing going for loyalty with each other”.

Ventus: “You think?”.

Me: “Well you always said you would be there for Terra and that you had a promise to keep; sooo”.

Ventus: “Yeah, cool stuff. Well I might let you go and find those quotes now. Thanks for giving me a chance to talk about Terra; I hope they don’t mind that it was me doing it. Keep up the great work and Aqua and I can’t wait to see what happens for the rest of that week”.

-------------------------------------------

QUOTES:

“You may be my master but I will not let you hurt my friend!” – Terra (KH-BBS)

“Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me; even if you do cast me into the deepest, darkest abyss, you’ll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I’m ready to pay it”. – Terra (KH-BBS)

“One day I will set this right. I will return to this land and protect my friends”. – Terra (KH3)

-------------------------------------------

PRODUCTION WOES:

Me: “Ah Ventus, can I just utilise you again for a quick bit?

Ventus: “Okay, what are we doing this time?”.

Me: “Just a quick apology leading into Day 3. You know what happened during production. I thought it’d sound a bit better coming from you”.

Ventus: “Oh yeah, to Terra’s audience, we’re sorry for how the Day 3 conversation starts off. It’s just our luck that Karla decided to start with the prompt of ‘Deception’, and because Terra’s sorta been on cloud-9 for a year, he had a bit of a hard time when he had to address his past again, and he kinda went into shock”.

Me: “Yeah, just a mini tantrum, but he handled Day 3 well overall, and he’s come to terms with Terra-Week ever since. He did the later pieces a lot better and he’s now embracing the event. Also, I had a subconscious blockage during that time, so we could’ve gone deeper into Day 3 if it wasn’t for that”.

Ventus: “Is that all?”.

Me: “Yeah that was it. Thanks Ventus… Aaaaand Terra”.

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Thank you and see you on Day 3! 24/25 MAR (TZ dependent).

[accidentalsoravoice]

I JUST HAD THE CRAZIEST IDEA FOR WHAT A REAL HEART FEELS LIKE (long ramble warning)

So in writing it, I’ve really only focused on the Archon Quests. But I’m planning on doing a few Story Quests for certain characters (definitely Mona’s and you’re about to find out why), alongside at least one limited event. That event will be the Golden Apple Archipelago, and I’m doing both visits.

The first visit will just be mindless summer fun on the islands. I’ll probably have Noelle there along with everyone else (because let’s face it we all know she deserves a vacation).

But the second visit...oh, that one will be character development GALORE.

Mona, Fischl, Xinyan, and Kazuha all have their mirages as normal. Noelle will be there again, so she’ll have one, too. But then things get interesting.

See, in the actual game, the Traveler didn’t get a mirage. But this isn’t the actual game. See what I’m getting at here?

Yep, Roxas gets a mirage, too! And his will be based on a place he knows well. No, not Twilight Town.

It’ll be The World That Never Was.

It won’t be based on their visit to any particular island either. After all, this is a place that doesn’t exist, isn’t it? My plan is that the group gets separated from Roxas (how that happens, I’ve yet to determine) and then they all fall into a dreamlike slumber. They wake up and find that they’re in the Alley To Between, the first area in The World That Never Was. And Roxas is still gone.

It’s all kinda straightforward from there. They travel through TWTNW, maybe fighting a few Nobodies along the way. But then things get interesting at the Castle That Never Was.

They hear voices, ones they don’t recognize. Voices that seem to be plotting something...mentioning hearts, darkness, Keyblades...and becoming whole again.

They travel through the stronghold (Proof of Existence isn’t there, but you’ll know why in a minute), and eventually find themselves at Where Nothing Gathers, the old meeting room of Organization XIII.

And then each of them disappear.

They find themselves in strange arena-like areas, separated from one another. Before them will appear a figure - a member of the Organization.

I’m planning on having Xinyan fight Demyx, because HEY LOOK YOU PLAY STRING INSTRUMENT I PLAY STRING INSTRUMENT LET’S FIGHT AND SEE WHO’S THE BETTER MUSICIAN LOL (there will be some serious stuff and development for Xinyan, don’t worry)

I’m probably gonna have Fischl fight Larxene. Not sure why.

Mona will either fight Saix or Luxord (I’m leaning towards Luxord, because he’s the type to rely on rolling the dice if you know what I mean. Also his title is literally “Gambler of Fate” and Mona’s an astrologist who deals with reading destiny soooo yeah)

I’m not sure who Kazuha’s gonna square up with. Maybe Lexaeus?

But Noelle...oh, Noelle’s got a challenge ahead of her. But first, a bit of context.

As of the story currently, Noelle and Roxas are in a sort of...pseudo-relationship. Not quite dating, but definitely more than friends. It’s hard to describe. And no they’re not friends with benefits, get your mind out the gutter.

But anyway, let’s just say Noelle cares very deeply about Roxas.

And who do you fight in KH2? What well-developed son-of-a-gun character did I lose to about 20 times and not get mad at once?

Roxas.

Yeah, Noelle’s gonna have to relive Roxas’s boss fight. And there’s gonna be some HEFTY dialogue beforehand, because this isn’t post-KH2 Roxas who’s just plain depressed. This is post-358/2 Roxas who is depressed and ABSOLUTELY LIVID. 

I imagine the pre-boss fight conversation would play out kinda the way it did with Sora in Roxas in KH Coded. Something like this:

Illusory Roxas (hooded, so Noelle doesn’t recognize him): “You made it to the end, I take it? Heh...I’d ask if you had fun on your little trip. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? Nothing does.”

Noelle (realizing that his voice sounds familiar): “Wh-What do you mean? There are plenty of things that matter to me.”

Illusory Roxas (scoffs): “Heh...of course there are. You know what it’s like to have a heart. Tell me...what is it that matters most to you?”

Noelle: “...A person. You...You sound like him, oddly enough. I...I care about him a lot. More than anything. But he’s missing...and it hurts that he could be suffering without me there to save him.”

Illusory Roxas: “...So you hurt. I’m warning you, that hurt will drag you into the depths of the darkness. You need to let go of it.”

Noelle: “Why should I? The hurt I feel...it reminds me of what’s important to me: him. It lets me know that he needs me, and that I need him. I’m not going to run from it. That hurt will stay in my heart until I find him.”

Illusory Roxas (gritting his teeth): “The darkness will take you first. It’ll come from the hurt in your heart before you ever find who you’re looking for.”

Noelle: “But if I ignore my pain, I’ll lose my tie with the person I care about most. Even if I do fall into darkness...I’ll carry this hurt with me. It’ll be my light. And I’m only going to let it go when I find him...because he’s my light. But until I find him, I’ll hold on to my pain. It’s what keeps my heart connected to his. And it may not be the best feeling, this...hurt...but I accept it.”

Illusory Roxas: “...You say you accept it? This isn’t a game!”

(The room shifts to reveal a Station of Awakening, and this one belongs to Noelle!)

(Noelle looks around, confused and shocked. Suddenly, a familiar sword points at her back.)

Illusory Roxas (holding Oathkeeper and Oblivion, pointing Oblivion at Noelle): “It’s way past time you learned WHAT REAL HURT FEELS LIKE!!!”

(fight begins)

HOLY FUCK THAT WAS LONG SORRY

But what do you think?

[greensparty]

Talking with Kay Hanley

Earlier this Fall saw the 20th anniversary vinyl release of Kay Hanley’s solo album Cherry Marmalade. By 2002, Haley was already very well respected as the singer for Boston alt-rockers Letters To Cleo and she also was the voice of Josie in the movie Josie and the Pussycats. She recently did a mini-tour including some shows at City Winery in Boston. In addition to her solo work and LTC, Hanley has done a great deal of music soundtracks, collaborations, and she is the executive director of Songwriters of North America. This month LTC are doing a mini-tour leading up to the band’s annual pre-Thanksgiving shows at The Paradise on Nov. 18 and 19. 

Kay Hanley in 2022

I have seen LTC many times over the years since 1996 and I’ve met Ms. Hanley on numerous occasions. In 2008, when LTC first reunited after their initial 2000 break up, I attended their Bowery Ballroom show in NYC and filmed an interview with Ms. Hanley and LTC guitarist Greg McKenna for my documentary Life on the V: The Story of V66. LTC was formed after V66 ended, but they shared some memories of the short-lived Boston music video TV channel. But I digress. In 2016, the band reunited for a new EP Back to Nebraska, and they launched their annual Boston shows. I’ve caught more than a few of their annual shows including their excellent 2019 show. Having interviewed Mr. McKenna about LTC in 2016 and 2019, it was a pleasure to catch up with Ms. Hanley before the LTC tour via Zoom.

Me: I’ve seen Letters to Cleo many times including a 1996 show at Avalon, where you brought out Greg Hawkes of The Cars as your special guest for the encore. Skip ahead over a decade later, I interviewed Greg Hawkes for my V66 documentary and I told him I had recently interviewed you and Greg McKenna and he said he had a great time working with you on the cover of The Cars’ “Dangerous Type”. Skip ahead further to 2019, shortly after Ric Ocasek died, LTC played The Paradise and you brought out Greg Hawkes for several Cars covers. I named that my #1 Concert of 2019.

KH: Oh my God!

Me: It was such a special moment in Boston rock history. So this leads to my first question: any chance there might be a former Cars member joining for the upcoming LTC shows?

KH: [laughs] I don’t think so, we haven’t talked about that. But any time Greg Hawkes wants to jump onstage with us, he is welcome to. We just love that guy. He is a brother at this point. We couldn’t believe he said yes when we asked him to record “Dangerous Type” with us. We were like “he said what?”. It was wild. 

LTC and Greg Hawkes on keyboard at The Paradise on 11/22/2019.

Me: In 2002, it was a few years after LTC had broken up initially and it was after the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack, you released your first official solo album Cherry Marmalade. Tell me about your memories of making and releasing that album originally.

KH: I started writing it when I was pregnant with my daughter Zoe Mabel. My husband at the time Michael Eisenstein, who was in Letters to Cleo with me and my main collaborator, he went out on the road on tour after the baby was born. He was working with Nina Gordon when she was making her first solo album out in Maui. So I found myself at home when I was pregnant, so obviously I wasn’t going out partying. I just kinda picked up a guitar and started writing. I had written songs throughout Cleo obviously, but I had never sat down to write songs intentionally in that way. It was just a different thing, so when I brought a couple songs I had been writing to Mike Deneen [late producer and founder of Q Division Studios] probably like right after Zoe was born, when she was a baby baby. He was like “Oh man, we gotta make a record!” and I was like “really?” and he was like “yup” and the next thing you know we holed up at Q Division. We set up a pack-and-play in the ISO booth and started recording Cherry Marmalade. It was just exhilarating. Cleo was very different, it was very collaborative with all five of us weighing in, in this case it was just me and Deneen. To a certain extent, Michael did too because he was dialing up all of those amazing guitar sounds. So it was just really exhilarating to be able to take the reins of my own creative life and making decisions for myself and dictating the creative direction. Songwriting-wise it was incredibly personal in a way that none of the Cleo stuff had been. So that was scary and gratifying as well.

me with Kay Hanley, Michael Eisenstein and baby Zoe in 1999

Me: Tell me about the new 20th anniversary re-release of the album.

KH: I realized, which is kind of not like me, I’m not really a thinker-aheader [laughs], at some point last year I realized that Cherry Marmalade was going to be turning 20. I was like “whoa, maybe I should put it out on vinyl” and do a little something. This is the great thing about having the same manager for thirty-plus years, I was able to call Michael Creamer and the machinery just started cranking away. As you probably know, the lines for making vinyl - the queue is like a year out. So lucky for me, I got on queue a year before I needed the vinyl delivered. I was able to get it remastered by Andy Vandette. He suggested in order to get the sound to be as warm as possible to consider doing a double album. I was like “I guess so”. So then I threw a bunch of songs from my second EP Babydoll on there. 

Me:  You look at the time the album was released in 2002 and that was such a unique time in music history. It was after Napster had ceased operation and it was before iTunes, YouTube and social media platforms began. Can you contrast doing promotion for the album in 2002 and promoting the re-release in 2022?

KH: Boy, what a good question! I mean so many things were different, first of all when I went to promote and tour with Cherry Marmalade, by then I was pregnant with Henry. So I was touring with a person in my belly. So there are pictures of me touring six-months-pregnant with Henry and a Gretsch Black Beauty strapped to my belly, playing electric guitar and rocking out. But I tell you, I’ve never been more focused or effective on tour. That’s for sure! 

I also put the record out on Rounder Records. So it was my first solo record with a label and they had in-house promotion. But I wasn’t really caring as much about if people would like it or want to hear it. I just wanted to get it out there and tour a little bit. It was well-received but it wasn’t a blockbuster by any stretch. But the people who loved it, really loved it! So for me, just the fact that the album came out and I was able to tour on it and have the tour pay for itself was just frosting. 

This time around I didn’t have a label, I didn’t have a publicist. So it was kinda cool that I could do on Instagram and Twitter and social media platforms that I’ve been an active user of for many years. I don’t want to say I have a fanbase, but I have an engagement base. I mean a lot of people don’t even follow me for music, they follow me for baseball [laughs] or my Red Sox tweets. But to have that as one of the weapons in the arsenal to just get the word out. But again, this record was never about mass acceptance for me, it’s a very personal work and both ways of doing it felt right to me. I have a hard time greasing the wheels with Cleo, but I felt more motivated to do this solo tour, maybe because I financed it myself [laughs]. Now that I think about it, I did have a motivation for promoting the fuck out of the tour!

the 20th anniversary vinyl release of Cherry Marmalade

Me: In 2006, I saw you perform solo at Mercury Lounge in NYC, around where I was living around that time. You were kind enough to sign my Babydoll EP afterwards. I’ve loved all of the Cleo shows, but seeing you solo just you and a guitar was actually one of my favorite performances of yours. Can you tell me about including Babydoll EP on the new re-release.

KH: I’m so glad you came to see that show during that period of time. That’s super cool! So, Babydoll was super fun because we had moved to L.A. and the phone was not ringing. We had bought a house in Studio City and we had set up this little tiny studio. This was when home studio technology like Pro Tools were just gaining in popularity and so Michael had set up Pro Tools on the desktop in our home office and just started learning how to use it. I was doing a lot of songwriting at the time, I was really making my pitch to be a pop songwriter at that time. I never really succeeded at that field, but it all worked out, I have an incredible job now. But we just decided to start dicking around and writing a new solo project for me on that very primitive Pro Tools rig. We had so much fun. Nina Gordon came over and sang on a song. Michelle Lewis who is now my main writing partner and work wife, but at the time we had just met, she sang on some stuff. It felt really new and I loved it. And again, I didn’t give a shit. I wasn’t swinging for the fences. That’s really my favorite state to be is when I don’t need to be doing something. That’s usually when I’m the most fearless creatively when it’s my idea and I’m like ‘whatever happens happens’. 

Me: Over the years you’ve done a ton of soundtrack work (Doc McStuffins, Sonic to name a few) and you’ve collaborated with other artists too. I did actually include you and The Isolation Jams’ cover of “Ah! Leah!” on my Best Songs of 2020 list. My wife’s name is Leah and I’ve always loved that song.

KH: Oh cool! That was my husband Clayton James’s idea to do that song. During the pandemic, we set up what is basically the best recording room in the world, which is our closet. I think people during the pandemic kinda realized, why didn’t I think to set up a recording booth in my closet? It’s like the best dead space you can find for recording vocals.  

Me: So since those solo albums, you’ve done so much cool stuff like that song. Do you have any plans for a new solo album in the near future?

KH: I’ve written half of a solo record. It’s just when will be a good time to do it. I have a pretty demanding day job, which is writing music for animation. Michelle and I and our partner pitched a show to Disney Jr. a couple years ago and it got greenlit in the Spring. So not only am I writing music for that, but I’m also executive producer, which is more responsibility than I’ve ever had in a job in my life. So that’s really taken up all of the airspace that my brain has. But I do have stuff written and I am looking forward to getting into the studio again at some point. It’s just a matter of carving out the time. 

LTC at the Sinclair on Nov. 23, 2016

Me: Letters to Cleo reunited in 2016 for what has now become an annual tradition with the shows each November at The Paradise. What was it like returning to live concerts after the lockdowns meant no concerts in 2020 for LTC?

KH: Last year when we got back onstage, it was surprisingly emotional. I was not expecting to feel that emotional getting back onstage. People were still in masks and it turned out last October and November of 2021, there was like this small eight week period where people went back on tour, but then things shut back down in December because we had the Omicron surge. So it turned out we were in that tiny window where people were back on the road last year. I had such an immense amount of gratitude for the clubs that we played, that they had made it out of the pandemic and had somehow managed to stay in business. I owe my life to these kinds of places, these rock clubs that I’ve been playing since I was a teenager. I owe my entire life and career to these places and they survived somehow through an unimaginable situation and challenges to their businesses.

Me: I was a big fan of the Back to Nebraska and OK Christmas EPs and when I spoke to Greg McKenna in 2019, he said the plan was to record a new album in 2020. Then, of course, 2020 happened. But are there any plans at this point and time for the band to record new material?

KH: You know, not only were we planning to record an album in 2020, we were talking to Adam Schlesinger about recording the album and being our producer. At the time when you talked to Greg, we had gotten into a rhythm of Michael and I getting together once a week for 90 minutes and writing as much as we could. As soon as we had finished something we’d make a 90 minute demo. So Greg, Michael and I were very much in this rhythm of writing once a week and we had recorded about six or seven demos for thing we had planned on recording with Schlesinger probably in the Spring of 2020. Then when Adam died [Schlesinger died on April 1, 2020] we all lost interest in recording. We have talked about it and we added one of the new songs to last year’s tour and we’re probably going to add another one to this tour. So we have what could be close to an album written. But Michael just got married and he’s just finishing his master’s degree - he’s just been like crazy busy, I’ve been at work at this job, and Greg’s in Florida. It has to be very intentional and it’s hard to carve out the time right now. But we want to!

For info on Kay Hanley: https://www.kayhanley.com/

For info on Letters to Cleo: https://www.letterstocleo.net/

[rayvenden]

Just my KH20th Announcement Trailer thoughts and text dump

First are my quick thoughts and then I go into analysis mode. This post is more for me than anything lol

They're delaying the Dark Road finale AGAIN? The bastards

BRAIN AND HIS HAT IN 3D!

WEIRD LONDON SCALA IN 3D!

I'm going to be playing this mobile game even if it's shit and even tho it looks like another gacha

STRELITZIA IN 3D!

TWEWY style subplot for Quadratum mayhaps? POG

No platforms announced for KH4? Please my one big fear is that it's going to be PS5 timed exclusive. T-T

Dark Road:

Not me studying the missing upperclassmen of Scala to see if anyone looks familiar (like a somebody of Luxord and Demyx, but I don't think they fit that bill). However this looks like it's probably Baldr's missing sister.

---

Missing-Link:

These devices in Missing-Link are probably "links" lol. (Gee how would I have ever guessed)

Apparently the title Missing-Link refers to this taking place in the time between Union Cross and Dark Road (to link them). Makes sense as... that's what the game is.

Missing-Link could also be

-a missing link in a chain of memories

-a lost page of the Book of Prophecies

-a missing star connecting a constellation? (i.e. Yozora or Nameless Star reference)

-a missing person (plenty of candidates lmao. Nameless Star, Subject X, Ava, the population of Daybreak Town, the population of Scala ad Caelum, even Sora. Plus I am sure there will be even more murders *cough* 'missing people' during this game.)

Side note; I think it'd be cool if you got creepy correspondence from a missing person's link. 👀

It's probably also a slight reference to D-Links from BBS, which is how you tap into the trio's and Disney characters' powers. So your link is probably canonically how you use the medals shown. You probably equip your medals to set which moves you can use, like how it works in UX, with a mix of BBS since it’s now in 3D with 3D moves.

Cue me getting hype as hell. I love BBS style customization. UX had plenty of customization but now that it's in 3D we can actually get a heckton of recognizable moves from across the entire series as equippable medals. Watch me equip all Sonic Blades and just nope off into space.

Okay two things here:

First off, gotta be a reference to Yozora (don’t you know, he has a copyright on the night sky). Secondly, it's probably safe to imagine that we'll be dealing with another Real Daybreak Town VS Data Daybreak Town situation here. Since the "stars shown contorted", I think that means that things aren't quite right. 👀 Like, perhaps the constellations don’t line up right... BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT REAL *gasps in shock*

KH4:

Actually I don’t think I have a lot to say here. It’s beyond cool that the Dark Seeker saga is done and we’re getting the start of The Lost Master arc. Seriously the Master of Masters is such a fun character, so I’m excited.

This might be a good spot to find some ingredients:

Oh right I guess people are freakin out cause Star Wars might be in KH too lol:

Also it makes sense that Strelitzia found Sora since they both heckin DEAD

WAIT SEVEN WHOLE DAYS

DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH CAN HAPPEN IN SEVEN DAYS

Do I smell a KH2 Roxas style intro????????? DOES THIS CONNECT TO THE YOZORA ENDINGS? WHICH ENDING IS CANON? IS NEITHER ENDING CANON? IS ANY OF THIS REAL, OR NOT? AAAAAAAAAAAAA

anyway

Ignoring his very concerning words, this appears to be the Master of Masters and Luxu due to their stances. Which alright, we were already wondering how MoM got to Quadratum, but now Luxu is here as well? Is it that fucking easy to get to Quadratum? I mean it’s not SUPPOSED to be that easy. Sora and Strelitzia got there by DYING. They’re straight up DEAD. Xigbar went and faked his death and had a chat with the Foretellers and then apparently just moseyed on over to Quadratum??? They got some sorta secret backdoor to just go back and forth as much as they want? Well okay, maybe it’s not dissimilar to the dark corridors I suppose...

Edit: Look at this gremlin man

This is the look of a man who knows too much and is having the time of his lives. I guess if you went through what the MoM forced you to go through, maybe you’d learn to have fun with it lmao

Also, the Master of Masters wanted to vacay in Quadratum to get away from the Darknesses who were chatting him up in UX, but where there is light, darkness will follow, so lookie here he introduced KH’s darkness and heartless and shit to this world, good job buddy.

Edit: I forgot the Donald and Goofy at the end bit. It’s probably Hades which makes sense because why wouldn’t you wanna talk to the Lord of the Dead to get ideas on how to bring back a dead person lol.

Editing again because this on twitter appears to have more information if you’re interested! There’s a bunch of info including something I’m personally excited about: