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mirror-to-the-past · 1 year

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Okay, I finished playing Re:Coded. Went through it pretty quickly; it was a shorter game. Also, very interesting and welcome in concepts. I was hoping for an expansion on the data world since KH2, because the prologue of that game made me extremely intrigued regarding everything with how it affected Roxas (Bonus, was also happy that Roxas, or at least an iteration of him, got some screentime in this game, too. Gives me more hope for a reappearance in the future.), and I'd say it delivered!

Just like the Nobodies, the data version of Sora definitely demonstrated questionably emotional displays for a being that "doesn't have a heart." With similar sentiments to Roxas and Xion, I seriously question whether or not a heart is all that important/necessary for a full scale of emotions if they act that real "without" one. I also question if people can't just create their own hearts out of pure strength of will (I mean, if the Org. XIII Nobodies were very strong willed individuals for coming into being, I don't see why the inverse can't be true- that because they are individuals of strong will, they can't just forge their own way and find their own heart/spirit.)... but I digress.

I joked earlier that "haha, for all of the fiction tropes Kingdom Hearts fully exploits, I'm surprised 'the prophecy' hasn't come up yet." Ding ding, another joke come true for me to add to the books, because Maleficent mentioned a whole damn book of prophecies. I'm strapping myself in, mentally. Hoo boy, here we go, create new worlds from stories, huh? Also once again, such a queen, she highlights the fluid nature of reality KH set ever since "Is this for real, or not?" I love when she chided Pete, with: "Ah, but who's to say a fairy tale's not true?" Hilariously meta, coming from her. Also yeah, Disney/FF game is slowly becoming aware of the fact that it's a Disney/FF game but it's owning it. Another one of the funniest aspects of this series is that, from the characters' perspectives, everything is fantastical in a normal way- there is no precedent set for what is "normal" when multiple worlds have phenomenon like talking animals, magical princesses, spells powered by love, antagonists like evil fairies, or other threats that are very real to them. It's only from us, as the audience, with our cultural awareness of Disney movies and the like that we laugh at the ridiculousness of Mickey Mouse being a plot relevant character. So, it's like the characters, completely and utterly serious about everything they interact with, are slowly learning the magical/fiction nature of their reality. I dunno, a bit of a disjointed ramble there, but it makes sense to me. Sure it's not exactly a groundbreaking sentiment- "woah, fiction is reality to the fictitious," but anywho. Still waiting for it to go the whole nine miles and make Earth canon as contrast to everything else- go full fourth wall breaking. I'll show you how fiction you guys really are, buster!

Anyway... uh... where was I? Oh yes, other Maleficent line that caught my eye (playing games on emulators afford me the opportunity to write things down more... :D):

"You should have stayed inside, boy. There, the worst fate to befall you would have been eternal slumber...

...Such a shame you understand so little of the darkness. The world desires its embrace! There is nothing in darkness. No sadness, no cause for hurt... In darkness, one cannot see ones mistakes, or the dreams that failed to be."

Here, darkness as an element adds a new layer to its characterization throughout the series from just ambition/power, knowledge, or the like. Here, darkness is more of a shield from pain, or an obfuscation. Darkness is more of the gentle lie than I've seen light as being. And that's... something. When someone is dealing with darkness within this series, or trying to gain a mastery over it- has it not been in a futile attempt to puff themselves up and disguise hurt/insecurities/unsteady ground that they walk upon? I can't say for sure for Xehanort, but it has been the case for Riku and Terra, so...

Contrastingly, that would make light the element that demands everything to be pure, honest, and open. It would have no inclination towards unsteady foundations, or soft versions of truths/white lies with good intent. Something something, soft moon versus callous sun. Funnily enough though, with both of these explanations, it's apparent that their respective foundations both lead to some sort of emotional repression, either out of a desire for utter individual control and strength emotionally (darkness) (not possible) or out of a desire for perfect order and lack of duplicity (light) (also not possible). And with that, maybe Xehanort's got something to the whole "balance of light and dark" thing, who woulda thunk extremes would be problematic? Of course, the whole genocidal tendencies is... eh...

Naminé! That was the other thing I wanted to speak on. Am I to understand that with Mickey's letter at the end of the game, Sora finally knows of Naminé and his relation to her, as well as Castle Oblivion, at least a little bit?? Literally on the edge of my seat, guys. Mickey said he'd tell our Sora about the Coded journey, so I hoped that'd be a part of the package. :/ I was happy to see "Thank Naminé" get concluded at least a little bit, even if it was just Data Sora, but pleaseee...

Also, oogh, Sora's consistent character conflict being centered around repression and its various forms continues to pull at my mind a bit. I transcribed part of Naminé and Data Sora's conversation because of how Relevant it was feeling. As well as addressing Sora's own hurt, Ventus' with the "they've been sleeping a long time," the conversation also doubled as serving as an explanation for events such as the Xion fever dream in Days where she/Sora by extension experienced Riku's memory from CoM:

S: "These are my memories?"

N: "No, not yours. These belong to people connected to you."

S: "What? Isn't it weird for someone else's memories to be inside me?"

N: "Right, it's not usually possible. When I first found them while repairing your memory, I thought I'd made a mistake. But all the evidence I found proves they belong in your heart, where they've been sleeping a long... long time. One day, Sora will have to call them to the surface. They're important memories... but very dangerous ones."

M: "Dangerous how?"

N: "These memories are too painful. Handled the wrong way, they could damage Sora's heart- even break it..."

Like when Data Sora told Data Roxas he'd carry his hurt from then on, Sora effectively symbolizes the individual who gives and gives of themselves to such a degree that the pain of others becomes his own- putting his own hurt and individualism eternally aside for the noble cause of "keep on keeping on." Of course, to be affected by the pain of others is to be human, but in such an identity defining way as is the case with Sora, as well as Naminé noting such things aren't typically possible (within this universe's rules) and that the others' memories "belong" with Sora, it's clear what this is doing to him- you can't help but wonder if Naminé's worry about Sora's heart breaking from having to confront internalized hurt and memories might be warranted. I'd dare to say that it makes sense why Xion saw so much of herself in Sora even outside of the memories, considering the way they unwaveringly waver on who they are, all for the sake of being what is perceived as needed for others they deem important. Am I looking way too much into it? Maybe. Do I care? No. I'll pathologize my boy with a case of "chronic people pleaser on a thematic level" all I want. Is he an Empath,™ a teenager being a teenager, or is he losing himself- perhaps all three? Find out... next episode...

(Can't wait to find out whatever the "research" is that Ansem stuck within Sora's sleeping mind. Can't help but assume its importance, given that it's been mentioned twice, now.)

Alright, that's everything on Coded, I'm now gonna hop to dumping some thoughts on Dream Drop Distance that I've started a little bit of, because.... :D

#kingdom hearts #kh recoded first playthrough #kh recoded #kh sora

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goblinconceivable · 3 years

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oh ffs, i have feels but also head exploded

So basically someone liked a story I wrote a million years ago and mostly forgotten about, and when that happens I often reread the thing. (I can’t be the only one who does that...) Can’t say I’ve thought about Alex/Izzie since I wrote it, couldn’t even tell you when I stopped watching the show, though I think it was before her cancer.

Anyway I infected myself with feels for them again. And I dig the style I was using, 1+1 started a third chapter for funsies and should have stopped there. Because I did some reading and watched some clips and it’s all too much and when that happens I meta.

Usual mishmash, structure desired but no work put into achieving it. Classic brain dump.

Okay, fundamentals first. I am for now ignoring how Izzie/KH left the show. Because they had to exit her somehow and I’m sure Shonda was pissed at her, (or was leaving the door open for her return but I doubt it.) Haven’t seen it, if I needed to I could work it into my conception of their whole arc, but since I’m more critically hung up before that point, not worrying about it.

What’s got me messed up is that RIGHT AFTER Izzie promised to not go crazy, she... went crazy. Like, WTF was that about? I get that GA is all about the soapy drama, that is why I stopped watching. First couple seasons: brilliant. Downhill from there. But two things:

1) We never get to see these two happily together. One hot second and bam.*** Every. Time. Shonda allowed it for Meredith and Derek, but in my brain other couples got it for periods of time at the least. But these two, nope. And know what? THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FASCINATING TO WATCH. I could delve into this and might swing back around but trying to hit highlights.

2) It set them on two different storylines instead of one. And Izzie got the short stick. Yes I can see how it works on paper, but not on screen. There are limits to the visual medium and limits to how much screen time they were given, which pretty much destroy the ability to nuance something this complex.

a) Izzie’s in her own world dealing with a ghost and is basically in two relationships at once (mental note to look for parallels with Alex’s exit and Jo v Izzie.) Except one’s a dream and the other is a reality that is still developing, yet she can’t give attention to. She has to fight every time to be there for Alex in the real world, and we don’t really get to explore her struggle. It often just looks like distraction and distance and him being second right after she firmly laid out that she cares about him.

b) Alex is in a relationship and is super happy and excited and wants the perfection he’s dreamed about to be real so much he’s overlooking everything that’s off. In his own little dream world I guess, but like, the whole thing skews into this being the story of Alex while Izzie is wandering in circles somewhere over in that direction, all serving the purpose of advancing exploration and development of Alex’s character. When did KH ask to be let out? If it was after this point, Shonda svcks. I mean, it is cool to watch him really blossom, but since he’s doing it under his own steam I’m left with a bad taste in my mouth. Because he’s not really in a real relationship. I want to see him get that, I want to see it for real.

***What IS interesting, I’ll admit, is that when they’re not together, they’re beautiful. Which is most of the time, so they gave me that. I’m a massive fan of the bittersweet, the star crossed, the never-quite-on-the-same-page, the nuance, the “it’s a deeper connection, a deeper love than just romance.” Thank gosh, it is time for excited thoughts. Because there is a strong friendship and mutual reliance and helping each other grow, pushing and giving hard truths and encouragement, and yes romance is woven through this but not the genesis and used more in terms of nudging everything along the path.

I love that Alex basically imprints on Izzie. I love that he loves her the whole time. But he’s willing to step back. He may get jealous and resentful and petty and scared and mean. But those are natural human emotions, Izzie gets them too, and they’re fundamental to his character and through those things he learns and grows. Izzie doesn’t make him. She entices him. Yeah, often directs him, especially at first. But at some point he’s growing on his own, in fits and starts, in reaction to his own emotions.

For example, when Izzie tells him she slept with George, he gets pissed, but also admits why pretty readily. And he tells her the truth, remarkably straightforwards. He reaches out to her a lot. And she turns him aside a lot. And he keeps loving. Even if romance is off the table. He runs after her a lot. Sits next to her when she’s upset a lot. Is understanding a lot. He’s different with her, and look I’m a fangirl, it’s a trope, I swallow bait line and hook. Which should be bait hook and line if my vague understanding of fishing is correct. I fished once, with safety implements, and still cried even as they removed the fish and popped it back into the water. (Okay I just reread to sort out where I’d gotten too and it’s hook line and sinker. Statistically someone will probably read this someday, you have my full permission to laugh at me. Anyway...)

The quintessential moment, the revved to 100, of course being when Izzie is clinging to a dead Denny. They’re all standing around. No one even looks surprised with jilted Alex talks to her. In a really caring way. And this is still fairly early on, wasn’t watching anything but their scenes but this had to be rare sight eh? (Mebbe?) And then he picks her up and sits down holding her and she clings and cries and like symbolism and could essay that but not going to right now because the broad relevant stroke is that Alex loves Izzie selflessly. And this is the pinpoint core of why I can buy his ending, because he can’t NOT love Izzie. I don’t think he even wants to stop. Though he can set it down in his heart and let her go and doesn’t pine. But he never stops loving her and it’s so many kinds of love imperfectly yet perfecly forged.

Forged. But also born. Stars uncrossed. I have emotions without words and if I try I’ll never get out of it to move on, so moving on.

(Oh, George telling Alex to talk to Izzie because she won’t talk to him about whatever it was. Isn’t is crazy that Izzie’s emotional squishy bestie goes to the emotionally stunted bad boy to help her because... it’s an understanding of the two-way Izzie/Alex bond, but also this crazy trust that Alex will show up.)

I love that Izzie isn’t blind to his faults, truly doesn’t like his faults, but has eternal faith for who he is and can be. She always saw him as someone with walls, once she stumbled on a lose stone and got a glimpse inside. She knows. She doesn’t always understand, but she knows.

Slight divergence from that line of thought, but its a great moment when they get together and he’s fairly transparently trying to make sure they’re in a committed relationship by dangling other women in front of her, and she’s a little ticked that he seems to be taking it rudely casually. Probably a bit of insecurity, but I’d say more that she has a long history of not reading him from the perspective of him loving her. Ie, 100% not recognizing that telling him about sleeping with George would hurt him. And doesn’t get it until he comes in and he’s dropped the swagger and it’s a “I know I’m doing something wrong and I don’t know how to do it right so help me” thing.

(Random memories of Sloan/Don from The Newsroom when she’s crying on the floor and Don comes in a sits next to her. I wuvs them too.)

I love that she openly leans on him, when he offers support she takes it. She doesn’t ask why, she accepts it and leans into it and is open to it because she trusts him because she knows him. The bits where she hates him tend to fall out of romantic issues, but when that’s removed from the equation they’re in sync. And the thing is, just as caring is fundamental to Alex’s nature, trust is fundamental to Izzie’s. And those two things weave into each other. Kinda like rats and the food button. When Alex reaches out Izzie she honestly accepts it, a “reward.” So he’s comfortable doing it again, and again. And when she does rebuff him he’s seen rewards come out enough that he doesn’t just scatter. And when Izzie trusts him, he rewards her with gentleness and care. She has the rougher time of it overall, because Alex is more screwed up emotionally, and breaks her trust more often than she rebuffs him, but that’s where Alex’s constant love comes in. But I cannot recall enough critical moments to have a cohesive proof, so I could be a little off base.

In my head Alex has always loved Izzie more than Izzie loves him, but I think my memory was unfair. There is a real constancy to Izzie’s affection, though I don’t think she imprinted on Alex as he did on her. She’s a different person, loves differently, has different issues. But my longstanding impression is mostly because of Denny. Who she truly did love, though the qualities of that love deserve exploration which I will not at this time attempt. And Denny loved her. The whole “side loves along the way” being a trope. Though usually “it ended in death/deathlike state” is given to the man and so THANK YOU SHONDA. Thinking of classics like Jane Eyre and Rebecca though I think both were actually crazypants first wives. And I do think female character’s side guys have a habit of dying, but it tends to feel more like a plot point to shut the door on continued love, whereas Denny remains a part of Izzie’s life.

At any rate, despite superficial similarities, Alex doesn’t hit the trope because his crazypants relationship wasn’t ever really about the woman: yep Alex got Rebecca, and Rebecca was crazypants, and it was a plot point to get him to the crying. Rebecca wasn’t love. It was never love. BUT

She DID, in every way, highlight what needed to be highlighted. 1) That he desperately wants a family. 2) that caring for someone, not just about them, is fundamental to him, (and ties neatly into him caring for Izzie all those sitting on the floor conversations.) and c) it’s not entirely healthy. Which is ALSO why thrusting his new happy relationship with Izzie into caregiver role is insensitive and undermines the relationship because it only makes sense if we got to see them both happy in the relationship first. And then we can see the quality of his caregiving change. But we didn’t. So bugger it.

I do LOVE how they let almost the whole next season play out he fallout of all that. Something taken slowly! We got to explore it. Did feel a bit drawn out tbh. But it just emphasizes the weight of it, I guess. Especially as it was a subplot amongst 100 others. This was their development for the season. Which was mostly Alex. But Izzie’s reactions revealed some things about her as well. Majorly dancing around laying it out for a close look and I don’t know why.

Favourite moment? Maybe Izzie putting her hand on Alex’s chest when he’s freaking out and telling him to stop, he doesn’t need to say any more. Because he’s trying to convince her of something, and she understands. And the trying to convince is shredding him, and she knows that. It’s a very loving and accepting “stop.” She’d already taken charge of the situation, for the good of the patient. She’d already taken charge because she knew Alex couldn’t handle it, he was too deep in something to see clearly. And she’s still in charge. She doesn’t break down and cry for him, or try to comfort him, he’s been thrown back into childhood and PTSD might literally be at play and what he needs, and she understands, is someone he can trust, who’s calm and gentle but strong and solid, to say it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. You don’t have to carry this on your own. We have it now. Because when we’re little and in over our heads what we want and what we need is an adult to take the burden. And still the physical contact is comforting, her tone of voice reassuring. She creates a space where he can feel safe and heard.

Ugh, rewatching, and we’re watching him literally devolve. Stages of grief ya’ll. He’s using every tactic to try and get what he thinks he needs: being able to take care of Rebecca. He’s in denial that anything is wrong. He gets angry when Izzie grabs him, to the point of threatening to hit her (though it’s fighting words and not real threat, and Izzie totally knows that.) He dives into bargaining. She’ll be okay if he can take care of her. He can do it. He tries to convince her it’s true.

By the time he gets home it’s depression. Not just Rebecca, but about his mom. And Izzie approaches him differently. In the hospital it was immediate and she was “in charge,” and needed to be in all facets, but at home, with the situation taken care of, she’s a friend. An equal. Which is what he needs right now. His sticking point later is the crying, so I kinda wonder how he’d react just to having told her about taking care of his mom as a kid. Right at the start he told that kid about his dad, (dad beating up his mom and him beating up his dad) while Izzie was within listening distance and didn’t seem fussed. But it’s ultimately a story about him being manly and protecting his mom physically. Which would be why it’s several seasons in before this crops up - waaay more intimate information. Probably all lumped into one, with the crying as shorthand. And mostly that his past is a fact, it’s his emotions he wants to keep private and deny.

He clearly did try to drown his emotions with sex. I’m not sure it would have worked with a random girl because he’s way too close to crying to do much of anything. And obviously doesn’t work with Izzie because sex is apparently emotional intimacy and I guess comfort for men moreso than women, but it plays out as a desperate attempt to get comfort in a safer way. Bargaining again, I suppose. “Have sex and will be fine tomorrow.” But, as noted, he doesn’t get that far because it’s too heavy and he rather quickly is just sobbing.

Which is a lovely parallel to holding Izzie while she cried on him after Denny died. Though Izzie had no qualms and no massive emotional recoil because emotions and vulnerability are normalized for females Izzie is a particularly emotional person. And an inverse of all the times Izzie is an emotional wreck and Alex sits down besides her and offers her support and understanding.

Could also argue that Izzie just saying “I’m sorry... About Rebecca. And your mom” - it’s an emotionally intimate moment. Of understanding. She’s acknowledging the two situations, and isn’t trying to do anything about them, explain or push or anything else. Just make him feel understood and not alone and sex is the way he can respond to that. How to process that in a way that feels manly to him? Also notably Izzie does seem to be going with it, and it’s aborted because he starts sobbing. And is still saying “Please” which is amazing, because he totally was never asking Izzie to just sleep with him. He wants to make it stop - the pain, emotions, probably reliving memories. But also... stages of grief. He needs to feel it, so he can accept it. He really just needs to cry, and grieve, and not be alone.

And it’s like... this is where their love story feels epic because it would look so different if they didn’t have all the levels and layers of love. Take out the romantic/sexual aspect. Take out the friendship. The trust. The family. Take out anything and this can’t play out.

Who didn’t love moments like Alex explaining to Bernedette Peters that men sometimes need to protect their manliness in the eyes of the woman they love. And they’ll do shit things to protect that manliness, but it’s because they care. Which is obviously idiotic and while romantic on screen is very much not so in real life, but this is fiction so hey ho. It’s such a wonderful foil. Because the situation here was not that Alex took his pain elsewhere to protect Izzie’s opinion, but that Alex completely and for a long time shut Izzie out to protect his manliness, which is entirely counterproductive but the only option he could see. He minimizes his experience as a “bad night.” (I mean, if you remove all the adjectives, he’s not wrong.) He’s protecting his own sense of manliness to himself. He doesn’t like feeling that vulnerable. He let Izzie get too close. He’s afraid. It’s all a tangle. And it pays off when they come back together and he’s willing to be more vulnerable, almost, and then enthusiastically, happy to be.

*But it does reference when he slept with Olivia when he failed his boards. So yeah, he’s done it literally too.

Backing up a step to revisit season 5. And actually they start out close. They’re all out in the cold waiting to greet patients and Alex grabs a blanket for her. He’s not irritated that Izzie keeps asking how he’s doing, just obviously in a bit of personal denial. And they’re totally messing around and lighthearted and look at each other with their heads really close and it begs some questions about the interim, though I guess they just haven’t talked about it deeper than “are you okay.” And per the Izzie/Meredith convo I guess they didn’t continue having sex (probably didn’t have sex that night either). Though the way Izzie looks at him as he leaves, she’s totally concerned that he’s not dealing with it.

Ah yes, forgot - so they just kept his breakdown unremarked upon, the superficial checking in is situational because Rebecca is a fact. They don’t talk about it, it’s fine. Pretending it did not happen. But it’s as soon as Alex thinks Izzie told Meredith about it that it goes pear shaped. It’s funny that his issue is the crying and he’s the one that told Meredith, but thematically Izzie saying “he’s opening up to me” is sorta the same. Also awww that even as she labels them friends, there’s this little glow inside her that they got closer. Emotional intimacy, what’s life without it eh?

So also 100% it’s high on Alex’s mind. That he did it, and so too that Izzie could betray him and tell others. Their relationship is so beautifully fragile in that short interim. It’s this little bubble where he’s okay that he was vulnerable with Izzie because she accepted it and isn’t making a big deal about it. And he does feel super close to her. But he can’t take anyone else seeing him in a non-manly light. For himself, and it works in terms of Izzie too if it’s an inside/outside situation. I’m a bit stuck and going in circles. If Izzie tells, then Izzie isn’t taking it seriously? Doesn’t understand him? I don’t think he’s even angry at her, if he looks weak to others then she’ll come to see him as weak? Halp, stuck.

Also so, I’ve seen it remarked upon that Izzie tends to forgive Alex when she maybe shouldn’t. But part of forgiveness can come from understanding the other person. Doesn’t have to be, especially for little stuff. But for big stuff?

Oh, and so weird but kinda cool that right after that rather self-aware conversation with Peters, he specifically lets Izzy see him with another woman. Were those scenes meant to be inverted? Or is he going into this eyes wide open? Trying to prove something? He’s hurting her though, is it intentional? Because cheating, by nature, is secretive, your person doesn’t know so you’re not hurting them directly, though of course when they find out it blows up. But the intention to wound is not there, it’s an escape. Proving that he’s really fine and back to his old self? They are not sleeping together so this isn’t cheating.

And even after that Izzy just shrugged it off. Popped in to tell him they maybe are getting kicked out, tries to get an apartment with him. She’s holding on to their closeness and friendship, despite him being prickly. And then... he smacks her or whatever they were doing which is back to flirty, and not meaningful but notably guides her out of the elevator before him. Though her barb about STD did hit him. Maybe he was trying to figure out how to stop being rude at her, and her continued friendliness was bufffer space until he could? He does say hello at the end, but who was she talking to about having no one?

It does bring up an interesting insight. It is true bout not something I thought about, that Izzie could be lonely, and actually does get as much out of their relationship as Alex ever did. They are incredibly close. And I think George might be married at this point, and thus no longer her “person”?

And then into the cryptic speak about them, while the father/son organ musical chair thing was happening. He’s looking over his shoulder at her, glances up, unspoken words yadda yadda. Follows her out into the hall when she leaves. The freeze out is shorter than I remember, but look, they kinda always keep communicating because freeze outs do not feel right. And I’ve moved to a blow by blow but Alex is trying to talk profession, and Izzie doublespeaks the “emotionally stunted” and he physically recoils and stutters like “yeah but no, that’s not what we’re talking about” and yet is now there and talking about them too. “Okay, ... I”m trying to be- I am, but this” WHAT is he trying to be/is??? Trying to not be emotionally stunted. Is emotionally stunted (or doubling down on trying?)

This is just such a beautiful conversation. Because Izzie IS emotional and caring but she has a mean backhand. Pettiness, ultimatum, she can smack back as hard as anyone smacks her. And she’s coming from a totally reasonable place, because he’s going hot and cold on her. And you can see that it affects him, and that falls out from that same pattern where he’s trying to tell her somehing and she’s not putting in a ton of effort to figure out what he’s saying, but is focused on her own needs and thoughts. ‘Cuz she’s hearing something like “give it up, you’re not going to get what you want out of me.” And he’s trying to say “I’m afraid I can’t be what you need, because I svck, please don’t make me try and fail.”

And they’re convo through parallels continues, Izzie calls Alex broken and is like “okay I do it your way my caring for you is pointless and it’s all fine.” Dad calls for son while kinda dying. I know they claimed different thought process but didn’t Alex call for Izzie when he was shot? And the payout from the series of exchanges: Alex is yelling at his standin to just step up and show he cares. With a hefty does of potential regret. It’s a 180, hoping that the kid does love his day, as well as getting emotionally invested. His relationship with his father isn’t mentioned, not sure if it’s meant to play into this, because he has previously acknowledged that he regrets losing his father completely.

(But then 10 seconds later she’s going to go crazy and by avoiding treatment it’s kinda like trying to kill herself and just... poor taste writers, poor taste.)

Cue a moment where Izzie knows what he’s trying to say and rewards it.

Enter Izzie being a little obtuse, I know I covered this but ending my personal cannon with them getting together - Alex literally says “are we going steady.” He’s literally saying “you tell me yes or no, and I will do that.” Of course he’s trying to say “I don’t know if you’re serious and I want to be please clarify and reassure” but one of those literal ones should have been enough. But then Izzie does always push him, not always intentionally, to be a little more direct, a little more vulnerable, trust her a little more. And the result is sooooo adorable!

And brings to mind when Izzie was trying to ask him out for the first time. And it went a tiny bit screwy and Alex flips it and asks her out.

There’s just so much awesome. *sobs* And there’s probably awesome in the cancer storyline too but I do not feel I can trust it and also it’s going to run full into Izzie being lame and leaving and all character development out the window? And I DO NOT want to see her trying to come back and Alex saying No. Because what will I see in the middle that gets them there? They always say yes. Eventually. And season 16 when JC is leaving the show is a bit on the long side, even if I ignore the details of the intervening years.

Throwing everything at the wall and maybe I’ll be done with dumping or can at least refine things. It’s the little speech I’ve only read and don’t want to hear bcause not sure how he did his line-read, but when he describes how he imagines Izzie’s life. In how much detail, how much he wants for her, what he knows she’s capable of building. He’s saying it to Jo and I’m uncomfortable with the idea he loves her, even if the letter to her does leak a “love you, in love with Izzie,” and I’m fine with Izzie loving Denny and don’t find it a problem Jo is still alive because I don’t see Alex going back but the thing where if he looks her in the eye he won’t return to Izzie and the kids is upsetting. And it’s just the kids and insta-family which is enticing. I mean, he’s not going to tell wife he’s leaving that he’s always loved his ex in a different way or anything. But he’s also not lying. He does mention to Meredith that he can’t go back to Seattle. He’d stay with Jo then out of... ? Halp. The best I got is he’s currently in a dream and if he goes back to his life, where he was happy, then he’ll lose the dream and it will disappear on him?

Slightly nicer is the elsewhere expressed (Meredith) idea that he’d set Izzie as unreachable. Thus, in line with what he told Jo, he didn’t want to contact her because he didn’t want to make it worse for himself, and his happiness comparison was completely excluding himself from the possibility of being part of Izzie’s life. It’s all happiness of them individually, not together. But yes, he always wanted to reach out, wanted to hear her voice and he never had an excuse? No excuse but curiousity, and that wasn’t enough to take a chance, but this was an excuse and he took it.

And the idea that he knows the right thing is to stay in Seattle, and being with Izzie and the kids is crazy, but it’s what makes him happiest, where he belongs. Meredith’s letter read first, so in that light, he’s overexplaining to Jo. Also exposition. References that conversation about his mental picture of Izzie, which I think was in the context of Jo questioning his feelings for Izzie. It scared him because... ? He focuses on the kids. It’s a little at odds with doing this for him, and a little suddenly ignoring the fact that he’s In Love with Izzie and I guess his mental image for Izzie was also his dream life and he gave it to her. Though where he thought her kids came from is possibly an oversight. Adoption?

Because it makes it sound like he’s torn between new and old love but the old love has is kids and wins. It’s a free pass to perfection. But he imagined a “whole life” for her, which is a massive investment opf time and emotional energy on someone he hasn’t seen in forever. I mean thinking well for an ex is al well and good but this sounds a bit beyond that, where she’s not a part of his life but a part of HIS life, believing she’s okay makes everything okay.

I am also willing to take up arms and claim that “I can’t look you in the eye because I wouldt be able to walk away...” doesn’t mean walk away from Jo, but walk away from Izzie. But that’s kinda tenuous. It just... it sounds like if he sees Jo he won’t be able to leave her, which puts her above Izzie (and even the kids, though he can still be in their lives) and that contradicts other statements, or at least their implications .

Though fair point that there’s a metric of who you’ll give up everything for. Izzie would for Denny. In a sense, I hear Meredith got her back in the Seattle hospital and she declined out of respect for Alex’s feelings. So in a way she gave up her life for Alex. And never reached out to him but did respond when he did. She picked up the phone. Maybe not knowing who it was, or they all kept their own phones. And Alex gave it all up for Izzie+kids. I want to know he’d give it all up for Izzie alone, and the life they could have had.

Or is it that he wouldn’t be able to leave Jo because, as noted to Meredith, it’s the right thing to stay in Seattle. And he’s become a man who does the right thing. And sometimes the right thing isn’t what we truly want, and to get that we have to be selfish. He one perfect thing is in Kansas. And it’s the family. It’s a family with Izzie. And his kids. It’s the whole package. If it wasn’t Izzie, the kids wouldn’t be enough? Also indicates that even with Jo was not exactly where he should be.

I’m also going with “some clues in various directions to satisfy various viewers but really offending most of them because this is all 10 years ago and people are newer viewers or forgot or hated Izzie when she left etc.” But preponderance of evidence leans in favour of this choosing what makes him happiest over what makes him happy.

ETA: he has a life for Izzie in his head because if she’s not happy, he can’t leave her where she is. He sees her as an optimist, the opposite of him and good things happen when you lean in that direction. He imagines her somewhere woody because that’s where they lived when they were married.

ETA2: Izzie didn’t notice Alex wanted to be exclusive. Because Izzie sees the good in him, but she doesn’t try to justify or explain things. She takes him at face value (mostly, she knows superficial crabbiness is just an unpleasant personality trait.) Until/unless she has very good evidence to he contrary. And THAT is why he has to take an active role and go to her. He does have to work for the relationship.

(Briefly skipped to a scene in season 6 (avoiding that season) and he actually says “I can’t be your nurse” which is so much character growth. Because I was afraid he’d gone full out into caregiver mode, which is not healthy for either of them. He’s protecting himself, but also pushing her to face up.)

CODAS

Watched Alex calling for/hallucinating Izzie when shot. Maybe it’s a Miranda thing? After freaking out right after she died, about how he can’t live without her, his breakup speech was essentially about how he realized he could survive without her. He doesn’t need her like that. And he was really hurt by the really shitty thing she did, leaving him. Thus valid conclusion that they should part ways and he’s not caught in the love/hate. But at some point after that, per hallucination conversation, he really wants her to... come back for him. To love him enough to not be able to stay away and come back for him it’s funny because the best way for her to love him was the respect his wishes and not come back. I mean she doesn’t even say anything after he asks that.

Interesting point “we married...” It’s a promise. He starts with “I’m sorry.” His breakup speech to her - rehearsed? He’s speaking from love and hate all blended and I think he’s a lot more honest and self aware, and he’s almost always been honest with Izzie. So his dying speech was also fear based? He’s scared, he’s in shock, like, physical shock. To when is his mind taking him? It’s natural to have regrets after a painful but necessary breakup. It’s been months but that’s still recent enough. So on the whole, inconclusive except yeah, he isn’t over her, but he admits during their breakup that he loves her “so much.”

Also love his “frozen together in time... and now we’re not.” They’ve both grown and changed, and so has their relationship, but there connection hasn’t. That hasn’t changed.

So back to his Izzie speech, which is meaningful intentionally as in 300th episode, where years later he was wondering still about her, enough to create a good life for her. A happy, rich and full life. He imagines it clearly and deeply enough to add smell to it. Smell is heavily linked to memory and emotion.

As happy as he is with Jo. Maybe it’s contentment? Something missing for each of them but not something he consciously knows? Meh. Back to frozen. He has an image, a full rich image of her and her life. It’s immersive but static, a snapshot. And the him who looks at that snapshot is the same him over time.

Letter to Meredith. “It’s about me.” Which is sorta back to breakup speech. It was about him, ending the relationship. He didn’t deserve to be left. And this is about him, not leaving Izzie+kids. There’s movement and beauty in this.

Meredith/Alex talking true love. So I’m torn. Jo refused his proposal, and the question is if you only get one true love. Did he think Jo was a true love, and if she refuses him it’s not? Or is he hoping that true love happens after they’re married? Given the constancy of his love for Izzie, from fairly early on, even if he didn’t call it that at the time I’m pretty sure it’s indisputedly much earlier than marriage, and she turned him down all the time, which would forestall true love worse, right? Can’t say as I’m not watching any Jo/Alex, cannot will not no need don’t gotta.

#alex x izzie #grey's anatomy #brain dump #meta #why couldn't i just leave well enough alone #and mess around with a vignette for funsies and a writing exercise #and not actually look at canon #because now i have feels #and am confused #and there are barriers to my feels #but it's okay i will live in my own little AU #and remember and know more than i did #given it was many many many years ago #i mean over 13 #right after season 4 started #izzex

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bearpillowmonster · 4 years

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KH: MoM Review (Story)

You don't begin the game with the new story, it's mainly just Kairi retelling the story from her perspective and you build up to that point...after KH3, so its basically the ending. I want to be clear, this isn't THE Kairi game, we might get one in the future but this is just told from her perspective, you don't play as her that much and you don't unlock her like the other characters, which is kind of disappointing.

One thing I noticed is that they give the player the choice of where to go. If you want to head to Chain of Memories, there's a path, if you want to go to Days, there's a path, if you want to go to KH2, there's a path, it all branches out after KH1. I would have to say it's a bold move to put KH2 right there because if you don't skip anything, the beginning of KH2 is the world before the Days section, when chronologically, it's the other way around.

(to the left is CoM, Straight is KH2, the right branch up ahead is Days)

Also Tarzan is missing from the world line-up, I assume they didn't get the rights because they had a whole debacle back when 1.5 was coming out and such but it's just kind of odd to me, I was kind of looking forward to that too. Same with Pirates and Pooh, not sure why that would be though and here's the funny one...Symphony of Sorcery, the one that actually has to do with music! I hated the way that world was put together in Dream Drop, I thought this would bring it redemption but the world isn't even in it!

With that, some Kingdom Hearts games are longer than others, so since CoM has pretty much all the Disney worlds from the first game, it's just different Castle Oblivion sections, so pretty short and sweet. That isn't to say that worlds don't come back for more tracks though, for example, Neverland appears in the KH1, BBS, and Days sections but with different songs. There are also different teams such as Team Classic, Team Days, Team 3D (odd choice but I like it), and Team BBS. They aren't interchangeable and you can't play as KH2 Sora but it is what it is, it doesn't affect gameplay anyway.

This game definitely reaches out to wider audiences but I wouldn't call it a replacement for story. If anything, it makes you want to play the other games, a great compliment/supplement. Especially if you want Disney World plots, that’s practically nonexistent. It is funny that they just used two songs for Re:Coded and only one for 0.2 though. There are 3 extra worlds that you only unlock if you get 280 stars, I like that, I only ended up doing that after the story though since I only had 208 by the time I figured that out.

I remember when I was a kid and my friend wanted to play Guitar Hero but he used the controller, not the guitar and I couldn’t even wrap my head around the idea, but look at me now! Little did I think, years down the road that Kingdom Hearts was going to swoop in and make a game like this where I’m actually interested in rhythm.

Overall, this game made me much more interested in rhythm games entirely. If they made a Zelda one in a similar style, I would totally be interested. With that said, this is the best rhythm game I've played thus far, not that I've really been into them though.

Stop! STOP!

I know you want to see it but this is where I get into spoilers, keep that in mind. Also, there is a scene after the credits, but it doesn't matter how you play the game, it's there for everyone. And if you see "Secret movie" somewhere online, that's false, it isn’t actually a "secret movie" because I've seen some pretty convincing fakes out there.

Now, I can see where people would get hasty and say that the content isn't all that much because they do wait until the end to reveal the new content and while I was satisfied with it (even if it left on a cliffhanger (as I expected!)) I could see some people not being as satisfied. I ended up spending about 10 hours going through world tour but I kept going after that as I mentioned so kind of average but this is also a rhythm game, think about a CD with that much content and not all the songs are even in the world tour.

Is it probably skippable? Probably. I expect it’ll be relevant but I think it’s more just connecting the dots than anything, besides, this is the current KH game for a while, I hear we won’t get news until 2022.

That final boss was great, I loved it. The only real gripe I had with it is that Sora looks like an MMD model, like if KH3 Sora was still in KH1. I also expected a little more out of Kairi's backstory because we got most of that specific part in the trailer making it easy to pick apart. I did stray away from everything since that trailer though and I was pleasantly surprised. Also, FGM can just teleport to the Final World whenever??

Nameless star is voiced by Madison Davenport who, as of now, is still under the name "Nameless Star." it's kind of salty but at the same time, sweet because I'm excited to see who she is. The japanese voice actress "Risa Shimuzu" voiced Vitani in the Lion King 2...so confirmed? Hahaha. Kairi asking to be trained by Aqua makes my heart all warm and fuzzy, I love that thought, that they all become masters and teach the new generation because I was thinking that the BBS gang might become irrelevant after KH3.

Xehanort talked about ‘paving the way for Sora’s disappearance’ but that was apart of his plan? I know YX teased it but he wanted that to happen?

Quadratum has to do with an ancient Roman building technique and the concept of "Making Square" but it really is Shibuya. The foretellers presence makes more and more sense as this goes on and it's really setting up for it. I felt like we were spending all that time building for KH3 but we didn't even realize that we were building for KH4 along the way and I think that it's just going to keep going, which is why "Quadratum" is a good metaphor in this instance, it keeps that same momentum and structure, it didn't lose anything by finishing the Xehanort Saga, it just used it as a launchpad.

Other than that, I heard "data" being tossed around when they talked about dreams and memories. Kairi is the memories (I guess Pooh is too though...)

and Riku is the dreams, so does that mean Nameless Star is data? Strelitzia is that you? It seems familiar because I mean she's "from the other side" and Brain was talking about data in Union X so it's possible. I just don't want the master plan to be "Re: Coded was actually 10x more important than you thought!" kind of data.

#kh #kingdom hearts #melody of memory #story #review #spoilers #kh spoilers #kh mom spoilers #kh mom

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khtrinityftw · 4 years

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Honest KH2 Critique

I wanna talk about Kingdom Hearts II since we're quickly approaching it's 15th anniversary. Ever since it was released, it's become a game that people irritatingly refuse to be moderate over, or at least when it comes to the vocal fans online. People who love it don't love it so much as worship it, while people who hate it don't hate it so much as despise it with every fiber of their being. I may technically fall into the "love" category (I share the majority fan and critic view that KH2, especially it's Final Mix edition, is the best game in the series), but I'm also willing to look at both its good and its bad, and do so in moderation rather than hyperbolically.

And I know, without a doubt - Kingdom Hearts II...has the absolute worst-written story out of the KH Trinity!

OK, that was said hyperbolically, but I did so as a joke!

It's so weird that the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories have narratives that are deeply and thoughtfully structured with such care and consistency, and then the trilogy is rounded out by such a messily-written rollercoaster of quality!

.....Well, all right, maybe not that weird.

When interviewed shortly after KH2's first public reveal at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, this is how Tetsuya Nomura described the process for writing the game's story: "I'm writing the plot, the main story of Sora and co. Other people are in charge of the plots for the events that will happen in each Disney world. Combining that with Nojima, we're completing one scenario."

The "other people" in question are the Event team: Masaru Oka, Ryo Tsurumaki, Michio Matsuura, Atsuko Ishikura, Yukari Ishida, and Kumiko Takahashi. Daisuke Watanabe and Harunori Sakemi also assisted Nojima with scenario writing whenever the need arose.

The problem that this process caused isn't apparent at first glance, but it's actually right there in that interview excerpt: "I'm writing the plot". In KH and CoM, Nomura only wrote the initial plot outlines, which were very simple and ripe for being fleshed out by the actual scenario writer. There's a big difference between that and writing a full-fledged plot the way he did here.

Nomura wrote the story for what transpires in the KH-original worlds: Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, the World That Never Was and Destiny Islands. It goes like this:

As far as plots go, I actually really like this one. It's a strong plot.

It's also convoluted as Hell.

I made a post saying the three one-word convoluted elements of KH2's plot are "Nobodies", "Data", and "Ansem". All three of those are literally the cornerstones of this plot that Nomura cooked up: they play a huge role through the beginning, middle and end! Because Nomura had more power with making this game, none of the more...out-there stuff that these concepts created could be curbed or removed. Which means that the scenario writer had better be in tune with Nomura when it comes to presenting them in a coherent way.

For the most part, Kazushige Nojima was....not.

Here is a tell-tale sign that Nomura and Nojima were not in sync. When asked if he planned from the start to make Kingdom Hearts be the heart-shaped moon seen on the cover of the original game, Nomura replied "No, I didn't. I asked Nojima-san to write the scenario and in his scenario it was written that the Kingdom Hearts Xemnas created is 'like a moon that floats in the World that Never Was'. When I read that, I thought ‘’Oh, this can be connected!’’"

Nomura just admitted that Nojima essentially had to make up how to convey Xemnas harnessing and trying to complete Kingdom Hearts, because Nomura's plot did nothing to convey it. It was a "wait, how the fuck is he doing that!?" detail. And you really get the sense all throughout the scenario that Nojima is struggling with trying to convey Nomura's stuff, and he has said as much in interviews: Nomura's plot and concepts confused him.

It also doesn't help that Nojima was the least major scenario writer on the original KH, mainly limited to the co-creation of Ansem with Nomura and writing the entire End of the World section. This is probably why Xemnas and Ansem the Wise are clearly the KH-original characters with the most confidence and complexity behind their writing in KH2's scenario. Nojima writes Sora, Kairi, their Nobodies Roxas and Namine, and Riku far more simplistically and trope-y, and the other Organization members and trio of Hayner, Pence and Olette are side characters so naturally they don't get much depth.

Then there's Masaru Oka and his Event Team. First off, while Masaru Oka is definitely on Nomura's wavelength and understands his vision to a fault, as Event Director he is superbly mediocre at presenting that vision, or Nojima's for that matter. He just isn't cinematically inclined the way Jun Akiyama was in the original KH, and that leads to the event scenes usually being the barest minimum of adequate at best, and laughably awkward at worst.

Secondly, Oka and his team were responsible for creating the plots in the Disney worlds (hence Oka's credit alongside Nomura under "Base Story"). But not only were they frequently lazy and just directly rehashed the movie's story but with Sora, Donald, Goofy and the Heartless shoved in, but half of the time they didn't even bother connecting the world plots to Nomura's main plot in any meaningful way beyond thematically ala CoM, and neither Nomura nor Nojima seemed keen on correcting this even when they really should have.

Here is a chart displaying the game's flow, stage by stage as set by world battle level. Stages where the main plot is progressed in some way are bolded, and stages of the main plot as created by Nomura have red borders around them:

Aside from Space Paranoids which was part of Nomura's plot from the get-go, the only time where correlation with the main plot occurs without any side factor to note is Beast's Castle, where both visits feature the machinations of Organization member Xaldin and culminates in the boss battle against him that leads to his demise.

Olympus Coliseum correlates to the main plot in the first visit but not the second, although the second visit is now made plot-relevant due to tying up loose ends from the first. Port Royal correlates to the main plot in the second visit but not the first, although the first visit is now made plot-relevant due to setting the stage for the second (it also has Larxene's Absent Silhouette in FM). There is technically a main plot correlation in the second visits to the Land of Dragons and Agrabah (the latter of which has Vexen's Absent Silhouette in FM), but Nojima botched the writing of them to the point where there may as well not have been, especially in the case of Agrabah’s which is "oh btw, an Organization XIII member came by off-screen".

And then there's the case of Disney Castle / Timeless River, which only acquires relevance to the main plot because it was decided that Maleficent should be resurrected and be Pete's boss in the present time. And unlike her appearance in Halloween Town, her role in this stage correlates directly to her role in the main story, revealing her resurrection to the heroes and establishing that she seeks a new evil stronghold from which to advance her return to power. Pete's backstory and connection to King Mickey shown here also receives a direct reference toward the climax of the World That Never Was.

While it could be argued that there's additional value in the first visits to Port Royal, Agrabah, Halloween Town and Pride Land due to the presence of Pete (Maleficent when it comes to Halloween Town), I would have to disagree because nothing they actually do in these stages end up mattering to the main story whatsoever - especially in Pride Land, where Pete just shows up in lion form to say “Ooga Booga Booga!”. Their presence alone just ain't enough.

The consequence here is that for the continuous stretch of Port Royal in the first go-round, Olympus Coliseum in the second, and Agrabah, Halloween Town and Pride Land in both go-rounds, it feels like nothing is advancing. And as bad as that sounds on paper, it's even worse when applied to gameplay because it means this lasts for several hours straight! The only main plot event that happens in either cycles is Kairi going to Twilight Town, which happens in a sudden cutscene between Agrabah and Halloween Town and is thus totally out of the player's control!

To sum things up, Nomura wrote a main plot that was good but too overwrought with confusing and complicated details. Nojima is a highly talented writer, but he didn't fully get Nomura's vision. Oka gets Nomura's vision, but he isn't a highly talented Event Director (and as seen in later games, he has even less talent as a writer) and often portrayed scenes that Nomura or Nojima came up with flatly. And none of these men were in sync when it came to how the Disney world plots and the main plot would connect, often simply not caring or else just not trying hard enough.

That is why KH2 has the weakest writing in the KH Trinity: the primary creative voices that shaped the story were completely out of sync with one another on a regular basis. You could say that their hearts just didn't connect on this project. And as a result, we have blatant inconsistences, bad edit jobs, pacing problems, mood whiplashes, missed opportunities, and dumbass moments galore.

However, on the occasions where things between them did manage to sync up, we were given some of the highest points in not only the KH Trinity but the entire KH series, and the input that was given from Daisuke Watanabe, Harunori Sakemi, and others like production assistant (and major Disney fanatic) Eri Morimoto surely helped the messy story become not quite as big a mess as it could have been otherwise. And that story still stayed true to the series' roots as a whimsical Disney/FF crossover project driven by relatable characters and emotional resonance, as opposed to a vanity project for Nomura that is driven by perplexing lore, plot twists and mystery boxes.

And that's why I and so many others love KH2, warts and all, and would gladly take dozens more narrative messes just like it over the different, far less enjoyable kinds of narrative messes that we've been getting afterward.

#Kingdom Hearts II #Anti-Nomura #Anti-Series Beyond

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verumking · 5 years

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⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆HEADCANON : RE/MIND TRAILER ANALYSIS

I’ve been working on this since the final Re/Mind trailer was LEAKED, but now that it has been officially released I can finally POST IT! This headcanon post encompasses all three Re/Mind teaser trailers and some of the events of KH3. I know this is structured like a THEORY POST, but take it all with a pinch of salt: this is just a LORE DUMP for how I’ll be roleplaying Yozora until the DLC actually comes out. I’m not aiming to be ‘accurate’ or right, just stringing bits of CANON to line up with my portrayal ;v; So, without further ado, let’s jump right in...

( Warning, this is a stupidly long post ! )

ONE. ┆ THE TWO HALVES OF THE SKY - YOZORA VS SORA

Without a doubt, Nomura has been planning this ARC for years. It is my firm belief that he was planning SORA and NOCTIS to eventually meet, the latter being axed from the joining the KH PLOT after Nomura was removed from XV’s development. Here is what Nomura ORIGINALLY SAID in 2013 about Sora and Noctis’s dynamic:

Do you know the name Sora mean the “sky”, in Japanese and Noctis, his family name is Caelum which mean sky as well so basically, Noctis means “night sky”, so they are kind of complete opposites to each other. There is a reason why I named these characters as opposites.

I don’t believe that Sora and Yozora are the SAME PERSON, nor is Yozora a FUSION of Riku and Sora, but rather, they PARALLEL each other narratively, like what Nomura originally INTENDED for Noctis and Sora. Yozora and Sora are simply OPPOSITES of each other.

I believe as much as SORA embodies light and hope, YOZORA embodies darkness and despair. SORA, not being TECH SAVVY ( see any interaction he has with a COMPUTER, or the first time he uses a GUMMIPHONE ), and YOZORA, who uses hyper-futuristic weaponry with EASE, and comes from a world where ROBOTICS is commonplace.

Aside from the obvious VISUAL JUXTAPOSITION between the optimistic keyblade wielder and the austere newcomer, I also believe that they are going to OPPOSE each other in abilities and goals. Much as Sora used the power of waking to BRING BACK LIVES, Yozora has just as much power to TAKE THEM: see the characteristic skull motif upon Yozora’s sleeves, as well as the prominent THEME OF DEATH within Versus XIII lore.

Which ties in perfectly to my headcanon about the role of REINCARNATION within the KH and Verum Rex worlds respectively. YOZORA is a harbinger of DEATH, and SORA is the harbinger of REBIRTH. Rebirth, of course, being the meaning behind the TITLE of the DLC, as mentioned by Nomura himself:

“ ... The meaning of what I just mentioned and the double-meaning are the same. It means “remind”, “reconfirmation”, “ reclaim the heart* ”, and so forth. ”

(*Note: 心 means “heart” and also “mind”, and 再生 can mean “regeneration”, so 心の再生 can also mean “regeneration” or “rebirth” of the “mind”. Also, “Reclaim Your Heart” is a phrase used on the back of the box for Verum Rex in Toy Box)

The TWO SKIES, like day and night, perpetually maintain this SAMSARA of death and rebirth. Both UNAWARE of each other’s existence, and IMPACT upon the wider universe.

UNTIL NOW. Given the description of the DLC mentioning ‘a secret episode and boss battle’ in a separate line, this is most likely alluding to YOZORA. As such, Yozora will play an antagonistic role towards SORA, at least for the events of Re//Mind. Yozora confronts Sora, after he ABUSES the power of waking to bring back all of his FRIENDS from death. The friends YOZORA was intending to REAP. And thus, the boss battle begins.

Whether Yozora CONTINUES to antagonise Sora even after Re//Mind, it can’t be ascertained at this point. But Sora had been REPEATEDLY WARNED that he will have a price to pay for abusing the POWER OF WAKING ( see the section on YMX below for more detail ). I believe YOZORA has come to deliver this retribution.

TWO. ┆ A SEA OF STARS - THE FINAL WORLD

There has been a lot of speculation about the ‘FINAL WORLD’ we see at the end of the Re//Mind trailer, and whether it IS EVEN the Final World, or the SAME 'Final World’ we have been visiting thus far with SORA.

So far, YOZORA’S WORLD has only been depicted at night. This, PAIRED with Yozora’s name meaning ‘night sky’, could imply that YOZORA HIMSELF caused the Final World to shift from DAY to NIGHT. The two ‘Final Worlds’ are one and the same.

But WHAT IS the Final World exactly? Chirithy describes the FINAL WORLD as a place where “the edges of sleep and death touch”, and that Sora had VISITED the Final World “more than once before on his visits to the Station of Awakening”. Chirithy also mentions that SORA previously came to the Final World “out of his own choice” and can’t just “wander out like his other visits”, when he came to the Final World after PERISHING at the Keyblade Graveyard. The fact that Sora QUESTIONED “What is the Final World?”, despite visiting NUMEROUS TIMES before, implies only one thing: Sora visits the Final World in his DREAMS. And, like most humans upon awakening, he fails to REMEMBER what he dreamt.

The fact that YOZORA is also present in the Final World, in a fully CORPOREAL FORM, implies that he also visits the Final World in his DREAMS, rather than simply arriving there after PERISHING. Their SHARED LINE from the KH1 opening says it all:

“I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately. Like... is any of this for real? Or not?”

The Final World is a realm one visits on the BRINK OF DEATH, and with Yozora and Sora being agents of DEATH and REBIRTH, they visit this realm even in their SLEEP. Yozora’s visits during his sleep are a PREMONITION orchestrated by the Watchmen of Fate, alluding to his destiny to ascend as the VERUM REX: aka the god of death.

THREE. ┆ A STRONG SENSE OF PURPOSE - THE NAMELESS STAR

I joked a lot about the NAMELESS STAR being Yozora’s love interest, but it may be CLOSER TO CANON than I originally thought: especially given Yozora’s appearance in the FINAL WORLD, and how accurate her DIALOGUE is to Stella Nox Fleuret: the infamous LOVE INTEREST from Nomura’s cancelled project, Versus XIII.

Aside from the obvious indicators ( “They took away my name, everything about me” ), the male she “PINES” for also fits perfectly with MY DEPICTION of Yozora. She mentions that he has been “changed beyond recognition, his heart replaced with another’s”. Aside from the developmental parallels of NOCTIS becoming YOZORA, it’s also accurate to my Yozora’s HEART being replaced with an ASTRAL CORE, with the Gigas experimentation CHANGING HIM beyond recognition ( his hair and eye colour ).

The NAMELESS STAR also mentioned that “were he to regain his old self again, he would be distressed by my absence”. Whatever HAPPENED to Yozora that made him forget about his LOVE INTEREST, his presence in the Final World alongside SORA gives the impression that he has REMEMBERED his love interest, and has come to rescue her-- much has SORA had returned to the Final World to rescue KAIRI.

Delving a teeny bit more into my OWN META here. I find it interesting that the NAMELESS STAR gave Sora advice about how to OVERCOME the TASKS before him. What intrigued me the MOST, is how she mentions his ability to RETAIN his PHYSICAL FORM in the Final World, due to his “strong sense of purpose”. The word ‘PURPOSE’ is distinctly emphasised by her voice actress, so I want to BELIEVE that there is importance to it.

MY PORTRAYAL of Yozora and his world encircles the concept of the ‘KARMA’ that lies inside all humans, as per the back of the VERUM REX BOX COVER in Toy Box. To summarise that post, this KARMA is the sum of a person’s grasp of FATE + CONSEQUENCE, and their connection to the SPIRITUAL REALM. The stronger your hold on your DESTINY, aka your karma, the stronger your CONNECTION to the cosmos. It is Sora’s POWERFUL HOLD ON FATE that gave him his corporeal form in the Final World-- much like YOZORA at the end of the Re//Mind trailer.

It thus becomes obvious that the NAME the Nameless Star whispers to Sora is YOZORA. Which not only explains why he looked so SHOCKED after hearing it, but also why Sora RETURNS to the Final World alone in the Re//Mind trailer. He was explicitly LOOKING FOR YOZORA, and was calling out his name-- and expressed the same level of SHOCK upon discovering that Yozora is MORE THAN just a video game character.

FOUR. ┆ AN AGENT IN THE SHADOWS - YOUNG MASTER XEHANORT

Puzzling enough, the Re//Mind trailers also REVEAL that Young Master Xehanort has been WORKING ALONGSIDE the Master of Masters. How is this relevant to Yozora, you ask? Consider the following:

1. YMX was the MAIN VILLAIN in the Toy Box world. He was responsible for introducing SORA to Verum Rex, quite literally, by THROWING HIM into the Verum Rex video game ( which I canon to be the ‘data’ version of YOZORA’S WORLD... but that’s for another post lol ). 2. YMX is WORKING with MoM, who appears along with Yozora in the SECRET ENDING, in the Shibuya district of Yozora’s world. 3. In Dream Drop Distance, YMX made a PROMISE with two characters from The World Ends with You, a game directed by NOMURA encircling the concept of reapers, also based in SHIBUYA. The promise being to bring them back to their world, if they brought Sora and Riku to him. Perhaps YMX did FULFIL that promise, and RETURNED the TWEWY characters to Shibuya. Which implies that HE KNOWS how to reach Shibuya: where MoM was present.

Nomura mentioned in the KH3 ULTIMANIA, that the Shibuya featured in the SECRET ENDING is in a “different reality” compared to the TWEWY Shibuya. What if the SHIBUYA of Yozora’s world, coexisted with the Shibuya of TWEWY? Much like how the worlds were SPLIT IN TWO, not only in Dream Drop Distance, but in Toy Box as well?

4. More specific to my META for Yozora, YMX finds it INTRIGUING that “even empty puppets can be given strong hearts”, and that “a heart can be placed in a vessel of our choosing”. My Yozora was essentially moulded into a PUPPET of Gigas Corporation after having his heart replaced with an ASTRAL CORE, with the intention of making him rise as a ‘HIGHER BEING’: an elevated version of humanity. Also note how YMX says ‘OUR’... what if he was not alluding to True Organisation XIII... but HIMSELF AND MoM?

5. YMX also plays a ROLE in Sora abusing the power of waking. Before unleashing the FINAL BOSS of Toy Box on Sora, he whispers “Find the hearts joined to yours”. In the Re//Mind trailer, SORA re-emphasises this: “But, follow my heart? Hearts are all connected. Trace the connection!”. YMX also APPEARS again, after Sora dove into all of the Sleeping Worlds, claiming that he nearly “buried himself in the dark of sleep”, TWICE OVER: once in DDD, and once again in KH3-- instances where YMX was both present.

Note how also, Nomura chose SAN FRANSOKYO as the final Sleeping World that Sora reaches, before YMX appears. San Fransokyo being very AESTHETICALLY SIMILAR to Yozora’s world ( Both being TOKYO CODED CITIES, with a night time setting ).

Despite LEADING Sora down this doomed path, YMX WARNS him that there is a “high price to pay” for wielding such power FOOLISHLY, and that he had now “paid (this) price”. The price? HIS OWN LIFE. This is reiterated several times in the GAME and PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL:

a. On the BACK of the Verum Rex box cover in Toy Box, it mentions ‘A JOURNEY WITHOUT A PLACE TO RETURN’. b. In the Re//Mind trailer: once by XEHANORT himself: “Seeing that you have also taken the FORBIDDEN PATH, you too must be ready to make the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE”. c. And once again by CHIRITHY, claiming that Sora will “vanish from this world”, and that “without ( his ) powers, ( he ) can’t return to the world ( he ) came from”. Sora has not only LOST the power of waking, but had also SACRIFICED HIS LIFE.

Stranded in the FINAL WORLD, with no one left to turn to, Sora calls out a NAME. The name of a person he knows is COMING to the Final World... to save his lost star.

SHOUTOUT to Steph ( @kyecupio ) for fuelling the big galaxy brain with XEHANORT and YOZORA’S connection fgjhfg.

FIVE. ┆ THE WATCHMAN OF FATE - MASTER OF MASTERS

We’ve gotten an INSIGHT into YMX’s intentions, but what has the MoM got to do with all of this? Why does he APPEAR in the secret ending?

We already know that MoM is working alongside YMX from the brief Re//Mind trailer, where it is disclosed that the MoM GIFTED YMX the characteristic black coat that wards off darkness. YMX is also seemingly REPORTING to MoM about a ‘world tour’, which I assume MoM advised him to go on. What is this ‘world tour’? Difficult to tell at this point.

But what I do know is that MoM is OBSESSED on keeping universal order. He created the GAZING EYE to allow himself to see into the future and write the BOOK OF PROPHECIES, and refuses to give LUXU a copy of the book to ‘avoid temporal paradoxes’. Nomura has definitely created an ANTAGONISM between Luxu/Xigbar and Xehanort, especially NOW with it being revealed that YMX is working with MoM.

WHATEVER Nomura is planning with LUXU vs MoM/YMX, I can’t be certain. But what I do know, is MoM’s MOTIVES are extremely similar to MY META for the Watchmen of Fate, something I have come up with exclusively for MY PORTRAYAL of Yozora and his world.

The WATCHMEN OF FATE are responsible for maintaining the BALANCE AND ORDER of the universe, and are CHARACTERISED by their dark reaper’s hoods. Note how the MoM never takes his hood off, and this HOOD is strikingly uncanny to a GRIM REAPER. Furthermore, the Watchmen of Fate in my canon are not only NOTED for keeping the order of the universe, but some are also ‘TRICKSTERS’ by nature and occasionally like to manipulate fate. Note how MoM also has a PLAYFUL PERSONALITY despite his wider goal.

I believe the MoM has a greater power in the UNIVERSE, and has advised YMX to lead SORA to the Realm of the Dead where YOZORA resides. For what purpose? To UNITE the agents of DEATH and REBIRTH under the same sky. To fulfil the cycle of KARMA. To achieve the REINCARNATION of all worlds.

To reincarnate Kingdom Hearts.

TO CONCLUDE:

1. MoM and YMX are rogue Watchmen of Fate, trying to REBIRTH the universe together via KINGDOM HEARTS. 2. They want to UNITE SORA ( who embodies rebirth ), and YOZORA ( who embodies death ), to achieve the REINCARNATION of the universe ( death + rebirth ) 3. SORA is seeking Yozora because he TALKED to the Nameless Star, YOZORA is seeking Sora because he USED the power of waking to REVERSE DEATH, they both meet at the FINAL WORLD. Yozora initiates the BOSS BATTLE because “ you broke the rules, perish ” 4. YMX ( + MoM? ) possibly SPLIT SHIBUYA into two: one comprising of YOZORA’S REALITY, and one comprising of TWEWY’S REALITY ( not sure of the reasons yet but it’s suss ) 5. ( Specific to my VERUM REX META ) YMX and MoM are potentially connected to GIGAS CORP, given YMX’s intrigue about placing STRONG HEARTS in EMPTY VESSELS, much like Gigas Corp are, thus already serving as ANTAGONISTS to both Yozora and Sora.

#⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆a synthetic heart bled dry by the hands of fate. ❪ headcanons ❫#( this is a mess but i just want to post it jfhjfhg )#( i'll tidy it up later if this makes any sense-- )

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didsomeonesayventus · 5 years

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okay long time spending in gestation but I imagine that someone out of the followers I have wants to know my onion on KH3 is

Overall, good!

so consider wordbarf of very repeated and tired onions no one actually actively asked for below:

Alright so I’ve been trying to figure out how to make these words and what my opinions even are considering this game has been out for almost a year now (KH3 existing is wild imagine it turning a year old) so this will be. mostly bullet points + incoherent and unorganized rambling forgive me

BAD THINGS FIRST lets get the salt out of the way

Literally everything with Kairi was oof. I still feel her relationship with Lea is incredibly rushed given the last time they were interacting in canon he was literally kidnapping her but go off I guess nomura they’re brother/sister friendsy now at least the fandom can sell me on that better than you can. I seethe with rage recalling that they didn’t even try to hide that killing her off was a classic case of fridging (“You lack motivation” FUCK OFF) and I have been angry since the day I was spoiled by leak stuff accidentally. I wouldn’t have minded her getting her ass handed to her if they made it look like she tried and gave us some moments where she did defend herself and get some victories and not conveniently cut away from the actually badly needed training montage (surprise! this is why we have training montages!!!!) and I get she was instrumental in rescuing everyone and the fact she wasn’t THAT bad speaks for how much she improved but it still just. bites that she still feels more like a satellite love interest than ever.

Kairi was bad enough to get her own thing but tbh everyone who isn’t Sora also.. really suffers. The writing is really Sora-centric here and that’s not inherently bad (see good list) but it leaves a lot to be desired, especially since they dog pile the extended cast moments in at the end. There was no big confusion at Ven and Roxas sharing a face, no talks between characters who would have interesting interactions given their histories and circumstances, no obvious sign of development from anyone except maybe sea salt family and Aqua. They’re here to be more one-note than usual and resolve their arcs. Ven in particular (I’m totally not biased clearly /sarcasm) I feel is a big example given he was kinda in a really rough mental state at the end of bbs?? and 3 is exceptionally vague on just how conscious ventus was during his nap so I can’t even answer if he was able to give himself therapy the past 12 years or whatever

Anti Aqua is a damn cool concept but ultimately kinda pointless and I think we could have received it better if it wasn’t spoiled in trailers and wholly out of left field. Plus Sora coming in after what was pretty clearly set up as a Riku moment- while it gave us the incredibly gay press triangle to Sora + use a big keyblade made from ur love moment -was uh! really cheap!!!! and ruined what was clearly set up for being Riku’s thing with an almost nonsensical SIKE ITS SORA (it’s saved from being wholly nonsensical by 0.2′s opening foreshadowing + it still kinda makes sense for sora to at least help but damn if the narrative wasn’t leading us towards a riku moment)

Also everyone was hit really hard with the nerf effect in-narrative so unless you’re the dream team you’re screwed I guess and that. doesn’t quite work since it makes everyone else look... not great. And I think this is kinda a miscommunication on part of Nomura and the fans (IM MAKING ASSUMPTIONS TAKE WITH SALT) in that we kept saying we wanted people “saved” but meant having their arcs resolved in a reasonable way that preserved their agency and power and relationships, but got interpreted literally as “alright Sora comes in and solves every problem, is tough on stains, and makes julienne fries”

And yet there’s also a lot of mean spirited “oh no sora’s dumb and helpless w/out a second braincell” which was kinda funny the first couple times and I failed to pick up on it first go I’ll admit, but honestly? Yeah. they pick on sora too much. Donald and Goofy are the most guilty, and everyone else by virtue of not seeing Sora that much actually in-narrative are off the hook from me because they probably didn’t know how much teasing he’d been getting from his pals, but it felt kinda like they didn’t know what to fall back on between the three besides “oh donald and goofy pick on sora” which is cute once or twice but the amount he gets and how it clearly leads to his breakdown at the end is uhHHHHhhhHH hm.

As always the pacing is pretty awful where the disney worlds are somewhat relevant at best and then the end is 0-1000 but that is a usual KH gripe so its pretty low on the bar

Attraction flow is cute and neat at first but it gets.. really wearing towards the end and in the serious fights at the Keyblade Graveyard BOY are they a mood breaker

the “repeat the plot” worlds- Tangled, Frozen, Pirates -REALLY stick out like a sore, ugly thumb compared to the worlds that went out and did their own creative thing, and Big Hero 6 was.. cute? but kinda maybe too much of a breather.

Frozen also get an extra award for “Audio mixer most in need of firing!” because who the hell allowed the do you want to build a snowman scene.

They did nothing with Scala and I want a refund on that aesthetic if they’re not gonna do anything besides a framing device with it

HEY WAIT THERE WAS GOOD THINGS TOO!

Good news point that may or may not come to pass: Re:Mind DLC might fix some of the above salt! We shall see and probably know by the time this post is a year old sfjhdsakjgh

SORA! Sora was actually a character again!!!! holy cow they pulled up from the utter nose dive that was DDD!! god i love this dork and it was really fantastic to see him back to normal.

The graphical upgrade lost a lot of the squish and stretch that the OG graphics had but you know what? pretty. tastey. good graphics and better at doing more subtle emotions and hey have i mentioned Pirate’s glow up? Pirate’s glow up. The details in Olympus to recreate the swirly aesthetic of the clouds and explosions and lava is a great touch.

Worlds as far as levels go?? really good! They feel legitimately like worlds and explorable and with their own flavors and I LOVE battle and field themes x2 its really great I’m down for less worlds if they keep the quality. Hell we have NPCs!! maybe even too many npcs.

Writing OVER ALL/ON AVERAGE I’d say has improved a lot! It’s still not a literary masterpiece or anything but I found the disney worlds really cute and easier to get invested in even if long term they were less relevant than I hoped they would be. In every world there was at least one scene I found myself actually invested in. Like there was something to the writing that was legitimately more endearing than usual on average, and toy box and monstropolis were strong contenders for really good overall imo

honestly there were moments that- as moments -were incredible. Wayfinder reunion scene will haunt me, and Sea salt’s was good too, final world and rescuing everyone was jaw dropping, getting the LoD Back was also good, Union X, Xigbar exiting left stage pursued by a bear, wayfinder trio making a grave for eraqus, all the gummi ship scenes had great chemistry, beach party ending, hanging out with rapunzel for the first half of Corona is adorable as hell, all the nods to scenes in the movies, the easter eggs, like the game is not consistently amazing but it is peppered with stuff that I feel in a bubble ignoring surrounding context just work really really well

Damn if the end boss rush wasn’t thrilling as hell and honestly??? really good. Hard to parse out first flush but I think this was a good decision and added a lot of blood roaring urgency and wild turns, and even if I want to overhaul a number of things about the endgame I think this can definitely stay

Kingstagram is a beautiful gift man

OST? A fucking banger all around and I love how they’ve made cutscene-specific tracks that play with the leitmotifs throughout KH’s illustrious musical history

Over all there’s some really glaring issues, but overall it’s KH really at its best. I’m not sure if it’s my favorite entry and I’m still really mixed + befuddled on just how exactly I feel and I think a lot of that is I had pretty high expectations and my own ideas of how it would play out since like. 2012. it’s really hard to detach from those feelings and ideas sometimes. But KH3 wasn’t bad! It could’ve really been worse, and the fact that it got out the door in the state that it was is a good deal

now here’s to the wait for Re:Mind and to see if it’s basically the content we’d get in Final Mix that could definitely bump up my opinion

#Katie rambles #long post #((in case this fucks up on mobile which it likely will))#but yeah I'd say 7-8/10 #solid entry did remarkably well for what it needed to do but not really amazing favorite entry ever sort of love #got its pros got its cons. its solid and good and enjoyable for what KH is #anyways obviously this is my opinion and you're not obligated to agree but yeah! KH3.. exists.. its a thing.....

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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Why All 7 Guardians of Light Were Meant to Use the Power of Waking

Joshua: “In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end. To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. Here, I thought they might have a chance–that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Maybe I could give them another chance.”

So, I feel like neither the Realm of Sleep nor the power of waking got properly utilized in the story. I don’t know exactly why, but there definitely were a ton of deviations from the story’s original vision. Maybe it had to do with making the game more accessible to new players. Or perhaps the higher-ups thought constant heart-diving would divert from the action too much, and casual fans wouldn’t appreciate that. Or maybe it was due to the cancellation of BBSV2. Whatever the case, the power of waking got erased from the story almost entirely by Kingdom Hearts 3. It was never even properly explained how the Realm of Sleep differs from the Realm of Darkness.

The whole concept of the Sleeping Worlds is based on ancient shamanism. A shaman is kind of like a death “midwife” or “ambassador”. Your soul is your connection to the divine. It is your source of guidance–and when you lose it, you're really in trouble. You’re stuck in the limbo of the astral realms. A shaman is an explorer within these realities for the purpose of bringing back information and for the purpose of healing. They find lost souls on the other side and attempt to help those souls cross over. When Riku became a Dream Eater for Sora, he basically became a full-fledged shaman.

Joshua was serving the exact same role for Neku and the others. When a person enters the Realm of Sleep, it is after the fragmentation of their soul. It’s a defense mechanism against unbearable trauma. That’s why the characters from The World Ends With You were so important to include in KH3D’s story. They all died in the real world and the Sleeping Traverse Town was a safe haven in another dimension, where they exist in a dream. The Realm of Sleep is a place of total darkness and safety. There’s no conscious awareness whatsoever, in order to shield the ego from pain.

One of the major ceremonies a shaman performs is called a “shamanic journey”. A shaman goes into an altered state of consciousness and travels outside of the space-time continuum into the hidden realms that many term “non-ordinary”. Non-ordinary reality is a parallel universe to ours. Some call it the “Dreamtime”. There is no time in non-ordinary reality. Linear time only exists in the 3rd dimension of physical reality. According to shamanism, there are four “Worlds":

Upper World – The non-ordinary reality of the super-conscious. This is where the Spirit or Higher Self resides. It would be Heaven, essentially.

Middle World – The ordinary reality of the conscious. This is the world we currently exist in. The Realm of Light, basically.

Lower World – The non-ordinary reality of the sub-conscious. This would be the Realm of Darkness, where the individual sub-conscious and the collective sub-conscious merge. Shamans mainly work here.

Under World – There also exists an Under World. This is a state of unconscious that is NOT typically traveled to on shamanic journeys.

So what happens to people who wind up in the unconscious? Well, in the hidden realities there are compassionate spirits who offer their guidance and also their healing help on behalf of all life on earth. These would be the Dream Eaters in KH lore. And that’s basically their job. To escort souls to other, higher realms when they are finally ready. It’s actually not the job of humans to venture to such realms. What the the 7 Guardians of Light are attempting to do by reviving sleeping people is actually a pretty extraordinary endeavor for humans from the Middle World.

Yen Sid: “If we are ever to strike down Xehanort, we need the individuals King Mickey spoke of in his letter. We must lead them out of sorrow and slumber, and back to our world. To do so, seven Sleeping Keyholes must be found and unlocked, and a great power retrieved.”

Acquiring shamanic power involves a “death initiation” ritual. The experience is supposed to bring them in touch with their own death and rebirth, ushering in a new stage of life. During an initiatory experience, a shaman often takes a person to the brink of madness, insanity, and deviance. The purpose of totally losing it is just that: to lose the ego’s hold over us. To loosen our consciousness---that limited, boxed-in perception of what life is all about and which imprisons us within it. It’s these moments of ego death that provide an experience of reality that is larger, deeper, and infinitely more exquisite and beautiful.

This initiation is typically not blissful, fun, nor healing. The shamanic experience is usually filled with terrifying and nightmarish visions or visits from spirits. If a person is called to take on the responsibility of a shaman they usually fall very ill or even to the brink of death. It is considered to be an initiation by the spirits. The experienced shaman keeps the shaman-in-training on the correct path during this process, although the person may believe they have totally lost it. That’s what Yen Sid was attempting to do for Sora and Riku. Yen Sid is using the ancient ways, since he’s a traditionalist. This is how Riku acquires the power of waking. He becomes a true Master.

Speaking of the KH BbS secret cutscene, Ansem the Wise says that he hid his research results in Sora. This complies with what happens in KH Re:coded when Namine says DiZ (Ansem the Wise) has hid something inside Sora. Is that mystery remaining unsolved?

Nomura: Yes. Namine added data to the Jiminy Journal in order to convey that the “pain” of those connected to Sora must be healed, but at the point in time Ansem hid the research results inside Sora, he didn’t know that. Accordingly, Ansem’s research results will become the key to healing the “pain” in the future of the story.

But Sora doesn’t become a true Master. So there had to be a way for a non-Master to use this power. Ansem’s research was said to be the “key” to healing the future pain of the story. Nomura mentioned this many times, so it was clearly supposed to be very important. He said it was supposed to explain the way to bring back lost hearts. Yet that isn’t what it was revealed to be in KH3. At all.

"Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the ‘tyranny of light’ to restore equilibrium.

In an effort to undermine Xehanort’s plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the “Key to Return Hearts,” while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders.”

—Kingdom Hearts III press release (2013)

An initial press release even mentions something called the “Key to Return Hearts”. Where did that idea go? My conclusion is that Ansem’s research data got badly retconned and the importance of the power of waking was drastically minimized from what it was originally intended to be. Yen Sid implied that Terra, Aqua, and Ven were all in the Realm of Sleep. This power would be necessary to arouse them from their slumber. But the power of waking really wasn’t even used on most of them in KH3, leading to a very confusing story for many people, myself included.

The importance of the power of waking even influenced the Disney world choices. Hercules rescued Meg from the Underworld due to his love for her. Rapunzel brings back Eugene with her light. Elsa’s love for Anna saves her from being frozen solid. Baymax is restored due to his bond with Hiro, etc. These characters are all using the power of waking. These Disney worlds were supposed to have an enormous relevance to the main story. It’s honestly mind-boggling that they still wound up feeling like filler, despite how thematically tied they are to the main plot.

I think the decision to minimize and alter the usage of the power of waking is the very reason everyone seemed to get “jobbed” in KH3. This was a major complaint I’ve seen everywhere. Everyone is constantly getting their ass kicked. My theory: There are countless scenes of characters getting knocked unconscious because that was when they were originally supposed to be using the power of waking. These “dive-into-the-heart” scenes would have been used for character development, and strengthening the relationships between the characters.

At the end of 0.2 Aqua descended into an all-black realm. I think originally, that was the moment she went to the Realm of Sleep. That’s what the totally black background seems to represent in general. Unconsciousness. She can’t take the trauma of almost being saved, then watching that chance slip out of her grasp.

When Sora finally arrives to save her, the scenes are almost identical. Sora would then have to use the power of waking on her. Since Ven’s heart is inside of him, he would be able to do this, not realizing exactly how he did it, though.

I even think King Mickey was going to use the power of waking on Riku at some point in the story. The blackness looks identical to the Realm of Sleep. Perhaps Riku’s trauma is due to the darkness inside of him being part-Terra all along. This realization would make Riku feel pretty terrible and guilty for rejecting it.

Then I think Riku would have to use it on Mickey, after he is defeated by Aqua. Mickey’s trauma would be the tremendous guilt he has over feeling like he abandoned his friends in the darkness for so long. Then Riku would be the one to be his light, just as Mickey was for him in Castle Oblivion. This would have allowed for much deeper development to their relationship, which has been a major focus since CoM.

We already know that Ven has been in the Realm of Sleep since the end of BBS. And again, the all-black background is there. Somebody would need to dive into his inner self and finally awaken him.

That’s exactly what I think Aqua was going to attempt. Sora still doesn’t know how this power works, so he can’t just give Ven back his sleeping heart. Aqua has a close heart connection with Ven, so she tries to awaken him. Then Vanitas arrives. There’s a force-field around Ven’s chamber, so it would take a while to break through. Aqua’s unconscious and helpless, since she’s in the astral realms. Ven’s heart awakens just in time to save her. The scene is similar to the one in BBS, when Ven is frozen solid and Aqua is about to be killed.

Terra would have headed straight to the Realm of Sleep if Aqua didn’t save him the first time. I’m sure that by KH3, he was back there again---especially after becoming one of the 13 Seekers of Darkness. That’s just too traumatic.

When I first saw the scene where Sora freed Terra’s heart, it immediately aroused my suspicions. It was way too quick and easy. I think Ven was originally going to be the one to use the power of waking on Terra. I don’t think anyone else was going to be unconscious during that scene. I think many scenes were rearranged in the final version of the story.

That’s why when Terra wakes up, he immediately rushes straight to Ven. Not because he doesn’t care about Aqua; because Ven was just inside of his heart with him and now he’s the only one unconscious upon Terra’s revival. And that’s why he is crying when he tells Ven that he found him, just like he promised. He used the power of waking on him and found him in the deepest abyss. Their friendship would come full-circle after Terra told Ven he knew he’d be there when he really needed him. Ven would be the one to save his friend, not Sora.

These scenes of everyone out cold are SO similar to the end of KH3D, where Riku is out cold after he dove inside of Sora’s heart. Everyone is huddled around him, worried. Donald is out cold, too. Maybe he was supposed to use the power of waking on Yen Sid or something? Or maybe he went to the Realm of Sleep, after the trauma of using Zetta Flare.

I have absolutely no doubt that after getting kidnapped, mutilated, tortured, and possessed by Xehanort, Isa would have been in the Realm of Sleep along with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He’s been there ever since. So Lea would have to use the power of waking on his waifu Isa. To me, it seemed like Isa was created for that very purpose. To give Lea an extremely personal reason to be a Guardian of Light---to give him someone special to use the power of waking on, in order to make his story more emotionally gratifying. Kairi would try to protect him while he’s out cold, searching for his friend in the astral realms, and this would strengthen their friendship, too.

If they had stuck with mind control plot, Isa wouldn’t have been a Nobody at the point he’s revived. When he was re-completed, his heart was still captured by Xehanort, so his body was just an empty shell. They didn’t need to make him a Nobody to use him as a vessel. So, instead of disappearing into darkness, he and Lea would probably just share a moment where Isa wakes up in Lea’s arms, somewhat similar to KH3. However, I think we missed out on a pretty great scene of Isa opening his eyes for the first time, showing they are green again. But my point is, all the scenes of everyone unconscious were supposed to be at the very end of the final battle---after Saix and Terranort are defeated, but before the Xehanorts are defeated.

The press release for KINGDOM HEARTS III unveiled by Square Enix discusses the search for the “Key to Return Hearts.” Is there anything you can tell us about that?

Nomura : There are two possible meanings of the “key.” One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general (laughs), and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the “key” without knowing what or where it is. But as you know, we can’t really say anything else on the subject (laughs).

This is the response Nomura gave in 2013, after that initial press release came out. Sometime after this interview, the story was changed quite a bit. There was absolutely no mention of a “Key to Return Hearts” in the final version of the story, and Ansem’s research data had a negligible impact on the story. In the original version of KH3′s plot, Sora clearly didn’t “get” whatever message Ansem’s research was meant to show him. He isn’t sure what kind of ”key” he is supposed to be looking for, and would spend the whole game looking for it. Is it a Keyblade or...something else?

That’s quite different than what actually happens in the final game, where nobody acts like they have the slightest clue what they’re trying to accomplish. Nomura clearly hinted that the key was a “light” key. The light would open the door to “something else” and this would be the key that would show how to restore lost hearts and heal the “pain” of the characters.

It only makes sense that ALL the Guardians of Light would use this power in the story. It’s literally the power of light. That’s their entire purpose as guardians. This is what the Reiki weapons that Saix had were all about. As a Guardian of Light, you can use your OWN inner light, your aura, for healing purposes. To bring back a person from their sleep and to heal their pain. You don’t need to be some kind of official master. It’s not about a title. It’s about your heart’s connection with the person. Anyone can become someone else’s Dream Eater.

Sora uses this power on everyone during the final battle. I think that everyone getting wiped out was always a part of the story. But Sora saves them, proving that you DON’T need to be a true master to use the power of waking. Then Kairi saves Sora. Kairi is NOT a Keyblade Master. I think Kairi was supposed to be the real hero who saves Sora with her pure light after he uses (or abuses) the power of waking on everyone else. While looking to rescue her, she actually rescues him. That would be a total reversal of her position as a damsel in distress. That’s what makes the most sense to me.

A gold aura signifies divine protection and enlightenment. When you radiate this color aura, it means that you have achieved something that not a lot of people can. The color of enlightenment. It says that the person is being guided by their highest good, and they radiate and glow with the gold energy. Those with a gold aura are able to radiate energy to heal others.

Mr. Nomura, since you are the one that is writing the scenario this time, how is the progress coming along?

Nomura: Since we are arriving near the conclusion of Xehanort in KINGDOM HEARTS III, the outline of the story has been solidified but not necessarily the direction where the KINGDOM HEARTS series is continuing to head. We are still trying to decide where to go from several choices.

Even when this interview was given in 2015, they didn’t know quite where the story was heading in the future. But the basic plot for KH3 was thought of loooooong before 2015. All of the changes to the plot and the butchering of character arcs came later. I’m not convinced that the time travel shenanigans in The Keyblade Graveyard were originally a part of the story. I think that was probably thought up later as a way to introduce us to the concept of time paradoxes and such.

Then the story could “seamlessly” switch over to the time-travelling Foreteller arc stuff and its original characters. Like our good friend “Subject X”. Lea and Isa’s story was butchered altered to accommodate Skuld existing in the current timeline. She wasn’t always supposed to be there, so she needed to take Isa’s place in the story. I suspect it’s the same with Kairi getting killed and Sora disappearing. It’s all just a way to focus on the Foretellers after the Xehanort arc got butchered. Just a hunch.

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zdbztumble · 5 years

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“Kingdom Hearts II revisited” Part III

I had meant to cover the first pass on all the Disney worlds in one post, but this game is just too long, and I have too many notes. For now we’ll just go over everything up to and including Disney Castle/Timeless River. Maybe the second pass can fit into one post.

Going back to KH II after KH III, you notice certain things that would probably have been taken for granted before. One example is how little talk there is about the “world order.” That’s something that’s existed as a concept since the first game, but it isn’t a big deal in the early part of the series. Outside of King Triton knowing about the Keyblade, our heroes never breech it, and there isn’t an excessive amount of pressure to maintain it - unique looks for certain worlds, and line or two is about all the first game spends on the subject. That pattern holds true for the second game. Granted, most of the worlds in KH II are worlds either used or alluded to in KH I, involving numerous characters who are well aware by now about other worlds. But as of this writing, I’ve played through the first pass on Port Royal, which has no such ties, and the closest thing to a mention of the world order is Sora and friends remarking how different the world looks to the others when they first show up. That’s it. If anything, they’re too blase about it in Port Royal, but I’ll come back to that another day.

The point is - the “world order” just wasn’t a major issue in the early games of this series, nor did it need to be. It certainly didn’t need to turn into a one-note running gag of Donald berating Sora for disregarding the world order, especially when Sora - in the limited time given to the subject in these early games - is fairly mindful of it.

And that’s another thing that changed in the time between KH II and III - who’s the butt of the jokes made about the mission. KH III is loaded with characters chastising, critiquing, demeaning, mocking, and castigating Sora, and having been thoroughly retconned into a shonen doofus, Sora unfortunately gives them some justifiable cause (though I would argue it’s still excessive.) But in this game, the butt of the jokes is Donald. And while there is some teasing involved, most of it is without commentary, and comes from Donald doing the same shtick he’s known for in the mainline Disney canon - being hot-tempered, greedy, impulsive, boastful until challenged, or desperate to avoid trouble with Daisy. This works so much better as a source of comic relief. Donald is a character specifically designed to end up with egg on his face, and since he’s not the protagonist, using him as a go-to for comedy doesn’t undermine the credibility of the hero.

Now, onto the Disney worlds themselves...

KH II has been criticized for the way it handles the Disney worlds. It’s been charged that they’re nothing but filler, that this is where the trend of stiff re-tellings of the movie plots began, that Sora is irrelevant in them. At least for these first four, I can’t say I agree on any of those points.

To start with the “filler” charge - look again at Yen Sid’s briefing. He gives Sora a pretty straightforward assessment: the Heartless are back, and there’s also Organization XIII. Looking at the first three Disney worlds, we have one where the Heartless ally with the resident Disney villain, one where a member of Organization XIII is up to something, and one where both the Heartless (in service to Pete, and by extension Maleficent) and Organization XIII are active, demonstrating that they’re at odds, along with the local villain. That flows pretty organically from what Yen Sid tells Sora. It’s such a smooth move from that talk to the Disney worlds, in fact, that it only reinforces my feeling from last time that Hollow Bastion should have been saved for later. You don’t have the interstitial cutscenes of villain plotting that gave KH I a sense of a continuous story; things are more episodic here. But that’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t mean that any of these worlds are “just” filler - they do logically follow from preceding set-up.

The idea that the worlds do noting but recap the movies is a charge only relevant to one of these first four worlds, the Land of Dragons. And I will admit that, compared to the few KH I levels that did adapt the movie plots rather than create their own, the story content here is closer to the film. But that, in and of itself, isn’t a bad thing, provided it’s done correctly. And I would argue that it is done correctly in this game, at least for the Land of Dragons. While the plot holds true to the back half of Mulan, it’s abridged, with appropriate adjustments made to the remaining material to make major character turns and stake escalations work - and to allow the movie material to be in service to the larger KH story. Mushu having been a Summon in KH I gives a great springboard into the action, moments for interplay between the KH characters and the movie characters are well-chosen (Donald picking a fight with the three soldiers comes to mind, though I question Sora’s involvement; similar scenes in later worlds show him being more sensible), and most importantly - the changes mean that Sora is relevant.

To keep using the Land of Dragons as an example: in that world, it’s now Sora who suggests the way for “Ping” to prove “himself” in the army. He and Mulan make several key decisions together. And the final boss battle has Sora fighting alongside Mulan against the actual villain of the world, not some random Heartless conjured out of nowhere to keep Sora busy while plot keeps rolling without him. The same pattern holds for the Beast’s Castle and Olympus. That the protagonist should matter to the story, and be involved at the point of action in each world of a video game, should be a no-brainer, but this is another example of KH II wonderfully executing a basic idea that later games somehow managed to completely botch.

I have no issues with the pacing of the story material in these worlds either. I have a huge problem with the pacing of something in between these worlds - but we’ll get back to that. If any of them get a little rocky, it’s Olympus - with the three sets of villains running around, things get a little scattershot, which results in things like Auron’s reveal being rather rushed. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing - multiple villains jockeying for their own agendas would leave things rather scattershot. Giving Sora another hint towards Roxas’s identity is a good touch in that world too. I must say, though - Demyx is dumb. Like, really dumb. If you take Organization XIII to be more effective as a unit than as individuals, as I do, then Demyx as the first unmasked boss makes his level of cartoonish idiocy more palatable, and I suppose it fits the tone of the Hercules movie. But he is just so dumb.

Some great little gags and character quirks litter the first four Disney worlds. There’s the re-write of how Mulan gets exposed via Mushu’s big mouth, the fake-out with the wardrobe refusing to tell the Beast’s backstory, Donald being astounded by the talking objects (whereas Sora takes it in stride - remember that the next time you see him getting so worked up over a talking snowman in KH III), Queen Minnie being an absolute badass, and Shang saving the emperor in a way that I think is more impressive than the actual film. And I love that the joint action commands make it easier to finish boss fights while working together with Disney characters.

But if I can start to critique the gameplay now, I would say that things being too easy is a problem with KH II. The “hallway” complaint about the world design is an apt one, making the maps rather bland to navigate despite being pretty to look at. There’s also the problem of special tasks not offering the variety and challenge one might like from them. Lighting the lanterns in Beast’s Castle is a great example. That’s a puzzle, with a literal ticking clock. It could have been a fun bit of gameplay, very different from the usual Heartless battles...if the lanterns were in any way difficult to find, or spaced out to really push the clock to the limit. Instead, it’s such an easy exercise that I have to wonder why they even bothered putting it in. (I will say, though, that Beast’s Castle’s first pass offers up a wonderfully creative boss that does present a decent challenge - moreso in its first stage than its second, but still a fun fight.)

On the other hand, I think the AI for battle partners took a step back with this game. Now, my experience with the KH AI has never matched up to common opinion, so I’m not claiming this as an objective problem with the game. All I can tell you is that, customized properly, Donald in KH I has always been a reliable battle partner for me, while Donald in KH II spams spells and wastes items no matter how I work his settings.

And there are few things about the gameplay that just irk me. The lack of logic behind why some party members drop out at given points is one (really, why would “Ping” not help you fight the swarm on the mountain?) and the changes to magic are another. I love to use magic in these games, but something about it here just isn’t as satisfying. Fire as a close-range defensive spell is just wrong.

But those are, if not exactly nitpicks, relatively minor complaints. The game is still fun to play, after all. There are larger issues - story issues - within these first few Disney worlds.

To start with the smallest one - my problems with Sora’s character remain. He is, for the most part, attentive to duty and a competent, charismatic presence for the other characters to follow, as he was in KH I and CoM. But every now and again, the signs of what’s to come crop up. I mentioned him joining Donald in the brawl in the Land of Dragons already, but it’s more a problem of attitude - just how lighthearted and casual he can be toward his latest adventure. I grant you that, at this point in the game, nothing except possibly Maleficent’s infiltration of Disney Castle would indicate to Sora that the stakes are anywhere near as high as they were last time. And his greatest lapses into this attitude happen in Olympus and Disney Castle, two worlds based around comic Disney titles. But with hindsight, it’s hard not to watch those moments and cringe, because of what they led to. Sora in this game is oddly split, with one-and-a-half feet still back with who he was initially, and half a foot over the line to shonen doofus, and the dichotomy is very strange to see play out.

The big pacing issue I mentioned before is caused by our old friend Winnie the Pooh. The first game may have compelled you to at least start on his storybook, but in nowhere as obtrusive a manner as is done here. To be forcibly yanked from the world traveling, just as a nice flow is going, is maddening. Chances are good that many players (me among them) would have happily played the storybook minigames even if they were optional, so there was no need for this. KH II having the Heartless attempting to steal the book gives a better motivation to jump into it than KH III’s effort, but that isn’t saying much. And it doesn’t help that, at the end of the day, collecting the torn pages is a retread of the first game’s plot for Pooh. There is a clear variation on the theme, with the goal being to restore Pooh’s memory. I’ll even give them some credit for, perhaps inadvertently, giving Pooh a thematic connection to what Sora went through in CoM. But the end result is the same - find pages, find the characters within the pages, play the minigame. Given that repetitive nature to the book’s set-up, and its intrusive drag on the greater plot, I have to say that I think Pooh should have been retired after the first game - something I don’t say with any great fondness, as I love Pooh’s world in KH I.

I also love the way Belle and the Beast are used in KH I, and still question their presence in this game. That is based on one very basic problem, one that has plagued Disney in every attempt they’ve made to do something with the animated Beauty and the Beast since the original film: it’s not a story meant for prequels, sequels, or midquels.

It’s the midquel that Disney has tried multiple times, and by its nature, Beauty and the Beast just can’t support them. The Beast can only generate conflict with Belle by remaining beastly for so long in that setting before it undermines the believability of his shift, and romantic tension can’t exist between him and Belle any earlier than it does in the original film without undermining the ticking clock of the rose. The midquels Disney made ignore both these issues, and turn Belle into a much more gentle and passive character than she was in the original movie - someone more like a counselor or social worker for the Beast than a prisoner-turned-friend, and someone actively trying to “fix” him, an unpleasant spectacle in more ways than one.

Pretty much the only way to effectively tell another story with Belle and the Beast is what KH I did - take those two characters out of their own story, with all its internal logic and constraints, and use them in someone else’s. Fans of Beauty and the Beast can bring their attachment to those characters to KH I without the baggage of the plot, and no more is done with those characters except what is needed for Sora’s story. It let two of the best Disney heroes be a part of this fantastic crossover experiment, and it didn’t betray anything that fans loved about their personalities or the integrity of their film’s story.

KH II is a different story. I can appreciate that, with Kingdom Hearts creating alternate versions of every Disney world brought into its orbit, I can’t hold the story material in Beast’s Castle to the same standard as I would those horrendous midquels. We aren’t told that Belle is any kind of prisoner, for one thing, and the timeline may be very different. But the enchanted objects are all here. The ballroom and the west wing are all present. The backstory of the Beast is the same. And the rose - and its rules - are the same. The level of romantic tension shown between Belle and the Beast by the end of the first pass on their world just doesn’t jive with that ticking clock.

I was prepared to say a lot about the Beast’s behavior in this world too, but playing through it again - I do get what they were going for. His demonstration of cleverness, taking preemptive action to protect his friends in case Xaldin proved as devious as he seemed and corrupted the Beast, is well laid-out. The wording of the dialogue undermines the content of his scenes. But...that dialogue is really bad out of context. And Belle, as she is in all those midquels, is much too passive here compared to the film.

However, the biggest problem I had with any of these first four worlds on a story level was the Timeless River.

Not Disney Castle proper - that’s all amazing stuff. If one could have guessed that there would be Heartless battles there when it finally became a world, I don’t think it was as easy to guess that it would be an immediate issue, or that Maleficent herself would strike at the center of the world. It’s a wonderful bit of story and world-building, all of that.

But the Timeless River is another instance where I can see a trend getting worse, and in this case it’s the trend of pointless mystery. There is absolutely no in-world reason for Merlin not to tell Sora that he’ll be going into the past. Not telling him only leads to misunderstandings and wasted time once Sora gets there. The only reason Merlin doesn’t say anything is because, if he did, the gimmick of finding out that they’re in the past via those windows into Pete’s mind wouldn’t work. But it’s so obvious that they’re in the past, so early in the stage, that it strains credulity that Sora and the others can’t figure it out. If Sora remaining ignorant of his ties to Roxas is an example of denying a protagonist knowledge the player has done right, this is an example of that concept done very, very wrong. This series’ love affair with pointless “mystery” without any internal logic only strengthened with time, but it’s more painfully felt here for me, because the Timeless River is a wonderful idea for a stage and is loaded with charm. I couldn’t give a shit about a lot of the cryptic mumbo-jumbo surrounding Organization XIII’s members in this or future titles, but to saddle a beautiful Disney world with this kind of crap really gets under my skin.

One mystery that I would like an answer to, though: why is the Gummi route leading to Olympus the one themed after a ghost pirate ship?

#z's crits #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 2 #critique #commentary

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dawnblxde · 5 years

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[Kingdom Hearts 3 Review]

Welp I’ve finally done it, finally played and finished KH3! - After intentionally delaying doing so with my day one copy after finding out for some silly reason - it lacked multiple world visits for development sake and had no Final Fantasy characters - so I decided to finish the games I was in the middle of then replay the entire KH franchise, except the ones you could watch. Gonna leave my thoughts below. Just in case there are those out there still trying to avoid legit spoilers!

There were good and bad elements to this game.. Plenty of my experience that I enjoyed, but I believe more so that I didn’t - which made me want to pull out my hair. But I like my head shaved, so that wouldn’t work lol I liked the graphics, beautiful but I knew a PS3 could handle them as the quality of Woody in this game was the same as him in Toy Story 3 (2010 Video Game). Enjoyed the gameplay, though it felt like a flawed, floaty and broken version of Kingdom Heart’s 2 near perfect improvement of Kingdom Heart’s gameplay. A problem was the fact that in the first two main games, even when I was level 50-60′s - I always felt like I could DIE. It was always a fear during major combat moments. I had to concentrate so much just to be successful. Even if I tried to be a higher level then recommending through grinding. I never felt like that in KH3, every moment was such a cake walk. Even the final battle. Did they even try. Regardless, I had a good time with the gameplay and the visuals. But I wasn’t as drawn in as previous games. It did the game no favors and was a massive flaw, it lacking Final Fantasy characters. We should of been able to explore Radiant Garden or had other worlds relevant to FF characters. They were really important to Sora’s development as a Keyblade wielder. Cloud and Squall for sure. Sora wouldn’t be who he is if he hadn’t encountered and spoke to them. They’d of been useful in multiple sequences. We deserved the next part to Cloud’s issues with Sephiroth. That wasn’t resolved. See how Squall/Leon and the others reacted and dealt with what was going on at Radiant Garden. They’re capable of other world travel, seeing how they’d react to some of the new worlds would of been great as well. Nomura confirmed the only Noctis he’d put in KH was his Noctis. Versus XIII Noctis. And interest in doing so. Yet he wasn’t in the game, when as an Anti-Hero of both light and darkness would of been interesting. Seeing he’d take neither side. Also has important factors in common with Rapunzel and Elsa. Seeing them relating over this would of been nice. The lack off FF adds to factors that make KH3 be disappointing experience - along with an enjoyable one. One of the things that still makes KH2 the best. Was how awesome it was to watch the Final Fantasy characters and Disney characters team up in the battle of 1000 Heartless. One of the best aspects about the franchise is the concept of it being a FF x Disney - a Final Fantasy and Disney collaboration. Multiple visits were really needed. Some of the worlds were quite enjoyable and not frustrating. But they all have different percentages of feeling rushed and not fleshed out enough due to one visit. And some annoyingly treated Sora like he didn’t matter. Just acted like making you watch rushed unfinished version’s of the original Disney movies. Sora’s just there like. Oh look, it’s Sora over there! Hi Sora! You don’t matter here! Shouldn’t be like that. The Disney characters should be well blended into the Kingdom Hearts plot and Sora in the plot of the Disney world. The story made me feel emotional, I enjoyed all the Kingdom Hearts parts, even if I felt some of them were rushed or not written well. Tears did leave my eyes. I liked how Aqua didn’t actually give into Darkness, it was Ansem’s fault. I liked the reunion, final battle sequences and all the stuff leading up to it. My favorite parts to praise are the deaths of all Org 13 members, each made me feel emotional and I wanted to see those character’s again reborn. Not so much young Xeraxnort. But Ansem and Xemnas? Oh the feels there, they were strong. I clapped. I felt there could be more with Larxene in the game in general, including her end. Luxord’s! Clap, really want him to come back and play cards with Sora. Riku Replica’s was great too. Both Riku Replica’s. Marluxa’s.. Vanitas’s was disappointing. However, these great moments aren’t enough for me to forgive those disrespected by this game. The one’s from the worlds you could visit. I’ll get to the unforgivable bits last. Toy Story’s new story and world were great. I loved exploring that world and playing through it. The development was great. Only flaw was what they did with Buzz, he’s stronger character then they take him for. He wouldn’t lose himself to the Darkness. Otherwise, everything was great. Pretty sure it’s my favorite. Hercules’s world was the level of quality I expected! It was decent, I miss the goddamn tournament's, Phil’s voice - but I did love the exploration of his city and meeting his father! Shame no boss fight with Hades's, they’re great and fun! Twilight Town sucked! I liked seeing the gang again, Uncle Scrooge and little chef. But that doesn’t make up for the fact that more then half of Twilight Town is cut and it doesn’t look like the same place! I liked exploring the entire world, not just a portion of it. Monsters Inc’s sequel to the first film with that world experience was great! I had a blast! I always wanted to see Sully’s reunion with Boo! It wasn’t perfect, but I had a good time! Pirates of Caribbean felt like it changed things from it’s canon, but it was an emotional blast! Jack Sparrow scenes and Will scenes, it was just great! The Big Hero 6 world! Oh it was great! It was emotional to lost Baymax in the film, to get him back was great! Kinda sucked to not see the big brother come back, but they’re saving that version of events for the sequel. Two Baymax’s. The only thing I didn’t like was how the whole cast was shrunk. Best example being Honey should of been taller then Jack Sparrow’s model, but she wasn’t. These worlds could of really done with multiple visits. Even more so the three left, that were wronged and disrespected. Don’t try to praise/defend what was done to them, they deserved better. Winne the Pooh deserved better. I liked not having to collect Torn Pages, but even if you didn’t have to. In the previous games, The Winnie the Pooh worlds lasted about an hour or so doing all the activities, helping out all Pooh Bear’s friends - stuff like that. Then you have KH3′s version, which is less then 20 minutes, doing the same activity three times. That was awful. Pooh’s universe deserved better. We deserved better. This is a massive flaw. Can’t forgive this. I love Pooh Bear. Now, as someone who love’s Rapunzel, not fond of how they treated her world either. It was basically the movie with bits cut out and skipped. She hardly interacted with Kingdom Hearts lore, Sora hardly stuck around her. It was just like. Now and then, Sora’s there. Why were they so scared of showing Rapunzel kissing Flynn? There were so many moments Sora should of got to interact with? Where were the two bad guy twins? Rapunzel just generally deserved better in this game. Last but not least, Frozen. Probably the worst world in the game. Because you spend most of it just falling off mountains. They hardly let Sora interact with Elsa or Anna. Or left them get involved in Kingdom Hearts lore. Sora would of been able to relate well to Elsa if they let it happen. You can’t explore the palace, Han’s has no lines and you’re forced to listen to Let It Go again with Sora basically just there. Like hi Sora! All I liked was Snow guard getting more of a role. Don’t even get to explore the city. Just the snowy place. No real development, it’s like - what was the point? There really was none. Why did we go there? Why was Larxene there? Elsa and Anna deserved better then this. Also while not all Disney worlds could of returned in KH3, due to their stories being settled. A lot definitely could! Also, Kairi deserved better then pretty much being a plot device, hardly getting development at all just to go poof. And the idea that Sora’s sacrifice to get her back doesn’t lead to the priority of everyone to find and/or bring him back somehow instead of chilling. Just made the whole ending sequence an OOC moment for me.

Verdict!

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a decent game and fun experience, but it’s also a flawed mess. Like handling in a English report that gets a low C and just barely hits the passing grade. It is not the worst in the franchise, but Kingdom Hearts 2 easily beats it and so does Kingdom Hearts, the original one. Funner to play then Dream Drop Distance, Chain Of Memories, Recoded and the Roxas focused game! But the rest defeat it! I have no interest in a new game plus, roleplay wise I intend to amend the flaws. The Disney worlds that were wronged will get justice. Add back Final Fantasy and the missing Disney worlds. Make it what it should of been! I had a good time, I really did. But once was enough. After finishing, it now shocks me that an amount of people I can count on just one of my hands tried to either tell me KH3 was good enough or superior to all the other games, even KH2. My assumption now is, they hadn’t recently played the other games before playing 3, were lost in Nostagla or something else was going on. Just how.. How could this possibly beat the two other main titles? The only thing superior is the more then three team mates tbh. xD

7/10

I really feel like I’m being generous here, but if I went lower then I’d think I was being too harsh. It’s not FFXV and Bound by Flame 5/10 quality, but it’s certainly not The Walking Dead (by Tellale) and The Last of Us 9/10 quality. So this will have to do. Nomura, I strongly advise you to look back at Kingdom Hearts 2 and what made it so great, before you work on your next main title.

#ooc #jesus it took me ages to write this

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hollowwhisperings · 1 year

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KH Spec: Identifying The Seven Lights, TL;DR 1/3

an episode of brain fog is coming on so i'mma do a series of Info Dumps so i have these thoughts in order, for future reference, in case i've forgotten them by the time my brain can Brain again.

Princesses of Heart: Key Themes

Dreaming: nature of hearts, proximity to death, imagination & belief. Cursed sleep & living nightmare sequences of SW, Aurora & Kairi; Cinderella's "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"; Alice dreamed herself to Wonderland; Jasmine's "A Whole Nrw World"; Belle's reading of fairytales

Wishes (stars & magic): "I'm Wishing"; Cinderella wanted a night off; Aurora's birthday; Wonderland; Genie; Kairi was a literal shooting star; Belle's wish to save her father.

To Love & Inspire Love in Others: loyal animal companions, Found Family & "Fairy Godmothers", Redemption, Sacrifice & True Love.

Miracles: Resurrection, Transformation, Dreams Bexoming Reality.

Hoping (freedom): to strongly believe in all the above, against all odds & to be in circumstances that test that 'hope' indefinitely.

Secondary Themes

coming of age (often literally trapped in childhood homes; end up married or crossing a horizon)

water & mirrors (kairi, royal blood, tears, reflections, KH uses water-as-darkness but also water-as-veil)

curiosity for the wider world(s): kindness & interest in others, exploration.

a "prince & pauper" dynamic

pawn-to-queen narrative

"beauty & beast" (light & darkness, magical transformations/redemptions)

"fairy godmothers" (dwarves, genies, grandmothers, actual fairies)

the Heroine's Journey

story parallels that of Sora &/or Riku's

below are Additional Lists that sort of lead to my concluding to the Above Themes, my 2 very confident guesses on New Lights & the beginnings of my disqualifying others.

Notable (& Informative) Non-Lights

Aerith, Radiant Garden & Traverse Town.

Queen Minnie, Disney Town/Castle.

Jane, Deep Jungle.

Ariel, Atlantica.

Sally, Halloween Town.

Wendy, Neverland & London.

Boo, Monstropolis.

Naminé (canonically impossible)

the Dandelions except maybe Ventus (as a substitute or an heir to Kairi)

Riku (heart seen From Space in BBS: Aqua confirms nature of his Light as different from Kairi's)

New Light #4: Tiana

Dreaming: "Almost There", ambition.

Wishes: literal wishing upon star scenes, the firefly & evangeline, plot offilm is a whole de- & re-construction of the entire Disney "Wish Upon A Star" ideology all KHA princesses have thus-far represented.

True Love: parents & Charlotte, inspires Naveen's character development, passion for her craft.

Miracles: magical transformation.

Hope: being ambitious in spite of implied historical accuracy of story setting.

additionally:

star imagery ahoy

new orleans bayou would be super fun to design gameplay with (both city & swamp) & is unlike any world thus far (PotC doesn't count)

enables integration of story & gameplay mechanics (cooking & foraging systems)

P&tF was the last trad. animated Disney film & Nomura is a Disney Nerd (see consistent usr & relevance of Disney's 'Pinnochio')

as above, her film is a love letter to Disney's Animated Canon, just as KH often is: "wish upon a star" is the uniting concept of the seven lights

regardless of where in her own story Tiana is, ir would resonate with where Sora &/or Riku are within their own

the MUSIC

bayou = water = emphasized relevance of kairi (worldbuilding & lore-wise)

New Light #5: Moana

Dreaming: "how far i'll go".

Wishes: heroic quest, sailing past the horizon, stars, her grandma's, stars are an actual plot device.

True Love: inspires Maui' character development & her literal returning of a heart.

Miracles: Resurrection.

Hope: set off on a heroic quest armed with 1 chicken (& a piglet? i forget).

additional reasonings:

exactly parallels the stories of each Destiny Islander, especially Riku & Sora (islanders who dream of sailing beyond their small world to explore beyond it)

enables post-tutorial/non-cutscene gameplay in a Destiny Islands-esque setting (PotC, again, Does Not Count)

easier method of achieving above, gameplay-wise, than attempting Lilo & Stitch's "Hawaii"

similarities in origin would highlight respective emotional journeys & the need to address emotional hurt over physical strength

Ineligible Heroines

animal heroines such as Lady, Maid Marian, Bianca, either princess from A Bug's Life, etc.

Eilonwyn from The Black Cauldron (too young, thematic mismatch),

Violet from The Incredibles (would join the Elsa Club of Riku Parallels)

anyone original to the Once Upon A Time, House of Mouse, Sofia The First, or Kilala manga series.

(that means Elena of Avalar is also, sadly, excluded)

Atlantis may be too alike to Atlantica & Triton's awareness of the Worlds is likely true of Kida, rendering her ineligible.

Kuzco is not pure of heart.

Nemo is a fish & a literal child.

Lilo has Darkness & is also a Literal Child (Alice, at least, has the Victoriana & Role Archetype things rendering her age irrelevant; Kairi was a tween).

Giselle from Enchanted: requires consent of IRL persons to use the likenesses thereof, her Worlds are not very interesting gameplay-wise, she does not resonate with the themes of the KH series at this point of its story.

Leia from Star Wars: IRL likenesses, has Darkness, Star Wars is its own form of multiverse (like the crossover series excluded above), sequel trilogy messed up its own Heroine's Journey by switching heroes & would lead KH audiences astray.

anyone from Marvel except (maybe) Kamala Khan.

Remaining 4?

Merida from Brave seems a toss-up: on the one hand, she fulfils many of these themes to varying degrees (freedom, wisp lights, magical transformation, true love); on the other, Merida rejects many of these same themes. I'm also skeptical on how well her setting would act as a playable World in KH (assuming that the New Lights will feature alongside said worlds: this is a flawed rationale). Merida's narrative arc does not easily align with where Sora or Riku are "at" in their journeys: if we meet her & her world, it won't be as "Sora" or "Riku" but as "Donald&Goofy" or the "Wayfinders&Kairi".

Riley, Inside Out? Cons: non-magical setting; game world of her Mind (playing with un/reality) is too useful for the development of Donald, Goofy & Kairi (wrt Sora) & the concept might evengo Christopher Robin (Sora taking Riley's role) though the latter seems unlikely; meeting Riley after playing around in her head would be Awkward.

Ventus? only as a Substitute due to his purity being artificially inflicted on him.

Naminé? only as someone for Kairi to "pass the torch" to, not possible within the KH3 timeline.

[daughter of Simba & Nala]? Nala was pregnant with her in KH & her story is about reuniting [light & darkness] (romeo & juliet, but lions). cons: timeline??? animal heroine.

[any number of Final Fantasy characters that have not yet featured in the KH series]

Pocahontas-the-character thematically fits almost perfectly... but her film's story is one of the cruelest decisions made by Disney as a company, one that continues to cause harm when allowed to stand uncontested.

the boy scout from Up?

Bruno or Alberto, if Disney/the film's creators are willing to make their film's Subtext into "Text".

i have not seen Encanto nor Coco nor Seeing Red: any of these films may harbour an additional Light for Nomura to borrow... but i doubt that he set up the concept of "New Lights" in KH3 without already having most (if not ALL) of its roster already accounted for.

(Disney DOES let Nomura know about upcoming films but, after Frozen's success changed how it was "allowed" to be used in KH3... i find it more likely that the new roster [of Kairi, Rapunzel, Anna, Tiana & Moana] will find its final 2 additions from Pixar &/or Final Fantasy instead).

i highly suspect that at least 1 of the new 7 lights will be male or non-specifically gendered (Wall-E, for exanple).

#kh meta #princesses of heart #princesses of light #kh theories #my brain is fogging over again so have this before i ghost society at large for x amount of time

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applegelstore · 6 years

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My sis and I are through with the actual main plot of KH3, so I can officially go back to scheduled ToZ fangirling now. …Well, I promised Cray a bit of fix-it-fanart, so after that, I guess.

Hit the cut for a resume. It got super long and has endgame story spoilers, so you might not want to stumble upon it by accident.

Another extra big shoutout (again!) to @crazayrock for bearing my liveblogging on Discord, screaming without context and occasional spoilers. And linking me fluffy Soriku doujinshi. Here, have my favourite, spoiler-heavy excerpt of our conversation:

Okay anyway, let’s get started: GAMEPLAY

Kingdom Hearts 3 is BEAUTIFUL. The gameplay is so smooth and intuitive that you can immediately get to playing like you’d never done anything else; in fact so smooth that I doubt I will ever be able to pick up the first game ever again. It’s always been fun, but the looooooong years’ gap actually did wonders to the gameplay.

The keyblade form changes are fun and keep things fresh, you can do flashy triangle button shit every other minute, and shotlock is still insanely useful without being a game-breaker.

It seems easier than the first two main games, though?

The gummi ship is still a pain in the ass to steer, but I do enjoy the open world-like travel options (even if there’s not… much to discover except heartless lasering the shit out of you). I’m also eternally grateful that they kept the gummi ship thing from KH2 where you can just use a new gummi ship once you got the blueprint and don’t buy actual fucking legos as in the first game.

Thank you, Square. Not thanking you for the dumb cherry flan game, though.

The Caribbean being basically an open world stage was delightful! Apparently what our resident island kid needs is a big ship and tropical islands to plunder.

VISUALS AND STUFF

PRETTY LIGHTS EVERYWHERE

The long gap between the games also did wonders to the visuals.

There’s finally, FINALLY a few towns with actual NPCs you can talk to. Why it took the team so many years and the Gods know how many games is beyond me. The magic effects are beautiful, the animations smooth (honestly you can hardly tell apart cutscenes and fully rendered CGI scenes in this day and age of the PS4. I’m probably the only person still amazed by this because the only games I played on PS4 before were a few hours of Child of Light and of course Tales of Zestiria and Berseria. No, I still haven’t played FFXV but that��s a topic for another day). How far videogames have come.Even space finally looks like space, lol. Not really high-end what the PS4 can do I assume but god, it’s such an amazing and much needed upgrade from the terrible textureless colourful tubes you flew through before.

No excuse for the terrible battleship thingy before the Keyblade Graveyard, though. I got lost and beaten up so many times and crashed against more walls than I can count.

Nothing beats the World that Never Was, but the Keyblade Graveyard also has creepy cool potential, as does the beautiful but ghosted City in the Sky.

Still not getting what’s with JRPGs and very Definitely Final Dungeons (TM) that are basically space. …………or heaven. Or nothing. I’m getting the bad kind of original NGE TV series ending vibes. But. Okay.

The soundtrack is splendid

.……I miss Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, however.

Which brings us to:

THE WORLDS

I guess I can live with no more Final Fantasy characters being there (although I always loved that), and the meta jokes in Toy Story world really got me. Seeing Disney characters calling the KH villains call out on their shit was delightful. …the KH characters lampshading their own games’ sloppy dialogue writing was delightful.Still, those Disney worlds are always so much more in my head than what I actually get to play. This has been bugging me ever since the first game and it still does. I do not expect or want to replay the entire movies, but would it hurt to give the cutscenes some goddamn background music? Whenever there’s cutscenes, either the world’s usual BGM keeps playing or the music stops altogether. Together with the shortened dialogues and generally drastically shortened plots with odd cuts, that leads to scenes that are awkward at best. They never even remotely have the impact the movies had. You just sit there and think “oh wow that is so silly and awkward”.

Dancing scene in Corona? My favorite scene in Tangled. Zero impact on me without the lovely BGM (at least they made it a minigame so the moment isn’t over after 3 secs). Just for example. You can ask me like, world by world, but I can think of only exception off the top of my head and it’s not helping:

Let it Go of course. Listen guys, I actually love the song. But it’s so overused (and Frozen is an overrated movie at best that doesn’t deserve its hype in the slightest) that I can’t even really enjoy it being there. Like.

 IF THAT’S OKAY WITH YOU,WHY DIDN’T YOU INCLUDE LITERALLY ANY OTHER ORIGINAL SONG FROM THE ORIGINAL MOVIES. Instead of BGM just not being there entirely, or in odd, cringey re-renderings that nobody wants to listen to (*cough* Atlantica *cough*).

Why torture me and not give me the one good scene from At World’s End (the up is down scene) when you had the chance?Kingdom Hearts is also prone to super lazy level design and wasting chances at wonderful scenery for no apparent reason other than I suppose empty cliffsides are quick to render. All games before did that, and KH3 is, sadly, no exception. We get to see a bit of Corona and Athens and they finally have NPCs, too, but you cannot even get near Arendelle. You cannot enter Elsa’s palace. You spend the entire time there climbing around in the snowy mountains of Norway, and unfortunately it looks less interesting than one would expect from the lovely concept art that the film unfortunately never used.You cannot enter Rapunzel’s tower although Sora can apparently parkour his way up even without her help.

………In short, the places you can go are, again, very limited, and a lot of interesting places and scenes you never get to see.

And to follow the plot you still only need the stuff that does NOT happen in those Disney worlds because they’re all beach filler episodes. It’s always been like that, but I keep wondering whether I’m the only one bothered by that. I’m also still salty they didn’t introduce a single new world from a 2D animated movie.

Also, as I said, I miss Traverse Town, it felt so warm and welcoming and beautiful.

And I get behind The World that Never Was missing although I loved it there, but why not give us back Radiant Garden? Destiny Islands since they’ve been restored? Disney Castle?

As much as I love the series, it never fucking lives up to its own potential. Idk whether it’s made more difficult by copyright issues or whatever, I just know that it bugs me.The first two games also had like twice as many worlds.

PLOT

I mean it’s never been deep; however, it’s complicated. No analysis or whatever from me because plot analysis and meta writing bore me like seven hells, just my emotional reaction: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  Okay, bad news. I got into it expecting nothing, and still got disappointed. I don’t actually enjoy the prospect of writing essays about it, but here’s my tea with it; in not particular order:

1) the pacing is terrible. Nothing happens for like 30 hours and then suddenly like 20 characters’ arcs are (naturally poorly) resolved within the last few hours of cutscenes. Build up anyone? At least they actually did pick up Maleficent and the box thing again. …In the epilogue.

2) Speaking of build ups, Sora’s breakdown could have been developed nicely and steadily over the game to feel natural, and instead it’s hinted at in the beginning by everyone picking on him, but then it’s never further developed and comes out of fucking nowhere. Like. For real? It felt terribly OOC.

3) Why on earth have they shown 90% of the plot in the trailers already, and why are those scenes so massively disappointing in context

4) Kairi. Oh god, Kairi. What are we gonna do with you. I want to love her, I really do, but she’s a prime example of shittily written female leads. Mostly because she’s not leading. It’s not her fault. She’s just a fictional character. But honest to God, Nomura, why. Her screen time is almost nonexistent, and she’s entirely use- and helpless whenever she’s on screen (which isn’t often). Her ONLY point in the plot is being rescued because she is fucking useless. Why. Just why. Why waste her character like that. All we know is that she’s shoehorned into being the token love interest, but she has zero plot relevance and there is even less build up of her relationship with Sora. It’s all tell and NEVER show; and not even much telling, either. She has literally zero direct interaction with in the entire game before they share their paopu. The question remains: why are straights like this

5) On a related note: look, I don’t even ask for (or expect, or even hope) my ship to be canon. Squeenix doesn’t exactly have a rich history in queer representation. I’m totally fine with Sora and Riku being best friends. BUT. Building up Sora as the most important person in Riku’s life (and arguably, vice versa) over the course of several games, just to then hardly have them interact in the finale and then SUDDENLY bring back Kairi into the equation, who hasn’t interacted with him since the ending of KH2 (except for one unsent(?) letter) is just piss poor writing, period.I actually love Cray’s suggestion she gave me over Discord: let Sora, Kairi and Riku all share a paopu together (and let them group hug, too, you cowards). It would have been the perfect message to send (Sora as truly all-loving hero, and loving all your friends equally; romantic love isn’t more important than platonic love and doesn’t need to be singled out). Really sad that this isn’t what happens. Apparently that wouldn’t have been no homo enough.

LET THE DESTINY TRIO GROUP HUG YOU COWARDS 

Do Riku and Kairi even interact once in the whole game?

 HOW IS THIS A TRIO, IT’S JUST A SHITTILY WRITTEN LOVE TRIANGLE

6) Time travelling is a bitch, Christ. It doesn’t solve plotholes or can be played for drama, it just adds MORE plotholes. It just got WORSE. The cloning blues and people not aging doesn’t help, either.

7) Just so you know, I care absolutely zero for wild fan theories. You’re not Nomura. I want a statement from the man who wrote this shit himself why on bloody earth Sora dies when he apparently successfully found and brought back Kairi (and since nobody aged a day, apparently it didn’t even take that long lol). DUDES, THIS IS KINDA PART OF THE PLOT, AND YOU DON’T BOTHER TO EXPLAIN IT INGAME???? And how was Ienzo/Zexion able to revive Naminé while Kairi was still missing/dead/whatever…?

Okay so in short the writing is worse than ever and that’s saying something.

However, let’s try to find something good in this trainwreck; it wasn’t all bad. There’s some really nice scenes which sadly are better enjoyed without any context at all.

So, guess my favourite scenes.You had time enough, here’s the solution:

1) Purifying uhm er rescuing Aqua. Poor girl. She deserves the rest. Poor, poor Aqua. The only properly wirrten female in the whole damn franchise. Also the only person other than Riku who fucking gets shit done.

2) The Gayblade (TM)

3) Happy Axel in the reunion with his kids. Oh god, the poor chap deserves it so much. Thank you, Nomura. I don’t care that it makes pretty much no sense. Make him happy. Give him his friends back. Just give Axel all his friends and let him happily set things on fire. Hi I love Axel

4) The party at the beach cutscene before the credits roll. Axel and Xion get clothes. Half the organization is on our side now. I almost teared up at the Wayfinder trio saying goodbye to Eraqus’ forceghost. Hey come on he’s the voice of Luke Skywalker

5) Sully yeeting Vanitas

6) Woody calling out Xehanort that nobody loves him

7) Jack Sparrow bad breathing Luxord

I wish we had gotten:

1) justice for Kairi

2) a happy Zexion, the poor emo kid. Well maybe now he will be, with all the orga members who changed sides now, lol.

3) I will never trust mobile games ever again so I don’t want to play KHUX but I would have loved to learn about the Keyblade Wars :;)))) 

WHAT WAS THE KEYBLADE WAR ABOUT CAN WE SPEND MORE TIME IN THAT COOL CITY IN THE SKY WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH MIKLEO I MEAN THAT EPHEMER KIDDO

 WHAT’S WITH THE MASKED DUDES AND DUDETTES FROM THE MOVIE 

WTF WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM AFTER THE MOVIE???? WHERE THOSE KEYBLADE USER NAMES ACTUAL MOBILE GAME PLAYER NAMES??? Next game? PLEASE?

I really, REALLY hope the epilogue means we will get Xiggy/Luxu as our new big bad and we learn more about the five dudes and dudettes from the movie. Please. PLEASE. I’m so up for it. Them finally pickung up the bit with Maleficent and the mysterious box again? Hell yeah.

The secret movie was really unexciting in comparison, although I laughed very hard at the “Verum Rex” scene in Toy Story world. Maybe that’s why it was much cheaper to unlock than in KH1 and KH2.

4) give Ven a drink

DLC ideas I would actually pay for because I’m a sad human being: 1) more Disney worlds 2) Japanese audio 3) at least one of the following as permanently playable characters: Riku, Kairi, Axel, Ven, Aqua. At least as a guest member as in KH2. THIS SUCH A BIG STEP BACKWARDS I’M FUMING

FINAL THOUGHTS

Kingdom Hearts 3 is a hella lot of fun, beautiful, and also moving when it sets its mind to it. Unfortunately it doesn’t always do so. I don’t feel like it wasn’t worth the wait; it was. However, I’m very salty how rotten the writing is. I do not mind logical fallacies, I do not mind the cheesiness and cringeyness; however, I do mind how so many interesting characters do not get the screentime they deserve, and Kairi is a very bad joke.

I’ll probably find more to nitpick about (Gods. Just. Don’t come up with dub excuses why Sora is lv 1 in each game. JUST LEAVE IT BE. You don’t explain why Donald and Goofy are lv 1 again, either. JUST. LEAVE. IT. BE. The sacrifice was dumb and not even moving, I’m just still furious that Kairi’s ONLY point in the plot is being so useless that it’s literally getting herself KILLED and she needs constant rescuing to the point that Sora has to sacrifice himself for her, effectively. Kairi deserves better, Sora deserves better, I deserve better than to think about this absurdity.…I’m just… gonna cherry-pick the good bits from the lore and try to pretend the finale didn’t exist, I guess. GODS.

#long post #random rambling tag

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solidandsound · 6 years

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I have a whole essay of thoughts on KH3. Let’s see if I can be remotely coherent.

Gameplay is fun. Movement feels good, and so does combat. Keyblade switching is neat, although it would be better if there were some cooler keyblades to use. I’d take Oblivion, Oathkeeper, etc over some of the silly stuff we got. Grand magic is cool. The only new mechanic I don’t like is the attractions. They aren’t fun to use, they don’t feel good, they’re just flashy. But you can mostly ignore them, so overall combat is fun. The real problem is that it’s too easy, even on Proud mode. There were a couple of tricky spots for me early on while Sora’s HP was low, but they really throw those HP upgrades at you and enemy damage doesn’t scale fast enough to continue to be a threat. Even the last boss was basically doing chip damage to me while I took out half a bar of health per fire spell. There was nothing like the Riku fight in KH1 or the final boss sequences for 1 or 2. Other KH games have fights leaving me pumped with adrenaline because they’re so good at keeping you on your toes, but KH3 never got me that worked up. Some folks cite all the powerful finishers, attractions, etc, but I think it could have still been challenging with those things if the damage scaling was better.

Exploration is fun, and I like the different approaches each world took to it, with some being large open spaces and others being more linear. It does make searching for treasure and emblems more difficult, though, and some sort of tool to help with that late game would have been nice.

The worlds themselves and how they play out have their ups and downs. You never really fight any big bads in them, so none of them feel like they have the stakes of KH2 worlds, but they don’t all need to. Olympus was a very solid world, and a pretty good setup for what Sora’s trying to do in KH3 (which unfortunately falls flat later, but in Olympus it feels good). It also sets up some intrigue with Maleficent looking for the box (which goes even more poorly later, but again, here it feels good). It’s a big, pretty playground to experiment with all the new stuff in the game. My only real gripe is Phil’s awkward silence. If you want him to show up, Square, give him at least one line. If you can’t give him any lines, don’t have him show up! This was awkward later with Aeleus and Dilan later as well. They make for such clear time/budget cuts, it breaks immersion something terrible.

Twilight Town was a huge disappointment. While it’s nice that it’s so populated (and that goes for many other worlds as well), only having a small part of what we know to exist available to explore is pretty sad. The story there sets things up so that Pence has to do some research which takes time, so I figured we could come back and go up the hill later, but of course that never happens.

Toy Box was fun. It was nice to have a world where almost all of it is just one big open area with lots of vertical space. The Gigases here were some of the only enemies in the game to pose a threat, but only because you need to also use the Gigases, which makes them and the whole world easy. The idea that the organization is doing research on inanimate objects acquiring hearts is interesting, but never amounts to anything, and the main conflict here goes unresolved until the end credits where it’s maybe kinda resolved without our input.

The Tangled world was interesting. It’s probably the most faithful adaptation of a Disney movie’s plot in a KH world in the series, down to specific scene setups, lines, framing, etc. I thought it was bizarre at first, but exploring the world with Rapunzel, which she’s seeing for the first time, and seeing her reactions to it made me feel like I was playing the game of the movie, in a good way. And of course this world had some gorgeous greenery. It also introduces the New Seven Hearts, which is interesting in theory but ends up being irrelevant and underutilized, especially since it could have fixed a problem that’s present for the entire game.

The bad guys want Sora and co to gather the seven lights. By rescuing Aqua, etc, they are playing into Xehanort’s plan. There should be some conflict about this. As it stands, there’s no tension. We’re not really doing anything to stop their plan. Of course Sora wants to save everyone, but maybe they could wonder if they can just not fight, or hide some people away, or something. But, it’s mentioned that if Sora fails to gather the seven lights, the new princesses can be used instead. That makes them leverage: if Sora and his allies fail to show up to the final battle, then these innocent princesses will be used, which of course forces Sora to move forward with the original plan. There’s conflict and tension there, where currently, in the game, there is none.

Monstropolis is interesting because it serves as a sequel to Monsters Inc, developing the lore of the Disney property in an interesting way. The factory’s a little bland but it has some fun sequences. Boo gets some cute moments. What’s annoying is that a Vanitas fight is teased here, and then ripped away from us. By this point I was dying for a good old classic KH person v. person hardcore showdown, because those are always the best fights, but alas. And of course nothing here ends up being super relevant to the main plot.

The Frozen world was fairly faithful to the movie, similar to the Tangled world, except with Sora mostly doing his own thing while the plot of the movie happened elsewhere. I actually thought this world set up an interesting theme that could have been explored more, which is Sora’s hero complex. He sees Elsa hurting and wants to help her, but it’s not something he can help with, so he has to learn to let her work through it on her own instead of coming to the rescue. Unfortunately they don’t do much with it, but it’s an interesting angle. And the New Seven Hearts come up again, which continues to be a waste of potential. The one thing that stood out as a peculiar choice to me was reanimating the entirety of the Let It Go scene. It was so bizarre I was laughing the whole time. I like the song, but what point did that serve? I actually heard a streamer mention that Elsa sings all of Let It Go when I watched some prerelease streams, but I assumed he was joking.

The Pirates world is the only one in this game based on a movie I haven’t seen, so I was a little lost as to the larger plot, but it gave some good characterization for Luxord. It’s nice that he seems to come to this world just because he likes it. I enjoyed the ship exploration and island setup, but I always do (see also: Wind Waker, Suikoden IV). Underwater movement and combat feel much better in this game than Atlantica worlds in earlier games. Ship battles got a little repetitive after a while.

San Fransokyo was one of my favourite worlds. The GTA-esque open city setup is fun, although a little small, and I love that we can see it during the day and at night, although having some chests and emblems only appear at certain times was a bit annoying. The music is excellent here. I like Big Hero 6 a lot, and the story of the world was a very interesting way to build off of the movie. I would love to watch a full BH6 sequel that’s basically the KH3 plot. It’s also a cool and interesting way to reintroduce Dark Riku as a member of the organization. Even though none of the Disney worlds really advance the plot directly, I’m okay with it because they serve another purpose, which is to slowly reveal organization members, keeping us guessing as to who the full 13 will be. Of course, it would be better if we didn’t see almost everyone in trailers, but it was fun to guess at the ones we didn’t know. What is disappointing about the Disney worlds is that Sora is supposed to be learning how to use the power of waking, but it’s obvious early on that it’s going to work when it needs to and he’s not going to figure it out before then, so that entire quest feels pointless.

In between these we get cutscenes of other plot points, and briefly play Riku in the world of darkness. I don’t like that so much of the cool plot stuff happens elsewhere. To me, that’s all the interesting stuff, the stuff I’m playing KH3 for, and I wanted to be involved in it instead of it happening elsewhere or hearing about it over the gummiphone. I did like that we get to play as Riku, as one of the things I’ve come to love about the series is seeing the different keyblade wielders’ combat styles. I also liked that, after we save Aqua, we get a fight as her. I was pumped to see my favourite keyblade master and the most badass character in the series in action again, but after the fight she gets inexplicably knocked out so that she can be rescued, which was both disappointing and out of character.

And then we go to the Keyblade Graveyard, which is where things really fall apart. First of all, the KG is a disappointing final world. It’s somewhere we’ve been before, and it’s nothing like the big, mysterious final worlds of previous games. The End of the World and the World That Never Was are two of my favourite worlds in the series, and the KG here fails to stack up. The labyrinth is a cool concept, but sorely underutilized. But before we even get there we get a very poorly explained time loop thing, and another moment where Aqua doesn’t seem nearly as capable as we know her to be, not to mention all the other great keyblade wielders with them at that point. We get some sort of afterlife, which complicates the life and death mythos of Kingdom Hearts even further, and we get an optional scene there that really should have been mandatory.

Then we go into the final showdown stuff. What was most exciting leading up to KH3 to me was this promised showdown, the 7 lights vs the 13 darknesses, all the keyblade wielders fighting together against overwhelming odds and kicking butt because they’re all great. Instead, what we get is Sora going through and systematically rescuing every one of his allies. It’s not the 7 lights vs the 13 darknesses, it’s Sora vs the 13 darknesses. What’s the point of having everyone there if Sora does everything in the end anyway? It’s especially grating to have extremely capable people like Aqua have to be rescued again. There’s also the matter of Kairi and Axel, who I was most excited to see finally fight with their keyblades. Instead they get trounced immediately and we don’t get any Kairi action at all, and then she gets fucking kidnapped. I’d understand her being less skilled than the others, but what was all that training for? And Axel may be new to the keyblade, but he’s a great fighter, much better than we see here. It’s all so disappointing. The entire section completely fails to live up to the promise of the big group showdown. We have Riku and Aqua programmed as playable characters, so even if they had been playable for their fights that would have made things feel a lot better, although it doesn’t fix everything. The Kairi issue is the biggest bummer for me.

This is where a lot of the important character stuff is resolved, too, and it’s all done quickly and sloppily. The ‘fight, stop for a cutscene, continue the fight, get another cutscene’ format is lazy and immersion breaking. Xion shows up with very little explanation. The whole struggle with her is that no one remembers her, and yet that’s brushed aside without ever really being addressed. And no one really gets the time they need to live in these moments of being reunited with the people they care about. I wanted to see more of them interacting, and more characters interacting who never have before but have clear links to each other. The way everything was quickly resolved, and the way things are set up for the future, makes me think Nomura was getting bored of these characters and wanted to get them out of the way as quickly as possible to move on to his current infatuation, which is the mobile game garbage.

It’s not as if I dislike everything the mobile game has to offer in terms of story and lore additions, but too much of that stuff bled into KH3. The thing where Sora summons the power of all the past keyblade wielders was fine, although I don’t like the 4th wall breaking of including everyone’s usernames. Still, it’s innocent enough. Making the epilogue all about the mobile game, tying the motivations of characters from earlier games to stuff from the mobile game, and introducing new mysteries that are clearly tied to the mobile game but never get resolved here lessened the quality of KH3. I expect some new mysteries and elements to be introduced each game to tease sequels. But in most games, those aspects were relegated to the secret endings and secret reports. That way you get a full game, leaving you feeling satisfied as you watch the ending, and then getting a teaser for another satisfying experience to come. For KH3, as I watched the ending I wasn’t satisfied. There was still too much left unresolved, or poorly resolved, things I needed from the game that I didn’t get. I was still looking for those things when I got to the secret ending, and of course it offered no closure. It made this entire game feel like sequel bait, when this is the game the previous games were supposed to be sequel bait for. I feel like I’m being strung along by the developers and taken advantage of.

There are some things I like about the ending. Although I don’t like the way it was shown so briefly and vaguely, I like the idea that Sora sacrificed himself to save Kairi. In multiple worlds in this game, we see characters try to sacrifice themselves for their loved ones, so when Sora does it, it makes for an interesting thematic link between the Disney content and main story content. I also like that the game seems to imply a switching of roles for Sora and Kairi, in the way the shots are framed so that Kairi is where Sora normally would be. This is the one thing that made me excited for future games: the thought that maybe Kairi could be the protagonist and go on her own journey to save Sora, that she could finally fucking do something other than be the damsel and love interest. Both KH2 and DDD suggested that she would have a more active role as well, though, and look how that turned out. So, I don’t trust it, especially with the secret ending showing Sora and Riku.

Speaking of which… Yozora. He’s clearly a Versus XIII reference, and I thought it was rightfully petty and hilarious when I saw the Toy Box scene, like Nomura was showing off how much cooler his game would have been than FFXV. Seeing Yozora in the secret ending makes me worry, though. Is he so petty that he would use a future KH game as a vehicle for the characters and ideas that didn’t come to fruition with Versus? With this and all the mobile game stuff, not to mention the general quality of KH3, I’m seriously worried about future games. For over a decade I’ve been thrilled every time a new KH game was announced. Now, though, I feel I’m going to have to be more cautious. It’s not a good feeling to have. Kingdom Hearts has never been perfect, but KH3 makes me feel like Nomura has forgotten what it is that made Kingdom Hearts great in the first place.

#here's almost 3000 words of kh rambling if you're interested #i just needed to organize my thoughts somehow #Kingdom Hearts #kh spoilers #tldr is that it's fun but doesn't live up to the legacy of the series

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dramaticviolincrescendo · 6 years

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Spoiler-Free KH3 Review

This review will not contain any spoilers for the story content of Kingdom Hearts III; the only mechanics I will mention with regards to gameplay are the ones that we have seen in the trailers. As this may get a little long, the rest is under the cut.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am exceedingly biased. I am one of the originals; I am one of the ancients who remembers when the first game came out and what it felt like to see the groundbreaking technology it used in 2002 when I was twelve years old. I’ve had every game at launch and been fortunate enough to keep up with the various handhelds and consoles that the series has spanned. Kingdom Hearts has become an ingrained part of who I am, and I find it difficult to remember a time when it didn’t exist. After all, it’s been around for far more than half of my life now, so it’s as if it’s always been there. That isn’t to say that I don’t recognize that it has shortcomings, but that’s the same with any game or other media. It’s made by humans, and as such, there will always be room to improve. Nevertheless, I am a hardcore Kingdom Hearts fan and love this series more than this post will ever intimate. That said, I am going to attempt to keep this review as impartial as possible. Let’s see how well I do, shall we?

Gameplay:

Honestly, this was the part I was most nervous about. As I watched all the trailers, it felt like an overload to see just how much you could do in this game compared with the prior installments. Adding that to the upgraded technology we saw them using, like a smartphone, and I began to wonder... Was this going to feel like a Kingdom Hearts game? Would it be as magical as the others? Don’t get me wrong: all the new mechanics looked exciting and spectacular. I simply felt that it would be hard to keep it all straight and that updating the technology would mean leaving behind everything that made the series so special to me.

It turned out that my concerns were unwarranted. KH3 has my favorite gameplay system yet. Running up walls is still a little disorienting, but the rest is magnificent. Summons are fun and interactive in a way that previous entries weren’t, offering the player more opportunities to interact with the environment rather than merely wait for the summon to do their thing while mashing X or triangle. Attraction flow was phenomenal and extremely useful, and alongside older additions like flowmotion and shotlocks, they created a much more diverse experience. Even the standard combos were more artistic and gave you options for what to do next. As someone who has always been more of a melee person than a magic-user, I had a blast with the magic in this game. (Pun intended.) There were a lot of instances where I used that more than my physical attacks. And all that new technology Sora uses? It turns out that it was just as magical as ever. A different type of magic, sure, but magical all the same. There was nothing about the gameplay that was less than stellar to me.

Graphics:

Good Lord, do you have time? I’ve never been a snob when it comes to graphics. As long as the story is captivating, I’m good with just about any art style. Even so, I’m being entirely real when I say that some of those cutscenes made me cry purely because everyone looked so beautiful. The team really brought the thunder and showed us that the extra time they needed to get used to this engine was not in vain. On the contrary, it’s easy to see that these talented artists are experts in their field when you get a load of what they managed to accomplish. The style shifted with the theme of the world; many of them upped the ante and had full, opening-quality CGI cutscenes at the end or at various other points. If you ever felt like you were pulled out of the experience because of the more cartoonish elements of the previous games, then fear not. You’ll forget there’s a real world as you traverse some of these.

Music:

Another triumph. Everything is perfectly balanced between new tracks and the familiar ones we recognize from as far back as the first game. That’s something I personally appreciate a lot, even though it may be nostalgia talking. As someone who is very attuned to emotion as it is conveyed through music, I felt that they used the songs we revere at just the right times to evoke an emotional response in anyone who played the other games. And the new tunes? Oh, man. Every time I think there’s no topping what they’ve already done, Yoko Shimomura and the other composers that have contributed to the series prove me wrong. I can’t wait to buy the soundtrack when they make it.

Easter Eggs:

If you’re an old hand like me, then you’re going to love all the little surprises hidden in the dialogue, the worlds, and the situations. If you’re not… Well, I hope that they make you want to go back and see what the references mean!

Story:

Yup, I saved this one for last as I think it is the most important. Kingdom Hearts is a series built on its extensive storyline. (Notice that I said extensive and not convoluted. Sorry, but I’ve never seen it as being hard to understand, although I recognize and respect that not everyone agrees.)

Let’s start with the Disney worlds. I already mentioned that they are stylistically gorgeous. There are many instances where you can’t tell that you aren’t really playing inside that particular movie. The only exception is in the Caribbean, but that’s pretty understandable; even so, the animation is spectacular and makes it look real without the uncanny valley sensation. There is a typical balance of worlds that rehash what happened in their movies as well as ones that have original storylines designed to act as sequels of a sort. Both are done phenomenally well. I think the only thing that gave me pause was the length of some of the cutscenes. Again, that’s understandable given how much content they had to pack into this game in order to provide closure, and since I am always a big fan of story over gameplay, it didn’t bother me. Just be aware that if you prefer to have short cutscenes or none at all, there will be a lot of them.

Speaking of cutscenes, they did a fantastic job with pacing this game. Rather than traveling to a set number of worlds before advancing the main plot, you see what is going on with our collective heroes every time you complete a world. As such, you end up with a more solid flow that shows there is progress on all fronts and connects what Sora learns in each world to the larger plot, especially when Organization members come into play in the worlds he visits. I know some people have said that the “relevant” plot is only in the last few hours, but I honestly felt that there was a lot of very important information and development between world visits that was absolutely necessary. It also served as a nice break since each world was significantly longer than any of the others in the series thus far.

Now, about the original, non-Disney storyline. As I said, I’ve been in this fandom for seventeen years—I am very well aware of the various criticisms that the series has received. Some, I understand even if I don’t agree; others, I’m afraid I just can’t wrap my head around. Needless to say, my mind was boggled when I finally logged back into all my social media to see that there are actually people claiming the game is incomplete. It seems like every game is “incomplete” these days if it didn’t have every single thing that people wanted. That being said…

This game is complete. Period.

Once again, I think perhaps you have to have lived with the series for a long time to understand that this is how it works: you tie up a major plot point and then get punched in the gut with a new mystery to look forward to deciphering in the next game. Admittedly, that sucker-punch was more of a sucker-here-let-me-throw-you-off-a-cliff-and-send-your-heart-into-eternal-torment this time, but still. We’re accustomed to this formula. It’s something specific to the Kingdom Hearts series, whereas many other games tend to tie up everything as a single experience and then create a brand new storyline if they make a sequel. That’s just not how Kingdom Hearts works, which is fine by me. As promised, the Xehanort Saga has indeed come to an end. Kingdom Hearts, however, is still going to continue, and they clearly built the game with that concept in mind. That’s all I will say about that to avoid spoilers.

…Actually, no it’s not. A word of advice: have tissues handy.

Okay, that is all I will say about that to avoid spoilers.

Overall Rating:

A+++++++++++++

This game won’t please everyone. No game or anything else ever does. Regardless, this was worth every second of the years I’ve waited to play it, and I finished the game pumped to hype up the next one. I tried to go in with no expectations to avoid disappointment, but I shouldn’t have bothered. This is a phenomenal conclusion to the Xehanort Saga, and I am so grateful to Nomura and his team for the time, energy, and love they put into this game.

If you’re a KH fan, I don’t have to tell you how amazing this is. If you’re not, then this is still a super fun gaming experience that will keep you interested if for no other reason than the gameplay and Disney elements. Either way, I wrote this review because I had to get it off my chest before the stuff I reblog (all marked #kh3 spoilers, of course) hits my dash. I hope you enjoyed my take, and may your heart be your guiding key!

Whew. There. Totally unbiased opinion.

Totally.

#kingdom hearts #kh #kingdom hearts 3 #kh3

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