#358/2

[autumn-may]

I get why the 358/2 bonus missons exist from a gameplay perspective but from an immersion perspective i feel so bad for roxas.

[nemirutami]

"Roxas... I'm out of time."

[brightcrest-wayfinder]

I need to replay 358/2 because I’m pretty sure Roxas doesn’t die on Christmas because summer break happens at the end of the game.

[verathena14]

riku honey please your codependency is very unhealthy

[greetings-inferiors]

Roxas is the most tragic character in any piece of media I’ve ever consumed. His story is honestly so well written and so well executed in a series that is so batshit off the walls insane and I marvel that they managed it. If anything could convince you to play kingdom hearts it’s Roxas.

Nobodies are such an interesting concept from a character concept, ESPECIALLY Roxas’ case where his somebody still exists. With Axel, for example, he wants to become a somebody because he wants a heart, then even when he does become a somebody he realises that his time as a nobody was more meaningful than his time as a somebody, and continues to use his nobody name. But there’s no moral dilemma here, he can be either a nobody or a somebody, and both are the same person.

But Roxas and Sora AREN’T the same person. They’re distinct. They are two souls, two hearts, that are separate. Sora’s heartless never was destroyed, it just became Sora, so now there are two separate people that belong in Sora’s body. Who deserves it? Sora, as the “true” somebody? Or Roxas, who is a living feeling person?

From birth, Roxas has no memories (unlike other nobodies) and is constantly told that he is incapable of feeling and his emotions aren’t real. He’s brainwashed into thinking that the friendships he has are fake, so he rationalises his friendship as “people he eats ice cream with”. When one of only two friends he has, one of only two people who have ever truly known or loved him, dies in his arms, he can’t process the grief of her passing or the fact that his friendship is over, so he asks her who he would have ice cream with. Out of context that’s a hilarious line yes, but in context it’s a confused, emotionally stunted child who hasn’t been given the time or space to become a person.

When he finds out why one of his friends has to die and the other is complicit, it’s all about this “sora” person. He learns that his existence is stopping this sora person and he has to die to let this person he’s never met before live. One of his only friends died just to help someone neither he nor she ever knew or even saw. Later, when his memories are wiped AGAIN and his only friends are ripped from him AGAIN and he learns he has to die to let this sora person live AGAIN, he resigns himself to death, and he can’t blame the guy, he did nothing wrong, all he can think about is how lucky sora is. How lucky he gets to wake up, and see his friends, and LIVE. How lucky that his summer vacation is only just about to start (Roxas’ summer vacation line is my favourite line in the whole franchise and it isn’t even close. I tear up just READING it).

And then

AND THEN

He has to watch through someone else’s eyes, their own adventure.

He has to see his friends NOT KNOW WHO HE IS, say “I’ve never known a Roxas in my life”, and he fully realises that the hayner pence and olette he knew were never real to begin with. And he cries. He cries hard enough for Sora to shed a tear.

He then sees his best friend Axel sacrifice himself for Sora. Both of his best friends died for this boy. He gets ANGRY. He tries taking sora over by FORCE.

The Roxas fight is the best fight in the series hands down. I CANNOT BELIEVE it wasn’t in the original and was just a cutscene.

When Roxas is attacking sora and just repeatedly slamming his keyblades on sora’s it’s genuinely the most visceral and brutal moment in the series. All the fight he’s been so skilful and elegant yet here he is just letting out all his anger in one primal bout of RAGE. But the look in sora’s eyes isn’t contempt, but confusion.

Roxas realises that this isn’t sora’s fault. Sora didn’t ask for another person to exist and vie for control.

And sure, all of Roxas’ friends had to die or be forgotten, but Roxas saw firsthand just how many people Sora helped. He understands why Sora’s so special. He knows what could happen if Xemnas isn’t stopped. Whether Roxas likes it or not, he and his friends had to die. For Sora to save everyone else.

Sora is a good other.

Anyway yeah I go between Roxas and Axel being my favourite character in the whole series. They both mean so much to me and are so interesting compelling and utterly tragic.

Even if Kingdom hearts’ story isn’t all that “good”, ROXAS’ story ABSOLUTELY deserves to be known by as many people as possible. It’s a story about identity, coming to terms with who you are, the ethics of two people sharing a body, whose lives are more valuable than others, and what it means to be a person. And it’s the greatest story Nomura has EVER told, and probably will ever be.

[makethiscanon]

After a bump in the road, AxelBot seems to be shaping up nicely 🤣

I'm attaching links for my public chatbots to my writing masterlist if anyone fancies a gander.💕 they make great time wasters. (Has been RPing the plot of Season with Axel for hours).

[kellynicole515]

I was so worried about yesterdays stream i forgot to post 😅 Kingdom Hearts Days recap is back!

[roxas--official]

Guys I think xion MIGHT just MIGHT be trans just a hunch

[mindfulwrath]

OW OOF MY HEART

[theblueprincess590]

Drew fan art of Riku from KHDDD because its my favorite Riku design. Gave him the Blindfold from KH2/Days because I didn’t want to know his eyes. Not one of my best drawings but I’m glad I was able to do another full body drawing

[ultradonutsteel]

Kingdom Hearts 179 Days

There, I did the math for ya.

[autumn-may]

(Riku voice) I’m so normal. I’m soooo normal im doing great. The last 300-ish days have been fine and I am fine. I am normal

[chomprey-the-dragon]

Just noticed that Roxas says he could only tolerate a week of summer vacation in 358 doesn't even get that

[a-wobbity-space-for-everything]

bad quality but decided to do replay of this gem for the first time in years!! 🙌🏻

[its-just-arti]

Fun Kingdom Hearts Fact!

Sora has a part of Leon Kennedy in his heart, that is why Roxas is blonde and his skill system in 358/2 is the attaché case!

[greetings-inferiors]

I haven’t started a kingdom hearts game ranking either, so here you go

Kingdom hearts: S-tier. Easy. C’mon. It’s so good. It still holds up so well. The atmosphere and vibes are second to none in the whole series. The exploration is only outdone by kh3, a game that came out SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER. The story is self contained which lets it be just as, if not more, narratively satisfying than every other numbered title. It’s absolutely phenomenal.

Chain of memories: I want to love this game so badly, I swear. The combat is genuinely great against bosses and on the last three floors, and the story is so good and the darkest in any kingdom hearts game (and it’s not even close tbh). But the first like TWENTY HOURS are so rough. Before you settle into a good deck the combat is… not awful, but not good. The Disney worlds are a slog. I could only get through them because I was skipping the cutscenes. They’re just the kh1 stories but rushed, and without NEARLY as much charm. B-tier. A great game hidden under a polarising combat system and god awful filler.

358/2 days: AGGRESSIVE CRYING. But no seriously A-tier. Phenomenal game held back by being on a ds. But when a game’s only flaw is “hardware limitations”, you know it’s a great game. But even then, the only other console I’d have it on is the ds. Days has some of the best uses of the dual screens I’ve ever seen, best of which is Roxas’ memories of Sora. When Roxas experiences events similar to Sora’s adventure and you see Sora’s memory on the bottom screen playing out in real time - there’s nothing like it. And there’s no real way to experience it other than on the ds (or 3DS (or wii u I GUESS)). The combat isn’t GREAT, but it’s still good! The story might just be the best in the franchise, the characters are some of my favourites, the panel system makes inventory management so damn fun, seeing the organisation operate is so cool, the Disney worlds are actually pretty good, GOD this game is so good. But I can’t give it an S because it is very clearly a ds game. I can’t put it into words but there’s clearly restrictions that do hamper the game like each weapon only having two combos (maybe a second route if you’re lucky). I WANT it to be S-tier but I had so much more fun with kh1 and am having so much more fun with kh2. It sadly just doesn’t compare. It deserved a full remake for the hd1.5 collection so it could reach its glory.

anyway 2 is probably going to be S-tier. The combat is SO FUCKING GOOD. Probably the lowest or second lowest in S-tier, due to the Disney worlds, but still. Absolutely phenomenal so far.