#Kingdom Hearts Final Mix [PS4] [2]: This World Has Been Connected

[levelstory-old]

Top 5 E3 Announcements

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3, is a yearly event that showcases what is up and coming in the video gaming industry. Gamers across the world get hyped and this year packed a huge punch.

To be honest, I never pay close attention to E3 because most showcases tend to look very samey (i.e. watch the Bethesda showcase). I'm not all that interested in the "dark and gritty" genre of games and so I usually hang back and let twitter fill me in on the hype. I didn't expect much.

Sure I expected to get excited by some things, but I was caught off guard by the several moments that blew me away, surprised me, and even made me tear up a bit! Here is my top 5 list, 1 ranking as least exciting (even though least exciting is still really freaking exciting) to 5 ranking as the most exciting (the G.O.A.T. of E3).

Number 1: Ni No Kuni Coming to Switch, Remaster Coming to PC & PS4

Originally released on the Playstation 3, Ni No Kuni is a game that stands out due to it being animated by the renowned Studio Ghibli. Since I never owned a PS3, I never played the game. After the sequel came out, I had high hopes that the original would port to the PS4 but no such announcement ever came. I was starting to give up. In fact, only days ago I went so far as to look into emulating the game on my PC as I've been dying to play it.

This news has come at a perfect time! The game is releasing on the Switch, PC, and PS4. But there is a catch. The game has been remastered for all systems but the Switch which will be receiving the original port of the game. Now I will have to decide if I want the game on the Switch or PS4. I enjoy playing games more on the Switch but also want the remastered version. Decisions decisions.

Number 2: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

I still have yet to finish the original Yooka-Laylee game (read about my experience with the game thus far in the first issue of Level Story) but now it seems I have reason to be excited to play it some more. The announcement of the sequel to the highly successful modern platformer came as quite a surprise to me. While a sequel has certainly been on my radar, I didn't quite expect one so soon.

What really excites me about this sequel is how it appears to capture the spirit of the first game while also moving in a completely new platforming direction in the side scroller. Several commenters wrote that the game looked similar to DKC Tropical Freeze and that is a pretty nice complement. Waking up to this news was just a treat.

Number 3: Banjo-Kazooie in SMASH

Okay, confession time. I don't like the SMASH games. I've never gotten into them and haven't had the desire to change that. Seeing all the hype for the recent Switch release got me excited in a very removed sense. Watching other people get excited about the game (and about Joker from Persona 5 being in the game) made me excited even though I knew there was very little that would persuade me to shell out my money for this title.

Throughout this time, rumors were strewn about twitter saying that Banjo and Kazooie might be announced as the next characters in SMASH. Banjo-Kazooie is a game I grew up playing all the time and I have a strong connection to it. While I had no connection to SMASH, I had a strange desire to see the bear and bird get their dues since they haven't really had much luck since being bought by Microsoft.

Their announcement brought tears to my eyes. Perhaps nostalgia had taken over, or maybe it was the fans joyful reactions that made me emotional, but I finally have a reason to pick up this game. Whether that will actually happen or not is still to be decided. But after watching that trailer, how can you not be hyped for this?!

Number 4: Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII is one of those celebrated games that I hear about all the time yet somehow I am so separated from it that I only know that it is considered a good game and literally nothing else. I didn't have Playstation growing up and never had an interest in Final Fantasy games so just never played it.

But since my love for the Kingdom Hearts series has pushed me to enter the realm of Final Fantasy and since I am just generally interested in stories told in games and FFVII is said to have an amazing story, I have decided to put a bit more stock in FFVII. I have just started to play the ported game on my Switch and have watched closely for updates about the remake.

And turns out, this new interest has paid off because wow does this game look really good. Square Enix really stole the show when they premiered the full length trailer at E3. Everything looks so polished and beautiful. While I imagine there will be changes from the original, I still think this game looks amazing and I look forward to real time action gameplay vs. the original turn based combat.

Number 5: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Sequel

Okay...let me set this up for you. I did not grow up playing Zelda. My cousin gave me a hand-me-down copy of Ocarina of Time and I just didn't play it all too often (yes, I regret my adolescent decisions). Breath of the Wild is technically my first Zelda game and it is hard to put into words how much I love it. I've put in over 150 hours of play time and when I finally beat the final boss this past Sunday, I was happy but also sad that the game had come to an end.

My biggest wish was to explore Hyrule some more post beating Ganon (when you beat the game, a star appears on your file and you are placed at the point right before beating Ganon). Then, a few days later, this sequel was announced. This is the GOAT for me. I am on the Breath of the Wild hype train. There is no release date for the game yet which kind of gets me down but I am too excited for this game to care! This was easily the best announcement at E3.

And I can't finish this article without an honorable mention….

Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC

Kingdom Hearts is my all time favorite franchise. Despite its existence in the absurd and the blatant examples of bad storytelling, I always find myself coming back to these games and having a blast with them. It is a series I will stick with through and through.

DLC for Kingdom Hearts 3 has been on the horizon ever since the game was released back in January of this year. Fans of the franchise know the "vanilla" KH games are only the starting point. Almost every title has come out with a re-release known as "final mix" where new content is added including cut scenes, gameplay scenarios, additional mechanics, and more. Back in the early 2000's, final mix was a pretty unique concept. Today, final mix is just DLC. Yes, I know, KH was ahead of its time.

The new trailer showcasing what is to come in the new paid DLC has got me very excited. It looks like we will get to play as new characters, have new keyblades, and there will be a ton of convoluted plot dump that only KH can bring.

While this would have been a highlight for me, I thought Square Enix gave zero hype to this. The trailer was originally shown at the KH Orchestra concert in LA and director Tetsuya Nomura told the audience not to film it or there would be dire consequences. Someone filmed it and now the conspiracy is that this person made Nomura angry. While I don't think this person should have filmed the trailer, I also think it is kind of sick that Nomura can put out a threat like that and KH fans tweet out, "you upset Nomura. Thanks a lot."

Speculation went about saying that Square might have been planning a longer trailer at E3. Whether this was correct and Nomura pulled it due to his "dire consequences", or the E3 and Orchestra trailer were the same all along, we will never know. Either way, the trailer was exciting to see the first time but didn't do much to get me really excited like the 5 announcements I talked about in this piece.

What Did You Think?

So what did you think about E3? What were some of the highlights and your favorite announcements? Let me know in the comments!

[their-destinys-writer]

Connecting the Light - A Kingdom Hearts Fanzine Work

Did I tell anyone I participated in a Kingdom Hearts zine?

Last month, @destiny-islanders and @novallion organized what was probably one of the biggest Kingdom Hearts events in all Tumblr: a special zine called The Ties That Bind Us, celebrating the much anticipated release of Kingdom Hearts III. I’m happy to say that I submitted a piece, and I am finally sharing it with my followers.

For the zine, you can get the download link here.

Connecting the Light

The power to connect. Hearts that rest and take refuge in mine. That’s what they said I can do: that I have the power of connection to other people’s hearts. But will it protect my friends when they need it the most?

Sora was ready to leave Destiny Islands once again, but this time, instead of looking for his friends, he would be saving people connected to the one residing in his heart. And the owner of it, too.

Call them ‘future friends,’ as Sora liked to think of them.

After all, if they were Ven’s friends, then by extension, they were his friends too. He just hadn’t met them yet. Or, at least, that he knew of.

He stared off into the setting sun on the beach, the one that left trails of orange on the surface of the ocean. The boy listened to the waves intently, wondering when would be the next time he would hear them again. Hoping it would be these same waves he would hear again, and not the ones in the Realm of Darkness.

“Sora?” a soft voice spoke behind him.

He turned to find Kairi standing there, giving one of her bright smiles. Very appropriate for a Princess of Heart.

“I thought you guys had left already,” she said as she walked to stand beside him.

“Riku needed some extra time before we left,” Sora shrugged. “I think he’s not very sure about our next adventure.”

“Oh,” Kairi uttered, her brows furrowing. She turned to look at the sunset. “He still thinks he’s not worthy, doesn’t he?”

“I guess,” Sora sighed. But he quickly grinned. “But don’t worry. I think this test is just the thing he needs to prove how strong his heart really is.”

Kairi giggled. “Yeah. At least he will have you there to remind him…” She paused. “Sora?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t ever let him forget it: that he is also part of the light, no matter the darkness he has fought inside him.”

Sora blinked at her. Slowly, a smile curled his lips, as he looked back at the sunset, placing his hands at the back of his head.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let him forget.”

“I thought you’d be on the gummi ship by now.”

Both Sora and Kairi turned to the new voice, only for both of them to let out sounds of surprise.

“You cut your hair,” Sora commented.

“It was getting a little long for my taste.” Riku shrugged, walking closer to his friends.

“It suits you,” Kairi giggled. “I’ve been thinking about doing the same thing.”

“It bodes well, when you’re trying to start anew,” the young man said, now standing next to the other two, lightly stroking his hair.

“Great! You’re going to pass that exam with style now.” Sora playfully punched Riku’s bicep.

The young man chuckled, right before turning his gaze to the sunset. “You really think I’ll pass, with all the darkness I let in my heart?”

Sora and Kairi exchanged looks, instantly nodding in understanding.

“What are you talking about? Of course you’ll pass!”

“You’re gonna do great!”

They spoke at the same time, both with a sense of purpose, including Sora making a fist of confidence. The reaction was so strong that Riku was startled by their enthusiastic support.

“You have us,” Kairi added.

“And King Mickey, Donald and Goofy,” Sora continued. “You’ve got plenty of friends rooting for you.”

“Right,” Riku chuckled. “My friends are my power. That’s what you said before, right?”

Sora nodded. “Right.”

The trio turned back to the light, seeing the last bit of the sun sink down the horizon. Knowing it would be a while before they got to see it together like this again. So, they cherished the moment, savoring every second of it.

“We should get going,” Riku said quietly.

“Yeah,” Sora whispered.

As the two boys turned to walk away, Kairi spoke up.

“Make sure you two come back here,” she teased, placing her hands on her hips and leaning forward.

Sora grinned. “We will.”

He then practically jumped as he placed his arms around Riku and Kairi’s shoulders. Riku got dragged down by Sora’s short stature.

“I promise that no matter what, we’ll always come back here, to this island, and hang out. Like old times. No darkness involved.”

Kairi giggled, while Riku let out a short laugh and shook his head at his always optimistic friend.

Someday.

Someday, it’ll be me, Terra and Aqua. We promised we would find our way back to each other, that our wayfinders would guide us, and keep us together in our hearts.

And someday, I’ll see Xion again. And we’ll go back to that clocktower to eat that sea-salt we loved so much. And maybe this time, Axel won’t have to keep any secrets from us.

Someday, we will reconnect.

Personal A/N: I cannot even begin to describe how much this series means to me. I have been playing Kingdom Hearts since I was about 12 years old (I am about to turn 27 next month). I remember watching Disney Channel and seeing an ad for the first game, and I immediately fell in love with the idea of Disney characters mixed with anime characters.

When my sister and I got the game, we still didn’t have memory cards for our PS2. So you can imagine my frustration when I had to turn off the PS after I heard Tarzan say “Not Clayton. Hee, hoo, hoo ha ha” about 10 times.

But after getting memory cards, this was the first time I ever took the time to complete a game at it’s fullest. And for once, uncover secrets my sister never did (she was usually better at videogames than me).

It was the first time I had ever felt I had some unique achievement that no one else I knew had. That I was good at something I normally wasn’t. I remember gaping the moment I beat Sephiroth and saying “never again”, without knowing I would beat his ass again in Kingdom Hearts 2 later on. It was the one series I played over and over again, trying to get better and better with each playthrough. Even as I turned into adulthood.

Sadly, that PS2 stopped working properly over time, and I was too broke to buy any consoles, like a PSP or a NintendoDSi. So, for the longest time, I missed out on the games. From then on, everything I knew about the games came from Wikipedia.

That was, until my boyfriend (now husband) gifted me a Nintendo3DS for our 9 month anniversary, with Pokémon Y. Finally an adult with a part-time job, one of the very first games I bought for that 3DS was, of course, Kingdom Hearts 3D. I took my time playing it, but unfortunately, I was unable to finish it because one of the buttons stopped working properly. The one button one smashes the most to beat Xehanort in the end.

So when I finally saved enough money to buy a console, you bet your butt that I bought a PS4. While there were other games my husband and I were interested in (like Monster Hunter World, the remakes of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, among other games), there was one main reason I bought it for: Kingdom Hearts.

Because I grew up with this series. Because they gave me a sense of supporting friendships. Because it was beautiful. Because it made me feel whole. Because they made me feel capable.

And when I saw PSN was selling the All-in-One Package, I didn’t need to think twice to buy it. And the second those games downloaded, I opened the very first Kingdom Hearts game, I started crying like an idiot. Because finally. I finally had them with me again. And I could finally experience some of the stories that I had only read about.

These 14 years have been an emotional roller coaster. But this last month really takes the cake. I cried so hard with the new game, from beginning to end, and I am so happy I got to see and experience it. I, personally, feel Kingdom Hearts III was so much of what I wanted it to be. I experienced so much old and new, at the same time. The added pieces of Disney were fantastic, and once again, it proved that Kingdom Hearts is so much more than just a crossover. It’s more than its gameplay and companies. It is a piece of us, that helped forge who many of us are now.

Kingdom Hearts is, and forever will be, the greatest game in my heart.

[starlightshoals]

abcdefghiklmnop uwu

Ohmygosh dovey thank youuuu!!

(Oh and I just realized I went through and answered all of them even the ones past P ahaha n///n;;; )

B: Favorite Series?

Prob’ly Persona right now :D

C: Least Favorite Game of all Time?

I dunno, Sonic 06 is terrible but I played it so much when I was littler ^^;;;

E: Favorite Sequel?

I mean technically it’s Chrono Cross again but as far as the definition of a “sequel” I’d have to go with either Kingdom Hearts II or Persona 5, there’s so many mind-blowing improvements and refinements in each of them~

F: Biggest Let Down?

When I first tried to play Dragon Age: Inquisition (on the Xbox 360 version e_e ) I was so disappointed, none of the things I wanted from the game were what I got, and even when I played it on the PS4 years later I was still really...”mixed” on it though my standards were lowered, I don’t like how it shoves the Mage-Templar war under the carpet and makes it meaningless, how it whitewashes the gritty realism of the first two games for a much more mainstream “you are the chosen one and everybody worships you!!” type of plot, I found the characters and writing to be waaaaay less complex and interesting, the whole game takes a much “safer” approach to everything after the backlash Dragon Age II got for being, you know, unorthodox and original and not pandering to the player’s ego

G: What are you currently playing?

I was playing Persona 4 earlier!! I’m trying to play it on hard mode, tee hee~ ^///^ And I’ve also been trying to reach Ending B in Nier: Automata but I lost all my momentum on that once Persona 5 came out... uwu;;;

H: Favorite Local Multi-what’s-it?

Nah~

I: Fave Online Multi-whatters?

Nope~

J: Favorite System?

The PS2!! It can play games from TWO systems and I grew up with it and it’s the bestest~~

(I’m also really fond of my PSP and DS and I’m falling in love with the PS4 this year because it’s actually got games I wanna play now)

K: Game You’re Most Looking Forward To?

Kingdom Hearts 3!!!!!

L: Favorite Licensed Title?

Ummmmm...I really liked the Shrek 2 game actually n.n;;

M: Favorite Game of Last Year?

Literally the only game I gave a darn about last year was Final Fantasy XV, unless you count P5 since it came out in Japan......I should finish XV at some point :/

O: Favorite Antagonist?

Lynx from Chrono Cross because of what he does midway through the game and he just has the most intimidating design and he has this aura of cold calculated evil around him which turns out to be kind of a front for how sadistic he is, plus the twist about him you’re told near the end of the game~

P: Favorite Genre?

JRPGs if it’s not obvious .w.

Q: Any Guilty Pleasure Games?

I actually LOVE Shadow the Hedgehog, I think it has easily the best level design of the 3D Sonic games, there’s no hub world so you’re just playing actual levels with multiple paths and objectives, the guns are a great addition to gameplay, I like the music, the morality system is excellent because it literally determines your progression through the game instead of just being window dressing...yeah this isn’t even a guilty pleasure, I’ll defend this game to the death because I despise the way people dismiss it just because “oh guns and swearing in a Sonic game, how lame” when the actual content and gameplay is by far the most innovative and coherent of the 3D games, it’s pretty brilliant~

R: Most underrated game?

See above!!

S: Most overrated game?

Uncharted, Final Fantasy X, OCARINA OF TIME though it’s still a very critical important game in history blah blah blah

U: Favorite Handheld Title?

Persona 3 Portable and The World Ends With You!!

V: First game you remember playing?

I think the first game I can remember playing myself was Jak and Daxter!! ^w^

W: Any games you regret getting rid of?

I can’t remember any so I guess not .___.

X: What you’d like to change about your favorite franchise?

Atlus plz stop with the homophobic humor and add more same-sex romances to Persona, like really, you almost got there with P5 but you didn’t quite pull through, you’re making so much progress after taking some serious steps back, I believe in you senpai!!

Y: What game would you like your child to play first?

I wanna play Chrono Trigger with my childrens like my dad did with me!! n//n

Z: Game character you most associate with?

Prob’ly Aigis from P3...a girl who wasn’t born or made like normal girls, becomes slowly more aware of herself and how to connect with other people, gets deeply attached to a special person but feels like she’ll never be good enough, struggles to understand why life means anything when death is the end result, but eventually finds her answers...”you don’t have to save the world to find meaning in life”. ^-^

[rozalynpaige]

About The Know’s video titled “Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Kingdom Hearts 3 GET HITMANNED?”

On May 26th, 2017, YouTube news channel The Know released a video titled “Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Kingdom Hearts 3 GET HITMANNED?” and... there is so much wrong with it.

Since this post turned out really long, I’m gonna put a TL;DR here at the top so I can put my explanations and sources under a Read More, so as not to clog up y’all’s dashes.

TL;DR:

Kingdom Hearts 3 is not in FF15 Development Hell. The Know saying that Jose compared KH3′s development to FF15′s is actually wholly incorrect, as he did no such thing. He even clarified that he didn’t. Please note, to be fair to The Know: This can be blamed on mistranslation, as the tweet they were referencing was originally in Spanish. They are not the only ones to reach this incorrect conclusion from the mistranslated tweet. So, try not to be harsh on The Know, guys.

Jose most likely was only implying that minor content would be cut from KH3 if it isn’t 100% done by its deadline, not that we would be getting an incomplete game a la FF15. As he said on May 9th, “There is no rush when you delay a game twice.”

“These are games we intend to release in the next three years” does not mean “Three years from now”, The Know. How can you go from reading aloud a tweet that says “2018″ twice to saying “What if it doesn’t come out until 2020 because they said ‘in the next three years’”? I feel that The Know’s comments about KH3 not coming until “2020 or later” are entirely overreaction. While Jose_Strife’s claim of a 2018 release for KH3 is still officially just a rumor, he may not be far off. We’ll just have to wait and see, possibly at E3 2017, if Jose is right about them releasing a KH3 trailer there.

We already knew, since 2015, that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be released episodically. How is this news, The Know?? It is not as bad as it seems, however. FF7 Re’s episodes will be full games, a la FF13. FF13 is a series of three games (XIII, XIII-2, and XIII-3), and Square Enix considers it to be “episodic”. Square Enix said that FF7 Re’s “episodic” nature will be based on FF13′s release structure.

I don’t think KH3 will be released episodically. Even if it is, I believe it’ll be like FF7 Re and FF13.

Explanations and sources below the Read More. For a slightly more manageable read, I’ve split up the sections through use of horizontal line and making pseudo-headers with bold text placed between “~~~”.

~~~First...~~~

I will start with their inaccurate information about what Twitter user Jose_Strife said in regards to Kingdom Hearts 3.

If you don’t know who Jose_Strife is or why anyone would consider him an authority on Kingdom Hearts news... In summary, he appears to have connections, and his “leaked info” has been right before. On May 8th, 2017, he made a series of tweets about Kingdom Hearts 3′s current state in development, said there will be a trailer at E3, and even said the planned release year is 2018. These tweets were in Spanish, so English-speakers had to translate them. This led to misunderstandings from faulty translations, and on May 9th, he tweeted clarifications in English. This is where The Know got tripped up.

~~~Comparison to FF15′s development~~~

First off, they claim that Jose_Strife compared KH3′s development to that of Final Fantasy 15. This is completely untrue. The misunderstanding comes from the following tweet:

“Y, para sorpresa de nadie, todo esto es culpa del infierno de desarrollo de Versus.” which got translated to “And, to the surprise of no one, all this is guilt Versus development hell.” (Link)

He refers to FF15 by its original name, Final Fantasy 13 Versus. Somehow, The Know (and admittedly, other people) took this to be him saying KH3 is in the same development hell as FF15. On May 9th, he clarified with this English tweet:

“Reports about kh3 being in development hell like Versus are also inaccurate. I said that the development of Versus was a hell.” (Link)

The impression I’m getting here is that he had been trying to make an off-hand comment about Square Enix’s actions being a result of guilt from FF15′s development... or something. Either way, KH3 is not in FF15 Development Hell, at all.

~~~KH3′s deadline; incomplete release?~~~

Second, The Know insinuated that Jose_Strife said, if KH3 doesn’t meet its deadline in 2018, story content will be cut and we’ll be given an incomplete game. I’m pretty sure this is incorrect, as well, judging by various tweets he posted.

In English, on May 9th: “Square Enix is not rushing KH3. That reports are incorrect.” (Link)

In English, on May 9th: “If they can't finish something when they hit the deadline, it'll be cut. There is no rush when you delay a game twice.” (Link)

He says that KH3 has been delayed twice, which indicates that Square Enix may be trying to avoid cutting major content. This is further supported by the following English tweet from May 9th:

“If Nomura was a Osaka team resident and he set his goals accurately, the game would be out in December like planned.” (Link)

Meaning that Tetsuya Nomura had initially expected KH3 to be released December 2017. When it was realized that it won’t be finished by then, the release date was delayed to sometime in 2018, according to Jose. Of course, this is by far not an official release date and can only be considered a rumor.

Assuming Jose is right, if KH3 was really going to go the way of FF15 - an incomplete release with cut story content that requires downloaded updates to finish - would they really have delayed the release? I think they would have stuck with the December 2017 release, if that was the case. But they seem to want to avoid repeating their mistake with FF15 (that possible “guilt” mentioned earlier).

There was also a Spanish tweet on May 8th that may clarify what kind of content Jose_Strife meant would be cut if KH3 doesn’t meet the deadline:

“Como muchos sabréis, KH2, BBS y 3D tuvieron contenido recortado, por lo que no es nada nuevo en KH. Todo lo planeado no estará en 3, simple.” which got translated to “As many of you know, KH2, BBS and 3D had content cut out, so it is nothing new in KH. The plan will not be in 3, simple” (Link)

Basically, pointing out that previous Kingdom Hearts games had content cut out and it has never been a big deal. There are actually YouTube videos out there where people talk about the games’ cut content, including unused assets that can be found in the coding, and it’s often pretty minor.

Just to put context to what I mean by that:

Content cut from KH2 includes:

Two keyblades, which had models.

Two Heartless, which appeared to have textured models. They were seen in an advertisement.

Not-so-minor: They changed their plans for how the battle against Xemnas would go.

You were going to be able to fight each member of Organization XIII for fun in Olympus Colosseum. This idea was later implemented in the Final Mix version of KH2.

Summons of Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story. Their untextured models can be found in the game’s code. The best guess for why they were cut is because Square Enix didn’t have the rights to use any Pixar IPs. Hopefully they’ll eventually get the rights to Pixar movies.

This YouTube video talks about this info and has images, including concept art of old ideas for the Xemnas battle.

Content cut from Birth by Sleep includes:

A keyblade, which had a textured model.

An appearance by Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch world. He has a model, but it has no texture.

Not-so-minor: A world based on The Jungle Book.

Not-so-minor: The Mirage Arena was actually going to have a story, where it was headed by Final Fantasy 8 character Laguna Loire. For whatever reason, Square Enix decided that Laguna would be in either Dissidia 012 or KH: BBS, not both. They went with Dissidia 012.

Cut content from Dream Drop Distance includes:

Plans for a rabbit-like Dream Eater

Sora was going to visit the old Tron world from KH2, while Riku visited the world based on the newer Tron movie.

Sora was going to visit the world based on the old Fantasia movie, while Riku visited one based on Fantasia 2000.

The latter two cut from Dream Drop Distance were due to time constraints, in regards to how long it takes to build a world. Side note: The fact that building a world takes a lot of time may be one reason KH3 is taking so long - Nomura said it has more worlds than KH2 and the worlds are bigger and seamless.

All in all, the content cut from previous KH games did not result in cutting out story content, and they were minor cuts in the grand scheme of each game. This seems to be what Jose is implying will happen if KH3 doesn’t meet its deadline - minor content and ideas cut out, but the story and significant parts still intact.

~~~“KH3 will release in 2018″/“We might not get it until 2020?!”~~~

Seriously, The Know, which is it?

If you ask me, we’ll more likely be getting KH3 in 2018. However, there’s still no official release date (as of May 28th), so Jose_Strife’s claims of 2018 being its release year are still considered mere rumor. That said, it’s looking like Jose’s rumor may not be far from the truth, and like I said earlier, he has a tendency to be right about these things.

KH 1.5+2.5 and KH 2.8 were released for PS4 in 2017. If you get both of these packages, you’ll have the entire current Kingdom Hearts series on one console. Granted, in those packages, 358/2 Days and Re: Coded are cutscene movies and KH X is a movie, but it’s still the whole current series.

Jose claims we’ll be getting a KH3 trailer at E3 2017.

The Kingdom Hearts Facebook and Twitter accounts have been a lot more active since, about, early January this year (2017), posting every one or two days. Whereas, late last year, there were anywhere between 4 and 25 days between posts. Granted, they’re mostly posting about the previous games and asking fans about things like their favorite Drive Form from KH2 or their favorite ice cream item from Birth by Sleep. But the noticeable increase in activity could be them trying to draw up interest and attention, which would make sense if KH3′s release is coming up.

It’s common for a video game company to begin its major promotional campaign about a year before the game releases. If KH3 is due to release sometime in 2018, it would be a good idea to begin its promotional campaign soon. If they do release a trailer at E3 2017, that trailer may announce the release date and kick off the promotional campaign.

As for The Know’s comments about KH3 possibly not being released until 2020 or later...

That was entirely based on Square Enix’s presentation of “These are games we intend to release in the next three years” along with images of the titles for Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and their Marvel IP. That does not, in any way, mean “These are games we intend to release three years from now”, which is the scenario that The Know presented. It means “These are games you can look forward to within the next three years.” 2018 is included in that “next three years”, you know.

So, in my opinion, The Know’s scenario of a 2020 or later release is mere overreaction.

~~~Episodic releases?! Oh no!!~~~

Calm down. We’ve already known since 2015 that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be released episodically.

Here’s an article from 2015 that talks about it

And another from 2015

And one from 2016 that explains that it’s not as bad as it sounds

When we hear “episodic release”, I think a lot of us are thinking of Life is Strange and Tell Tale Games (such as, Tell Tale’s The Walking Dead), where you get one game split up into bite-sized pieces that are released individually.

That is not what they’re doing with FF7 Re.

FF7 Re’s episodes will be full games, a la Final Fantasy 13 - one big story, told through a series of full games. And of course they have to do this with FF7 Re. The original FF7 was spread across 3 discs! Though, they were all released at the same time in the same disc case. Ahh, the old days.

Will Kingdom Hearts 3 have an episodic release? Personally, I don’t think so. However, if it does, I’m confident that it will be a case just like FF7 Re and FF13, where each episode is a full game.

[aurimeanswind]

Fearful Endeavors—Sunday Chats (1-29-17)

To Disclose Up Front

So. I’m afraid. It’s a thing I think goes without saying as a very empathetic United States citizen. I’m really, really afraid. 

It may seem crass, or tone-deaf, or ignorant, but I don’t genuinely have the energy to enter in the national dialogue against the seemingly facist regime that is beginning to plague my great nation. I have a lot going on in my life, and not a lot of time and resources to compromise in order to assist in this thing I also care greatly for. That may make me a bad person, or at the very least, a worse person than who I could or aspire to be.

I’m aware of that, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry most specifically to the people who are directly affected by this disgusting situation we find ourselves in.

It is not excuse, but as I’ve talked about multiple times before, I have a very overactive sense of self-empathy, and seeing this torment has begun having a very detrimental effect on my personal well-being and health. It is absolutely in no way and excuse, but it is very much the honest reason I find myself shying away from the dialogue and discourse that is plaguing many of my social media feeds, my friends’ conversations, and beyond. I can’t be a part of that, as a selfish, 20-something year old, who wants to make his dream come true, and wants to figure his life out.

I wanted to put this here, up front, as a full reveal of my position, as Sunday Chats is and always has been your peak into my psyche, my well-being, from worst to best, and what my week has been.

This has been my week. I will attempt to keep reading, to keep learning, to keep watching, and stay attentive. 

With this said... Onto the game-talk.

Twitter in the gaming space has blown up in a fun way recently from this little piece that’s been making the rounds:

I managed to get over 30 likes when I tweeted this out, and I didn’t want to bog-down my followers with all my replies to this, but I thought it was fun, so why not participate! I did the first 9 of these on Twitter, and here is a link to that thread to see those replies and those first 9:

THREAD

So for my editorial today, and I’ll try and keep this succinct, I am going to do my 10-30. STRAP IN!

30 Likes, 30 Games

#10

Best gameplay is tough. I may ultimately have to give it up Spelunky. But Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is a close second. With Persona 4 being a close third.

But Spelunky is a game I continue to play and play, not for any particular reason, save for the fact that it plays so damn well.

#11

My current gaming system of choice is the PS4. The Dualshock 4 is maybe my favorite controller ever made, and the system is a comfortable, easy to use and navigate platform with a bunch of great deals and exclusives. Where the Super Nintendo or PS2 are probably my favorite platforms of all time, the PS4 is a comfy go-to right now.

#12

Journey is by no means hard, and is in no way off-putting. It’s beautiful, and simple, and it’s mechanics and gameplay are a great showcase of what video games can do. If I were to say a game of my all-time favorites that everyone could and should play, especially those who have no context for video games as an art form, and what they can accomplish, it’s unquestionably Journey.

#13

A game I’ve played more than five times? Haha, that is actually not a short list.

The big ones, though, would be The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. Played each of those at least six times each. A Link to the Past maybe 12 or so times, to completionist levels of finished. But the big one, because of how much time it is in my life, is Kingdom Hearts 2. I’ve “FULLY FINISHED” that game maybe five or so times, with a couple additional playthroughs on top of that. Love those games

#14

I have multiple desktops on my computer, and for the past quite-a-few months years the first three have been Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. On my phone Rise Kujikawa also occupies my lock screen, as she has since I first finished P4G in 2013.

#15

Since I can’t play until I finish this

#16

Easily it’s The Last of Us.

#17

This one is actually really hard.

For all of his dumb BS, I do love Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts. He is a great antagonist.

In the same vein, Liquid Snake/Ocelot is right up there from Metal Gear.

But maybe ultimately it’s Duke, from Tales of Vesperia. He is a really great villain, and such a wonderful contrast to Yuri, the protagonist.

#18

Maybe not my #1 favorite but always an inspiration to me and one of my all time heroes: 

Samus Aran

#19

Never Not the Normandy

#20

JRPGs

All my anime boys (and girls!)

#21

Persona 4 Golden. Best story, about finding the truth and true friendship along the way.

#22

This one hurts. The biggest for me is easily Alundra 2

The first game was masterful, and it’s sequel had literally nothing to do with it and was a total cash grab on the cult following of the original.

Breaks my heart :(

#23

Plenty of things fit here. I mean, Uncharted 4 or The Last of Us or Witcher 3 could hit here on a technical level, but Journey, Kingdom Hearts, or Tales of Vesperia could also hit in the style department.

Pick your poison.

#24

Does Super Nintendo fall under classic? If so, then A Link to the Past.

If we’re trying to go older and older, than probably Mario Bros or Pac-Man.

Sooner than that, Super Mario Bros 3

#25

Haha, how about all of them. A game I plan on playing is all of them. A few at the top of my mind: Battlefield 1, because people won’t shut up about it. Nier, the original, because I’m really curious about it, and 999, because Nabeshin really loved it.

#26

Persona 4, Mass Effect 1-3, The Witcher 3, The Last of Us (the best of all 4).

#27

Two here:

One, the final battle with Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts 2.

But even bigger is the FIRST FIGHT ON TOP OF A BATTLESHIP FROM METAL GEAR SOLID 4 HOLY SHIT.

The literal definition of “epic” distilled down to a video game scene. Holy shit. The music from all the games. The style changes. My heart is racing just thinking about it.

#28

The Zelda team and Naughty Dog are close behind.

#29

Honestly probably something weird like Dead Space or P.T. I used to hate horror so much, but those two are some of my absolute favorites of the last handful of years. Dead Space is a bit older, sure, but I adore that game.

#30

No words need to be said. Not an original statement, but I stand by it.

Whats on Tap

Resident Evil 7

Hey why don’t you just watch me play this game!

Loving it so far and I talk about everything I’m loving in that video!

The Division

Once more you can look so i don’t have to tell you. Got dragged back into this weird nightmare by friends and I’m having a blast.

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage

Other than having maybe the best worst name ever, HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS

KINGDOM HEARTS 3

I BELIEVE AGAIN

It’s really good.

Tales of Zestiria

This is becoming a bummer of complex, weird emotions.

It really feels like a mostly-misstep for that series, and the open world parts of it are contrived and actively bad.

But I want to finish it. There are cool, interesting parts about it.

Questions

Weird. It’s very physically exhausting, because I have to walk a lot. And I have to drive a lot to get there. And I’m not used to that.

It’s really stressing me out.

I don’t have a lot more to say about it right now, but we’ll see how things develop.

Hi Roger.

Clearly you’re asking the wrong person.

Thank you for your follows.

Love you, brotha.

SO EXCITED.

But seriously, PAX East is my favorite show, as you know Harold. Can’t wait to go again, talk to folks, make some connections, and really work that show again. It’s the only show out of the year I get to work, and it’s a ton of fun.

Heh, well, about that.

I’ve never played Resident Evil 2! Or Resident Evil 3! Or Zero! Or Code Veronica!

I’ve only ever played 4, 5, and about half of 6. I have recently for the first time EVER been playing that Resident Evil 1 remake on PS4, which has been FASCINATING. Resident Evil 7 seems super great so far though!

Uh, to go? Hopefully? I mean, I am going under the assumption that I am approved for my press badge, which is the only way I can make it.

I don’t know who all is going, but I sure hope it’s a bunch of cuties like usual! Right now, myself, Tony, maybe Scott, Jarrett, and Logan Wilkinson are going for IrrationalPassions.com. More stuff on that soon. I know Kaylie is going because she told me so! I really hope Joey Noelle goes. Danny Juarez really wants to go. Trevor Starkey will be there!

Sure we can hang out Xyger. 

I personally don’t like pineapple on pizza. But I love pineapple! I’ve had it before and it’s not like I hate it or anything. Like what food you like! Im not a fan of mustard but a whole bunch of people really like that, so people can just like different things and enjoy them and that’s great because it makes us all different and that’s a good thing! 

Uhh... I don’t know?

Danny you need to pay all your debts off first. I’m worried about you. Like, on a near constant basis I am worried about Danny Juarez. For sure.

But yeah maybe we can do that sometime. I don’t know. You keep saying “when I come visit” to Vegas and I have no clue when something like that could happen, but we’ll see!

Okay, I think that’s all I have in me, emotionally, for today.

Shoutouts

Shoutouts to all these incredible people that give me hope:

via The New York Times

That’s all I’ve got. I’m gonna go play Kingdom Hearts now byeeeeeee~~!❤️

[aurimeanswind]

Your Favorite JRPGs—Sunday Chats (8-6-17)

Happy August everyone! The last month of summer, the heat is kicking up, and video games for some reason are coming out an entire month early again. It’s getting a little absurd, honestly, because like 12 games are coming out this month that I want and that’s just like... every month until December. Sooooooo.

Well anyway, this Sunday Chats is a bit different! I said last week that instead of soliciting questions for me from you, my lovely readers in this weekly digest of my life, I’d ask all of YOU a question, and then talk about your responses!

Well, suffice to say, you all blew me away. I said last week that I’d really love it if all of you came out for this, and I was going to start with something easy, but today I got the most responses to any Sunday Chats EVER. Over 30 responses and I am just so so so SO grateful! I love the readers of Sunday Chats as much as anything I make because, much like most things I put out on the internet, it’s very intimate and personal, and allows for a kindred connection between me and you! So thank you all so much for submitting your responses.

This week, I asked the question: in as few tweets as possible, what is your favorite JRPG of all time and why? Now, keep in mind, this isn’t a thing I’ll be doing every week from here out. I think I’ll do it the first Sunday of every month, keep it a monthly thing, and return to your regularly scheduled Sunday Chats next week, but this felt like a good thing to start off on. I am a massive JRPG fan, and I love them of all shapes and sizes. I’m working on a brand new project that is focused exclusively on JRPGs, and I wanted to know everyone’s favorite, but to know where my followers are at with the genre, and also maybe get some ideas of games to play for this new project.

With that being said, since most folks sent in multiple tweets for this (which is totally fine!) it’ll be a bit longer than a normal questions section, and I’ll talk about the games I can, so let’s get to it!

Your Favorite JRPGs

One, it’s SUIKODEN, so I guess the jokes on you, and two, it’s one of those classic JRPG franchises that I have never stepped my toes in. Though I’m not sure “it just is” is a very good explanation as to why it’s the best JRPG for you, but hey, to each their own.

Suikoden has the idea of just tons and tons of characters, kind of Fire Emblem style, and I like it for that. It was going for that army building idea in a JRPG way back when, before Fire Emblem got really crazy with it, and it’s a really cool mechanic to design around. 

I really truly love Ni no Kuni. It’s such a beautiful game about coming of age and dealing with loser, and like you said Brendan, the story is really incredible. Oliver’s struggle with kind of finding what it is and what it really means to love someone and lose them is incredibly poignant, and the turns the story takes as it goes on are really fun. I could not be more excited for the sequel and what it does with the franchise.

Ghibili’s style in that game really does set it apart too. Visual/Audio-wise, it’s unmatched in a lot of cases, with a score done by the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra, and some of the most stylish and heartwarming designs I’ve seen in a JRPG on consoles. Oh, and most importantly, that game, and its sequel, know what’s up with a world map, and how important it is still.

Now that is quite the praise. Honestly, digging into Nier has been a lot of fun so far, and even though I haven’t played nearly as much of it as I need to, there is something unquestionably special to it.

Now to say its the best 6 hours in is definitely too early, but I’m excited to see what all the dialogue is about.

So of the three classic Final Fantasy games, Four, Five, and Six, Four is the one I have played the most of. I can confirm that the Chocobos are incredibly adorable, but I really loved the characters in FF4. Specifically Cecil was such a great protagonist for me, and his kind of camaraderie turned rivalry with Kain is awesome, and while I never finished the game, that was the crux of what pulled me through what I did see of the game.

The version I actually played the most of was the voice acted DS version, which I really loved! I remember it getting a lot of shit, but I thought it was a pretty dope way to play that game.

While I know remotely nothing about Final Fantasy 5, I know it’s got an infamous job system which, if I am remember correctly, is kind of like an extension of Final Fantasy 3′s job system? And would then continue in Final Fantasy 9? I obviously don’t know for sure, but yeah. I know nothing about FF5 of all the classic FF games (excluding the first three). 

Though I’m glad someone has it as their absolute favorite. In conversations it always seems to be Six or Seven, and to hear Five is at the top of SOMEONE’s list is a comfort to that game I’m sure.

Yeah, I mean Final Fantasy 6 is the one, right? I feel of that era of FF games, it’s the one that gets brought up the most. I’ve tried to start playing it on two separate occasions now and I just have never been able to get into it. Maybe I need to play it on its original SNES format, not the PSone version, but I’ve always just never gotten really interested in it. Folks have defended the Esper system by saying its better than FF7′s materia system too, and I don’t even know if I’ve gotten far enough into the game to see it.

It’s one of those games I want to love and just haven’t given the time really.

Yeah I mean Final Fantasy 7 is one of my absolute all time favorite video games ever, and I don’t think it’s a cliched answer at all. I think that game truly holds up, and is a blast to play. I replayed it early last year and had a great time playing it on PS4 via the PC port to the system. 

The Materia system really doesn’t get enough credit it honestly. The idea of leveling up these gems and having them give you more spells and then split off into more and more and more Materia is so cool. Plus, I loved the way Materia was just all about slotting things next to each other in simple ways to make combos, like combining “All” with “Cure” and being able to cure your whole party. The magic was just great, and things like the Enemy Skill Materia and the 2x/4x attack Materia just made leveling and grinding in that game super different, since you were leveling your characters but also the Materia on them.

I’m a massive fan of FF7′s story, and its music is just all time for me. It’s an absolute classic, and weirdly enough, I think actually looks kind of great still. It’s backgrounds are all prerendered and blurry as hell, sure, and the characters all have Pop Eye arms, but there is a charm and a consistency to that presentation that I love.

Now to answer your questions Brandon, I think Tales of Vesperia is all time as far as some of the most underrated JRPGs. So few folks have played it, and what that game does with weapon skills is incredible. It’s also one of the best JRPG stories out there too! I like it even more than Final Fantasy 7!

As for most overrated JRPG, I’m not sure. Probably for me PERSONALLY it’d be Final Fantasy 6 right now, but I know that comes from ignorance. That game is hard for me to penetrate, mostly because it hasn’t grabbed me. But it’s of a different era and I haven’t given it a true shake yet. Unfortunately, it’s the best answer I can think of off the top of my head.

JRPGs are about their systems and their characters. I love a good world and story, but I think if the systems that link together are good, and the cast of characters you have are memorable, you’re in for a winner no matter what.

Final Fantasy X is another game that I tried to play multiple times and just never penetrated. To be fair, it’s been a great deal of time since I actually tried, and I’ve never given it a shot as an adult, so I want to, don’t get me wrong. Just to find the time...

Ten-Two is one of those games that I feel like you don’t hear a lot of love for, but when you find someone who loves it, they really love it. And yeah, the whole dress-system (I think its dresses?) that replaces the jobs has a really cool ring to it. Plus, who doesn’t love pop-idol main characters?

Kingdom Hearts is one of those all time games for me. Much like my cohost Nabeshin, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is one of my all time favorite games. It perfectly does mesh two amazing things I love: Final Fantasy JRPG goodness, and Disney, and honestly makes it look easy.

If you think of the big budget mash up games, none of them have gone as far as Kingdom Hearts as far as trying to create a cohesive universe and tie it all together.

There are just so many true genuine feelings that Kingdom Hearts evokes. It tries, and I think for the most part succeeds, at being the Disney movie of Japanese Role Playing Games. It tries to teach the player about love, friendship, and the sacrifices and struggles that come from that. At least, the first one does. It takes that to another level and tries to build a universe after that, and say what you will about the later games getting away from the core concepts, it creates something magical and expansive. A world that sucked me in with characters I love and wonder to be shared for all. Its a franchise that, above most, has felt like a warm hug when I need it.

The World Ends With You is a game Nabeshin and Scott from Irrational Passions have been trying to get me to play for years. I’ve tried it out before and it’s crazy intimidating, but there is no doubt that it is one of the most original video games I have ever seen, just in general. It takes the pop/punk/hiphop style of music and art and beautifully coalesces it into a Tokyo as it is realized in TWEWY. I really respect the game, and I wish I could break into it, even though it feels impenetrable.

Just another one I need to add to the list.

Dragon Quest is ashamedly a JRPG franchise I have never touched, and it’s one I desperately need to play. With DQ7 and 8 out on the 3DS now, I feel like there is no better time to get into it, but I just don’t have the time or money. DQ11 is one that is on my radar though, and looks excellent. I feel like its really the progenitor of Chapter Based JRPGs like you pointed out Harold.

So yeah, Pokémon!

Anyone of those haters out there that says Pokémon isn’t a JRPG, they can go shove it. It totally is, and still today acts as maybe the best gateway into the genre. It’s phenomenal and I adore it. Like Nato said, there are really technical levels to the game if you want to get into them, but also like Jeff said, it’s just real good monster catching and raising.

I think Silver/Gold/Crystal and then by extension Soul Silver/Heart Gold are definitely the best Pokémon games, essentially because they refined the mechanics to a great point before you get into all the incessant mini game bullshit, and also happen to have pretty much the whole first pokémon game in them as well. 

For me though, it’s still Pokémon Black and White. 150 new Pokémon and through the run of that game you see nothing but those new Pokémon? It was like being in the OG Pokémon game but all knew, and recapturing that experience was really magical for me.

So Fire Emblem is incredible. I’ve played all the Fire Emblem games released in the US save for Shadows of Valentia, and I absolutely adore the franchise.

As a JRPG built around tactics gameplay, it’s definitely one that you have to commit to and be careful, especially because it’s a deep rabbit hole. Both the original Fire Emblem and Path of Radiance are absolutely fantastic. Path of Radiance is probably my second favorite in the series, behind Fire Emblem Awakening, which is also one of my favorite video games of all time.

Awakening is just the tactics gameplay perfected, with amazing stacking system, duos that can link up and fight together, and of course the relationship system with tons of cute Fire Emblem babies to be had. I love it.

The series has grown and evolved so much over the last few years, and I cannot wait to see the next major console release next year with all the learnings of the 3DS entries.

I have never played Vagrant Story, but if it has spies in it, and Jarrett Green likes it, then you know it’s good.

I’m sorry Kaylie, you know I hate hurting you so, but Tales of Symphonia is the gateway. For all three of us I’d say it played the same role of discovering games like that.

Symphonia was my first Tales game, a franchise I love and adore to this day, I mean look at what I said above about Tales of Vesperia. It was one of those times where I went into a GameStop and said “I want an action game like this that’s long and has a lot of voice acting and cool characters in it”, and back in the day my GameStop/Babages was legit, and the guy behind the counter pointed me onto the TWO DISCS that made up Tales of Symphonia. And boy did it change my life.

It was the first time I was “aware” of what a JRPG was, why Japanese games were the way they were, and really what the game, and the genre, was going for. It was really eye opening for me.

I played the game predominantly cooperatively with my brother and my friends, and it was amazing. I cannot undersell how much fun I had with my first play through. It was also the first game I remember playing that had a New Game Plus, and though I never got into it, I was so blown away by the idea, I have always saw that as a huge plus since.

While I don’t think the game holds up as well as I’d like it too, having beaten it on PS3 just a few years ago, the game is definitely still super special for me, and I do love it.

Goddammit Roger.

Seriously, shoutout to Persona 3. Good god is that game incredible. I have a long history with that game, playing way back when in 2008/2009 and loving-loving-LOVING it. It means more to me than almost any game, and on any given day is probably my second or third favorite game ever.

It’s dark, its character driven, and as the first game to use the Social Link System, it really hits a lot of the potential the series holds. A surprising amount I’d say, only to be evolved on in its sequel.

It’s a special game and I hope with Persona 3 Dancing Moon Light coming out soon a lot of folks will consider revisiting it. Hopefully Atlus just does a proper remake like the game deserves.

Yeah y’all.

I mean, it may be preaching to the choir here, but this is the game, in my humble opinion. Persona 4 Golden is my favorite video game of all time, and I absolutely and without question, adore it. I have often described it as “the perfect game for Alex O’Neill” and I stand by that.

The game is perfect. For me, at least.

There are blemishes on its perfection, for sure, and parts of it may not have aged incredibly well, but when I think of the potential of video games and their character/storytelling, Persona 4 is it for me.

It’s approachable, its lovable, it’s got some of the best gameplay ever, and the way all the systems interlock and support one another is brilliant. I cannot say enough good things about Persona 4, and I will likely never stop.

If you have never played a Persona game or Persona 4 specifically, you should fix that. 

Persona 5 is truly, truly fantastic. It’s near impossible to follow up a game like Persona 4 Golden, and yet Persona 5 does it and honestly makes it look easy. While the game’s message didn’t hit me the same way Persona 4′s did, I think that says more about me than the game. It’s still something to behold, and I’ve written and talked plenty about it all year.

I’m just bummed Cameron didn’t feel the need to tell me why it was his favorite...

Lunar is another game, like Final Fantasy 6, where I have tried to get into it and failed on multiple occasions. I will someday though, because in a recent attempt to get into Lunar I was having a great time and then a bunch of games came out. I think I will get into it at some point, what with the pretty great PSP version of the first game out there, and I really love the loving style and design that game puts out. I really want to know more about it, but want to play it to learn it.

Wow. Those are a lot of fantastic games, and thank you all so much for sharing! My favorite JRPG is obviously Persona 4 Golden, like I said above, with Persona 3 FES, Tales of Vesperia, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix, and Final Fantasy 7 being pretty close runners up. I feel I’ve touched on why all those games matter to me so much, and what makes them so good, so I won’t repeat myself here. 

But JRPGs are an incredible genre. They’re expansive, world building titles that create misfit casts of characters and send you off on your own Goonies-like adventures. The idea of a group of misfits saving the world is a classic story, and though almost all of these games mentioned above follow that same arc, they somehow all have their own unique aspects. Whether its a multilayered system of mechanics and monsters to catch, or great writing, or in depth character development, they each bring something new to the table, and those are the best things a JRPG player could ask for. Now, there is still plenty of room to go up for the genre, and I’m excited for this new project to talk about maybe the ways it could do that.

What’s On Tap

The only thing I’ve been playing is Overwatch, and while Doomfist is still great, the main draw has been getting back into playing Overwatch with people again! I convinced friend of the Chats Kaylie Woomer to buy Overwatch and seeing her get into it and actually have fun with a multiplayer shooter for the first time. Like, ever? And this would be her first multiplayer game on top of that just in general. Which is super exciting!

It helps keep pushing that idea that Overwatch is crazy accessible and fun to get into. Even for folks who aren’t super into shooters!

But it’s been fun to see someone else’s genuine first experience with the game, and shooters in general. Shoutout to Kaylie for playing with me! Also to Andrew, Cameron, Xyger, Sean, Danny and more for playing with me this week. It’s been a ton of fun!

The Checklist

There is a lot of drama going on in video games recently, so I’m just going to pimp out locally sourced projects, so to speak.

The new show from Irrational Passions: Input - http://irrationalpassions.com/the-first-episode-of-our-new-show-input/

So Jurge Cruz, Logan Wilkinson, and Jarrett Green, the editorial team for IrrationalPassions.com, have put together a new show. It’s called Input, and it’s a news-based show that discusses stories, games, and the stories of the people making games. I’m so excited about it, and you should please subscribe and rate/review it. It just launched and it would help a ton right now.

Break in Reality Podcast Episode 56 - https://soundcloud.com/breakinreality/bir56gotyw

I was on Quinten Hoffman’s podcast this week, Break in Reality, with other friend Andrew Taylor! We did our “Game of the Year Watch” talking about our top picks so far in the year, and it was a great time! Give it a listen!

4 Yanks 1 Aussie Episode 48 - http://www.4yanks1aussie.com

I was on Episode 48 of 4 Yanks 1 Aussie with the good boys over there, which is not out yet, and probably won’t be out for a few weeks, but I’m excited for you all to hear it. Well, yes and no, but it was a great fun time, and I really do love and respect those guys.

I hope you all enjoyed this very unorthodox Sunday Chats. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and we’ll be back to the normal Sunday Chats format next week, so don’t worry too much about it.

Well, I’ve had a nice long day, and it’s time to chill out with some Game of Thrones and Chinese food.

Cheers all.

Keep it real.