#always loved the original line so I'm still chuckling about this callback

[andorianimpostor]

Dal R'El - "Into the Breach, Part 1" | Kathryn Janeway - "Future's End, Part 1"

[violetstar-writes]

Here's my opinion on how good each world was in Kh3:

Olympus: The music here was so triumphant and bold. Defintely giving off the hero vibe. The intro to this world was so cheesy and corny, as well as the rest of the dialogue and interactions. I found myself cringing from it one or two times, but it didn't last long. I smiled and chuckled for most of it. Can anyone explain to me why Hercules yeeted Sora, Donald and Goofy off into the sky atop his statue instead of just...letting them climb up the rubble to the little girl? Seemed pointless. That part confused me.

Fighting the Titans was just so....epic. That's the only way I can describe it. Seeing Sora break the laws of physics and just Naruto run up a cliff to beat up a giant rock monster pretty much sums up what the combat of this series is. I love it for that.

A pretty solid intro to the game. Maybe tone it down a little on the cheese next time? Lol

8/10.

Toy Box: I mean, come on. It's Toy Story. Little (Lego???) Toy Sora, Donald, and Goofy were adorable. You get to hear "You've Got A Friend In Me" as the main theme in this world, which fits way too well with Kingdom Hearts as a whole. The plot was original, rather than a rehash of the movie. I liked this! Woody and Buzz are very nicely portrayed in this game (and possibly the most accurate), as well as being excellent party members (their special move is the rocket from the first movie!!! I adored that!!! I'm glad it didn't blow up on them!!!). There was so much to explore inside Galaxy Toys, and being so tiny really made you feel that. Woody roasting Young Xehanort and calling him out on his convoluted darkness crap was the best thing ever.

Friends are definitely your power. I'm probably experiencing too much Disney nostalgia. 10/10.

Twilight Town: Very calming music and a beautiful atmosphere to be in, despite being stuck in perpetual evening. Not that that's a bad thing. It was great to see Hayner, Pemce and Olette with updated looks. Seeing the bistro and cooking with Remy was so cute and entertaining. I like how they introduced both the Lucky Emblems and Classic Kingdom in this world. My second favorite line in this game is and always will be Hayner screaming "HEY, LOSER!!!" as he tries to dropkick an extremely dangerous man in a black coat. I only wish more of this world was accesible. There was a lot of the town that was blocked off that you could only see from far away.

I'd like to see the tower out of a cutscene eventually. 9/10.

Corona: This world was gorgeous. The lush green landscapes, the water (holy crap the WATER), the contrast with the mines/cliffs and the marsh (which had the best music in this world in my opinion), the town and the festival...

THE FESTIVAL. I DIED WHEN I SAW SORA DANCING. HE WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN, AND HE'S SO GOOD AT IT. I WISH I COULD DANCE THAT GOOD.

The lantern scene was so pretty to look at. I'll admit though, the story itself felt a little... choppy? I could tell some parts were cut out from the original movie for Sora's POV to be more prominent, but if you haven't seen Tangled before...it probably won't make a lot of sense. A lot of important points in the movie were left out. Frozen suffered from this as well. I guess the developers assumed most people have already seen these movies, but even in the older games it felt like the disney plots along with the kingdom hearts plot were more balanced than this.

I still enjoyed it, though. Rapunzel and the others were also portrayed accurately. 8.5/10.

Monstropolis: I still don't know how I feel about Sora, Donald, and Goofy's design in this world. It's equally appropriate and kinda creepy. Perfect for a world of monsters, I guess. Sully, Mike, and Boo were all fantastic in this world, though. I liked the callbacks to the movie, and the fact that this story was completely original like Toy Story's! It was a great change of pace to see events after the first movie. There was even a brief callback to the first Kingdom Hearts game! (Sora saying "cheeeese!" and making a weird face, which made Donald and Goofy laugh hysterically. Of course it worked on Boo lol)

And of course, my #1 favorite scene in this game: Sully just not having it with Vanitas or the rest of the kingdom hearts plot, grabbing this edgelord like he's nothing and throwing him into 10 different doors. I wish I had recorded this. I would have watched it on repeat and laughed every single time. It's in the theater, and probably on youtube. I...might go do that in a bit.

Equally as charming as Toy Box. Thank you, Pixar and Square Enix. The soundtrack for this world was pretty dope too. 10/10.

Arendelle: My least favorite world. Suffered from the same issue as Tangled with the plot in that it was choppy. The world as a whole was a bit too plain and "samey" for me to look at, mainly because it was nothing but snow. At least they stuck to the source material. And for some reason this is the only world with actual singing? It was just a copy and paste of "Let It Go" with the game graphics (it was funny to see Sora, Donald and Goofy randomly standing there and watching Elsa though), then a bizarre version of "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?" with Anna trying very hard to talk over a younger version of herself that was already singing loudly. She could've just as easily not talked, or they could have left out the song....

Ok, some postives. Having Marshmallow as a teammate was great. Just an anime kid and his giant snow monster friend, hanging out. I have to admit that hearing Sora get annoyed with falling off cliffs constantly made me laugh. There was a lot of falling off cliffs in that movie. And while I'm not a fan of Larxene, she was easily the most enjoyable Organization member that Sora interacted with (aside from Luxord of course, and Demyx who Sora didn't see but was in the game). I sort of admired that in a way, she was showing respect to Elsa's need for some space by telling Sora to keep his distance (although putting him in a labriynth was a bit excessive). The boss fight for this world was the best part; that wolf heartless design was incredible to look at.

This wasn't a bad world. Just not a very good one to me, either. 7/10.

The Caribbean: Has the most stunning graphics out of all the other worlds. Sora's pirate design (along with Donald and Goofy) are equally fitting and appealing to look at. They blend in a lot more with the realism of POTC than they did in Kingdom Hearts 2 (in which they stuck out like a sore thumb haha). Using the pirate ship to battle heartless, as well as battling heartless underwater was very clever (though I'm wondering how on earth Sora could BREATHE underwater, but oh well it's a video game). There's so much to explore in this world, both on land and in the sea. You'll probably find something new during each visit.

The plot was also pretty solid, though Tia Dalma was quickly "benched" from the story, as the organization likes to call it. She didn't show up even once after the beginning. Which is strange, considering how important she is to the story. She's one of the driving plot points for why Davy Jones is how he is.

Overall, still a fun world to be in. 9/10.

Big Hero 6: The story was pretty short, but sweet. I like how Hiro has two Baymaxes now. Sora even wanted one, lol

The world itself was...a bit confusing to navigate? Also a bit samey with one or two buildings that looked exactly the same. I also...did not understand Replica Riku's explanation entirely as to how he was there. It was debunked later on too, which seemed nonsensical. As for the reason why, it made much more sense. Poor original Baymax. At least Hiro saved you.

Fun! But complicated to understand (story-wise) and traverse. Hiro and his friends were on point, thankfully. 8.5/10

The Dark Realm/Realm Of Darkness: Despite being the second shortest segment in the entire game, I felt it needed to be adressed. It's the ONLY OTHER world where you get to play as someone that isn't Sora: Riku. Who controls very nicely, by the way. It also has one of the most epic and heartbreaking boss battles in the entire game: fighting against Dark Aqua. Despite not lasting very long, this fight defintely got the point across; that sometimes you're just not strong enough on your own, and it's okay to get some help from people who care. You're not alone.

I still tear up thinking about it. 9/10.

The Land Of Departure/Castle Oblivion: The shortest segment in the game, only visited once and never again. Nothing to explore, aside from staircases and a shiny throne room. But considering how the story pans out during this part, it makes sense. You're only there to help a now restored Aqua get back one of her missing friends: Ventus, who is still sleeping. And by god, do they deliver on this. Just as Sora and Aqua reach Ven, they get confronted by Vanitas, the dark half of Ventus. Aqua then decides that she has to fight him on her own, despite her weakened condition.

And this is when once again, you finally get to fight as Aqua. This fight is also short, but important as it shows her raw determination to defend her friend. Even after everything she went through, she refuses to give up.

She does lose this fight, but before Vanitas can do anything to her, Ventus finally wakes up (with Sora's help) and rushes in to defend her as well. Proving once again that friends are their power.

Friendship. It's a big deal in this game. I like that. 9/10.

The Keyblade Graveyard: Still as haunting as ever. The ominous theme (now with a spoooky organ) really adds to the fact that this is place where thousands of people died. Young children, to be more exact. Each broken, lifeless keyblade in this place has their own unique design (that must've been a DOOZY to program in), and even the atomsphere itself feels cold and lifeless with nothing but cliffs, rocks, and dusty winds.

And the plot. Oh god, the PLOT. I was happy. I was depressed. Then I was angry. And it just kept going back and forth between all these feelings. I was emotionally drained when it was all over. It felt that some spots were rushed a bit, but I can forgive Square for that for at least conveying most of the character's emotions extremely well.

As a whole, this world was handled wonderfully. 9.5/10.

The Final World: Possibly the most confusing world, but also oddly relaxing to be in. The theme is orchestrated beautifully, and despite being nothing but a sky and a watery ground (along with clouds and pillars?), it was enchanting to run around in. A nice atmosphere for a place supposedly between life and death.

How poetic. 9/10.

Scala Ad Caelum: For a world that directly translates to "Stairway To Heaven", it certainly does fit its name. The buildings all reach up to the sky high enough that they probably could reach heaven. And despite the eerie silence accompanied by the theme playing quietly in the background, you can just stop and admire this nice little town with some plants, flowers, and other greenery next to the sea. It reminded me a bit of the bathhouse in Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away".

You don't get to explore much of anything in this world, but it compensates for that by taking you through a quick tour with one of the craziest boss fight(s) in the series. Still a lot of fun, and VERY nerve-wracking. That's Kingdom Hearts for you.

I would've wanted to explore more, but it was at least nice to see another new place. 9/10.

One thing I didn't like was how exploring the Disney worlds, although fun, seemed....pointless. There was no real purpose for Sora to go out and visit these worlds. Let me explain:

-In Kingdom Hearts 1, you had to explore each world to seal the keyholes in them with the keyblade (which is its primary function). In doing so, these worlds would be more or less safe from the darkness and ths Heartless threatening to destroy them.

-In Kingdom Hearts 2, you visited each world to reopen the pathways between worlds and reconnect them all. Because Sora had locked the keyholes from the previous worlds, then Kingdom Hearts and the Door To Darkness in the first game, these links to the worlds had been severed. It was the only way to keep the worlds safe at the time.

-And in Kingdom Hearts 3, you're supposedly supposed to visit them not to keep them safe per se, but just to...make Sora strong again, and regain a power he actually had the whole time...? So it was all kind of pointless fun and grinding? He could have just as easily trained with Merlin, as Lea and Kairi did. They did touch on the idea of "Seven New Princesses Of Heart", but it was never explored beyond Organization 13 going "oh yeah they exist, they're out backup plan. Oh the main plan works? Guess we'll drop that idea". They didn't even find 7 princesses, only 3. I'm assuming they'll address this more in the next game.

You don't fight the Organization in these worlds, either. Just watch them antagonize Sora and occasionally get served by Disney characters who don't understand why all these anime characters showed up with monsters. If anything, in this game they were more like..."The Organization Of Mild Incoveniences" in the Disney worlds. That has a nice ring to it. I think.

You could also say Sora explored these worlds so Nomura could expand on his character, but...I dunno. That still seems kinda weak. Maybe in the final mix version, Square will fix some of these issues. But I had fun with the game either way!

[bizships]

Chakotay’s grin….

Dal is definitely her kid. 😆

Dal R'El - "Into the Breach, Part 1" | Kathryn Janeway - "Future's End, Part 1"