#if you dont like that??? why??? play kh?????

[cinnabeat]

i need to play tales of zestiria again......

[kairithemang0]

OK OK-

So for a bit of background, this is the theme for one of the characters, her name is Naminé and she has powers over memories. The long story short is that she was manipulated by edgy guys in black coats to put herself into a self-insert fanfic with the guy her other half is into. So at this point in the story, she's been rescued from the literal bird cage they stuck her in is now working to undo all the damage she did to this guy's memory. However, the guy she screwed with the memories of also has another half (they're called Nobody's it's a whole thing and it's all really really dumb), and he holds half of the memories they need.

So basically they shoved this kid named Roxas into a computer and now she's working to restore his other half's memories. This is the actually important part. Also sorry if that made absolutely no sense, it's not much better in the actually games...

OK BACKGROUND OVER BACK TO CURTWEN-

So the way I see this edit, it's Curt going back through that night trying to piece it all back together. After Owen fell, knowing Curt he probably got really really drunk. So this is him trying to piece together the events of the night before. It's all a blur to him, he doesn't remember everything Owen said or did, but he's trying to. The song is used in a similar way to this, during Roxas's time in this computer he'd have these strange dreams about his other half, as Naminé tries to piece his memories back together. Curt's slowly placing what happened back into place, trying his hardest to remember all of it. He only remembers the bad, or most of the bad things. He remembers Owen being the cool badass and him being the one who fucks things up. He's going back through this night, letting the memories come back to him, but all he's left with is the bad.

That part doesn't relate as much to kingdom hearts, but if in this case Curt is Roxas to me Owen is an entirely other character who Roxas has forgotten and she's all but been erased from existence, which in some way I think is what Curt would want for Owen. For him to just disappear forever after the fall. He can forget him and live the rest of his life without remembering the person he loved, I think to Curt that's the only way he can really move on, even if he's going to try to.

I kinda have a whole essay I could write about this edit, what I was going for, and why I feel I failed at that.

I’m not gonna put that here, maybe I will in a reblog if yall are interested. I hope yall enjoy it none the less, even if I’m not too big of a fan

The song is Treasured Memories from kingdom hearts, by the way. It’s just one of my favorites, hell I could write a whole essay on this one song. Where it is in Kingdom Hearts is important for this, at least I feel that way. I’m not gonna put it all here though

[dreamsy990]

so it all comes to this.

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

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

combat (with some other gameplay notes)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the ui (and other visual things)

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

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

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

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

story (featuring: more gameplay notes)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

positives

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

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

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

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

conclusion

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

[cherrivixx]

6 and 12 for the kh ask game?

[thank you for the ask :))))) in reference to this post]

6. Favorite song? for the themes, i'm pretty basic, i like "simple & clean -- planitB mix". i like the others too, that one just does something to my brain. for remixes of other games/movies themes, i really like the "twister -kingdom mix-" which is the remix of twister from twewy, and all the other mixes of twewy songs. im not really interested in disney, so most of the world's soundtracks are nice but not particularly nostalgic or anything. for original songs, i love "nachtflügel" (yozora's theme), "13th struggle," "just wondering" (from chain of memories), "vector to the heavens" (xions battle theme), and more but i dont remember all the names sorry jhsjsh. most of the ones i like are fast and dramatic as theyre battle themes, but "just wondering" is kinda silly and fun, i like it a lot. versions of dearly beloved get their own section. i REALLY like the DDD one, its kinda reminds me of a waltz (? sorry i dont really know much about music) which sets it apart from the others to me. the union x ending credits version is also really good, feels very layered (???). even though i never got to play the game, it feels like an outpouring of love from every single person who played the game, every person who ever worked on it, everyone whos ever loved kh. its so good. missing link's version is also REALLY good. i love the clapping, with all the chorus-y bits and strings (?), it feels ethereal and majestic. but the clapping and brass (??????) grounds it, like something beyond our understanding but not being alone in it ?? sorry that doesnt make much sense. i REALLY like kh music even though i cant explain any of why its cool jshjshsjs

12. If you read fics, favorite fic? ooh !! i'm a big fan of "The Art of Leaving" by NeedsMoreAU on ao3, mostly because character studies make me go crazy and i love axel. its a study of his relationships with others throughout the series which i like very much. "albatross" by synaxis on ao3 is also great -- another character study type thing, who'd've thought it, this time about kairi during the gap between KH1 & KH2. overall i typically like fics (in most fandoms) that are either AUs completely different from canon, ones that neatly slot into canon and are just for fun interactions or ideas, or character studies; which i notice tends to be what i write as well, though i haven't published any KH fics yet.

[midnightclover]

what's summon night swordcraft story? :o

love how everyone wants to learn more about swordcraft story once they learn its hella gay. i mean. same. thats why i played it

summon night: swordcraft story is an rpg (not turnbased) series for the gba and a spinoff of summon night. though i know jack shit about summon night lol.

swordcraft story (1) is about being a Craftknight, basically a blacksmith that fights with weapons they've forged. you compete in a tournament to become a Craftlord (basically an extra cool Craftknight) and explore labyrinths and fight monsters for materials.

you also get a summon creature to act as your Guardian Beast, basically theyll help you with forging and do magic stuff in battle! and one of them just so happens to be super gay if you pick the female protag. like its so blatent. she literally kisses the protag. the protag does a bit of no homo stuff but its still very gay, and she warms up to her. she (the protag) even just randomly calls some other girls pretty.

the story, characters, and writing are all pretty good too! though i dont want to say too much about them for like spoilers. especially dont want to spoil the jokes, theyre fantastic.

the combat's pretty fun too! kinda like kh chain of memories if you removed the card shit? also you can equip 3 different weapons in combat to switch between at will, so you can have something to take down whatever enemy's in your way, as well as calling in your guardian beast for spells n shit. btw there are only like 5 main weapon types, but theyre so different and the individual weapons can be kinda different so its still pretty nice. you can even make some fancy enchanted weapons

uhh so yeah. games pretty damn good! its got a couple flaws but it was so fun i couldnt stop playing it (and was thinking about replaying it the whole time. its that damn good)

[sanitizarium]

since u said it was alright to talk to u abt KH -

how’d u get into it? what made you stick around? what’s ur favorite/least favorite game (and how many have you played/watched)? Favorite characters narrative-wise and design-wise? do you like the gameplay or the story more? have u read the manga, and if you have did you like it? is there anything you wish there was more of in the series? anything you feel like is under-appreciated about it? 

sorry if that’s a weird amount of questions lol ive just been into this series since i was in middle school and my brain is [static] [explosions] about it by this point

Also i LOVE your art style and especially the way you draw KH characters!!! I am taking notes!!

OGHHH OKAY OKAY HOLD.ON THANK YOU SO MUCH [EXPLOSION SFX]

i got into kh initially through the mangas around 2012 (my library had the chain of memories manga :] and the kh1 ones) and through seeing dream drop distance on the 3ds eshop but i only got rlly into it after the sora smash reveal!! i stuck around afterwards cuz something about it itches my brain really good......the characters and their interactions make me EXPLODE theyre so good

ive played all the games minus dark road and part of union x (ive played x and unchained x though!!) my favourites are dream drop distance and kh2 :D im also very partial to com on gba... my least favourite is probably kh1? i have nothing against it it just does nothing for me.....

my fav characters design-wise are terra, xigbar, ira, gula, vanitas and roxas!!! and my favourite characters narrative-wise are sora, riku, lea, isa and roxas :] bonus shoutout to xion and namine also for both

i like the gameplay a LOT but for the most part i like the story over the gameplay!! HOWEVER kh2 ddd and kh3 have really good gameplay i love playing those three specifically a lot......

I HAVE READ THE MANGA AND I LOVE IT A LOT it is my favourite way to go through kh its So good... added bonus is the fact that the kh2 manga scans i have are partially very badly translated and its really good

ignoring the obvious stuff id like more of (SORIKU), id really like some more focus on the ff characters and interactions between some characters!! i Need ventus and roxas to talk that glance in kh3 wasnt enough... also i wanna see more namine :( i miss her can we get more namine as a treat

i think on a surface level glance most people just look at kh and go "hehe that one has funny lines" but it isnt enough to see the Absolute Fuckign Sincerity that kh has.... like yes its silly but its sincere!!!! it is genuine and always takes itself super seriously and that has so much charm to it which i dont think most people see :( which is why i think kh is like. a must play series because you genuinely cannot grasp the sincerity behind some of the funnier quotes without having knowledge that isnt surface level (every time i see ppl joke about who am i gonna have ice cream with i wilt a little HES ASKING WHO HES GONNA BE FRIENDS WITH)

[monasticmaestoso]

I am curious. What r your top five video games

WHOOPS I only just saw this now lmfao sorry

I'll stick to one game per franchise but u can assume im recommending the whole series

5. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

One of my two biggest childhood influences. Ps1/PC puzzle/platformer/adventure game about a funny blue guy escaping from slavery when he discovers his whole race is about to get butchered and sold as food products. Gets back in touch with his native roots and gets granted spiritual powers to help him free his fellow captives and topple capitalism while killing hundreds of cops along the way. There's no guns but there are grenades occasionally. Or you can possess the cops and make them use their guns to kill other cops. And then blow themselves up. Has a ton of sequels and a couple remakes, ports and remasters on PC and just about every other console. Cannot recommend enough. Also you can fart on command this game has a dedicated Fart button you use it for communicating (and then in the sequel you can possess farts too)

4. Myst

The other childhood influence. This game and whole series made me a huge wanderlust slut. Point and click adventure, puzzle solving, world exploring, journal reading. Some puzzles will definitely have you Stumped (but feel free to hmu bc I still have the first game memorised like the back of my hand and am happy to offer guidance ^^) my fave is actually the third game Exile, but I gotta pay respect to the OG. It's full of images and sound effects that remain engraved in my brain in vivid detail 20+ years later

3. Bloodborne

I'm actually not talking abt the whole "series" here I dont rly care much for dark souls etc. It's just this one lmao. Love the tone, love the gameplay, love the level design, love all the horrid monster designs. Love the Rally mechanic discouraging you from hiding and playing safe when you should be going full throttle wailing on everything as fast as possible. I love learning to party attacks with a firearm instead of a shield. I love the blood vials system. I love the doll I love Eileen the crow I love lady Maria I love all the funny little creachurs and most of all I love dying and being dead

2. Final Fantasy V

This ones kinda personal and maybe a bias I guess but idk this was my first FF and even now when I go back to it it just Hits Different somehow. Maybe it's nostalgia/bias but even comparing it to the other pre-ps1 FFs it's just got this vibe of its own. The music helps ofc the music is so fuckin good esp the new pixel remaster arramgements. Anyway it's a nice fun story about Four Complete Randos And Their Grandpa And Pet Chicken And Pet Dragon And Pet Sea Serpent And A Gay Pirate Gang And A Furry And Also A Tortoise At One Point who fight against a Giant Evil Tree that spent like a hundred years absorbing all of the most Evil souls in the world and now he wears a big blue suit of armour and calls himself Exdeath. He wants to conquer and kill and maim and destroy and eventually suck the entire world into The Void for no other reason than he's evil and loves being evil and badass. Not a whole ton of complex plot depth but that's why it's so approachable as a FF game. Also this game is where Gilgamesh and Battle on the Big Bridge came from, plus Omega and Shinryu, so if you like those then you're obligated to play this one. Also one of the main characters is a genderfluid twink with a thing for silver foxes and another is a non-binary/transmasc pirate

1. Kingdom Hearts

I couldn't not lmao. The entire series Of Course but also in this case I specifically mean the first one. Again it might be nostalgia bias but the first KH just has this unique charm to it, this warm atmosphere that none of the others have been able to replicate. Traverse town feels like a second home to me

[flowergirlmiwa]

per tvtropes

"Kingdom Hearts III was another breaking point; it depends so heavily on the inner workings of the games' universe that it must further strain disbelief as an anime boy discusses fairy tale metaphysics with Mickey Mouse."

wow... the game depends on the inner workings of the universe it's set in? what a massive flaw lol! hope someone got fired for that blunder!

sora already talked to mickey mouse in 2005 so how is this a breaking point in 2019

oh man you mean KH is narm? and cheesy? and has silly stuff going on? where anime characters have serious conversations with mickey mouse? this just sounds like baby's first mockery of KH. if you didn't want to play the game series where anime boys chat with mickey mouse why did you pick up the game where an anime boy is pictured next to mickey mouse? is this written for the perspective of people who already dont like KH to begin with on premise alone?

[guiltriddencorpse]

i will be 17 in 5 days.

and i feel like a loser.

i havent got my licence. i have one friend. (not an exaggeration, i have social anxiety and am generally introverted so i dont really like people but i still get lonely) i am homeschooled but will be doing schooling for a year longer than my peers. i am behind in so many subjects. i feel like im still 12.

its just not fair. nothing is fair.

you dont get to do this to me. you can not leave me. how can you, when i am crying, begging you not to leave me and issuing an ultimatum where i will tell your friend if you dont promise to stay, say "it will break him if he knew." what about me? why are you shielding him, and not me? why. why are you saying that as if i am not breaking. how can you continue to make suicide jokes. continue to say that you wont be around in november. that you wont 'be around then' or 'wont have to worry about that'. they arent funny. not so close and not when there isnt even a punch line. what am i meant to say? do you truly think i am so cold and callous that i could be laughing? the first person to seek me out. the first person to be so patient and kind. the first person to want to help me. thats not something i could even crack a grin about.

you dont get to do that. you dont get to say, "a little girl isnt meant to feel like she should be dead" as if i havent felt the exact same way. as if this topic is completely foreign to me. as if, in the past 2-3 years i wasnt actively then passively suicidal. as if my cousin wasnt very actively trying to die. yet you still look me in the eyes and say that its just gonna happen? you arent even gonna try to pull away?

no. no child should feel that way. but i did. i felt that way. i was verbalising such issues when i was 8-10. should i kms? should i? because that seems to be the solution for your own problem.

how can you continue to 'care' about me but continue to plan your own death? you dont care. you dont love me. you are playing with me at this point. you are stringing me along. this isnt fair.

you prod at my empathy. teasing remarks that do bother me. dont you understand? no one understands. when i try to express my hyperempathy, i am told i am too sensitive, teased for being soft, it drains me. when i do my best to shut that part out, ignore it, im mean, blunt, rude and many more.

dont speak to me with such a condescending tone. do not look down at me. i am sick of being looked down upon. i know i am not better than you, probably not even an equal. but you all make me feel so fucking small. like a pest.

i dont understand. i cant trust anyones words. its infuriating. i tell people to trust my words. i dont do insincerity, and yet they always try to look for a deeper meaning. i try to follow my own advice but fhen it bites me in the ass because now theyre upset at me for not noticing i upset them? i asked if they were mad, they said they were fine. i trusted that, i had already made it abundantly clear that i trust what you say, that i dont push 'no means no' so how fucking stupid can you be to get angry when i dont push? and what am i meant to do? tell them? tell the person i love that sometimes they make me cry? not because of their actions directly, but because i beat myself up over tiny interactions that they probably dont even think about?

everything is too much and not enough.

i have to make plans for my birthday all while knowing shes gonna khs.

i have to see my support workers

i have to be patient for my little brother.

i have to regulate myself

i have to be helpful for my mum.

i have to remember things about other people

i have to read social cues

i have to feel for other people.

i have to. otherwise i feel so awful. i feel like i killed their family, send a photo to the new york times, with the caption 'go fuck yourselves'. i feel like i want to throw up my internal organs and clean them with bleach before putting them back.

but im tired

i am sick of being kind

i am sick of being understanding

i am sick of making ezcuses

i am sick of being empathetic.

i dont want to hurt anyone, but i just dont understand anyone. i end up just panicking.

i cant help you. ok?

im sorry. i just really cant. im not gonna talk you off the metaphorical ledge. i am trying, but when its too late. dont call me, yeah? i dont want that. dont leave me shit, dont write me anything. just let my memory of you fade. i 'wasnt meant to know'? yeah, and how was that gonna work? you think i'm a toddler with no object permanence? that once you died i would just completely forget? 'i wouldve found out eventually' and you say that you know but you wont have to deal with it? that hurt. im fighting everything in me thats telling me to run. to put some distance in place. i suppose i just couldnt give enough. maybe if i were more confident, more dominant, more something, i couldve helped. but i cant. every suggestion is shut down. or the reply is "sometimes its not that simple".

you are content with this end. i dont have the strength the convince you not to go. i said that i could change your mind. thay was a lie. i cant. i cant even try. i dont even lnow why i am still alive. you have a plan, a way of going. and you genuinely sont want to live. nothing i brang up changed your mind.

M. you are going to ruin me. i hope i never get this attached to someone ever again.

[x1e3ju]

another rant: finished re:com and also started/finished 358days

my kingdom hearts fixation now that we "finished" final mix, actually got so much more serious than i expected it to be! cuz we obviously had started the game and i had played through some of it to even get to the ending, obviously but idk i guess playing it so consequently like that cuz its the summer and all and to finally say i finished or saw at least one game literally reawakened the fixation i have had waiting there for literal yearss hdjfbdj

i wont be talking abt re:com too much cuz i already did before, i still feel pretty much the same with ansem and riku and that whole thing going on there, even with the bits we saw of him in 358 and the blindfold thing although i have my issues with how they handled a bit of stuff there, esp with xion which is what ima mostly talking about today and this isnt more of a comparison analysis, just a more analysis overview typa thing ghfjsjsh

i do think that even with as ridiculous as it is, the nobody concept is interesting and i think it brings its fair share of heart (lol) to the story. i think it works as a pretty plain but also interesting metaphor to being human and why humans should appreciate that like why it's special and that it's difficult, etcetera just all the things that encompass being human and humanity and stuff. we see that with roxas and xion especially in that one scene with namine where she said smth about them trying hard to be there own people, just xion's whole arc and character and plot point/theme in general, even if i hated what they did to her i think that her story and character, surprisingly, was written well for a kingdom hearts character that is canonically supposed to be a girl/woman mind you, cuz god bless my girl kairi they pay her DIRTTT what they did to her in final mix.... criminal to say the least

but to go back to what i say was stating before, even with axel we see that same theme and whatnot and with him it focuses more on the difficulty of being human as he tries to push his humanity away and i dont know why as of yet cuz we are only at the beginning of kh2 but we can see he doesn't try to be human or if anything, he tries to not be because of the emotion and therefore, suffering that it could bring upon him even though with anything and everything he can't escape that and those connections and feelings and in general, human emotion which all works out for a good metaphor on humanity, as i stated but also a good metaphor for growing up especially in roxas and xion's cases, obviously. and even with axel too, it could work really well for not growing up in the best environment which could lea to pushing those emotions aside out of safety and almost a sense of compeition especially when you have nobody (lol) there to tell you that isn't ok or give you that support you deserve to not develop or grow comfortable into those habits (be able to break from them easier basically), as roxas and xion were fortunate to have from an older familial figure like axel. xion was able and even allowed to find out about more herself through axel not holding her back as the others in the organization did and even roxas a bit himself. even if his words towards axel about the situation never affected xion or her actions directly, not necessarily or just in a more realistic perspective, the reason he would say what he said and didn't want her to leave or whatever was because he didn't know the full situation, in other words he was basically brainwashed to be dumb and not really understand the situation hence him only acting on his feelings that were also manipulated by the organization to get the results they wanted just as we can see from a real abusive household. and lol ik these comparisons probably sound fucking insane but i genuinely believe kh and the franchise in general could truly have a lot of substance if the writing wasn't so fucking ridiculous dfdjnds it's like everytime a disney character shows up, its like. wait i take it all back lmaoo ToT but even with mickey and riku's relationship and the way they handle riku in general, more in re:com tho, i think they did really well.

one thing i will be honest i didn't like tho was that roxas didn't end up XP i think that both him and xion should've like. yes, it felt incredibly sexist to only kill off xion but also because it shows more perspectives of the lives of others and others' situations and ik the game isn't representing any of this at all but i feel like still, how could he have stayed alive? (and i did some research cuz im a spoiler lol but them even coming back later, doesnt make sense and i imagine it fucking doesnt ive heard the third game is a mess jkjfdk ToT) like i think him and xion should've both went together or died and i think a romeo and juliet twist would've been very beautiful and also made a lot of sense. especially with what riku told her, i didn't like that very much either. ik that in that situation, that was kinda what needed to be said cuz it was true, sora needed to wake up but wtf she was her own person too and ppl cared about her just as much! him telling her that comment was basically him just saying "hey even though i know the organization never cared about you or made any decisions with urs or anyones best interests in mind but now you have to make a decision with their best interests in mind so it can fit my best interests thanks" like. NO WHAT TOT also knowing what happened and what was STILL HAPPENING to riku, he would not say that! (or he shouldn't be, ima be more honest) like again i get what was trying to be said there and im not gonna be like "fix ur wording!?!?!?!!!!?@I~*(~@(#*(@#*" for a game that literally has MICKEY MOUSE IN AN EMO COAT in it but still, im sitting here writing this anyways so might as well!!!!

its like even with ansem and namine too, both her and riku never got to be free and they never got to be their own persons even with anything and everything, riku still was working under ansem and namine still had to be trapped as the "kairi" which is crazy cuz she deserved to be her own person! also rly cuz she looks nothing like her lmaoo ToT but all in all, i think so many metaphors could work so well for the game its one of those like "JUS T LE ME HAVE IT" moments like UGH i need to fix it so bad.

also ofc i had to mention it, roxas and xion would've been amazing but amazing amazing lesbians and transmasculine or just masc allegories. the boy face line with xion. ty kingdom hearts' horrible writers and writing team:praying hands:

ok i had more to say but i hate writing on computers with the gummy key thing on it and i honestly give up at this point. i yapped enough dskdsk lets see what kingdom hearts 2 will bring us shall we hear my thoughts after i finish it which we probably be. i dont know when<3

[devilsurvivor-2-recordbreaker]

Okay you know those areas in a game which feel intensly difficult. Like not even the 'the slow boiling of difficulty to where past a certain point its supposed to be more difficult' but like in the 'sure why not' or 'if it works' way. Your kingdom hearts 2 Final Mix Hollow Bastion secret area or your path of pains. Your That one level where due to a characters physics or the way they were designed makes this easy level incredibly difficult because one jump you just almost can but can't cross.

That's the Cathedral in Code Vein. Why the fuck would you make a area this early in the game like this. Like I'd seen footage of the game and always assumed it was mid to late game. This shit is like the second/ third area you see, including the tutorial area. Like nothing fromsoft and their games dont gets to this level of fuck you level design apart from from dlc and some select areas but they can be over come.

This shit is rubix cube fucking architecture. Not to mention as well the fact that with the number of shit on screen makes actually seeing where you are very difficult. Not to mention that the game has the BALLS to include a map function but doesn't allow you to ZOOM IN so your stuck having to horribly squint at a giant ass map like your in fucking Disney land trying to find where in the hell you are. It's bad in a way that on paper doesn't feel horrible if not for the fact that YOU DONT EVEN GET A MAP. YOU CAN ONLY GET THE USELESS MAP ONCE YOUVE EXPLORED TOP TO BOTTOM FOR A ROTTEN MISSILE SO YOU CAN CLEAR THE AIR AND GET RHE MAP Y O U C A N T EVEN. U. SS. EEEE!!!!!!!

No wonder people dropped this game like no matter how fun it combat or systems may be the actual game sucks ass. Kinda like how nearly every kh title after 2 just sucked ass. Like even if it's fun your playing a game that in most situations is just ass or for some, mildly annoying because of weird ass design but held up by certain features.

[shslpunkartist99]

#why does Pachinko always look better than everything #I'm mad

Because Pachinko is a hot bastard and you always feel obliged to draw him hot??? IDEK LOL. He and the Punks always look nice whenever you draw them.

Anyway first of all, just wanna say after reading these tags I can't unsee you fighting Pachinko all angy lol

Secondly HOLY SHIT THAT WIP WITH THE PUNK SQUAD AND XENO LOOKS AMAZING. I think this is the first time we all got to see the Punks together on the same page too. also Xeno looks like they're falling from somewhere and due to playing too much Kingdom Hearts lately, I can't unhear KH playing while looking at that asjkddask

ANYWAY EVERYONE LOOKS AWESOME AND I WANT TO SMOOCH THEM

When you walk away

You don't hear me say

Pleaaaaase

oH BABYY

DONT GO

Really? I think so yeah, since Keno was a late addition. Cool beans☆

[semi-imaginary-place]

I played kingdom hearts union x early in its release days like 2016 and i tried really hard to stay up with it but im just not built for the mobile gaming meta which is geared for daily/weekly engagement over the course of years. i've had this problem with every mobile game i've ever tried to get into, i've tried like 10+ and genuinely wanted to get into these games but i just can't. Anyways eventually I couldn't keep up with ux's powercreep and pay to win gacha, and more importantly its rate of story development. UX is like 98% filler content 2% series breaking story revelations and that actual story only dropped like once a year so I'd play for a year to keep my medals semi competitive because story is also gated behind medal strength all to get a 10 second cut-scene that left 50 million questions and eventually i just could justifying playing ux as being worth it. so i quit a few years later and havent touched the game since and now im rewatching the cutscenes and yeah when ux is good its good and that good part is just inundated with filler. I'm rather fond of the artstyle its like little paper dolls and the devs manage to put so much emotion and nuance with those simple animations its one of the several impressive parts of ux.

a list of revelations. the disney worlds the player visits are fictional, projections made from the book of prophecy to collect lux. each union member has a chirithy, chirithys are dreameaters and thus daybreak town is in the realm of slumber, chirithys are tied to their union member. one fades away when their union member is lost to darkness, i assume ephemer's turns a darker shade of gray. quests 362-275 the plot really begins.

quest 401 the first dandelion metaphor. in a fashback to the day the player meets ephemer, ava compares ephemer and other union members to dandelions, wishing to entrust the future to them somewhere far far away. oh this is the beginning of unchained x. wait this is showing an alternate timeline in which ephemer didn't go missing. ah that was a dream

wait. you're telling me the japan exclusive kingdom hearts x doesn't have the same plot as ux. ux isn't a remake of x its a sequel and we're in a timeloop or memory or datascape or something??????? NOMURA! NO! Bad game dev! Bad! STOP PUTTING CRITICAL PLOT INFORMATION IN JAPAN EXCLUSIVE MOBILE GAMES THIS IS LIKE THE 4TH TIME!!!!! uuuuuuuuuuuuuu time to figure out what khx was about.

uuuuuggaisdadf;o;jkal/k so it so yeah ux reuses x content under the premises that player character is reliving their memories but then continues the story. it seems like i played through most if not all of the x content. i got pretty far huh like through the 700s quests. I wonder why they changed the gacha from cards to medals? cards feels more appropriate since its already a recurring motif for kh like chain or memories or luxord.

quest 425: the ava battle. i remember being stuck here for like a month because my medals were too weak and so i had to grind and gacha until they were strong enough bleh. ephemer sent the dream of exploring the tower with the player. ephemer is in a unchained state in another realm. dont know what that means. and if he can send dreams ava says he's close to "that realm". huh

quest 525. got stuck on this one too.

quest 540: i vaguely remember the enemies here were green. i do appreciate how khux is the story of things going from ok to bad to worse. the enemies here look like heartless but they can talk and are seeking lux. also second time player character talks. purple chirithy! i remember you. is the implication here that purple chirithy used to be the dark gray chirithy we saw earlier? ah so those heartless were former union members filled with darkness. i vaguely remember this and that dark chirithy is a nightmare. purple/dark chirity's wielder is close wonder what that means.

quest 555: they speak again! confirming that ephemer is their friend. the player character petting chirithy was a nice touch. union leader implies they killed ephemer eventhough earlier ava said ephemer was in another realm. i joined unicornis btw.

The Player: "And then I met Ephemer. We didn't know each other for very long, but he left a lasting impression. Not all of our memories are good ones; in fact, he even broke one of our promises. No matter what happened, I knew we were still friends. But you took him away from me."

The Player: "I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel hurt. Maybe that means I have darkness in my heart; I don't care."

The Player: "But I can't let you get away with what you did to my friend. Even if I have to fight you, even if I don't stand a chance, even if I may disappear... I will because I know in my heart that Ephemer would do the same if he were here."

The Player: "Master Ira, I mean no disrespect, but this is something I must do."

Ava's dandelions, a hope for the future cast to the wind. seeds to begin anew. yeah this part where the player character chooses to stay stuck out to me when I was playing. first, quest 555 is where the player characters shows real independence and agency from the player, they have their own thoughts and feelings about ephemer and the end of the world. second, that their greatest concern was not with the destruction of the world, the war, or the legacy of keyblade wielder but of the unchosen left to fight and die, and that the player character chooses not to be one of the special.

the recent kh games have really gone far with the fictionality of the narrative. very post modern meta texual like sora "dying"? and existing the fictional world for the non fictional one. "world outside" here is again vague. if daybreak down is indeed a dream realm then why would ava specify that the dandelions are going to train in worlds made of dreams. but if this is a dream then the dandelions are going to the universe of the main series? i mean thats where luxu/braig ended up with the box. i definitely need to read a plot summary when all this is over.

[kanadeamo]

And if you complain that it's unfair to expect fans to keep up with a multititle plot where all the games are technically important, kh is literally not the series for you so just go play final fantasy instead

[lecliss]

I was gonna write a whole essay but its not coming out right. Anyway, I just think Squall is a really good and interesting character and not at all emo or edgy like Ive seen him described. Hes just bad at people is all and he knows it and tries to let others know that too but they mostly refuse to just. Get it. He cares more than people think and he rolls with whatever really. Hes not mean or hateful or angry or anything like that. He just bungles communication sometimes cuz hes really just that bad at it and doesnt want to be good at it either, so he comes off as rude when hes just being forward and communicating to the best of his ability. Case in point when Quistis tries to confide in him and the best he can get across is that she should talk to a wall since it would be better than talking to him. Major bungle but he was just trying to tell her hes bad at this and to find someone else who can actually listen like she wants.

[mxdotpng]

i want to know yoo jonghyuk's opinions on video games so bad. he probably thinks cooking mama is pretentious. his favorite final fantasy is probably ff3 and ff13 bc nobody's played if & everyone hates it, respectively. he's speedrun minecraft hardcore mode at least 4 times. He Has Opinions on Balan Wonderworld.