#kh recoded

[descendant-of-truth]

So I beat Re:Coded for the first time the other day after previously knowing its story from the movie and novel versions, so you know what that means. It's time for more Data Sora Thoughts(TM)

Plenty has been said about how he serves as an interesting comparison to the original Sora, which makes sense as that's kind of the point of him existing. You're supposed to take notice of how he's different, despite all their similarities. He's kind of an idealized version of Sora, which makes sense as he's the Sora that Jiminy wrote. Jiminy doesn't know the depths of Sora's insecurities or his flaws, so Data Sora is almost unnaturally good-willed and pleasant.

But what stood out to me while playing it for myself is how much the game is just... not supposed to be about him, and how much it still is despite that.

Nothing exemplifies this more clearly than his journey through Castle Oblivion. The whole reason he's even there is to be tested, to see if "Sora" is ready to take ownership of all the pain that's inside him. But they're not testing Data Sora, the person, they're testing what they think is just a representation of the original Sora.

So, when Data Sora resolves himself to face the pain head-on and not run away from it, even learning that it can help him connect to people, no one thinks this is unique to him. They just go, "great! that means Sora's ready, too!" with absolutely zero awareness of the fact that they can't really treat him like this now that he has his own heart.

Which, is kind of insane?? Data Sora is provided a consistent level of support and guidance that even the original Sora didn't get, he develops a heart of his own because of how effectively he was nurtured by his friends, and yet. None of them have ever seen him as HIS OWN person. Even Data Riku, who introduces himself as "zeroes and ones that look like somebody you know," is incapable of separating himself and Sora from their originals.

Data Sora is surrounded by people affirming his personhood while in the same breath denying his individuality. It's an interesting position to be in, to say the least.

That said, the characters may think the test is all about the original Sora, but narratively? It's absolutely about Data Sora, too.

You know how he was surprisingly at peace with the fact that the journal resetting meant that he'd lose his memories? He seemed pretty content with the knowledge that his friends would be able to remember their journey for him, even if he got a little choked up about saying goodbye. It's easy to think, while seeing it for the first time, that because he's already accepted everything with a smile, that his character arc is over by then.

Yeah, Data Roxas comes into the story swinging with "hey, idiot, you have no idea how much forgetting your friends is going to hurt you in the long run. Why don't you do that a couple more times and then maybe you'll get the idea"

Because it's true, I really don't think Data Sora was prepared for the pain of amnesia in the slightest. He has this habit of going along with whatever anyone says without much thought, so when Data Riku told him that everything had to be reset, I think he was just kinda like. well darn. guess I can't do anything about that

(This is the same guy that went "I'm good with that" when he considered that doing what Mickey says will just blast him off into the unknown repeatedly, so it checks out)

I love that the game refuses to end where you'd expect it to, and instead forces Data Sora to reckon with the pain of what was just unfairly taken from him. It treats him with just as much respect as it does with every other character in the series, and gives his feelings the weight they deserve.

Of course, the way the test is set up is... kind of cruel. It bludgeons him over the head with the pain he just went through repeatedly until he figures out exactly how it works and what he's going to do about it. And it's like this because it wasn't set up with a real person in mind; Data Sora's supposed to be acting like a first draft for something the original Sora's going to do later.

But he can't. Because they're different people.

So when you get down to it, he arguably doesn't really fulfill his purpose? He gets everyone the answers they need, sure, but he proves absolutely nothing about Sora. And not just because he became his own person, but because the premise of the test was flawed from the start. Jiminy's perception of Sora is meaningless in the face of the real thing, so it was never going to have accurate results no matter what they did.

It's a story that's undeniably relevant to both Soras, but I still hope we'll get to see Data Sora again so we can finally address how everyone in-game expects them to be like each other. It's a mindset that affects both of them in different ways; Sora has this impossible ideal to live up to, and Data Sora - despite being that ideal - is forever just "another version" of someone else.

And they haven't even met each other. When is that going to happen

[kairithemang0]

Reblog to put bugs into the prev

[cloudysx]

What is your favorite Kingdom Hearts game of all time ? ⭐

Well I think like many people it will be KH2. If I hadn't discovered the other games in 2022, I would have put KH3 direct first because I loved the game when it was released.

[nebuvoid]

*debugs you*

[marigoldnots]

yippee data sorikers

[aitsuheart]

Recoded anniversary was yesterday and I missed it. It's the game that had so many precious Soriku moments.

Data Riku saves Sora after being unarmed.

Data Sora saves Riku after getting kidnapped and then goes into his data to help bring him back.

Data Riku tries to apologize for everything but Sora won't have it because he loves him and wants to help Riku regardless.

I love how the fandom as a whole all agrees the ending of recoded didn't happen. Why did they have to lose the memories. Why couldn't they just be silly and hang out whenever?

Data Sora & Data Riku are not the same as the other Riku and Sora by the way. Data Sora is also able to face hurt while the other Sora isn't. The reason for this is because Data Sora is what people think he is supposed to be like, but it's not actually what he is like.

However, it's one of the masks the other Sora has so people assume it's accurate which is why Sora couldn't handle hurt but the data version could. Sora uses smiles to pretend he's okay because he feels like he has to show everyone he is okay when in reality he isn't. He would rather everyone else be okay than himself.

Anyways I love Data Sora and Riku, they're so cute on screen. And I just love their little interactions.

[hitinmiss]

Soriku Week Day 3: Ars Arcanum/Datascape

Data Soriku you’ll always be famous!!!

[maibeloved]

Tinkering with the data

[flightofthejackdaw]

Why are some people in the KH fandom so depressing? For a series that is so charming and genuine some people sure seem to hate it’s guts despite claiming to be its “biggest fans”

Like why do we have to insult the writing team and Nomura constantly? Why do I hear the words “I’ve lost faith in KH” constantly? Why do I hear that KH2 was the last good game constantly?

Like it just seems like these people hate Kingdom Hearts and are made continuously miserable by its existence

I know KH3 was messy but there were reasons for that; a rushed development and having to appease old and new fans somehow. It’s far from perfect but can we not act like it “Ruined the series”? I swear I’ve literally heard this statement said about every KH game since 2

KH2 was amazing and is definitely one of the best games in the series but can we not act like it was the only good KH game? All of the games are good in their own way and provide pieces of this incredibly emotional, incredibly complex story. Stop acting like they don’t exist

I love Kingdom Hearts but damn some people in this community obviously don’t and that’s sad. Sorry for the rant I’ve just been made so very tired by all the negativity around the series and wanted to get the frustration off my chest

I love Kingdom Hearts in all it’s insane story complexities, the silly moments, the stuff that makes me cry, and the genuine way it tells it’s story. That’s what makes Kingdom Hearts we’ll Kingdom Hearts!

[princesselemm]

A fast doodle inspired by Re:Coded. My boys Riku and Sora from the Datascape, but Sora as a cute mini helper. 😊

[kitkat-the-muffin]

After running an entire experiment for over a year and a half

I have finally perfected the best order to play the Kingdom Hearts series in

The aforementioned best order has been completely play-tested by an outsider new to KH in order to verify its effectiveness, and it goes as follows:

Kingdom Hearts 1

Kingdom Hearts X [chi] and Kingdom Hearts Union X [cross]

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep • (start with Ventus, then Terra, and end with Aqua. Include Final Ending. Exclude Secret Ending)

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain Of Memories

Kingdom Hearts 2 • (followed by Kingdom Hearts BBS’s Secret Ending)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days • (read Roxas’s diary alongside the cutscene movie if not playing the original release. Then read the secret reports after finishing the game)

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded • (you may also play Coded if so desired)

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link

Kingdom Hearts Melody Of Memory

Kingdom Hearts 4

Extra notes:

DON’T FORGET THE SECRET BOSSES! All the cutscenes that precede and follow every secret boss fight is important, so I recommend looking them up on YouTube if you can’t beat them

ALWAYS READ THE SECRET REPORTS!!!! All of them. For every game

Look up BBS’s Secret Ending on YouTube, unless you feel like beating all three routes on Proud Mode (including the Mysterious Figure boss… I think. Idk, look it up)

As of writing this post, Missing Link and 4 have not been released yet, so they may be skipped for now. However, based on their trailer vibes alone, I’d still recommend this order whenever they do release

The mobile app for KHUX and KHDR has been discontinued, so the only source we currently have for them are cutscene movies on YouTube and Damo’s fandubs

The Dark Road fandub is not out yet as of posting this chart, but hopefully I can update this post whenever it does release (same with Missing Link cutscenes)

If you have any questions please reply to this post because I have answers!

Here are some obvious ones tho:

Days is AFTER 2 to preserve the Riku plot twist

Dark Road is BEFORE DDD to increase player attachment to Xehanort before he takes full control over the narrative

Ventus is played FIRST in BBS because it helps the narrative make more sense (sorry Nomura, Xehanort being evil is not a plot twist)

Any spoilers for future games revealed in the prequels are intentional (like Maleficent thinking about Master Xehanort in Union X, or Terra seeing a vision of KH2 Riku in BBS) and are meant to serve as foreshadowing

If anyone feels like streaming the games in this order please let me know. I skewed the results of my experiment a little by being present for the Test Subject’s playthrough, so it’d genuinely benefit from another account played entirely in a vacuum

But also we kind of sped through the games rather than relishing them. There’s so much to do in all the games but to get to the rest of the story we didn’t really play them to their fullest. I hope future players can enjoy all there is and take their time with it :3

Anyway, please reblog this post if you found it interesting! I want to share this order with the world because I genuinely think it’s the best way to play the games! And again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Thank you to @goldensunset @8golden-harvest8 @share-the-skye for acknowledging my experiment’s existence a couple times, y’all are real ones 💕💕💕

[descendant-of-truth]

I swear, every time I think I'm onto something about characterization in this series, I double check the Japanese script and my point is immediately invalidated

Just now, I was about to be like "the fact that Data Sora introduces himself here by saying his friends call him Sora, instead of saying it's his name outright, shows how non-committal he is about his own identity and his tendency to go along with whatever people tell him about himself"

...but in the original script, he literally just says "I'm Sora." The phrasing was more than likely changed because it needed to fit the lip syncing. Why must they do this to me

[ninebaalart]

Blox Bug

This is about to sound so basic but I love these guys. Theyre like if minecraft blocks grew spider legs

[cloudysx]

𝒟𝒶𝓉𝒶 𝒮𝑜𝓇𝒶 | KINGDOM HEARTS RE:CODED

[thrandilf]

kh data world getting a .nort file extention for people who have been norted

[infinitelilith]

Imagine Riku staying at Disney Castle and wanting to look something up on the internet (eyeliner tutorials) so he turns on Mickey's computer and the first thing he sees is Data-Sora and Data-Riku(/Jiminy's digitised Journal) making out