#like there’s just so much there that becomes so much more impactful because of KHUX

[cq-studios]

🥀 Lauriam/Marluxia: 

2. Favorite canon thing about this character? 

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character. (Or an outfit, or any aesthetic picture!) 

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

(For this)

2. Hmmmmmmm….. I’d say that my favourite thing about Lauriam/Marluxia in canon is just the fact that Lauriam is in KHUX at all. Just OOOOOOOOOOOOOOG, so much tragedy about him because of that. It makes me go feral. Like it adds so many new layers to Marluxia.

Like in COM alone we have the spectre looking like Strelitzia, Ven being so close to him and he doesn’t know it, his death motif most likely being because his sister was murdered, Larxene, his friend, being the only Dandelion the NULs were able to save, the fact that he probably wants Sora’s Keyblade is because of something subconscious because of his past, the fact that he has no memories of his past at all and yet is in charge of CASTLE OBLIVION, where to find is to loose and to loose is to find.

And that’s not even getting into the headcanon possibility that reason he’s being to cruel to Naminé is because her memory powers were unable to help him, which also drives me insane, or anything I haven’t thought of off the top of my head, or in the other games.

14. I tried but I’m not sure how to really answer this question… you gave the extra options and everything but it just wouldn’t mesh with my brain… sorry

25. Ooh boy, my first impression of Marluxia was way back in 2017-2018 so I may be remembering wrong but I’m pretty sure I thought his design was cool. Like I remember him always kinda being around the top in my favourite Organization member ranking, on the same level as say (pre Luxu reveal) Xigbar, Zexion, and Demyx… who were just below the Sea Salt Trio and Larxene (Who makes me laugh whenever she’s on screen, she’s horrible, I love her and I always have lol).

For Lauriam it’s a bit trickier for me to figure out because the YouTubers I watched play through the games didn’t actually play KHUX or have a watch party of the cutscenes, so they instead did a recap of UX (which they also did with Days and Coded, I think it had more to do with what they could play using the collections more than anything against the mobile games, which they seemed to enjoy). Because of this I didn’t really go through the typical, “oooh, did he kill Strelitzia? He is Marluxia’s somebody, who is evil, so…”, it was more so a “oh he’s here, cool! And he has a sister, oooooooooh backstory” I think.

[serenedash]

Let's talk khux gameplay and plot,

imo I think part of khux's story telling and the impact of the story gets lost now that the game is defunct. I always thought people didn't appreciate how the gameplay and the mechanics actually had an impact on the story and while that impact become virtually nonexistent later on, I always thought it made the story far more engaging when the game was just chi/unchained chi and also the English translation didn't do it too well ngl

Anyway what I'm specifically talking about is the medal system. Also I feel like the whole bangle thing wasn't explained well in game but really it just comes down to leveling up medals specifically. If you never played khux, you equip medals to your keyblades and they doa specific attack and to level them up you combine multiple of the same medal and you could see how leveled up a medal is by the amount of yellow dots next to it and, in JP at least, this was called "guilt" and like wow that name fucking slaps. And when nightmare chirithy reveals the player has been collecting darkness this whole time thru the medal system, you have literal guilt on your conscious. You are guilty of collecting darkness and negative emotions like guilt to use for your own power. And in Back Cover when the foretellers are made aware of this, there's no stopping it and ofc the player can't stop either, they HAVE to get stronger, you literally have to keep playing the game,

Another part of the game that I appreciated is the way the name changes factored into the game; chi was the original "world line" that the dandelions existed in and at first unchained chi had come off as just a remake but really what we're playing is the continuation, where the player and the dandelions are now in this unchained state/new world line and they're reliving their time as wielders but now without the war/"dark" memories and finally when they relive everything and get back to the "present," they continue on after into "union cross" which I feel like. wasn't explained well in game that much tbh but if you didn't understand what that meant in game, it was just to say that unions didn't matter anymore and they were all dandelions so the unions. when the unions are crossed.

and tbh the experience of playing this game in real time also added to the experience a lot and the impact of the story especially with a player insert character. I think the most effective use of this game being played in real time was Strelitzia. Now in the english version, everything with Strelitzia was all one update and the english ver was behind so honestly they had to do catch up they couldn't really afford to lag behind. But in JP, which most khux fans kept up with using fan translations, Strelitzia's introduction and her death happened about a month apart so it gave the players time to actualyl grow attached to her and THEN we get crushed. You can easily pin point the exact time certain khux fan art was drawn bc in a group drawing of the dandelions Strelitzia is there instead of Lauriam since he was only introduced after her death

and another thing! It only became apparent by the end of the game but khux actually takes place over the course of about 4 years. which is fucking insane. because the dandelions were stuck in the data for 4 years and didn't know it until the glitches started. and the game ran for roughly the same amount of time and we weren't even aware of that either until the glitches! ("why 4 years" there are cutscenes that literally say "4 years ago" so yeah girl what the fuck haha)

Anyway yeah this was just me rambling I think about this so much all the time can you tell. I hope missing link does something like this too tbh it makes it more fun and makes it feel that your actions as the player actually have impact on the story

[sirquestingbeast]

Kingdom Hearts (Homestuck) Classpecting Part 2; And Another Thing

Link to the first part:

https://www.tumblr.com/sirquestingbeast/730023827295354880/kingdom-hearts-characters-homestuck-classpect?source=share

Welcome back to another episode of undersleeping and overthinking. In the first episode, we released a brainless torrent of classpects and the foundation of how they were chosen. Kinda. There are definitely some in there had too little to properly classpect and others...IDK man I simply cannot enter the headspace needed to dissect every line of Xaldin/Dillan or Luxord's dialogue for multiple interpretations that could lead to a more comprehensive psyche profile. Sigurd: Knight of Light I don't actually have a lot to say about this guy, I just ran out of tag space in the previous post lmao. Knights have this thing about vulnerability which is usually on visual or thematic display; shrouded faces, long sleeves, sunglasses and whatnot. They also tend to start pretty proficient in wielding their aspect. They are also more than happy to use their aspect to serve another or a greater cause. Seeing how he was introduced in KHUX, it is easy to see that for now, Sigurd is our Lore Guide...and maybe actually Luxord just saying. Master of Masters: Muse of Time Excluding all theories and just using what we know, he's giving void because it's surprisingly so little despite his impact. I think that could also be chalked up by being a Muse class; while this doesn't mean anything because typology wise master classes don't say anything about a person, considering his background and story that is kind of the point. He became Master of Masters - or the muse (master) class - because of events in his life. I think that in itself is just time player shenanigans. Time players have really strong and stonelike keywords that make them feel more tightly bound to their aspect in rigid ways than most. Master of Masters was definitely some other class and maybe aspect before, but gave that up-and maybe even who he is as a person- for his current objective. Hayner: Thief of Void Hey man check out this little dude. He doesn't get as much credit as he should for the ability to 1. Go with the flow when it comes to the insane bullshit Kingdom Hearts sometimes brings but from the perspective of someone 97% uninvolved and 2. Throw down with someone clearly out of his weight class. He is iconic and therefore thief. And no, he isn't void because he is irrelevant; his relationship with information-an aspect of light- does give a push and pull quality to him. But where a thief of light would increasingly pull more and more information until they achieve a relevancy in themselves, a void would literally take the information as it comes to them and work within their limited relevancy. Sterlitzia: Rogue of Rage: Rage gets a lot of bad rep for just being full of negative keywords; strife, struggle, tension, madness, and literally negative emotions and whatnot, but remember aspects are not bound to their most obvious connotations. Pining is a kind of struggle, and what is puppy love if not a certain kind of madness? All jokes aside, rogues feel like the type of class that takes the keywords of their aspect, reduce them to their most beneficial forms, and distributes them with the intentions of gaining a net positive. But I also believe rogues often tend to have a lot of eyes on them much like the thief, but usually with consequences. KHUX Player Character: Bard of Hope Hate to say this but player character's post KHUX story is hitting a bit too far home with Gamzee's. I know MY dear player character would never become a destiny fanatic, so they have me fucked up, but the fact that there is an arc that we don't see that leads player down this stalwart path hints to this being some sort of bard awakening. But whereas Gamzee what disillusioned by the idea of destiny and prophecy, player character literally gained a new life in it.

Ephemer: Witch of Breath Witches are a class that likes to operate outside the grid and think outside the box. They aren't often held down by conventional thinking and circumstances, so they are the best when it comes to utilizing the amount of control their class gives to them, but in a very specialized self-serving way. Ephemer isn't necessarily what we would normally see as good friend material; first he stands you up, then he hits up your dreams to ask you to bail him out of reality jail. I could really see him being a hope or breath aspect, but to me he leans more breath as conceptualizing him as a hope player also tends to spill into aspects of blood, but as a breath player, everything is still within the realm of breath and it's mirror aspect. Speaking of hope... Baldr: Maid of Hope Maid characters are thought to serve their power and are also a pun on the word "made", meaning that they are their powers. An aspect of both rage and hope is establishing a belief system that is healthy for you based on external forces; where rage often deeply understands these external forces, sees their critical weaknesses, and tries to rise above them, hope tends to start as naive to them and are challenged to find their own truth with what they have. Baldr's knowledge about the nature of hearts, light, and darkness was lacking and flawed. The things that are internally his hope took on these flaws, so he had to create an external ideal of the hope in his sister, only for that to be taken from him leaving him to rely on the hope he internalized. And why not just not give in to that power? Because he is a maid of it; that is who he is as a person. Take care of your hope players, y'all, as they can get really scary when misguided... Brain: Seer of Mind Seers are a fun class where they know their aspect and want to master it at the risk of some sort of peril; sometimes from their aspect or the mirror of their aspect, and sometimes just because of their own tunnel vision. They are one of the more explicitly characterized classes so you know one when you see them; a know-it-all and maybe even a little bit arrogant who isn't afraid to get unethical or harm themselves to reach a goal. While Brain has mostly been shown in a positive note, I can't help but feel with the information given to us at the end of KHUX, knowing he is involved in Missing Link, and knowing it is set before Dark Road sets things up for an equally dark path. Brain feels to me as strong of a blood player as his potential as a mind player. Ultimately I believe the difference is whether or not you consider whatever the events he is involved in are the appropriate path for him or not. Am I going to clarify which is which and what is my stance? No, because if I don't I cant be wrong, silly. Eraqus: Knight of Mind This guy was a little tricky for me to type at first, but ultimately I figured him out before Brain and it just may be a bit of a coincidence that they fall in the same aspect...maybe. Mind and heart both are aspects that involve the concept of making choices for people; mind from an ideological standpoint and one from a personalized standpoint. Mind is more about concepts like karma, justice, actions and their consequences, and moral choices. First instinct would tell you that Eraqus did a terrible job at all that, and as a knight, that should be his thing, right? But like Baldr, he was operating out of a system lacking critical information and perhaps was even fed misleading information. However, as a Knight, he still devoted himself to the service of what he knew. The knight of mind is a very dangerous classpect to have so much going wrong like things were in Dark Road, and that culminated to the events of Birth By Sleep. Also knight of mind is a jedi and he is voiced by mark hamill. jk but it is still funny. Tune in next time where we cover more bbs characters and probably some more tragedies alongside them. Ciao for nao~

[storm-driver]

some theorycraft about that khux update, below the cut for spoilers

i’ve been thinking about it nonstop for a while. without interjecting my own dumb thoughts on the matter, i don’t think Ventus willingly aided in covering up Strelitzia’s death. looking at the cutscenes again, he wasn’t even the one who did the killing, it was entirely the darkness around him. because of the way his eyes looked, i’m inclined to believe he wasn’t “all there” when being told to pick up Strelitzia’s book and walk away. 

it’s eerily similar to the way he looked at the beginning of bbs, before his heart started healing after what Xehanort did to him. but regardless, he was involved in Strelitzia’s death whether or not he was conscious of it. and now that he remembers (in khux era at least), it’s probably having a severe impact on his mental well-being. i can’t imagine it feels good to know that you’re involved in the disappearance of one of your friend’s siblings. much less having taken her spot as one of the leaders. 

i think Darkness is still alive in the current era, too. i DON’T think Vanitas and Darkness are the same, though. rather Vanitas came from Darkness or at least had the slumbering remnants of it inside him. 

Vanitas isn’t exactly Darkness, but he possesses the potential to become it. we know that the Vanitas we fight in KH3 isn’t really him, it’s his heart being yoinked to the future and placed in a replica. which means he went back to the past after that, forgot everything, fought Ventus and Aqua, and returned to Ventus’ broken heart. theoretically, that means Vanitas is still with Ventus in current day. he could potentially be with Roxas, Sora, or Xion as well, if we consider the four were sharing a heart with each other, but i personally believe he’s with Ventus. mostly because of the lines of dialogue we got in re:mind when Sora was attempting to fight off the darkness that was protecting Ven’s heart. 

note: Ven’s heart wouldn’t have any darkness in it if Vanitas was truly destroyed, thus the suspicion on how and why his heart was being guarded like that.

 like Ventus, Vanitas must be missing some key memories from their past. perhaps he doesn’t exactly remember the khux era, but he may remember enough to speculate on who, or what, he is. in remind, he openly states that he isn’t Ventus’ other half anymore, rather he knows he’s something else that was just hidden in Ventus’ heart. the fact that he says this after insisting in bbs that he and Ventus are the same person is a sign that he must’ve learned something about himself when his heart was pulled to the future. and when he was sent back to the past and fell in combat against Ventus, some of those memories might’ve sprung up again. 

i’ll attach some more of my personal thoughts in a reblog since this post is already getting too long. 

but tl;dr:

i don’t think Vanitas remembers if he is Darkness or not, but he has the potential to become Darkness if he so chooses. Ventus was a victim in the Strelitzia situation, but he is still somewhat responsible for what happened to her. 

[darkvolley]

The energy/vibe each KH game gives off for me:

(Turned out way longer than I expected so it's under a read more)

KH1- It's kinda creepy and I think it's mainly due to most people, including myself, playing it at a young age. There's a giant shadow monster right off the bat as the tutorial boss, a creepy figure in a brown cloak with a deep voice that you meet in a dark enclosed area that no one else should be in. The first new world you go to is permanently in nightime. Everything feels empty(but not in a bad way), like even with two others in the party you still feel alone and helpless. As cute as some of the Heartless can be, they all still feel creepy and lifeless in a way. Hollow Bastion almost has a haunted mansion feel to it and The End of The World needs no words to descibe its eeriness.

CoM- There's something oddly calm about CoM. Being in the white rooms of Castle Oblivion feels relaxing. Nothing feels urgent and everything is contained solely in the castle. It's sorta slow feeling I guess. There's lots of moments where characters are just talking. Even despite the obvious issue of Sora and Co. losing their memories it still strangely feels unconcerning.

KH2- I think because of the battle system it makes the game feel fast. Most movement and combat is fluid and easy. Fights are very action packed and flashy so it sorta feels like a fight straight out of an action film, adding to the fast-paced vibe of the game. Things are very familiar so it loses most of the creepy feel of KH1 and replaces it with action and more humor.

Days- I think it's sorta sad and melancholic. A big part of it is constantly being in the grey room before missions with the hollow music in the background. Everything is white and almost feels like the world is frozen with its inhabitants being foreign to the world(which the Org actually is). The other worlds have the same empty feeling as in KH1 which adds to the melancholy vibe. Adding in the story of a friendship being ruined just makes it worse, especially when you know ahead of time that things don't turn out well. The Roxas vs Riku fight feels like a final last stand that you know Roxas won't win but by God is he gonna try out of pure rage and spite anyway.

Coded- In a strange way I think Coded feels like learning, if 'learning' had a feeling associated with it at least. Most of said feeling revolves around Data Sora. He starts out as just a data copy of Sora but I feel through everything he learns, he becomes his own person and not just a data copy. There's also everything that Data Riku(i.e. the journal) explains throughout the game and eventually in the end when we learn from Data Namine that the hurting needs to be mended. I feel that learning all these things are a major part of the game's overall feel.

BbS- Despite it's downer ending BbS still somehow feels very cheerful and bright. The first thing that stands out is how much brighter all the models look compared to other games. There's a weird shine to everything that just screams 'bright and cheery'. A lot of the worlds feel like this too. Dwarf's Woodlands has the shiny diamonds and jewels in the mines as well as the brightness of the sky when outside and not in the creepy part of the woods. Enchanted Dominion also has it's own woods and the castle, which despite being empty, is still brightly colored. The inside of Cinderella's house and the castle are just as bright as well. It's daytime in the Keyblade Graveyard and Radiant Garden, not to mention how vibrant Radiant Garden is in general. And Disney Town is the most cheerful of all with it's upbeat music, overall Disney feel, the fun of the minigames, and sweet moment with the ice cream prize. The Command Board even adds to this. Everything is just colorful and fun in BbS, which probably makes the ending much more dissonant, but not in a bad way.

3D- It didn't feel like this the first time around since a lot of things went over my head for 3D, but looking back on it now, it sorta feels like there's an encroaching danger that gets closer the further you go, which is probably a perfect description of the game considering the further Sora goes, the deeper he gets lost in the dream. The feeling of going deeper into the darkness makes sense with 'dropping' being apart of the game. Even when you don't know where the story is going there's still a sense of worsening danger that no one, including yourself and your Dream Eaters, will be able to save you from. Even on Riku's end it's a similar feeling all the way up to the Ansem fight with him trying to drag Riku back into the darkness like he did once before.

0.2- This game feels almost old and antique in a way. I believe it has to do with the Disney worlds chosen for it and the overall dark lighting. There's even something about the models and their prototype feel compared to KH3's improved models. The worlds are all old movies. Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, these are Disney's earliest princess movies. The aesthetic of each world reflects the oldness of the movies they originate from. And the darkness consuming them along with the way each world feels like its being broken down by said darkness makes it all feel antique. Like an old vase that's seen too much in it's life as evident by all the cracks in it.

KHUX- I think the style kind of overwrites any other feeling the game could give me, sadly. Even when things get dark its still feels... cartoony. Like the whole game could be a cartoon. Of course, this doesn't lessen the impact of tough moments such as the war, Strelitzia's death, and every other sad or creepy moment we've had in the game. Cartoons can be still be sad even when they're cartoons, but it's still the most striking thing about the game for me.

KH3- This one really drives home the feeling of things ending. Of course, things aren't actually over, but so many plot points have been wrapped up by the end that some things really truly did, indeed, end. The whole game builds up to the final battle between light and dark and stresses finding Aqua in order to find Ven and Terra. There's focus on trying to get everyone back together and ready to face Xehanort in the final clash. Especially at the end of the game there was still the lingering feeling of things being over. From here on out things won't be the same as any of the other games. Everything is heading in a new direction, so in a way, the feeling of things ending is very much true. Kingdom Hearts isn't over, but many of the things we've been fighting for since 2002 are over.

[lightmywaytodawn]

On the sleepng realm theory....

It points out some interesting things, but on the whole, I'm not finding myself on board with it.

I don't have an issue with people making far-fetched theories, and I think people are allowed freedom in expressing them. But I do feel that it also creates a bit of false hope, especially with how far spread this particular one went.

This isn't directed at anything or anyone, I just want to put my thoughts out there. Includes some ship talk.

First, things I did find interesting. One was Kairi's hoodie. The whole time I actually thought they were panda ears as I didn't look closely enough to notice the drooped shape. Whether it actually has meaning, I don't know, but the ears are indeed Chirithy-shaped.

KH3 did at its very core feels odd. But whether that’s just a case of bad writing, or some ridiculously convoluted bs-plotline going on in the background, is another matter.

I will admit they clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the theory. The dedication to write that much and find screenshots and gifs of all scenes in question must have taken a lot of time. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that over-analyzing every small detail is a good thing.

My biggest issue is on the things that they really reach for, especially regarding Kairi’s scenes. Saying that she didn’t take a bite of the paopu fruit, or that the scenes aren’t romantic-coded is cherry picking. I also have serious contention with her being labeled as “not the real Kairi”, as she already gets shafted by the writing staff enough without that. I flat out don’t like Sora and Kairi in a romantic relationship--but KH3 has made it explicitly clear that they are endgame. The signs have been there since KH1. While I do think the whole thing regarding her heart missing raises a lot of questions, I can’t bring myself to agree that they’ve gone through the same scenario x amount of times. Time loop has been done a million times before, and very, very few series have actually made it worthwhile. As convoluted as KH already is, this is one route I really don’t want it to take. Time traveling as it is is messy enough, and if Nomura really goes for time loop, then I really might quit.

The writers also seem to be writing off the fact that only Dream Eaters can appear in the Sleeping Realm. They also seem to be confusing the Datascape of KHUx with it, or mixing them to create an entirely unheard of Realm altogether. Any response I see in question to that evades really answering the question. Though by far the most reaching part might very well be the logo. I can’t see it as anything but a diagonal gradient.

The whole doc also reads from a shipper bias. Which is not something I think is particularly bad, and you can never hide your biases 100%. But when it comes to the fact that they’re very clearly downplaying Sora and Kairi scenes, while overanalyzing every Riku and Sora scene, it comes off more as a disappointment with what they were given. While I won’t defend Sora and Kairi’s relationship, since she’s off screen 95% of the time and never given a chance to actually gain natural development with him, it’s just silly to go and say that those scenes had no romantic intent. I’ve seen both the JP and Eng version, and based on cultural nuances, I don’t think those scenes were intended as friendship or parting. They were clearly wrapping up the romantic sub-plot that’s happened since KH1. Hand-holding in particular is a much bigger thing in Japan than it is in the West.

I will admit that JP->Eng translation for some scenes on Riku’s part came off with less impact. Japanese however is a very contextual language, and the same word can be translated multiple ways depending purely on context. The one that comes up in the document most is 大切な人. Essentially meaning, someone precious. For it to be translated on Hercules side as the one he loves most makes sense, because we all know Hercules and Meg’s relationship is romantic, and the West in general writes far more openly romantic than Japan does. While I didn’t like how it was translated on Riku’s side, using “important/precious person” over “true love” still would have made more sense. Again with the Elsa and Anna mirrors. The intent was familial love. I do wish they had translated the 俺は信じる、お前はあきらめない part more accurately, as it does show his faith  in Sora better.

And this brings me to the false hope part. Kingdom Hearts is, for all intents and purposes, a Japanese game made by middle-aged Japanese men, and co-owned by Disney. Even if I could argue that Riku maybe has one-sided feelings for Sora, if you expect the game devs to ever confirm something to that extent, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. And this is from the point of view for someone who has shipped them for 13 years of my life. Because yes, they have a really well developed relationship, due to the amount of focus both characters get in each game. But I knew deep down since KH1 that it would never go anywhere. I accepted it long ago. Yet now I’m seeing people gain hope from this doc that maybe it still has a canon chance, and this is what I feel is disingenuous to the fandom. I don’t want to see others get their hopes up for future installments only to end up getting hurt.

I want to be clear that I won’t stop shipping them just because my ship sunk in canon. And I won’t say I’m okay with it either. At first I shrugged it off, but it kind of hit much later on that I wasn’t really ready to see it happen. The writers of the doc seem to be dealing with escapism. Which is fine, you don’t have to accept canon, but that they or others who’ve read the theory seem to aggressively be pushing it, is what puts a bad taste in my mouth.

They also give Nomura a lot of credit for things he’s pulled out of his ass for the past 17 years to keep the series going. And I’m just personally not a fan of the whole “it was all a dream”. I feel that to say that for a game people waited so long for is a low blow to the fans. At least in DDD, the dream instances were obvious from the start, and Riku had the big glowing Dream Eater sigil on his back. It wasn’t using hidden or trick narrative--it was stupidly simple, and in plain sight. Which is what a lot of KH is, under the surface--stupidly simple. Just told in an overly convoluted, pointlessly roundabout way.

I also fail to see how anyone can take Yozora as anything but Nomura’s salt about Noctis and Versus. How his salt affected KH3 though is a topic for another time.

Either way... people are free to believe what they want, and support what they want. But I can’t in good faith tell people to have hope that Riku and Sora would ever become a canon couple. Not with my extensive experience with Japanese media.

[bluerosesburnblue]

This very nearly became a Kingdom Key Only run because I like challenge runs like that but honestly I never felt like sticking to the Kingdom Key was ever really a hindrance

...so let’s talk about that ending, from the start of the Keyblade Graveyard to the credits, yeah?

I cannot BELIEVE that Nomura gave us the Beach Party Ending we were all hoping for just to rip Sora away at the last second. Good GOD, man, who spit in your coffee?

So I guess we should get the elephant in the room out of the way, first. I’m actually not... that upset by the ending? Like, yes, I find it extremely ironic that the game that made me love Sora more than any other character in the game would essentially kill him off, but... okay, when Nomura said that the ending would be “hard to swallow” I had two worst case scenarios in mind. And I mean “worst case” in the “Nonononono he’d better not do that if he does I’m done” way

Scenario 1: Xehanort unlocks Kingdom Hearts. Either he’s stopped or he succeeds, but either way the damage is done and he’s too far along to stop and the universe is reset. All of the heroes are alright, they survive the ending, but the world of the game is changed irreversibly, forever. It’s all one World again, the Disney worlds are gone, or they’re there but they’ve been forced together in a weird jigsaw-puzzle way. The details don’t really matter, I just didn’t want a status-quo shakeup like that that gets passed off as a happy/bittersweet ending because the heroes survived

Scenario 2: Xehanort unlocks Kingdom Hearts. Either he’s defeated but whatever he started can’t be stopped, or Kingdom Hearts is the only thing that can defeat him. Either way, Sora has to use the power of Kingdom Hearts. He keeps the world exactly as it was, but has to give up his own physical existence to do so. After all, he who opens the door will become a god in the next world. Maybe he persists as a “force” that watches over his friends, but Sora is gone for good

What we ended up getting was... very similar to that second scenario, but it differs just enough to save it for me. At the very least, knowing that Sora and Kairi are connected and that Sora’s in Shibuya in the Secret Movie gives me enough hope that he can and will come back. Which, when compared to what I was afraid we were gonna get, leaves me weirdly optimistic. I still cried a lot (NOMURA I AM TAKING CUSTODY OF YOUR SON THAT’S MY SWEET BABY BROTHER NOW FIGHT ME) but I’m nowhere near as emotionally devastated as I could’ve been

And here’s the big thing, I liked most of the scenes in the Final Battle sequence. As scenes they were (mostly) fine. The reunions were heartwrenching (even if Sora is just kind of... there for most of them), the KHUx stuff was incredible (Ephemeeeeeer <3<3<3), the locales and concepts were all interesting. My problem was actually the order events happen in

So, first off, everyone dies way too fast. WAY too fast. It’s one of the two scenes I have a problem with. Everyone arrives at the Graveyard and fights a swarm of Heartless. They walk down a crevice and see Terra. A surprising amount of people get knocked out or injured trying to take care of just Terra-Xehanort? Then another big wave of Heartless shows up and everyone just... dies? Like, the second big scene in what is a very long finale and everyone dies? Hell, Aqua just gives up!

They also blew the KHUx Union X attack WAY too early. A set piece like that (it’s SUCH A GOOD CONCEPT AND THE SCENE WAS BEAUTIFUL) and you waste it on a big cloud of Heartless at the start of the final battle? Guys... guys that’s some last minute “all hope is lost, so here’s unexpected help” stuff, you shouldn’t just have that happen that soon

And the thing is... both of those scenes would be so much more impactful if they had happened later in the finale. Ideally, picture this:

The team takes care of the first swarm of Heartless. (You could have moments in that fight where you get a different guest Keyblade wielder, one at a time, in a callback to the KH2 Battle of 1000 Heartless with the FF characters). They’re feeling pretty good about it. They just all worked as a team for the first time together and they did alright. Maybe a little shaky. After all, most of them don’t really know each other that well. They can’t know each other’s styles or predict each others’ moves. Their teamwork is shaky, but they managed and that gives them some confidence. Maybe they can do this if they work together

Then Xehanort shows up. We can’t be having any of this “friendship” and “teamwork” nonsense. He throws up the labyrinth to try and separate everybody and pair off the Darknesses each to 1-2 Lights so that they clash, but the Darknesses are at a clear advantage. Unlike in the actual game, the labyrinth is crawling with Heartless to break up the tedium of the boss rush a bit. (I liked the idea of having to choose who to rescue first in the actual game, but it didn’t actually effect anything except which order you took the fights in.) While running through the Labyrinth you encounter different friends in different sections to help you fight off Heartless, and their boss fight is at the end of their section. That would give everyone just a bit more time to bond with each other. Maybe put in a few puzzles or something that make use of them creatively, like Ven and Aqua using wind and barriers to traverse their section of the Labyrinth. Just... everyone needs more time together. Some things about the fights and reunions would need to be changed, though. I wouldn’t be adverse to changing it up just slightly so that Lingering Will shows up as a guest for the Terranort + Vanitas fight, and it takes both Lingering Will and The Guardian to wrest Terra’s body back (instead of having Lingering Will only show up for Attempt 2 of the Terranort and Heartless Tornado Kill Everyone scene and then fuck off somewhere? Never seen again?) The Saix and Xion fight is also changed up. Roxas doesn’t just... appear from nowhere, and while this seems to be Xion... something’s off. It’s not really Xion, just a puppet made to look like her using data from the finale of 358/2 Days that had, miraculously, survived. This Xion is like the second Replica Riku (and can I just say thank GOD it’s not the “Riku from the past when he was controlled by Ansem” like they thought for the longest time because that was SILLY. Though I’m slightly disappointed that it wasn’t Data-Riku’s digital heart shoved into a Replica body like I’d theorized based on the trailers). This Replica gets purged, too, leaving two Replica bodies conveniently wearing Organization coats behind at the Keyblade Graveyard. We’ll get back to that

(Also, and this is just me, but I actually like how unrepentant Vanitas is. I think a lot of people forget that his sympathetic traits and background of abuse were novel-only things and the novel canon isn’t game canon in the same way that the Harry Potter movies aren’t book canon. Game!Vanitas has never been anything other than a completely unrepentant jackass, and Sora and Ven still gave him a chance to redeem himself. He just refused to take it, and I like that. It’s refreshing to have a character in KH not even try to justify their evil. He’s evil because he wants to be. It’s as simple as that.)

So, anyway, we have the labyrinth stuff. The team is worn down. NOW is where you place everyone dying. I don’t care if you keep it the same, or the Heartless Tornado is controlled by Ansem, or even just Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Nort pick everyone off because they’re all the same person, so of course their teamwork is stronger. You all weren’t good enough friends. You couldn’t have won, because none of you had fought together before, so your friendship was a detriment as you stumbled over each other and just assumed you’d be okay. Sora is left alone. And then he’s gone, too.

And here’s where you place the Final World. I think there was a big opportunity missed here. We get Namine separated from Kairi here. So here’s what I propose: remember all the talk throughout the game about the hearts within Sora’s melding with his, but they might be able to be saved if their memories and the parts of themselves were placed in the right boxes? Fffffffuckingggg... HAVE NAMINE AS A GUEST HERE and have it be just as much about putting Sora back together as it is separating the pieces of Roxas and Xion from him. Once you meet up with Namine’s star (or just have her have a physical form, too, since she’d be tethered to Kairi, too?) she helps out because now that Sora’s in pieces, it’s just a simple matter of sorting those pieces. Putting the scattered links in the chains of memories in different chains, back where they belong. Two hearts are released, now to find everyone else’s. Chirithy is still there, just give Nami some more time

(Also, add a colored tint to the stars or something that goes away after talking to them they were so hard to see)

Anyway. Dives. Lich. I don’t hate this section, I just think the Lich fights could’ve been a little more interesting? Also uhh... maybe have the characters hearts be found in worlds that actually, like... mean something to the character thematically? I guess Aqua in the Caribbean makes sense because water but it would make more sense to have her in Arendelle because ice is also water and she’s basically Ven’s big sis and there are quite a few parallels between the two relationships? The hell does Axel have to do with San Fransokyo? And since Terra would theoretically be there in the rewrite, we’ll need an extra world so place Axel in Twilight Town. Then I dunno. Donald in the Caribbean because he’s canonically a sailor. Ven in Corona because his isolation by Eraqus has parallels to Rapunzel only a bit less evil in intent. Terra in Olympus because that was the world he learned he could be a true hero and beat the darkness. Goofy in Monstropolis because out of all the characters he’s the funniest and they use laugh energy. Mickey in Toy Box because he’s the face of a major franchise and has so many toys based off of him you have no idea. That would place Riku in San Fransokyo where his Norted Replica counterpart was and also poetically make him and Kairi the last ones saved

SO EVERYONE’S ALIVE. We return to the land of the living. There’s no weird... like, time repeats or anything. The last four Norts are... kind of shocked! But also laughing it up because Sora just abused the Power of Waking to hell and back and they know what that means. Also, the lights are still at exactly the same disadvantage they were before they got revived. Or so they think until two bright lights emerge from the labyrinth behind them. That’s right, Roxas and Xion are here, having had their hearts freed from Sora’s in The Final World and taking the abandoned Replica bodies from the Labyrinth. Now we have the Sea-Salt reunion, sans the stuff with Isa because why the hell should Roxas and Xion just be sympathetic to Saix? Save that for a scene in the finale. Doesn’t even have to be spoken, just make it seem like Saix, Roxas, and Xion are trying to come to an understanding but still awkward around each other

After that I’m a little shakier, admittedly. I know you leave Ephemer’s appearance to summon the ancient Keyblades until the very end. I’d also have given him some line like “You remind me of an old friend” or something. Just... slight reference to Player

I have no idea how to work around the Kairi getting killed stuff and still get the ending Nomura wants! That’s the second scene I have a problem with. Sora doesn’t “need” motivation, he’s already prepped to bash the old man’s face in. I dunno... maybe opening Kingdom Hearts messes up Kairi’s light or something and that’s why she disappears? I dunno, there were better ways to do that if you HAD to kill Kairi, and better scenes if you didn’t, tbh

So in summary, I like the pieces of the ending, just not how they were put together. There was a lot of cool stuff in theory, it just wasn’t executed as well as it could’ve been for a more satisfying and emotional finale. The ending’s fine, and I honestly expected it to be a bit rushed considering how much they had to wrap up in this game, but I think it was a low point in what was otherwise a really fun and enjoyable finale to the story arc

I mean... I think that’s all I have to say about the ending, so here’s some assorted thoughts:

I think it was a missed opportunity to not have a Max Goof cameo at the end when the Disney trio is reunited with their loved ones and Goofy just stands there with Jiminy. Max wouldn’t even have been voiced. Just let him show up

I’m torn as to characters’ outfits in the Final Battle. On the one hand, I like how in the end all of the trios are wearing outfits that match the other members of their respective trios. On the other hand, I would’ve killed for EVERYONE to have had a new outfit with the black and plaid/gingham theme to show that they’re not just disjointed trios that happened to come together, but a big group of companions. Everyone is a Team, it’s not just a Team made of Everyone. They made excuses for Mickey’s shirt and Lingering Will’s cape. They could totally have done some “oh weird I guess getting brought back from the dead changed our clothes isn’t that convenient” thing

Why did they “break” Lea’s Keyblade only to have it be just fine when they needed to lock Kingdom Hearts? Why was that there?

I heard someone once say that KH3 was an “obligation.” And I can see where they’re coming from. While I loved the game overall and can feel the work and love put into it, between the sheer amount of sequel hooks and the rushed resolution, it does feel like Nomura just wanted to move on to the stuff he’d thought of in KHUx but had to wrap up the ongoing arc first. I’ve been spoiled on SOME of the Secret Reports, not all of them, but the Subject X stuff and Luxu’s true role with the box could’ve easily been put elsewhere. Maybe in a game in the next arc. That would’ve freed up some time in this game for a few more things, like giving Dark Aqua more screentime (she’s defeated in the same scene she’s introduced? Really?) and just in general spread the original plot stuff out more. As it is now, I feel the sequel hooks just distract from the current plot arc

I appreciate that they tried to give reasons for the Organization members to be in different worlds, but I don’t think it was executed that well. Yeah, we get explanations, like in some they’re performing more experiments on the heart and in others they’re searching for the New Lights, but they never do anything with what they accomplish in them. I was so sure they were going to do something with Data-Sora or Data-Riku because of the “digital heart” stuff in San Fransokyo, and NOTHING came of it. Here’s an idea: Data-Sora in Xion’s place among the Norts and Data-Riku in the Riku Replica’s place. Have Data-Sora look like Xion or act like her before the reveal. I dunno, just do SOMETHING with them. Have the Norts reference the Lights they found in the final battle or something. Just don’t drop them once the world is done

That being said, the worlds themselves were amazing, I really liked the original plots in Toy Box, Monstropolis, and San Fransokyo. The character interactions in Corona and Arendelle were delightful. I also loved the design for the Ice Labyrinth in Arendelle and Galaxy Toys in Toy Box. Would’ve loved to have seen more of the town in Corona but loved what we did get to see of it. The Caribbean was... alright, but did contain my favorite party member: a shambling pile of crabs that were gifted sapience by an ocean goddess so that Sora could free her, only for her to get freed by someone else offscreen

Funny enough I actually didn’t care much for The Caribbean and San Fransokyo, but for opposite reasons. The Caribbean was FAR too open for its own good (I am NOT an open-world person and bad at navigating, so the ship, while interesting in concept, was a nightmare) and San Fransokyo was too scripted (I felt like I was locked in Hiro’s garage). I didn’t hate them, but I also 100% completed every other world and decided that with those two, it just wasn’t worth doing before beating the game. I didn’t hate either of them, and my feelings may change when I go back for treasures and lucky emblems

I absolutely killed Davy Jones with the Pirate Ship attraction. Pass up the opportunity to summon a neon pirate ship on top of a hyper-realistic pirate ship during a climactic battle? Who do you think I am?

I love how Ephemer’s name in the journal is just “???” because that’s an accurate representation of Sora’s reaction. “Who is this guy? Why is he here? Huh???” But I know. I know who the best dandelion boy is. So typical of him to swoop in at the last minute to save you and then disappear to who knows where

I ADORE that the final battle is Sora, Donald, and Goofy together and that the final attack is Trinity Limit. Sora coming back on his own from no health just for Trinity Limit was AWESOME and such a perfect end to the series, gameplay-wise

And finally, I am a little sad that the one theory I had throughout the game was wrong. I’d thought that, since Young Xehanort and Eraqus are always shown in in Scala ad Caelum, that it wasn’t a flashback but simply their spirits playing a metaphorical chess game in the afterlife. Their dialogue after the final battle seems to indicate that that isn’t the case

Also, and this is just for me, but my final death count was 5

Once to the Tornado Titan due to having a poor grasp of Airstepping and NO grasp of Rage Form, killed myself thanks to spamming Riskcharge

TWICE to the electric arena trap in Verum Rex because I am SO BAD at shooters and ejected myself directly into the Death Pit twice

Once during the ship battle portion of the Zombie Kraken fight

Once during the Union X Keyblade summoning because I was too busy reading the list of names to notice the text on the screen that said “HEY IDIOT DODGE ATTACKS DON’T JUST SIT THERE WHAT ARE YOU DOING”

But for now, I think I’m out of stuff to say about KH3. I’m sure I’ll find more once I’ve processed everything, but for now...

now we’ve just got to wait for Sora to come home

[semi-imaginary-place]

KH3 is like half a game, it feels incomplete and clunky. It sets up events that never happen and tries to force moments without having the build up to support them. The game does some things really well and reaches some truly heartfelt emotional beats and solid character moments.

3:48 PM - 31 Jan 20191 reply0 retweets1 likeReply 1 Retweet  Like 1 View Tweet activity

The Disney (and Pixar) worlds were pretty well incorporated and mostly able to contribute thematically to the game unlike sometimes in past games were the worlds were kind of just dropped into the game.

The Toy Box much like Halloween Town brings up how dolls/toys/those who begin as inanimate objects can gain hearts. Monstropolis allows a plausible  entry point for Vanitas with the connection between fear induced scream  energy and the negative emotions of the unversed.

Of all the worlds, I enjoyed Sora's time with the Big Hero 6 gang the most. Their interactions felt genuine and I had a lot of fun watching them. It also had the most complete arc of the worlds with the continuation of the movie's theme of living after loss.

Most of the worlds' story arcs felt incomplete. Starting in Olympus we are left hanging with Pete finding Pandora's box and the city in ruins. The story just kind of ends. There also was not enough time and build up to give significance to Hercules' choice to rejoin the mortals.

In Twilight Town, with all the discussion surrounding hearts and data from Coded to KH2 to KH3, that a whole other Twilight Town exists was completely dropped. It felt like the game was leading the audience somewhere and then never followed through.

With the Toy Box, the Sora, Goofy, and Donald leave and don't come back with Woody, Buzz, and the others still stranded in another world just hoping to one day meet Andy again. The search for Andy and the other toys is the main arc for this world and its never resolved.

While some worlds aren't quite as obviously half a story arc, all of them could have used more time. Many of them assume you have already seen the source material. In Frozen, Hans being the villian is the big twist but with the first half of the movie cut, there's no impact.

Pirates of the Caribbean makes no sense to anyone who hasn't seen the movies. I wish there was a scene of Sora unlocking Tia Dalma given how it was setup to happen. There was good characterization for Sora here though on how both he and Jack are free spirits.

The Winnie the Poo part while sweet (because I love Winnie the Poo sections) doesn't go anywhere. Sora just loses his connection with Poo and disappears from the cover, and then a few mini games later he's back. Sora's comment on how their bond has weakened never goes anywhere.

In the other games you search for lost pages or help Poo regain his memories, here there is no story. It's a lost opportunity to do, well something,  but that can be said of much of the game. They could have used this part to talk about how relationships must be nurtured.

The ending also fell a bit flat because of the buildup-payoff problem. The game tries to show the characters despairing only for someone to swoop in and give them hope. The problem is that in the Keyblade Graveyard they do this so many times it loses its impact.

Given the amount of stuff this game should have resolved, not enough time was spent on that. Instead precious time was spent trying to create sequel hooks. In doing so, the cohesiveness of the game as a unit was compromised. The game was too short for all they tried to achieve.

At times the narrative would point "Look! its a  happy/sad/intense/etc. scene", but without a proper build up, these  scenes lacked emotional weight.

I'm conflicted on KHUX in KH3.  I liked Chirithy reuniting with Ven, Laurium possibly remembering, and Strelitzia's maybe cameo. The black box stuff could have been cut. Its to connect  KHUX with future games, but it does nothing for the Xehanort saga and bogs KH3 down.

Then there is the mysterious girl with connections to Lea, Isa, and Ansem that we are only hearing of now. Who is she? Is she Ava? I don't know but they should have saved it for another game.

I thought all the keyblades of the Union members coming to help was a nice touch, but why did Ephemer of all people show up? He was a Dandelion; the player was the one who chose to stay (except the player has no canon appearance in khux which makes them hard to depict).

On one hand I got really excited looking for my KHUX username but on the other hand it was a little too 4th wall breaking and took me out of the game. The other 4th wall leaning scenes with Axel didn't do it for me either.

I did like the definitely-not-instagram loading screens. They were just this side of absurd to be amusing. It was cute. Humor is a subjective thing but I didn't like the increase in jokes in this game. It broke immersion for me.

Some were funny like Verum Rex. Others though felt forced. KH3 had more Donald, Sora, and Goofy poking fun at each other. At first it was fun, but then they kept doing it and it got old.

Maybe its because of all the jokes and narrative problems broke my immersion in the game or maybe its because I'm older now, but KH3 wasn't as magical an experience for me as the other games.

I don't mean magic in how many spells Donald can cast but in that sense wonder, that the extraordinary is possible. That sense of magic is why the Roxas prologue of KH2 is one of my favorite parts of the franchise.

Part of it also is that the section where Sora goes saving everyone's hearts from the Lich after they "died" didn't reach me emotionally. Which is a shame since the part right before where Sora runs around in the Final World and talks with the stars is one of my favorite parts.

I was surprised we didn't see more Dives to the Heart and battles at the center of the heart given the Terranort, Ventus-Vanitas, Xion, etc. After Sora got the power of awakening I was expecting him and Riku to use that to free Xion and Terra.

And then we would get an epic battle where Terra finally kicks Xehanort out of his own body. I also wanted to see Aqua beat up Xehanort. Aqua's suppose to be super strong from spending 10 years in the Realm of Darkness.

Kairi deserved better. Kairi deserved more. 3 games (II, 3D, III) on how Kairi trains to become a keyblade wielder and she doesn't get to do anything. Why was she kidnapped anyways? The answer is to give an excuse for Sora at the end to have a "I must do this alone" moment.

Kairi was kidnapped just so Sora could angst over her and so he could go save her. She deserved better.

The developers really pushed the Sora-Kairi romance this game. I was disoriented since we since the last game we saw a lot of romantic indications was 17 years ago in KH1. Riku got third-wheeled this game.

Enough complaining, parts that worked pretty well/were well executed: Big Hero 6, Monsters Inc, Sora finding the Door to Darkness in Destiny Islands and Aqua returning to the Realm of Light, Sora's interaction with other characters(Rapunzel, BH6, Jack, etc), the Final World.

Visually the environments are amazing! I was so happy running around everywhere. Its pretty. (and the heartless are cute)

KH3 was on the low side for number of worlds visited. Again, I'm surprised how (comparatively) short the game is. There was a lack on Final Fantasy characters as well (or well videogame characters given how TWEWY was in 3D).

I would have loved to see a Moana world. Moana, Maui, and Sora interactions would have been great. Thematically it would have worked too since Moana's plot centers on how Te Fiti losing her heart changed her.

In every KH there's always been some wham moments and that didn't happen to me at all in KH3... until the every end with Luxu. Many of us have been suspicious of Xigbar for a very long time. His organization chair height is too high. He seems to know more than he should...

As much as I am complaining, I do like the Kingdom Hearts III. Its a good game.

I've said it before, but KH:coded is a thematic summary of the entire series and one of the important points in that game is how Data Sora understands hurt. Data Sora understood how to live through hurt and this is something we see Sora learn as well through the games.

In CoM Sora did not understand this. All the way to 3D he did not know how to deal with hurt so when Roxas shared all his pain, that contributed to Sora sinking into darkness. In KH3 though Sora has grown and can accept hurt.

I would have though liked to have seen a more overt conclusion to Sora's relationship to darkness. Sora has always had darkness in him, he's not a princess of heart (or Ven) and there were hints before KH3 that he was falling to darkness.

Anti/Rage form are a manifestations of that darkness. Maybe this was just sloppy character writing, but Sora is noticeably meaner during KH2 and at the end he says "maybe the darkness has gotten to me, too". In KH3, besides rage form Sora's darkness isn't directly addressed.

Back to UX. The devs connected the epilogue, the secret reports, and UX well. That's all that was needed really. From Backcover we already know the black box is important. KH3 shouldn't have wasted time focusing on it.

And about X girl )Shuld?? idk). It really is awkward how they bring her into KH3. If she's the reason Lea and Isa got into this mess they should have dropped a line in 358/2 or one of the other games something like "Don't forget we're doing this for her"

Another good scene was Aqua giving Ven head pats. This gave me life.

Scala ad Caelum was built inverse on top of Daybreak Town. I didn't notice! Never mind what I said earlier, there's the "oh shit... what" moment. I'm just going to sit here mind blown thinking of all the implications...