Sora really ‘don’t worry babe, I’ve got this’d Riku

Can we also talk about how Riku agrees here zero hesitation? Everybody else doubts what Sora’s capable of on his own. That’s a reoccurring theme throughout the games, but since the start of this one none of the adults have believed Sora could handle the RoD specifically. Even Donald and Goofy a few moments ago were reluctant to let Sora go to the RoD alone. But not Riku. Riku has complete faith in Sora, and he has shown that consistently throughout KH3. He knows Sora’s more capable than everyone gives him credit for. Riku expected Sora to come to the rescue, and that’s exactly what Sora did. Sora is amazing, and he is going to save Aqua.

Xemnas: You seek answers. I can give you purpose.

Roxas: Roxas.

Xemnas: That is right–the new you.

Axel: Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here, just like this and watched the sunset.

Oh, I definitely think that KH3 destroyed EVERYTHING that was set up for BOTH Lea and Isa regarding the future games. I’m sure Nomura was heartbroken when he had to write KH3′s awful script. I know he’s capable of FAR better than that. He still tried to hint at what he wanted between them, and they probably will ALWAYS come across like they’re closeted. When Saïx showed up at the clock tower, I still think Axel acted like someone who was seeing an ex who broke their heart that they still had feelings for. But that requires reading between the lines. I don’t think there’s any coming back from it, no.

Xemnas: As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that…of a recusant.

If Lea had at least cared enough to save Isa and restore his REAL personality, then I would be more optimistic about the future of his character. But the dude that was left over in KH3 was not the same Isa that was in BBS. You can’t even blame it on him having no heart or being Norted anymore since they backpedaled on that idea. He had no excuse for his time as a villain. But that was supposed to be what Isa’s whole character was about. He lost his true purpose. Xemnas branded him with the Recusant’s Sigil and brainwashed him to have a new purpose: becoming stronger.

Naminé watched the Replica battle Sora in the crystal ball.

“Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you? You have my sympathies,” Axel said quietly. “From the heart.”

His words were meant for the Replica. Not for her.

Axel was hinted to have a very dark and tragic past. It was supposed to be the backbone of his entire character. In the novel, you can see that when Axel said this to Naminé, it happened on the same day Roxas officially decided to call Xion his friend and treated her to the icing on the cake. He made her a promise that they would all eat ice cream together when Axel got back. This is just after he found the WINNER stick. Xion said they must be really close.

Xion: We don’t have any place to run.

Roxas: I know. Heh, I was just thinking out loud.

Axel: Well, even if things change, we’ll never be apart–

Xion: As long as we remember each other…right? Don’t worry, Axel–we got your hokey speech memorized.

Axel: Just checking.

Xion: I’ll have these moments memorized for a long time. Forever, I hope.

She also says that on Day 352 ~Sunset~, the last time they all ate ice cream together. Roxas and Xion almost killed each other and Axel’s calm reaction speaks volumes. He was smiling and urged everyone to go get ice cream, like that was the most natural thing in the world to do when someone was about to die. Instead of panicking, he coped by doing fun childish things like eating ice cream and talking about looking for a WINNER stick.

Axel: Hey, Roxas. Bet you don’t know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.

Roxas: Like I asked! Know-it-all. Seriously, where is she?

Axel: Roxas… I’m not sure she’s gonna show today.

It’s because he’d already been though that experience before. Roxas and Xion’s fate from the very beginning was to fight to the death. And there are countless hints in the story that Lea and Isa were in the same situation. One of them was going to die. They knew they didn’t have much time left to be together.  

Roxas: Where did I think I could go? What a joke.

Xion: Roxas…I’m out of time. Even if I’m not ready…I have to make this choice. You have poured so many memories into me…given me so much…that I feel like I’m about to overflow. Look at me, Roxas. Who do you see? If you see somebody else’s face…a boy’s face…then that means I’m almost ready. This puppet will have to play her part. Roxas… This is him. It’s Sora.

The whole point of RAX was that Roxas and Xion’s relationship was playing out exactly like Lea and Isa’s did in the past. They were once inseparable. Roxas and Xion are just like how they used to be. But now one of them will have to kill the other and there’s nothing they can do about it. It was déjà vu the entire year for Axel. I suspect that is probably the true meaning of “358/2 Days”. His actions were always influenced by that prior history, which he kept a secret.

Axel: How did this happen?

Saïx: Xion is no more.

Xemnas: It is probably for the best. Get me back my Keyblade wielder. Fetch me Roxas.

Regarding casual fans, I think they are a big reason why Isa got destroyed. KH3 was written primarily for casual fans. And casual fans never cared about Isa. Most didn’t even knew who he was. Some thought Isa playfully teasing Lea was supposed to show that he was always evil, even as a kid. 🙄 The whole idea that Axel cared very deeply for Isa and that he had changed went right over their heads. So yeah, Isa was simply not a priority and I don’t see that changing in the future.

Day 357: To My Best Friend

Roxas left. It’s so like him to just leave that WINNER ice cream stick behind. Come tomorrow, I’ll probably get the order to hunt him down, but leaving that here makes it feel so permanent. I wish the three of us—three? No. That the two of us could share some ice cream again someday. That’s what it is to be friends.

Not to mention that casual fans are obsessed with Roxas, and that’s why Axel was obsessed with him and forgot about Isa. TBH, I never thought Roxas and Axel’s friendship was very interesting, even in KH2. When I first played Days, I actually found it to be rather dull. A grown man with a troubled past befriends a naive kid. He constantly lies to him to shelter him from the harsh realities of life. He avoids talking about his past or anything too heavy with him at all times. Okay, that’s fine. But I’m supposed to accept that they are inseparable BFF’s who are SOOO close that seeing Roxas is the only thing that gives Axel’s existence meaning? And I’m supposed to find that cute? I’m sorry, it’s not. It’s weird. It wasn’t until I played BBS that I saw their relationship differently. Then I actually liked how it was portrayed and Axel became my favorite character.

Axel: Look who’s finally awake.

Roxas: Axel...

Axel: Or…maybe I have it wrong. Might be time to sleep. Soon we won’t be able to talk like this anymore.

Roxas: Does that mean it’s time for me to go back to where I belong?

Because I realized that Axel’s relationship with Roxas and Xion was an attempt to “fix” his broken relationship with Isa. And that made him a million times more interesting and relatable. I think Lea has been ruined beyond repair just like Isa has. KH3 watered him down so much that I can’t even really say that I like him anymore, or that I am looking forward to his future appearances. He lowkey sucks now. I actually don’t think his character is very interesting without Isa. And I don’t think the direction they took with him will even appeal to casual fans. All the casual fans I know said he sucked in KH3. Not only was he was sidelined during his fight, he lacked that mysterious and edgy quality that made him so popular. His past now revolves around a random girl. 

Axel: Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized? The day we met, when you got your new name, you and I sat right here and watched the sunset.

Roxas: Yeah. This place is home. Me… Hayner, Pence, Olette…We’ve shared a lot of adventures.

Axel: You’ll see them again. I know you will.

Roxas: Yeah, you’re right. Well, I should go. Sora’s waiting for me.

Axel: Yeah, I suppose he is.

Why did Saïx show up at the clock tower and know exactly why Axel had three ice creams? When Axel said he would drag Saïx back home, why did Saïx intently stare at his popsicle stick, immediately mention that Axel’s tear marks were gone, then stand up like Xion did when she said she was out of time? Why did Saïx know that the tear marks were because Axel was crying so much? I doubt any of this will be explained, but it’s probably because he remembers Lea crying for him. Isa’s time was almost up. They spent their last day together eating ice cream, watching the sunset, and Isa told Lea why the sunset was red. Lea was heartbroken and crying when they said “See ya”, promising to meet each other again in the next life.

Like we promised to meet again in the next life. We’ll make another promise. “See you, partner,” said Axel. Roxas gave him one last smile and vanished into the air. Moments later, Axel did the same.

Isa’s whole character was created for Lea to awaken his Keyblade. Lea had something important to recover that was lost. He treasured Isa. Axel’s memories of Isa were very precious to him. When Axel was asked what he couldn’t bear to lose, he didn’t say his relationship with Saïx. He said his memories of the past because that’s all he had to remember the pain of losing something. I don’t see how Isa’s character could possibly be salvaged when he wasn’t even saved with the power of waking. When his redemption consisted of bringing back Roxas and Xion instead of revealing that Isa sacrificed himself for Lea. And without showing that Lea loved Isa. When you change the background of a character THAT much, you are pushing the reset button. Lea and Isa might as well be new characters at this point.

Sora, Riku… Please come home. We’re waiting for you here at the blue sea, under the clear sky. If this wish reaches you… If you’re somewhere out there under the same sky… I want you to know. We’re waiting for you. And we’ll keep waiting.

She could hear the soft rushing of the waves. Kairi thought back to that day when she’d written a letter to the boy she couldn’t quite remember. She’d believed that letter would begin something. Why had she thought that? It was someone she’d seen in a dream. It must have been Sora—no, Roxas?

“It starts with an S!”

“Starts with an S…,” Kairi murmured. “Sora.” We made a promise. I know we did.

They changed the wording of Kairi’s letter to emphasize that she had been waiting for Sora and Riku. When Axel said they’d meet again in the next life, Roxas said he’d be waiting. The secret ending of Re:Coded is called “Destiny”. Braig asked Young Xehanort who he should bring with him. It cut off, so the only thing we heard was that the name started with an “S”. KH3D had already been released, so everyone knew Isa was the one Braig had taken with him and that the name he said must have been Saïx. So why make that the secret ending?

A promise… We’ll meet again…in the next life. We did say that. I remember. I remember our promise.

I think that the whole secret ending of KH2.5 was devoted to this promise. Lea began his next life in the lab after also seeing Roxas in a dream and being reminded of a promise he made to someone he couldn’t remember. Then Lea said he’d bring Isa back while looking at “Door to Darkness” written on the wall. If Lea had gone through the Door to Darkness before, then how did he find HIS Door to Light?

Everything wrong with Kingdom Hearts 3 and why its not all bad

Everything Wrong

Kingdom Hearts is an interesting series to say the least. Over the greater part of the last two decades it has released 9 games on 7 different platforms. The truly astonishing thing is that they all add something to the series' overall plot. This is something that rarely happens in video games or fiction in general. The wait that many fans had for Kingdom Hearts 3 and all the expectation from prequels and years of development was bound to lead to disappointment. But enough with the broad claims and needless facts, lets get down to what went wrong with the game.

#1-The lack of Final Fantasy characters

This has been a pretty consistant outcry from fans since the launch of the game but probably came as no surprise to hardcore fans who had notice Nomura slowly directing the series away from FF. I agree with most fans and think this was a bad call, not because I didn't get to hit Sephiroth with a giant key for 10 minutes but because Square wasted character development on the Hollow Bastion Gang. Squall (Leon), Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid, who we had all seen since Traverse Town, are no where in sight. Not even a mention in the ridiculous amount of cutscenes this game had. Now, it is easy to say that they weren't consequential to the overall story that this game focused on but I argue they are not so easy to throw away. We watched and helped them go from Traverse Town to cleaning up Radiant Garden. Squall introduced us to the concept of the Keyblade and Heartless for crying outloud! With so many cutscenes on their world, they certainly deserved an onscreen appearance and really, an interaction, too.

#2-No Cloud and Sephiroth

That's right, this is so wrong it gets its own little paragraph. The Cloud saga has also been simmering in the background for many years with Cloud being tricked by Hades and battling the darkness within himself. The story fits so well into Kingdom Hearts' themes that it is disappointing to not see it come to a close in this third home console installment. Also, a numbered Kingdom Hearts game where I can't beat up Sephiroth? The Sephiroth fight was a rite of passage for me as a little kid and the idea of not being able to do it for the long awaited Kingdom Hearts 3 is a major let down.

#3-The Combat and Difficulty

The basic combat, much like the rest of the game, looks absolutely stunning. But, like a trackcar, it doesn't feel amazing (for the most part). Sora has never been as airborn as he was for this game and this greatly effects the difficulty in the otherwise outdated combat system. The basic combat system is floaty, for lack of a better word, and Sora is a lightening bolt across the worlds. In previous titles, the difficulty derived from how well you could move Sora (or other protags) with emphasis on understanding boss patterns and manipulating mobs. With the amount of mobility Sora has in Kingdom Hearts 3, players don't have to worry about mob control or bosses for that matter. Sora will move wherever the player wants in almost a flash and the game just isn't built around that kind of mobility, yet. Kingdom Hearts 3 enemies are built like the previous titles: slow, large, and highly predictable. They were challenging when Sora was an immobile piece of cabbage in Kingdom Hearts 1 but now they are simply too easy for this new high paced Sora.

The biggest additions to the combat are its biggest detractors. The forms seem too elementary and bland when compared to the drives used in Kingdom Hearts 2. Also, the fact that they are all attached to their respective keyblades is an odd way of limiting how the player can use each form. I personally loved the Frozen keyblade's forms but wanted to go for a more physical combat style and with the keyblade being magic focused, it was a choice I didn't like making. The attractions are a major detraction (insert laugh track). Aside from a few boss specific attractions, they disrupt the flow of combat and give the player a get of jail free card in a game that is already way too easy. They aren't very involved either and it turns an otherwise interesting and explosive combat system into an unrealized, underdeveloped shooter, quicktime event, or an invincablilty mode. The new mechanics for the combat were clearly an afterthought to the games graphics.

#4-Sidelined Characters and Sora's Arrested Development

This should come as no surprise by now but Nomura benched Kairi, again. Not only did he bench her, he ultra benched her. In game that was supposed to be her big fighting debut she had one on screen kill. While other female protags like Aqua and Xion have some badass moments here and there, Kairi is a cheerleader in an era of game storytelling that has left the trope far behind. Her and Axel (about the same rant for him) are trapped in this little time and space pocket dimension that we only get to see in cutscenes. Sqaure really missed a great opportunity to make the world Kairi and Axel went to in to a unique coliseum experience. We could've seen Kairi and Axel train or even helped! It's a great opportunity that was missed just like Kairi's character.

Although we have seen Sora grow up physically, Sora is still the same naive little kid on the inside and that is becoming a problem. It was fine when Sora was just the vehicle for us to explore Disney worlds in KH1 but every other character has grown up and we've grown up too. Sora has also been through way too much to be the same kid he was in KH1. Characters like Riku, Axel and Aqua have all been through a lot and their struggle changed them in to the character they are in KH3. Sora needs to mature and grow in future or else this franchise won't have a palatable main protagonist. So, while it is nice that Haley Joel Osment can use a comfortable range when voicing Sora, it doesn't make up for the fact that Sora hasn't changed at all over the past decade and a half.

A small thing, but the last fight with Xehanort would've been great with the Destiny Island Trio instead of Sora, Donald and Goofy.

Why its Not a Bad Thing

So, while this game is by far the weakest number entry in the entire series in my opinion, the future for the franchise does show promise. For starters, the Xehanort saga was wrapped excellently. (The ending was by far the best part and did justice to the absolutely massive scale of the story so far) Looking to the next game, Nomura will essentially have a fresh start and that is great news. The character cast had become a little bloated with the idea of three trios (BBS, Days, and the Destiny Island Trio), each with their own complex storyline and resolution. With this fresh start, we could see a more focused style of storytelling at best or at worst, some great new characters and plots. Either way, it is certainly exciting!

The combat was weak because the enemies had yet to adapt to the mobility Sora has with the Unreal 4 engine. With the overwhelming comments on the games difficulty, I'm pretty sure Sqaure will try to created more aggressive AI and bosses that really test the player on how well they can use Sora's new found mobility. The idea alone gives me chills.

Overall, I give the game a 3/5 but I still have high hopes for the franchise as a whole.

Kingdom Hearts III

Alas, The Gray Talon chooses his targets wisely as the hunter considers his prey! 

With that being stated, today we are going to discuss, pick apart and review  the 14 year old game in the making, Kingdom Hearts III seeing as though I have just finished the story last night. First off as always I may slip and include a spoiler here any there so if you don’t want anything ruined you may want to click or look away before we go any further. However, if you don’t mind a mild spoiler or two, let’s jump right in and get started!

Overview:

Square-Enix in association with Yensid, er, I mean Disney, has brought us at long last a true sequel to Kingdom Hearts II. A game that was originally released in Japan in late 2005 and in NA/Europe in spring of 2006. The genre of this title is an action/RPG, with heavy emphasis on the action and a light to moderate notion to the RPG aspect. We will be looking at an array of features in this game ranging from graphics to gameplay and dissecting the story and overall seeing in the end if it’s truly worth your time!

Graphics:

In terms of visual style and representation of the polish, I can say without hesitation that here is one of the few key areas where KH3 shines. And I mean literally shines. By using the Unreal 4 Engine, the shiny and robust environments, textures and landscapes are truly a feast for the eyes. Even the cinematic cutscenes will have your jaw agape in awe that they are using in-engine graphics to undertake those scenes. The transitions from cutscenes to in game action are near flawless as well, allowing you to jump back into the action after a scene plays out without having to wait for a loading screen or any type of fade to black scene to transpire. There is an extremely noticeable difference from past KH titles to KH3. You’ll begin to notice little nuances such as Sora’s hair flowing in the wind as he’s jumping in the air to Donald and Goofy’s clothing swaying as they’re running around. I was playing this on my PS4 Pro and it seems to have an output of 1440p overall and does not include an option for HDR on either versions of the game, which is a little disappointing, but does not hinder the core experience. There is an option for framerate to either be locked at 30FPS or an free flowing framerate mode, which is defaulted from the start. I cannot stress enough that you should just leave the default settings as is because the game runs much, much better without locking up the framerate. The framerate, in fact, on free flow mode is almost consistently over 50FPS, nearing 60, which is impressive considering I was playing the game on the PS4 Pro and not the Xbox 1X, which tends to be more of a powerhouse in terms of hardware. Overall the graphics are pristine and what you would expect from taking a large chunk of an advantage of the Unreal 4 Engine.

Gameplay and Control:

The hack and slash action returns ten-fold in KH3 and honestly more so than I would have liked or expected. Don’t get me wrong, the gameplay works and overtime at that. There’s numerous moments when you’re struggling to keep up with the fast paced mayhem transpiring on screen as you keep mashing X, while waiting for that inevitable Triangle action command to prompt to go into a little mini-game mode with yourself, Donald, Goofy or whichever 4th party member you have from whichever world you are presently in. In my opinion there is just too much relying on mashing 1 or 2 buttons here and in the beginning when you’re in the honeymoon phase with KH3, you will rejoice and possibly say this is the best action game you ever played. However, when you’re 3 or 4 worlds in and doing the exact same carousel or water slide mini-game you’ll begin to feel burnt out from the tediousness that never seems to differ. One of the biggest problems of KH3, besides it’s overly convoluted story, (which don’t worry, we will get to shortly), is it’s over saturated use of relying on 1 or 2 buttons to kill an enemy with the same move over and over again with a teeny weeny hint of magic here and there and washing, rinsing and repeating until the very final moments of the game. The combat honestly feels like it’s just been slightly enhanced from other KH titles and does not do anything to evolve the core fighting mechanics as time goes on. You mash a button or two until something dies, use cure or a potion here and there when need be, and keep on repeating until the credits roll. The controls feel tight, slick and responsive as you move Sora around the map and by the simple press of a button can instantly send him wherever you want to go in whichever fashion you like. The camera works with you too as opposed to against you. The free camera control is always a welcomed sight and the only time the camera almost got in my way was during the final boss fight when it switched to an overhead view to better scope out your surroundings but it was a minor hiccup in the end. But you would think after over a decade in development, Tetsuya Nomura would focus more on the combat aspect instead of just tossing in a mere handful of random action sequences that replay more than a sitcom does reruns in the summer. But no, Nomura-san decided to invest all of his time and energy into providing us with one of the most complex storylines known to man that can even rival trying to figure out the proper timeline in The Legend of Zelda series, only much, much more nonsensical. 

Story/Narrative/Campaign:

Now herein lies the Achilles’ heel to not only KH3, but the plethora of all KH games to date, leading back to KH2 when the overly complicated cast of Kool-Aid cultists known as the Organization XIII were introduced, killed out, reintroduced, renamed and resurrected into different bodies. It’s just plain old unwarranted for a game that revolves around Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Oh, and speaking of Final Fantasy characters, or should I say lack thereof, KH3 shifts the focus to solely Disney and no, delete delete, Pixar characters in it’s entirety. If you have the smallest expectation to see Cloud, Squall, Auron or any of the other beloved FF cast then you best not ever even dare to dream about picking up and playing KH3 for the sheer amount of disappointment that will ensue. There is maybe 1 or 2 references to the FF characters but they are nowhere to be found here in KH3. There is only Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, the Organization XIII wackos and the 4 new Pixar worlds they added in total of 6 worlds in KH3 because a 10 year developmental period only allows for a handful of new worlds to be created. The returning worlds are Olympus Colosseum, which opens up the prologue of the game with (and my personal favorite in the entire game because you fight a ton of titans and Hades with a reprising James Woods doing his role) and for some daft reason Pirates of the Caribbean, because why not? The Pirates of the Caribbean story is also as complicated as a monkey trying to solve Chinese algebra so why not marry it to the conundrum that is the KH storyline? It makes sense right? Yeah, as much sense as strapping your nuts to a car battery because you like the way it feels. Now moving along, besides the lack of FF characters, the story and plot itself is very loosely explained. Sure there are some subtexts you can find and revisit in the main menu, but it rarely does justice as Square and Tetsa Nomura-San really wanted to you play either all 10 of the other KH games prior or by spending full price on the Story So Far PS4 title and watching the 17 hours of cutscenes so you are all caught up, because why else do we exist on this planet, if not to uncover the intricate meanings of a game about why there’s an organization trying to steal people’s hearts who also have a nobody and  unversed counterparts with Disney characters somewhere mixed in? And excuse me, because after reading that sentence back to myself I think I just gave myself Syphilis stage 3. But this is not the sole issue of the KH story. In KH3 especially, there is no focus on the plot, even as complicated as it may be. The vast majority of the game you are trying to get Sora to find the power of waking and from the opening prologue (which I kid you not as you enter Olympus the words spew across the screen Kingdom Hearts 2.9, you sleazy rat bastards) once it is mentioned and as you begin to traverse the worlds, Sora and pals tend to forget what their goal is and what they are doing, other than visiting worlds and getting intertwined with their own unique dramas. In the final act of the game, the story picks back up in tidbits only to try it’s best to close out the supposed final chapter in what has already been a painstakingly long and drawn out franchise. Lastly, if you think the story is over after KH3, hilariously the way the game ends makes it feel like The Dark Knight Rises, where you can create your own ending and definition to the fate of Sora. Only if you manage to collect all Mickey emblems can you see the “true” ending, which again doesn’t even make sense like the rest of this game. Sora and Riku are on some kind of Final Fantasy Versus like world on another adventure insinuating a KH4. Right. KH4, coming in the year 2099 after all the nuke’s finish dumping on the world and all that’s left is KH4 and a handful of mutants. If I had to rate KH3 on it’s narrative alone it would get a C- but luckily the slick gameplay and amazing musical score helps balance out the awkwardness of it’s plot.

Sound, Voice and Music:

Another saving grace in KH3 is in it’s musical opus. When it wants to, the score is reminiscent to that of a grand orchestra, that can damn near rival the likes of such famed composers as Hans Zimmer, Harry-Gregson Williams, Bill Conti and even John Williams at times. Some very familiar tunes return from previous games and the final battle music is a delight to the ears to behold and take in. The copulas sounds of a beautifully integrated choir with a robust orchestra really bring the world around you to life. The voice acting holds up well too for the most part, when they aren’t talking complete gibberish about the plot. Disney characters sound as you imagine they would in their respective films. Although Tom Hanks and Tim Allen couldn’t reprise their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, their stand-ins do just fine to make you feel like you’re playing a side tale of Toy Story. Meanwhile, the return of almost the entire cast of Frozen made you feel like you were watching Frozen 2.0. And lastly, the sound effects in terms of inanimate objects and clashing in the world sounds crisp and clean. There are some stale voice acting, though from time to time. Such as whenever some Organization XIII members try to explain the plot and they sound like they’re reading off of a bad script from an Uwe Boll or Paul W.S. Anderson movie. At the end of the day, the music is exemplary and the voice acting is solid on an average scale.

Replay Value:

At best, it all depends on how big of a fan you are at the end of the day. In the 30 hours I spent with KH3, for me, I am a moderate fan of the series so once I saw those credits roll, I was satisfied. I felt no further need to return to a previous save and collect all of the ingredients for the Ultima Keyblade and/or go around hunting down those fat pieces of flan goo taking pictures of them along with those Mickey emblems for a trophy and a secret/true ending. The amount of tedium present in KH3 is heavy in terms of combat that doesn’t escalate beyond pressing 1 or 2 key buttons and a narration that runs circles around itself providing little to no answers or logical sense. It’s a solid action game at it’s core with lots of flash and little in terms of substance and depth unless you count the ridiculously deep never ending rabbit hole of it’s complex plot. 

Overall Score/Worth Your Time?:

When all is said and done and the smoke and pixie Disney dust has settled I cannot help but give KH3 a 7 out of 10. It upsets and pains me in a sense to have to say this, but after waiting oh so very dearly long (and dearly beloved) for this game to come out, something very, very wrong happened in it’s prolonged and obtuse production and development and it’s really hard to pinpoint exactly where as in a nutshell the game is a bit of a mess all around in most areas. While the gameplay and controls are tight and fluid, it suffers from overusing the same stale combat over and over again in tandem with a story that is just too damn hard to put time and energy into figuring out. The musical score is probably the only area of KH3  where I can safely say it’s flawless. The rest of the game is up in shambles, endlessly clashing with itself and can’t figure out what direction it wanted to go in for the majority of it’s campaign. And that’s not just present in KH3, it’s now present in most of the other KH games after KH1 as well. It seems that Tetsu Nomura bit off more than he can chew when in reality a cute and cozy video game about Disney and Final Fantasy characters should have simply been about crossing over the 2 franchises and not trying to engross the masses in a plot that would make Interstellar, The Matrix and Inception look like Cool Runnings or Encino Man. (Remember Encino Man? Yeah, I liked Brenan Fraser in the 90′s...) But I digress, is Kingdom Hearts 3 worth your time at the end of the day? And in all honesty, unless you’re a super nerd and have played all 10+ games in their entirety and took a course to understand the intricate workings of the story, then no, it is not worth the 30 hours of your life. Go play Resident Evil 2 remake instead, which I beat twice and is simply glorious. 

PRO’S:

Beautifully rendered worlds and graphics with stable framerates.

A simply magical musical score that is a delight to hear.

Tight and responsive controls.

CON’S:

Tedious combat that does not evolve and challenge the player.

Overly saturated and convoluted plot that does not warrant meaning to casual and even some avid gamers.

Absence of all of the beloved Final Fantasy characters.

Only a handful of new worlds to visit (about 4 in total) mostly from the Pixar universe.

Repetitive encounters and battle commands that hinder the excitement.