It feels very weird to say this but I....
We made it to 3 before Valve did
Just finished Kingdom Hearts 3. I definitely feel very bittersweet about it all so I don't even want to know what the hardcore fans feel like. Part of the reason is that I have only played KH1 & 2. I was never there for the story, I was only about the Disney stuff. The last few hours of this game is like David Lynch and MGS4 had a baby. I may have not fully understood what exactly in the fuck that happened, only some of it, but by god....I bought into its BS. If there is one word I could say that encompasses KH3 as an experience, that word would be spectacle. Its sheer spectacle never ceased to amaze me that by the time the game wraps up you sort of buy into some of its bullshit. For me obviously the feeling as it wrapped up was amplified by the fact that I played the second game when it first released 13 years ago and replayed it when it released on PS3. It just brought back a lot of wonderful memories. The game made whatever you were doing as if it was the most important thing in the entire universe, I would have not been surprised if the entire fucking dimension shattered during the last hour of the game. The framing and execution of the scale of these final battles really makes it easy for someone to get caught into it all. It definitely has the feeling of it being the finale of something VERY IMPORTANT that I do not have complete grasp of. I am definitely glad this game did not release back in the day because some of the things they were able to do with the special attacks and boss battles is what makes KH3 such a dazzling experience and so much fun. Also...DONALD DUCK IS THE FUCKING GOAT.
What used to be very cheesy and corny is somewhat endearing to me now and I do not know if it is my old dang heart or what. The character's unbridled positivity in the face of any kind of adversity, trying their damnest to not give up hope, felt very welcome this time around as the bonds between the characters only grew stronger. It wears its heart on its sleeves and it displays it loudly and proudly, like all the other games except here everything has more weight to it. It is almost impossible to hate the game for what it is trying to do because it is only staying completely true to what it is. I have to commend Nomura in that he really did give a fuck about all the other games. Every single game mattered, even the fucking mobile/browser game. Everything is important, everything got referenced and everything was initial to how the game ultimately leads to the wrap up. The winners really were and are the people who stuck by the franchise playing every side game throughout all these years. I believe he did right by those fans in a way, I do not think anyone but them could completely understand and it really makes me happy for them because there are really only very few artists who I feel truly stick to their guns and deliver without compromise. Now, is it perfect? Obviously not and the story could have been trimmed and done way differently(
series as a whole) but also, it would not have been the insanity that the finale of this game is. It is Kingdom Hearts, basically. Also, Nomura clearly played Nier: Automata because he does a certain something that made me smile real wide, it's just brilliant and I did not see it coming for sure(
I had to make sure if he did what I thought he did. I googled it and he actually did).
I should buy a boat
Things I liked:
- The visuals and lighting in this game is probably best in class. The game ran in 4K/60FPS on Xbox One X without any dips throughout and it was glorious. It's definitely going to end up being one of the best looking games of the eighth console generation.
- The gameplay is incredibly fun and varied. It never felt stale once to me because I was always mixing things up from the sheer number of things they allow you to do. It feels like this is FFXV's combat fully realized in terms of scale, scope and spectacle. You hold multiple keyblades that you could switch on the fly(
each keyblade has a 2nd form), special team attacks, abilities you equip for yourself and the party(
things like double jump, combo extender.etc for Sora / magic extender, more team attacks.etc for Donald & Goofy + whoever else is with you in a particular world.), special Disney attraction attacks, You could summon various Disney characters that help you, tons of different magic attacks.etc basically you could stack different things up and mix and match between everything. It's just a joyous game to play. A million fuckin' things happen on screen at once at any given moment.
- I am not one to dabble a lot with photo mode in games but let me tell you that this is the happiest I have been taking pictures in a video game. The selfie shit in this game never got old. Look, when Disney characters pose and are happy about the fact that I'm taking a picture with them....MAN. I'm with you right there game.
You fucking got me.
- The fucking soundtrack. Yoko Shimomura, Takeharu Ishimoto & Tsuyoshi Sekito.
They did an amazing job. The music in KH games have always been special but here it is even extra special because it's like
new material,
remixes,
callbacks.etc all jumbled together to really tie the experience to the core of the game. I really cannot say enough good things about this soundtrack.
It's fucking glorious.
- While I do not love all the worlds, I do love that they feel like actual worlds in the sense that the spaces within the world feel large and somewhat lived in instead of what we used to get which is a bunch of spaces that felt disconnected from one another due to loading screens, they felt more like zones. I also feel the Pixar characters, especially Toy Story and Monsters Inc were incorporated in KH's insane narrative in smart and satisfying ways. It's hilarious and very well done. While I do not care for the minigames in some of the worlds, they do give a different kind of flavor that I appreciated because it gave a different slice of that world that you could experience.
Things I disliked:
- The gameplay. Now hear me out, I think the gameplay is extremely fun as in the combat but it comes at a detriment. Because of the sheer number of options you have, the game is very easy on Standard. Going by what the fans are saying, even Proud mode seems easy. Which reminds me of the original release of KH2 and how the final mix balanced things out but also made it one of the best playing RPGs in critical mode because of how deliberate and tactical things are. Now, I wouldn't say it annoyed me but it is a thing that stood out to me so I have to mention it. To be honest, I was just having too much fun even with how easy the game is. As I said, the game is joyous to play.
- I wish there were more worlds than what we got. I know they focused more on expanding the areas of the worlds they had in this game to make them feel more like worlds instead of having more worlds so I get it but I just wish we had more worlds to go through which I guess is a compliment since I want more game? lol.
- The hell did they do to Mickey Mouse? He was the only one that stood out because it sounded like someone who has SEEN SOME SHIT which I guess works even though he does not sound fully like Mickey? I don't know, it made me laugh more than anything. Other than Mickey, the voice acting is perfect for Kingdom Hearts because it is operating on the same level as the other games and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's part of its identity.
Who needs sea salt popsicles when I got you guys?
I am now living in a world where I beat KH3 and that is very fucking surreal. On the whole, I very much enjoyed the entire experience and it filled me with joy despite not understanding everything. The game has an abundance of that charming and magical feeling that Disney/anime "
friendship makes us stronger" stuff usually generate. Kinda like that Nintendo magic. It does not lie about itself and is happy being what it is despite all the "
I need a PHD to understand KH" memes. It is somewhat of a miracle for it to be as consistent of an experience as it is because I expected a mess after all the development woes with SE. What a thing, it's clearly made with a lot of love. The post credits cutscene and the secret ending are definitely interesting. I would not say no to more Kingdom Hearts as long as it keeps operating at this level or goes even further with its scale and spectacle. Bring it on, Nomura. Also, I very much look forward to Jan talking about some of the great moments in this game and bringing in that OST during the deliberations.