the third hearted kingdom

[justbolts]

I ended up getting a PS4 and Kingdom Hearts 3 WAY sooner than I expected, so most of Sunday and all Monday evening were spent excitedly bashing away at those X and ∆ buttons.

KH remains one of my favorite battle systems to use. (Unless we're talking about Chain of Memories. F you and your card system, Chain of Memories.) It's fun, flashy, and satisfying to plow your way through most enemy mobs. I'm not here to memorize button combos and battle tactics. I'm here to watch a 40 hour movie and cry.

I'm at the Monster Inc world, and general impressions so far:

• It currently lacks the ABSOLUTE GUT PUNCH that Kingdom Hearts II opened up with, or even the dark start of the first game. Gives it a lighter feel at the onset. This isn't a bad thing or a good thing, just that I found myself bracing to feel that punch, and when it didn't manifest after the first few hours of gameplay, it was almost a let down, haha. I'm into the slow build now, though.


• That said, I can't say I enjoyed starting the game in Olympus. Everything about it was weirdly stiff and lacking in impact.


• "Kingdom Hearts II.9" you sassy little shits.


• The story picked up a bunch once they reached Twilight Town and started calling back to all that good Roxas pain.


• I wish we gotten more Sora and Riku interactions. Fingers crossed that more of these will happen as the game goes on.


• I LOVE TWILIGHT TOWN SO MUCH. It looks better than ever. It's seriously one of my favorite worlds, both aesthetically and for it's emotional impact on the story.


• I'm here for Literally Everyone is rocking the 90s plaid aesthetic.


• I can't believe Hayner, Pence, and Olette are still on their summer vacation. I'm right there with Sora going "It's been so long"


• Sora being bad with technology remains one of my favorite things. He's like the opposite of a Millennial/Gen Z kid. He's stuck back in 1991.


• I'm largely uninterested in the various former- and current- Organization XIII members. I literally only care about Lea/Axel. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I played 358/2 Days. I remember being vaguely fond of a few of them and their interactions back then. I at least enjoyed the group politics and backstabbing. Or maybe it's just that they're not the type of characters that hold any lasting appeal for me.
  
  Not to say that I dislike them or find their scenes annoying or anything -- its plenty of plot-important stuff -- just that every time we get a cut-scene with one, I can tell the game expects me to be invested in this person and their life choices, and I'm just not.


• I'm surprised by what huge chunks they cut out of the Tangled movie when porting it into this game. Like, I can understand taking out the parts with the ruffian squad (though that would've been SO FUN), but they just glided over any explanation of Rapunzel's power, which seems like a strange aspect to leave unaddressed.


• What a beautifully designed world, though.


• ALL THE WORLD DESIGNS ARE AMAZING. The Toy Story one is probably the absolute best of the new worlds so far, with Monster Inc running a very close second (I'm at the mid-point with it, but it's winning me over).


• My crit about the Tangled plot aside, I find I like it more when the game doesn't try to re-create the plot of the world's source movie. I do love the Disney movies, so I like following along with them. But in terms of gameplay and the game's narrative, it's more satisfying for me when Sora is dropped into a non-specific canon point and we learn about the world and characters through his interactions, not from cut-scenes he has no business knowing.


• God, Riku looks good. I love Riku and Mickey being the emo kids traveling through darkness together.


• The instagram-style loading screens are a cute touch and lead to some unexpected hilarity. Like Riku tagging that one picture of his broken keyblade in the World of Darkness with "#beaches". Way to break a mood, Riku.


• Goofy's monster form is the greatest thing to have ever existed.