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I believe I’m ready to discuss how I feel about Kingdom Hearts 3. Caution, there may be spoilers. I will be as brief as possible because I have a lot of feelings.
In a word, disappointed. Characters underutilized, story a mess and crammed into the last 30 minutes, the big bad gives up for no real reason and goes to anime heaven.
Ironically, it lacked heart.
Ironically, it lacked heart.
Sure, it was pretty and it’s always fun to smack Heartless around, but it was so empty.
Characters with prior relationships barely saw each other, villains popped in and out of scenes to deliver exposition dumps then disappear.
Characters with prior relationships barely saw each other, villains popped in and out of scenes to deliver exposition dumps then disappear.
After years of development (and even more years of anticipation) I find it baffling how lackluster and thrown together it felt.
It played like a remastered PS2 game, with zero effort put into emotional impact of the story.
It played like a remastered PS2 game, with zero effort put into emotional impact of the story.
I am hard on it - this is true. I loved KH1 and 2 even more - despite a silly story, you loved the characters and believed in their fight.
In KH3, I wasn’t even sure what was the point of it all. It felt like Nomura wanted to button it all up like a cancelled TV show.
In KH3, I wasn’t even sure what was the point of it all. It felt like Nomura wanted to button it all up like a cancelled TV show.
The Verum Rex thing is frustrating. I’ve said before that I don’t love Nomura’s work as a director, but is there really that much bitterness in him? Maybe being in charge of a FF game means you need to manage a team, versus bulldoze everyone with your ever-changing “vision”?
Final Fantasy has been an important part of KH, and a big reason why so many people love it. There’s a novelty and joy to seeing beloved characters interact.
Also - it’s clear I am a fan of FFXV. This is true. I love the game, it’s unique focus and emotional storytelling strengths. It has flaws - this is known and understood, but something resonated with me.
When it comes to games, I am mostly interested in characters and story. XV dealt with loss and responsibility in a way that I found extremely refreshing and surprisingly mature for an FF game.
I also have this theory that XV resonates more with people who have experienced traumatic loss/illness. I don’t think I would have liked it as much when I was younger.
I love KH because it was a sweet story about standing tall against impossible odds. Sora is a personified ray of light, but the poor thing never really got to shine in KH3.
