D.Final
Banned
I will start by saying that I too am a big fan of the saga, already from the first Kingdom Hearts for PS2.
I became a big fan of the saga for several reasons, but the biggest reason is for the message with which the game was created, and that is:
Disney + Final Fantasy = Kingdom Hearts
The union of 2 different universes to create something new, magical, unique and epic.
Now I'll talk more about today's game, Kingdom Hearts 3, and why I only liked it halfway.
Start with a very classic tutorial, but compared to those of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (which are very related to the main plot of the game) that of Kingdom Hearts 3 is much more mundane and almost casual.
(with the exception of a detail, given as an indication, on the most advanced phases of the game)
The Olimpus is the first world, and it is very beautiful.
However, when we think of Olympus, the colosseum immediately springs to mind.
Here it does not exist.
In Kingdom Hearts 3 there is no colosseum ...
Then, Thebe is beautiful, the mountain and the Olympus are beautiful too.
And the fight against the Titans is nice.
But the absence of a battle against Hades, the villan of Olympus, is a very serious shortcoming for me.
Then, Twilight Town.
The world, for me, more disappointing than the whole game.
In practice, this is the smallest Twilight Town of every game in the saga.
And it is also smaller than its 358/2 Days and KH2 version.
And, it should also represent the main hub of the game, in theory.
The problem is that you will never return to the main plot, so ....
(second worst only to the book of Winnie the Poo, which is only one page ....)
Later there is the reign of Corona.
Really beautiful.
The only problems, for me, concern the absence of the whole section of the "ugly duckling", with the various hunters and delinquents.
And the non-cohesive amalgamation of the plot of the film in the game.
(where certain details, if you have not seen the film, you have to guess or already know)
Then there is the ToyBox.
The world of Toy Story.
With an opening to the ridiculous world.
Worthy of a primary school child.
Nomura, with this video, and a quote to the project that he himself never managed to finish in more than 8 years, also wants to complain to the artists who have done a huge job to complete this project.
And you insult them like that too ?!
For me, this is already a big negative point for the whole game.
For the rest, ToyBox is a very beautiful world.
Colorful, faithful, and beautiful to play.
Then there is Mostropoli.
(which I would only call Monsters Inc.)
[since you do not visit a city]
Cute, but definitely too linear for my taste.
Not that other worlds are not, but I think this is one of the most linear.
Furthermore, the world is practically empty.
The only monsters you can find, besides Mike and Sully, are 2 of the CDA ....
Then Arendelle.
The world is based only on the mountain.
[and on the ice labyrinth that creates Larxene in about 1/2 minutes]
Even this world is very linear, but also has several areas of fall and climbing, very large and open.
Even these world is visually very beautiful, but not having included the city and the castle of Arendelle in a world that is literally called Arendelle, is a big flaw for me.
(especially from a technical and gameplay point of view, in general)
The Caribbean is, for me, the perfect world for a film like pirates of the Caribbean.
Exploration is the Top, thanks to the use of the ship, the navigation of the various islands, the sea floor, and in the care of the city of Port Royal, the Caribbean represent the richest, most vast and beautiful world of all Kingdom Hearts 3 .
In addition, with the presence of 2 unique heartless bosses, and the final boss battle against Devi Jones, it represents the Disney world more fizzed even from this point of view.
And last, as Disney worlds, Sanfransokyo.
A world very different from the others.
And that is based, in practice, only 2/3 areas.
The house (garage) , the city (obviously bounded by giant square by a "digital barrier"), and only for the beginning of the world (and for a challenge of the portals) the bridge.
As the city is vast, beautiful to see, or with many details, it has never given me the same freedom that I would have expected, especially after playing the vast world of the Caribbean.
Moreover, every time you leave the area you are always asked:
"Do you want to go back to Hiro's garage?"
I would have avoided asking a question like this every time you leave the city .....
(as if it were a Windows signal, would you like to close this window?)
And, after visiting all the worlds available only to become even stronger, and to try to get the power of awakening that ultimately did not get thanks to the journey in these worlds, begins the final section of the game.
And also of the actual plot of the game.
Seeing that between the 1/2 worlds we visited there were just some clues and things that were happening, some very interesting (like Ansem taking Ansem the wise man out of the dark realm, only to let him escape with the improvised rescue attempt of Heyner, Pence and Olette, and of Vexen the traitor who wants to redeem himself [for me, actually, just because he does not want to die again, and leave his search interrupted again]), while others were only clues to the future of saga.
All 5/6 final hours of the story are very epic.
For many reasons.
So, I will list the things that, in my opinion, they had to manage better.
All the battles against the new organization xiii had to be single.
Because, even in groups, the enemies have been calibrated with a low level of difficulty.
And, in the battle, you get to almost defeat 2/3 at the same time.
But the biggest problem, in my opinion, is the cutscene that starts every time you defeat someone.
As if time stopped and, boom, cutscene of the defeated enemy who says his closing bar, and then off, the next in line.
(who was so patient to wait for his ally's disappearance ...)
For me the management of these very important battles, which have their past and strong impact, has been extremely anti-climatic.
(and I do not understand why Nomura managed things like that, like a shopping list.....)
The behavior of the organization, then, is the maximum.
In practice, only Xehanort was doing this battle.
All the others were there because they were called or forced, or because they had nothing to do.
So a non-organization.
(Disorganization XIII)
The best parts of the final battle are, the defeat of the seven lights, the arrival of Sora in the Final World, the awakening of the lights of the past, the reunion of Aqua, Ventus and Terra, the reunion of Axel, Roxas and Xion, and the final battle of Sora against Xehanort at Scala ad Caelum.
Pulling the final sums, then, here are the pros and cons of the game:
Good:
- excellent artistic direction.
Especially for the Disney worlds, like ToyBox, the kingdom of Corona, and the Caribbean.
- epic story, but ....
- excellent BS, rich and varied
- many minigames, rich and fun
(The Flantastic Seven
)
- great OST, especially in the more advanced phases of the game, like the one in Scala ad Caelum
- the Final World is very beautiful, inspired, and poetic, in the way it was made.
(and I'm not referring to the Keyblade Graveyard)
- the gummiship.
Significantly improved by integrating a free navigation system, exploring stars, discovering treasures, destroying asteroids, photographing constellations, and destroying enemies and bosses.
(also, the gummiship also has some secret Bosses that can be difficult)
[so the gummiship has more secret bosses to fight against than Sora in the whole post game]
Bad:
- history, which only really shines in the most advanced phases of the game.
It results a lot, and too much, fast.
In addition to being very compressed.
- difficulty level really too low.
(even on "expert" difficulty the game is definitely too easy)
[I hope they can get on with a critical difficulty]
- the post game is too poor.
In practice, the post game of KH3 is based on 13 very simple portal challenges, plus the number 14 with the "secret boss", which I easily defeated at level 60.
+
Minigames, treasure chests, lucky charms, and photo-missions.
From my point of view it is really too poor.
- some worlds, above all Mostropoli, are excessively linear.
Moreover, some shortcomings of the worlds, such as the almost total absence of the monsters in Mostropoli, or the absence of the city and the castle of Arendelle, are unjustifiable.
(technically)
Because, in this way, the worlds are more empty without reason.
- the whole section of Verum Rex, is a section that has as its sole purpose to re-present, in a different key, a project that the same creator of the game, Nomura, has failed to achieve in more than 8 years and more than anything cosmic .
Represents it as an arrow to the project carried out by another team, not only as a child, but it is not at all respectful to the team that has assumed the responsibility of finishing that project.
This, for me, turns out to be a very negative point for KH3 not only for the attitude used by its creator, but also for the disrespectful attitude that leads to other artists for what they do, and that is their work.
Using the game as a negative message, towards that particular game, without any real creative logic, but only with the revenge logic.
Extra:
- the absence of the colosseum is something that, with current technologies, does not make sense that it is absent in Kingdom Hearts 3.
- Twilight Town is too small compared to all the previous Kingdom Hearts games.
- the absence of the Radiant Garden as an explorable world, and the Final Fantasy characters in the game, makes no sense.
Since they both represent a fundamental part of Kingdom Hearts history and Lore.
That said, the game is really beautiful.
But it has just some flaw that undermines the playability and the difficulty, other times for the absence of many things, such as the exploration of areas (as for Twilight Town), and for the post game (with the serious absence of Colosseum).
But, among all these things, one of the most serious shortcomings for me is the absence of the Final Fantasy characters.
And, in this case, I do not speak only as a great fan of both sagas, but I also speak with an eye to the concept.
Because, as I said at the beginning, Kingdom Hearts was born with the premise of uniting very different worlds together.
And, in fact, Kingdom Hearts is:
Disney + Final Fantasy = Kingdom Hearts
Now Nomura considers these characters, who since the first Kingdom Hearts are an official part of the Kingdom Hearts Lore, only as advertising for the game.
Not understanding at all that these characters are not just these.
Leon, Yuffie, Aeris, Cid, Cloud, and everyone else, are all part of one great Lore.
This Lore is what makes Kingdom Hearts really Kingdom Hearts.
Because those characters are part of a great saga of video games, while Goofy, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and all the others are cartoons.
It is for this difference, the union of these 2 elements, creates something new and unique.
And minimize it, pretending that they do not exist, or that they are just free publicity, and the most senseless and illogical thing one can believe.
And it does nothing but make known to the whole world as such a message of union and cohesion of universes today seems no longer exist (becoming only poor Easter egg of the game), because of Nomura.
And, that is, the creator who no longer knows what the message that made Kingdom Hearts truly famous and epic.
For this reason, as much as I still liked Kingdom Hearts 3 for what it offers, for me it is not a REAL Kingdom Hearts.
Or maybe it would be better to say, Kingdom Hearts 3 is only half Kingdom Hearts, and therefore not true and not complete.
(or, at least, as a message of the saga as a work)
Because Kingdom Hearts is not:
Disney + Disney (Square Enix) = Kingdom Hearts ???
Kingdom Hearts is:
Final Fantasy + Disney = KINGDOM HEARTS!!!
Union of worlds, union of universes, media unions, film + real videogames saga (in this case FF).
This is the true message from Kingdom Hearts.
And in Kingdom Hearts 3 it's absent.....
That's why, for me, Kingdom Hearts 3 is not a complete Kingdom Hearts, but it's just a half-hearted Kingdom Hearts.
And as long as this message is not restored, for me it will always be incomplete, half empty, and without true magic.
That same magic that brought this saga to life, now there is not.
I hope for a better future.
Because if not even the creator sees what the real reason for why Kingdom Hearts exists, and what was born, by the magic and the fusion of 2 very different universes that come together, then this saga, which I love (since I am a fans from the PS2 era) probably will not have a very rosy future.
Losing the magic that made Kingdom Hearts, what is Kingdom Hearts.
I became a big fan of the saga for several reasons, but the biggest reason is for the message with which the game was created, and that is:
Disney + Final Fantasy = Kingdom Hearts
The union of 2 different universes to create something new, magical, unique and epic.
Now I'll talk more about today's game, Kingdom Hearts 3, and why I only liked it halfway.
Start with a very classic tutorial, but compared to those of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 (which are very related to the main plot of the game) that of Kingdom Hearts 3 is much more mundane and almost casual.
(with the exception of a detail, given as an indication, on the most advanced phases of the game)
The Olimpus is the first world, and it is very beautiful.
However, when we think of Olympus, the colosseum immediately springs to mind.
Here it does not exist.
In Kingdom Hearts 3 there is no colosseum ...
Then, Thebe is beautiful, the mountain and the Olympus are beautiful too.
And the fight against the Titans is nice.
But the absence of a battle against Hades, the villan of Olympus, is a very serious shortcoming for me.
Then, Twilight Town.
The world, for me, more disappointing than the whole game.
In practice, this is the smallest Twilight Town of every game in the saga.
And it is also smaller than its 358/2 Days and KH2 version.
And, it should also represent the main hub of the game, in theory.
The problem is that you will never return to the main plot, so ....
(second worst only to the book of Winnie the Poo, which is only one page ....)
Later there is the reign of Corona.
Really beautiful.
The only problems, for me, concern the absence of the whole section of the "ugly duckling", with the various hunters and delinquents.
And the non-cohesive amalgamation of the plot of the film in the game.
(where certain details, if you have not seen the film, you have to guess or already know)
Then there is the ToyBox.
The world of Toy Story.
With an opening to the ridiculous world.
Worthy of a primary school child.
Nomura, with this video, and a quote to the project that he himself never managed to finish in more than 8 years, also wants to complain to the artists who have done a huge job to complete this project.
And you insult them like that too ?!
For me, this is already a big negative point for the whole game.
For the rest, ToyBox is a very beautiful world.
Colorful, faithful, and beautiful to play.
Then there is Mostropoli.
(which I would only call Monsters Inc.)
[since you do not visit a city]
Cute, but definitely too linear for my taste.
Not that other worlds are not, but I think this is one of the most linear.
Furthermore, the world is practically empty.
The only monsters you can find, besides Mike and Sully, are 2 of the CDA ....
Then Arendelle.
The world is based only on the mountain.
[and on the ice labyrinth that creates Larxene in about 1/2 minutes]
Even this world is very linear, but also has several areas of fall and climbing, very large and open.
Even these world is visually very beautiful, but not having included the city and the castle of Arendelle in a world that is literally called Arendelle, is a big flaw for me.
(especially from a technical and gameplay point of view, in general)
The Caribbean is, for me, the perfect world for a film like pirates of the Caribbean.
Exploration is the Top, thanks to the use of the ship, the navigation of the various islands, the sea floor, and in the care of the city of Port Royal, the Caribbean represent the richest, most vast and beautiful world of all Kingdom Hearts 3 .
In addition, with the presence of 2 unique heartless bosses, and the final boss battle against Devi Jones, it represents the Disney world more fizzed even from this point of view.
And last, as Disney worlds, Sanfransokyo.
A world very different from the others.
And that is based, in practice, only 2/3 areas.
The house (garage) , the city (obviously bounded by giant square by a "digital barrier"), and only for the beginning of the world (and for a challenge of the portals) the bridge.
As the city is vast, beautiful to see, or with many details, it has never given me the same freedom that I would have expected, especially after playing the vast world of the Caribbean.
Moreover, every time you leave the area you are always asked:
"Do you want to go back to Hiro's garage?"
I would have avoided asking a question like this every time you leave the city .....
(as if it were a Windows signal, would you like to close this window?)
And, after visiting all the worlds available only to become even stronger, and to try to get the power of awakening that ultimately did not get thanks to the journey in these worlds, begins the final section of the game.
And also of the actual plot of the game.
Seeing that between the 1/2 worlds we visited there were just some clues and things that were happening, some very interesting (like Ansem taking Ansem the wise man out of the dark realm, only to let him escape with the improvised rescue attempt of Heyner, Pence and Olette, and of Vexen the traitor who wants to redeem himself [for me, actually, just because he does not want to die again, and leave his search interrupted again]), while others were only clues to the future of saga.
All 5/6 final hours of the story are very epic.
For many reasons.
So, I will list the things that, in my opinion, they had to manage better.
All the battles against the new organization xiii had to be single.
Because, even in groups, the enemies have been calibrated with a low level of difficulty.
And, in the battle, you get to almost defeat 2/3 at the same time.
But the biggest problem, in my opinion, is the cutscene that starts every time you defeat someone.
As if time stopped and, boom, cutscene of the defeated enemy who says his closing bar, and then off, the next in line.
(who was so patient to wait for his ally's disappearance ...)
For me the management of these very important battles, which have their past and strong impact, has been extremely anti-climatic.
(and I do not understand why Nomura managed things like that, like a shopping list.....)
The behavior of the organization, then, is the maximum.
In practice, only Xehanort was doing this battle.
All the others were there because they were called or forced, or because they had nothing to do.
So a non-organization.
(Disorganization XIII)
The best parts of the final battle are, the defeat of the seven lights, the arrival of Sora in the Final World, the awakening of the lights of the past, the reunion of Aqua, Ventus and Terra, the reunion of Axel, Roxas and Xion, and the final battle of Sora against Xehanort at Scala ad Caelum.
Pulling the final sums, then, here are the pros and cons of the game:
Good:
- excellent artistic direction.
Especially for the Disney worlds, like ToyBox, the kingdom of Corona, and the Caribbean.
- epic story, but ....
- excellent BS, rich and varied
- many minigames, rich and fun
(The Flantastic Seven
)- great OST, especially in the more advanced phases of the game, like the one in Scala ad Caelum
- the Final World is very beautiful, inspired, and poetic, in the way it was made.
(and I'm not referring to the Keyblade Graveyard)
- the gummiship.
Significantly improved by integrating a free navigation system, exploring stars, discovering treasures, destroying asteroids, photographing constellations, and destroying enemies and bosses.
(also, the gummiship also has some secret Bosses that can be difficult)
[so the gummiship has more secret bosses to fight against than Sora in the whole post game]
Bad:
- history, which only really shines in the most advanced phases of the game.
It results a lot, and too much, fast.
In addition to being very compressed.
- difficulty level really too low.
(even on "expert" difficulty the game is definitely too easy)
[I hope they can get on with a critical difficulty]
- the post game is too poor.
In practice, the post game of KH3 is based on 13 very simple portal challenges, plus the number 14 with the "secret boss", which I easily defeated at level 60.
+
Minigames, treasure chests, lucky charms, and photo-missions.
From my point of view it is really too poor.
- some worlds, above all Mostropoli, are excessively linear.
Moreover, some shortcomings of the worlds, such as the almost total absence of the monsters in Mostropoli, or the absence of the city and the castle of Arendelle, are unjustifiable.
(technically)
Because, in this way, the worlds are more empty without reason.
- the whole section of Verum Rex, is a section that has as its sole purpose to re-present, in a different key, a project that the same creator of the game, Nomura, has failed to achieve in more than 8 years and more than anything cosmic .
Represents it as an arrow to the project carried out by another team, not only as a child, but it is not at all respectful to the team that has assumed the responsibility of finishing that project.
This, for me, turns out to be a very negative point for KH3 not only for the attitude used by its creator, but also for the disrespectful attitude that leads to other artists for what they do, and that is their work.
Using the game as a negative message, towards that particular game, without any real creative logic, but only with the revenge logic.
Extra:
- the absence of the colosseum is something that, with current technologies, does not make sense that it is absent in Kingdom Hearts 3.
- Twilight Town is too small compared to all the previous Kingdom Hearts games.
- the absence of the Radiant Garden as an explorable world, and the Final Fantasy characters in the game, makes no sense.
Since they both represent a fundamental part of Kingdom Hearts history and Lore.
That said, the game is really beautiful.
But it has just some flaw that undermines the playability and the difficulty, other times for the absence of many things, such as the exploration of areas (as for Twilight Town), and for the post game (with the serious absence of Colosseum).
But, among all these things, one of the most serious shortcomings for me is the absence of the Final Fantasy characters.
And, in this case, I do not speak only as a great fan of both sagas, but I also speak with an eye to the concept.
Because, as I said at the beginning, Kingdom Hearts was born with the premise of uniting very different worlds together.
And, in fact, Kingdom Hearts is:
Disney + Final Fantasy = Kingdom Hearts
Now Nomura considers these characters, who since the first Kingdom Hearts are an official part of the Kingdom Hearts Lore, only as advertising for the game.
Not understanding at all that these characters are not just these.
Leon, Yuffie, Aeris, Cid, Cloud, and everyone else, are all part of one great Lore.
This Lore is what makes Kingdom Hearts really Kingdom Hearts.
Because those characters are part of a great saga of video games, while Goofy, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and all the others are cartoons.
It is for this difference, the union of these 2 elements, creates something new and unique.
And minimize it, pretending that they do not exist, or that they are just free publicity, and the most senseless and illogical thing one can believe.
And it does nothing but make known to the whole world as such a message of union and cohesion of universes today seems no longer exist (becoming only poor Easter egg of the game), because of Nomura.
And, that is, the creator who no longer knows what the message that made Kingdom Hearts truly famous and epic.
For this reason, as much as I still liked Kingdom Hearts 3 for what it offers, for me it is not a REAL Kingdom Hearts.
Or maybe it would be better to say, Kingdom Hearts 3 is only half Kingdom Hearts, and therefore not true and not complete.
(or, at least, as a message of the saga as a work)
Because Kingdom Hearts is not:
Disney + Disney (Square Enix) = Kingdom Hearts ???
Kingdom Hearts is:
Final Fantasy + Disney = KINGDOM HEARTS!!!
Union of worlds, union of universes, media unions, film + real videogames saga (in this case FF).
This is the true message from Kingdom Hearts.
And in Kingdom Hearts 3 it's absent.....
That's why, for me, Kingdom Hearts 3 is not a complete Kingdom Hearts, but it's just a half-hearted Kingdom Hearts.
And as long as this message is not restored, for me it will always be incomplete, half empty, and without true magic.
That same magic that brought this saga to life, now there is not.
I hope for a better future.
Because if not even the creator sees what the real reason for why Kingdom Hearts exists, and what was born, by the magic and the fusion of 2 very different universes that come together, then this saga, which I love (since I am a fans from the PS2 era) probably will not have a very rosy future.
Losing the magic that made Kingdom Hearts, what is Kingdom Hearts.
Last edited:
