I just finished playing khdays for the second run through, and after playing it a second time, it hit me on how sad the game is. This is mostly due to playing other games where the villains often get what's coming to them, like Bowser(Mario), Eggman (Sonic), Xemnas (KH2), I'm sure you get the point. To me its the game closest to making me shed a few tears due to what happened in the story. (and no I didn't shed any tears.) But would KHDays be included as one of the most, if not THE most, saddening game that you have played.

I have to say, not even a tiny part of me was sad at Xion's death. I generally was apathetic towards her; I didn't hate her, but I never once empathised or particularly liked her, either. She was just too... bland. And maybe it was just the voiceacting, but half the time I was cringing at her awful representation.

 

However, I lost it and cried during the WINNER stick scene, as well as towards the very end, when after all the suffering and loss, Roxas was completely unknowing and happy in the virtual Twilight Town. I adored the whole Axel/Roxas friendship dynamic, but Xion seemed to be pushed- she was written to get your sympathy, and that didn't work for me at all.

 

So, yes, 358/2 Days was quite sad. But not really in comparison to other games I've played. Birth by Sleep was heartbreaking, Final Fantasy X had me literally sobbing, not to mention Crisis Core...

 

And, for me, the real breaker was the voiceacting. If a game is supposed to be sad and poignant, then the voices better reflect that. Through BBS, towards the start, I struggled to emotionally engage with Terra and Aqua's stories for that reason, but they both kicked it up to 11 by the end of the game, and particularly Terra left me speechless. Final Fantasy X and Crisis Core were both amazingly acted (although sometimes a bit clunky at points, but FFX was struggling to match Japanese flaps, and they both had some pretty heavy scenes). It isn't the saddest game I've ever played, but it still had upsetting scenes- Resonance of Fate had some of the best voiceacting I've ever seen, and I really connected with it like the others, on an emotional kind of level.

 

But Days? Ughh. Xion was consistantly poor. The Stoner girl's attempts to sound upset (and that SCREAM, gah, my poor ears- "HWUUHHHHHH!") bordered on plain dull, and she always sounded very mild. That really bugged me- I mean, even Namine, the typically sweet one, when she was upset or angry, you could damn well hear it. Her yelling at Repliku to stop (particularly the last "I said STOP!" before she breaks his heart to stop him) still makes something twinge in my gut, which is a good thing. But Xion was always just flat.

They also gave Quinton Flynn and Jesse McCartney some lines that seemed to come out awkward, but at least those two shone at points, where it mattered. ("What do you want to do, Xion?" for Axel sounded a bit off to me, and who can forget "Who else will I have ice cream with?!").

 

I don't know. Maybe, if they had written her more subtly, with less plugging for attention and sympathy, and her voice was actually decent, I might have liked Xion. I managed to get around her "ruining" the AkuRoku and SoRiku, at least, because I honestly thought that at first. But, it's hardly the saddest game I've ever played.

 

[/babblerant over]

Bbs was sadder yea but i hated how this one ended too

I find that Days and Birth by Sleep were the saddest games in the Kingdom Hearts series. (Spoilers forth mentioned KH

games will follow this sentence).

 

Birth by Sleep was downright depressing (and I haven't even played it). None of them had an ending that was even close to happy. Ven's in a coma after what is essentially battling and destroying part of him self; Terra was possessed by a creepy old dude who is to blame for almost every bad that happens to him and his friends, and to Sora and his friends; and Aqua fell into the realm of darkness to save a friend who proceeded to become a psychopath (Xehanort) who then became two psychopaths (Ansem SoD and Xemnas). Now, don't tell me that is not saddening or even depressing.

 

358/2 Days, when looking at the big picture, is also quite sad. Xion was created to copy Roxas's power and to keep Sora from waking up. She then proceeds to become friends with the one she was supposed to drain of power, Roxas, and then Axel, who tries to keep there friendship together. The Organization tries to force Xion and Roxas against each other. Xion and Roxas want to know who they are, but can never get a straight answer. Axel, even though he tries to keep the friendship together, fails miserably and actually is one of the causes the friendship falls apart. Xion realizes what her purpose is and attacks Roxas, fully intending to lose. Roxas, now having turned his back on Axel and lost Xion, utters the words that he has been mocked for "But who will I have Ice Cream with?" The sad thing is, he is truly asking "who will I be friends with" because he has now lost both of his friends. He said "who will I have ice cream with" because that is what he associates with friendship, eating ice-cream, and that is what he believes friendship is. (Thanks, by the way, to whoever first helped me realize this, I believe they were on these forums. This opened my eyes and changed my out look on that scene entirely.) Then as Roxas tries to get his revenge, Riku comes along and stops him, while having to sacrifice himself and take on the appearance of Ansem SoD. Roxas is then locked in a virtual reality, with his memory altered so he forgets everything that has happened to him. Now, that is also quite depressing.

 

That's not to say the other games weren't sad (though KH II wasn't, except for a few scenes, such as when we think Goofy is dead and when Ansem's machine explodes) but Days and BbS where definitely the saddest, with BbS reigning supreme.

 

She didn't really attack him on purpose, she did it because Xemnas "fixed" her.

And Yaaay I think I did that. I always hate it when people mock the icecream and say "look! she's turning into icecream!"

I'm glad I made ONE PERSON realize the importance of that line

Up until then, it was the saddest I'd seen in KH, Xions ending and the Popsicle...

Then Roxas said 'Who will I eat ice cream with?'

 

Let me quote something for you...

...Roxas, now having turned his back on Axel and lost Xion, utters the words that he has been mocked for "But who will I have Ice Cream with?" The sad thing is, he is truly asking "who will I be friends with" because he has now lost both of his friends. He said "who will I have ice cream with" because that is what he associates with friendship, eating ice-cream, and that is what he believes friendship is. (Thanks, by the way, to whoever first helped me realize this, I believe they were on these forums. This opened my eyes and changed my out look on that scene entirely.) Then as Roxas tries to get his revenge...

 

Seriosly, that did NOT ruin the momment

Why couldn't he say who will I be friend with then? Whatever the meaning, who will I eat icecream with doesn't sound good.

crap I double posted. shit -_-'

Why couldn't he say who will I be friend with then? Whatever the meaning, who will I eat icecream with doesn't sound good.

 

They had translation problems. The original is "Let s have icecream again. just us three..." but that s too long. saying almost anything else would take too long.

WTF I DOUBLE POSTED AGAIN

WHAT TYPE OF AN IDIOT AM I

I find the story to be very beautifully and elegantly sad. That's the whole idea, I think. Same with Birth By Sleep, which is why there's a strong connection between the two. The overarching theme is of best friends who are torn apart due to some inevitable "fate." In Days, they're Nobodies. They're not even supposed to have emotions, friends, etc. Particularly Xion, who isn't even a Nobody. Yet they do grow bonds. And, inevitably, they are broken apart. BBS offers us a very similar situation. And this overlying theme sets up an aura of sadness, of broken bonds, and of unrequited love and friendship. Which is why Sora can now be used to represent a redemption-type figure, a glimmer of hope. It's BEAUTIFUL. Such a beautiful, and truly sad, story.

Is Days a sad game? Heck yeah! Like many of the people on this thread, I wasn't very fond of Xion. I did feel bad that she was just a sort of pawn in Xemnas's plans but she never really grew on me. The saddest part of the game for me is when Roxas is leaving and he says, "No one would miss me." Then Axel says, "That's not true! I would." Since Roxas is the only reason that Axel even has feelings it just made it worse. Now he would actually be missing Roxas instead of not feeling anything.