So i was playing through BBS Final mix with my sister (who stopped playing kh about half way through KH2) and she had a lot of questions. 

 

"Why does Ventus look like Roxas?"

 

"Why is there another Xehanort?"

 

"Who is the boy in the mask?"

 

"Whats the point of this prequel sequel? What is it supposed to add to the series?"

 

As i was explaining things to her, i realized something: I missed the days when we knew next to nothing about the series.

 

As i explained and showed her the secret movies that hinted at bbs, I told her how it seemed at the time everyone was talking about it on the forums- theorizing, trying to figure it out.

 

How when all we had was the name, 'Unbirths' as the new enemy, we made theories upon theories about them because we had nothing else but that name-only to find out later they were actually called 'Unversed'.

 

Back when, we perplexed by who the 3 characters in armor, and when we were left scratching our heads at why 'Roxas' was one of them.

 

I even remember when it was revealed who Axel and Saix somebodies were, and their names, it was so amazing to have that tidbit.

 

I dont know, it just doesnt seem the same in the fandom since most of the mysteries are gone. There's a spark that seems to have gone out. That spark that kept me up at night, and day dreaming in class trying to figure out these mysteries. I still love the series, and i wouldnt quit it for the world, but things just arent how they used to be...

 

What do you think? 

 

 

That's not true. Good writing is what it takes to make something pay off well.

I'm not saying that KH's writing is faultless (it isn't) but the inherent nature of revealing mysteries will ALWAYS be unsatisfying to some people. My point was that ambiguity is often just as bad, and usually even worse; you can't set out to tell (or, conversely, experience) a story and then just not get to the end. That does a disservice to the craft.There's a difference between not liking how things have played out and wishing they hadn't played at all.

I'm not saying that KH's writing is faultless (it isn't) but the inherent nature of revealing mysteries will ALWAYS be unsatisfying to some people. My point was that ambiguity is often just as bad, and usually even worse; you can't set out to tell (or, conversely, experience) a story and then just not get to the end. That does a disservice to the craft.There's a difference between not liking how things have played out and wishing they hadn't played at all.

I'm not saying it's easy to do, but it's far from impossible. The problem most writers run into is that they leave it vague and the fans end up coming up with a conclusion that's far more enjoyable to them than the real thing. The trick is to either carefully guide the viewers expectations, or intentionally keep them low

Hatok, i suppose you and i just have differing opinions on what makes a series or story predictable.

 

The general out line of any story is and will always be pretty predictable. There are only a few choices any writer can make on how the general story will end or go. Happy ending, bittersweet ending, sad ending, sad but hopeful ending. There really isnt much more you can do than that in the general sense. I mean, i am pretty sure everyone guessed that Sora was going to find his friends in the end, or that there would be more battles to be fought, or that Riku would have continuing battles with his darkness. Those plot points are basically what the premise for the rest of the plot is. 

 

Predictability in a story to me is that everything outside of the general story is not a surprise. You see everything coming- even the details and 'twists' and sacrifices along the way. That combined with the predictability of the general story, is what makes a story predictable to me.

 

Which kinda brings into question what the reason people read or follow a story. Do you follow it for the main overarching plot, or for the details put there along the way? With how predictable most overarching plots are, i almost without exception follow a story for the details along the way. If i start reading a book or something and I am able to predict every step along the way what happens to the characters, how they effect the story and what happens to them along the way, that is when i call it predictable.

 

We all knew the basic plot of most every game: trouble brews, our heros go to fight it, obstacles get in their way, they encounter colorful characters along the way that help cement the main theme, they fight their way to confront the main boss, defeat them, roll credits. What makes a story predictable or unpredictable is what happens along the way between those points. The thing is, most of the details along the way out side of the general i didnt predict.

 

First time i played through Days, through 3D, through KH2, especially through CoM, I wouldnt have guessed quite a few things. Axels death in KH2 hit me like a sucker punch- in my mind i had a totally different expectation of what they were gonna do with him. Through 3D, I was just so taken aback that they added time travel and some of what happened to Axel too. I knew they were gonna add him back into the mix, but i never wouldve guessed he'd get a Keyblade. There are other things but it'd take too long to write them all and reading them would probably be a pain, so yeah.

 

I guess your version of predictable and my version are just different. And thats fine, if we all had the same opinions then this forum would get pretty stagnant. Am i right?

Yeah. It would have been simple if

Kh1 kh2 kh3 story done.