Smithee

Only problem is most of the KH heroes' actions have ultimately backfired and/or benefited the villains. And the futile Armor was just a cherry on a lazy-writing sundae. And here's how the Armor should've worked in the battle: by sometimes paralyzing the Nightmare to help Riku the same way Terra sometimes paralyzed Terranort to help Aqua. You know, to make it more than just a makeshift costume for a bad guy and another shot to a good guy's credibility.

I think Terra's and Eraqus's Hearts left AX during ATW's experiments.

IMO: 1. MX. 2. YMX. 3. Ansem SOD. 4. Xemnas. 5. Braig/Xigbar. 6. Isa/Saix. 7. Terranort (with Terra's and Eraqus's Hearts being elsewhere entirely). 8. Vanitas. 9. Repliku. 10. Marluxia. 11. Larxene. 12. Demyx. 13. Luxord.

It wasn't, trust me.

Great... except the fight would've been no different without the Armor; Riku would've beaten Nightmare!Sora and restored him to normal anyway. All it accomplished was kicking Ven while he was already down (as Aizen MX had already revealed that TAV sacrificed themselves for nothing) and kneecapping his hero credibility. Just another Diablous Ex Machina in favor of Madara MX.

Lazy writing, then.

Ven's Armor, since it failed to protect Sora. Why bother having the Armor there at all, then, Nomura?

And then DDD just seemed to kick him down even further (along with Aqua and Ven, for that matter). One of the major reasons why I hate that game.

Depressing stuff.

3. MX not being the final boss. Too predictable and burned-out if he is.

1. Flowmotion without Forced Drops. 2. Light-based threat(s).

It'll probably rip off the Masked Lumen fight from Bayonetta 2 or something.

1. MX. 2. YMX. 3. Ansem SOD. 4. Xemnas. 5. Braig/Xigbar. 6. Isa/Saix. 7. Terranort (time-traveled from BBS)(?) 8. Vanitas (either revived or time-traveled from BBS)(?) 9. Repliku (either revived or time-traveled from COM)(?) 10. Marluxia(?) 11. Larxene(?) 12. Demyx(?) 13. Luxord (Hello? "Gambler Of Fate"? Time powers?)(?)

KH2's time travel = within reason and limited to 1 world. DDD's time travel = out-of-nowhere series-retcon only beneficial to MX while making everyone else look weak.

Sora vs. MX will almost assuredly be 1-2 rounds in the finale. But I still don't want MX to be the very last boss.

Sora and MX were painful to watch in DDD.

Halfway would be too early; MX should last about 9/10 through before someone/something usurps him, IMO.

It'd just make DDD's climax pointless. But sadly, Nomura seems to love ruining past climaxes just to make MX look bigger and badder.

DO: Reveal clever behind-the-scenes stuff involving Terra's and Eraqus's hearts. Otherwise, what was the point of MX saying, "Eraqus, you sly fox..." in Blank Points? DON'T: Just have MX control Terra 100%. Given the Terra/Eraqus situation above, MX being able to override 2 rebellious hearts at once would just increase his Villain Sue points, make his "Get hearts, bodies, etc. to reject their selfhoods so I can have good vessels" experiments pointless, and destroy Terra's (and Eraqus's) remaining credibility.

Alternatively, Aqua finally snaps from everything and pulls an Eraqus, and it's her vs. Riku.

DO: Show better examples of Dark Is Not Evil and Light Is Not Good. Otherwise, I'm just going to side with so-called "strawmen" like Eraqus. DON'T: Have MX be the very last boss. Too predictable and burned-out at this point.

Except it was explicitly stated that MX can only use people who aren't too self-aware or rebellious.

Blank Points revealed Eraqus's heart kept MX's from "seeding" Terra's like the other vessels'. Body-wise, however, I don't know.

Can you pick me up some Sour Patch Kids while you're at it, please?