Dagesh Lene

I love everything about this, but Mulan?

I don't think that Luxu will appear to be the main villain only for the Master of Masters to show and become the true main villain.  We already know that the Master of Masters is the true main villain.  Everything that has happened so far has all been a part of the Master of Masters' grand design (and we thought that Master Xehanort was a master planner).  I think the bigger question for the Master of Masters is when he will return and what his master plan is.

At the end of Secret Report 13, Luxu wrote, "I will soon be reunited with my old companions, and in that moment my long vigil will reach its end.  He will return..."  Does this mean that the Master of Masters will return shortly after the Lost Masters return?  Will we go a game or two until the Master of Masters returns?  I'm not sure, but if I were to make a guess, since we saw the Master of Masters in the same world as Sora and Riku in the secret ending, maybe Sora getting saved will allow for the Master of Masters to return.  It did seem like Luxu knew what Sora's fate would be when he said to him in Olympus, "And at the end, you'll finally realize what destiny has in store for you.  In fact, your reward might be right around the corner."  Maybe, knowing that Sora would sacrifice himself, Luxu knew that Sora's friends would go to rescue him and not only give Sora a way back, but give the Master of Masters a way back as well.

As for what the Master of Masters' grand plan is, I have no idea.  How do you top starting another Keyblade War in order to forge the ultimate weapon that gives you control over Kingdom Hearts?  I don't know, but maybe his plan involves actually going to Kingdom Hearts.  Will Kingdom Hearts finally be an explorable world?  I guess we will get all of our answers eventually.

As for how Luxu will fit in to all of this, I think that he will be the secondary antagonist (which seems to be what he has been for a while now, since Birth by Sleep).  He is the one who seems to know more about the Master of Masters' plan than anyone else.  Luxu may be the main antagonist of a game or two, especially if the Master of Masters hasn't returned yet.  However, the way I see it, the main villain of the next saga will definitely be the Master of Masters, and Luxu will be his second-in-command.

But these are all just my thoughts.  Only Nomura knows what is really in store for us.

Rafiki: "Everybody is a somebody, even a nobody."

Me: "Ah, I see Rafiki has played Kingdom Hearts."

You bring up a good point with Pandora: World of Avatar.  That is definitely a land that could have easily been a flop, but it was a huge success, despite the fact that it seems like no one really talks about Avatar anymore.  So, either people are still huge fans of Avatar and just aren't talking about it, or people went to the land despite how they felt about the movie.  I have a feeling it's the latter, and if it is, I'm sure Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge will do better in Walt Disney World than it is currently doing in Disneyland.

Also, I don't think that Galaxy's Edge is doing as badly as people are making it out to be doing.  Yes, there are not huge crowds at Galaxy's Edge right now,  but that goes for all of Disneyland, not just Galaxy's Edge.  To me, this means that there is something more going on than people just not liking Galaxy's Edge.  As you said, I think a big factor is how they handled the crowd control.  Plus, despite the fact that it looks as though no one cares, they have sold out of a lot of merchandise.  If no one cared about Galaxy's Edge, I think all of the merchandise would still be on the shelves.  Just to be clear, I'm not saying that Galaxy's Edge is a success.  It is obviously not doing what Disney was expecting, and Disney is making it known that they are not happy with the results.  However, since all of Disneyland is poorly attended right now, I think that it has more to do with how expensive tickets are, how the locals were being kept out to make room for tourists, and how Galaxy's Edge isn't even finished yet, which is probably keeping tourists away.

2 hours ago, FlipMode said:

This fake mock up of a Star Wars park (an actual dedicated park not just one land expansion) is awesome: https://thefairytaletraveler.com/2015/08/25/star-wars-lucas-world-theme-park-map-fake-or-leaked-starwarsland/ the article is outdated now but the map image is a really cool concept. 

I haven't been to Star Wars Galaxys Edge yet, I am a Disney World Annual Passholder so I will go to that once it opens but many of the criticisms from the Disneyland one are exactly what I was fearing from all the way back when this was announced. This could have been so easily improved by even just having three different lands / sections. One for the original trilogy, one for the prequel trilogy (would have loved a General Grievous photo op / meet, that would have been scary and so cool) and then what we have now for the new sequel movies.

I do like what we got, from what I have seen so far. Being able to build your own custom droid and lightsaber is awesome, side note: a lot of people are saying those are expensive but for quality custom lightsabers its about what you might expect to pay from my understanding of it. But yeah I just wish they would have included more from the original trilogy or even the prequels. 

I definitely think that Disney could build an entire Star Wars theme park.  I think that could actually be a really big success for them if they did it right, and it could lead to not only bigger and better lands in other theme parks but also bigger and better theme parks, like how the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios caused Disney to start making better themed lands.

I personally haven't been to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge yet either, but from what I have seen, it looks like I would really enjoy it.  I can understand the issues others have with it though.  I wouldn't go so far as to call it a failure like others have, at least not yet.  I will wait to see what attendance looks like once all of the pass holders are let in to the Disneyland version (some were not being let in because of the anticipated tourists), once the other ride opens at the Disneyland version, and once the version in Hollywood Studios opens (since Walt Disney World attracts more tourists than Disneyland does).  However, even if it does end up being a failure, that could end up becoming a good thing in the longrun because it will cause Disney to find out where they went wrong and fix it so that it doesn't happen again.

Since there is not a lot of Kingdom Hearts news to discuss right now, I decided to post something else that I have been thinking about a lot recently.  Star Wars Land is now open in Disneyland, but it does not seem to be doing as well as Disney expected it to do.  I think that there are many different reasons contributing to why that is, but one of them is probably the fact that Star Wars Land mostly focuses on the sequel trilogy and doesn't include many popular characters and locations that guests would want to see in a Star Wars Land.  I understand that Disney wanted to make Star Wars Land as immersive as possible, and having characters from the previous movies appearing in the same land as characters from the current movies could ruin that immersion.  However, I think that you can divide the land into sections that focus on each of the trilogies and still make it feel immersive.  So, here is my idea of how they could have done just that.

The main hub of Star Wars Land would be a section of Mos Eisley.  This would serve as the main shopping district for Star Wars Land, and it would also be the area where you could build your own droid.  Among these shops would be the milk stand where blue and green milk is sold, but instead of them only being frozen beverages that don't contain dairy, I think there should be dairy options as well.  You would also be able to visit the cantina, where you would be able to get alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages.  The Smuggler's Run ride would no longer be a ride included in Star Wars Land, but you would still be able to board the Millennium Falcon in order to meet Han Solo and Chewbacca.  There would be two rides in this area.  One would be Star Tours, which would be moved there from its current location (since Mos Eisley is a space port, Star Tours would fit right in as a ride in this area), and the other would be a Podracing ride (you would enter this ride by going under an archway leading out of Mos Eisley and into the area of Tatooine where Podraces were held in The Phantom Menace).  There would also be Stormtroopers patrolling Mos Eisley like there were in A New Hope.

If you go straight ahead and under an archway, you would enter the forest moon of Endor.  This area would mostly be for meet and greets.  You would be able to head to an Ewok village where Ewoks could be seen in the structures above you.  Here you would be able to meet Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia as well as R2-D2 and C-3PO.  You would also be able to head to an Imperial outpost where you would be able to meet Darth Vader.  This area would also be the location of the third and final ride in Star Wars Land, in which you find yourself trapped on either an Imperial Star Destroyer or the Death Star and have to escape.  This ride would be like the Rise of the Resistance ride that is still being constructed, but it would be themed to the original trilogy instead of the sequel trilogy.

Off to the left from Mos Eisley and under another archway would be a section of Naboo.  The Jedi would be visiting this area in order to find more Younglings to train.  This area would be the location of the Jedi Training Academy show, which would be moved there from its current location.  It would also be where you can meet Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.  You would also be able to build your own lightsaber here, but instead of just building a realistic prop lightsaber, you could choose between that or building a toy lightsaber for a cheaper price.

Finally, off to the right from Mos Eisley and under another archway would be a section of Takodana, just outside of Maz Kanata’s castle.  Here, you would find that the First Order have started to set up a temporary base where you would be able to meet Kylo Ren.  In response to the First Order's arrival, you would find that the Resistance have started to set up a temporary base too where you would be able to meet Rey and BB-8.  Inside Maz Kanata's castle would be the main location to get food.

So, that is my idea for how Star Wars Land could include characters and locations from each trilogy and still feel immersive.  What do you guys think?  How would you make Star Wars Land?  Do you like Star Wars Land the way it currently is?

I don't think there is one particular thing that is the main selling point of a game to me.  I just get a game if it looks fun to me or sounds like something I would enjoy playing.

Lion King 1 1/2 is my favorite Disney sequel.

A trailer for Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind has been released.  In the first scene that the trailer shows, we see Young Xehanort with grey eyes talking to who seems to be the Master of Masters.  While the scene is short and doesn't reveal a whole lot, it does shed some light on some things.

Since Xehanort still has grey eyes, we know that this is before Xehanort started embracing the darkness.

We now know that the mysterious man, who seems to be Master of Masters, is the one who first introduced the black coats that could ward off darkness to Xehanort.  I think that there is a possibility that the introduction to this black coat is what first led Xehanort to abandon the use of his Keyblade armor.

The Master of Masters asks Young Xehanort, "So how'd it go?  The world tour."  The Master of Masters saying that reminded me of Secret Report 2: Mark of Mastery Journal from Kingdom Hearts III, which was written by Xehanort.  It said, "Some days have passed since I set off on my journey to prepare for the Mark of Mastery examination.  Eraqus asked for leave to undertake the same pilgrimage, but apparently I am to be the first to tour the worlds written of in the old fairy tales."  So, this scene seems to take place after Xehanort finished his preparations for the Mark of Mastery exam by touring the worlds.  The worlds Xehanort visited also seem to be the worlds written of in the Book of Prophecies.  I don't know if that is important or not, but it probably is.

In response to the Master of Masters' question of how the world tour went, Xehanort said to him, "In an awful way, I realized just how necessary I am."  It seems that Xehanort may have already started forming his plan to purge the World even back then.

As we see in Secret Report 2, it is during his world tour that Xehanort realizes that darkness can be mastered, and, after he completes his world tour, he decides to do so and wield it in proper balance with light, which means that it must not be too long after this scene that he get his yellow eyes.

That's all I can get out of this scene right now, but I can't wait to find out more once the DLC is released.

Sonic Adventure 2 is my personal favorite Sonic game.

Bosconian is my favorite classic arcade game.  I loved freely flying around space and taking out enemy ships and space stations.

Jenova, Sephiroth's mother

I'm most excited to see Safer Sephiroth and hear the version of One-Winged Angel that will play during the fight against him, assuming that the final boss fights will remain the same that is.

In my opinion, the best way to make a successful videogame adaptation is to adapt a videogame that is story focused.  I think that the reason why Detective Pikachu worked is that it is based on a videogame that was story focused and not gameplay focused.  That doesn't mean that I think it is impossible to adapt a videogame that is gameplay focused, I just think it is way more difficult to do so.

That being said, I think that, if Nintendo were to adapt any other videogame franchise, it should be Metroid.  I think that it could work either as a more kid-friendly version of Alien or as a more mature Nintendo adaptation that focuses a bit more on the horror of Metroid.  Either way, I think a Metroid adaptation could be successful if done right and has a better chance of being successful than any other videogame franchise that Nintendo owns.  But first, now that Nintendo has proven that a live-action Pokemon adaptation can be successful, I think that they should make another live-action Pokemon adaptation based on the main games.

I would most like to visit Disney Castle/Disney Town.  While it is not my favorite world, I think that it would be the world I would enjoy visiting the most because of its cartoony nature.  Plus, it is the home of King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and all of their friends, who are my favorite Disney characters.

I thought that this game had the best visuals (the cutscenes made me feel like I was watching a movie), the best world design for the Disney worlds (except for the 100 Acre Wood), and the best music (the original pieces composed for the cutscenes were the icing on the cake for me).  Even though I still think that the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts II was the best overall, the gameplay of Kingdom Hearts III was fun, and it provided you with more options than ever before.  In addition, the Gummi Ship was the best it has ever been.

While the cutscenes were better than ever before, sometimes they dragged on for too long.  While most of the Disney worlds were great, the 100 Acre Wood and the original worlds left me wanting more.  Also, while it was great having so many different gameplay options, not all of the gameplay options were great.  However, those are just minor complaints.  My only big complaint was with the story.  It felt poorly paced, it didn't seem like any of the original characters other than Sora got the attention they should have gotten (which could be considered part of the pacing issue), and the foreshadowing for future games made Kingdom Hearts III feel less like a finale and more like just another chapter in an even bigger story.  However, while Kingdom Hearts III did not have the best story, it did have the best moments in the entire series, so much so that I can't imagine how future Kingdom Hearts games will top those moments.

Overall, I felt that there were more positives than negatives, and the negatives that were there weren't enough to make me not enjoy the game.  We will have to see if future DLC makes me change my score, but as of right now, I give Kingdom Hearts III an 8/10.

1 hour ago, Azure Flame said:

It's highly unlikely though.  Especially when you look at the chessboard at the end of the epilogue, showing most of the foretellers, the MoM, and potentially Maleficent (though some say it's Ava)

Nomura was asked in an interview if all six of the Master of Master's apprentices were present as dark pieces on the chessboard, and Nomura replied, "Yes."  When asked who the seventh was, Nomura said that we can guess, but it's a surprise.  So, unless Nomura goes back on what he said, we know that six of the seven dark pieces on the chessboard are all six of the Master of Masters' apprentices.  People have been saying that the heart-shaped dark piece is the Master of Masters, but according to Nomura, it's a surprise who that piece is, so we don't know for sure that it is the Master of Masters yet.  So, if anything, it will be the Master of Masters who isn't present on the side of the darknesses, or at least he might not be one of the seven darknesses on the chessboard.  He still may be on the side of the darknesses.  He just may not be one of the darknesses actively participating in the battle.

I don't think Kairi needs fixing.  I just think her character development needs to continue.  To me, how she has been used so far has made sense, even in Kingdom Hearts III.  While she wasn't handled perfectly in Kingdom Hearts III, I don't think she was handled poorly.  In fact, considering she only just learned how to use the Keyblade and was immediately thrown into a war, I think she did pretty well.  Since Kairi expressed a desire to no longer wait on the sidelines, I'm sure we will get to see her grow as a Keyblade wielder, which means she will not remain a rookie for very long.  However, if Kairi goes back to waiting on sidelines and not trying to contribute, then I will be upset.  I doubt that will happen though.  And so, assuming her development continues, I can't wait to see her become the talented Keyblade wielder we all want her to be.

 

 

1

7 hours ago, The Transcendent Key said:

As for Kairi, I did feel as though she was lacking severe screentime, but she was doing her best to contribute to the battle at hand. Yes, she was used as a damsel in distress again, which is probably the main reason people are so mad about her, but honestly, Kairi is a character that is continuing to grow. We already have Sora and Riku as well developed characters, and now, we can have Kairi have her time to shine! Hopefully you're right and Nomura gives her some more development moving forward.

I too felt that Kairi was lacking severe screentime.  However, I think her lack of screentime is really part of a bigger issue that if you were a character whose name wasn't Sora, Donald, or Goofy, you got next to no screentime.

Kairi becoming a damsel again didn't bother me that much because it was made pretty clear from the beginning of the game that Sora was going to sacrifice himself to save Kairi.  I think that the main reason people are upset about Kairi is that we didn't get to see her do anything and she didn't even try to fight back when Xemnas kidnapped her.  I agree that these are issues, but I didn't think it ruined Kairi or anything like that.  I think that she did pretty well for herself, all things considered, especially since Yen Sid was basically like, "Now that you know the basics of how to use a Keyblade, go fight a war."

 

 

 

2

7 hours ago, The Transcendent Key said:

And well, regarding Ava, this is all still a mystery to me. Also something to keep in mind is that in the Final World, the mystery girl said something along the lines of: "He is not himself, if he noticed my absence, he would surely worry." So it may have been Strelitzia talking? Lauriam was not himself, and when Sora defeated him, he said that it was all coming back to him, his purpose for being. So maybe Strelitzia is another name we can throw in the hat? She could be important for the next saga as well!

I actually think there are two mystery girls.  The star I think is Strelitzia, but I think she is a different person than Subject X.  I think that Subject X is Skuld.  I think that the star is Strelitzia for the reason you brought up.  I don't know who else she could have been talking about besides Lauriam.  However, since Strelitzia never became one of the Union Leaders, I think that rules her out as Subject X since Subject X was talking about how all she remembered was four friends and a key.  To me, "four friends and key" means she remembers the other four Union Leaders and that she could wield a Keyblade.  However, I could be wrong.

To start off, I think that the next Kingdom Hearts game has the potential to be one of the best, if not, the best Kingdom Hearts game yet.  Since it will be the start of a new saga, it will not be held down by everything that came before it.  It can start over.  That's why Kingdom Hearts 1 is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game.  It wasn't held back by previously established lore and years of setup, so it could do whatever it wanted, and what it did was amazing.  The gameplay doesn't hold up as well as later games, but that's because it was still finding itself gameplay wise.  But now, with the improved gameplay of the Kingdom Hearts series plus being able to start over with a fresh, new story, the next Kingdom Hearts game could be the best game yet and could become my new favorite, which I didn't think would ever be possible.

I think that we will see Kairi start to become the heroine everyone wanted her to be in Kingdom Hearts III.  While a lot of people thought that Kairi wasn't handled well in Kingdom Hearts III, it seems to me that Nomura wanted her to still be a newbie in that game, since she only just learned how to use the Keyblade and all (as explained in Jiminy's Journal), which is why he handled her the way that he did.  She still wasn't handled perfectly, but I thought that she was handled well enough to fit the role Nomura wanted her to fill.  Plus, it's not like Kairi did nothing.  She not only kept Sora from dying, allowing Sora to save the rest of the guardians of light, but also helped the guardians of light fight several armies of darkness and a second Keyblade War as her first mission ever as a Keyblade wielder (even if the game didn't show much of what she was doing).  However, now we can see Kairi actually be the person she wanted to be in Kingdom Hearts III, someone who could protect Sora.  If Riku is in another world, he had to have gotten there somehow.  My guess is that he went looking for Sora, and, since Kairi is no longer a person who would sit around and wait for Riku to rescue Sora, I'm sure she is going to be searching for him too.  Does that mean that she is also in another world like Sora and Riku are, or is she going to have to save both of them?  However, no matter what happens, I'm sure we will get to see Kairi become a talented Keyblade wielder, which I can't wait to see.

It's possible that Ava is the mystery girl, but I think it's unlikely.  We know thanks to the Secret Reports that Xigbar/Luxu was the one who set the mystery girl free, but in the Epilogue, he looked around at the Foretellers and said, "I guess Ava didn't make it after all."  It sounded as though he expected her to appear with the other Foretellers, and since he saw who the mystery girl was, I think it is more likely she is Skuld.  On the other hand, we don't quite know what Luxu meant by, "I guess Ava didn't make it after all."  Maybe she was the mystery girl and it was at the moment that she was set free that Luxu told her what was to come, but she ended up not showing up when he told her to.  I think that is less likely, but I still think it could be a possibility.  If that mystery girl is Skuld like I think she is, then I have no idea what happened to Ava, but, thanks to interviews, it does sound like she will return to the Foretellers' ranks, so she must be out there somewhere.  The question is: where?

As for what's in the box, we were told by Luxord that the box contains "hope".  But hope for whom?  What kind of hope?  We do know that whatever is in there was enough to shock Luxu in Back Cover though.

I don't know what the Master of Masters could possibly want.  To me, nothing can top what happened in Kingdom Hearts III: a second Keyblade War to forge the X-Blade, which is the only thing that can control Kingdom Hearts.  What could top that?  But if all of that was just to prepare for the Master of Masters' plan, what more could he possibly want?  I guess we will have to wait and see.

At the end of Kingdom Hearts III, we learned that Master Xehanort's true plan was to use the power of Kingdom Hearts to purge the World with darkness in order to reset the World back to its original state.  He would then become the World's leader, dictating everyone's destiny so that they would not pollute the World with their endless darkness.  Now, it seems that a lot of people think that Master Xehanort wanted to create a World without darkness.  However, I don't think this is accurate.

When Master Xehanort was first introduced in Birth by Sleep, he was depicted as someone who believed that light and darkness should exist in balance.  Dream Drop Distance also described Master Xehanort this way.  If Kingdom Hearts III wanted to go a different direction with Master Xehanort, it probably wouldn't have even brought up Master Xehanort's desire for balance.  However, his desire for balance was brought up in Kingdom Hearts III, and it wasn't just in his character bio, it was also in the Secret Reports, and the Secret Reports (or whatever they are called in the other games) are usually meant to shed more light on the story.  So, if Master Xehanort wanted to do away with darkness, why does Kingdom Hearts III remind you of his desire for a balance between light and darkness?

I think that Master Xehanort still wanted a World that was balanced in light and darkness.  However, while he originally wrote in his Report in Birth by Sleep that there was too much light, it has been changed so that he believed that there was too much darkness.  He said at the end of Kingdom Hearts III that the problem was that the evil in people's hearts begat more darkness.  There was already darkness.  The World began in darkness.  Master Xehanort just believed that the way the World was at the very beginning was the only time that there was a balance between light and darkness, so he wanted to reset it to that state and keep everyone from disrupting the balance.  However, this is just how I understood it.  What do you think?

The encounter with Saix and Xion gets an honorable mention for basically everything that happened during it and for having the best boss theme in the entire series (in my opinion) play during the Saix boss fight once Roxas and Xion became your party members.  However, my favorite encounter was with Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would fight a boss fight against Xehanort's Heartless, Xehanort's Nobody, and Xehanort's younger self at the same time.  Plus, Master Xehanort was looking down on you the entire time, just watching the battle, while occasionally surrounding you in a vortex of Keyblades that he would hurl at you while his other selves attacked you.  To top it all off, the second best boss theme in the entire series (in my opinion) played during the boss fight.  It was amazing.

For me, it's really close between Roxas and Terra, but in the end, I had to go with Roxas.  The way he entered the scene as a beam of light from the sky and kicked up a cloud of dust when he landed so that you couldn't see who it was (but we all totally knew who it was).  The way the camera panned dramatically around him to reveal his face after he took off his hood as "The Other Promise" played triumphantly in the background.  And to top it all off, both he and Xion get to be your party members during the boss fight against Saix as the best boss theme in the entire series (in my opinion) plays in the background.  Everything about it was great.

Kingdom Hearts III: the game that everyone has been waiting for, but no one thought was ever going to actually be made.  Finally, it is here, but was it worth the wait?  When I first finished the game, I would have had to say, “No.”  However, now that I have taken some time to process my thoughts and play through the game again with adjusted expectations, I can see that my disappointment came from the fact that it was never going to live up to the hype.  So, now that I can see the game for what it is and not what I wanted it to be, I am finally posting my review of Kingdom Hearts III.

The gameplay was fun, and it provided us with more options than ever before.  However, I found myself relying mostly on hitting X, casting magic, and using Situation Commands.  The rest of the options didn’t seem that useful to me (except for Airstepping, which I found really useful, but I kept forgetting I could use).  Flowmotion was nerfed, which I appreciated, but I also felt like it was nerfed to the point that I never used it unless I had to reach an area that I couldn’t reach by just jumping.  I didn’t find any of the Link Summons other than Simba worth using.

The attractions were disappointing, and it was one of the things that I was looking forward to the most too.  There aren’t many different attractions, and you can’t choose which ones you use.  In addition, they take you out of the battle, especially since the music changes in most of the battles when you use one.  The only one I found myself using, again and again, was Splash Run.  I liked Mountain Coaster the most, but it was only used in two battles and had very specific things happen during it, such as the Rock Titan attacking you while you flew around the mountain or massive amounts of Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed being taken out at one time whenever you attacked with it, which is probably why I liked it so much.

The Keyblades are better than ever in this game.  The Formchanges for the Keyblades makes every Keyblade useful in different ways, although some of them just reuse forms from other Keyblades, which seemed unnecessary since there aren’t that many Keyblades compared to previous games, and therefore, aren’t that many Formchanges.  However, Formchanges are still fun.  In addition to Formchanges, the ability to upgrade the Keyblades makes them feel even more useful.  The cherry on top is the ability to switch between three of them at any time during the game.  You can even have Formchanges or Finishers saved on the other two Keyblades that you have equipped that you are waiting for the right moment to use.  I, admittedly, did not use this very often.  However, unlike the other gameplay options, it’s not because I didn’t find it useful.  It’s because I kept forgetting you could do that, or I liked the Keyblade I was currently using.  It was the same with the Shotlocks.  I didn't have a problem with them, but I kept forgetting that they were an option.

The world specific gameplay was fun too.  I loved using the Gigas in Toy Box and loved exploring the Caribbean and fighting enemy ships in the Leviathan (although collecting crabs to level up the Leviathan can get a bit tedious).  I even enjoyed the underwater gameplay in the Caribbean.

The Gummi Ship was better than ever.  I loved the open map and the exploration element that they added.  The cherry on top was the ability to exit battles.

The Disney worlds, with the exception of 100 Acre Wood, are bigger and better than ever before.  There was so much detail put into them, and the worlds actually felt lived in this time with the addition of way more NPCs.  However, the original worlds were not as well done as the Disney worlds were.  That being said, the worlds in Kingdom Hearts III overall are the best yet.

The game is visually stunning, and the characters are a lot more animated in cutscenes.  There were times when I felt like I was watching a movie with how the cutscenes were made.  The dialogue is also the best it has ever been, and there were many moments that actually made me laugh this time (it felt like there weren’t a whole lot of those in previous games).  However, there were moments when it felt like the cutscenes were going on for too long, and this wouldn’t have been too bad, except in most of those cutscenes, there was a lot of talking, but not a lot of action.  However, that wasn’t enough to ruin the cutscenes for me.

The music is the best in the series.  The new tracks were amazing, most of the remixes of old tracks sounded even better than before, and I loved the mashups of different tracks that were used for many of the boss themes near the end of the game.  Probably my favorite thing that was done with the music was that original music was scored for many of the cutscenes, which made the cutscenes feel even more like movies.

There may not seem to be a lot of postgame content, but I still think that there is a lot there to keep you busy for a while.  There are quite a few minigames to complete, including cooking with Little Chef and the Classic Kingdom minigames.  There are plenty of chests, ingredients, and Lucky Emblems to find.  There are many items to synthesize.  There’s a lot to do in the Gummi Ship.  Finally, there are Battlegates to complete once you beat the game.  You can also play around with the camera on the Gummiphone and take some great pictures.  However, my party members kept wandering into the picture I was trying to take, which got really annoying, especially since they would usually do so just as I lined up the perfect shot.

The only thing that left me feeling disappointed about Kingdom Hearts III was the story.  Nothing too significant happened until after you completed all of the Disney worlds, which made everything that happened after that feel a bit rushed since it had to wrap up ten games worth of story at the end of the game.  The setup for future games made this game feel less like a finale and more like just another chapter in the story.  Because of the rushed nature of everything after the Disney worlds were completed, every single character whose name wasn't Sora was given the short end of the stick in this game, although they did each have some amazing moments.  Speaking of moments, this game had the best moments of any Kingdom Hearts game.  There were amazing moments given to the characters (as I already stated) and epic moments that left my jaw on the floor and that made me think that no future Kingdom Hearts game could ever top what happened in this game.  So, while the story could have been paced better, and while it could have done with less setup, it was still an amazing experience.

In the end, Kingdom Hearts III is a fun game to play with the best visuals, worlds, and music of any Kingdom Hearts game that came before it.  Not all of the gameplay options are great, but that did not make the game any less fun to play.  Some of the cutscenes went on for too long, but that did not ruin them.  The story has some issues, but the great moments in the story make it enjoyable nonetheless.  Is Kingdom Hearts III the game that everyone wanted?  No.  Is it a good game nonetheless?  Yes.  I give Kingdom Hearts III an 8/10.

My reaction was basically: "WHAT?  NO!"