Mykaila Shakespeare

We shift our perspective to a newly born member of organization XIII, Roxas. A Nobody -born from Sora [who separated his own heart from his body to save Kairi]- who is learning about the life of being a member and his importance in his role. He is befriended by fellow member VIII, Axel, who showed him the works of organization XIII and eventually befriends Roxas. Along the way, they befriend another mysterious new member: number XIV, Xion (Shion). After finishing missions, they would hang out at the clock tower and have ice cream together like the closest friends they are, despite them having no hearts. However, events unfold where their fate may leave them shooting between their friendship and their existence. -- -- -- Here is a question for us dedicated KH fans: which of the DS games is more tolerable? I ask this because many of us actually dislike the DS games (for now, not including 3DS since I think it is an entirely different setting). However, in terms of what we tolerate is subjective. This review will include both the game and the cinematic movie. I will, in fact, start with the actual game itself simply so I can compare and contrast. The game itself is what most fans don't like compare to it's movie counterpart. The big one is the gameplay which is what keeps people from playing the game. On that end, I completely understand. Going to these certain missions and being repetitive is not often fun gameplay for most people. The leveling system is also not entirely fun since it requires new slots. Instead of gaining experience, you earn 1 slot per mission. I'll be honest, it is not a fun leveling system. That and the bosses can be INCREDIBLY tedious to fight. The combat is somewhat pretty repetitive. There is not much strategy to it, as far as I know since I is my second time playing it. There is also the struggle of extra content. It is harder for me to even try challenges simply because of the tedious combat and mission set up, leveling up included. KH2 succeeds I guess simply because they are story relevant and are unique. This game, however, just feels like looking at a pile of dishes you don't want to clean only it is optional. So, simply put, the gameplay is not that great and kinda boring. Despite all that, I have reasons to come back to the game. Yes, the story is decent, but really it is the characters themselves. You play as Roxas again, only KH this time it is in perspective of the organization and it's the whole game and not just s prologue. It is a Roxas a Fan's dream come true. Learning about the eyes of the organization I think is interesting. It's like an inside job if you wanna consider working for O13. I also want to add that, in case you don't know, Axel, is my favorite my fav O13 member....let alone, my all time favorite KH character. Having more appearances of him is what draws me back to the game. These characters like Roxas and Axel go through such good development I think. Salem goes for the new character, Xion. TH secrets she discovers of herself makes her grow as a character and you feel for her throughout....at least for me. I even enjoyed some of the in depth dialogue throughout each world you visit in the game, despite the tedious missions. I am willing to go through bad bosses and tiring missions just to see more cutscenes and interactions with the characters. Now I'd like to talk about the movie version in the HD collection. It is not a port of the game, but simply just HD work of the cutscenes.....at least some. They are incredibly good and well performed from the voice actors. However, I have to compare this like movie with a book. Tedious the game may be, but at least the cutscenes give more insight in their conversation as well as, surprisingly, major moments that affect the entire series. Point is, in the movie, a lot of scenes were displayed as just screenshots with story text added to it. I understand that most of the Disney cutscenes were not well displayed to be within time. But, other cutscenes that are purely just Kingdom Hearts, were taken out. For example, a good majority of action sequences were taken out or just shortened. Luckily, there was one incredibly important action scene that was not in the original PS3 remaster and was finally added to the PS4 version, so there was not much to complain about for that end. The rest, it may feel not picky, where I feel could still have the potential to be cutscenes of their own. One was a hint of events in a prequel (which honestly I am surprised was taken out due to it's importance). There is also the mystery surrounding a character that connects to Axel. That I feel is the most mysterious and has yet to be unfolded with the history of those characters and their goals. I wish they could explore more of it because I find it quite interesting (here's hoping KH3 covers that or just gonna stick with headcanons). Funny enough, the manga seems to touch upon that a lot better. It's not particular history of the characters, but the more of some in depth emotions. I forgot to mention that there is a manga series for this title. As much as I enjoy the game, I think the manga is far more meaningful and well written; some comedic and a lot were emotional. If anything, I actually recommend reading the manga over the game. Since it does have action sequences, a lot of decent humor, and overall emotional throughout. In conclusion, I actually enjoy this title in general. Will be giving scores for each medium of the title: Game: 6/10 - for the tedious missions and not-so-fun bosses, but the interaction wi the characters are interesting (dialogue is 50/50) Movie: 7.5/10 - The HD treatment was beautiful and the voice acting is pretty spot on. However, they had to sacrifice a good chunk of important scenes (the character I mentioned and a moment that references a prequel game). This would've gotten a 6.5 if they left out an incredibly important action sequence in the PS4 version. Otherwise, many action sequences were left out and I wish they displayed more of that in the movie. Manga: 9.5/10 - I honestly feel this is the best source of the title. It has decent humor, neat action sequences, as well as some good emotional moments. Even the dialogue was well put together. Not to mention, the artwork is amazing. If I were to ask you to choose one to understand the name generating title, this is the one. Overall, the title itself has a good 7.5 in general simply and mostly because I love the interactions and the development of the characters. I thought this title had a good story. ....but I mostly love this title more probably because Axel enslaved me with his flaming charm or something. I love Axel ? P.S. This game also featured one of my absolute favorite songs. The next DS eventually will be Re:Coded. But that will be covered in November after Birth By Sleep in October. I'll just flat out say that 358/2 Days is what I prefer over Re:Coded. Why? Stay tuned for the next couple of months to find out! [ARTIST NOTE] I was incredibly excited to do this piece. Maybe because I love Axel that drove me to draw this LOL But seriously, this is pretty simple to do. In case you guys don't know, I LOVE sunsets, especially with clouds. They are just colorful and beautiful. Maybe that's why I am drawn to the aesthetics of Twilight Town simply because I love the setting and laid back atmosphere. So, all the more reason I was excited to draw the background. As for drawing the characters, was great. I also noticed that because I do not draw Roxas as much, I accidentally made his head too small during the process. Luckily, I was able to adjust it. So far, the O13 outfits were the easiest to draw in terms of clothing (I love Nomura's art, but DANG his clothing design can be kinda messy because there is so much LOL). Honestly, between the three, ironically Axel was pretty difficult. If you are an artist and is a fan of the series and Axel, you know what I'm talking about. The hair and the angle for the face were difficult to pull off. But, I managed to catch it and I am happy that it is all worth it (since, again, I love Axel LOL) Xion, Roxas, and Axel from Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix and Disney

Here comes the big meal! This title is not only my favorite Kingdom Hearts game, it is my favorite game of all time. To all the fans, it is surprising nobody that I am one of the "KH2 is best game surprising nobody" squad LOL Then again, I haven't heard anyone tell me they hated KH2 yet (please comment below whoever you are that hates KH2). There is a good reason this game is praised. Before I settle why, I got some story to tell you. I mentioned in my KH1 post that the first of the series is luckily how I was introduced to the series. It held some major nostalgia for me in many ways. Then we have KH2. I remember the first time seeing the game advertised in my local Walmart. I was so excited that there was a sequel to a game I loved (keep in mind, I did not know Chain of Memories existed at the time), I had to look up online when YouTube was being born. I don't remember how long it took for my mother to finally buy the game, but she managed to get it for us. I remember me and my sister argued on who will play it first....guess who played first? LOL Throughout it all, like KH1, I remembered fondly of the play through for the first time. The prologue was certainly interesting. This prologue was/is controversial. You play as a different character, named Roxas, for at least 2-3 hours simply not because it is a tutorial. It was also small story on it's own. I'll be quite honest, I don't remember my thoughts about it back in the day. I know I was obviously confused and wondered when I would play as Sora. Throughout the years I've played the game, however, I have been too used to this prologue. Heck, I personally loved the prologue. In those 2-3 hours, you learn about Roxas and his struggles of his fate before playing as Sora. If you didn't play this, I recommend you see for yourselves. I'll just leave at that. Then there was finally playing as Sora again. Playing throughout the game was certainly a journey. The feeling of flying through the gummi ships again, was truly a more upgraded and incredibly fun ride. Visiting new and returning world's was also incredible. Fighting heartless and nobodies was also fun enemies to fight. However, like KH1, the biggest moments I remembered were fighting through all the big bosses in the game (not final mix). They were the hardest to get through and when I was able to pass them, it was sweet sweet victory for my childhood. To this day, I continue to play this game over and over again. I feel like out of all the games I played in general, this was my crowning achievement of being able to fight difficult bosses on my own. I am not perfect at them, but I continue to do better whenever I come back. The music of this game also amazing. A lot of my favorite songs are from KH2: the other promise, lazy afternoon, 13th struggle, sacred moon, fight to the death, darkness of the unknown, cavern of remembrance, and KH2's take on dearly beloved. Even the music for each world I visit are unique and works in their own way. I can easily identify what world is and they don't play songs from their original film counterparts (exception of nightmare before christmas and a bit of atlantica). Throughout the time I kept playing kh2, so far, I was never tired of it. There is the fact that it is simply fun. But, I always found something new whenever I come back. That actually goes for the entire series for that matter. If there was anything that I feel is flawed in the game (yes, even this game has flaws), it's the stories for the Disney worlds. In terms of what messages provided in the game, the plots of the Disney worlds worked. However, a majority of them had nothing to do with the game's narrative, at least during the first visit for each world. It felt like I was watching a fanfic with an OC added to it. I mean, you could say the same for the other installments. But I think KH1 does a lot better with all the world's plot. Their plots were mildly similar to their film counterparts and still inserting Nomura's OC. However, it was still part of the story's narrative for a majority of worlds served an importance in the game's overall plot. Which is why I am incredibly excited for KH3 because the world's announced, so far, each had a member of the organization which is telling me each world is important to the story. So, KH2 Disney world plots are kinda meh for me. Not terrible, since I think it is more nit picky for me LOL (there is one world that is painfully ripped from the film, the acting was blegh and Sora contributed to nothing other than fighting the final boss with your Disney party member) That aside, having a chance to play final mix in the remix collections for the first time (on my PS3 back in 2016), I was finally able to experience some new content. Example, I actually went ahead and got into critical the first time I played it since I've always played proud mode in the original. The extra bosses, new cutscenes, new keyblades, upgraded soundtracks to make them sound orchestrated, etc. Let me tell you y'all, it's harder to get back to the original after this. During my time playing final mix, I felt like I was playing it for the first time again but with better content and upgraded music. Overall, I love this game with all my heart. I come back to this game because it is fun mostly. The story is a conundrum, but the characters are whom we connect with the most. The journey the characters go through, struggles and all, we wanted them to succeed. Everything the game has is what I love, despite the few problems it had. Although most of us can agree that it is the best game in the series. For me, it is a complete 10/10 for me (or 9.5/10 to make you all feel better LOL)

It's really hard to say which side of the story I prefer, but I did enjoy Riku's story and the message they're trying to display in his story. Learning to face your darkness and being able to channel it your way is certainly something you don't normally hear in most stories, at least to my knowledge. It's equivalent to saying learn to use your weakness as your strength. Then, there is Riku as a character. Out of all the characters in the series, I feel he is the best developed character. However, this game is just scratching the surface. I will get to full detail when I eventually play another future game in my playthrough (so stay tuned for that). For now, his development in this game was the beginning. As for gameplay, it is pretty much still card game play. However, he is somewhat limited. Sora has a lot of customization while Riku, on the other hand, is stuck with a stack of cards and there is no way to customize. However, the upside is that you can use a majority of enemy cards more often than Sora would (to which his cards have a cost). Personally, I did feel more challenged and more satisfied with his gameplay. As mentioned before, the set of his cards is limited and you cannot customize your deck. Which makes the strategizing more unique compared to Sora (to which you can easily break the game with a certain combo LOL). BTW, I am not a fan of the final battle in his story....just throwing that out there. With all that being said, I mentioned that I am more mid ground with both sides of the game. But if I were in a situation where the world depends on this particular decision in hopes Earth doesn't explode, I am leaned more to Riku's gameplay and story. His progression is more interesting and the gameplay is unique and challenging with the limited decks I'm given. I'd give it 6.5/10

(I will have reverse/rebirth uploaded after I finish the game hopefully by the 21st. Stay tuned!) --- So......I have mixed feelings about this title. I remember my mom got us the ps2 version of re:chain of memories. Because I was confused with the battle system at the time, I kinda gave up on it. It was only until I finally got back to kingdom Hearts in late 2015 after learning how important many of the games were in the narrative. So, I worked up the courage to try it out, and managed to play all the way through. This game, in case you don't know, has a card system (in order to swing a Keyblade or set some heartless on fire, you need cards). The gameplay is a mixed bag for many, it just really depends on who you are. Do you hate that it gets repetitive? Do you enjoy the fact that it makes you think on how you customize cards? I'll leave it up to you guys. I am somewhat in the middle myself. While I enjoy the gameplay just fine, it is not a system I would want to go back to in awhile. The biggest issues I had with the game is mostly the boss fights. What annoys me the most about the bosses is that a couple I fight I have to several times throughout the game (seriously, whenever I play this, I was never looking forward to fighting them). However, if there is one I actually enjoy is the final boss. I will leave it at that, but I'll say it is mainly because the design and aesthetics are just neat. As for what I liked about it, it was the story honestly. I think, out of the side games, this one is the most simple. Is it still convoluted in it's own way? Of course it is. However, this shows Sora being at his most emotional out of all of the games in the series. I also felt the goal of the story is straight forward. Especially the fact it takes place in one location that has multiple floors. I even enjoy the villains residing in the castle. They are just incredibly entertaining to watch (at least a good handful while I the other half are just really annoying LOL). That being said, those are my thoughts on, at least, re:chain of memories. I like to point out, I only discovered this game after learning it was a direct sequel to KH1 when I played KH2. I did hear the chain of memories on the gameboy advance is a lot better, aesthetics and gameplay at least. However, that has yet to be seen when, one day, I'll be able to experience this myself. Till then, it's a B- for me. Artist Notes: Mostly an update because I guess I forgot to add artists note years later. Had to fix a couple things mostly, like KH1 poster, had to fix the show position. Secondly, adding the title for this poster was really difficult, even while editing this. Me drawing this the first time was interesting. I recall having a hard time figuring out how to position Namine. Glad it all worked out now with some editing finally.

I uploaded this to my Twitter and few other social media. But I figured I should upload this here. I am working on a dedication project that's in a way related to a countdown. I will play every playable game (including the DS games + their movie counterparts...Union Cross is an acception because the story is not finished yet LOL) then I will draw them out based on that game and this will be monthly. Example: KH1 in June, Chain of Memories (including reverse/rebirth) in July, KH2 in August, etc etc. Starting with, of course, the beginning of the series, simply just Kingdom Hearts. We all remember: inserting the disc to our PlayStation 2, hearing dearly beloved, being blown away by the opening, going through the tutorial starting with out own choices (I know most of us chose the sword LOL), fighting the once terrifying Darkside, exploring Destiny Islands, hanging out as Sora with Riku and Kairi, fighting heartless, getting a Keybalde, meeting with Donald and Goofy, going to many Disney worlds, meeting a few Final Fantasy characters like Cloud, facing difficult bosses, solving puzzles, the final boss, the ending. All of that for the first time was magical. A mix of Disney with the aesthetics of Final Fantasy was what many of us would never dream of would exist. Here we are now with the many games after KH1 getting us prepared for KH3, a revolution we are ready to face. And here's my review and thoughts overall here (synopsis included): --- Our story begins with Sora, who lives on an island with his best friends Riku and Kairi. They attempt to build a raft to explore outside worlds. One night, the island is attacked by creatures if darkness, called Heartless, the forcibly separated Sora from his friends. Sora stumbles upon another world, with a strange weapon [the Keyblade] aside him. There in the new world, he stumbles upon Donald and Goofy (who are traveling looking for "the key" in hopes to find their missing King). They all travel together to many different worlds while fighting the heartless in hopes to find their friends. --- This is the game that started it all. I first discovered this game at a friend's home in 2004 or 2005. What attracted me was art work of the cover. To think that there is a beautiful art work featuring Donald Duck and Goofy. Another attractive feat is realizing it was a crossover. Since I was a kid, I've always LOVED the idea of crossovers. Discovering this was a whole other level. We were able to burrow it to play at home. I inserted the disc and this song plays at the menu screen https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8LXTui5vl6Y . Something about it was so indescribable. It was unique, gave me a new feeling which I have never felt before. If that couldn't anymore unique, we have the [opening|https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=29KHZ3jVguk]. This is just the song for now because I want you all to experience it yourselves at your own time (also hoping to avoid spoilers). I STILL listen to this song to this day. The opening was....breath taking. I have never seen anything like it before. Growing up with Disney and this was something even I think Disney wouldn't pull off. Then we have he tutorial section. Had to go through decisions and learning the basics of fighting. I even had to deal with a boss that terrified me the first time fighting it. Then there was Destiny Islands. Seriously y'all, this is an island I want to visit. A place like that looks perfect for exploration and imaginative adventures. A child's dream play ground. It was saddening that I eventually had to leave. However, visiting Traverse Town was like home in a way. Meeting Donald and Goofy was also a highlight, because Disney of course. Traveling to many worlds, the plot thickening, fighting difficult bosses and feel like a champion winning them. The music was also a great feat of the game, the entire series for that matter, thanks to Yoko Shimomura (to which she became my absolute favorite composer of all time This game was unique and strange but it was a good feeling. There was Disney magic, but this game had it's own magic that a mix of Disney and Final Fantasy. It was a truly magical experience I will never forget. Looking at it years later, the fact that it was possible to remaster the game that is over 15 years old, shows that it has aged well. That being said, the gameplay is a mixed bag and it is heavily subjective. Sora did feel a bit clunky. But, I also felt this seemed appropriate for Sora honestly simply because it is the beginning of his massive journey. Of course you'd feel clunky jumping around swinging an oversized key (I'm sure this was not intentional from the developers) LOL. It was alright for me playing the game simply because my nostalgia was stronger than my own critique. There was one thing that bothered me was the editing in transitioning via dialogue. The original had this issue before the final mix. However, I did know that there was one scene when a character made a deal and was offered the thing they were looking for. It took them about 5-6 seconds to respond....in the original it took them 3. Out of all the games, this game had the most awkward editing with dialogue. This game is not perfect and I may be a bit biased because of nostalgia. But, in terms of gaming, his had changed me. When in was a kid, I remember my mother playing a lot of videogames growing up (particularly Ocarina of Time for example). I could never get past after the first round for most of the games. That is until I played Kingdom Hearts. This has me so invested in the story I had to work hard going through his game. It is all thanks to this game I managed to get through Ocarina of Time on my own. So, I gained independence for gaming LOL The titles in the series is a journey in itself to reach to the one game we had waited for for so many years. I hope to entertain you with my thoughts and my artwork for this series. It is thanks to this series that I an doing this. I hope you all enjoy what I offer. [ARTIST NOTE] This was simply fun to do. I had some struggle trying to pose Sora the way I want him to. The shoes were especially difficult (I am not used to drawing huge shoes LOL). The water was my most favorite to do. The shore bit was something I am extremely proud of. [UPDATE: had to fix up one of his shoes and did some editing.] Sora from Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix and Disney You can check the other posters hrough this link in my deviantART: https://www.deviantart.com/mns-prime-21/gallery/67100545/Kingdom-Hearts-III-Countdown

Haven't done much with this for a while, might as well do something with it. So, I was blown away from the scene in the opening where Aqua and Co finally reach each other as hey sky dive. it almost brought me to tears especially when you hear the full remix for the first time. Now, I felt like the Sea Salt trio deserved the same treatment. Heck, this moment should b in KH3's opening when the time comes. Course, that's me being Axel trash because I love him very much LOL Till then, Hope all enjoy!

​So, I decided to get myself a Wayfinder on Easy. I gotta say, after playing Birth By Sleep, I wanted a Wayfinder of my own SOOOO badly. Now I have it, I can stare at this and cherish this precious prop for a long time. ​Here is the link to where you can get this. There are other option of you want your customized. You can choose any color provided and/or have an engraving in the back. https://www.etsy.com/listing/207011923/wayfinder-kingdom-hearts?ref=related-1