jbmasta

Sometimes people will say the non numbered titles in the series are spin-offs. This annoys me and it's an inaccurate description. A spin-off concerns a different narrative, even if there may be some of the same characters. Angel as a spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who getting spin-offs in K9 and Company, Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood and Class. This so far has not happened with Kingdom Hearts, the closest is Union X. All the console games so far deal with the Xehanort or Dark Seeker Saga, and tie into it even if it's a cutscene at the very end like re:coded. They all add something to the lore that the Dark Seeker Saga uses. Obviously the numbered titles are important, and Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance add just as much to the lore and ongoing storyline, and use new worlds and world designs. Chain of Memories is a bit trickier. While it does recycle worlds from KH1 and exists largely to fill in blanks Nomura realised would be there for KH2's backstory, it still adds a lot to the lore. Introducing Nobodies, the Organisation, Namine, DiZ, kicking off Riku's redemption arc proper as well as first hinting at Roxas and Twilight Town. 358/2 Days and re:coded are more blatant efforts at filling in gaps in the backstory, shown especially in the world recycling from previous games. Days does foreshadow the importance of replicas, as well as the development of Nobodies being able to grow new hearts. Basically, just because it's not a numbered title doesn't mean it's not important to the overall narrative an if you dismiss a Kingdom Hearts game that's not 1, 2 or 3 chances are you'll be very confused if you only play 1, 2 and/or 3.

I had to Google it to see how to evolve a level 6 medal.

Team Yell reminds me of football fans. Fanatically obsessed and actively against anyone who doesn't like their team. They could have had two antagonistic teams to reflect this, and it'd have made more sense than Team Aqua vs Team Magma in Hoenn. It could also offer a different angle in that while observers think they're just hooligans, they still cause trouble through their conflicts. To add some character depth to the player character, maybe the PC supports the opposite team who's antagonising everyone, and the more the player character achieves, the more they're harassed. The way Team Yell fanatically support one of the rivals also puts me in mind of fandoms of pop stars. The kinds of fans who jealously desire to protect the object of their fascination, who show up in crowds with signs saying "marry me" and hate whoever is dating their beloved singer the person being dated isn't them.

The Birth by Sleep melding system is so broken. Early on you can get access to techniques like the thunder dodge that make Unversed a cakewalk, and combine that with the Rhythm Mixer command style. Having to level up the techniques is a good thing though, it means you need to put in some work if you want to use them for melding (by defeating Unversed or playing the Command Board) and also means doubling up on techniques won't make them something you sell at the Moogle shop. re:coded and Dream Drop Distance were a lot better at balancing with the Command Deck.

The Disney XD show Tron Uprising was a sort of prequel to Tron Legacy, so using that as a starting point could be something. The protagonist Beck was mentored by Tron, so using that in a post-Legacy Grid would resolve Tron's fate in Legacy, give closure for fans of Uprising and expand the lore beyond Legacy, which seems to be the only way it'd happen at the moment. Using Neverland in a story based on Return to Neverland would work for a new protagonist in Jane's role, returning to how KH1 used the visits to the worlds to influence the character arcs of the original character. Regarding your Land of Dragons pitch, having external influences would actually vastly improve on the plot of Mulan II. The conflict of the original film only occurs because Mushu goes majorly out of character.

You can't even say Saturday because the letter sequence t-u-r-d appears in it. It's a classic example of the Scunthorpe Problem, where filters don't take word context into account. There are game forums where you end up bringing up Buttbuttin's Creed.

The closest world we've seen on that urban scale is Traverse Town (Twilight Town's station clock tower stood out for how it was the tallest structure in Twilight Town), and that doesn't match the style of the city on KH3's cover. It's a distinctly modern city, of the glass and steel variety (there's a metal structure on the top right just above Donald, who's sitting on a ladder) and we haven't seen anything like it, be it a Kingdom Hearts original or Disney world. While The World That Never Was has a modern look, the color tone is much darker and we didn't see a clock tower, plus metal isn't an obvious feature on the exteriors. The World That Never Was is pretty much done with anyway, after the defeat of the first Organisation and the final end of Xemnas and the Real Organisation. Another notable absentee from the cover is the Darkling who acts as a gargoyle, who only is linked to the game proper if you interpret it as linked to the Union Cross cameo in the Keyblade Graveyard against the Demontower Tornado.

One thing that I've seen in lots of places, but has never had an obvious or given explanation (unless I've missed the bleedin' obvious) is the symbolism behind Sora's crown pendent as well as the recurring image of him on a throne. Sora's crown pendent has been an aspect of his costume as a teenager across nearly all his outfit variations, even in the Pridelands when he was turned into a lion cub (although, curiously, not in his merboy form), but there's no backstory behind it, no explanation for how he received it (he isn't wearing it as a four year old in Birth by Sleep), nor the significance to Sora. Sora's parents have barely had more than a mention and a single line off-screen. His father is mentioned in Birth by Sleep by Riku, having taken them to the island and of course his mother is still sitting at that table waiting for all we know. There's been nothing to even hint at a lineage in royalty. If Ventus is somehow an influence, he too has had nothing to indicate he has a royal background either. In Union Cross he remarks he was surprised Ava approached him to join and lead the Dandelions as he wasn't anyone special or a high ranker. He doesn't come off as an aristocrat or nobleman. The Age of Fairytales doesn't indicate the social structure beyond the Unions and the Foretellers. There could be a monarchy, aristocracy or democracy for all we know. Additionally there's the fact that in Kingdom Hearts 2, when Sora unlocks the Paths in Between, he's standing on a huge crown symbol, much like when he sends the final strike at Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 3. Again, the symbolism is never made clear and no one else shows this with their own symbol. It's not conclusive since only Sora is seen unlocking these paths, as Eraqus opened up the Lanes In Between for Terra and Aqua in Birth by Sleep so they could investigate the Unversed, at least the lanes to Castle of Dreams, Dwarf Woodlands and Enchanted Dominion as well as the Mirage Arena. For something that's right in front of our eyes, it's something I've never seen remarked up for its meaning.

To meet the guests. I've shaken my hand with Manu Bennett, had a conversation with Bernie Kopell and gotten selfies with so many people at Big Finish Day. The key tip I have to give for anyone going to a convention is to budget for it. Have a limit on what you plan to spend, including autograph fees, photo fees, merchandise etc. Also bring water and food, like muesli bars.

It's possible the DS games might get a full remake at some point, with polished graphics and tuned gameplay, as well as a console port of Union Cross. However the other games are fully 3D and in very playable condition for modern gamers, unlike Final Fantasy VII.

I'm hoping there's an arena facility, like the Coliseum or Mirage Arena. Merlin's Wood is a perfect candidate as a world already established yet only visited in a couple of cutscenes, and since Kairi and Lea were there to train in using the keyblade, it'd be ideal for a playable arena campaign. There's a nostalgia angle as well, since old bosses and enemies could be possible opponents, perhaps in themed rounds like the Mirage Arena has. This opens up the chance for material grinding as well as training, since some materia are only dropped by certain enemies, enemies who don't spawn as often or do so in harder to reach areas. The only reliable location to grind sinister materia is Monstropolis.

The gameplay is the most interesting aspect, the plot is 99% world recycling like Chain of Memories (at least 358/2 Days mixed it up with new types of enemies) with only the very end having any importance to the overall plot as we know so far. It'd likely have taken too long to do a full 3D remake for the 2.5 collection, especially with voice acting for the Disney worlds. Even Re:Chain of Memories stuck with text boxes for the world scenes and only did dialogue for the Castle Oblivion cutscenes. It is a shame, and a remake would be fun. Clean up the synthesis system, get in some voice acting (we still have the voice actors, even if HJO would need to reprise 14 year old Sora again) and paired with a 358/2 Days remake it'd be a good game. Not great, but still good and at least playable on something other that the original DS. Just being able to walk around the Destiny Islands would be nice, as it's only in re:coded and Kingdom Hearts 1 we can do that. Maybe expand some aspects, like introducing data worlds based on other worlds like Twilight Town and Disney worlds introduced in other games. Space Paranoids would be interesting as that's already set in a computer system. Also expand on the fates of the data versions of the characters. I've mentioned elsewhere that it's never explained what happened to Data Sora after Mickey returned to the physical world, and the idea that the denizens of the digital world can grow hearts is a juicy concept. Maybe the journal is linked up to DiZ's set-up, where there's already a Twilight Town.

The events of Toy Box are definitely canon within the Toy Story franchise. However I think this is just a freeze frame bonus, a shout out to Kingdom Hearts but nothing linked to the plot.

What stole the show for me was Final Fantasy VIII Remastered. We were all looking forward to Final Fantasy VII Remake and Avengers, but VIII Remastered came out of nowhere and was the punch the air moment IMO.

Plus the Nicktoons are TV shows rather than movies, and in some of the more prominent properties they've run long enough for the seasonal rot to set in. SpongeBob for example, or Fairly Odd Parents, which ended not with a bang but a whimper. Danny Phantom could work as a world, as could Jimmy Neutron. The live action kid coms, like iCarly, would be much trickier because these shows don't have fantastical, science fiction or superhero settings where a Kingdom Hearts-type crossover could conceivably happen. One potential complication with doing worlds based on TV shows is that there are so many characters, and these characters nearly all have fans or some aspect people would like to see represented. How do you narrow down the cast and don't overload it with catchphrases or running gags? So far Kingdom Hearts has shied away from TV shows and instead using movies for base material.

That would have been a cool way to incorporate an arena or tournament style feature into the game.

Riku's association with the Way to the Dawn keyblade is, I believe, linked to his character arc. It's tied to his redemption arc, so he gets it when he reflects what it represents but once he moves past that state he doesn't need it anymore. Riku first uses it in Chain of Memories, the beginning of his redemption arc and when his deal with the devil that he made with Ansem comes back to haunt him. Everything he does once he and Mickey escape Castle Oblivion is about atonement, and he's willing to give in to the darkness within himself to the point of letting go of his own name if it means Sora's salvation. Only once he, Sora and Kairi are reunited and the threat of Xenmas gone is Riku able to lift most of that doubt about himself. His whole motivation in Dream Drop Distance is to find proof that he is worthy of the keyblade, and once he's able to defeat Ansem with this mindset Riku finally accepts he's been redeemed. This is reflected in the conversation he has with the version of DiZ in Sora's heart, which ties back to a conversation between the two in the Kingdom Hearts 2 prologue, where Riku then gave his name as Ansem (he had Ansem's form from the climax of 358/2 Days) but now gives his name as Riku. So with Riku accepting his role as a Guardian of Light, the Way to the Dawn no longer reflects where he is as a character, but Repliku still has a mission that requires it. It may even be his final atonement, bringing peace to something, someone he was in some way responsible for bringing about even if he didn't play an active role. I think in a way Riku is still trying to figure out who he is as a person. The person he was at the start of Kingdom Hearts 1, entitled, proud and even jealous, was gone by the end when he realised how much it cost him. He's not had much time to think between the various crises.

Despite the dodgy track record in combat (it has only appeared twice, wielded by an antagonist and the first time it was incomplete) it has a unique connection to Kingdom Hearts, which is why Xehanort wants it. In terms of raw power there are more powerful keyblades, but it's not raw power that Xehanort is after. As best I can describe, the X-Blade is the key to Kingdom Hearts and influencing it, as well as accessing the nexus that is Scala ad Caelum. Xehanort uses it to reverse the polarity of Kingdom Hearts and Sora uses it to reverse the reversed polarities.

I like a bit of structure and to chill out, so probably Roxas. Running around Twilight Town and relaxing in the Usual Spot or on the station tower while eating sea salt ice cream and chatting about whatever comes to mind. Maybe a bit of Struggle as well, planning a trip to the beach.

It'd be cool if future games used the accessory system in conjunction with character customisation that influences your stats, a visual angle to the armours and accessories from the previous games. It gives players the chance to get creative as well as an incentive to do what you need to unlock the different accessories, thus exposing you to more of the game's mechanics and encouraging you to master them. 0.2's wardrobe system is the first console game to use character customisation like this, but in 0.2 it's purely aesthetic. Clothes and accessories reflecting specific elements can enhance those elemental techniques, but playing into the elemental rock-paper-scissors also makes you weaker to the stronger elemental technique if used by the opponent. If you go in with Blizzard class heightened, you take more damage from fire types. Square and Nomura have used stat influencing clothing customisation with The World Ends With You, where the clothes you attach to the characters influence their abilities and stats on top of the trend system.

If you've completed the story, you should be able to access Theatre mode. This will allow you to rewatch the voiced cutscenes.

In re:coded we follow a data version of Sora, who starts out as the real world Sora did at the start of Kingdom Hearts 1. We follow him travelling through data versions of the worlds from the first game, and then the second half through Castle Oblivion where he and Mickey eventually learn that contained in real world Sora's heart is the means to restore various characters, tested by Data-Roxas as sent by Data-Namine. Messaged delivered, Data-Namine erases herself from the digital version of Jimininy's journal. And then what? We don't see Data-Sora erased or anything to suggest what happens after Mickey leaves for the real world. We know Data-Sora has a heart, he grew one and that's how he gained a new keyblade after his original one was destroyed. Did he stay in the journal programme and hang out with everyone there, put into narrative limbo? Did Jimininy add to the journal programme the worlds encountered in Kingdom Hearts 2 so Data-Sora had more worlds to explore and people to meet? Tangent here, if Data-Sora can grow a heart, like Tron grew a heart, does that mean the people in DiZ's digital Twilight Town are also capable of growing their own hearts? After all, Data-Sora started out a digital facsimile of the real world Sora, data loaded with base memory and personality that influenced his AI (which meant he mirrored the Sora he was based on), much like how the digital Hayner, Pence and Olette are based on their real world counter-parts, both sets being very open to friendship with Roxas. For an entry often passed over as filler, it raises a lot of tricky possibilities.

Another plot omission in Corona is Flynn telling Rapunzel his name is actually Eugene, so it comes out of nowhere at the end. The Arendelle boss is called Skoll, after the wolf in Norse mythology who chases the sun to bring darkness. The storyline I think could have been expanded more is the seven new hearts, particularly as it could have given Kairi more to do as well as develop that bit of lore from the very first game. Yen Sid even mentions them in the build up to the Second Keyblade War, as Xehanort would target them if the Guardians of Light didn't assemble and he'd be after Kairi anyway due to her being a Princess of Heart. Another angle is Ventus as one of the seven new hearts, as his is a heart of pure light like the Princesses of Heart are. It's mentioned in Birth by Sleep when he visits Enchanted Dominion, one of the good fairies notes his heart is like Aurora's, but it's never referenced directly beyond this. Especially when those were two movie plot based worlds were Sora and co had the least impact on the plot while following the native characters around. Arendelle is literally running up and down the mountain, ending up at the bottom each time the top is reached at least two times. At least in the Caribbean Tia Dalma's crab constructions kept them out of the way until the climax of the world and we got the naval exploration.

The Way to the Dawn breaking might have something to do with Riku's character development, as it represents his atonement after his temptation and fall in Kingdom Hearts 1. By coming to terms with the darkness in him, particularly by giving Ansem yet another beat down, Riku proves worthy of the Mark of Mastery. He's outgrown it so when it breaks, he doesn't need it anymore and passes it on to his replica who has his own arc that he uses the Way to the Dawn to complete.