FadedSparkle

^For me it's both. I would prefer to see musical numbers if they're part of the world in a style more like in KH2's Atlantica. Where they are a part of the story being told within the world that involves the playable character(s) rather than just recreating the scenes from the musical numbers from the movies for the sake of recreating them because they're iconic and thus to be expected. In the case of Frozen while Let it Go is crucial to Elsa as a character that doesn't come across in the storytelling of KH3's Arendelle. We don't get enough of Elsa's struggle to really get that feeling that her performing Let it Go is special like it is in the film itself. by contrast they didn't fully recreate Do You Wanna Build A Snowman, but that was taken and integrated nicely into a conversation between Sora and Anna where Sora reflected on how Elsa running away from Anna in hopes of protecting her from a power she can't control was reminiscent of how Riku chose to stay in the Realm of Darkness to protect him from the hold that darkness still had over him at the time. Looking back on KH2 Altantica it's one of my favorite worlds in that game because Sora, Donald, and Goofy get to take a break from all the fighting and insanity going on and just catch up with some old friends in this world and cheer Ariel up. The musical numbers have a purpose and they're simple in their execution. The songs aren't anything to write home about, but as long as you haven't lost touch with your inner child you can still acknowledge them for the cute and fun little adventure they provide and enjoy it. It's also an interesting idea to be capping it off with a musical theater mini game battle against Ursula. It isn't really clear by that point if you're fighting a memory of Ursula or if she somehow revived and invaded and decided to crash the musical (and are they still even rehearsing or what?!), but it doesn't matter what she is because it is amusing beyond belief and yeah, in particular the first time around that this is experienced it definitely can make for a weirdly fun time. It does help a lot that while this world is in the game you have the option to skip it entirely if you want to though. They seemed very much aware that this wouldn't be to certain gamers tastes and made a wise decision to make it optional unless you're aiming at 100% completion.

The criticisms toward Dream Drop Distance are honestly much too harsh: 1: Plot Takes a Nosedive. -This is a myth. There were several hints in previous games that Nobodies could either grow a heart or had hearts all along. Turning back into a Somebody after your Heartless and Nobody get destroyed is hardly the shocker that the fans tend to make it out to be when they first play this game and this is revealed to them. Time travel is a necessary evil and honestly a long time coming. There was simply no way they wouldn't tie the era of the original keyblade war and the current one together somehow and the mysterious origins of certain characters was all pointing towards time travel. Nevermind Xehanort himself doing it to play puppet master over so many individuals and lend himself more and more credibility as a big bad for the saga as a whole, time travel was essential for the future of the series itself. -Within the confines of the game itself the plot is operating by way of natural progression and makes sense. Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody have been destroyed thus the return of Xehanort himself is eminent so it is time to put Sora and Riku through the Mark of Mastery exam. There is nothing wrong with that base. It's a perfectly logical place to go after KH2. The twists that arise are perhaps jarring at first especially if you haven't been able to keep up with the plot of all the previous games, but not anything so out of this world that they couldn't be anticipated and they do exactly what they were intended to do which is set things up for KH3 while bringing all the previous games together in one neat little package. 2: Nevermind the gameplay being difficult to get used to or the fact that sometimes what I elected to do was cancelled out by the enemy, the drop gauge makes it unplayable. -This is a flat out lie. In the case of enemies cancelling out what you're trying to do I notice from personal experience with the game and from watching many a let's play that it mostly happens in boss battles. The standard enemies don't normally give trouble with cancelling out what you're trying to do. And then there is the drop gauge. This is honestly not an issue. Drop Me Not and Drop Me Never are a thing. Furthermore there is zero negative consequence to dropping unless you're stupid enough to head into a boss fight when you're low on time. The majority of the bosses in this game are located seconds away from a save point for a reason. If you don't think you have enough time to beat the boss don't go fight it during your current session. Drop to the other character and then come back. 3: The Virtual Pet Aspect -The Dream Eaters you can make to have as allies on your team are treated as an inherent problem when really they're just a pet peeve. Some people simply didn't appreciate having a dose of Pokemon/Nintendogs/Nanopets/Gigapets/Tamagotchi built into a Kingdom Hearts game. I always found it quite silly that this was something to hate about this game. Mainly because you only need to make a handful of Dream Eaters at best to get through the game. 4: Sora's character does a 180. -This one just always makes me laugh because Sora is so Sora in this game that it hurts.

It is highly unlikely that they wouldn't release it for Xbox One. And even though the previous games have been put on PS4 as a collection and KH3 is on PS4 the series has never been a PlayStation exclusive thing. Relax. If you can worry about anything in regards to it it's whether it will come out at the same time as on the PS4 or some time after. That part of the equation could be in question. The west in general should worry if at least Japan doesn't have the Re:Mind DLC in December because if they don't get it in December it means they're getting it in January 2020 or later which means the west will probably be waiting until Summer 2020 to avoid interference with the launch of FF7R which they'll want to capitalize as much as possible on off the western audience who didn't swallow up the original release of FF7 back 1997 the same that Japan did and are the real ones who've been anticipating the remake since the explosion of popularity the FF7 cast has gained in the years since the original game's release with the rise of other Final Fantasy titles. It's my personal theory that they'll hold the launch of Re:Mind for simultaneous release give or take a few days much like with vanilla KH3 until specifically a year after vanilla KH3 launched so we'll see come January 2020 if I'm right or if they pull the trigger sooner with at least Japan getting lucky in December 2019. They did say this winter in the teaser trailer, but then Nomura and Yasue both specified that they're aiming for before FF7R.

Nomura's interview for the KH3 Ultimania could clear this up. He did say in it that he went back and forth with the decision of making other characters playable for the fights in the graveyard over Sora, but felt things would get too confusing for the gamer and thus went with having Sora as the player's character for all the fights. I think Re:Mind really is going to give us the reverse scenario somehow.

Seems like everybody has forgotten that this is just Xehanort in a nutshell. He's a very behind the scenes kind of dude. We didn't get Ansem Seeker of Darkness until the last quarter of KH1 minus the scene with him as Mr. Robe Guy on Destiny Islands at the beginning. We knew Xemnas as The Superior all throughout Chain of Memories and he didn't even show himself personally to our faces until the midpoint of KH2. He's known as The Superior for most of 358/2 Days too. Old Man Xehanort is only ever on screen in Birth by Sleep when its convenient for him otherwise he's directing things like a puppet master guiding Terra, Ven, Aqua, Vanitas, Mickey, Eraqus, and the future members of the Organization we see as kids and young adults in this one to where he wants them to land. And probably, considering how many steps ahead he's been known to think and plan, already working on how to manipulate Ansem the Wise out of the equation if he doesn't cooperate with his plans and share in his ideals in the end. It's not really surprising that he'd be so behind the scenes and end game-y in KH3. Even Young Xehanort keeps himself a mystery for a chunk of Dream Drop Distance despite actually showing himself to the player quite often which makes him a surprise for those who haven't seen the scene with him from Re:Coded beforehand. I sincerely doubt that the deaths of either of his previous voice actors was why he had such limited screentime in KH3. It's just a matter of what kind of villain he is. He even makes a point of waging a patient and relatively peaceful war. Only causing as much of a stir in the worlds as necessary to get the Guardians of Light exactly where he wants them. I wouldn't count on Re:Mind "fixing" anything about Old Man Xehanort. In fact about the only Xehanort incarnation I expect to be explored further in Re:Mind is Young Xehanort before he went golden eyed as we've seen in the trailer and also as Nomura had claimed for a while now that he wanted to do. He's gotta get as much of what he can from that game he had to shelve about Young Xehanort and Young Eraqus out as he can and Re:Mind is either where he'll start doing it or where he'll plain out do it in its entirety until he feels he's shared all the important things that would've gone into that game assuming the other people high on the regularly scheduled Kingdom Hearts games creation team don't want Xehanort bleeding into the next saga in any way and would not be okay with him leaving the character open for future appearances even after the Re:Mind DLC.

I'd love to see a revisit to the La Cite de Cloches by Riku where he can bond with the real Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Captain Phoebes. Better yet if they stick with the whole idea that the bonds formed with others never really fade away and those three remember him to some degree. Also we simply must see the gang from The World Ends With You again. I am sure that a lot of the old Disney property worlds still have plenty of life in them for Kingdom Hearts and since most of their original stories were already exhausted and they're older works I can easily imagine them being some of the better worked in worlds where Disney lets Nomura get pretty creative with the story told in them and how the characters will bond with Sora, Donald, and Goofy or whoever happens to be in the player party when visiting them. I worry a lot for worlds like Arendelle and Kingdom of Corona story wise after KH3. They just were not good worlds from that particular angle and they highlight why having mostly newer IPs in the games would be a big mistake.

^Kingdom Key D also keeps me theorizing based on some in game happenings. I wonder if Riku and Sora weren't somehow destined to claim both Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D on the Night of Fate. Stands to reason that given the location of Kingdom Key D in 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage Riku would've come across it when he opened the door to the heart of Destiny Islands, but rejected it in some way much like he rejects the Kingdom Key later; thus leaving Kingdom Key D unclaimed and open to be found by Mickey and Aqua and Kingdom Key moving on to the person with the next strongest heart, Sora. It appeals to that sense of best friends doing everything together and especially the ongoing narrative of Sora following where Riku leads and vice versa like a perfect yin and yang circle. Here would begin a narrative of Riku giving up one Kingdom Key to Sora and keeping the other and both starting a journey to the outside worlds together rather than what actually occurred. Some of Mickey's dialogue even sort of hints at the fact that they weren't supposed to just get one of the keys in 0.2, but that's clearly retcon if ever the series has had any that is easy to point out considering KH1's own narrative by Mickey in his letter and the whole "there can't be two keyblade masters" thing which is quickly outdone even in the vanilla release of KH1 because if that's true what does that make Mickey if Sora's meant to be The Keyblade Master rather than A Keyblade Master. Still it is a very interesting thing to ponder over. Much like how Riku got his hands on Destiny's Embrace to present to Kairi in KH2.

KH3 Critical Mode will probably be more worthwhile when the Re:Mind DLC launches. Right now there aren't enough bosses worth your time on Critical Mode and the regular enemies are just no fun at all. I honestly feel looking back on 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage like Osaka Team turned into a bunch of overachievers after the change from Unreal 3 to Unreal 4 and it did more bad than good. The combat as Aqua in 0.2 is very fluid and even though she's overpowered because her default level is 50 the game mechanics available to her feel more balanced than everything they offered to Sora for KH3 even after nerfing some things to be less obnoxiously OP for the launch of Critical Mode.

Honestly I think a lot of the reason why people call them spin off games is because of how the games themselves were marketed. Square Enix and Disney put a lot more stock into Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, and 3 when it came to marketing thus giving off a sense to the Kingdom Hearts series fanbase that the rest of the games are either not important or not as important. Had they been more consistent with their marketing with each of the other entries not only would they have sold better right out of the gate upon their original release (except for the obvious issue of Coded being an episodic mobile game release), but the fanbase wouldn't have felt the need to label everything outside of 1, 2, and 3 a "Spin-off" or "Side Game". It shows a lot in that the GBA version of Chain of Memories exceeded a million sales worldwide. A fine feat in its own right, but only half of what Kingdom Hearts 1 managed worldwide in vanilla release before it, and far less than half of what Kingdom Hearts 2 managed in vanilla release worldwide after it. Both of them having gotten much bigger not to mention longer marketing campaigns. It's not just an issue of GBA vs PS2. At the time if you had a PS2 at home you most likely had a GBA too for on the go gaming. It's the lack of devoting the same effort to marketing the handheld title launched between them that left Chain of Memories as the black sheep of this first trio of Kingdom Hearts games. They would repeat the mistake with 358/2 Days and the Re-issue of Coded on the DS, with Birth by Sleep on the PSP, and with Dream Drop Distance on the 3DS. It was honestly their own actions that conditioned the fanbase. I would also like to mention that they put a huge amount of marketing into Kingdom Hearts 3 like it was any kind of necessary at all. The game had been an awaited and anticipated title for 5-10 years depending on who you asked. All the money that went into the marketing for it should've been going into making the game better or long since been used up on marketing for all the games between Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3. It is the single biggest waste of time that went into Kingdom Hearts 3. The game would have become a best seller with similar total sales figures as it currently has with a literal quarter of the marketing that went into it.

Soul Eater was an interim keyblade that evolved into Way to Dawn (as shown over the course of Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, and KH2) and could be devolved back as shown by Riku (in Dream Drop Distance) and as Soul Eater has no chain. It also had no chain as Way to Dawn the first time we see Riku use it as such (against Shang in a Land of Dragons cutscene) so basically imagine any existing keyblade but without the keychain.

Well as far as we know Sora was never bequeathed a keyblade of his own and the Kingdom Key has throughout the series on a few occasions still answered to Riku even after choosing Sora over him in KH1. I.E At Memory's Skyscraper under the guise of Oblivion. Because the original form of the Oblivion keyblade Roxas loans Riku to fight off the heartless together here is Kingdom Key it for all intents and purposes should reject Riku, but it doesn't. And this was before Soul Eater had evolved into Way to Dawn. Then in Dream Drop Distance after the battle with Armored Ventus Nightmare Riku uses Kingdom Key twice without any trouble. It's like Sora is Kingdom Key's primary user, but secondary owner.

Oh dear. When thinking about it Old Man Xehanort was a great mastermind for the rest, but the others were far more interesting and memorable than he was IMHO. Maleficent was cool with the whole villains council in KH1 and even though she's been reduced to a comedic relief villain since then she's still always fun to watch. Then there's Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas who had such nice arcs devoted to them in the saga. I voted for Ansem Seeker of Darkness. That arc with Riku was really just something special and their final goodbye in KH3 reduced me to tears. Honestly he and Xemnas were a treasure whenever they were on screen and even when they were just being talked about.

What bothers me about the Kingdom Hearts manga is probably the fact that it's so inconsistent with major events in the games. For example Demyx doesn't fade for good in Hollow Bastion instead getting used to try making Kairi look like a better character in The World that Never Was by having her convince him to let her go since they place him as her guard while she's captured at the castle. And then when he begs her to go back to her cell so he doesn't get in trouble she hits him. That doesn't make Kairi look like a better character at all. It actually makes me hate her more than I do in the games where she's nothing but a plot device and poor love interest Sora only remembers he cares about when the plot demands he remember she exists at all. The rest of the time he can't say Riku's name loud enough or enough times. And the series wants to keep insisting they're not gay for each other.