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I’ve played through Kingdom Hearts III at least 3 times. The first time was on Standard difficulty when the game first launched in 2019. Later on, when they added Critical Mode in the free update, I played through it again on New Game Plus on Critical Mode (I love how KH3 has a New Game Plus feature). I was very happy to find that even with my Ultima Weapon carried over from my previous Standard play through, Critical Mode was still quite the significant increase in challenge (for me). Then, when they came out with the Re Mind DLC, I initially loaded my finished Critical Mode save file and used that to begin the Re Mind DLC. It couldn’t be too impossible, right? (oh, how naive I was, lol). I did manage to beat the first portion of the Re Mind DLC on Critical Mode, but I just simply couldn’t beat the data battles that came after that on Critical Mode. So that’s when I heard about the newly added EZ codes and Pro Codes that were added to the game alongside the Re Mind DLC. I ended up starting another New Game Plus, but this time on Beginner Mode with EZ Codes enabled. It was actually surprisingly fun to use the EZ codes to one hit KO enemies and even bosses, lol. Then upon finishing the base game a third time, with the difficulty on Beginner with EZ Codes enabled, I was able to cheat my way through the Data Battles in the Re Mind DLC and see the true ending to it. The catch was that EZ codes disable a lot of trophies/achievements. And I still wanted the satisfaction of beating the Data Battles and Yozora legitimately so I could actually see those coveted trophies pop. So I loaded up my beginner save file again and turned off the EZ codes. And although the data battles were still super difficult even on beginner mode, with determination (and a bit of frustration too, lol), I challenged each of the Data Battles I had previously cheated against with EZ codes once more, but this time with the EZ codes turned off. Thankfully, the trophies for beating the Data Battles and then Yozora unlocked for me after that. I was kind of worried that perhaps using EZ codes at all would permanently disable those trophies, but much to my relief, after turning them off and beating the Data Battles and Yozora again legitimately, those trophies I desired so much unlocked with their satisfying dings. So all in all, I’ve played through the base game of Kingdom Hearts III 3 different times. And also technically played through the Re Mind DLC twice. To each their own, and I respect different people have different opinions on KH3, but after doing all that, Kingdom Hearts III became my new favorite in the series. When the game first launched, I still absolutely loved it, but I did wish there was a higher difficulty challenge. Upon replaying the game over on Critical Mode, then cheating my way through it yet again on Beginner Mode with EZ codes, I really gained an increased appreciation for the game and everything about it. And then of course, I think legitimately beating the Data Battles and Yozora after that was the icing on the cake for me, and really solidified it as my new favorite in the Kingdom Hearts series. 🙂

When it comes to Square Enix franchises, I love Kingdom Hearts, but I also love Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, NieR, Bravely Default, and Octopath Traveler as well.

I would personally love to see plushies, apparel, more pins, action figures (maybe even the Square Enix Bring Arts/Play Arts figures), ornaments, and maybe even some Disney Showcase figurines (I love those resin Disney Showcase figurines; I have a collection of those along with some nice Disney resin ornaments I got from the parks). But overall, just any additional Kingdom Hearts merchandise at the Disney Parks would be incredible!

Part of the reason I love the Star Ocean series so much is because of its setting and time period. It’s a futuristic space setting, but they also do a good job of fitting in medieval fantasy settings with many of the “underdeveloped planets” as the series refers to them. So I think futuristic is my personal favorite, but I also really like medieval and other time periods/settings too.

I mean, it would be nice to know once and for all if the black box really contains an embarrassing photo of Aced at the Christmas party, so maybe Aced? 😆 In all seriousness, though, I’d like to know more about all their backstories on an equal level. That being said, I voted for Ava because she always seemed to have a pretty important role (no pun intended) in the overall story of the foretellers.

Interesting! I look forward to see more about what this means for the Lost Masters going forward!

Well, it did release last year, so it wouldn’t really qualify for this year’s game awards as far as I know, but I think Star Ocean: The Second Story R deserves some more recognition at The Game Awards or something. If the policy change they just implemented that allows DLCs and remasters to be nominated for awards had’ve been implemented last year instead, maybe it could have. Then again, Star Ocean: The Second Story R is kind of more of a remake than a remaster as far as I’m concerned. Still, it would’ve been nice to see some huge recognition for Star Ocean: The Second Story R.

Finally! This is some fantastic unexpected news! I’ll definitely be buying them (again) on Steam!

That’s kind of what I was thinking too. I’m really glad we got another Kingdom Hearts reference like this, though!

For me, it’s a tie between Final Fantasy XVI and Star Ocean: The Second Story R. I loved Final Fantasy XVI so much, and I thought it was an excellent new mainline entry in the series. I found it to be truly amazing, and I found very little to actually criticize about it. To me, it was an excellent game overall. The original PS1 version of Star Ocean: The Second Story was also my very first RPG. It’s a big reason I became a gamer in the first place. While I personally love pretty much all the Star Ocean games, Star Ocean 2 has always been my favorite due to a mixture of nostalgia and that I just think it’s a great game overall. As such, I absolutely love what they did with Star Ocean: The Second Story R. It’s so faithful to the original, while offering so many amazing quality of life improvements too. I just think Star Ocean: The Second Story R is the perfect blend of old and new. So, honestly, both Final Fantasy XVI and Star Ocean: The Second Story R are tied for me as Square Enix’s best game of 2023.

My favorite game published by Square Enix this year was Star Ocean: The Divine Force. I'm a huge fan of the Star Ocean series, and my very first RPG was Star Ocean: The Second Story on the PS1. After Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness came out around 2015, I thought we would never see another new Star Ocean game again. Most people really disliked Integrity and Faithlessness, and while I found many aspects of it enjoyable, I personally felt that Integrity and Faithlessness was just okay overall. We did get the mobile game, Star Ocean: Anamnesis a few years later, as well as remasters of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, and Star Ocean: First Departure throughout those few years as well, so that was a reassuring sign for me. And when Star Ocean: The Divine Force was first announced, I was part of the niche fanbase who was actually excited to see a new Star Ocean. I was cautiously optimistic about it leading up to the release, but when it finally released in late October, and when I finally finished the game a couple weeks ago (at least from one of the characters' viewpoint; I still need to do the other route), I was safely able to say that I was very satisfied with it. It certainly wasn't perfect, and the Star Ocean series as a whole isn't always everyone's cup of tea, but I personally felt very impressed by Star Ocean: The Divine Force. My favorite in the series is still Star Ocean 2, but I am still very satisfied with this new sixth mainline entry in the Star Ocean series.

Honestly, I’m always worried about getting backlash. It’s just something that I’m always afraid of. I’m surprised you could tell based on what I wrote. I guess my feelings came across more plainly than I intended them to, lol. Everyone has their own opinions and preferences, and everyone gets to make their own decisions on what they like and don’t like. I respect that. I guess I’m just always worried that if I speak my own opinion, people might poke fun at me or start arguing with me. It’s happened a lot, but it’s always unpredictable. That’s just the nature of the internet. I guess I’m just a little insecure about myself in that aspect.

If I had to pick from just these four options (which I personally feel is a little limiting because there’s more than 4 films from the past 2 years that I think have Kingdom Hearts potential), I would go with Encanto. However, as much as I love Encanto, and as much as I would love to see a world for it in Kingdom Hearts, there is a film that I personally love even more than Encanto that’s not on the poll: Raya and the Last Dragon. I personally feel that Kumandra would make an excellent world in a Kingdom Hearts game. While a world based on Encanto would surely be exciting and fun, I personally think a world based on Raya and the Last Dragon would make for an even better and more diverse world with the potential to be rather expansive. Now, if both films end up getting worlds or representation, that would honestly be the best thing I can think of. I love both Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon, and I think both absolutely deserve to be represented in Kingdom Hearts. But if I had to pick one or the other, I’d have to be in the minority and pick Raya and the Last Dragon. Again, I love both of those films, and either one would be incredible to see in Kingdom Hearts. Who knows? Even if it’s not both in the same title, maybe both of them will end up being represented in Kingdom Hearts eventually. That would be amazing in my opinion. The TLDR version: If picking from these four options alone, I would choose Encanto. However, I would personally prefer Raya and the Last Dragon more than Encanto. I love both films, though.

Pat Carroll’s performance as Ursula is absolutely incredible, both in The Little Mermaid itself and in other projects like Kingdom Hearts. It is because of her outstanding performance that Ursula is my favorite Disney villain. May Pat Carroll rest in peace. Today I am a poor unfortunate soul indeed, for I mourn the loss of yet another wonderful talent that made this world a little more exciting.

This is a wonderful list of impactful scenes from throughout the series. Reading through this was an inspirational and chilling trip down memory lane. Thank you for putting this together. One other scene that I found to be really impactful was the scene in Kingdom Hearts III when Ventus whispers, “Terra, I kept my promise.” Then, Terra is finally given the catalyst he needed to break free of his bonds and save his friends from death. It was surprising to me to see that Terra had taken the form of the heartless like being attached to Terra-Xehanort (I don’t quite remember what that being was called). That entire scene throughout, as well as the Birth By Sleep trio finally reuniting and hugging while in tears was just so beautiful and powerful to me. I felt like that scene in particular was one of the most impactful scenes in Kingdom Hearts III (and there were a lot of impactful scenes in my opinion).