Web
Analytics Made Easy - StatCounter
Jump to content
  • Sign Up

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'kh3'.



More search options

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Kingdom Hearts Forums
    • Kingdom Hearts - General
    • Kingdom Hearts III & Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind
    • Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
  • Off-topic Forums
    • General Discussion
    • Creative Media
    • Poll of the Week
  • Archived KH13 Parties's Discussion
  • Braveheart's Topics
  • KH13 Leopardos's Topics

Categories

  • KH13 · for Kingdom Hearts

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Games

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Interviews

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Guides
  • Kingdom Hearts Guides

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Soundtracks

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Abilities

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Characters

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Keyblades

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Worlds

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Weapons
  • Kingdom Hearts Weapons

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Commands

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Songs

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Manga

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Novels

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Companion Books

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Lore

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Magic

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Reports

Categories

  • Kingdom Hearts Items

Categories

  • Playthroughs / Let's Plays
    • Kingdom Hearts | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | Re:Chain of Memories | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts II | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts coded | Re:coded
    • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] | Unchained χ | Union χ[Cross]
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
    • Kingdom Hearts III
    • Kingdom Hearts VR Experience
    • Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
    • Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
  • Trailers
    • Kingdom Hearts
    • Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
    • Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
    • Kingdom Hearts II
    • Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+
    • Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
    • Kingdom Hearts coded
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
    • Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
    • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
    • Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ | Union χ[Cross]
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
    • Kingdom Hearts III & Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind
    • Kingdom Hearts VR Experience
    • Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
    • Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
    • Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link
    • Kingdom Hearts IV
  • Fan-made videos
    • Analysis
    • Cutscenes & gameplay
    • Music videos
    • Parodies
  • Cutscenes (Note: Currently broken)
    • Kingdom Hearts | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | Re:Chain of Memories | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts II | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep | Final Mix | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts coded | Re:coded | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance | HD
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX
    • Kingdom Hearts χ[chi] | Unchained χ | Union χ[Cross]
    • Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue
    • Kingdom Hearts III

Calendars

  • Community Calendar

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


Member Title


Website URL

Found 2,205 results

  1. The Square Enix North America Store has revealed nine new Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stands now available for pre-order, releasing in August 2024. Three of the stands featuring the key art for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts will cost $34.99 each, while the other six stands featuring Sora, Kairi, and Roxas will cost $14.99 each. You can take a closer look at each of the Acrylic Stands in our gallery below, alongside their product links: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Acrylic Stand - Boundary - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Heart - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Premonition - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Kairi - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Sora - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Late Summer - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Ocean - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Wind - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Beach - $14.99 Will you be picking up any of these acrylic stands? Let us know in the comments below!
  2. The Square Enix North America Store has revealed nine new Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stands now available for pre-order, releasing in August 2024. Three of the stands featuring the key art for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts will cost $34.99 each, while the other six stands featuring Sora, Kairi, and Roxas will cost $14.99 each. You can take a closer look at each of the Acrylic Stands in our gallery below, alongside their product links: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Acrylic Stand - Boundary - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Heart - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Premonition - $34.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Kairi - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts III Acrylic Stand - Sora - Promise - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Late Summer - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts II Acrylic Stand - Ocean - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Wind - $14.99 Kingdom Hearts Acrylic Stand - Beach - $14.99 Will you be picking up any of these acrylic stands? Let us know in the comments below! View full article
  3. The Square Enix North America store has revealed a new Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush based on King Mickey. The plush is set to release August 2024 for $41.99 USD. You can pre-order this new plush at the Square Enix North America Store here. Take a closer look at the Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush King Mickey in our gallery below Will you be picking up this new plush to add to your collection? Let us know in the comments below!
  4. The Square Enix North America store has revealed a new Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush based on King Mickey. The plush is set to release August 2024 for $41.99 USD. You can pre-order this new plush at the Square Enix North America Store here. Take a closer look at the Kingdom Hearts III Knitted Plush King Mickey in our gallery below Will you be picking up this new plush to add to your collection? Let us know in the comments below! View full article
  5. Chapter 26 of the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available on Gangan Online and from Yen Press. "Kingdom of Corona" can be viewed in Japanese on Gangan Online or bought in English as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. You can check out preview scans of the chapter in the gallery below. Check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Toy Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English Chapter 24 Toy Box [5] Japanese English Chapter 25 Lea and Kairi
  6. Chapter 26 of the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available on Gangan Online and from Yen Press. "Kingdom of Corona" can be viewed in Japanese on Gangan Online or bought in English as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. You can check out preview scans of the chapter in the gallery below. Check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Toy Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English Chapter 24 Toy Box [5] Japanese English Chapter 25 Lea and Kairi View full article
  7. Ben Hanson of MinnMax recently conducted a lengthy interview with Pixar's Creative Director of Theme Parks, Tasha Sounart, about a vast variety of topics. One of these detailed discussions regarded the development of the Toy Box world in Kingdom Hearts III. Sounart first talked about how the D23 fan reactions to the Toy Box world were immensely positive, fueling her with a genuine sense of accomplishment and relief considering the stigma of negativity that gaming communities are generally perceived to have. As for how this Pixar collaboration for Kingdom Hearts III even came about, Sounart was an integral voice in making it happen. She talked to the Pixar executives hesitant about the idea, forever altering the initially shaky prospect of Toy Story's utilization. Other topics she speaks about are cultural differences with Square Enix's team and the difficulties finalizing the Toy Box casts' animations with English voice work to make it all feel natural. Lastly, she reveals her dream ideas of how Kingdom Hearts implementation would work in Disneyland. You can listen to the full Tasha Sounart interview below, with helpful timestamps specifically labeling the Kingdom Hearts segments: Additionally, Tasha Sounart has previously shared several comments about Pixar's involvement in Kingdom Hearts III over the years. Our prior articles containing those instances are listed below: Toy Box World Reveal Remy Cooking Minigame Several comments pertaining to Disney incorporation Tasha Sounart informing Pixar Animation Studios Story Supervisor about Kingdom Hearts
  8. Ben Hanson of MinnMax recently conducted a lengthy interview with Pixar's Creative Director of Theme Parks, Tasha Sounart, about a vast variety of topics. One of these detailed discussions regarded the development of the Toy Box world in Kingdom Hearts III. Sounart first talked about how the D23 fan reactions to the Toy Box world were immensely positive, fueling her with a genuine sense of accomplishment and relief considering the stigma of negativity that gaming communities are generally perceived to have. As for how this Pixar collaboration for Kingdom Hearts III even came about, Sounart was an integral voice in making it happen. She talked to the Pixar executives hesitant about the idea, forever altering the initially shaky prospect of Toy Story's utilization. Other topics she speaks about are cultural differences with Square Enix's team and the difficulties finalizing the Toy Box casts' animations with English voice work to make it all feel natural. Lastly, she reveals her dream ideas of how Kingdom Hearts implementation would work in Disneyland. You can listen to the full Tasha Sounart interview below, with helpful timestamps specifically labeling the Kingdom Hearts segments: Additionally, Tasha Sounart has previously shared several comments about Pixar's involvement in Kingdom Hearts III over the years. Our prior articles containing those instances are listed below: Toy Box World Reveal Remy Cooking Minigame Several comments pertaining to Disney incorporation Tasha Sounart informing Pixar Animation Studios Story Supervisor about Kingdom Hearts View full article
  9. It’s finally time to properly share my sentiments for the Kingdom Hearts series. Since it’s my birthday, I feel it’s the perfect time to do so after a few months writing this down. Buckle up and have something to eat and drink because this is gonna be a bit long….and I mean LONG. I’ve put my heart and soul in this and I hope you can see that through what I say here. HERE WE GO! _________________ DISCOVERY _________________ I first discovered Kingdom Hearts back in 2006 I believe. My family and I visited a friend’s place for something I can’t recall. What I do recall quite fondly is me going downstairs to their entertainment room. There was a small pile of video games they had (from PS2 to XBOX I believe). One game in particular you can guess was Kingdom Hearts. But it was the first KH game. I’ll never forget seeing the cover for the first time. Seeing a unique dark atmosphere featuring Donald Duck and Goofy was certainly strange. It was clear that it was a Disney game, but it was mixed with something else, something I’ve never felt for before. Seeing the back cover also made me felt more excited seeing what is in the game. I’d like to add that I used to watch some House of Mouse. So, seeing the Disney villains interact in a video game and knowing I will fight them made it all more exciting. I also had no idea that Nightmare Before Christmas was Disney until I saw this game which was an instant win as to why I want to play the game. ______________ BEGINNINGS ______________ I will admit, my memories of my first gaming experience with KH had always been a bit fuzzy. But I will try my best to share as honest and clear as possible. I’ve always struggled to recall the location, was it my house or was it my friends? Which ever it was, it didn’t stop the fact the feeling I had was quite vivid. Hearing “Dearly Beloved” for the first time blew me away. The title screen alone with the song playing on loop gave me such a magical feeling that is so unique and unknown. I previously mentioned how It’s a Disney game so it gave me Disney magic. But it was also mixed with a different magic I’ve never felt before. The magic of Disney and Square Soft (now Square Enix) was truly unique and nostalgic that will stick with me for a long time. Moving on, I start playing the game and further given much more nostalgia with the opening sequence with Utada Hikaru’s “Hikari” English version “Simple and Clean” as a short opening remix. They’re music has always been incredible without fail it’s hard to really pick my favorite. Regardless, the song slapped and was taken straight to more nostalgia with the tutorial segment. The atmosphere of it was quite haunting. Meeting the common enemies I’ll encounter consistently in the series was intriguing considering their nature. Especially the tutorial boss that actually scared me. In fact, it took me awhile to eventually fight this boss on my own despite my fear and years later is kind of a nuisance level boss. But I’ll never forget my fear towards it. Then onto my first world which is the home world of 3 main kids. Being introduced to Sora (the main playable character), Riku, and Kairi are characters I felt close to for a long time, especially Sora. He had been a special figure in my life, probably more so than I thought. He was a pure example of kindness, empathy, and joy. He had his struggle, but he does his best to stick to his principles to help others and see the light within the darkness. Leaving their home world to explore other Disney and origins worlds was also bitter sweet. The home world was comforting and safe until events crash and separate you from your comfort zone. But it is thanks to this separation that I continue to grow as a player and for Sora as a character. The rest of the game is continuous nostalgia exploring Disney worlds, figuring out how to fight the Disney bosses over and over (because PS2 version had no “skip cutscene” option), and just desperate to know what happens next. The final segments of the game will always stick with me. Learning the puzzles of the last couple of worlds with a strange, dreading, mysterious lore-heavy atmosphere filled with revelations and difficult bosses through and through. As previously mentioned how the no “skip cutscene” was a thing on PS2. Well, if somehow fighting the Disney bosses wasn’t memorable enough, the final stages is even more so. As such, the final boss will always be inescapably memorable. This is also incredibly crucial for me because this game was the first game I completed on my own. Fighting that boss (which is a massive creepy lookin boss might I add) and defeating them had sealed the deal that this game was for me. I finally accomplished finishing a game without someone doing it for me. I will forever treasure this accomplishment since I finished the game around midnight at the time. That was my experience with KH1….now to KH2. I’ll never forget learning about KH2’s release. Getting the game was a bit overdue since launch, but I remember the first time KH1 had a sequel via posters at the entrance to one of my local Walmarts. I remembered how excited I was to learn of it’s existence. I took it upon myself to look up some clips on YouTube for awhile. It was a matter of time, about a year or two later, before my mother purchased KH2 for us (me and my sister). KH1 had a unique kind of nostalgia where it was magically unique and mysterious making me excited for the unknown to be unveiled. KH2 was nostalgic for the perfect comforting summer sunny day while eating ice cream, the enjoyment to embrace the new and exciting light-hearted adventure. All things considered that this game is famous for it’s introduction [for the west audience] of the Japanese favorite cold treat in Disney’s Tokyo Sea, Sea Salt Ice Cream. I recall so fondly trying to make some from time to time as a kid. The game itself is somewhat eerily similar to my first experience with KH1, just a bit more upbeat and light-hearted. There are slight differences of course. One being the introduction to a currently most popular KH a character in the series, Roxas. Going through his story as the prologue had stuck with me. Let me make it clear that he is actually not my favorite character, but I truly do love Roxas. What he went through and the music to accompany that story will always be a special experience despite it’s length (to which overtime I appreciated the length needed to progress his character enough for every single person in the fandom to love the character). If you’re new, please check it out yourselves. I feel it is a personal experience many should experience to relate to in a way. As previously mentioned, this game is somewhat no different from KH1 when it comes to my first experience. However, I find the bosses from the main antagonists, Organization XIII, to be the most memorable. From that point for me, the series gained it’s own identity. KH1 was experimental in a way that relies on the heavy Disney involvement such as fighting the classic Disney villains with a Final Fantasy twist. KH2 truly combined that by making Organization XIII the rogues gallery of the game. They are the Disney villains with the Final Fantasy twist. Aside from the comforting comfy inner feeling atmosphere and the easy Disney bosses with more fast and upbeat battle system, Organization XIII was the most memorable aspect in KH2, especially since they were the most difficult for me back in the day and it was incredibly satisfying when I defeated them one by one. _____________________________ MORE GAMES & NEW CONTENT _____________________________ Kingdom Hearts 2 was the game I replayed time and time again throughout middle and high school. It was also the only KH game we owned for awhile. The first KH game I had to borough from the friend I discovered the game from. Another friend had 2 copies of KH1 and gave one to us. So we had KH1 and KH2 for quite awhile. Eventually, we were gifted 2 other games like Re:Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days on DS. Sadly, those game were out of my comfort zone to learn the basics since it was drastically different from the main titles games. Dream Drop Distance was interesting too. I recall it’s release on the 3DS and trying out the demo at my local Walmart. But I never owned one and thus had to watch cutscenes online. Sadly, I wasn’t as involved in the series at the time so I had no full context of the story so far at the time. I vaguely recall my first time seeing the first trailer to KH3. I know I was pretty excited only to, for some reason, be disappointed and frustrated seeing this so called “1.5 collection” and “2.5 collection” since I just wanted KH3. Oh how naive I was since now I realized that it was an incredible collection to own after learning what content it had. This revelation occurred in the year 2015 after attending a comic-con in Texas as a Transformers fan meeting Peter Cullen and Frank Welker in which that experience was incredible in itself. I discovered a replica of the Keyblade and felt the magic again to replay the games again, but it became much stronger than before, more so than I could imagine. I neglected to mention that back in the old YouTube days, there was strange content of particularly secret bosses from OG KH games on PS2, but are only in Japanese. Even when I first played KH2, there was a segment of flashbacks which included a scene from KH1 I have not seen before. Only to learn they were Final Mixes exclusive in Japan. It took till around 2015 where I can experience new content [with a newly purchased PS3] I’ve never touched upon due to it’s exclusivity. After having that experience since 2015, this series had a full grip on me and I began my marathon to play all the games throughout 2016 and the 2.8 collection in 2017. I would go into detail on each experience of the games. But considering how long it is, I have a link to my gallery dedicated to each game in the form of posters I drew alongside a review. Please check them out. Speaking of old YouTube, it was also a time when I learned about these secret ending videos that are unlocked once you completed certain games 100%. The west only had one, while final mix versions had two. Because we didn’t have final mix editions in the west, much like the secret bosses I’ve seen on YouTube, the second secret videos of the final mix games were no different. One that stood out the most was titled “Birth By Sleep” (which was a in a way a preview to the KH prequel game of that same name). I’ll never forget how blown away I was watching the choreography of the battle that occurred that was atmospherically amplified by it’s beautiful animation and incredible music. Funny how we thought it was a preview to Kingdom Hearts 3 and the plethora of fan made game covers proves I was not the only one who thought as such. In fact, in regards to Kingdom Hearts 3… _____________________ KINGDOM HEARTS 3 _____________________ I made a review on KH3 and I’ll leave a link to the poster […]. But the wait for KH3 has all been worth it for me. If anything, this game has been the most emotionally attached I have ever been. Throughout the remaining months before it’s release, I was dealing in a toxic situation at work. I won’t go into detail of course, but it left me in dread and exhaustion from all the emotional damage I had to deal with daily at work. KH3’s release was getting closer and luck begins to shift to my side. The day of it’s release, it was not only the best day, it was equally one of the worst at work. I had to finish work by myself to prepare for the upcoming Polar Vortex that was hitting my town for a couple days which requires many people to stay at home due to it’s lower than subzero temperature. As such, after finally being off work to have the involuntary [but absolutely necessary] days off, I got a chance to play KH3 all to myself. After installing the game, the moment I hear the game’s rendition of “Dearly Beloved”, I was immediately crying and shedding tears. That sudden feeling of nostalgia, comfort, and relief washed upon me like waves to the sea shore. I will speak on my sentiments on music at another segment of this post because it does play a big part for me growing up. But hearing this rendition has been my favorite version in the series just for giving me a big massive gentle hug after dealing with such dark times at work. It took me 4 days to finish the game. Through and through, it was an incredible time to embrace the new content I’ve waited so long for since 2006. It’s also, in a way, the the beginning of my independence. Since I finished the game, a lot of changes occurred for me that made me a bit more independent and having a different job. You could say that discovering life for myself truly began after finishing KH3. I guess the best way to put it is my childhood has finally concluded and my adult life begins anew. _____________________ JOINING THE FANDOM _____________________ I mentioned that after Texas Comicon 2015, I got to Kingdom Hearts full-heartedly this time. It became more than playing games. It also became a journey of joining a union of others who love the games as much as I do. It started with my discovery of a group of people called the X-Keepers (pronounced “key keepers”). Before getting the collections, I watched a YouTube SkywardWing post his gameplay of the series he did so far at the time. It further expanded to TheGamersJoint who did a few top 10 lists and news sources for KH (and he happens to be my favorite). When I wanted to look up any tips and how-to’s on KH content (bosses, treasure locations, keyblades, etc.), Soraalam1 was the guy for the job. The biggest well-known theorist and enthusiast of the KH series was on HMK. It even expanded further with more content creators I discovered that loved Kingdom Hearts as much as I do. To further name I recommend you check out: SuperButterBuns, SarahKey, Clemps, and the previously mentioned X-Keepers of their individual channels (both YouTube and Twitch). I was also more active on Twitter to watch the fandom thrive in watching out for news updates, fan art, interactions (take it or leave it depending how you interact). It’s thanks to to my lookout on Twitter and YouTube (and eventually Twitch) that made the anticipation for KH3 far more fun and exciting. This is especially more so post KH3 with the upcoming new content to come in the series. It’s also thanks to Kingdom Hearts that I got to meet some friends through Tik Tok (which I have an account here if you wish to check it out ___). I’ll admit, it is saddening to not find many fans to connect with on deviantART due to my shift from Transformers to KH. So it is really nice to actually be more involved in a fandom than I’ve ever been for any other fandom. Transformers was somewhat close, but KH was a bit stronger on that regard. Not saying I’m done with Transformers, I’m just currently more emotionally invested in a series that has been the MVP consistently throughout since I first discovered it. I’ve been obsessed with Star Wars, Transformers, and some anime. However, Kingdom Hearts has always been around when I need it. I would sometimes insert the game to my console year after year because I loved it so much. Now I think about it, it had been my core inspiration for most of my artwork I’ve done over the years, especially from it’s music. Before I go in-depth with the music, I want to point out that I managed to get myself into 2 Kingdom Hearts concerts. Both experiences were so incredible in person: the choir, the brass, violins, presentation of the screen above the orchestra, even just the scale of the theater making it all the more powerful. Even more so it reminded me due to the amount of fans in the crowd how much the series meant to every person in the audience. The second KH concert had me meet with a couple of my party members from Union across (when it was active at the time). Again, the series has brought so many connections, especially through the music. ____________ MUSIC ____________ Please remember the name Yoko Shimomura! Out of all soundtracks I’ve heard throughout my life, the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack is my favorite of all time. It was what swayed me further into my first experience when hearing “Dearly Beloved” the first time. As mentioned already, It’s the music I used as inspirations for most of my artwork. I listen to it consistently for so many years and never got bored of it. I can name some favorites if you’re curious: - Dearly Beloved (KH1, KH2, Birth by Sleep, χ Back Cover, Unxhained χ, KH3, and Melody of Memory) - Dive into the Hearts - Destati (Third Revival) - Kairi theme - Fate of the Unknown - Vector to the Heavens - The Other Promise - Naminé theme - Darkness of the Unknown - Limpeto Oscuro - L’Oscurita Dell’ignot - Forza Finale (personal favorite) - Daybreak Town - Ventus’s theme - Aqua Dark Dive - Sacred Moon + Sacred Distance - Rise of the Union - Edge of Existence - Scala Ad Caelum theme - Hallow Bastion (KH1 and KH2) Just so many to name because it’s incredibly memorable for me. If anything, I may stretch this saying that is far more memorable than any Disney soundtrack in existence. I neglected to mention another person responsible for making the games wonderful is the opening and closing vocal themes done by Utada Hikaru. They have created themes for the series that timeless. In fact, it’s truly hard to pick which one is a favorite because of how said timeless and incredible they are. If you are new and read it this far in, here are the names of the songs they did for the series: - Hikari/Simple and Clean (remixes titled with PlanitB and Rays of Hope) - Passion/Sanctuary - Face my Fears - Oath/Don’t Think Twice If I were to pick a favorite that stood out to me it would be Face my Fears. This is the theme used for KH3. It resonates with me and, in a way, comes full circle. It is thanks to facing my fear against the challenges of learning my failures and facing scary looking creatures that got me this far into the series. There are also instrumental renditions of the themes and one that is consistent and (by all means practically the theme of the series) is Hikari. It is the most magical and most Disney feeling song I’ve heard in Disney history. And it my favorite instrumental piece of the themes. I can’t stress enough to say without the music it contains, I don’t think anyone would’ve connected with the series the way we do now. I myself probably wouldn’t have been been as emotionally invested or be as inspired for my artwork had it not been for the music. ___________ ARTWORK ___________ I’m kinda rambling at this point but I want to stress upon another form or inspiration that is indeed a core inspiration for my artwork and that is the artwork of the series director and character designer, Tetsuya Nomura. As mentioned in my first discovery that the cover work is what drew me to play the game in the first place. Back then, I was getting to love anime (the closest and first were titles like Pokémon, Digimon movies, and Studio Ghibli movies) and seeing that style mixed with Disney characters is overall intriguing. Since then, from all the covers I’ve seen for each game and promotional material, Nomura became my absolute artist and director. He pursued this project despite how absurd it sounded to combine Final Fantasy and Disney together and he managed to keep it moving for 20 years. I find him an incredibly inspiring person to me. He had shown me and the fans to embrace our creativity regardless how strange they may be. Might be stretching it to say he lived up to Disney’s motto so strongly that dreams can come true. I personally love crossovers, Disney, good music, and emotional connection. Kingdom Hearts gave me that and Nomura made it happen. Seeing his beautiful artwork over the years made me want to improve my own artwork. I am nowhere near as good as he is, but I am prouder and prouder of every new price I do that took time and effort to make it as good as possible. __________________________ THE LESSONS IT TAUGHT ME __________________________ Time for the more mushy sentimental burst here. Any form of media you love can teach you important lessons to help you reflect and grow as a person. Kingdom Hearts certainly gave me quite a few to name: Courage, Patience, Kindness, Forgiveness, & Self-Worthiness. - COURAGE The biggest for me was certainly courage. I grew up watching my mom playing video games. One game in particular is a game I love and a perfect example of how I viewed games prior to discovering Kingdom Hearts. Not only will this reflect how I feel about how I face games, but in my life in general. The game I speak of is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I always loved watching my mom play the game and I always wanted to attempt that adventure for myself. However, my fear of facing bosses that felt too big for me, including the first level boss, always takes it’s toll and I have my mom finish the game for me. Then I discovered Kingdom Hearts. Admittedly, even on my first experience, like Ocarina of Time, I was terrified of it’s tutorial boss. But this time, despite the many tries, I finally got through it. As such, I was also able to not only finish KH as the first game I’ve ever completed, but I was able to finally finish through Ocarina of Time on my own. I was also to embrace some video games I never thought I would get a chance to try out. Courage is a crucial thing I needed to continue to improve and I’m still not the best at it. This doesn’t apply to just video games. I have a fear of massive challenges and failure. I hope as I continue to grow, I’ll be able to accomplish bigger trials despite my fear. - PATIENCE This series gave me a boost of patience in many forms. For one, if you’re someone who likes a challenging secret boss or two, you understand that it takes a lot of memorizing move sets and learning how to counter them. It requires patience whenever you need to find the right moves to strike and it takes many game overs to keep learning and learning. In the end, you feel rewarded for your patience in battle despite the many defeats. This also applies to when I waited for KH3. I’ve wanted KH3 since KH2. Square began their development around 2013-2014 when they released the remix collections. I think the range of years truly was a test of my patience. But as I grew a little, I finally accepted that games really needed time to make them as good as they can be. I think gaining that patience really applied to me outside of gaming. I never thought I consider myself to be patient. But after hearing a few people say to me otherwise, I can’t help but feel proud of this accomplishment. This especially helps with finances as well, buying stuff I want carefully and learning to handle my money a little better. Not perfect at it, but it’s thanks to some of my patience that I have some restraint in what I spend. - KINDNESS Another thing that I noticed since I got into playing the series was kindness. Admittedly, when I was into Transformers, I don’t think I was as kind as I could be. Of course, I was pretty young and still had a lot of growing to do. Optimus Prime was the only character to be an example to distribute kindness. It is thanks to that motivation to meet the very person who was also very kindhearted that connects to wanting to play the games. It further showed me more example of kindness of not one character, but many more in a series. It is thanks to KH that got me to stop me in my tracks and actually given myself a chance to think about what words to say and what boundaries I shouldn’t cross. It is thanks to my growth for kindness that I feel like I’m in a much better place for my friends, my family, and others around me. - FORGIVENESS This trait is tricky. It’s difficult to really speak of forgiveness because many view it very differently on how you approach forgiveness. My take on forgiveness is you have to learn to let go of the hate of the person that harmed you. You don’t have to be friends nor do you need to be near them. But you have to accept that it happened and try to heal yourself more so than focus on hatred. The main villain of the series certainly is viewed [by some] to be the person you should not like. Of course, that’s exactly what a villain is supposed to do. However, after learning of his motivations and in-depth look on his view (still wrong it may be), I personally couldn’t bring myself to be angry at him. Mind you, it’s not easily replicated to forgive someone outright. It takes work to really gain the strength of not allowing hatred to consume your mind and heart. But to me, the message of forgiveness certainly helped me strengthen mine towards those that hurt me. - SELF-WORTHINESS I feel out of all things, the message of self-worthiness I feel resonates to many fans. So you ever feel like you want to make a difference to not only to the world but to yourself, except you feel like you’re not worthy or confident in yourself to make a difference? I honestly feel this way constantly. Lack of confidence in myself to do well for me and anyone in the world. There’s quite a lot of work instances from many characters in the story that are told that they’re useless, worthless, cowardice, weak, broken, helpless, etc. Often from the villains to our heroes that they are nothing but tools and (a couple of cases) are not meant to exist. Kingdom Hearts reminds me that even a smallest ounce of self-worth does make a difference more so than you think. Knowing that there are people cheering you on to keep moving and that you are not alone helps boost that worthiness, no matter who you are or where you come from. - LIGHT & DARKNESS This is a no-brainer. The conflict between light and darkness have always and forever be universal. Many media tamper with this trope often leaning the idea that light is good and darkness is bad. In my opinion, I agree with this statement, but there’s more to it. Kingdom Hearts shares all kinds of perspectives of this classic conflict. Here is my take. Yes, light is good and darkness is bad. However, the world is built with light and darkness. Same goes for us. The light represents good, comfort, warm, and strength. But step too close to it, you could blind yourself and not see the growing shadow behind you. The darkness represents sadness, pain, fear, hatred, cold, and weakness - one of which should not drown ourselves in. But with the courage to face that darkness to gain the light needed to see the way, the darkness will not be able to bring you down. We all have strengths and weakness equivalent to light and darkness. It’s a matter of being able to learn if your weaknesses and be able to grow to strengthen ourselves from that weakness. You need shade to not burn yourself from the light of the sun. But you also need light to see the path in the darkest night. The stars even show that it’s not fully dark. The sunsets and sunrises create a perfect harmony of light and darkness. Of course, it’s just my perspective. But I truly stand to my belief that understanding both light and darkness can help us grow to who we want to be. I mostly side with light, but I acknowledge that darkness is a necessary entity that I should face to not drown from. ————————— CONCLUSION ————————— So, if this long post of me rambling about this silly game with a heart of gold isn’t obvious enough, I really love Kingdom Hearts. It is a series I think quite fondly of for inspiration during my obsessive stages with Star Wars and Transformers, and even some certain anime I enjoy. I never get tired of replaying the games I love in the series, especially KH2. The concept, design, characters, music, gameplay, and moments have always been something I will treasure. ———————————— ARTISTS NOTES ———————————— This piece obviously shows the time period of me growing up. If you can see in the background, the art I chose are the ones that stood out to me. This was a personal growth of improving my drawing skills and the media that impacted me the most. The poses I chose were based on Sora from the KH tire screen menus. I tried to make it as sentimental as possible. And if my words here are still too much, I hope the drawing here at least was enough.
  10. Yoshitaka Suzuki, an additional composer for Kingdom Hearts III who composed the cutscene tracks for the confrontation with Davy Jones at the end of The Caribbean, shared a few comments on Twitter after a fan (@Titan_Trainer) highlighted the songs. "Hearts of Courage," "The Victorious," and a track unavailable in the official soundtrack were all crafted with a unique motif correlating to Davy Jones since the original song from the film could not be used. Suzuki also noted how Hans Zimmer, a composer for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, including At World's End, was a vital source of inspiration for him as well as being one of his favorite composers. Further, following a fan inquiry, Suzuki explained that while he received instruction from the music director, he essentially had compositional freedom. Tetsuya Nomura had no role in determining the track's production either. You can view Yoshitaka Suzuki's initial tweet and replies elaborating upon his role with the tracks he composed for The Caribbean in Kingdom Hearts III below: Additionally, the fan tweet that initiated Suzuki providing insight is viewable below:
  11. Yoshitaka Suzuki, an additional composer for Kingdom Hearts III who composed the cutscene tracks for the confrontation with Davy Jones at the end of The Caribbean, shared a few comments on Twitter after a fan (@Titan_Trainer) highlighted the songs. "Hearts of Courage," "The Victorious," and a track unavailable in the official soundtrack were all crafted with a unique motif correlating to Davy Jones since the original song from the film could not be used. Suzuki also noted how Hans Zimmer, a composer for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, including At World's End, was a vital source of inspiration for him as well as being one of his favorite composers. Further, following a fan inquiry, Suzuki explained that while he received instruction from the music director, he essentially had compositional freedom. Tetsuya Nomura had no role in determining the track's production either. You can view Yoshitaka Suzuki's initial tweet and replies elaborating upon his role with the tracks he composed for The Caribbean in Kingdom Hearts III below: Additionally, the fan tweet that initiated Suzuki providing insight is viewable below: View full article
  12. Hello, I hope you can take away my fear. I'm doing a perfect run at KH3 and I'm afraid that I did something wrong. Initially I took the Pro Codes, I want to do the EZ Code Merits after Yozora. I am currently in the post game and have maximized Sora's stats (especially magic power). Now I'm afraid that I won't be able to do the EZ Code Challanges because Sora is too strong. Especially in the Icebreaker Challange it is important to freeze the enemies without defeating them. Do you think it's still possible to do this? Many people fight the enemies in Battlegate 0, but I read a comment that you can also do the challenge in the Grape Flan minigame with shooting star (double arrowguns; magic form). Unfortunately, the exact procedure was not mentioned. But the flans don't die immediately after you freeze them with the thrown back ice attacks, do they? Is the time enough to freeze and defeat 30 of them? Or do you know a better way/place? As I said, Sora is overpowered. Even if I activate one of the pro code that effectively resets his level back to level 1, he still has over 100 magic power. It's not about trophies for me, I want to have a complete game and have completed all the challenges. Please help me! Can you guys maybe check it in your game? Thanks!!!
  13. Chapter 24 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available in English from Yen Press. Toy Box Part 5 can be bought as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. Chapter 24 was released in Japanese on Gangan Online back on April 21st. UPDATE (June 1, 2022): Chapter 24.5 is now available from Yen Press! You can as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Tox Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English Chapter 24 Toy Box [5] Japanese In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd.
  14. Chapter 24 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available in English from Yen Press. Toy Box Part 5 can be bought as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. Chapter 24 was released in Japanese on Gangan Online back on April 21st. UPDATE (June 1, 2022): Chapter 24.5 is now available from Yen Press! You can as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Tox Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English Chapter 24 Toy Box [5] Japanese In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd. View full article
  15. Gangan Online have posted Chapter 24 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga. You can check out the previews for the chapter in our gallery below. You can read the full chapter on their site by clicking here or on their online app. UPDATE (June 1, 2022): Chapter 24-2 is now available on Gangan Online. This is the final part of Toy Box. You can check out the chapter of their site here. You can also check out the preview shots in our gallery! Chapter 25 will be available on July 7th. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 A New Journey Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum[1] Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum[2] Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum[3] Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum[4] Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum[5] Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum[6] Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum[7] Japanese English Chapter 9 World of Darkness Japanese English Chapter 10 Connected Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Toy Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd. View full article
  16. Gangan Online have posted Chapter 24 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga. You can check out the previews for the chapter in our gallery below. You can read the full chapter on their site by clicking here or on their online app. UPDATE (June 1, 2022): Chapter 24-2 is now available on Gangan Online. This is the final part of Toy Box. You can check out the chapter of their site here. You can also check out the preview shots in our gallery! Chapter 25 will be available on July 7th. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 A New Journey Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum[1] Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum[2] Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum[3] Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum[4] Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum[5] Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum[6] Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum[7] Japanese English Chapter 9 World of Darkness Japanese English Chapter 10 Connected Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Toy Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese English In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd.
  17. Chapter 22 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available in English from Yen Press. Toy Box Part 3 can be bought as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. Chapter 23-1 was released in Japanese on Gangan Online back on March 17th. Chapter 23-2 is planned to release on Gangan Online on March 31st. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Tox Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd.
  18. Chapter 22 for the Kingdom Hearts III manga is now available in English from Yen Press. Toy Box Part 3 can be bought as a digital download from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Walker, Google Play, iBooks, and Kobo. The issue's price varies from $1.99 for the United States to $2.99 in Canada. Chapter 23-1 was released in Japanese on Gangan Online back on March 17th. Chapter 23-2 is planned to release on Gangan Online on March 31st. You can also check out the articles for the previous chapters by clicking on the links below! Chapter 0 Prologue Japanese English Chapter 1 The New Departure Japanese English Chapter 2 Olympus Coliseum Part 1 Japanese English Chapter 3 Olympus Coliseum Part 2 Japanese English Chapter 4 Olympus Coliseum Part 3 Japanese English Chapter 5 Olympus Coliseum Part 4 Japanese English Chapter 6 Olympus Coliseum Part 5 Japanese English Chapter 7 Olympus Coliseum Part 6 Japanese English Chapter 8 Olympus Coliseum Part 7 Japanese English Chapter 9 The Dark World Japanese English Chapter 10 Unbreakable Connection Japanese English Chapter 11 The Self inside the Mirror Japanese English Chapter 12 Reunion Japanese English Chapter 13 Warmth Japanese English Chapter 14 Destiny Island Japanese English Chapter 15 Remaining Light Japanese English Chapter 16 Tracking the Bond Japanese English Chapter 17 Following the Heart's Guidance Japanese English Chapter 18 Twilight Town [1] Japanese English Chapter 19 Twilight Town [2] Japanese English Chapter 20 Tox Box [1] Japanese English Chapter 21 Toy Box [2] Japanese English Chapter 22 Toy Box [3] Japanese English Chapter 23 Toy Box [4] Japanese In addition, Volume 2 of the manga is now available for Japan. The English version is schedule to release on May 3rd. View full article
  19. First announced in 2013's E3 event, Kingdom Hearts III had the longest developing period of the several installments in the franchise due, for the most part, to Square Enix's decision to change game engines. Some frustration grew, but the excitement never waned as the anticipated release date spanned from 2017 to 2018. Of course, for many, the most anticipated element in a Kingdom Hearts game is the roster of Disney inspired worlds; what films will be used and how the films’ plots will be incorporated into the Kingdom Hearts plot, utilize characters and locations from the film, the role of protagonists Sora, Donald and Goofy and more. After several years of the franchise containing the same roster with revamps to the extent the films allow, at last, in January 2019, Kingdom Hearts III was released with an almost all-new roster of Disney worlds, and the debut of Pixar inspired worlds. Is it enough, though? Do the new worlds introduced in Kingdom Hearts III live up to the anticipation? Here I’ve ranked the Disney worlds of Kingdom Hearts III from worst to best to best. 1. Arendelle (Frozen) The biggest and most successful Disney film since The Lion King (1994) and one of the most anticipated additions to Kingdom Hearts since its release was a big gimmicky mess that leaned too much on the film's massive popularity. Sora and company were more observers than participants in a worthless, hole-filled film plot adaptation, spending half of it scaling a mountain just to be thrown down and interacting with Larxene more than the film characters to the point of not establishing relationships with them. The 'Let it Go' number was included exactly as it was in the film as nothing more than an exploit. Despite being the central villain of the film Hans’ has two cameos, first walking to the palace with an unconscious Ela slung over his shoulder and wrapped in some dark aura, and then when Anna stops him from killing her. We only ever hear the name Hans once as the name of Anna's supposed true love with no connection made to this character who is threatening Elsa. Those who haven't seen the film were unable to understand the importance of this name or the character or that the two are the same. The events are just thrown out there quite randomly with no explanations. Kristoff's trust in Sora and company based on Anna's judgment bugged me; he has a whole song about how he doesn't trust people. The Organization’s angle of securing new princesses of heart fell flat on Elsa as it did Rapunzel because of the missed potential. Or perhaps because the popular theory was that she’d be manipulated or exploited for her powers, and instead, she was left to her self-imposed isolation with the littlest role in the world. 2. Kingdom of Corona (Tangled) A complete utter waste of the film plot with disjointed, almost non-existent storytelling and Sora and company as more observers than participants. There are no backstories or explanations to engage Sora and co. in the film's plot or its significant elements, causing some abrupt unclear reactions from him, such as his congratulating Rapunzel on being able to return to her real home. Flynn’s thug associates are absent from this adaption, their roles fulfilled by Marluxia. However, Mother Gothel still uses her film line: “Let’s go quick before they come to,” establishing a second participant who did not exist and Flynn being set up to appear to be ditching Rapunzel with the crown doesn’t have the build of Mother Gothel insisting to Rapunzel that he was just entertaining her for the crown which made it abrupt and confusing to those who have not seen the film. Rapunzel's magic hair and Mother Gothel's character lent themselves well to this installment's callback to the age of Fairytales and the Keyblade War as Mother Gothel had been using the flower for immortality for centuries, and that drop of light that became the flower could have been one of the few surviving shards of light from the war. Those opportunities, however, were ignored in favor of Rapunzel just being a new princess of light. 3. 100 Acre Wood (Winnie the Pooh) The chance of pace from the redundant destruction of the book was weak, and the introduction of Lumpy had excellent potential for a plot revolving around the group’s reluctance to trust a Heffalump. Instead, there was no substance whatsoever. This world was a short and pointless waste of beautiful crisp illustrative graphics. I also don't think Tom Kenny does a good Rabbit at all. 4. The Toy Box (Toy Story) While this world is nostalgic to those who remember the Super Nintendo and PS games and informs the future of the franchise with the introduction to the video game Verum Rex, this long-anticipated world and Pixar’s official debut in Kingdom Hearts had to create a lot of flat excuses for Sora and co. to fit into a world focused on inanimate objects. No doubt to eliminate the characters that could not be voice cast, such as Mr. Potato Head and Jessie. The concept of a mirror image of the world to isolate the toys' hearts and harness the strength and vulnerability of their innocence is intriguing. Still, the lack of development left it feeling hollow. We didn't learn what this mirror world was made of or how it was made. Is it a data world like the other Twilight Town? I believe it should have been filled with Dream Eaters or Nobodies, not Heartless. Buzz and Woody switch their third film roles so that Buzz was the Andy-attached distrusting one to Woody’s openness towards Sora and co. and Buzz’s concern about being turned against his friends was inconsistent with the canon and off-putting. The latter would have been fantastic if this was set after the third film in which he was reset to factory/'real space ranger delusion' mode, but I believe Nomura had said it was placed between the second and third films, which made it random and nonsensical. Then we have one of the worst resolutions in the franchise to date when out of nowhere; the group accepts being trapped in the mirror world and separated from Andy. It went against their belief in the love of a child in the films, the second film in particular, which focused on a child's love vs. sitting in a glass case in a museum, and the former won out. 5. Monstropolis (Monsters Inc.) The teaser stills of Sora and co.’s monster forms were all that was needed for this to become one of the worlds we most looked forward to, and the use of the scream energy concept was perfect for reintroducing the creator of the unversed, negative emotions incarnate, Vanitas. The incarnate of the darkness in Ventus’ heart. His behind-the-scenes involvement represented by film villain Randall Boggs created an intriguing if not predictable build-up, which almost made it the best use of an Organization member. This was not quite as successful a post-film plot as San Fransokyo due to lack of development and inconsistencies. While we don’t see her, Boo’s voice in the film's last moment is indisputably older, so to involve her in this plot as the toddler, she interfered with the timeline's presentation. Additionally, Vanitas needed more backstory as Ventus defeats him in Birth by Sleep. The world was also quite empty as it consisted of so few characters. Granted, it might have been more difficult to justify Sora and co.’s alliance while screams were still the resource. However, using the film plot rather than a post-film original plot might have solved these issues since the Disney + series Monsters at Work had not existed, as Vanitas lends himself well to the role of Waternoose. 6. Olympus (Hercules) Although one of few returning worlds in this game, I felt it was more successful as a whole plot-based world than, for the most part, an optional extracurricular. Pairing Sora’s lost powers with Hades’ coup against Zeus, thus giving him a bit of Hercules’ role, flowed well and as the place where Hercules had his first success, using Thebes and in a state of rebuilding was a very symbolic way to set the scene. The titan boss battles were long overdue but waiting for the right technology was well worth it as the sheer scale. In particular, the Rock titan battle was stunning, although the wind titan battle was a little too similar to the Genie Jafar battle in Kingdom Hearts II, which is a lost point for originality. As a continuation of an established timeline within Kingdom Hearts, the Hades coup was abrupt and not quite connected with the previous uses of the Hercules-based world or Hades' character. A short flashback of the Fates explaining the prediction with the planets aligning would have helped this somewhat. The brief and exclusively film-based use of Zeus' character was the lowest point. Although he's not usually supposed to interact with mortals, I'd expected him, as an immortal god, to have original substance and experience similar to King Tritan in Kingdom Hearts I implying that he has met a Keyblade wielder before. Remember the 'Look inside your heart' conversation in the film? That would have been an excellent line to incorporate regarding Sora's quest to regain his lost powers. 7. The Caribbean (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) Although I have not seen the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the film plot is quite prominent in this world as central conflicts and even an attempt to tempt Sora. The box containing Davy Jones’ heart being confused for the mysterious box given to Luxu by the Master of Masters in Kingdom Hearts Union X was a strong plot point not just for Organization XIII but because it maintained the main plot’s relevance within the film. In contrast to the prior version of this world introduced in Kingdom Hearts II, the landscapes here are the vastest and just gorgeous and is one of the few worlds in this game to give Sora and co. a form or costume change. The ship battles and the swimming underwater were a little less than appealing. Controlling the large ships was a challenge because of the weight and slowness. The water wall defense wasn't too effective since one can't shoot in the brief moment that it's up. Also, I felt the underwater controls were more complicated to remember vs. those of Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts I and II. It took me a bit of time to stop reflexively attempting to apply the Atlantica controls. 8. San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6) This breathtaking cityscape with Kingdom Hearts’ first-ever day and night cycle is one of the most authentic and vast worlds we've ever seen. The plot felt a little disconnected from the rest of the game but overall had the best incorporation of the film elements as viable Kingdom Hearts lore and character interactions that made Sora and Co. feel a part of the events. The return of the original Baymax, who had sacrificed himself to the void of dimensional space with the martial arts chip corrupted by darkness, is one of the best uses of a Disney character in Kingdom Hearts history, and Replica Riku provided some of the most Organization XIII action in the game. The one flaw was that when Hiro decided to destroy the martial arts chip and the team tried to tell him that it wasn't necessary, he needed to acknowledge that the chip's darkness was his own because he created that chip out of rage and a thirst for revenge. It would have been nice to explore the bridge more as well. Overall, the film choices were spot on, and there were some shining successes while some suffered from underuse of the characters and plot and favoring of the new princesses of heart angle that went nowhere. Going forward after defeating Xehanort for good, Sora’s journey is now continuing into a whole new realm. The fictional or “unreality” realm as his violation of the design in Re Mind to save Kairi’s heart has resulted in his being trapped in the world of Verum Rex. This video game informed his persona in The Toy Box with its main character Yozora and without his iconic companions Donald and Goofy. Does this mean that he is done in the realm of Disney? We’ll just have to wait and see.
×
×
  • Create New...