• Hello everybody! We have tons of new awards for the new year that can be requested through our Awards System thanks to Antifa Lockhart! Some are limited-time awards so go claim them before they are gone forever...

    CLICK HERE FOR AWARDS

REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at its best



REGISTER TO REMOVE ADS
Status
Not open for further replies.

The_Echo

Anti-SENA Operative
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
1,841
Awards
12
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Fantastic review though did you get to test out the new dream eaters they added? Do they have any new link attacks or limits compared to the old ones or just copy n' paste from a bunch of different dream eaters.
Unfortunately, the only one that has a new Link is Yuagari Penguin, and it's only the Link Attack.

That said, it's the best Link in the entire game so it's all good.
 

Hirokey123

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,059
Awards
5
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Wait if Catanuki turns invisible does that mean it gives the vanish command? I hope so because getting vanish is kind of obnoxious it's found only on Ghostablocky and it was on a hidden disposition path no less....

I mean while we don't really see the fighting bit we did see the stuff that happened with the war, just not in BC it happens in 0.2 you see kingdom hearts, the fresh keyblade graveyard, and Luxu watching the whole thing it doesn't take much to understand what happened especially since DDD gave us a nice recap courtesy of MX. The fight itself doesn't tell us anything anyway, we've seen the fight and we didn't really learn anything from seeing it...it was just cool to experience was all. The only thing truly not resolved was the box, traitor, and dandelions but I figure the big reveals will come in KH3/post-KH3 in regards to all that.

Aww only Yuagari Penguin has a new link? Well I suppose one is better than none but still a bit of a bummer.
 

Sephiroth0812

Guardian of Light
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
10,531
Awards
37
Location
Germany
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

I actually got Catanuki today. Doesn't have anything new with it, but I do like that it turns invisible in battle.


Except it does. Back Cover ending spoilers: Back Cover ends with Gula revealing that he will defy the Master and summon Kingdom Hearts in order to discover the traitor. It's an event that has only occurred in the PC version of X however it will happen in UX whenever they get to that point in the story

Uh, actually...I'm wondering a little with this as


I don't remember Gula wanting to summon KH ever being addressed in Browser-Chi at all, nor is the fact that he started the whole "collecting lux only for himself/themselves" greedy variant which aggravates the situation even further. In fact, Back Cover doesn't even go beyond the Ava addressing the Dandelions scene timeline-wise as it ends with Aced and Ira being more or less "reconciled" and almost all suspicion and anger directed towards Gula for witholding information while in the last three or so Browser-Chi updates those two were depicted as utter enemies of each other while Gula was more or less so broken and had given in to hopelessness that he willingly shared classified information with Skuld.

EDIT:
I am sooooo stoked for 2.8 though I don't actually think BC abruptly ends to tease the mobile game. I think it ends to tease KH3, I don't actually expect season 2 of Chi to answer any questions about the traitor or the box or the MoM or really anything. It just makes a lot more sense to be a sort of self contained tale about the Dandelions that people don't need to know, but can still enjoy experiencing it (like Rogue One). Because BC does tell us about the dandelions and introduce Ephemera of the Dandelions, so if they suddenly popped up in KH3 people wouldn't be terribly lost so long as they watched BC.

Hirokey you actually got this backwards according to the latest Famitsu interview with Nomura.
X Back Cover is the Rogue One-esque work which fleshes out the Foretellers as persons and introduces this mysterious box which will play a role in KH 3 (just like the Death Star plans play a role in A New Hope) while the mobile game Unchained X is the more important one lore-wise:

Nomura said:
Now, it should be noted that's [KHxBC] is a story about the Foretellers and the events that occurred behind the scenes, so for parts of the story which are important and connected to the main story, including the Keyblade War, I have separated the story telling of that into [KHx] and [KHUx], which can only be experienced by playing them.
 
Last edited:

The_Echo

Anti-SENA Operative
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
1,841
Awards
12
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

I don't remember Gula wanting to summon KH ever being addressed in Browser-Chi at all, nor is the fact that he started the whole "collecting lux only for himself/themselves" greedy variant which aggravates the situation even further. In fact, Back Cover doesn't even go beyond the Ava addressing the Dandelions scene timeline-wise as it ends with Aced and Ira being more or less "reconciled" and almost all suspicion and anger directed towards Gula for witholding information while in the last three or so Browser-Chi updates those two were depicted as utter enemies of each other while Gula was more or less so broken and had given in to hopelessness that he willingly shared classified information with Skuld.
Gula's resolution at the end of [I]Back Cover[/I] gives me pretty much all the context I needed for why the Unions began to clash at the end of browse [I]χ[chi][/I]. He begins collecting large amounts of Lux, which prompts the others to do the same. Naturally, the wielders under them take this as competition, tensions rise, and as the War becomes inevitable, the Foretellers have to decide how they will carry themselves into that war. While Ira and Aced may have been on good terms at the end of [I]BC[/I], Aced's invigorated pursuit of power to win the War and lead the new world has Ira opposing him, believing Aced has become consumed with that lust for strength.

Gula seemed resigned in [I]χ[chi][/I], but with the context of [I]BC[/I], it seems that he's just naturally distant and apathetic. To a guy like him, divulging the contents of the Lost Page at that time seems inconsequential; there's no changing what was written. I believe he even says as much.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Hirokey123

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,059
Awards
5
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

See Sephiroth you and I read that line differently.

I see it as him saying stuff like the keyblade war is an important event to the KH story, which it is, but we don't need to experience the keyblade war to understand it. We've got the ending and most of the details to the war all we were missing was the spark that aggravated and changed things, and that's what BC gave us. BC doesn't let us experience the events like that war, but the experience in unnecessary to understanding the story, it's just fun to be a part of it. That's why I compare it to Rogue One, we never needed to see that tale but getting the plans for the Death Star was still of vital importance to the Star Wars story as a whole. BC works as a stand alone tale, you can watch BC and you get pretty much everything important. Like how the only thing the Nightmare Chirithy Dream Eater really added to the tale was to aggravate trust between the foretellers/union. Was there was story to the Nightmare Chirithy? Yes and that is what Browser Chi's story was ultimately about, solving the mystery of the nightmare chirithy that helped cause and spread distrust. But BC not personally addressing and resolving that plot point is irrelevant to understanding the greater story being told.

We already know how the keyblade war ends, we already knew going on that it became a fight over kingdom hearts and the X-blade, we already know the keyblades were forged to help obtain kingdom hearts, we already know the fighting breaks out over greed over light, etc...

Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer

Spoiler Spoiler Show
 

alexis.anagram

pajamaモード
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
Messages
2,450
Awards
6
Age
31
Location
somewhere near Marseille
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Much respect for Chaser and great job writing the review! I do think the Dream Drop Distance review comes off as heavily weighted in favor of low expectations to me. If we're working from the premise that 2.8 can welcome new players into the franchise (presumably this review is intended to reach them?), it's kind of misleading to undersell just how much of a narrative reach DDD represents by arguing that it's just another prologue to KH3 as if that excuses the shoddy execution of its set-up.

Based on this review, Back Cover sounds like an immense waste of time and nearly the inverse of Dream Drop Distance, where the quality of its presentation is commendable but it's short on its commitment to furthering the story. What's the point of Back Cover if not to cover the entirety of X's mythology? The idea that we should look forward to a sequel to Back Cover is laughable, and the notion that it might just be an extended advertisement for the mobile game it was supposed to offer respite from for those players who don't have access or interest is insulting. Again, that's just what I got out of the review-- I'll watch it for myself before reaching any conclusions.

0.2 sounds like the only real case to be made for this collection, but even as a hardcore fan the idea of spending $60 on an 8 hour demo gives me pause. I guess it's fortunate my brother pre-ordered the game for me as a belated Christmas gift. I do look forward to reuniting with Aqua, and I'm glad the review positively highlighted Willa's performance.

Still, reading between the lines, this review doesn't really strike me as a recommendation of 2.8 as the KH series at its best.
 

Sephiroth0812

Guardian of Light
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
10,531
Awards
37
Location
Germany
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Gula's resolution at the end of [I]Back Cover[/I] gives me pretty much all the context I needed for why the Unions began to clash at the end of browse [I]χ[chi][/I]. He begins collecting large amounts of Lux, which prompts the others to do the same. Naturally, the wielders under them take this as competition, tensions rise, and as the War becomes inevitable, the Foretellers have to decide how they will carry themselves into that war. While Ira and Aced may have been on good terms at the end of [I]BC[/I], Aced's invigorated pursuit of power to win the War and lead the new world has Ira opposing him, believing Aced has become consumed with that lust for strength.

Gula seemed resigned in [I]χ[chi][/I], but with the context of [I]BC[/I], it seems that he's just naturally distant and apathetic. To a guy like him, divulging the contents of the Lost Page at that time seems inconsequential; there's no changing what was written. I believe he even says as much.

Don't you need to put all that in spoiler tags?

Indeed Gula's "resolution" gives the context for the next step of escalation, but it doesn't change the fact that X Back Cover ends very abruptly and omits everything after Ava's speech to the Dandelions and thus yet again paints an incomplete picture.

I admit though that the explanation for Aced's and Ira's later renewed "falling out" makes sense, especially when looking at it in tandem with the accusations Aced throws out on the Fountain Plaza in one of the later Browser-Chi Updates.

It's not like there's "no changing what was written" but that Gula not only failed to fulfill his task by chasing after wrong clues, but also didn't really understand fully what actually WAS written in the Lost Page since its so ambigious to begin with. That's what he says as well.


See Sephiroth you and I read that line differently.

I see it as him saying stuff like the keyblade war is an important event to the KH story, which it is, but we don't need to experience the keyblade war to understand it. We've got the ending and most of the details to the war all we were missing was the spark that aggravated and changed things, and that's what BC gave us. BC doesn't let us experience the events like that war, but the experience in unnecessary to understanding the story, it's just fun to be a part of it. That's why I compare it to Rogue One, we never needed to see that tale but getting the plans for the Death Star was still of vital importance to the Star Wars story as a whole. BC works as a stand alone tale, you can watch BC and you get pretty much everything important. Like how the only thing the Nightmare Chirithy Dream Eater really added to the tale was to aggravate trust between the foretellers/union. Was there was story to the Nightmare Chirithy? Yes and that is what Browser Chi's story was ultimately about, solving the mystery of the nightmare chirithy that helped cause and spread distrust. But BC not personally addressing and resolving that plot point is irrelevant to understanding the greater story being told.

We already know how the keyblade war ends, we already knew going on that it became a fight over kingdom hearts and the X-blade, we already know the keyblades were forged to help obtain kingdom hearts, we already know the fighting breaks out over greed over light, etc...

Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer
Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer Buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer buffer

Spoiler Spoiler Show

I get the vive that this seems to be a rule when we interpret things, lol.

I'm not even so much focusing on the part regarding the actual Keyblade War event itself (although the actual fate of the Foretellers is still up in the air), as it is indeed irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things, but on the part of "connections to the main story" which obviously refers to Unchained "Season 2" and issues like both Maleficent and Ventus playing a role in these unfolding events.
Those are certainly going to be more important for KH III as they will most likely form the more direct connection with it while 90% of Back Cover don't really fit that part since the only really important bits are the stuff about Luxu, his Keyblade and the ominuous box.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Xickin

Traitor of KHInsider.com
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Messages
2,310
Awards
44
Age
29
Location
Ontario, Canada
Website
nicholasdoyle6.wixsite.com
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Okay, I just looked up who the voice actors are, and I can't believe my eyes that Ray Chase is the Master of Masters! Ever since he played Noctis he's become one of my favs! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! XD
 

Launchpad

i remember the OLD khinsider
Joined
Jan 2, 2013
Messages
4,044
Awards
21
Age
27
Location
xigbar's apartment
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Ray Chase as the Master of Masters is among the greatest KH performances in quality and effect; right up there with Billy Zane and Leonard Nimoy
 

Silver_Soul

Bronze Member
Joined
May 10, 2009
Messages
2,325
Awards
4
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

So should we expect a day 1 patch when this game comes out officially? My Internet connection is kinda spotty at the moment, and I just want to enjoy this game.
 

Muke

whatever
Joined
Nov 30, 2014
Messages
6,113
Awards
39
Location
Vienna
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

There is a patch, yup.
 

SORA619

New member
Joined
Sep 29, 2007
Messages
498
Awards
13
Age
30
Location
Athens,Greece
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Have the collection since Friday and I have finished only 0.2 and back over. I've finished DDD on 3DS so only the graphics will be something new to me. So, first things first I found 0.2 good on voice acting, graphics and especially gameplay. God, I'm loving the gameplay system but I was kinda pissed because I expected a little more story wise. The scenario started going up in that famous
Spoiler Spoiler Show
scene and that was about 30 mins before the game ends. I liked the secred moviebut expected more since it was something that we unofficially already knew from the past KHIII trailers.

Back over was a little unfinished or should i say rushed? The VAs were doing a great job and I will give them that, BUT the story really felt apart because it wanted to be something great and in the end it left me with a "?" on my head. I just don't know what's going on with this plot anymore. Too many plotlines and plot holes left for KHIII and I'm starting to getting scared.

In general I can say I'm loving the collection until now. I will do a critical playthrought on 0.2 to do all objectives and then move to DDD HD so I have some things to do. But expected a little more from these two new additions. I would give the collection an 8/10.
 

Chaser

Not KHI Site Staff
Staff member
Joined
Feb 19, 2008
Messages
23,227
Awards
70
Location
Australia
Re: Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Wait if Catanuki turns invisible does that mean it gives the vanish command? I hope so because getting vanish is kind of obnoxious it's found only on Ghostablocky and it was on a hidden disposition path no less....
Sorry, meant to reply to this yesterday. Yes, Catanuki gives the Vanish command.
 

BlackOsprey

Hell yeah
Joined
Jul 5, 2015
Messages
4,520
Awards
20
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Ray Chase as the Master of Masters is among the greatest KH performances in quality and effect; right up there with Billy Zane and Leonard Nimoy
This is the truth and absolutely nothing but the truth. This guy. I don't think this series has ever had a more watchable character than the Master of Masters and it's Chase who sells it 100%.
 

Sephiroth0812

Guardian of Light
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
10,531
Awards
37
Location
Germany
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

Back over was a little unfinished or should i say rushed? The VAs were doing a great job and I will give them that, BUT the story really felt apart because it wanted to be something great and in the end it left me with a "?" on my head. I just don't know what's going on with this plot anymore. Too many plotlines and plot holes left for KHIII and I'm starting to getting scared.

Back Cover is basically two main things:
1. to give more insight and personality/humanity to the Foretellers, which it arguably is very successful at.
and 2. to be a big tease for both the further development in X Unchained and in KH III, which it does more or less painfully straight.

It does come over as a tad rushed though, possibly mostly because Back Cover doesn't even cover the whole timeline of the original Browser-Chi, essentially ending the actual story at Lady Ava's speech to the Dandelions and omitting all further story updates following afterwards, not showing the side of the Foretellers in this remaining period and thus conveniently also omitting one of the few instances where Skuld had contact with the Foretellers, leading to her being completely omitted from the movie.
 

The_Echo

Anti-SENA Operative
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
1,841
Awards
12
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

This is the truth and absolutely nothing but the truth. This guy. I don't think this series has ever had a more watchable character than the Master of Masters and it's Chase who sells it 100%.
Chase did a great job (also props to the localization team for working the Master's tics and vocal eccentricities into an English script naturally), but Sugita still blows him out of the water.
 

Vanitas666

I choose the Middle Path
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
2,703
Awards
4
Age
30
Location
Sweden
Website
www.youtube.com
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

BBS V2 was so fucking awesome, it actually made me real happy and thankful that they brought back the old spell system which I really disagreed with before but now I've little doubt that KH III will indeed be the greatest game in the series thus far.
Also, I read that Master of Masters will not appear or at least be revealed in KHIII, is this confirmed?
I most have missed that or it was taken out as a spoiler in the recent interview that you haven't released fully yet, looking forward to it though :).
 

hemmoheikkinen

Dear Kafka
Joined
Nov 24, 2013
Messages
2,697
Awards
23
Location
Finland
Re: REVIEW: Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is Kingdom Hearts at it's best

^

- The Master appears to be quite the important character, will we find out the reason for his disappearance in [KHIII]?

Nomura: Some of the story developments from [KHxBC] will be touched upon in some way or shape in [KHIII], but the Master won’t make an appearance. As for his “surprise” on the other hand...

From this interview: http://forums.khinsider.com/kingdom...-hearts-hd-2-8-nomura-interview-released.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top