About the Drop Gauge...

[Ronove]

Does anyone else think that we'll -just- be limited to playing as Riku and Sora?

The drop gauge seems to be a really good mechanic to introduce twists and turns in the middle of gameplay.

Like, say you're playing as Sora against Xemnas, or Lea. The fight starts with the drop gauge half full, and then as soon as it runs out you switch characters... but not to Riku. Instead, bam! You're playing as Xion or Roxas or Ventus or Uncle Phil, and the fight's pace and flow shifts accordingly.

In my opinion, the drop gauge's mechanics hints towards playing as more than just two characters. But I could be wrong.

 

[Crazy Mario]

This is a plausible theory, but I'm not really appealed to playing as other characters through this sort of feature. Also, a mechanic like the Drop Gauge would honestly be complicated to handle and prepare with more than two characters and would honestly kill the flow for me. If there were going to be more characters, Square would've been better off making separate stories like in BBS. If there were any other playable characters, don't you think one of them would've been revealed at Jump Festa, especially since that's the last confirmed event DDD will be seen in?

 

[Ronove]

This is a plausible theory, but I'm not really appealed to playing as other characters through this sort of feature. Also, a mechanic like the Drop Gauge would honestly be complicated to handle and prepare with more than two characters and would honestly kill the flow for me. If there were going to be more characters, Square would've been better off making separate stories like in BBS. If there were any other playable characters, don't you think one of them would've been revealed at Jump Festa, especially since that's the last confirmed event DDD will be seen in?

Not really, no. A game needs some twists and turns in it, after all. If it gave away everything, or indeed most things, away at Jump Festa then that would defeat the point. Besides, we haven't even seen the Drop Gauge in action in demos yet, and we might never see it. The Drop Gauge is shrouded in mystery at this moment.

 

[Luap]

The Drop Gauge is shrouded in mystery at the moment?
No, it's pretty clear what it does.
As you play as Sora and Riku, it slowly decreases, then once it has, you switch characters. You can also manually force a character switch from the start menu.

Adding something like transforming into Roxas, Ventus, or Xion would just be odd and really make no sense.

 

[Ronove]

We've never seen it in action, though, and we probably won't see the gauge in action until the game releases in Japan. And you say swapping to Xion and Roxas would "make no sense", but I disagree. The game seems to be partially about the hearts inside Sora. That certainly includes Roxas, Xion, and Ventus, would it not? Also, considering that the first preview for DDD was literally hundreds of raining Soras, I would contend that what I say isn't too far off the mark.

 

[billyzanesucks]

Usually, he gives a nod to these sorts of things. I haven't read or seen anything that would hint toward it.

 

[Odysseus]

I think it could be a cool, one-time thing to switch to Roxas or something for the final boss fight. I can see it happening.

Also, billyzanesucks, you gotta swap Link's Awakening and The Oracle games in your signature!

 

[Unumus]

Not really, no. A game needs some twists and turns in it, after all. If it gave away everything, or indeed most things, away at Jump Festa then that would defeat the point. Besides, we haven't even seen the Drop Gauge in action in demos yet, and we might never see it. The Drop Gauge is shrouded in mystery at this moment.

All I have to say is Jump Festa trailer for BBS last year. Riddled with spoilers. And it still had some time before it came out. Well not really but....

 

[Kingdomon]

I don't even like the idea of switching between Sora and Riku everytime the gauge runs out, i'd dislike it even more if there was switching between Ventus, Roxas, and Xion.

 

[kupo1121]

Adding something like transforming into Roxas, Ventus, or Xion would just be odd and really make no sense.

I agree with Luap in that it wouldn't make much sense. What exactly are Xion, Roxas, and Ventus fighting. There is no background info on them in the RoS and now all of a sudden we are thrust into a battle against something with them? Also, even if it did explain, the change mechanic would certainly disrupt the flow of the game. Whenever I saw that drop gauge drop, I would get scared, as I would not know who I will switch too. When you have just Sora and Riku, there is only one option when you switch. However, when you add one more variable or character in this instance, all of a sudden, the drop gauge becomes a 50-50% chance of who you will become. This is the problem...it would be really bad to be playing as Sora and not know exactly who you will be in 2 seconds...

 

[Ronove]

Well, I think that's precisely the point. The drop gauge, even assuming that it only applies to two characters, is chaotic as hell. Imagine fighting a boss in BBS as Aqua and then having to switch to Terra. It's a huge adjustment, especially in the middle of a boss fight. To add a few more characters only makes the gauge even more chaotic. But to be fair, I think that if I am right the switches to characters other than Sora and Riku would be infrequent and pre-determined.

 

[Venitas]

wait, u can manually force a switch?

so if ur in a boss battle as sora and the gauge depletes, couldn't u just manually force back to sora as soon as the riku gameplay starts?

then theoretically u could do that the entire game like correct? where u just force-switch back to the character u want to play as?

idk the whole drop gauge idea just sounds suspicious. i hope they detail it in a famitsu or release that shows how it works

 

[Sign]

wait, u can manually force a switch?

so if ur in a boss battle as sora and the gauge depletes, couldn't u just manually force back to sora as soon as the riku gameplay starts?

then theoretically u could do that the entire game like correct? where u just force-switch back to the character u want to play as?

idk the whole drop gauge idea just sounds suspicious. i hope they detail it in a famitsu or release that shows how it works

They uh... kinda did. Granted, it was a demo impression from Jump Festa, but they still did :\

I mean, it's not like we don't have any info on the series available here.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

wait, u can manually force a switch?

so if ur in a boss battle as sora and the gauge depletes, couldn't u just manually force back to sora as soon as the riku gameplay starts?

then theoretically u could do that the entire game like correct? where u just force-switch back to the character u want to play as?

idk the whole drop gauge idea just sounds suspicious. i hope they detail it in a famitsu or release that shows how it works

I'm mentioned before but I'm betting there will be some kind of penalty for forcing switches. They wouldn't leave it a free for all. *points at Sign's post*

 

[Ronove]

There's probably some cool down, or something. In any event, it'll make for very chaotic gameplay.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

There's probably some cool down, or something. In any event, it'll make for very chaotic gameplay.

Idk. It isn't like we've seen it in play, yet. Can't judge something until we see it in action

 

[kupo1121]

There's probably some cool down, or something. In any event, it'll make for very chaotic gameplay.

Which is not always the good thing, the less a player can control in a game, the worse it generally is because it makes the game based much on luck, less an skill, and can get very confusing, irritating, and bad. Honestly, I don't see playing as anyone else even an option because the biggest problem still remains that those characters will not be able to have a back story as much as Sora and Riku have had.

We know that Sora and Riku are in the RoS to take their MoM exam, find the key to sleep thingy-ma-bobber, get out of the RoS (to complete the exam), and to restore these worlds. If SE doesn't plan to tell us about any other characters, like Roxas or Xion, and all of a sudden they randomly show up..that makes for a very bad story because it doesn't answer:
1) What are they doing in the RoS?
2) How did they get there?
3) Why are they in the world they are?
4) Why are they fighting dream eaters?
5) What is their main goal in the RoS?
6) Why are they working with dream eaters? (If they don't work with them, then the gameplay mechanic has to change...and if the gameplay changes...that is just stupid)

and many more questions...there is just a giant plothole for every character they add outside of Sora and Riku...I cannot see it working...at all. <_<

 

[Chaser]

Question for you, maker of the thread.
Why?
Why would it be important for Sora to just switch to Roxas or Xion? It has no plot purposes to switch to characters other than Riku. Right now, we don't even know if Roxas or Xion are in the game. All we've seen of them is them "fighting" in the games opening.

The Drop Gauge won't be chaotic during gameplay. It's meant to be helpful.
Imagine this: You're fighting a tough boss, you've run out of potions, recently used cure, and you have very little health. The Drop Gauge activates and you go to the bonus screen. You can buy more potions or upgrade Sora, which will help him. Then you play as Riku as you advance his story, gather more potions, and level up his character.
You then swap back to Sora, can heal, and defeat the motherbonking boss.


I prefer this method than dying 5 times, leveling up to an insane level and then breezing through the rest of the game.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Question for you, maker of the thread.
Why?
Why would it be important for Sora to just switch to Roxas or Xion? It has no plot purposes to switch to characters other than Riku. Right now, we don't even know if Roxas or Xion are in the game. All we've seen of them is them "fighting" in the games opening.

The Drop Gauge won't be chaotic during gameplay. It's meant to be helpful.
Imagine this: You're fighting a tough boss, you've run out of potions, recently used cure, and you have very little health. The Drop Gauge activates and you go to the bonus screen. You can buy more potions or upgrade Sora, which will help him. Then you play as Riku as you advance his story, gather more potions, and level up his character.
You then swap back to Sora, can heal, and defeat the motherbonking boss.


I prefer this method than dying 5 times, leveling up to an insane level and then breezing through the rest of the game.

Everything in this fucking post

 

[Ronove]

Question for you, maker of the thread.
Why?
Why would it be important for Sora to just switch to Roxas or Xion? It has no plot purposes to switch to characters other than Riku. Right now, we don't even know if Roxas or Xion are in the game. All we've seen of them is them "fighting" in the games opening.

Why would it be important? A big theme of the game is "the hearts within Sora" and "the hearts within Xehanort." It's one of the wham lines of the trailer. Considering that Roxas and Xion inhabit Sora's heart, and considering that we've seen Vanitas, I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

The Drop Gauge won't be chaotic during gameplay. It's meant to be helpful.
Imagine this: You're fighting a tough boss, you've run out of potions, recently used cure, and you have very little health. The Drop Gauge activates and you go to the bonus screen. You can buy more potions or upgrade Sora, which will help him. Then you play as Riku as you advance his story, gather more potions, and level up his character.
You then swap back to Sora, can heal, and defeat the motherbonking boss. I prefer this method than dying 5 times, leveling up to an insane level and then breezing through the rest of the game.

Well, I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. Quoting Nomura here "Regarding character changes, he said that it will be easiest to understand if you think that there's something like a countdown event always taking place." Tetsuya Nomura Discusses Kingdom Hearts 3DS -- Andriasang.com

A countdown adds an element of excitement and urgency to gameplay. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that chaotic gameplay is a BAD thing, in fact I think it'll be quite good. But please, don't try and say that the drop gauge won't be chaotic, because it will.