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Can Kingdom Hearts 3 Benefit from the Next Generation of Hardware?



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Monkey

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Editor’s note: I should clarify my definition of next generation hardware. This refers to the line of hardware for which the Kingdom Hearts series has not yet had a chance to appear on: the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U. Of course, much of what is discussed in this article can be applied to any future hardware releases as well.

It is widely believed that, eventually, Kingdom Hearts will have to make the transition to the next generation of hardware. No, not an HD port, but a game built from the ground up from far more powerful machine. Certainly, that game will be Kingdom Hearts 3. The question remains however, is there any inherent benefit to this series being on better hardware, is it even needed? And if it is, what type of improvements should a fan suspect, what are the possibilities for the series?

Clearly, the most immediate argument would be the significant increase in graphical quality, but that is all too obvious. It is definitely more important to analyze why Kingdom Hearts is so special to the average fan first, identify key improvements more powerful hardware can provide, and go from there.

For example, one of the reasons Kingdom Hearts instantly sucks me in is the worlds – the ability to be placed into the middle of a Disney movie. While certain titles have already done a pretty good job of encapsulating this feeling, the power of next generation hardware could greatly benefit this immersion.

The Lion King’s Pridelands was one of the most highly anticipated additions to the roster of locations in Kingdom Hearts 2. Indeed it was very beautiful, but alas, the vast, open locations were eerily empty. And that certainly detracted from the magic. How nice would it be, with the assistance of more powerful hardware, to add more geometry – that means more cliffs, trees, and objects to interact with, more animals in the backgrounds, more platforms, ledges, vines, and thus worlds that are as open to explore vertically as they are horizontally.

The simplest additions can do so much to make the player feel like they are more a part of the world they are visiting. Imagine the world of Mulan, with more fireworks going off in the night sky – colors, particles, and effects - as you fight your way through ancient China. Imagine – instead of a handful – but dozens or hundreds of little fish swimming across Atlantica. It’s the details that count to truly make outstanding worlds!

There is so much more to it than that though. My favorite worlds were game specific worlds, Traverse Town in the original, Hollow Bastion in Kingdom Hearts 2. These were locations I’d find myself constantly returning to, even if story events were not occurring there, simply because they felt like home after I pressed forward through the narrative. Certainly, there has to be a hub world similar to these in Kingdom Hearts 3 as well.

And yet there are still improvements that can be made. To be real towns, they must be populated with more citizens. And instead of just awkwardly standing around or walking in a straight line, these citizens should be dynamically going about their day. Think of the Assassins Creed franchise. I’m not advocating Kingdom Hearts become Assassins Creed, nor the repetition of character models to populate a town, but a couple more NPCs couldn’t hurt. And they would certainly help facilitate the desire for more side quests to partake in.

Which brings us to the game play, the standard mantra of which is: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. True, but let’s examine ways in which we can have a natural progression and evolution of the formula without necessarily modifying the experience.

One of the biggest improvements can come in the form of improved AI. Take a nod at just about any genre this generation (sans ironically, the Japanese RPG), enemies have gotten smarter. They react to your movements, they react to your attacks, they respond accordingly. And the player too must react, or fear getting squandered.

We have already gotten a taste of this – in the fan favorite Birth by Sleep. I really can’t think of a fight that encapsulates my thoughts more than the final boss fight against Master Xehanort. One wrong move, and it was close to over. The fight constantly requires a mix of blocking, dodging, and the right combination of attacks – almost a dance of sorts – compared to the button mashing nature of other titles.

This type of reactive nature should be applied to the thought processes of the enemy AI as well. It would immediately make the game more about strategy, and using the correct moves at the correct time. Multiple enemies on the field at once with the same variety in move set as Xehanort is something I would like to see.

And one only has to do a little digging back through the history of the franchise to know that past hardware has hampered the game play idealized by the series creators. Those fans that followed the hype for the launch of Kingdom Hearts 2 know of a particular trailer, shown during E3 2005, which featured the large scale “heartless army” fight that takes place in Hollow Bastion. Notice anything about the screen below? That’s right, the Behemoth’s never made it into the final battle, likely due to hardware limitations.

Think about how much more exciting that event could have been with the addition of those monstrous heartless. And think about all the other things that have been cut or downgraded that we will simply never know of. This is where the next generation of consoles will truly help Kingdom Hearts 3 shine.

This final bit is more of a stretch, but some of the best downloadable games this generation have been twin stick shooters. Titles like Geometry Wars, Everyday Shooter, and Super Stardust have absolutely blown me away. Seems only natural that the Gummi Ship will should follow in the footsteps of these titles, it would certainly make those segments much more playable and visually interesting.

I want to hear from you. How do you think the next generation of hardware will improve Kingdom Hearts 3? What specifically would you like to see in the next title that only more powerful hardware can do?

 

 

Unknown0013

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What I want to know is, when will they stop making these mixes and just make KHIII already!?!?!?!?
 

Monkey

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What I want to know is, when will they stop making these mixes and just make KHIII already!?!?!?!?

After 1.5, all there could possibly be is 2.5.

Then it's smooth sailing to 3. Welcome to the forums btw! :) Hope you stick around.
 

Zettaflare

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I have a feeling there is going to be at least one more game before kh3. That is just my opinion
 

Energy

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Okay first off i didn't read this thread but will after i post this reply, remember when KH2 came out it was in 2005 when the Xbox 360 were just released in 2005 and for the ps3 2006 also the game didn't come out a year later for the rest of the world other then Japan in 2006 and then 2007 final mix was released.

So i would suspect them to do the same thing I reckon we are gonna see a teaser trailer for KH3 at the end of 2013 and at E3 this year we will see kingdom hearts 2.5 hd remix trailer, Also the graphics will look amazing on the ps3 and xbox just like the cutscenes look like in kh1 and kh2 even look at FF versus 13.

720p.
[video=youtube;uQ7MwTXYLpg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ7MwTXYLpg[/video]

Also cartoon graphics are easier to render so it will look even better and will look like pre rendered cutscenes,
is really that much more of a benifit for the game to be on next gen ? it won't happen,

But yes Kingdom Hearts 4 it will.

EDIT: For the Wii U it would be but the graphics on that aren't that much better then this gen right now, also it will be really cool to see some new features to the game on that console like have the menu up all the time on the gamepad etc.

I have a feeling there is going to be at least one more game before kh3. That is just my opinion
There won't be, Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix will be the last game before KH3.
 
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ajmrowland

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and Nomura previously stated that a new KH game would come around every year. considering the pattern of announcements, it usually means that a KH game gets released and the next one's announced soon after. Longest wait we had from announcement was 3 years and that was BBS which was announced side-by-side with Days. That paired with DDD, means that at best, a trailer for the next new game would be summer 2013, but they'll wanna focus on 2.5

And Nomura *did* state that the Vita is too powerful for an exclusive KH title, so if there is one before KH3 It's either part of 2.5 or it's on the 3DS or both. As KH3 is the one being developed for PS3, there's no reason to have another PS3 title debut before it.


And Energy I've been on the recieving end of this a lot, but it's against the rules to doublepost, unless the topic's been inactive for a coupe days. This keeps people from spamming a reply or topic. If you can, edit your post, unless somebody posted after you. Still, you're a Nobody:)P) so im just giving you fair warning.
 

bczp

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First of all, this is a very well written article.

Secondly, I do think the hardware can improve the general atmosphere of worlds. A constant, and usually agreed upon criticism of the series, is the lack of life that lives in the vibrant worlds of Disney. Traverse Town (KH1), Twilight Town, and even Agrabah(KH1) experimented with this a little bit with NPCs running shops and walking around. But, yeah, you have to really populate these worlds with other details as well. In KH3D, the platform that was meant burn Esmeralda in the Notre Dame world (I don't know how to spell that world, the town of clocks in French I think?) remained there until the Wargoyle boss destroyed it. That was a good small use of that detail. But never did any of the strings holding the flags move in the wind, or trees having any falling leaves in Tarzan, or any of that small stuff that has common physics to it.

I do think KH3D was a huge step up (except Tron's world, that was way too messy of a level design). It was a such a vertical game. I really liked it. I don't know if they'll keep that method throughout the series, but it definitely expanded the maps. It also helped cram in more secrets and treasures throughout the map. Remember those?

The hardware might even remove the FMV faces that Kingdom Hearts characters tend to have if they're not moving. At a certain point you'll get used to it, but something should always be moving. Even a blink would help.

I do think the graphics and audio will be enhanced if the KH series come to the PS3 or whatever, but it should focus more on the subtle details that sum up to a logistical world; NPCs walking around murmuring something, the wind blowing Sora's hair, moisture appearing the bottom of Goofy's pants when he's just walked through a puddle, and the shadow reacting a little more heavily to a giant ass key bashing you in the face.

Its probably asking too much but we as fans appreciate the small things. The things that don't necessarily need to be there but brings a little more magic to something- its almost like the developer wrote a letter when they developed that code that lets Sora's hair move in the wind, "Yeah, that was just for you fan. I hope you noticed."

Any one else have any thoughts?
 

ajmrowland

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You know, this makes me wonder how stealthy th organization should've been. I think if the DS hardware could handle it, it wouldnt be a bad idea for some sort of costume change system to help hide the curious nature of the cloaks, and only use the cloaks like in KH2 when blending isnt necessary

as for FMV faces, those did have blinks and some expression changes, but they were still just that.
 

ajmrowland

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^exactly what I thought you meant, but I didnt think I needed to say it. hence how I ended my sentence which maybe was a little vague. I should've said well what you just said here.
 

Energy

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and Nomura previously stated that a new KH game would come around every year. considering the pattern of announcements, it usually means that a KH game gets released and the next one's announced soon after. Longest wait we had from announcement was 3 years and that was BBS which was announced side-by-side with Days. That paired with DDD, means that at best, a trailer for the next new game would be summer 2013, but they'll wanna focus on 2.5

And Nomura *did* state that the Vita is too powerful for an exclusive KH title, so if there is one before KH3 It's either part of 2.5 or it's on the 3DS or both. As KH3 is the one being developed for PS3, there's no reason to have another PS3 title debut before it.


And Energy I've been on the recieving end of this a lot, but it's against the rules to doublepost, unless the topic's been inactive for a coupe days. This keeps people from spamming a reply or topic. If you can, edit your post, unless somebody posted after you. Still, you're a Nobody:)P) so im just giving you fair warning.
Okay sorry but one last question, how is the PS VITA too powerful for an exculsive KH title? when they can make the game powerful enough to run on it? im confused :S the PS3 is still more powerful then the PS VITA im sure since its a handheld and they should be making a KH game on that and they are making hd remixes?

Why would we get a 2.5 trailer at E3 when we haven't even gotten a 1.5 trailer?

What..?

[video=youtube;gJJgwH8uBO8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJJgwH8uBO8[/video]

The trailer was shown at a E3 similar event in Tokyo called TGS 'Tokyo Game Show'

http://tgs.cesa.or.jp/english/

but yeah there is another trailer coming qnytime this month or next month with in-game gameplay which is gonna be so sick, and a playable demo on psn store?
 
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Chaser

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What..?

[video=youtube;gJJgwH8uBO8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJJgwH8uBO8[/video]

The trailer was shown at a E3 similar event in Tokyo called TGS 'Tokyo Game Show'
"KHI Site Staff"
And guess who made the update for that trailer on the main site?
This guy.

but yeah there is another trailer coming qnytime this month or next month with in-game gameplay which is gonna be so sick, and a playable demo on psn store?
The problem is that you said that there would be a 2.5 trailer at E3, a convention for the Western audience.
The question I was asking to you is why you thought there would be a trailer for the SECOND of the two ReMix's when we don't even have an official ENGLISH trailer for the FIRST of the ReMix's, not to mention no mention of any localisation for it what-so-ever.

It's no absurd to say a 1.5 trailer would be at E3, but for a 2.5? Out of the question.
 
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~Key Of Light~

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Nice article :)

Would be epic to see the graphics they put before the gameplay starts in KH2 as default graphics in future games (on better hardware ofc)

like the intro on this for example

[video=youtube;Oyh2Vzo7M38]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyh2Vzo7M38[/video]
 

ajmrowland

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Okay sorry but one last question, how is the PS VITA too powerful for an exculsive KH title? when they can make the game powerful enough to run on it? im confused :S the PS3 is still more powerful then the PS VITA im sure since its a handheld and they should be making a KH game on that and they are making hd remixes?

Yeah, but since the Vita is new hardware, it's naturally nearly as powerful as the PS3 with such quality in the graphics. Square has always treated portable systems with respect, so they-or rather Nomura-feel that to develop a KH game for the vita, they might as well make it for PS3.


Since the current generation of consoles havent gone away yet, and the Vita came out last year, the general reasoning behind the reservations is that the gap between power of the device and that of the home console has been narrowed in a way that's unprecedented. PSP in the early days only really used ports that looked only a bit better than PS1, and it wasnt until PS2 games started dying that companies like Square really used the power of that system. Game Boy color and game boy advance were significantly outclassed by the N64, PS1, PS2, Gamecube, and xbox.

But i digress. As I said in the first paragraph, it's more about the amount of work and Square's current policies for new portable games that's behind not working on a vita title at this point. BBS vol.2 was speculated, but that game got shelved if it was ever worked on at all.

^What if 1.5 is announced for localization and released before E3?

They'd still want to promote it with launch trailers and such. A remaster isnt gonna get a huge amount of advertising on TV relative to the latest titles, so square(and possibly Disney) is gonna take advantage of any awareness for 1.5 they can get in the west. Assuming the game is released then, that means they can have full demos, trailers, bigass posters, souvenirs and merchandise, and sell copies at the convention. And they can say that KH2 might be coming(for the whiners) and leave the official announcement for TGS.
 
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Angel

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They'd still want to promote it with launch trailers and such. A remaster isnt gonna get a huge amount of advertising on TV relative to the latest titles, so square(and possibly Disney) is gonna take advantage of any awareness for 1.5 they can get in the west. Assuming the game is released then, that means they can have full demos, trailers, bigass posters, souvenirs and merchandise, and sell copies at the convention. And they can say that KH2 might be coming(for the whiners) and leave the official announcement for TGS.

Even so, the latest titles barely get any TV advertising (or so I notice). just for shits and gigs I sit down and watch disney channel with my sister the week before a new game comes out and I see/hear maybe one or two commercials in 6 hours

in any case, I think 1.5 is gonna get exposure at E3 unless it's released in April or something like that, but we'll see.

On a side note, I will be appalled if we don't hear anything about localization by the end of February, or at the very least by the time it's announced in Japan.
 
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