Do you plan to cut ties with KH after KH3?

[TruestSyn]

Except the problem with that scenario is that Nomura has stated that Sora is the main character for KINGDOM HEARTS until the series' end. Though I would love to see Max at some point, I wouldn't want it to come at the expense of Nomura being accused of dishonesty.

That said, I wouldn't mind something akin to a soft reboot; though I imagine that wouldn't go over well with long time fans either. Didn't work out all that well for Sakura Wars...

Poor monopolists can't win...

Decades from now, in God of War and Assassin's Creed Revelation style, we will be playing as an old, grizzly Master Sora on his quest to find out why the heartless have returned after 100 years of peace to discover that his long time wife and loving companion, Kairi, seems to be at the heart of the newfound chaos. He will set out on a quest to discover what secret Riku left behind when his heart was taken to learn that he had discovered Kairi's connection to the heartless. We find out that for the past few years the Kairi that he knew and loved was actually possessed, he doesn't know exactly for how long, she was actually Xehanort. Xehanort, a name Sora hadn't heard in 80 years ever since he defeated him. Max Goof, the new King's trusted Paladin, and Huey Duck, the last remaining member of the Quack Pack and the new King's Alchemist, join the old Sora on his quest to defeat his possessed wife and free her from the clutches of his worst enemy. To make matters worse, Sora knows he is on borrowed time and is trying to not worry his only child, Mickey Riku, and keep him from getting into the life. Meet familiar faces of those who have survived time's cruel spell, such as Roxas, who has hidden himself out on Dagobah, Namine, a witch learning new magic from Madam Mim, and Axel's son, who just earned his certification to join the Keyblade alliance and patrolling the worlds for danger. New spells, new allies, new worlds, and best of all mastery over all of Sora's combat abilities from the starts. Yes folks, this new installment promises tougher battles, more strategic approaches, and once again will test our hero's sunny disposition.

 

[kaseykockroach]

KH3 does feel like the last one, in my head at least. Where on earth can they go after this?

A RPG adventure starring Donald, Goofy and Vivian the shadow siren from Paper Mario on a tugboat sailing off to worlds like Isla Nublar or-

Oh, right, we're talking about Nomura's fanfics, not mine.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

"There ain't no getting offa' this train we're on, 'till we get to the end of the line."

Nah, I'm a fan for life. This series is my most favorite thing in the world, and I personally love the story, convolution and all. It doesn't mean I don't acknowledge the faults, but I enjoy the roller-coaster ride regardless. In my opinion, it'd be like watching Naruto and never watching Shippuden -- I have no reason to stop until the story ends. Maybe if KH3 turns out to be a complete irredeemable dumpster fire (which I highly doubt it will be), but a lot would have to go wrong.

And honestly, I feel like a lot of fans are going to say "KH3 is my final game" until KH4 comes out, I'm calling it now. There could be so many factors that come up in 3 that can easily change people's minds. Everyone loves a well-executed story, and if 4 hits all of the right points, I really don't think people are just going to turn that down. People said FFXIII was going to be their last FF game, but then picked up XV. And there's a lot of people who said XV is their last FF, but I'm sure we'll see them again when XVI releases. Granted, the FF series isn't as closely linked together like Kingdom Hearts is, but the point is, I don't put too much stock into it until the next game releases. And if many don't come back, that's also fine. There'll be a ton of room for the new fans to jump in, and with a new saga, I'm sure it'll be much easier to enter.

If anything, the new saga could blow the Dark Seeker saga out of the water, because Nomura has more experience going into it compared to the previous games. He could listen to the criticism of it being too convoluted and try to dial that back and focus on strengthening other parts. There's so much potential, and I'm really optimistic for the franchise!

 

[TruestSyn]

"There ain't no getting offa' this train we're on, 'till we get to the end of the line."

Nah, I'm a fan for life. This series is my most favorite thing in the world, and I personally love the story, convolution and all. It doesn't mean I don't acknowledge the faults, but I enjoy the roller-coaster ride regardless. In my opinion, it'd be like watching Naruto and never watching Shippuden -- I have no reason to stop until the story ends. Maybe if KH3 turns out to be a complete irredeemable dumpster fire (which I highly doubt it will be), but a lot would have to go wrong.

And honestly, I feel like a lot of fans are going to say "KH3 is my final game" until KH4 comes out, I'm calling it now. There could be so many factors that come up in 3 that can easily change people's minds. Everyone loves a well-executed story, and if 4 hits all of the right points, I really don't think people are just going to turn that down. People said FFXIII was going to be their last FF game, but then picked up XV. And there's a lot of people who said XV is their last FF, but I'm sure we'll see them again when XVI releases. Granted, the FF series isn't as closely linked together like Kingdom Hearts is, but the point is, I don't put too much stock into it until the next game releases. And if many don't come back, that's also fine. There'll be a ton of room for the new fans to jump in, and with a new saga, I'm sure it'll be much easier to enter.

If anything, the new saga could blow the Dark Seeker saga out of the water, because Nomura has more experience going into it compared to the previous games. He could listen to the criticism of it being too convoluted and try to dial that back and focus on strengthening other parts. There's so much potential, and I'm really optimistic for the franchise!

Convoluted is good, it makes people think which too few things do now a days. Look at Hideo Kojima's games, there's nothing there that isn't convoluted so I think it's better that they stick with keeping it a big grand mystery until a finale.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

Convoluted is good, it makes people think which too few things do now a days. Look at Hideo Kojima's games, there's nothing there that isn't convoluted so I think it's better that they stick with keeping it a big grand mystery until a finale.

Honestly, I've never had an issue with the convolution in the series. The ONLY thing that makes me scratch my head is the whole time travel thing, and even then... I don't think it's nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. I love the twists and turns. I agree, it makes people think, and if a game series forces you to sit down and really ponder about what's going on... I personally feel they're doing something right. That's the whole fun.

Imagine if all of the mysteries were solved in KH2. That would've been boring.

 

[TruestSyn]

Honestly, I've never had an issue with the convolution in the series. The ONLY thing that makes me scratch my head is the whole time travel thing, and even then... I don't think it's nearly as bad as people are making it out to be. I love the twists and turns. I agree, it makes people think, and if a game series forces you to sit down and really ponder about what's going on... I personally feel they're doing something right. That's the whole fun.

Imagine if all of the mysteries were solved in KH2. That would've been boring.

Exactly. So far there are a lot of restrictions on Time Travel too, so it's not really that big a thing. Also, Pete did it in KH2 so it's not like it's anything new.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

You can make something complex and still have people using their heads without it being convoluted.
I'm the first person who praises Kojima mostly for his gameplay ideas and only occasionally for his writing (although he had some very good ideas especially for his time), because I do think him having to make everything convoluted is not a merit at all. Thing is, Kojima had a bunch of people saying "this ain't it chief" to him when he went REALLY overboard, something I'm not sure Nomura also had when he needed.

KH being convoluted has been one of its biggest source of issues, especially with the mainstream audience: detractors attack the series because of it, non fans are hesitant about getting into it, casual players just disregard the main story altogether focusing on the Disney movies experience (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it sure isn't flattering for the main story, which should try and appeal to as many people as possible).
Even many hardcore fans who are caught up with all of it are experiencing a lot of fatigue and some even look with dread at any new update, wondering what else they need to wrap their heads around this time.

There are faults and merits in all things and each individual's perspective on KH's story and convoluted elements might differ, but it did hurt the brand, leading to a difficult to understand and not easy to get into story and a high level of gatekeeping from fans and games alike.
I'm all for Nomura and the staff to tone it down after KH III: not only would a fresh start be acceptable, but I sincerely hope it's not a Birth by Sleep-ish kind of fresh start, where they introduce a villain that will be defeated 8 years from their introduction.
No more "story so far", remixes, video summaries et cetera.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

You can make something complex and still have people using their heads without it being convoluted.
I'm the first person who praises Kojima mostly for his gameplay ideas and only occasionally for his writing (although he had some very good ideas especially for his time), because I do think him having to make everything convoluted is not a merit at all. Thing is, Kojima had a bunch of people saying "this ain't it chief" to him when he went REALLY overboard, something I'm not sure Nomura also had when he needed.

KH being convoluted has been one of its biggest source of issues, especially with the mainstream audience: detractors attack the series because of it, non fans are hesitant about getting into it, casual players just disregard the main story altogether focusing on the Disney movies experience (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it sure isn't flattering for the main story, which should try and appeal to as many people as possible).
Even many hardcore fans who are caught up with all of it are experiencing a lot of fatigue and some even look with dread at any new update, wondering what else they need to wrap their heads around this time.

There are faults and merits in all things and each individual's perspective on KH's story and convoluted elements might differ, but it did hurt the brand, leading to a difficult to understand and not easy to get into story and a high level of gatekeeping from fans and games alike.
I'm all for Nomura and the staff to tone it down after KH III: not only would a fresh start be acceptable, but I sincerely hope it's not a Birth by Sleep-ish kind of fresh start, where they introduce a villain that will be defeated 8 years from their introduction.
No more "story so far", remixes, video summaries et cetera.

Which is completely fair, and that's why I understand the criticism. I think the best thing for Nomura to do is to not let the next game have a ton of tangents attached to it. Come to think of it, I think that's why KH1 is a lot of people's favorites -- it was made with the mentality of it being a one-off game with a potential for a sequel, not something with a huge over-arching storyline. For KH4, I think they should go back to that. Or, allow it to connect, but in a much cleaner fashion.

The biggest turn-off I've seen for people is the fact that there were so many side games and on different platforms, and I think THAT'S why the story is the way it is. Granted, I think Nomura did that so it kept us with something to munch on until KH3 were to come out, but I do understand why people disliked that aspect. Maybe if they kept things to one console, it would've won people over a bit more. Maybe PSP. Again, I enjoy the twists and turns, but I can also appreciate a more streamlined story and I do think they can't let a villain hang around for so long this time again either.

My personal "this ain't it chief" moment definitely has to be the time travel aspect. Not even that plot device in particular, but just the complications of how it works. I'm more accepting of it now, but I still feel that while it isn't that bad, it did make things more complicated than it needed to be.

 

[Smithee]

My personal "this ain't it chief" moment definitely has to be the time travel aspect. Not even that plot device in particular, but just the complications of how it works. I'm more accepting of it now, but I still feel that while it isn't that bad, it did make things more complicated than it needed to be.

Yeah, time-travel itself isn't automatically bad; e.g., most fans seemed okay with the Disney Castle - Timeless River version in KH2.

But the actual execution has to be at least decent -- a criteria that Xehanort's contrived, convoluted version just didn't meet in DDD, hence all the criticism.

 

[That_one_Sora]

Yeah, time-travel itself isn't automatically bad; e.g., most fans seemed okay with the Disney Castle - Timeless River version in KH2.

i liked timeless river. but the entire story for the world reminded me of Back to the future.

 

[Deleted member 246005]

Honestly the fun of playing through the disney worlds brought me back after core storyline's bad execution was pushing me away.

So i imagine most people who were disenfranchised with KH might go the same way.

We'll probably keep interest but not go after every title.

Im more interested in Sora taking a backseat in the future to someone new or the other characters like RAX or TAV.