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This is something that I'm thinking about as I replay KH3. I love KH3 and have defended it on here (as some of you may know), but this isn't particularly about KH3, but more about the series after KH2. KH1 was about Sora trying to find his friends Riku and Kairi after their island is destroyed. KH2 was (basically) about Sora trying to deal with the current threat and find Riku, so that he could go back home to his island. KHCoM also reminds us of Destiny Islands and its importance to Sora (even using memories of Namine there to manipulate him). After KH2, the series sort of lost that sense of "boy trying to find his way home" and morphed into this epic that involves stories across different generations (BbS/KHUX) that seemingly culminated to KH3.
There's something different about the direction of the series after KH2 and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it could be that there were several titles between KH2 and KH3 that just created another vibe for the series? KH1, CoM, and KH2 were adventures with Sora/Donald/Goofy, then we get a whole bunch of totally different stuff in between, and then another adventure with Sora/Donald/Goofy. It kind of makes you question WHAT a KH game is supposed to be. It also makes me question WHAT is Sora's goal. Up until KH2, it seemed like it was always to get his friends safely back home and that's it. Another threat came about and Sora/Riku left, but does that mean they will always be the ones to go fight? Is that what Sora wants to do? It just kind of feels like Sora is being pushed into drama caused by other people/events.
The basics of what I know a KH game to be are: Sora/Donald/Goofy, original worlds, Disney worlds, Riku/Kairi, and Final Fantasy characters. There was also the sadness knowing that when Sora finishes his task, he would go back to his island with Riku/Kairi, but not be able to see Donald/Goofy again. I feel like they kind of erased that now with the Gummiphone and being able to fly anywhere anytime.
I hope that Nomura finds some way to bring back the essence of KH1 and 2 into future installments. Maybe he should do like Star Wars and have a numbered title with Sora/Donald/Goofy, then have a side-game focused on some other plot that needs explanation that he can flesh out side characters, then a numbered title, so on and so on. I feel like what led KH to lose its essence was so many side games that you start to wonder whether the side games are setting the standard for what KH games should be. I always considered KH1 and KH2 the gold-standard in what a numbered title should strive to be, but KH3 came across heavily influenced by the way the side games were put together.
There's something different about the direction of the series after KH2 and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it could be that there were several titles between KH2 and KH3 that just created another vibe for the series? KH1, CoM, and KH2 were adventures with Sora/Donald/Goofy, then we get a whole bunch of totally different stuff in between, and then another adventure with Sora/Donald/Goofy. It kind of makes you question WHAT a KH game is supposed to be. It also makes me question WHAT is Sora's goal. Up until KH2, it seemed like it was always to get his friends safely back home and that's it. Another threat came about and Sora/Riku left, but does that mean they will always be the ones to go fight? Is that what Sora wants to do? It just kind of feels like Sora is being pushed into drama caused by other people/events.
The basics of what I know a KH game to be are: Sora/Donald/Goofy, original worlds, Disney worlds, Riku/Kairi, and Final Fantasy characters. There was also the sadness knowing that when Sora finishes his task, he would go back to his island with Riku/Kairi, but not be able to see Donald/Goofy again. I feel like they kind of erased that now with the Gummiphone and being able to fly anywhere anytime.
I hope that Nomura finds some way to bring back the essence of KH1 and 2 into future installments. Maybe he should do like Star Wars and have a numbered title with Sora/Donald/Goofy, then have a side-game focused on some other plot that needs explanation that he can flesh out side characters, then a numbered title, so on and so on. I feel like what led KH to lose its essence was so many side games that you start to wonder whether the side games are setting the standard for what KH games should be. I always considered KH1 and KH2 the gold-standard in what a numbered title should strive to be, but KH3 came across heavily influenced by the way the side games were put together.