if you could change anything about Kingdom Hearts (2024 edition)

[Megavoltage]

For real though, my biggest change would be eliminating DDD from the series and making BBS Volume 2 instead.

Recoded could be removed easily. Super fun gameplay; I enjoyed my time with it, but that’s filler. But remove DDD? Big rewrites would be necessary. But it would give more stuff for KH3 to do. Very interesting.

Would you then want the Realm of Sleep and Dream Eaters to be erased from the lore or just explored later on?

 

[Darkspawn]

Recoded could be removed easily. Super fun gameplay; I enjoyed my time with it, but that’s filler. But remove DDD? Big rewrites would be necessary. But it would give more stuff for KH3 to do. Very interesting.

Would you then want the Realm of Sleep and Dream Eaters to be erased from the lore or just explored later on?

Yeah definitely a big swing, but one I think would have resulted in a stronger finale to the Xehanort saga. The Realm of Sleep could have been omitted entirely. It doesn’t appear like it will be that relevant for the future of the series. The concept could have been combined a bit with the Final World in KH3.

Dream Eaters could have been introduced as the Spirits/Nightmares in UX instead and been explored more in the next saga. The concept of them as the Chirithies of the fallen Keyblade wielders that was introduced in UX is much more interesting to me than the lore presented around them in DDD. (Also if you’re an overthinker like me, the Dream Eater gameplay mechanics feel weird now considering you can destroy them for parts. )

 

[Squood!]

Considering that while BBS established the X-Blade and all that, its setup for the future was just that Sora would find a way to save everyone, and Coded was the same with its setup. It needed a post-credits in ReCoded to establish an opposing force that wasn't Maleficent and Pete.

I personally believe that the reason ReCoded and DDD had the...well, Xehanort stuff is specifically cuz of BBS V2's cancellation.

That V2 was supposed to not only fill in the blanks...but do exactly what DDD did at the end

 

[Perkilator]

The DDD Re:Write that I’m working is kind of BBS Vol. 2 anyway, at least in terms of there being three playable characters.

 

[KudoTsurugi]

Yeah definitely a big swing, but one I think would have resulted in a stronger finale to the Xehanort saga. The Realm of Sleep could have been omitted entirely. It doesn’t appear like it will be that relevant for the future of the series. The concept could have been combined a bit with the Final World in KH3.

Actually that reminds me of another few things that I’d change about KH3:
1. Change when its timeskip happens: If the 1-year time skip in KH3 is an absolute-cannot-be-removed element of the plot and has to happen, I’d change when it happens in story. And honestly? What better time than after the Olympus visit.

2. Add back in Mysterious Tower as a world: It would work as an alternate training ground to the Final World tutorial, and it could potentially give you a chance to check in on Kairi and Axel’s training outside of cutscenes, if budget and time allowed. Maybe it could be the place where you’d visit Merlin to access Hurdred Acre Wood as opposed to Twilight Town.

3. PACE OUT ALL THE PLOT STUFF: Like, have some events as they occur in the base game, but have them happen at different points. We have points where SDG are chatting over whether or not to go to the Realm of Darkness, how about having the Anti-Aqua fight after the first set of worlds you visit(maybe have the 2nd Riku battle just one world beforehand), then you could have cutaways to Kairi and Axel’s training with Aqua supervising while she recovers. She wouldn’t be fighting fit, but at least stable enough to give pointers. Then after visiting the second set of worlds, then we go to wake up Ven.

 

[Perkilator]

There’s already a thread like this but I didn’t want to necropost in that one. So instead, I’m starting a new thread with the same premise. If you could change anything about the KH series, what would it be? For me:

• More natural dialogue and animations
• Specify which VA voiced which Disney characters in the English credits of each game
• Have Aya Brea fill the role that Aerith took
• Replace Atlantica with a world based on Emperor’s New Groove in KH2
• GIve DDD three playable characters: Sora, Riku and Kairi (and on that note, get rid of the Drop Gauge in favor of the BbS structure)
• Change χ to be a full game
• Have Melody of Memory be part of the KH3 DLC rather than be a separate game
• Release 1.5+2.5 in 2014 for the sake of remaking Days and Coded as full games

Actually, a couple smaller things with the HD ReMixes:

• Fully remaster the soundtrack for every game in the compilation, not just primarily KH1 and 2
• Give players the option to swap between the original music and the remastered music
• Give players the option to swap between the original enemy colors and the Final Mix enemy colors

 

[Megavoltage]

3. PACE OUT ALL THE PLOT STUFF: Like, have some events as they occur in the base game, but have them happen at different points. We have points where SDG are chatting over whether or not to go to the Realm of Darkness, how about having the Anti-Aqua fight after the first set of worlds you visit(maybe have the 2nd Riku battle just one world beforehand), then have could have cutaways to Kairi and Axel’s training with Aqua supervising while she recovers. She wouldn’t be fighting fit, but at least stable enough to give pointers. Then after visiting the second set of worlds, then we go to wake up Ven.

I completely agree that things should have been spaced out more instead of being dumped all at once at the end. Worlds like Tangled were so meandering; put some PLOT between all this pointless wandering, darn it. But Aqua rushing off to save Ventus makes sense. She had a desperate, desperate need to see her friends again. Through Phantom Aqua’s dialogue, we know that Aqua feels she failed her Master responsibilities; she couldn’t wait, and the decision to save Terranort shows us she'll always put friends over her own safety. Only if she was unconscious would it make sense for her not to instantly beeline to Castle Oblivion.

…but I still wish that awkward My Time To Shine moment was written differently. Biggest humiliation in the franchise. It’s borderline ryona. Ven, Roxas, and Terra all got a moment to look cool, but look how they massacred my girl.

 

[Sonofjafar]

Give lesser known Disney films a chance at world rep. I get most of the Disney worlds are either fan service or just planet sizes ads for current hits but at least give us SOMETHING from between Jungle Book and Little Mermaid

 

[shadywinters]

No one was buying PS2 games in 2010. That said, Wii was there & was an option.

But wouldn't that continue the problem of having the game on, as SuperButterBuns quoted "a random system of the day?"

 

[shadywinters]

I have a handful of things I would change, which are in no particular order:

• Fix the jump for Sora in KH1
• Eliminate the card battle system in KH CoM for both versions (GBA and PS2)
• Up the difficulty for all difficulty levels in KH3 since it deemed too easy, even without the use of all gameplay mechanics.
• Have Terra and Aqua to a Mark of Mastery exam similar to what Sora and Riku do in DDD. I personally don't like that they just made them hit balls to see who qualifies.
• Have Chi be it's own standalone game on the PS2 or even PS3 instead of a mobile exclusive, and have Dark Road be DLC if it's released on PS3.
• Include Ariel as a Princess of Heart instead of Alice.
• Restructure Atlantica from KH1 to be episodic like KH2 and not have it be just this big open space underwater.
• For the HD Remasters, include the option for Japanese audio or English audio for character dialogue and also an option to change from the HD version of tracks and enemy skins to the original. Much like what some of the mods being released for the PC version of KH games are doing.
• Release the original KH Final Mix games that were exclusive to Japan back on PS2 to other audiences.
• Even though this is my guilty pleasure game, eliminate KH Re: Coded, and heck even CoM as well, I felt it was unnecessary since it seemed like a retelling of the first game. I get that they introduced other characters in that game that are vital to lore, but I felt that could have been covered in KH2 since we got the major introduction of Organization XIII in that game.
• Reuse Drive Forms for KH3
• Eliminate the Attraction flows for KH3, I felt it was just too much, and I would have been fine without them.

I'm pretty sure I have so much more, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

 

[shadywinters]

Give lesser known Disney films a chance at world rep. I get most of the Disney worlds are either fan service or just planet sizes ads for current hits but at least give us SOMETHING from between Jungle Book and Little Mermaid

I agree with the Jungle Book, it would have been nice to have a world to explore from there. I'm hoping for a Treasure Planet one for KH4 if worlds would be included.

 

[MATGSY]

But wouldn't that continue the problem of having the game on, as SuperButterBuns quoted "a random system of the day?"

It's a console, not a portable, that alone makes it a different deal.

Besides, can't ya totally picture in your head using the wiimote IR pointer for shotlocks? It'd be such a perfect fit.

 

[Squood!]

Have Terra and Aqua to a Mark of Mastery exam similar to what Sora and Riku do in DDD. I personally don't like that they just made them hit balls to see who qualifies.

That's cuz Eraqus wasn't even planning on putting them through the exam until Xehanort suggested it. Not to mention Yen Sid said that the exam Sora and Riku went through isn't how it's usually done.

 

[shadywinters]

It's a console, not a portable, that alone makes it a different deal.

Besides, can't ya totally picture in your head using the wiimote IR pointer for shotlocks? It'd be such a perfect fit.

I mean yeah, but I feel I'd also be frustrated with making sure the Wiimote reads all my hits everytime I swing it.

 

[Perkilator]

It's a console, not a portable, that alone makes it a different deal.

Besides, can't ya totally picture in your head using the wiimote IR pointer for shotlocks? It'd be such a perfect fit.

Plus, with how much of a juggernaut the Wii was, I think it would’ve been a good opportunity to introduce more people to Kingdom Hearts.

 

[KudoTsurugi]

I mean yeah, but I feel I'd also be frustrated with making sure the Wiimote reads all my hits everytime I swing it.

I think it could work, so long as the keyblade/sword controls on the Wiimote were more like Twilight Princess rather than Skyward Sword. Have light swings be main attacks, the B trigger for Command Board attacks, A for talking/interacting with objects, and then use the Wiimote sideways for an optional Kart race control scheme.

 

[MATGSY]

I mean yeah, but I feel I'd also be frustrated with making sure the Wiimote reads all my hits everytime I swing it.

Wiimote+nunchuck has the same number of button/analog inputs as PSP. It doesn't need waggle.