Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Retrospective

[FudgemintGuardian]

I remember reading the novelization of Reverse/Rebirth, and it seems like the author agreed with this idea. Riku spoke to Hook, at least. I wasn't able to read the rest of the story, so I can't really say for anyone else.

And once again, the novels or manga did something the games probably should have.

Also, let's take a moment and be thankful that no other KH game so far has had dialogue nearly as questionable, creepy, or funny for all the wrong reasons as CoM's.

Hmm....

Riku: You know...when I smell you...
Ansem: wut.

Honestly, sometimes I wish the other games did have as odd a dialogue as CoM's. As weird as they are, I'd rather that than some of what we did get.

 

[Veritas7340]

When Zexion detects a scent similar to the superior ("Ansem"), he later concludes that he was just smelling Riku. But I think he's actually mistaken: Riku detected/sniffed Ansem, so it's reasonable to conclude that Zexion did as well. I think what DiZ did was to take out his darkest cologne (Exdeath #5), bathed in it for a few hours, and spent the rest of the game hiding in Zexion's mistakes.

After Zexion died, DiZ washed off the scent presented himself to Riku in Twilight Town. No, really: we know from the GBA's character sprites that the "Ansem" on B12 is actually DiZ, but Riku notes that DiZ smells of "something else," in Twilight Town (B2), so he must have washed it off between then and there.

Actually the game gives conflicting evidence on whom Zexion meant.

(1) Vexen seems to indicate Zexion was talking about DiZ: "He is Ansem, and he is not Ansem. He belongs to neither the light nor the dark, but walks the twilight between."

(2) Lexeaus implies Zexion meant Ansem SoD: "You are the Superior's... Forgive me Zexion. This is a fight I should not have started."

 

[Hirokey123]

I think you're remembering wrong a little Vexen says that line to Riku and it's in relationship to the "superior", where Riku specifically asks Vexen if he's with Ansem. It had nothing to do with DiZ at all...okay well I mean in a way it kinda does but you know what I mean.

Anyway I remember not to long ago it was revealed that DiZ's red bandage cloak or whatever has the same properties as the organization cloaks, blocking out the darkness. Which means DiZ's outfit would also block off the scent of darkness (at least from a distance) so the organization couldn't track him.

 

[Veritas7340]

I think you're remembering wrong a little Vexen says that line to Riku and it's in relationship to the "superior", where Riku specifically asks Vexen if he's with Ansem. It had nothing to do with DiZ at all...okay well I mean in a way it kinda does but you know what I mean.

Anyway I remember not to long ago it was revealed that DiZ's red bandage cloak or whatever has the same properties as the organization cloaks, blocking out the darkness. Which means DiZ's outfit would also block off the scent of darkness (at least from a distance) so the organization couldn't track him.

Because Vexen never mentioned the superior in that conversation, I assumed he was referring to the Ansem that Riku talked with earlier. Xemnas does fit the description though.

 

[dlppictures]

In the end, CoM’s multiplayer was doomed to be forgotten, and maybe even deserved it, but if you and a friend happen to have two copies of the game, give it a shot, and if you have had previous experience with the mode, leave a comment – I’d love to hear how it went.

It has been nine years, but I shall try my best to remember.
I had my GBA with me to church one day, CoM being my only GBA game back then, I showed it to a friend, who had never heard of Kingdom Hearts, but he was so fascinated by the game that next time we met, I guess about a month later, he had acquired both a GBA and CoM, as well as a link cable so we tried it out.

I don't remember much of the battling, other than on my screen his Sora was re-coloured Anti-Sora style. And me having been playing the game for a longer time was more accustomed to the gameplay and so won all our three or four matches.
I think I might have tried out new Enemy cards I had never tried before, though back then I didn't know some, like Darkball, were meant to be exclusive for multiplayer so I don't think that was one of the ones I tried out.

That was the only time I have ever tried multiplayer in a KH game, I almost had a chance to try Days' multiplayer once, but it didn't go through.

I know my friend liked CoM, cause one of the last time I talked to him he had called me and asked for my help to find the supplies for the raft on Destiny Islands, in KHI.

 

[Blackdrazon]

Interesting, I'd never heard of the re-coloured Sora, though of course it makes perfect sense. I'm glad your friend was turned on to the series, as well!

 

[ShardofTruth]

I made some screenshots years ago:

You can only play with Sora of course, choose the amount of matches, change the background with L/R at the top and the handicap. The battle stance in the first image means that player 2 is ready, naturally the colors of the Soras are switched for him.

 

[Blackdrazon]

Hey, very nice! Would you mind if I used one of those, Shard?

 

[ShardofTruth]

Use them all you like.:wink:

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

Geeze, if you know all the details, why was Lexaeus was scouting ahead at all?

Poor Lexaeus was bored out of his mind and needed something to do, no matter how pointless it was.

The remake seems to have deliberately blacklisted any line suggesting they knew about Marluxia’s plan. Were they not supposed to know? That’s an interesting approach for the remake to take, because their actions make no sense if they don’t.

It bugs me. They unnecessarily change about Zexion and Lexeaus knowing Marluxia's plan yet didn't seem to realize how integral it was to the characters' actions. It isn't like there was something in Re:Com or later games that wouldn't have worked if Zex and Lex knew about our pretty petal prince's treachery.

The scene that follow’s Lexaeus’ defeat is completely different in the two versions,

And no matter which version one prefers, Lexaeus was solely there to be killed.
Honestly, you could remove him from the game entirely and nothing would really change. The guy's like a walking Disney world.

 

[Blackdrazon]

Honestly, you could remove him from the game entirely and nothing would really change. The guy's like a walking Disney world.

I have now seen the fandom's greatest burn.

 

[Divine Past]

And no matter which version one prefers, Lexaeus was solely there to be killed.
Honestly, you could remove him from the game entirely and nothing would really change. The guy's like a walking Disney world.

He has 1 highlight in the whole series. When he knocked Roxas the f*** out in Days. What a life

 

[Blackdrazon]

He has 1 highlight in the whole series. When he knocked Roxas the f*** out in Days. What a life

That's a good point. We can call that "going out on top."

 

[maleficentfan123]

Loving these retrospectives! I love how detailed they are and they make me realize things I didn't previously about the series. I really like the analyses you give on characters and everything. I look forward to Tuesdays and Saturdays every week for a new entry!

 

[Blackdrazon]

Loving these retrospectives! I love how detailed they are and they make me realize things I didn't previously about the series. I really like the analyses you give on characters and everything. I look forward to Tuesdays and Saturdays every week for a new entry!

Thank you very much!

Just a general shout-out to everyone: I've been making a lot of Final Fantasy progress over the past few days, but I'm hoping to get some Kingdom Hearts work done soon as well. I'd like to finish the first draft of Days before we start with KH2, which will be in only a manner of weeks! At the moment, though, I have to finish up all the posts for the week today or tomorrow, before I go out of town for the holidays. I should be able to update the links properly, though, so it should be business as usual!

By the way, Frustrated Jacob just started his Re:CoM playthrough over on YouTube! He's already put up two videos (plus an important video explaining how the playthrough will be done, since they're doing some things to speed things up), so check them out!

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

He has 1 highlight in the whole series. When he knocked Roxas the f*** out in Days. What a life

One of the many scenes that 1.5's Days cinematic denied us.

Thank you very much!

Just a general shout-out to everyone: I've been making a lot of Final Fantasy progress over the past few days, but I'm hoping to get some Kingdom Hearts work done soon as well. I'd like to finish the first draft of Days before we start with KH2, which will be in only a manner of weeks! At the moment, though, I have to finish up all the posts for the week today or tomorrow, before I go out of town for the holidays. I should be able to update the links properly, though, so it should be business as usual!

By the way, Frustrated Jacob just started his Re:CoM playthrough over on YouTube! He's already put up two videos (plus an important video explaining how the playthrough will be done, since they're doing some things to speed things up), so check them out!

*laughs* I was just going to bring up that Frustrated Jacob started doing Re:CoM. XD

Also, Merry Christmas and all that jazz, Blackdrazon! You better have fun over the holidays!

or else~ *long evil laugh*

 

[Rolands]

The thing about Namine telling Riku to use the Darkness as well as the Light is...it's a gamble. Darkness is power, but it's also corrosive. We see how it works in the series, again and again. Darkness isn't necessarily evil, but it correlates with negative emotions. You tend to need to draw on negativity to make it work, and too much darkness can overwhelm and swallow your heart. Riku is strong enough to use the darkness, but most people just can't manage it. There's a reason Zexion says that no one has worn the darkness like Riku has.

As for the Riku Replica, I thought it was pretty clear what happened with him. His entire life's purpose was ripped away from him. He protected Namine when she needed him, but ultimately it was just a patchover job for his psyche; he couldn't deal with the fact that his memories were entirely fabricated, that the promise was false, that Namine never really cared about him. His purpose fulfilled for the time being, yet so utterly lost, he goes off in search of new purpose. And Axel approaches him with all too enticing words about how he can make himself a unique individual instead of just a replica of someone else. And like a desperate, immature kid dealing with the mother of all existential crises, he clings to Axels comforting words, even if they're wrong, because there's nothing else he has left.

 

[Muke]

He has 1 highlight in the whole series. When he knocked Roxas the f*** out in Days. What a life

That moment was so hilarious imo. I literally died of laughter.

 

[Blackdrazon]

As for the Riku Replica, I thought it was pretty clear what happened with him. His entire life's purpose was ripped away from him. He protected Namine when she needed him, but ultimately it was just a patchover job for his psyche; he couldn't deal with the fact that his memories were entirely fabricated, that the promise was false, that Namine never really cared about him. His purpose fulfilled for the time being, yet so utterly lost, he goes off in search of new purpose. And Axel approaches him with all too enticing words about how he can make himself a unique individual instead of just a replica of someone else. And like a desperate, immature kid dealing with the mother of all existential crises, he clings to Axels comforting words, even if they're wrong, because there's nothing else he has left.

I see what you're saying but I think they needed to say "Now that I've protected Namine, I've got nothing." Riku goes to lengths prior to this to say "Even though my memories are false, I'll cling to them and that will make me happy," and I don't think they can undo that many blunt statements of intent with mostly off-screen inference. And even that's just one way. More cutscenes in R/R, like actually showing Axel tempt Repliku, would have been even better!

Although... now that I'm thinking about it, my impression of Riku might be corrupted by the remake. Riku saying that he was fine was a remake addition, wasn't it? Hrm, so it maybe the remake that's got me thinking Repliku was in better shape than he really was? Darn it, I liked that edit!

 

[Ultima Spark]

More cutscenes in R/R, like actually showing Axel tempt Repliku, would have been even better!

I believe the novel has several scenes of such nature (and again reinforces my "can't stand CoM Axel, love him elsewhere" opinion - seriously, I feel like pouring bleach into my eyes after seeing an "Axel was awesome in CoM" post); it's probably the main reason why I can't bring myself to read it again, because of that massive characterisation divide. I actually want Repliku to return for KH3, if simply to call Lea out on all of that.