Patch 1.02 thoughts time, kiddies. (Yes, I know everyone’s pretty much over 0.2 at this point, but screw you, I’ll do what I want.)
And- Wait… Did… Osaka actually improve their game? Osaka Team? The barons of banality. The impetus of ineptitude. Fixing shit? What- Am I in bizarro world?
This patch was a godsend. Turning the backwards bootleg buttdiddlying that was the vanilla version into… Okay so it’s still bootleg KH2, but at least it’s a more enjoyable iteration.
Frame-data has been tweaked so performing an action is no longer the equivalent of choosing a freaking career path. Attacks and guards come out faster so you can properly react to incoming attacks. You can act out of different animations which improves the flow in battle. It still feels clunky because it’s BBS, but hey, it’s something.
Using magic is a bit better since you now have an additional cast, but it only gets good once you beat Phantom Aqua.
And oh god, Demon Tower actually telegraphs its attacks! Buuuuut it’s still a really boring fight because it only has like 2 attacks.
Overall a solid patch. All changes were good.
Alright since I already wore the base game like a baseball glove in my previous rant, I’ll now list all the improvements I’d like to see in case a mythical patch 1.03 were to materialize.
Actually, I’m going to drop any and all pretense of realistic expectations and just flat-out say everything that needs to be changed.
- Thrash the BBS physics. Pronto. This whole start-n-stop thing with combos (especially air combos) feels bad. I want the combo flow and momentum from KH1&2 back.
- Mobs are still a serious problem. Enemy AI has to be tweaked so either they can’t attack from off-screen, become less aggressive when off-screen, or constantly move to where the camera is generally looking at.
- Demon Tide was bafflingly spared from the telegraph nerf. And it can still randomly stun-lock you. Fix it.
- Critical Mode is still unplayable trash and I refuse to touch it until Second Chance and Combo Master are enabled.
- Platforming is so bad. Like, Sonic 06 bad. Guessing whether or not Aqua will grab onto a ledge could be a game all by itself. And air sliding needs to be rebuilt completely. My suggestion is to shamelessly steal the wonderful dash from Nier Automata. Also, you should be able to double jump immediately after your normal jump, as well as after an attack (if you haven’t used it yet).
- Let us immediately jump or attack out of auto-platforming sections (jumping through spires or sliding down a slope).
- You should be able to move freely while casting magic instead of being locked into whatever direction you were going. Like how it was with Lion Sora in KH2.
- What the hell is up with Counter Blast? It shows up whenever it wants. It seems to consistently activate against boss attacks, but with regular enemies it’s anyone’s guess.
- Get rid of that dumb dazed status effect
- The ice trail left by Blizzaga should work on slopes. Right now it’s utterly useless. You can tell whoever programmed it into the game had no contact with the level designers.
- Let us change shortcut menus with L2, since the button isn’t used for anything.
And while I have you on the line, Osaka; THIS:
…is not an options menu. Not in an action game and not in the year 20-goddamn-17. You wanna see how it’s done?
Now THIS is a diddlying options menu. Custom controls, camera distance from character, directional orientation. All that and a based waifu to boot.
TL;DR: Plagiarize Nier Automata to completion and I will blow you from dusk ‘till dawn.