Kingdom Hearts Praises

[kaseykockroach]

It's there as an excuse to have the most fun world in the game, so it's A-okay by me. The game itself is pretty openly indifferent about it.
Goofy: Jack said Shipwreck Cove, right?
Sora: CAN'T HEAR YOU, GOOFSTER! TOO BUSY EEEXXXPLOOOORRRIINNNGGG!
Goofy: Gawrsh, don't you wanna help our friends?
Donald: You mean the same friends that left us stranded on an island with the Jack made out of crabs?
Goofy: Fair enough. Let's sail the seas then, fellas!
And then yours truly with D&G is off to explore as much of that world as he possibly can and cherish every moment before bothering to move on to helping out Jack and company.

 

[kaseykockroach]

I frookin’ love the Corona remix of Tension Rising. Iconic as that theme always has been in the KH universe, I never outright fell in love with it until rushing down the forest to battle that tree beast.

 

[kaseykockroach]

Being able to guard and use potions mid-air is going to make it hard to go back to KH1 or 2. I had no idea how nice that feature would be until it, well, now exists!

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

It's been quite a while since I praised anything, so, uh, Lauriam really pulls off those pink pants.

 

[kaseykockroach]

Fourth time playing KH3 and I can’t believe I’m still finding chests I never noticed before, came across a fortress boss while out exploring in the Gummi ship...and noticed that when you hit the helium in Galaxy Toys while fighting, your party members’ voices while battling will be high-pitched for a second!

KH3’s Gummi ship still isn’t as good as Star Fox 64, but it’s infinitely better than every Star Fox game that’s, well, not 64.

I love the sheer number of lines you can hear in the background from NPCs in Twilight Town, Corona and and such. I’m surprised I’m hearing lines I hadn’t heard before on this fourth playthrough!

 

[Sakuraba Neku]

David Gallagher (Riku) has been with this franchise since the beginning and he consistently delivered fantastic performances every time until now, so props to him!

 

[MATGSY]

So I randomly remembered something last night:

"You're inside a mainframe computer system.

--------------

This system is a copy of one created by a corporation called ENCOM.

The original program was destroyed."

Tron's opening dialogue is meant to serve as an explanation for how exactly the Tron world is in HB/RG rather than being it's own world. The 1st weird realization is we're not actually meeting the "real" Tron but his copy. The 2nd bigger reveal is that the proper Tron world was apparently destroyed. Wait, what? How? Why? Disney seriously just let Square kill off Tron & replaced him with a replica?

It's such an unnecessary line too, whether or not the original program exists should be irrelevant to the copy. Maybe S-E or Disney just didn't like the idea of multiple Trons existing at once or something. But it's a very throwaway line with dark implications that's never followed up in KH2.

But IS followed up on in DDD. There we have The Grid based on Tron Legacy, with a better understanding of what happened to the original OS & it's programs: There's the film's backstory, where the real Tron was transferred to a different OS, plus the revelation that the human world was destroyed by heartless & thus the connected data worlds were taken with it.

It's a surprising case of long term continuity for a minor footnote of KH lore that managed . & one that was entirely dependant on a film that didn't even exist yet. Apparently Disney 1st starting work on Tron Legacy's script in 2005 so maybe there's the chance S-E caught wind of some early concepts, but that's a big stretch.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

So I randomly remembered something last night:

"You're inside a mainframe computer system.

--------------

This system is a copy of one created by a corporation called ENCOM.

The original program was destroyed."

Tron's opening dialogue is meant to serve as an explanation for how exactly the Tron world is in HB/RG rather than being it's own world. The 1st weird realization is we're not actually meeting the "real" Tron but his copy. The 2nd bigger reveal is that the proper Tron world was apparently destroyed. Wait, what? How? Why? Disney seriously just let Square kill off Tron & replaced him with a replica?

It's such an unnecessary line too, whether or not the original program exists should be irrelevant to the copy. Maybe S-E or Disney just didn't like the idea of multiple Trons existing at once or something. But it's a very throwaway line with dark implications that's never followed up in KH2.

But IS followed up on in DDD. There we have The Grid based on Tron Legacy, with a better understanding of what happened to the original OS & it's programs: There's the film's backstory, where the real Tron was transferred to a different OS, plus the revelation that the human world was destroyed by heartless & thus the connected data worlds were taken with it.

It's a surprising case of long term continuity for a minor footnote of KH lore that managed . & one that was entirely dependant on a film that didn't even exist yet. Apparently Disney 1st starting work on Tron Legacy's script in 2005 so maybe there's the chance S-E caught wind of some early concepts, but that's a big stretch.

Wow, I was just rewatching those scenes this morning and didn't catch that at all!

 

[disney233]

Praise = the existence of this world.

 

[Perkilator]

I've decided to necropost to a significiant degree (please forgive me):

I think Union X has some of the best Heartless designs in the series.

 

[MATGSY]

I've decided to necropost to a significiant degree (please forgive me):

I think Union X has some of the best Heartless designs in the series.

I'm disappointed that some of them didn't make it to KH3.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I think Union X has some of the best Heartless designs in the series.

It definitely does which is all the more reason why I want to see a Union Cross console game.

 

[Vulpes XIII]

Nomura’s ability to take a bizarre idea for a crossover game that should never of worked in the first place and turn it into a awesome game series.

The Kingdom Hearts series music Yoko Shimomura and Utada Hikaru never fail to disappoint with their amazing music.

Nomura ability to create fun and challenging boss fights such as Sephiroth, Lingering Will and the Data Organization XIII

Everything about Halloween town

Everything about the World That Never Was (KH2)

KH2 story and fun combat system

Sora’s story in Chain of memories

KH2 and KH Chain of Memories Organization XIII ( I don’t dislike the Real Organization XIII, it’s just the original Organization XIII is better in my opinion)

Organization XIII awesome weapon designs

Original characters design

Everything about Larxene’s character

Everything about Roxas‘s character

Everything about Xion’s character

Union X interesting main story, not a fan of the Disney worlds though

The Days trio and their emotional story.

There is more but this is all I can think of right now

 

[Zackarix]

One thing I really appreciate about the HD collections: the "extras" section. It makes it super easy to obtain the themes that are rewards for completing the game.

It's much better than what other games do with having to be signed up for promotional emails to obtain the rewards and there's still a chance you won't get them. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

More proof that KH is the superior franchise.

 

[Elysium]

I'm playing through the Story So Far PS4 compilation now (bought it a while back, waited until I was in the mood for it to properly "savor" it, lol), and had some thoughts and no idea where to post them. Didn't want to make a thread for something like that. I've only just started KH2 today (I decided to play 1-2-3 in a row this time before going back to the inbetween games), so this is mostly about KH1 stuff.

I think they’ve tweaked some of the boss fights. I’ve played KH1 probably over a hundred times at this point and for the first time ever, the Sorcerer Jafar fight is actually fun! Used to be, he would mostly fly around, do the ice spell, and occasionally shoot the beam from afar at you—so that the battle, much like the Genie Jafar fight, was mostly chasing around the field with little fighting or challenge. This is the ONLY time I’ve ever played KH1 where he is constantly coming at you for blood and I love it. I mean, they can’t re-do the whole fight obviously, but they must’ve changed it so that some actions were more common and others more rare to improve it! Thank God for whoever thought to do that! That leaves the Genie Jafar and Rock Titan as the only outright dud bosses in the game.

It goes without saying that KH1 has never looked more pretty; I didn't realize it could look nicer than it already did on the PS3, but I was wrong. I like getting the compilations for every PlayStation because it almost feels like buying a new release of a film and getting a whole new "restoration," lol. I assume the elimination of the widescreen bars has something to do with making the games feel more seamless to one another—since KH3 is ultra-realistic looking and lacks those widescreen bars. I could be wrong here, but I also feel like there's been a certain texture added to KH1... It's similar to the texture that was already in the Halloween Town world, except now it's in every world although not nearly pronounced as in that one world, of course--it's most noticeable on the backgrounds (the stones of the Coliseum or Traverse Town) or dark colors (Maleficent's cloak and horns). The lack of ANY load time is almost unsettling. To go in and out of a world without waiting barely a beat is so nice.

Since it’s unlikely Deep Jungle will ever appear in KH again—sadly—I’ll just say that (with consideration of the technical limitations of the time) that I’m glad they really did go all with their usage of the film that they could’ve been done at that time. They couldn't have known it would be the only time it would appear, so it was lucky that it didn't end up more narrow in scope like, say, the Coliseum or Neverland (focused only on Hook's ship). You have the tree house, the campsite, Sabor, Kala & Kerchak, Terk, a decent multi-stage sliding mini-game*, the gorgeous waterfalls areas, Tarzan as one of the best party members in the series, a fairly important role in the story (laying the groundwork of SDG as a trio), it's the climactic world of the first stage, etc. Honestly, this world is one of the more pivotal in the game since it’s the beginning of the theme that completes in Sora’s “Friends in my heart” speech, and it uses the language barriers of Tarzan's story to do it. I love what they did with Clayton, too, because he isn’t a truly “evil” (as in, would destroy the universe for power) type of character to be in Maleficent’s troupe; the scene of him alone hearing the Heartless in the woods for the first time is a really well-done scene, imo. Really the only things missing from the film were Tantor and Jane’s father. It would be interesting to see the world in today’s graphics and scope, no question, but at least in its one appearance, they went all out with it.

* I often think they intended for there to be a Magic Carpet mini-game in Agrabah considering the weird escape after defeating Jafar, only they didn’t finish it or weren’t able to smooth out the kinks.

 

[WAluigipants]

Call me weird but I actually praise the level design in KH1: while the layouts are confusing if you're playing as a first-timer and easy to get lost in, I think they actually serve well to help with the immersion with the game. There's also great interactions with objects in the world, too, which further helps with the immersion. If you feel lost in the world, it goes on to show how well they made the world feel like, well, an actual "other world" you could easily get lost in as opposed to just another place to visit. Deep Jungle actually feels like a deep, dense jungle with its various areas. Monstro's labyrinthine layout fits well with the music and serves to show how big Monstro truly is. Agrabah feels like a great big city in KH1 as small and linear as it looks; you have an alleyway and some back streets, some of which are filled with Heartless from time to time.

Then there's Wonderland. For your first Disney world, I feel like its confusing layout might be a turn-off to some first-time players, but the fact that it's a confusing layout serves well to the world's theme and legacy as a place that just doesn't make sense.
The level design for Halloween Town isn't much, but I think it shone best when you made it past Moonlight Hill and to the gate; Oogie's Manor is where most of the platforming is for that world and it does great to show how tricky his character is. And the fact that it's used as a boss later on is amazing.

Atlantica I feel like gets too much flak for its slower combat and controls. It's not everyday you get to go and see underwater caverns, a sunken ship, or an underwater city. Most of all I feel like that world's supposed to encourage you to try and use magic more often with how weird and sluggish Sora's combos are there; if you equip magic-focused equipment on Sora and use magic as your primary tool for combat there over Sora's basic combo, I found that fighting the Heartless there becomes a lot faster.

Neverland feels like a bit of a misnomer considering you're mostly on Captain Hook's Pirate Ship; you don't actually get to visit the actual Neverland unless you're playing Days or BBS. Regardless though, the layout of Hook's ship actually feels like an actual pirate ship; and I don't think that gets enough praise. It's awesome.

But if there's praise that needs to be given, I think Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion have the best level of design. Traverse Town shows right off the bat that KH1 is a game of exploration and adventure, with the various districts and the nooks and crannies of the town, like the alleyway, secret waterway, gizmo shop, and hotel. DDD even builds on that and adds a couple more areas to explore, making the world feel massive.

Hollow Bastion, on the other hand, feels like the gauntlet that serves as Sora's test of skill in both strength and character. After losing the Keyblade to Riku, Sora has to work with Beast and navigate his way through the castle's waterways and dungeons to catch up to Riku; and it doesn't stop there. With Beast's massive strength and Sora being left with a wooden sword, Sora learns that his strength comes from his friends, having found a new one in Beast. Once Sora reclaims the Keyblade, another part of the world's gauntlet opens up, paving the way for the battle against Maleficent. The path there is dominated by the library and lift-stop puzzles test your intuition and sense of navigation and feel like a giant labyrinth. Along the way, you fight tough Heartless too, which helps ensure you're strong enough to face off against Maleficent, whose battles serve as a test of strength as a boss, both as a sorceress and as a dragon. Then that all culminates with a preliminary fight against Ansem, who uses Riku's body as a means to fight Sora; and in that fight, you're doing it all alone.

For the first game in the franchise, KH1 was just handled really well and I feel like that's not stressed enough. From another standpoint after playing the game, if you look at the KH1 concept art on KHInsider, you can see that a lot of the level design and visuals correspond with the concept art provided. It's just so great.

 

[Alexxio M.]

here are some praises that apply to the entire series

the musics always amazing
the openings never failed to wow and hype me up every time
each world having two themes one for field and one for battle
each world having its own logo
The disney aspects are faithful to the source material and the interactions these characters have with each other and the original characters are charming, fun and never failed to put a smile on my face
The same goes to the original characters interactions between each other just as funny, charming and heartwarming
the original characters clearly have final fantasy roots but also have Disney charm as well
the original characters look cool
The deep messages in the story
the secret reports and lore it’s not complicated its just a lot to remember
this story is a true epic
it got me into Final Fantasy
the symbolism is everywhere and I love it
the power of friendship and love angle having many layers and perspectives within the series
how it pulls on my hearts strings
gameplay is easy to learn and hard to master if you decide to go for the superbosses
the super bosses
the weapons look cool
the universe intrigues me to no end
Nostalgic not only because of the Disney characters but because of the atmospheres the game creates
the charm present in all the non wasteland original worlds
the element of mystery present in every game
the joy of smacking dark creatures with a giant key
the many little details that enrich the story
The complex nature of the major original characters
And Its uniqueness as a crossover between two things that are seemingly at odds with each other but actually making it work

And here are praises sorted by game
Kh1
Everything about Hollow Bastion, Halloween Town, Monstro, Olympus, Captain Hook’s ship and Traverse Town
The melancholy ending not counting walking to castle Oblivion
the scene at the beginning in Disney castle is charming as heck
all the scenes with Kairi and Sora during the endgame as well as the ones on Destiny islands
rikus arc is amazing already the scene where he holds back Ansem being one of my favorites
everything about sora
the friendship between both trios the Destiny trio & SDG
Traverse Town theme, hand in hand, villains of a sort, destati, always on my mind, the Gummi ship music, hollow bastion’s themes, this is Halloween and Go for it are some of my favorite tracks ever
Mickey’s appearance at the end of the game and the scene when there pushing the door to darkness closed
Sephiroth and Xemnas are amazing superbosses to start out with
this is Halloween playing just like it does in the movie when you first arrive
their Halloween Town outfits
I wanna live in Traverse Town and Destiny Islands
the scene where Donald and Goofy explain that the Gummi ship runs on happy faces and Sora gives that goofy smile and the scene in Traverse Town when Riku and Sora reunite are cute
the scenes in Traverse Town where Donald and Goofy continuously fail at bumping into Sora and the scene at the beginning of hooks pirate ship when the gang is on top of each other are hilarious
the scenes at the paopu fruit tree are heartwarming
the scene where Riku takes the Keyblade away from Sora is heart breaking
the scenes with Riku and Pinocchio are great forshadowing
Sora’s promise to Kairi at the end of the game is amazing
and both the deep down there’s a light that never goes out scene and the my friends are my power scene are just perfect

Kh Com
everything about Naminé
how Marluxia greets you at the beginning of Sora‘s route
Riku’s reverse mode is cool and amazing
Everything about Larxene
The sprite work is amazing
Castle Oblivion is cool and the songs for it are also quite cool
all the cutscenes with Naminé and Sora are either cute, heartwarming or heartbreaking
the scene where Sora asks for his memories back is heartbreaking
the scene where Riku replica vows to protect Naminé and the scene with Naminé defending Sora from Larxene are awesome
Marluxia and Axels introductions and how they enter battle is just amazing characterization
the interactions between Mickey and Riku are on point
the on the road to dawn scene do I need to say more

Kh2
Sanctuary existing
the prologue is amazing story wise
Roxas Existing
lazy afternoons and afternoon streets, this games version of dearly beloved, all the protagonists themes, Radiant Garden’s themes, working together, tension rising and the cavern of remembrance field theme are some more favorite songs of mine
looks like my summer vacation is over
timeless river existing
the christmas Town outfits
axels battles with Roxas
axels sacrifice
sora kneeling in front of Saix and breaking down in front of Riku
the battle of a thousand heartless
Kairi getting a Keyblade
Riku taking off his cloak at the end
oblivion and oathkeeper existing
Demyx time
Xigbars first scene
mickey showing up in the organization coat
data org 13
lingering Will is awesome
the Xemnas boss
and the ending oh the ending

Days
xion existing
everything about axel
its ambitousness for a ds game
the framing of the secret reports this time
vector to the heavens, at dusk I’ll think of you, Musique pour la tristesse de Xion, the field and battle tracks for neverland, Xemnus and this games dearly beloved are more favorites
The multiplayer sounds awesome
the sea salt trios dynamic before the stuff went down is cute and heartwarming
The story man
Roxas that’s a stick will never not be hilarious
the scene where Xion takes her hood off for the first time
the scenes at the clock tower
the scenes with Axel and Saix
all scenes with Xion and Riku together
the scene where Xigbar sees Xion as Ven
and the final boss and all the scenes surrounding it are amazing

BBS
the multiple story routes are cool
Aqua and Ven existing
Mark Hamill the voice actor of Luke skywalker voicing Eraqus
Terra’s connection to the lingering will is awesome
Everything about the Wayfinders and what they represent is touching
This game has my favorite version of destiny islands theme the piano is just perfect
the themes for the land of Departure, the themes for the wayfinder trio, Destiny’s union the lilo and stitch world’s battle and field themes, Radiant garden, castle of dreams, Disney Town, and neverland‘s themes, the rumble racing song, it’s a small world, enter the darkness, the overworld theme, Mysterious towers theme, the song that plays in the scene where lea and Isa meet ven, dismiss and rage awakened are even more of my favorites
the destiny trio look so cute as kids and the actors were awesome especially for Sora and Riku
radiant garden in all its glory
the land of Departure turning into castle Oblivion is cool
Aquas sacrifice
Stitch’s homemade way finder is cute
Everything about Vanitas
Someone tell me how I got so SMALL! will also never not be funny
“He said to give it to two grown ups“ was cute
Vanitas’ first encounters with Aqua and Ven
Vanitas snapping Terra’s wooden Keyblade in front of aqua
The scenes where the wayfinder trio meet their counterparts in the Destiny trio
The scene where Lea and Isa meet ven
the credit scenes with Lea and Isa
vens interactions with herc and zack
Terra and Aqua’s interactions with Zack
terra’s interactions with Cinderella
Aqua’s interactions with Fairy Godmother
Ven’s interactions with Jac
the Wayfinder trios interactions with Stitch
the scene where ven roasts Vanitas about not having any friends
every scene with Braig
the scene where they all meet up at the Keyblade graveyard
the scene where Aqua falls to the darkness
and the scene where Terra and Ven’s Keyblades save Aqua from the dark sides are all awesome
terra xehanorts first words always chilled me to the bone
And blank points existing

DDD
the opening is fire
aw dream eaters are cute that won’t backfire in the future right?
young xehanorts mind games
this game got me in to Twewy
let’s go Riku let’s go you tell ‘em not to mess with your boy
every scene with Xigbar
Axel has a Keyblade now yay
kairi starting her training
And the ending scene with all the dream eaters is just heartwarming as heck

0.2
pretty
dressing up Aqua yes please
I wanna give Aqua a hug after this.
this games opening is also fire
the main menu looks amazing
the animation is great
her reaction to the castle of dreams being in the realm of darkness
the scene where she sees ven in snow whites casket and the scene where Xehanort takes over Terra again are heartbreaking
the scene where she meets her phantom and fights it
the scene where she and Mickey reconnect
the scene where she saves both Mickey and Riku
and the scene where Aqua vows to help anyone she comes across are all amazing

The Chi games
player customization was awesome
so the dream eaters… yeah that backfired quickly but that just makes the scene at the end of ddd even more heartwarming
Ven and Strelitzia are precious
Skuld and Ephemer are the bestest friends anyone could ever have
Chirithy is the perfect mom friend
Brain is awesome and cool
and Lauriam is just the sweetest big brother ever
Daybreak towns themes, all the field themes in grand central station, passing the power, the foretellers, the master of masters theme, the victory jingle, unchained x‘s dearly beloved, back cover’s dearly beloved, the regular union cross dearly beloved, little lovely moments, the union leaders and the Union Cross credits dearly beloved are now some of my favorite tracks ever
the foretellers were an amazing addition and I can’t wait to see what’s next for them
this story was an epic that didn’t deserve to be rushed and locked behind a gatcha game with outrageous amounts of filler quests . crossing my fingers that they make a Re com style remake for this.

Kh3
Face my fears is a bop
the combat looks cool
the worlds look amazing my favorites being the Kingdom of Corona, Twilight Town, San Fransokyo and both Monstropolis and Toy Box
collecting lucky emblems was fun
getting profiles of everyone In the glossary was neat
the classic kingdom games were nice
both versions of this games dearly beloved are tied with Union Crosses credit dearly beloved for my favorite dearly beloved
Kingdom of corona‘s themes, the carribean’s field theme, you’ve got a friend in me, mostropolis’s battle theme Nachtfugul, Hikari kingdom tres orchestra version, Roxas’s return, the new vector to the heavens, the classic kingdom theme and the final worlds theme are amazing
the keyblades look better
yeetus Vanitas and Woody roasting Young Xehanort were awesome
all the scenes with Sora and Rapunsel were cute
the scene where Sora runs into Marluxia for the first time
The scene where Sora inspires the Big Hero 6 team
the beginning scenes of toy box
SDG reacting to their monster forms
Sora’s scene with Ven
The Mickey your too late scene
The scene where Aqua realizes she’s free
all the training scenes with Kairi and Axel
the keys of the past helping out
Sora’s breakdown at the Keyblade graveyard
all of Vanitas‘s scenes with Ven
lingering Will fighting Terra Xehanort
and all of the reunion scenes are amazing
Swolaf
explorable Scala
the kingstagram loading screens were cool and cute
playable Kairi I want more
the secret reports were amazing
The meeting with MoM and Young Xehanort and the foretellers reveal were crazy
the whole ending was crazy
the ending song is perfect
the battle with all gaurdians together during remind And Mickeys walk during remind were both cool and amazing
data org fights are back yay
data greeting existing
yozora existing
the secret movies are awesome
and quadratum is a place I can’t wait to play in

 

[MATGSY]

I do like how they include fodder enemies with the action figures. As a kid I wanted an army of Foot Clan soldiers for my Ninja Turtles to fight but good luck convincing your parents you need 10+ of the exact same toy! Ditto the Putty Patrollers for Power Rangers. And hoo boy, imagine even finding enough of the Visser 3/Hork-Bajir Animorphs Transformers toy to build a hork-bajir troop!