So, we've had our questions over what world is going to be featured in Kingdom Hearts III, characters from both the Disney and Square Enix sides of the crossover that we want to appear, boss fights that we want to have, etc. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it would be cool to have a thread where we would discuss what we want to happen in each world, at least one where we go a little bit more in-depth with.
Welp, maybe this thread can elaborate a bit on that.
I remember that while I thinking up of some boss ideas from Sdog's old Create a Boss thread, I would add in little bits of story to tie in to the reason for why we were fighting these bosses in the first place. They weren't too intrusive, mind you, since that thread was focusing more on the bosses themselves, but they were still there to some extent and as I had more ideas, the more story elements I included. I bring this up because to start off this thread, I decided to include one of my posts from that old thread to give a bit of an idea for what I am trying to convey for this thread. Keep in mind that this idea is still rough around the edges, but here we go.
Anyways, after you've read all of the below, what do you guys think a scenario in any of the worlds would act out? What are your ideas for this?
Welp, maybe this thread can elaborate a bit on that.
I remember that while I thinking up of some boss ideas from Sdog's old Create a Boss thread, I would add in little bits of story to tie in to the reason for why we were fighting these bosses in the first place. They weren't too intrusive, mind you, since that thread was focusing more on the bosses themselves, but they were still there to some extent and as I had more ideas, the more story elements I included. I bring this up because to start off this thread, I decided to include one of my posts from that old thread to give a bit of an idea for what I am trying to convey for this thread. Keep in mind that this idea is still rough around the edges, but here we go.
Anyways, after you've read all of the below, what do you guys think a scenario in any of the worlds would act out? What are your ideas for this?
My Old Ideas said:Anyway, in my last post, I decided that I wanted to expand a little bit on one of the bosses from my first entry. This time around, I'm ready to do the same for the other boss in that post. Strap on your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen, for we are headed off to the land of Arendelle!
Now this particular visit comes with a quick disclaimer. As obvious as it would be to have Vexen/Even here, I don't have him listed on here as a boss to fight. As odd as this might sound, a part of me doesn't think that he's going to be part of the true Organization XIII, so that's why he isn't in this game. I figure I'd mention it and get it out of the way now considering that it'd be kind of awkward to not have him in there considering the whole Ice motif and everything, but there you go.
Anyways, Sora and co. arrive in Arendelle on their own still trying to find the one special Key to Unlock People's Hearts thingamajig. They accidentally stumble upon Anna singing "For the First Time In Forever" and ask her what's going on. She happily exclaims that the gates are finally open and that her sister will be coroneted as queen that night. They then stumble upon Hans with Anna then going her separate way and Sora and co. going somewhere else.
After some skip ahead, skip ahead involving some plot and some Nobody waves, we arrive inside the castle alongside Mickey, Riku, Kairi and Lea. During the dance sequence, Riku, Goofy, Mickey and Lea notice a couple of people in the signature Organization XIII coats. As this happens, Anna and Elsa argue causing Elsa's powers to be revealed. The Duke of Weaseltown (everyone else calls it that, so I figured I might as well) declares that she must be apprehended, but before anything else can happen...
Spoiler Show
Maleficent
Talk about putting your first foot forward. Angered at the fact that she was unaware of a party that she most likely would never have been invited to (speaking from past experience, of course), she decides to crash the party here and make a beeline for Anna since Elsa has already disappeared. Sora and co. are not having any of that. Unfortunately, however, Maleficent summons a powerful barrier that blocks almost everyone in the vicinity. Only Sora, Riku, Kairi and Mickey managed not to be blown away due to ironically being close enough to her when she cast her spell to make the barrier (think that one particular attack Ansem uses in his final battle in Kingdom Hearts I where the only way to evade the attack...is to be as close to him as possible).
Sora and Riku, naturally, will have the same abilities that they've had over the course of the series. Kairi's will be similar though with slight hints of Merlin, Scrooge and Cloud's abilities from my second post. Mickey will function similarly to how he controlled in Kingdom Hearts II only nowhere near as clunky, more acrobatic, faster attacks and more attacks and magic at his disposal. No matter which character you choose to play as, the battle is still the same. This fight functions very similarly to how you fought Maleficent in Kingdom Hearts I. She will appear on a platform and attack you with magic and Heartless that you must evade/defend against/destroy. This may seem fairly simple, but she happens to fly around a fair amount and her Heartless hordes are filled to the brim with Invisibles and Angel Stars (yeah, you guys remember those?) as well as some Achoo Moles because Kingdom Hearts Chi. This is a case of Gameplay and Story Integration in that Maleficent is showing that she's still a formidable foe and isn't afraid to use some of the Heartless from the "Date Escape."
Oh BTW, did I mention that Maleficent also has access to Ultima now?
Music used: something new, perhaps a remix of "The Deep End" (seriously, it still bothers me that they didn't use it during the battle against Dragon Maleficent in Birth by Sleep)
Once the dust settles, Maleficent tries to brush off the attack whilst claiming that her new Heartless army will conquer all. However, she also declares that the Queen Elsa will also be under her sway.
Upon hearing these words, Mickey Riku immediately set off to find Elsa. Anna tries as well, but is initially stopped by Hans who tries to do so himself only to stay when Anna appoints him as a steward while she is away. At this point, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Kairi and Lea want to come along, but it eventually it is decided that Lea will stay behind and assist Hans in case any more Heartless attack the castle as well as any other intruders such as the Organization members. Unbeknownst to everyone, the Duke of Weaseltown not only orders his two guards to chase after Elsa, but also asks the magician generals that he knows are under his control to follow her and eliminate her: a...questionable looking jester and a young woman with an otherworldly aura to her and..."Wait, there was one more! Where the devil is she?!"
While all of this is going down, we cut back to Riku and Mickey who have managed to find Elsa struggling to come to grips with her power. She questions why they bothered find her in the first place. This prompts Riku to say that he himself was fully aware of the pain that she bears due to him also having a power that caused much strife as well - the power of Darkness. However, as he and Mickey try to console her, Maleficent shows up. While she is still too exhausted from their recent battle, she does summon one more Heartless to pursue them. It is:
Spoiler Show
Darkside
Yeah, because this battle hasn't been done to death, right? XD
In this battle, Elsa is initially struggling with her powers and is hesitant in attacking at all. Unfortunately, this means that Riku and Mickey will be doing most of the fighting in the first half. This Darkside fights similarly to all previous battles in the series, but this time, he is a LOT more aggressive. This is to make up for the fact that he was mostly a pushover in the series (coded being an exception, I think; I still haven't played the actual game, so I'm not sure).
Then, in the middle of the battle, a cutscene occurs where the Darkside attacks Elsa. Faced with a Die or Flight situation, she inadvertedly attacks with her ice magic. Seeing how much it hurts the Darkside, she pitches in and helps Mickey and Riku. From here, she has access to most of her ice magic including attacks such as Blizzard Edge and Glacier.
Music used: "Destiny's Force," because tradition...at first; after that, during the part where she decides to fight back, they should play "Heimr Arnadalr;" yeah that might seem like a weird song choice, but when you think about it, it sort of fits since it plays during Elsa's coronation where she (initially) began to accept responsibility for her position; it plays again now due to her beginning to accept her powers
The Darkside defeated and Elsa is convinced that she is unable to return home due to having a power that could be devastating if left unchecked. She then sings "Let it Go" (because we all know Nomura is going to try to get that song in there somehow) and creates her Fortress of Solitude new home, but allows Riku and Mickey to come inside seeing as they weren't trying to kill her and at least understood her power.
Eventually, after some more skip ahead, skip ahead, Anna, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Kairi stumble upon Kristoff and Sven. The former argues Anna over whether or not her infatuation with Hans is true love and her eagerness to instantly trust strangers (which, as he points out, include him and his pet, Sven) when two figures appear...
Spoiler Show
Celes Chere and Locke Cole
Yup, that third person that the Duke of Weaseltown was referring to was indeed Celes Chere. Deciding that she can no longer stand to part of the same team as the Duke and that crazy clown, she stumbles upon Locke Cole. Thanks to a misunderstanding, the two of them are attacking Sora and Kairi due to their keyblades.
This battle is interesting due to a certain ability that Celes has. To those familiar with Final Fantasy VI, you may recall Celes' Runic ability. This allows her to be able to absorb any spell that you use which will restore her MP instead of the spell doing what it is meant to do such as casting Fira, using Zero Gravity, or - most frustrating of all - the Cure line of spells.
HOWEVER, there are ways to counteract this. Celes will immediately go into her Runic animation, but she will not be able to absorb it if she happens to get hit. Therefore, one of the strategies that can be used is to have Sora and Kairi wail on her while Donald casts his magic and Goofy defends Donald from Locke so that his spell animation is not interrupted. Another strategy that you can use is to switch Donald, Goofy and either Sora or Kairi for Anna, Kristoff and Sven. None of these three have any magic at all and Anna even has access to a form of Goblin Punch! Either way, you'll probably want to keep the potions on standby which this game will hint toward better than Birth by Sleep did (although this may be due to the fact that the latter was a secret boss).
Music used: "The Decisive Battle"
After all of this, Sora understandably asks what is going on and Locke reveals that a man who helped him sneak into the castle asked him to eliminate some pests that were a detriment to him as payment for sneaking him into the castle. Said man, predictably, was a member of Organization XIII. Sora learns this because Xigbar, said man, shows up and taunts both Sora and Locke about it while still insisting on calling Locke a thief instead of a treasure hunter. Anna, angered by the fact that Xigbar tricked Locke to attack them as well as the fact that Locke was essentially stealing her stuff, decides to take matters into her own hands and Goblin Punches Xigbar in a way that would make Captain Falcon proud, shocking everyone in the process. Xigbar, while not entirely incapacitated from the attack, still decides to run away considering the odds are very clearly not in his favor.
From here, they all agree to at least team up for now and help Anna find Elsa. They stumble upon Olaf and he leads them straight to her. Unlike in the film, everyone comes in at once since Kairi can feel Riku and Mickey there (hey, if the Darkness users can detect life forms through smell, then surely a Princess of Heart can do something similar). They arrive and inform Elsa of the damage that occurred when she left. She begins to lose it again despite Riku having tried to help her cope with her powers earlier and accidentally attacks Anna. She then tries to force everyone at that point to leave summoning:
Spoiler Show
Marshmallow
Yeah, you saw this one coming a mile away, didn't you? This fight is actually somewhat similar to the battle against the not Ice Titan Ice Colossus from Birth by Sleep. If you've seen his moves there, it's similar to this battle with the biggest difference being that while he moves a bit slower, he packs a much harder punch. Luckily, you have a whole party at your disposal for this one combining everyone except Elsa in this battle. Olaf even appears here for a funny Reaction Command. He will occasionally show up and protect you whenever Marshmallow hurls some Ice Needles at you and take the hit instead. "Yay, I saved you!...and now I'm impaled."
Music used: something new
Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse since Marshmallow's attacks manage to separate Sora, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf from Mickey, Riku, Celes and Locke. This causes a split in the party and it is here that, in an homage to Final Fantasy VI, you are presented with a set of choices that you can do in whichever order as long so you complete both. The first option has you with the former group trying to find a cure for Anna whilst dealing with Pete, Xemnas and Young Master Xehanort at different intervals. However, since you don't actually fight either of them at this point of the story and this thread is more about bosses, we'll skip to the second option with Riku, Mickey, Locke, Celes and Elsa where things get heated up. Throughout the narrative, there are hints dropped here and there about the mysterious woman named Terra Branford with the otherworldly aura. Celes actually talks about who she is and how they were once friends before circumstances prevented her from keeping the clown named Kefka from placing a slave crown on her to better control her and indirectly control Celes due to their friendship (remember that the Final Fantasy characters from the Kingdom Hearts games are different from their source material).
This is important to note because at this point, Hans and the others have arrived with the reinforcements including the two men that were with the Duke of Weaseltown as well as Kefka and the mysterious young woman (Lea begrudgingly stayed behind since he noticed Saix was hiding there). They are busy fighting off Marshmallow who just got his second wind when Kefka manages to open the door to Elsa's keep and allows Terra inside. After a brief cutscene where the two come to blows, Elsa has had enough crap for today and decides that if she must, she will do what she has to do to incapacitate her through any means necessary. Let's just say that this is where things get interesting.
Spoiler Show
Queen Elsa and Terra Branford
And now we get to the second boss idea from my first post in this thread. In this battle, you fight Elsa and Terra together...well, sort of. Each one is focused on the other, but the moment that you butt in, they will immediately attack you (Elsa in self-defense, Terra because you are in the way of her current objective). All of Elsa's attacks from when she was in your party during the battle against the Darkside and after are now used against you here. All of Terra's attacks, OTOH, are ripped right from the PSP Dissidia games though some have a bit more range than in here.
This particular battle will have you trying to use the Runic ability a lot in order to counterract some of the destructive magic at Elsa and Terra's disposal. However, this battle is very fast paced meaning that it's going to be difficult to set up a successful Runic due to all of Terra and Elsa's attacks having surprisingly good coverage which will most likely hit Celes (and, indeed, everyone else) which cancels her Runic animation. Luckily, all but Locke can summon barriers similar to the ones Aqua used in Birth by Sleep as her block which will give you great coverage. Elsa and Terra attack quickly and viciously in this fight, but Riku and Locke are fast as well and have Limits that work well as sneak attacks.
Similar to, say, Devil May Cry 3 during the Agni and Rudra fight, once one boss goes down, the other one goes into Desperation Mode. For Elsa, this means that she will use a powerful Glacier spell that can cause massive damage and is very difficult to dodge while also regaining a bar of health from using a potion on herself. Terra, OTOH, goes into Trance Mode and attacks just like she did only now her attacks do double the damage. Beating one or the other first will grant you an accessory item that Riku can equip. If Terra is defeated first, then you get an accessory that boosts your attack while defeating Elsa first gives you an accessory that boosts your defense. You'll eventually get the other one by the end of the level; this just establishes which item you get first.
Music used: "Terra's Metal Theme - Crow's Claw"
After the battle, Riku and Celes try to get Elsa and Terra to come to their senses respectively. Hans, by this point, makes his impassioned plea to the two of them so that they don't become the monsters that people have already claimed them to be. However, Elsa's architecture (which, sadly, is not a creature of Chaos) begins to crumble and it incapacitates her and Terra, even being the last straw that destroys the latter's slave crown.
After some exposition, we cut back to the castle at Arendelle where Elsa and Terra are locked up in a cell while Hans and Riku say that they'll do what they can for them. Sora and co. along with Kristoff and Sven manage to bring Anna back and deliver her to Hans. Sora, Donald and Goofy follow Kristoff when they notice that he just up and leaves while Kairi stays behind to make sure Anna is OK.
But, LE GASP! Hans reveals that he was EVIL the whole time! O_O He decides to just let her die on her own since it would mean that he didn't even have to dirty his hands (well, on her at least), but Kairi and Lea overhear him and try to take him down.
Spoiler Show
Hans
This boss is really interesting! After such an epic reveal, he shows up and is ready to show off his devious fighting moves and -
- is defeated in one hit.
At this point, Xemnas and Saix show up and offer Hans some assistance. Yeah, it turns out that Hans was dealing with Organization members during all of this. All but Hans are transported away to a different dimension within the Dark Corridors where they can fight more freely.
Xemnas and SaixSpoiler Show
This fight is similar to the battles against (regular) Xemnas and Saix alone, only now they are fighting in tandem. This means that Xemnas will still come at you with his lightsabers Ethereal Blades and Saix with his wicked Claymore. Since Kairi and Lea are in the party, they will have access to a Limit Break where Lea creates that Fire Arena that you fight in during your battle as Roxas back in Kingdom Hearts II (and Sora in Final Mix) and both of them are attacking from the fire walls at a rapid pace.
Music used: The Thirteenth Anthology
However, as it turns out, Hans already told the Duke of Weaseltown that Anna was already dead and that they are now to kill Queen Elsa and the Esper Terra whom he places the blame unto. While this is going on, Riku and Mickey are in the cell trying to comfort then when Young Master Xehanort comes in and breaks the news to them that they were duped by Hans. Taunting them some more, Elsa begins to lose it and go after Xehanort. Mickey, Riku and Terra follow only to be confronted by some of the Duke of Weaseltown's men being led by Kefka who has gone rogue...sort of He no longer works for the Duke of Weaseltown and is using his men simply to cause as much destruction as possible. By this point, the others sans Kairi and Lea have all arrived and a battle ensues where everyone is split into groups to fight off the men with a fully orchestrated version of this battle music playing in the background. They get to Kefka, but he vanishes to be fought for another day.
Kairi and Lea return from their battle and now the chase is on to get to Anna, Elsa and Hans before it is too la- oops, she's frozen now. It's too late. While everyone mourns these horrific turn of events, Young Master Xehanort and Xigbar use this to their advantage to trap Sora, Donald and Goofy to fight them alongside Saix who is OK because "LOL, time travel."
Xigbar, Saix and Young Master XehanortSpoiler Show
Like with the battle against Xemnas and Saix, this is just a battle with these three fighting in tandem. That means that Saix still attacks with his Claymore, Xigbar still snipes away from a distance and Young Master Xehanort is still a troll. Much like the fight against Tidus, Selphie and Wakka in Kingdom Hearts I, the main difficulty lies in fighting these guys at the same time.
Music used: "Black Powder"
After all is said and done, the Organization members retreat and Elsa revives Anna through the power of true love. Anna Goblin Punches Hans, Olaf can experience the summer, Terra, Celes and Locke are free to do whatever they want, and the main characters are still left pondering about certain plot points that Nomura will most likely have devised.
Elsewhere, Hans washes up bruised and battered. He then sees a brief glimpse of Saix wielding his weapon. Straight at him.
He utters a scream. The screen then immediately cuts to black.