Same. I honestly wish tech points were a series staple after KH1.
KH1 literally never stops prodding the player's curiosity, from the level design to the combat. Tech Points reward that curiosity so effortlessly while also integrating reaction time and skill. It's a self-feeding thing too. You might deflect a certain attack or exploit and elemental weakness, and earn some extra EXP. Suddenly, you're thinking 'what else can I do?' And that experimentation gets MORE rewarding as you learn more obscure tech point interactions that yield MORE EXP. it's genuinely cracked and one of the best systems to ever exist in a game like this. Did you know that you can cancel a Defender's fire/ice projectiles by using the inverse spell on their shield as they prepare the attack? Donald did it and it blew my mind.
KH3's data battles actually brought back a lot of this more experimental design, and I'm hoping more than anything that this clever sort of gameplay survives into KH4. I don't get the feeling many of you are as into the superbosses, but they put crazy work into some of these.
- Data Riku's mines having a half-second of detonation where you're meant to extend your combo with reprisals
- Data Marluxia's shield being broken by fire
- Data Ansem's floor attack being dissolved by water
- you can literally KH1-style clink with one of Data Larxene's initial attacks, granting a free opening
- Vanitas's gruelingly difficult desperation move can be interrupted with a well timed aero or thunder
- Saix's berserk meter can be depleted faster with blizzard
- Yozora's gigas are color coded and can be swiftly parried with magic (very recently discovered)
All of it feels really smart and rewarding to the player's curiosity, just like KH1. KH3's base game did not have anything as mechanically interesting as this. I'm hoping this is something that'll continue to build, not just in difficult post-game content, but throughout even the easy parts of KH4. Discovering hidden stuff is fun and it should be a core part of KH's combat rather than flashiness.
