Your Reaction To KH3 Ending?

[DarkosOverlord]

Much like many other fine folks I didn't like snapping Sora in favor of a bittersweet ending, hated how the whole thing felt not as conclusive as it should've been, I felt empty inside and I have to deploy 50% of my brain cells to erase Isa from every scene in order not to hate everything in my life.
But that's probably nothing new to anybody.

Frankly, the things that fascinates me the most about the ending is indeed this debate of what was implied with Sora, Kairi and the rest of the cast's behaviours.
Some think everybody knew Sora and Kairi were on borrowed time, some say it was a surprise for all, and so on.
It's so interesting how many different interpretations came from watching the same cutscene. It probably tells something about each of us as a KH fan, but that's beyond me.

 

[alexis.anagram]

It was just a rushed montage of everything KH3 should have been doing already and building towards up to that point, but failed to accomplish. Established character dynamics are cheapened/ignored, so there's no sense of payoff or bookending like with the previous mainline KH endings. No imparting of important, heartfelt message or ideas about the journey we've just been on, how these characters grew from it, what they learned and what we can take away about it as an audience. Just the thinnest trifecta of fanservice, sequel fodder, and a plot twist that robs us of the actual ending we earned. I didn't spend seventeen years playing these games to be told I need to spend more time and more money finding out how this story actually wraps up, or what it was all really about the entire time. Fuck that.

And those last two words describe my response to this ending in a nutshell.

Also the fact that HPO were at the beach party but not the FF gang is distracting.

 

[Zettaflare]

It was just a rushed montage of everything KH3 should have been doing already and building towards up to that point, but failed to accomplish. Established character dynamics are cheapened/ignored, so there's no sense of payoff or bookending like with the previous mainline KH endings. No imparting of important, heartfelt message or ideas about the journey we've just been on, how these characters grew from it, what they learned and what we can take away about it as an audience. Just the thinnest trifecta of fanservice, sequel fodder, and a plot twist that robs us of the actual ending we earned. I didn't spend seventeen years playing these games to be told I need to spend more time and more money finding out how this story actually wraps up, or what it was all really about the entire time. Fuck that.

And those last two words describe my response to this ending in a nutshell.

Also the fact that HPO were at the beach party but not the FF gang is distracting.

Did the lack of FF cameos make you resent HPO? Cause they really weren't a factor in that decision at all

 

[alexis.anagram]

Did the lack of FF cameos make you resent HPO? Cause they really weren't a factor in that decision at all

The lack of FF cameos made me resent everything in KH3. Right down the paopu trees and the seagulls who nest in them. I blame the seagulls.

 

[VanitasRemnant]

Personally, I was shocked that Ansem the Wise and Terra didn't die, I expected both of them to not get a happy ending. I was also shocked by Sora disappearing in the end. However, most of it wasn't shocking to me and overall I say the ending is alright. My biggest problems with the end of KH3 is a lack of interaction and development between so many of the characters at this point. Seeing all of the characters come together at the end of the Dark Seeker Saga was one of the biggest things so many fans were waiting on. So the fact that that happened, but they all barely talked to each other and just stood next to each other without saying a word really bugged me.

Especially when Roxas and Ventus saw each other, like legit their only reaction was "huh" which is ridiculous. They never talked to each other at all nor did Nomura bother to explain in the game why they look alike. Riku never spoke to Roxas and apologized to him, Kairi and Namine never spoke, Isa never apologized to Roxas and Xion, the original six apprentices never apologized to Namine and Riku. There is just so many good character interactions that could've happened that didn't happen that makes the ending feel so disappointing. Not to mention the lack of the FF characters which is a big flaw. But I won't get into that in this post, I'll save that for another time. But overall, I just think the ending is okay and that's about it. I don't hate it, but I don't like it very much either. There was just so much wasted potential, and because of that the ending didn't make me very emotional like the previous games have: Which is kinda sad in of itself.

 

[drew0512]

I like it and I actually wish it was KH's true ending as I find it very fitting.

 

[NuclearCheetos15]

Just a deep sigh and years of hype down the drain as Sora vanished off into yet another sequel come 2039. The rushed ending and gaping questions pretty much diminished my enthusiasm for the series. I won’t be leaving it completely as it’s been apart of me for so long, I’ll just be watching from afar to see where this mess of a series is even going.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Did the lack of FF cameos make you resent HPO? Cause they really weren't a factor in that decision at all

...it’s the idea that HPO were given higher importance than the characters that were like a pseudo-family to Sora after his world was destroyed.

In my opinion, I don’t think HPO should have been at the beach party but only in the clock tower scene, but I guess it was meant to fulfill the promise between them and Roxas about going to the beach so whatever lol.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

...it’s the idea that HPO were given higher importance than the characters that were like a pseudo-family to Sora after his world was destroyed.

In my opinion, I don’t think HPO should have been at the beach party but only in the clock tower scene, but I guess it was meant to fulfill the promise between them and Roxas about going to the beach so whatever lol.

Full agreement.
Like, so much for not meddling I guess. We can't bring Aladdin with us to search for his beloved but three kids with connections are absolutely fit for intergalactic travel.

I mean, I don't think HPO should've had more presence and lines of dialogue than the main characters, let alone the FF gang.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Full agreement.
Like, so much for not meddling I guess. We can't bring Aladdin with us to search for his beloved but three kids with connections are absolutely fit for intergalactic travel.

I mean, I don't think HPO should've had more presence and lines of dialogue than the main characters, let alone the FF gang.

It went out the window the second Pence became buddies with Ienzo over the internet, I guess.

Oh my god you are right. HPO got more lines than main cast members like Terra, Ven, Kairi, Xion...damn.

 

[Zettaflare]

Now I'm just picturing Donald throwing a giant tantrum over HPO being allowed to leave Twilight Town. Which probably happened given how much of a stickler he was about following the world order, lol

 

[Face My Fears]

Full agreement.
Like, so much for not meddling I guess. We can't bring Aladdin with us to search for his beloved but three kids with connections are absolutely fit for intergalactic travel.

I mean, I don't think HPO should've had more presence and lines of dialogue than the main characters, let alone the FF gang.

I kind of assumed that the world order didn't matter if someone already knew you could travel to different worlds. Like Pinocchio, Gepetto, Beast, Leon, Cid, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. I can't remember if Sora told Aladdin that Jasmine was in another world, but if Aladdin wasn't sure where Jasmine was then I'm guessing they couldn't tell him (although Jasmine says that she explained it to him, so...)

KH4 needs to up their Disney game and let you gain not only keyblades from Disney worlds, but let you bring them along with you to other worlds! I guess the problem with that would be cutscenes and all that jazz.

 

[Launchpad]

Mostly sad to see Sora separated from Goofy and Donald. This game put a higher focus on their friendship than any other, so the idea of Sora going somewhere without them saddens me, as their dynamic was the one thing that kept KH3 feeling fresh and exciting.

Riku and Kairi are at peak boringness these days, so having them lose Sora did nothing for me. The idea that we might spent large portions of the next game with Riku in Verum Rex land is sounding quite lame given his sedated modern personality.

 

[Zettaflare]

I kind of assumed that the world order didn't matter if someone already knew you could travel to different worlds. Like Pinocchio, Gepetto, Beast, Leon, Cid, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. I can't remember if Sora told Aladdin that Jasmine was in another world, but if Aladdin wasn't sure where Jasmine was then I'm guessing they couldn't tell him (although Jasmine says that she explained it to him, so...)

KH4 needs to up their Disney game and let you gain not only keyblades from Disney worlds, but let you bring them along with you to other worlds! I guess the problem with that would be cutscenes and all that jazz.

Disney companions traveling to other Disney worlds isn't likely since the actual company dislikes their characters crossing over into other properties. Which is why the links had to be altered

 

[Face My Fears]

Disney companions traveling to other Disney worlds isn't likely since Disney dislikes their characters crossing over into other properties. Which is why the links had to be altered

But they were fine with the summons before? That's odd, I never even heard about this before.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

But they were fine with the summons before? That's odd, I never even heard about this before.

Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultimania - Yasue Interview Translated - News - Kingdom Hearts Insider

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[Alpha Baymax]

Honestly, I still don't know what to make of it. Most of the story was concluded which made me happy, but what happened with Sora is head-scratching, to say the least.

I also hated how future-focused the end of the game was. Stupid Union X bullshit.

Personally, I didn't find the future-proofing of the game to be invasive. The climax of the game is linked to The Keyblade War so the Union X connections were inevitable. And Nomura had to make a way for folks to be invested in Kingdom Hearts beyond Kingdom Hearts III to maintain consumer engagement, so here we are.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Personally, I didn't find the future-proofing of the game to be invasive. The climax of the game is linked to The Keyblade War so the Union X connections were inevitable. And Nomura had to make a way for folks to be invested in Kingdom Hearts beyond Kingdom Hearts III to maintain consumer engagement, so here we are.

But that didn’t mean it had to take up as much time as it did in KH3. Many games set themselves up for potential future installments but still have conclusive stories and endings. KH2 is a great example of this. It had little bits to make fans want to see more, but it closed out its story in a fairly complete way. People still clamored for KH3 after KH2 without the game taking time away from its own story.

KH2 isn’t my favorite game and the story is my least favorite of the series, but it knew how to close out its own story while still setting up events for new games.

KH3 rushes through its own conclusion and leaves people feeling forced to stick around to find out what happens next rather than doing it in an organic way.

 

[Sakuraba Neku]

I like it but it was weird. Sora sacrificed himself to save Kairi and his friends are having fun on the beach, like nothing bad had happened to him. These homies aren't loyal.

 

[Face My Fears]

Honestly, I still don't know what to make of it. Most of the story was concluded which made me happy, but what happened with Sora is head-scratching, to say the least.



Personally, I didn't find the future-proofing of the game to be invasive. The climax of the game is linked to The Keyblade War so the Union X connections were inevitable. And Nomura had to make a way for folks to be invested in Kingdom Hearts beyond Kingdom Hearts III to maintain consumer engagement, so here we are.

I don't think they should have included any KHUX stuff in KH3. They don't need to hype the sequel in their own game, we're going to buy KH4 or whatever sequel happens. To be honest, I feel like the best way to have approached it was to let the secret video and epilogue do all the talking. If there was no KHUX stuff in KH3 until the Luxu reveal, I'm pretty sure people would have been hyped even more because we're be wondering what connections could be made.

Now we basically know the plot of the next game which kills the hype. We know that there was a KHUX character in Radiant Garden that Ansem/Isa/Lea knew, we know that Marluxia/Larxene/Luxord/Demyx will be important in the next games (and were keyblade wielders), and we know that Maleficent is looking for the Book of Prophecies. All of those elements had nothing to do with KH3 (or very little) and didn't contribute at all to the closure of the Xehanort storyline. So instead of hyping to the next game and allowing us the tons of speculation that happened off of "Deep Dive" and the freedom to go in any direction Nomura wanted, we've been basically given the plot for the next game and limited speculation. Kind of shot himself in the foot there by killing the KH4 hype and doing a disservice to KH3.

Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultimania - Yasue Interview Translated - News - Kingdom Hearts Insider

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"Regarding links: During talks with Disney, we were asked to stop calling characters from other worlds into whichever world Sora was currently in. But, that meant we wouldn't be able to make a summon technique like past titles. So, we went with the premise that a connection with Sora's heart calls the characters forth as magic. I thought combining them with magic would have the most impact, so we settled on having "Simba+Fire" and "Ariel+Water" and the like. "

It sounds like they were still allowed to use them, just not the actual "character" being used like how it was actually Mushu in KH1. But I guess that definitely kills the idea of any other characters traversing outside of their world.