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Kingdom Hearts, current and future titles (contains videos)

Satoren

Satoren

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE5tPQ55qlI​

Well, 358/2 days is just one of the new games coming out for the Kingdom Hearts franchise, but since its on the DS, I figured we could start it off here. One of the games interesting points is for starters, a whole story all about Roxas and Org. XIII. Then we have the mystery that is Xion, the 14th member who wields a keyblade. Finally, there is a multiplayer feature that allows you to play cooperatively whilest wielding any of the 13 members of the Organization.

I'm really expecting a lot from this game, right down to its rather interesting and confusing plot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X0P98qJjNA​

Then there's Birth By Sleep, what is considered to be a prequel to the first game, set several years into the past and focusing on three new characters. Each character has a specific playing style, and have different views of the story's main plot. But what I really find appealing is the battle system for this title. KH2 was fun, but as magnificently rendered as the hacking and slashing was, it got to be a bit of a mindless button-masher. The system for BBS is somewhat similar to the GBA title CoM, where you chain different attacks together to form a combo or a special move.

So, what are your thoughts on the franchise and where its going?
 
Stark

Stark

I'm definitely following the series, have been since the start.

The story just keeps getting more and more confusing for me though, so I just don't generally bother with the in-between-y press bits and just play them when they're out. :p
 
Psycho Monkey

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
Is that 358/2Days trailer new? I haven't seen it yet, that's why I ask. As a KH fanboy I'd be quite shamed if there was a press event I missed :-[.

Anyway, the Kingdom Hearts franchise is probably definately my favorite game series of all time. The momment I picked up KH1 and began playing, I could not put it down until I beat it. You can bet the Another Side Another Story trailer got me excited for KH2. Chains of Memory (the orignal GBA one) was a good way to tie me over until the release of KH2 as well as further fuel my intrest. The day KH2 was released in America I went to Target to pick up my copy and was up well past midnight playing. Although most of the worlds felt like filler and the platforming missed, the combat system and enemy difficulty easily made up for it.

I also like where the series is going with these upcoming future instalments. BBS will give excellent background to the history of the keyblade and Xehanort. I also like the idea of 358 expanding the role of Organization XIII, my favorite villains of the series so far. Personally, I don't think KH2 gave enough character developement to some of the members compared to the excellent job done in CoM.

Coded I'm a little disapointed with only because it's for the cell phone and I won't be able to play it cause my phone can't play games :'(.
 
Chibi

Chibi

I've loved the KH series ever since it first came out. Even now I recently bought Chain of Memories for my PS2 because I don't have a GBA and I sort of love it. The cards vex me to no end. But really, I loved the idea of 358/2 Days, but now I'm definetly buying it.

I also think the multiplayer option is awesome, and where you can play different members of the Organization. My brother and I are both fans, so we'll be mashing away at it like it's Halo.
 
A

ash874

Kingdom hearts was and still is my favorite game series of all time. I really can't wait for either one of the new games as they'll definitely be awesome and will provide some great insight for its past, present, and future.
 
Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
The Kingdom Hearts series is definitely one of my favourite game series. I love everything to do with the plot, so needless to say I'll be buying these games as soon as I can. Despite thinking CoM was a bit of a waste of space, I'll still be buying Re: CoM if it comes out over here (seriously, the card system hurt my brain).

As far as KH2 went, I didn't like it as much as KH1 as it was just a glorified hack and slash, but with a funny thing at the top that basically said "Beat these enemies before you get owned", that sometimes had a time limit or gauge to avoid. I hope they fix that for the next games, because seriously, KH2's battle system bored me. If they make more games with that battle system, I'll lose faith in the series.

Edit:
Although most of the worlds felt like filler and the platforming missed, the combat system and enemy difficulty easily made up for it.
Click to expand...

You thought that the combat system and the enemy difficulty made up for it? I'm kinda surprised - I found them to be much worse than KH1's. You could mash the X button and get through any fight. The better interface was one of the very few things I found that was better.
 
Psycho Monkey

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
What I meant was in KH2 combos were flashier, bosses were more difficult (Darkside was a pushover while Twighlight Thorn was an actual challenge), and tournaments had actual conditions for victory besides win every match.

KH1 was also a button masher IMO. I beat the game by using X and occationally using Sonic Blade, Ars Arcanum, etc. when the situation called for it. The only game/s of the series that isn't a button masher is CoM/Re:CoM because you have to watch the cards, esspecially in boss battles.
 
Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
That's funny. I never found any of KH2 particularly difficult. The worst fights were Demyx (time limits. joy -.-) and Xaldin (LOOK AT MY LANCE DRAGON HEAD >=D). The combos were flashier, but that didn't change the gameplay much.

I found Darkside to be a much greater challenge than Twilight Thorn, too. And a much more intimidating boss as far as looks go. The Twilight Thorn was just a poster boss for the Reaction Commands, whereas Darkside was a full blown boss.

KH2, on the whole, I didn't find even remotely challenging. KH1, I still remember wanting to give up against certain bosses (Like Riku, Sephiroth, even Cerberus), but in KH2, only the two afformentioned bosses I found that tough. The toughest part was sitting through Atlantica.
 
Psycho Monkey

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
Yoshimitsu27 said:
That's funny. I never found any of KH2 particularly difficult. The worst fights were Demyx (time limits. joy -.-) and Xaldin (LOOK AT MY LANCE DRAGON HEAD >=D). The combos were flashier, but that didn't change the gameplay much.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Xaldin was malicious, though I didn't have much trouble with Demyx. I know other people have but I didn't find him to be that bad.

I found Darkside to be a much greater challenge than Twilight Thorn, too. And a much more intimidating boss as far as looks go. The Twilight Thorn was just a poster boss for the Reaction Commands, whereas Darkside was a full blown boss.
Click to expand...

Really? I always found Darkside to be one of the easiest bosses in the game, just an overgrown Shadow with a ton of HP. Twighlight Thorn, although easy, was a challenge compared to Darkside.

KH2, on the whole, I didn't find even remotely challenging. KH1, I still remember wanting to give up against certain bosses (Like Riku, Sephiroth, even Cerberus), but in KH2, only the two afformentioned bosses I found that tough.
Click to expand...

I also agree that Riku and Sephiroth were pains in the ass. Stealth Sneak, Cerberus, and Cloud only gave me trouble in my first play through. By the second time they weren't as bad, but Riku and Sephy remained difficult.

The toughest part was sitting through Atlantica.
Click to expand...

Can't argue there. Everytime I get to that world I press mute and listen to the KH soundtrack on my laptop which contains all the good music from all three games. I even skipped the cutscenes in KH2 on my second time through.
 
Yoshimitsu

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
Yeah but you have to elaborate. Why do you think it's awesome? Is it the gameplay? The plot? The unique designs?

And if you dare reply with "yeah all of that" or something like that, so help me God I'm n00bing you right now.
 
KoL

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
Kingdom Hearts has created a lot of fond memories for me - it is a very unique game that provides an experience unlike any other in my view, and the way the Disney and Final Fantasy characters coexist was extremely well executed.

Overall, the game is solid in pretty much every area - graphically it has always looked impressive, especially in the beginning and ending cutscenes of both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. The music score is, as most would expect, phenomenal, and the voices work reasonably well in pretty much all cases. The gameplay is what means the most to me though, and Kingdom Hearts doesn't disappoint here at all. The game, whilst fairly simplistic in terms of its controls, still provides a very, very good challenge when it comes down to it, with very few of the bosses being pushovers. The optional battles against Sephiroth are easily some of the toughest boss battles in any Square Enix game, and the final two boss battles in the main stories of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 are two of the best I've ever experienced.
 
PhantoAce

PhantoAce

I am so looking forward to those games coming out. Although, I'm kind of angry that there wont be a KH3 for around another 3 years still -.-
 
O

OranRi

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is already out in Japan. The vidoes I've seen seem pretty good and the graphics aren't bad. I'm looking forward to Birth By Sleep a lot more though. The new characters and plot look really promising. Definitely getting both of these.
 
Satoren

Satoren

For the record, no spoilers for 358/2 days' storyline are allowed in this thread, for the benefit of the people hardcore enough to play the Japanese version.

I have also seen the videos on youtube and they look rather slick for a DS. Its able to emulate the PS2's battle system with impressive effect. I do sort of wish they could have developped even a slightly different battle system to make full accomdation of the DS's dual screen. Still, the ability to play any of the members of Organization XIII is the true appeal of this little handheld title.
 
B

BlackHero46

Kingdom Hearts is such a great series, and a truly unique edition to the RPG Hall of Fame. The story is creative, the battles are fun, and the game is overall enticing. I'll always play the games, and buy the upcoming ones. (Plus, who can resist the Final Fantasy characters? :p Oh come on... you all can't tell me Sephiroth wasn't epic to bring in. Annoying, yes... but epic.)

I'd heard information on both Birth by Sleep and 358/2. The videos make it all more prompting however. I think I'll have to look it up some more.

I'd have to agree with Tomberry about 358/2, emulating the PS2's battle system on a handheld is very impressing. They seemed to pull it off too, something that usually doesn't happen.

Organization XIII... I always liked most of them. Being able to play as them sounds intriging. I mean, Xaldin was such a beast on Proud Mode. Demyx too, since... timing is just cheap as someone else said. xD I can only wonder what kind of abilities and strengths they'll play on in the game besides what you can see in the video, which isn't too, too much.
 
B

**BeginwiththeEnd**

KH series has probably hooked me since 2002. (The year it came out) With it's really confusing amazing plot, I cried the time Sora turned into a heartless to Roxas's backstory.

Though the battle sytem in KH Re: CoM made me want throw the analog controller across the room, I kept playing to see the Namine's awesome origins story and some of the Organization. (Axel= badass)
 
Linkachu

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
Never did give a proper reply to this thread...

I can't really add much that others haven't already said, but I also find the Kingdom Hearts series really catching and interesting. Sometimes the writing seemed intentionally confusing (and some of the lines at the end of KH2 were poorly executed), but overall it's a really fun story with a lot of intriguing characters. The mesh of FF aspects and Disney - two things I've loved for years - drew me in because I couldn't imagine how they'd work together... but they did, and well. The music is also gorgeous (I ended up buying the OST because I loved it so much), and the gameplay of KH2 - while button-mashing fun - was pretty entertaining.

Now I'm pretty hooked. Since I physically couldn't play KH 1 (the camera rotations and motions gave me headaches to the point of being unable to play the game), I read the manga collection to get a feel for the plot. After that I read the Chain of Memories manga and really loved the stuff with Namine. KH2 is the only one of the games so far that I've finished, but I can't wait to get my hands on 358/2 Days. For the short amount of time you got to meet him, I adore Roxas ;_;
 
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