Board 8 > Smash inspired me to replay Kingdom Hearts

(+) Yeah! (+)

first time since I beat it the first time probably

playing the Xbox release of the 1.5/2.5 hd whatever
boy every action feels like its mapped to the wrong button

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Kingdom Hearts can be a rough series to revisit. I did it before III came out. I'm not going to say it's aged poorly, but it's not as strong as you'd remember...

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One of the best series ever. You are in for a treat. The original is still magical, but very different combat than the rest. Much more platform oriented. Where in the rest of the games you are just a walking god.

at the time I played it KH2 was like my 3rd favorite game of all time, so I was going to just replay that but then I was like well I dont really remember the first games plot very well, so maybe I should play that first? and then I did something else for a while because I couldnt decide

and now here I am playing KH1

i definitely liked KH1 at the time, but 2 for sure hit a lot harder for me.

and then at some point after 356/2 I lost the thread entirely until I finally played BBS like two years ago and didnt really love BBS

so I dont know what to expect, really. Might lost interest halfway through and jump to 2. Im hoping to reacquaint myself with all of this enough to play 3 too.

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Grand Kirby posted...

Kingdom Hearts can be a rough series to revisit. I did it before III came out. I'm not going to say it's aged poorly, but it's not as strong as you'd remember...

1 is clunky but KH2 absolutely still slaps, provided you play it on Critical mode aka the correct way

And then half the handheld games are solid enough...for handheld games.

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I replayed the series leading up to KH3. KH2 is still great. KH1 and BBS are good. CoM and DDD are fine. Only getting cutscenes for 358/2 and Coded was good because the Roxas story is the best aspect of the plot.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

And then half the handheld games are solid enough...for handheld games.

I enjoyed every side game i played.

Leafeon13N posted...

I enjoyed every side game i played.

A lot of them are enjoyable enough but that doesn't mean I'd recommend them. BBS and DDD I think are pretty good but an obvious step down from KH2. The rest are just okay. Personally I do not care for the PS2 version of CoM, but it's worth giving a shot if you already have the collection. Everything else I think it's a better use of time to just watch the cutscenes.

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HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

1 is clunky but KH2 absolutely still slaps, provided you play it on Critical mode aka the correct way

My memory of replaying KH2 is being utterly annoyed how nearly every single room you travel in is interrupted by some of the most insipid and boring cutscenes in gaming history. Like the gameplay is fine, but going through the game again is just such a slog.

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The Melding system from BBS is one of the best things the series has done imo

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Bane_Of_Despair posted...

The Melding system from BBS is one of the best things the series has done imo

Compared to DDDs system. The clear worst.

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

A lot of them are enjoyable enough but that doesn't mean I'd recommend them. BBS and DDD I think are pretty good but an obvious step down from KH2.

KH2 is still a fantastic game today there is no shame in being a step down. BBS still really good.

I tried playing thru The Story So Far and stopped during Birth By Sleep. I keep telling myself I'm going to go back and at least try the rest of the games but man it's tough trying to play a lot of those games in 2021...

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DDD looked cool but then ended up feeling like a worse BBS.

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paperwarior posted...

DDD looked cool but then ended up feeling like a worse BBS.

It is exactly that.

Also I'm stalled out on the series replay in front of Re:Coded Cutscene Collection.

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I still think DDD is super good but yea BBS is better

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I tried to play Kingdom Hearts 1 for the first time last year. I could not finish it. The game has aged terribly, and I have no desire to go back to it.

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I actually thought I got (and liked) Sora's character a little better when I replayed 1 after some of the others. Of course I was very young the first time.

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in the coliseum now

phil says some real weirdos signed up then sends you in to fight heartless

the implication that the heartless signed forms is very funny

nice to spend some time with Danny Devito

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

in the coliseum now

phil says some real weirdos signed up then sends you in to fight heartless

the implication that the heartless signed forms is very funny

nice to spend some time with Danny Devito

One of the hardest fights in the series is coming up.

Be damn careful

KH3 felt dated to me upon release, so I can only imagine what this is like. god speed

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Bro I like you and all but there is no way you think this series is good past 2. You're too smart for that.

what a bizarre take

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Bro I like you and all but there is no way you think this series is good past 2. You're too smart for that.

III is one of my favorite games ever.
BBS may be my favorite Handheld ever.

Im not the biggest fan of Days, and the crafting in DDD (and story) is cancer.

I also adore 2.8, thought its rather short.

well just got beat by the Cerberus twice

starting to think my party members AI may not be so good

and the camera maybe... has trouble

so Im gonna go hang out with Tarzan for a bit

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Oof, good luck with that.

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UltimaterializerX posted...

1, Chain, and 2 are all time great games. Yes, I loved Chain of Memories. Sue me.

I have legitimately found everything since to be to be total garbage.

One, really? Have you played it recently? I loved it back in the day but on replay, it's not good. Terrible camera, awful level design, bland combat... It was a replay, so all the magic of seeing Disney / Square was gone and all I had was the gameplay which did not hold up.

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Janus5k posted...

KH3 felt dated to me upon release, so I can only imagine what this is like. god speed

The fact that KH3 felt like a PS2 game that inexplicably was released on PS4 is one of its best qualities!

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KH1 holds up super well

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pjbasis posted...

KH1 holds up super well

Chain of Memories is where I fell off on my KH series playthrough, god those levels are boring

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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Chain of Memories is where I fell off on my KH series playthrough, god those levels are boring

Thats your fault then.

You can literally create your own world

pjbasis posted...

KH1 holds up super well

my experience in Tarzan land so far has me thinking this may not be true

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

my experience in Tarzan land so far has me thinking this may not be true

I didn't mean EVERYTHING

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

well just got beat by the Cerberus twice

starting to think my party members AI may not be so good

and the camera maybe... has trouble

so Im gonna go hang out with Tarzan for a bit

can I offer you a nice egg in this trying time - phil

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MoogleKupo141 posted...

my experience in Tarzan land so far has me thinking this may not be true

Its the worst designed level in the game, maybe even the series. Thankfully its early.

MoogleKupo141 posted...

my experience in Tarzan land so far has me thinking this may not be true

Worst part of KH1 due to Sora's garbage jump.

Sorry

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UltimaterializerX posted...

Ven's early levels in BBS stand out to me as the worst if we're not counting 358/2 Days.

Like I refuse to believe anyone can even ironically think those levels are well done. DDD and the rail lines are also pretty shit.

Cinderella was unique and awesome. Sleeping Beauty was pretty bad, and I think for Ven Snow White is like 4 rooms.

Played through everything again recently and it was all okay to fun except for CoM which was and is hot garbage.

(In my opinion, of course).

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Think I'm one of the few who would call both KH1 and KH2 one of their favorite games of all time and still prefer the first.

Everything else in the series ranges from "fine" to "absolute garbage" IMO.

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I absolutely loved KH2 but even as a kid the timelessness of 1 was evident. It's just so damn charming. Every single background theme instantly grabs your nostalgia by the throat.

Also I played 1 again a few years back after 2 and BBS and such. The combat is actually really good and more nuanced than 2 and on. There isn't too much mashing in 1, and guarding is really important. It's just not as flashy so it seems more boring.

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The thing I loved about KH was how sora got dropped into disney stories and somehow interacted with the plot, and I kept getting excited wondering how worlds would work.

And then in KH3 it's like "Hey look, its the frozen world. Explore a cave or something"

I think they forgot why it was good. After 5 worlds or so with only the Monsters Inc one being remotely interesting I quit

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Yeah, KH3 was a big disappointment.

Not visually though.

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Hot take incoming from a fan of the series since it first started, KH3 actually did Disney worlds better than KH2 and as the series has gone on Disney has meant less and less and for the better. So many of KH2 Disney worlds meant literal nothing because of Maleficent and Pete

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