Board 8 > Others have inspired me to continue playing Kingdom Hearts (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Started the series, made a playthrough topic, started struggling and eventually lost a lot of progress, which, combined with my poor mental health this year caused me to have a meltdown.

I was recently at a party where multiple people brought the game up in separate conversations and I was inspired to go back and finish the first game, which I finally did.

I'm now on Re:CoM (I played the GBA version back when it first came out). So far I've done Traverse Town, Agrabah, Wonderland, and up through the Cloud fight in Olympus. I'm doing the worlds in the same order that I did on the GBA (checked my cartridge to see what order I did them in).

This definitely has a different feel to it than the GBA one did. I've heard a lot of people say the 3D version is better but I'm not sure so far.

I almost restarted my game after Traverse Town because my only Potion card got turned into a Premium by accident which I knew was gonna fuck me over and in fact made the Axel fight very difficult, but despite still not getting another one (and not for lack of trying either) I've pushed through.

If you don't want to follow this topic I understand.

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One thing I want to comment on so far is the voice acting. The sudden change in Sora's voice, HJO having gone through puberty, is both jarring and hilarious. Marluxia's voice is okay but I'm not sure how I feel about Axel or Larxene's yet. I'm a little disappointed that the memory world scenes aren't voice acted but I get why they passed on paying all these high profile names to voice like 6 lines each in a remake of a GBA game.

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I've seen differing opinions on Chain of Memories 2D vs. 3D. Personally I think the battle system works much better in 2D, but 3D's presentation is definitely superior.

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Something that I think is entirely new is the Pluto Friend Card. I definitely don't remember that from the GBA version. Also, the Mickey Friend Card in Sora's story seems new to me. I remember it being in Riku's story but I thought it functioned the same way Donald and Goofy did for Sora, where as here it seems to trigger specific actions in boss battles. I could be totally wrong about that one though.

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Tag.

Really glad you're back on this.

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Best of luck! KH2 is worth it, so keep at it.

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I absolutely hated attempting to play Re: CoM. It just doesn't work as a system. I honestly think it's better skipped/ youtubed.

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BlackDra90n posted...

Tag.

Really glad you're back on this.

Leonhart4 posted...

Best of luck! KH2 is worth it, so keep at it.

Yeah, thanks. I get so fucking frustrated when I struggle with anything lately. And usually when I muscle through a tough game I feel bad afterward but I felt proud that I went back and finished that one.

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Underleveled posted...

I've heard a lot of people say the 3D version is better but I'm not sure so far.

I don't really agree. The game fits 2D and the spritework is amazing.

Underleveled posted...

Something that I think is entirely new is the Pluto Friend Card. I definitely don't remember that from the GBA version. Also, the Mickey Friend Card in Sora's story seems new to me.

you are correct sir on both counts

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2D is better if you like the card system and want to actually play around with it.

3D is better if you want to rush through the game and just get the story.

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Good luck. I feel if any game in the series is a run-ender it's CoM. That one nearly broke me when I did my series replay a few years ago, and my friend stopped there and skipped to II because she couldn't stand it. At least II is worth it.

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BetrayedTangy posted...

2D is better if you like the card system and want to actually play around with it.

3D is better if you want to rush through the game and just get the story.

The latter is what I'm doing this time. I think I had some fun with the cards on the GBA but I'm definitely story-rushing the 3D version.

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Grand Kirby posted...

Good luck. I feel if any game in the series is a run-ender it's CoM. That one nearly broke me when I did my series replay a few years ago, and my friend stopped there and skipped to II because she couldn't stand it. At least II is worth it.

Yeah, my wife nearly quit a few times too but she managed to power through eventually.

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Underleveled posted...

The latter is what I'm doing this time. I think I had some fun with the cards on the GBA but I'm definitely story-rushing the 3D version.

Yeah I'd say you definitely made the right call then. Also I've found that the Sonic Blade sleight annihilates most bosses and enemies since you can essentially stun locks them.

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Underleveled posted...

The sudden change in Sora's voice, HJO having gone through puberty, is both jarring and hilarious.

It fits very well with KHII. These days it's a little strange hearing Sora's KHI voice because I'm so use to his deeper voice now.

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Hint for you if you're not doing it already: have a few 0 cards in your deck (about three or so), and put them at the back of the deck. This way, when you see an enemy sleight coming up, you can press the button to skip to the deck reload and have easy access to your 0 cards. This will be more useful against later bosses so you can disrupt their more powerful attacks.

Tonight I finished Olympus and did Monstro. I finally got another Cure card out of a Moogle pack and guess what? It's also a Goddamn premium. I can't catch a break with that which is making me have to redo bosses frequently since I have to be ultra conservative with healing.

Is it just me or is Donald's voice even harder to understand in this one than it usually is? I have to read his subtitles for almost every line.

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Are enemy cards new too? I don't remember using these on GBA.

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Not planning on playing tonight. After I get home from work I intend to go to the gym then watch football.

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Enemy cards are not new but their drop rates might have increased.

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Underleveled posted...

Not planning on playing tonight. After I get home from work I intend to go to the gym then watch football.

Key word in this post was "intend." Due to an unexpected backup I got home too late to go to the gym and get in a decent workout before the game so I've decided to play a bit anyway.

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As a tip, if you're not feeling CoM, I'd recommend just watching the cutscenes online and moving to KH2.

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I'm not hating it and it's short enough - I checked my time on GBA and both stories combined had about 19 hours. I expect this to be a little longer due to fully animated and voiced cutscenes in the framing story but HLTB says about 24 hours which is doable for me right now, especially since I'm rushing.

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Okay what the fuck, why can't I get ANYTHING I want from Moogle packs? I'm looking for Cures and Clouds and I bought three blue Moogle packs and got 0 of either. My lack of cures is REALLY killing me.

Why doesn't anything ever go my way

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Okay, NOW I'm just about ready to rage-quit this c***-ass shit again. I can't make a dent on Larxene because I can't get any fucking good cards. I keep getting shit ass Dumbos and nothing else, I've got like one 0 card and it's a Premium, and still only two Cures, both Premiums. Seriously, why can't I ever do anything right

I'm genuinely not sure I WANT to play KH2 at this point.

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I can't do it

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i dunno having two meltdowns over a mediocre series makes me think you should just step away

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I've kinda been reacting this way to most games lately. Even Mario 64, which is my favorite game ever and I've played to completion literally dozens of times and have suddenly started to get bad at recently. I'm going to have a two week period soon where I'll probably be too busy to play any games at all so maybe that will be a reset for me, but I've already tried that and it didn't really help much.

Just to be totally clear, a lot of this is the pent-up feelings of everything else in ny life coming out in the form of the games just pushing me over the edge. Like if nothing else I wish I could at least have games as a healthy outlet but my whole life I've just been really, really bad at them no matter how much I play and practice.

I was kinda embarrassed to come back to the board this morning.

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It's all good man, it's just games. If you need to take a break or do something else it's cool.

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Yeah don't be afraid to step away, this is probably the hardest KH game. I actually didn't beat it until a few years ago and even then I had a guide to help me with deck building. If you really want to play the rest of the series still there's no harm in just watching the custcenes and moving on

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dude just skip CoM/watch the cutscenes. seriously. it's not worth it.

KH2 is super fun

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I definitely wouldn't worry about it on a personal level; Larxene is a pain in the ass no matter how good/bad you are at games.

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I managed to scrape up a slightly (no pun intended) better deck with what I had and it still took me like six additional tries but I finally beat Larxene. I kept my cool by pointing out to myself that I was (for the most part) doing a little better each time and had her down to her last health var twice so I knew it was possible.

Then I did 100 Acre Woods and then beat Repliku with little difficulty (lost badly twice but then the third time I finally found my rhythm).

Having to slight in order to heal has been the bane of the tough battles for me.

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Underleveled posted...

I kept my cool by pointing out to myself that I was (for the most part) doing a little better each time and had her down to her last health var twice so I knew it was possible.

That's the spirit!

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Things went a little south again. Like in the first game, Atlantica was a pain. For some reason I kept getting lost looking for the second story room. The enemies were awful and somehow I ended up with a really bad deck against Ursula, which is weird because it was a deck I don't even remember making (at least not as poorly configured as it was).

Then Repliku battle II kicked my ass. Took quite a few tries and I still believe I only won by luck.

I keep ending up with like 3 cards by the end of these boss battles.

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And Neverland will do it for tonight. Captain Hook was surprisingly tricky and took me a few tries.

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I'll pre-warn you that there's a string of boss battles near the end game that's REALLY rough.

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pjbasis posted...

I'll pre-warn you that there's a string of boss battles near the end game that's REALLY rough.

Yep. I know I have at least one more fight each with Axel, Larxene and Repliku, two with Vexen and I think two with Marluxia. I remember the first Vexen fight being the hardest fight for me in the GBA version. I was stuck on that one for days.

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Just did Hollow Bastion. Remember in the first game where I struggled badly with Dragon Maleficent? This time I found her a bit too easy for such a late-game boss. Beat her in one try with not too much trouble.

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I find Riku's section a bit easier to manage because you're stuck with a set deck, so you don't ever have to worry about that aspect of it.

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As expected, Vexen is proving to be a brick wall for me. I'm on like my seventh try. One time I actually got him down to like two health bars but every other time I've barely put a dent in him.

I also remember Riku's story being easier.

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This Vexen battle might be a lost cause for me. I'm on well over my 20th try and I haven't even come remotely close yet. And yes, I've tried changing up my deck/strategy.

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Been on this battle for over an hour now. Gonna give it a few more tries then be done for a while.

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Oh I thought you were stuck on the 2nd Larxene earlier.

Yeah you're gonna have some major issues with Larxene 2 and Repliku 4. I highly recommend doing a lot of grinding. These are some of the hardest story bosses in the franchise. I also found Marluxia 1 really difficult.

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BetrayedTangy posted...

grinding

Ugh. Nothing kills my interest in an RPG faster than this

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BetrayedTangy posted...

Oh I thought you were stuck on the 2nd Larxene earlier.

Yeah I'm just that bad at games/life lol.

Anyway I'm done for now. I'll give this another go tonight.

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Underleveled posted...

Yeah I'm just that bad at games/life lol.

Anyway I'm done for now. I'll give this another go tonight.

I mean you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. The game is so reliant on the cards you have that you either need good luck or you just have to grind them out. Just don't be afraid to skip ahead to 2 if you get stuck. Especially since you already beat the original

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BetrayedTangy posted...

I mean you shouldn't beat yourself up over it.

Nah, I went to the gym and the steam I needed to blow off is showing because this is one of the best cardio workouts I've had in ages

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FINALLY caps

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I figured it must have been my strategy because before I went to grind I looked up the recommended level for the fight and I was significantly higher than it already.

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