7:20 Santa has the power to go to any hosue in the universe and his whole expodition only takes a single night. Turning Santa into a heartless would basically be an automatic win
Honestly you've kinda convinced me. I didn't consider that he could slither down every chimney in the world and gobble up both hearts and cookies at a frightening pace.
Amazing. You've managed to convince me of the legitimacy of Maleficent's plan and then immediately make me go back to thinking she was stupid with just two comments.
Luxord's a total bro. He doesn't mock you like the others and seems to actually take joy in losing. Even praising Sora for 'playing the game quite well'. Even after you beat him in KH3, he says he looks forward to playing a game with Sora as just guys. He's not as cold as the others and isnt a total dick, he has some honor.
His conversations with roxas in days are also some of the kinder interactions roxas has with org members. Luxord just seems to be along for the games and thrill.
Between his cool powers and gentleman attitude, Luxord is easily my favourite of the 13. Genuinely nice to Roxas, takes as much pride in defeat as winning and is more in it for the thrill than malice.
The moment when Hayner and the gang go to see Sora off, and Sora starts crying because Roxas is having to say goodbye to his friends. That shit gets to me every time, even now that I'm 28 it makes me cry like a little bitch.
It may sound weitd but I STARTED Kingdom Hearts with 2, and since the day I saw Twilight Town and Roxas I've been in love with them. I am actualy more atatched to Roxas than Sora if I think about it, and I adore the existencial dread of his story (and Axel) even if as a Kid I hated seing Sora come out of that pod... Thank you for liking that stupid prologe during which I allways cry.
That's the same experience i had, actually. KH2 was one of the first games i played, period. So when i had spent 6-8 hours as Roxas and he went into the pod and the title card dropped, i legitimately thought the game was over. Over time i have come to realize that i'm honestly more of a fan of the twilight town crew in general than i am of the series overall.
You really managed to summarize what makes Twilight Town so melancholy and pretty, and what made Roxas such a sad character. The first play through as a kid, I just wanted to get to Sora. I didnt get to play COM. I was confused. But the second play through, you realize you saw a bit of a tragedy. And then as you said. We lived with that sadness for like 15 years.
I could right an essay about roxas as a character particularly in relation to queer theory - heck I nearly did for uni, but ended up wanting to focus on the secondary organisation members instead (still in the terms of queer theory tho: no one can escape my desire for queer theory)
As a kid I never played COM and Pnc ei got kh2 and played as Roxas I was like who the hell is this? Then once we finished tutorial I didn’t want to leave him
@@nerdychocobo I'd love to see an overview of what you had in mind for the essay. As I get older, I've been appreciating more takes on media that break the usual mold, especially when looking at games that are engineered for more widespread appeal, and definitely with brands like Disney.
2:30 you answered your own question: Beast had a strong enough heart to basically RIP DIMENSIONS APART just to get Bell Back. They need 13 members in the end to make their true plan work, and Beast is a perfect candidate And in Santa’s case? Imagine a Heartless faster than light itself, that knows the location of every sentient being’s home, and that NO ONE bothers to defend against. Imagine the carnage he could create, and the despair and subsequent spike in darkness just from the people jaded by essentially Osanta Bin Laden
Somewhat neat detail about Tron in KH2: So before SDG leave in the first (I think) visit to space paranoids, Sora mentions that they could reprogram Tron into "singing and dancing Tron". Then in the end credits when it shows Tron, he's dancing! And singing! Cute! Also, sorry to hear about your cat.
Ah yeah, that's actually right before the clip I show here where Tron commits die. Tron's like "Please don't mess with my code you are an illiterate island boy."
The Auron story in this game is actually supposed to take place after the events of the flashbacks of FFX and before FFX. It's weird because the way they set his story up, it's almost like you're supposed to believe this isn't an alternate Auron but the canon Auron's story.
37:40 A good point to illustrate how insane Xemnas is, that when after Ansem sacrifices himself and corrupts his Kingdom Hearts, this man Xemnas, in all sincerity, asks the gang to go out and slay some more heartless for him to gather hearts so Kingdom Hearts can be repaired. Like, what do you think they are here for? They're here to kill you man, what are you on?! You honestly think the gang will be like ''Well, we've come all this way, but let's go all the way back, to another world, kill some heartless so your plans can succeed''?
Really love how when you said, "Some people absolutely hate some characters while obsessing over others," you put Terra for the first, jumping around like some idiot who doesn't know he has a right foot and a left, and then Aqua for the latter being all badass and kicking Unversed butt like she's some crazy superhero who beat Hiro Hamata at bot-fighting. It really demonstrates the opinions many people have about not just those two, but other trios, too. Ex: people love Olette and hate Hayner; people love Riku and hate Kairi; no self-respecting fangirl doesn't have a crush on Marluxia but then you got those Larxene haters all in one corner conspiring on sadistic ways to kill her and erase her from the series' existence. (Not gonna lie, I was part of that group until a little while ago.) And then there's that tiny little 1% who defend Terra with their lives (including me), support Kaisora with their whole being (kind of me), and then have Larxene as their waifu (definitely me), while considering Aqua to be overrated (not me), Riku to be a badass jerk who didn't deserve his six-game-long redemption arc (he most certainly did), and those jealous guys who lost their girlfriend to a pink-haired, stuck-up anime pretty boy and will never forgive Marluxia for stealing away their gals (apologies if I misrepresented that). You got two ends of the spectrum, both supported in different ways, but still part of the fandom.
Justice for Larxene! Still stand by my take of her being the most stand out female character in the series. She’s a bitch, she knows it and relishes in it. It’s so refreshing when every other original female character is pretty much cookie cutter nice girl (and like half of them are literally Kairi). And I can see why people would prefer Riku over Kairi, Square have done my gal dirty since basically day one. The hate she gets is fully unwarranted though. Blame Nomura, not Kairi, he made the choice to consistently sideline her.
@@handsoaphandsoap so true. The two badass gals in KH that aren't copies of Kairi or given the Strelitzia are Aqua and Larxene, and even though Aqua is pretty good, Larxene doesn't lie to herself and say she always does the right thing. She knows she doesn't. She specifically explains to Sora that she's a bad guy! I admit, Larxene used to be my least favorite character in the franchise, but I've come around and joined the Larxene Protection Services.
“No self-respecting fangirl doesn’t have a crush on Marluxia” you are spitting straight truth right there my friend. I also have had differing opinions on Larxene throughout the years. I was never one of her haters but I didn’t really care about her at first, I just regarded her existence with indifference. After KH3, however, I started having in interest in her character. By the time I learned about all that stuff that happened in Union X I thought her character was pretty cool. Overall, while she is nowhere near being in my favorites, I’m definitely not looking down on her.
38:45 It's always so weird to see whenever people say this and I really never understood why people thought like this. Maybe people feels like the KH3 cutscenes were slower? Maybe it's just nostalgia blinding them? Who knows but I really love that you did bring that fact up. This was a great video man, though personally TT would definitely be lower ahaha. Hopefully we can see KH3 Worlds ranked soon 🥺
I think maybe it’s because the plot isn’t very well integrated throughout 3. Kh2 has a progressing story where it slowly unfolds and introduces you to the antagonists who are thorns in your side until it culminates into the final showdown rush. While kh3 keeps all the good stuff locked behind walls of Disney meandering until the end. It’s undeniably fun and the best part of the game, but it makes the rest of the experience feel cheap and useless when nothing unfolds or happens in the Disney worlds and the villains only pop in to taunt you without engaging with you one on one at all, and if they try, they get yeeted. So I guess the frustration isnt with the boss rush itself but rather the fact it feels well, rushed. Having everything important in the last few hours. I don’t think anyone dislikes fighting the whole org at once but I think there’s disappointment that this is the only engagement with any of them
It might be a combination of kh3 feeling "slower" (while I'm sure the boss battles are around the same length kh2 has a particular snappiness to its animations that makes it feel faster) and the battles being split up by cutscenes after you defeat each member/after the start of some battles
For me, it's because I didn't enjoy the fights in 3. I felt like the multi-boss fights were all just watered down versions of bosses that were far more epic with far more interesting mechanics in previous entries. A lot of the fights in 3's final stretch were really mash X/magic to win, whereas critical KH2's finale and proud KH1's were far more punchy with their boss fights. As someone who feels like the boss and gameplay design are just as important as giving us a cool fight on the outset, I care a lot about these aspects, while others might not really find them to be that significant at all. Plenty of fans will see that stretch of bosses as badass and super engaging on a story level, like this grandiose payoff to all the fights we had before. They're not wrong necessarily, but as someone who plays these games for both story and challenging gameplay in equal measure, they were far too easy and uninteresting to me. I would have vastly preferred more 1-on-1 bouts, which thankfully was an itch Re:Mind scratched in spades with the data battles inclusion.
Okay. I HAD to pause the video and post this comment immediately: Thank you for pointing out that WE BEAT RIKU! Donald, I love you, I always understood how to futz with the options to get you to heal me properly, but my man... Nobody beats Riku?? Don't do me dirty like that :[
Plus Riku def lost to Roxas the first fight. That’s why he went back to fight again then lost again till he reached further into the darkness and released his power from Ansem to win.
@@SpiraLnEmisiS What first fight? I think it was implied in the dialogue in KH2 that there was a previous fight, but I don't think there was anything like that in Days, aside from that time when you were chasing the imposter (the hooded figure in that instance turned out to be Xion anyway).
@@WilyGryphon we are told about the first fight. I feel like there is a video of their first fight and Riku losing I can’t remember. But we basically see their first fight in the Kingdom Hearts 1 secret ending.
About turning Beast into a Nobody, Beast strikes me as someone powerful enough to actually become a member of Organization XIII, which would definitely be a worthwhile goal.
KH2 was the first game I played in the series and I’ve always loved the prologue so much. I was completely down for an entire game about Roxas and his buddies. I think the storytelling in that first few hours of Kingdom Hearts is the best in the entire series.
I've always assumed that Xaldin was acting more off his own obsessions that just so happen to somewhat coincide with Org13's somewhat vague goals of 'make Sora kill Heartless to create Kingdom Hearts', the how is left up to the specific member And maybe it's because Xaldin has vague memories of his time as a guard to the castle/labs of Radiant Garden but ever since he tagged along with Roxas in Days he's been trying to make the Beast live up to his namesake maybe as an excuse to skulk around a castle with oddities treated as commonplace Although I do wonder what guard training the dude got to where his technically more powerful nobody was able to have his plan thwarted by a book obsessed lady who said 'fuck this anime bullshit' and shoulder barged out of his grasp and stole back the rose.
9:56 "does the existence of christmas town cannonize jesus christ in the kingdom hearts universe?" _anyone have a sewing machine? bc I split my sides from laughing so hard_ ☠☠☠☠
As someone who has lost their best friend and special baby, I’m so sorry about Zeus. Those are the kind of voids that are impossible to fill. He was one of the lucky ones to have such a loving human.
ive watched a good amount of your videos now after seeing you featured on trending, idk why i was on the trending page that day as it was the first and only time ever, but it was one of my accidents this year, i can feel all of the love you have for this series and it has resonated with me in every video, ive gotten emotional watching many of them. i just want to say if you do see this comment, thank you for your hard work on the videos, i hope to see many more
The way you freaking described exactly how I feel about hollow bastion but especially Twilight Town is unmatched. Damn. Like for many kh fans ,kh2 was the first title of the series I played, intrigued by the Disney aspects. I wasn't really into anime lol. But being a kid growing up in a small town, around Roxas age, the whole prologue somehow just clicked. The summer routine with friends, the mystery, the melancholic yet familiar vibe of Lazy afternoon of it all. There's just something about this town and the story taking part in it that always remains with me. (Let's not get into the ugly cries in 358/2 days ending lol)
My thoughts on Auron in KH2 have never been so succinctly explained. My attempts usually just involve a lot of pointing and stuttering and oh my gods, so thank you!
The 1000 Heartless battle made me feel like a complete badass growing up. It was like, the first time I truly felt like the king of the world and nothing will stop me. This moment was only upped in Kingdom Hearts 3 at the final Heartless army fight. Sure, many of those were static models that you couldn't really kill. But just the feeling and the spectacle of that moment man. Hands up if anyone else felt that way all those years ago man.
Ok there is so much stuff I could talk about, but I don't feel like doing an even bigger comment, so I'll just talk about beast castle. To answer why Gaston isn't in the world is, I personally think, kinda out of necessity but primarily out of respect for beast. In kh1, he kinda needed to have moved on from his insecurities to an extent, so to bring him back to his movie counterpart they needed something extra. I guess the townspeople could have done that but honestly xaldin works better imo (and maybe Gaston stuff happened before kh1). And what I mean by respect is because hes treated as a crucial part of what happened in hollow bastion and rightfully so. Sora was on his god damn knees giving up on life if beast wasn't there as literal support, but also as an emotional motivator. That was important enough to warrant a bigger connection with the general plot. Beast has dealt with kh stuff, and its a nice way to make org 13 present early on. But the reason why I feel that respect is because of the cutscene where sora tries to reach out to beast by saying how much his courage moved them in kh1. While this series is all about friendship, a lot of times it falls flat for me, it's too artificial and easy to earn that, but this is one of the only times it earns it, even including main plot moments. There really isn't another moment like it in a Disney world, making beast stand out even more. But that's not even it because imo it's heartless boss is also freaken amazing thematically, since it simbolizes beasts struggles perfectly. The first phase morphs into the environment and is chained up, because it represents the curse (I also like how its basically a darkball from kh1, which are introduced in hollow bastion). And the second phase is what the beast truly thinks he is deep down. What was inside the monster of that curse is something even worse, a feral creature fueled by anger, and nothing else. I think the boss turns invisible because beast wants to hide that nature away, tho it's still obvious even when he tries. It's so true to his character it feels like a persona boss jesus. Thats basically it, sorry for the ultra long comment 8) (Also waltz of the damned is a top tier bop) (ALSO ALSO this is a top tier video)
Pete is literally the embodiment of the saying “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain” Also if I am not mistaken Pete’s kid is friends with goofy’s kid
But neither PJ or Max are mentioned in the KH series, which is a bummer because it would serve as a plot point for Pete to change for his son. Or something.
Tl;dr: I honestly think the KH2 prologue is the best act in the entire series. 100% agree with your take on Twilight Town. Roxas is legitimately the only character whose plight I have any sympathy for(not counting Xion 'cause I never played Days), because his issues deal with more than just the words light, dark, and heart. I truly still get a tear in my eye at "looks like my summer vacation is.. over.." Who would have expected Jesse McCartney to deliver one of the most emotionally weighted lines of the whole dang franchise? Something I was surprised you didn't really mention was how good the prologue is at setting up and contextualizing the gameplay. Playing as Roxas you feel very slow, almost lumbering, but as soon as you take control of Sora everything is immediately fast and stylish. It really feels like even though you're at level 1(or 6 or whatever) again, Sora _has_ played a Kingdom Hearts game before, and is going to move at a naturally quicker and more fluid pace right out of the gate. The tear he gets when leaving TT is another really charged moment, it's Roxas' emotion spilling forth at having to leave his friends, which, considering that he technically doesn't even really know them, is even more _severely upsetting._ I honestly think the KH2 prologue is the best act in the entire series. And better than a lot of movies, it would honestly make a great movie on its own. You'd have: - More time to develop Roxas' relationship with the town. - You could more slowly drip feed the weirdness going on behind the scenes. And in today's standard of KH graphics, it would look _(expletive)_ gorgeous. I know, yknow, KH fans just know the whole story, so there's not much that would be considered surprising, but come on. We'd _all_ watch it, yeah? One more thing, if literally anybody cared enough to read this far, you're 100% a real one and also the best :3
3:42 - The biggest jumpscare in KH2 (and maybe Kingdom Hearts in general) is the first visit to Hundred Acre Wood where Pooh freezes in space, Sora approaches in confusion, and then he gets knocked back out of the storybook. Scared the pooh out of me when I first saw it as a kid.
While I differ on my rankings on some of the disney worlds I absolutely love and agree with your ranking on the 3 original worlds, especially Twilight Town. Roxas is one of my favorite characters (likely because I am one of those Days truthers). I absolutely love the opening of the game and I find the tragedy of Roxas and his existence impeccable.
That was absolutely amazing. I dont often care all too much about world lists and such as they are so subjective, but all of yours had such good points and were oozing with emotion and reasons i had forgotten made me fall in love with them to begin with. Absolutely amazing job man, i look forward to your other content
I really have to say ever since i started getting invested in the games story i only saw toxic youtubers who present their points with loud=funny and your argument is invalid. And also many other toxic youtubers who enforce opinions without proper justification or explanation. You are the first mature KH youtuber that i have ever enjoyed. You present points with proper explanation and great examples even when I don’t agree with some of them such exploration over combat which just boils down to personal preference. I seriously enjoy you essay like videos however i don’t like how you look down on yourself sometimes about how ridiculous the things you believe in about this game. Over the years i have accepted how over the top the story can be with its plot holes and complicated for the sake of being complicated parts. I hope you continue creating high quality content like this and get massive success my man.
You know, speaking of the laser part of the final battle, I remember i went through that entire section using only Riku because I thought he was protecting a knocked out Sora. The fact I was able to do it first try convinced me that was what was happening.
Your analysis is amazing! Funny, entertaining, brings back memories from the first time I played Kh2. I also enjoy that it is more about your favorite worlds and what you experienced within the game, rather than said world is the best for objetive reasons. Even if that does exist, it doesn't take away from the fact that everyone experiences the games of Kingdom Hearts differently and that emotional connections are tied to different favorite characters (including that we can respect other people's opinions without tearing up their favorite childhood characters and memories just because we disagree. Like Sora says to Xemnas about the heart... it isn't about anger or hatred, the heart is filled with all kinds of feelings. With all this in mind, you drove home this aspect for me in this video, so thank you. It was fun.
My big issue with Radiant Gardens whole middle section scene is actually Goofy, or more specifically his "Death" The first time you play it's this big, heart wrenching moment and you feel that from the people closest to him and it makes you literally just feel like decimating everything in front of you, but on subsequent playthroughs it just doesn't hit that way and if anything it just brings up a question... Why did no one attempt to cast Cure on him? Kind of seems like plot convenience to keep you from using Drives while fighting with the Final Fantasy characters. Like, God forbid we even insinuate Sora could be stronger then them and limit the gameplay mechanics by saying Goofys "Dead" for .5 seconds.
On my first ever playthrough of KH2, I got all the way to Demyx without even realising that abilities needed to be equipped. I had nothing, no combo plus, no SDG limits, no guard, nada. I eventually paused the game and discovered this, and the change in power level was incredible.
That was me with the drive forms, I was like okaay I guess I’ll use them in an emergency. Wasn’t till way later that I realized you had to upgrade them through special grinding and boom, it was so much better
it's refreshing finding a youtuber that really gets this series in the same way i do, and has a really fun, nuanced, and honest way of expressing it. i can tell a lot of love and care goes into these videos. maybe its a weird thing to say but watching them makes me feel like i'm talking with a good friend about our shared love for something we grew up with (none of my friends grew up with these games so lol) and it's just very comfy. anyway. big fan thanks for all you do
I always loved the prologue so much from the get go. I loved playing as Roxas over Sora so much, that I frequently would play just the prologue on its own or even in the middle of other full playthroughs. As you might imagine, I was very excited when 358 came out
I remember how when I was a kid and played 2 before 1 and I didn’t get why we started as “someone who ran like a gorilla” instead of “the guy who’s with Donald and Goofy.” But at the end of the prologue I really ended up regretting my initial decision since I just felt so sorry for Roxas. Then I also got excited when days came out and since then he’s been my favorite character in the series.
Yeah, so I legit cried at the finale, realizing how tragic Roxas history was at this point. I always loved Roxas (also because I played KH2 first), and that really hit hard.
22:16 I've played through this game so many times and I'm just now finding out that Meg can throw you health and drive orbs. I never even noticed her over there. 😅
My god pat, this was awesome! I’d be here all day if I pointed out everything great and I’m only half way done wit the he video. I’ll just settle for a few things I guess. Like I had no idea that Meg would help out in the hydra battle! I’d never really appreciated how expressive and baller Tron is. Just like always, you’ve managed to keep me thinking and learning about a nearly 15 year old game. As a bit of a repayment for all your work, I wanted to point out a neat little detail you may not know about. It’s relatively well known that Biggs and Wedge run the shops in hollow bastion, but did you know that the shop girl in twilight town that Roxas has a crush on is named Jessie? And the owner of the item shop in the grandstander area is Wantz, little brother of O’aka in FFX-2. I have to check, but I’m pretty sure the struggle announcer has an FF name too. Additionally, while searching a bit for this comment, apparently some of the portals which offer you dream eaters are named after characters. Barr’s, Zidaine, Locke, Laguna, and lots more! One more super obscure fun fact, are:Coded features an avatar customizer, which also has some accessories named after ff characters. But the real kicker is the art style which is used to render these avatars. It’s the same as the “thank you” screen in the recorded movie, as well as the very obscure Kingdom Hearts Online, a barebones non cannon chat room service. It’s also the art style used for the Square Enix “trading arts” figurines from the SEStore. Finally, it was recently featured walking across the screen in the Melody of Memory trailer. What a bizarre little recurring piece of content! Ok I got way off track, but point is, great video, keep up the awesome work, hope you enjoyed the facts!
Ayyy thanks YV! I didn't know about those DDD and ReCoded things, that's neat! I cover the KH2 FF people in my KH2 obscure facts vid; Roxas and Jessie is the only canon couple in the series as far as I'm concerned
I feel like KH2 really has a... "duality issue" given that it has some of the best moments in the whole series and some of the absolute worst as this list shows.
So I just found this channel and everything you said about Twilight Town, every single word, is basically how I think of it. I didn't hate it in my first playthrough, but I still found more enjoyment in it after playing more of the series (by the time of my first playthrough, the only game I played before was KH1). I don't know if it's my favourite KH2 world? Maybe it is? But it's definitely top 3. One thing you didn't touch on was the music. People praise the track that plays with Sora, but Roxas' version hits harder for me. I didn't play until 2018, but it's nostalgic to me. Just that feeling of summer evenings when this game came out in the mid-2000s, and Roxas' and his friends' clothes just help with that. I guess it's a more personal feeling of reminiscence, but it's something I'll always love about Twilight Town. A feeling you don't really get when you're in your mid-20s in the 2020s
i think the part of twilight town, and honestly the entire game, that hits the hardest for me is when sora is saying goodbye to hayner, pence, and olette, and sheds that single tear. no one in the scene understands why it happens, but as the player, you immediately understand that it's roxas, and from that point forward, for the entire game, you know that roxas is still in there. while you're having fun as sora, there's still part of roxas alive in there, practically a passenger in another's body. there's always that voice in the back of your head reminding you, and it gives the whole game an air of melancholy that i just... gah. it's so good. twilight town IS kingdom hearts 2, and i will forever defend that stance.
42:10 thinking about it as much as I loved Malificent in KH1 in her home series her motives weren’t that deep. It basically amounted to being snubbed an invitation from a party. So in a way pathetic Malificent is closer to the original Maleficent
I loved playing through Herc's world with Auron in my party. FFX was my favorite game back in the early 2000s and Auron was my favorite character from that game.
I didn't play CoM so when I played kh2, I was convinced Roxas was the protagonist of kh2. It didn't even cross my mind that we'd be playing as sora again and I liked Roxas more. So the "my summer is over" scene wasn't just sad because of story reasons but also because I wanted to keep playing as Roxas.
One thing that I like about the “world that never was” is how clean the castle looks. The white and silver walls are look almost like a mix of jewels and glass. Somehow both unfinished and intended to look like this. Almost as if this is how the mind of a super villain looks. Direct and organized and unnatural, almost as if the architect wants you to know how superior to you he is. It’s also a great contrast to the organic black round chaos that the heartless in KH1 are associated with. As if the Heartless are some wild and bad part of nature, while the Nobodies are the worst of humanity’s control.
I liked how Maleficent helped get Sora his confidence back in Radiant Gardens when he felt despair and she just basically went "yo you serious right now?"
38:56 Alright, I'd like to try to respond to this. I personnaly view these climatic gauntlets of boss battles somewhat similarly to your approach of linearity. Going from boss battle to boss battle does have a bit of inherent fun and raw cool factor, but my enjoyment of it depends heavily on their context in the game and the narrative and everything beside and around the bosses. KH1 and especially KH2 do this very well, as you pointed out yourself. Not only are their finales a satisfying conclusion to the games in both a gameplay and narrative sense, they also offer a lot to enjoy in themselves. KH1 hollow bastion, End of the World and The World that never was are all new and interesting settings that you get to explore. The boss are also brand new, for the most part. End of The World does rehash a fair number of bosses, but it has enough truly new fights. The same goes for The World that never Was, all of the fights are with characters we never got to battle before (unless if you count KH1 Xemnas). In constrat, KH3's finale takes place for the most part in a somewhat bland-looking world that was already the final world of BBS, and once the gauntlet start you don't get to explore much, it's pretty much bosses back to back in identical arenas. Every boss has been fought in a prior game, multiple times for some of them, save for the Lich and debatably Xehanort. The fact that most of the fight are against two or three bosses at once is really cool at first, but the novelty wears off pretty quick, it leave the fights being less interesting mechnically. This is fairly subjective, but I very much prefer the one on one humanoïd fights in the series, so one or two fight against multiple characters would have been welcomed, 5 back to back is just too much. I have to admit that I have come to really like the confrontation against all three of the main Xehanorts. I think they should have kept this fight, the one with Roxas, and maybe another one. As it is, it also breaks the pace of each fight with a cutscene everytime you defeat a boss, it ends up feeling very formulaic and videogamy. It's really this third of the finally that I take issue with, with the 5 fights against multiple characters at once. I have my beefs with the other portions or the finale, but my complains there are much more subjective and petty. Making more use of Scala would have helped a lot, it's one of the most visually interesting locale of this saga, but it's barely utilized, the keyblade graveyard takes most of the focus. Regardind the pacing, I feel the issue with KH3's finale is that it's slightly too long, but mostly that it stands too much in contrast with the rest of the game. Every Kingdom Hearts game is 90% filler, but the little plot progression and story integration found here and there goes a long way. KH1 and KH2 both have a very interesting and important prologue that introduces you in a cryptic way to the main threat of the game, while also giving you a clear emotionnal investment (Sora losing his home and his friends to the Heartless, Roxas' tragic fate and backstory). Then the threat is gradually revealed and evolves. In KH1 the Heartless themselves are menacing enough to carry the first half on the game as antagonists, then Maleficient's council of vilain gradually come into play, which give the game variety in its bosses and progressing the plot, with Ansem being the greater evil revealed in the last portion of the game. In KH2, the recurent visits to Hollow Bastion and Twillight Town makes for a somewhat meaty beginning and middle of the game in a lore and narrative aspect. The Organisation works well as vilains, mainky because they're still new and different to what we've seen prior. There is also a decent variety in bosses, between the giant Heartlesses, the Disney vilains, and the fights against Demyx and Xaldin. KH3 doesn't really have that, it's plot integration is decent for the standards laid by the rest of the series, but it really lacks in mystery and progression. It doesn't have a prologue to give us an emotionnal starting point, which in fairness may have been a smart move considering that KH3 is supposed to be the endgame of the saga, but it still leave us with little to no substance storywise until we go to rescue Aqua. The main game also suffer in a lack of bosses variety, gone are the humanoïd Disney vilains, with the exception of Davey Jones, and no KH character boss until the start of the finale. All of this is made worse due to KH3 as a whole being a final act in a macro sense, the filler worlds are especially annoying in that context. The game starves us for story content in most of the game, which leave the last portion having to deliver almost all of it. This leave us with a finale that is too long and too dense, while also being way more recycled and boring compared to the previous games. The emotionnal beats of KH3 all happen in rapid fire, they barely have time to breathe, which is especially dispointing considering that they've not been set up by this game, but years and years prior in other entries. It's hard not to be disappointed when the reunion of the BBS and Days trio are given the same weight and time as most of the secondary cutscenes in KH1 Hollow Bastion or The World that never was. Giving the game a strong middle point, with the rescue of Aqua and Ventus, and maybe a first visit in the Keyblade Graveyard, would have gone a long way. It would have allowed Square Enix to make a finale that drags on less and given the saga's big final moments more time to have the appropriate impact. KH3's finale have a lot of merits, but the game can't really take full advantage of them. Other than that, great video, what you have to say is always interesting and often spot on. I've discovered your channel a couple days ago and I'm happily binging it.
I felt the same about twilight town. I am very slow with games so it took me way more time then average person to get through the world making me more attached to roxas and his story. I loved how much twilight town grew on me and leaving always felt like I was leaving home to go on a new adventure (I guess that was the point) If I had the choice to live in a KH world I would live in twilight town because of how beautiful it is to me and how happy I feel to just be there.
10:18 I don't know if anything's changed since the time you uploaded this video and the time I'm posting this comment, but in case you still haven't seen Tron yet, A. you should, it's an extremely underrated movie, and B. thinking back to your comments about how the worlds don't really integrate their plots into the KH series without being retellings of the movie, Space Paranoids actually does a FANTASTIC job at this. The overall story of Space Paranoids hits a lot of familiar beats from the original film (the scene you showed where Tron decks Sark's shit is actually from the movie, lines and all, for instance), but, as you said, it also brings in the KH lore with Ansem and Hollow Bastion. It's personally my favorite world in the game for many reasons, and this is one of them. Shoutouts to The Grid in 3D for being integrated in a way that makes sense, too. It's about as much of a continuation from Space Paranoids as Tron: Legacy was for the original film.
I do wonder, with Auron, it feels like this Auron is THE Auron of FFX, not just a KH version of the character like the others. Most of the lines when that doll was touched were directly said in FF10 by the Braska-Era Auron.
Please continue this series. Would love to see you take on BBS worlds and the other series. Particularly since BBS and DDD have different world experiences depending on who you control.
So irony of ironies. I had your part 1 vid playing in the background while I was replaying KH2. I was doing the last trip to Atlantica when it started. THEN I did a few other things, put on part two and get the beginning of Space Paranoids part 2 literally just as you started talking about it. It must be fate! 😜
Unpopular opinion maybe but I also have such a huge soft spot for the prologue. I started the series (and gaming in general tbh) as a really young kid with a copy of KH2 that my older cousin gave me. I vividly remember being engrossed by Roxas' story; not knowing anything about the other games, I quickly got attached to this normal kid being dragged kicking and screaming into a fucked up existential crisis. Something about the contrast of the soft, cozy atmosphere of Twilight Town with the dark undertones of other-worldly creatures invading with reality itself breaking under the strain just clicked with me. I loved it so much that, when Roxas eventually had to go back to Sora, I cried real tears and had to stop playing for a while (keep in mind I was barely 7 years old) It's definitely got it's problems, sure, but I just can't bring myself to hate it.
"if you haven't watched part 1, what are you doing here? This is part 2. I have kept the titles and numbering of these videos very simple, because that is what Kingdom Hearts Fans crave" 10/10 good joke, love it.
thinking about the mid section of kh 2 again extremely fondly because of this video. the whole battle for hollow bastion part was truly the highlight of the game and its why its my favourite to this day
I actually thought Auron in FFX was Auron before the main events of FFX happen because he looks a lot younger, and I thought that this played in well with Tidus' age on Destiny Islands. It made me think that there could be a working connection between the FF characters having worlds of their own, and in the Kingdom Hearts timeline, it's just some timeline where time becomes obscured as worlds are shattered. Because this made sense to me that this Auron that somehow obscurely escaped being sent to the Farplane, and maybe perhaps it's kind of an explanation for where his character goes before we see him back inside of Sin guiding Tidus, so the story they take with him in Olympus I feel fits perfectly to this inbetween his character is kind of travelling through.
The thing about Sora believing in Santa Claus is Sora has seen a lot of things that he probably didn't think were real back when he was on Destiny Islands. He never mentions Santa until someone else does, while he's in a world that he knows to house the embodiments of Halloween. Why wouldn't he believe that the same world could also be home to Father Christmas himself?
i love listening to your rankings just to hear you discuss these things and honestly I just really love your tone of voice, and the reasonings always make lots of sense even if i'd politely disagree on an opinion level, they're still a joy to watch. Anyway Atlantica best world you have shit taste /j
In all fairness, the organization as a whole doesn't really give that much of a fuck about the beast or turning him into a heartless, that's xaldin and xaldin alone bc he's got a personal loathing for him. They actually show it in 358, he goes awol to go fuck around in the castle just because he's pissed off that the beast thinks the power of love will save him and xaldin thinks love is a fucking lie. He's not just following orders; He's trying to prove a point to the others. Its honestly kind of a shame that all the complexity of his character was buried in a game most people just watched the remastered cutscenes for and called it a day. He's got serious motivation for doing what he does to the point where he as a character feels like he was tailored to fit the beast as an edgy, bitter counterpart, but because days is pretty bad gameplay-wise, most fans only remember him as an excessively hard boss fight with some weirdass sideburns and nothing more. They did my boy so dirty.
@@fightingmedialounge519 yeah p much but at least he knocks it off after the whole recompletion thing. I think. I'd be able to give a solid answer if nomura would give him just a *scrap* of screen time.
Ill agree with twilight town getting first place if only for the line "looks like my summer vacation is......over" and then the title flashes on the screen. Goosbumbs man
Hearing you drop “BHK” in the Twilight Town section sent me back to pre-KHII internet expeditions for any news or theories. That was like over half my life ago 😭
Your love for kingdom hearts and ffx is very similar to me and it's the first time for me to see youtubers talk about them in a positive light and not as the butt of a joke
I have a huge bias for mystery so when I first played the game as Roxas, I liked him from the start. I legitimately cried when the prologue ended (and continue to this day). Keep in mind, I was already an adult when I got this game Either 24 or 25 since I don't know if I got this game the year it got released. You know it's funny, even by the end of the game when you learn who Roxas is, I still didn't get that Roxas was an anagram of Sora lol.
As someone who played these games in several forms, from the original when they came out, to the boxed collection, I think one of the big things about KH1 vs KH2 levels is simply size. Let's not be gentle, the size of individual rooms is simply larger on average in 2, compared to the original. This allowed them to sometimes give you several encounters in a single area, allowing the combat to shine as you could switch form fighting easy heartess, to medium difficulty nobodies, to actually hard mini-game types in the span of 2 load screens. This does mean there are typically fewer overall rooms, of course, which leads to an interesting comparison between this series, and the Dishonored series, which had the same problem. Game 1 has more rooms, but they're smaller, but thanks to the load screen separation, they can vary up the design and aesthetics more between the rooms, making the world 'feel' bigger. Meanwhile, game 2 has larger rooms, more spread out areas, and fewer load screens overall. The problem is that thanks to the lack of load screens between, to keep from jarring art direction, the individual maps have to keep a more consistent appearance, causing you to remember fewer of the rooms on their own. Still, to be fair, both have their good and bad points there. Though I will admit, between all the games in the series, I do think KH3 did map design and scale the best.
See, I played KH2 first because my mom got it for me back in 2006 since it had Mickey, Donald, and Goofy on the box art. My first character in this series was Roxas, and my first friends were Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Because of that, my outlook on Sora was pretty negative because I felt like he ripped Roxas away from me and I didn't understand why. Playing KH2 first really colored how I see other characters in the entire series. When I watch other people see Hayner, Pence, and Olette in KH3 for example their reactions are always just "Oh, hi" and then they move on. For me, when I played KH3 for the first time and landed in Twilight Town I was so excited to see them again, and I always wish they were in the games more. I love the opening to KH2, not only because it was my first foray into the series but because I genuinely don't get bored with it. Even on replay, I genuinely have fun with the odd jobs and struggle competitions and the Seven Wonders. I like how long it is, because it can feel like the last week of summer vacation, and then the end always hits hard because of how long it is. If it was shorter then I don't think the end of Roxas' story would feel as significant.
I always thought the reason they sent organization members to harass individuals is because said individuals had a strong enough heart to create a unique nobody. Like if they succeeded with Beast not only do you get a likely powerful heartless, but also an Organization member level nobody out of it rather than just a standard abstract looking nobody.
I cant help but cry for roxas. The ending of 3 only kills me for the further benching of kairi it was alot easier to forgive even before remind sinply cause hearing xions name come outa soras mouth started a nonstop drowning of tears. Every cry you can have for a fictional character ive had em for roxas. Dude just doesnt catch breaks same for the aqua sqaud but roxas was first so it gets my tears so easy even in my 30s now
Funny story, when I was a kid and didn’t understand how RPGs work… after the Hollow Bastion twist, I went out of my way to only kill nobodies and ignore heartless enemies to not “help the organization” As such. I ended up going through the rest of the game majorly underleveled due to avoiding tons of fights as a result. (Let’s just say Xaldin, The Reaper, and Luxord really gave me a hard time as a kid as a result of that choice.😅)
7:20 Santa has the power to go to any hosue in the universe and his whole expodition only takes a single night. Turning Santa into a heartless would basically be an automatic win
Honestly you've kinda convinced me. I didn't consider that he could slither down every chimney in the world and gobble up both hearts and cookies at a frightening pace.
Though it is idiotic of Malificent to give up because Oogie annoyed her
that a really good point
Amazing. You've managed to convince me of the legitimacy of Maleficent's plan and then immediately make me go back to thinking she was stupid with just two comments.
@@TheAzulmagia glad to be of service
Luxord's a total bro. He doesn't mock you like the others and seems to actually take joy in losing. Even praising Sora for 'playing the game quite well'. Even after you beat him in KH3, he says he looks forward to playing a game with Sora as just guys. He's not as cold as the others and isnt a total dick, he has some honor.
Playing Re:MInd made me fall in love with him ever more. He was my fav Organization member after playing KH2.
His conversations with roxas in days are also some of the kinder interactions roxas has with org members. Luxord just seems to be along for the games and thrill.
And he’s given the Sora means to get him from Isekai Hell he was sent to for literally doing the right world
He was also one of the only ones who was nice to Roxas in 358. He's always been a treasure.
Between his cool powers and gentleman attitude, Luxord is easily my favourite of the 13. Genuinely nice to Roxas, takes as much pride in defeat as winning and is more in it for the thrill than malice.
The moment when Hayner and the gang go to see Sora off, and Sora starts crying because Roxas is having to say goodbye to his friends. That shit gets to me every time, even now that I'm 28 it makes me cry like a little bitch.
You're not alone...
fr
32 now, still do.
It may sound weitd but I STARTED Kingdom Hearts with 2, and since the day I saw Twilight Town and Roxas I've been in love with them. I am actualy more atatched to Roxas than Sora if I think about it, and I adore the existencial dread of his story (and Axel) even if as a Kid I hated seing Sora come out of that pod... Thank you for liking that stupid prologe during which I allways cry.
That's the same experience i had, actually. KH2 was one of the first games i played, period. So when i had spent 6-8 hours as Roxas and he went into the pod and the title card dropped, i legitimately thought the game was over.
Over time i have come to realize that i'm honestly more of a fan of the twilight town crew in general than i am of the series overall.
Yoooo why both y’all living my same life😭
Same roxas always been my favorite
My people.
Dude I started with Recoded so like same 😭
You really managed to summarize what makes Twilight Town so melancholy and pretty, and what made Roxas such a sad character. The first play through as a kid, I just wanted to get to Sora. I didnt get to play COM. I was confused. But the second play through, you realize you saw a bit of a tragedy. And then as you said. We lived with that sadness for like 15 years.
I could right an essay about roxas as a character particularly in relation to queer theory - heck I nearly did for uni, but ended up wanting to focus on the secondary organisation members instead (still in the terms of queer theory tho: no one can escape my desire for queer theory)
As a kid I never played COM and Pnc ei got kh2 and played as Roxas I was like who the hell is this?
Then once we finished tutorial I didn’t want to leave him
@@nerdychocobo i would love to read that if you ever wanted to share it!
@@nerdychocobo I'd love to see an overview of what you had in mind for the essay. As I get older, I've been appreciating more takes on media that break the usual mold, especially when looking at games that are engineered for more widespread appeal, and definitely with brands like Disney.
2:30 you answered your own question: Beast had a strong enough heart to basically RIP DIMENSIONS APART just to get Bell Back. They need 13 members in the end to make their true plan work, and Beast is a perfect candidate
And in Santa’s case? Imagine a Heartless faster than light itself, that knows the location of every sentient being’s home, and that NO ONE bothers to defend against. Imagine the carnage he could create, and the despair and subsequent spike in darkness just from the people jaded by essentially Osanta Bin Laden
Somewhat neat detail about Tron in KH2: So before SDG leave in the first (I think) visit to space paranoids, Sora mentions that they could reprogram Tron into "singing and dancing Tron". Then in the end credits when it shows Tron, he's dancing! And singing! Cute! Also, sorry to hear about your cat.
I love that detail!
Ah yeah, that's actually right before the clip I show here where Tron commits die. Tron's like "Please don't mess with my code you are an illiterate island boy."
The Auron story in this game is actually supposed to take place after the events of the flashbacks of FFX and before FFX. It's weird because the way they set his story up, it's almost like you're supposed to believe this isn't an alternate Auron but the canon Auron's story.
Makes sense considering Tidus is still a kid at this point. And Auron looked slightly younger here.
Which I find weird since the Gullwings also exist in this universe in what I presume to be their respective ages in X-2.
@@Vigriff Yeah good point. I guess it just doesnt add up with the traditional FFX-stories.
Sorry about your cat, RIP Zeus he was beautiful
Thank you, he was a homie
@@RegularPat that smash bros Lin though 12:19
he was so cute :(
@@RegularPat I hope you have good memories of him mate.
@@RegularPat I dread the day my lil buddy leaves. I tear up thinking about it.
37:40 A good point to illustrate how insane Xemnas is, that when after Ansem sacrifices himself and corrupts his Kingdom Hearts, this man Xemnas, in all sincerity, asks the gang to go out and slay some more heartless for him to gather hearts so Kingdom Hearts can be repaired. Like, what do you think they are here for? They're here to kill you man, what are you on?! You honestly think the gang will be like ''Well, we've come all this way, but let's go all the way back, to another world, kill some heartless so your plans can succeed''?
Putting Timeless River as the best Disney World is such an amazing take. It is my favourite world in the entire series ♥️♥️♥️
Really love how when you said, "Some people absolutely hate some characters while obsessing over others," you put Terra for the first, jumping around like some idiot who doesn't know he has a right foot and a left, and then Aqua for the latter being all badass and kicking Unversed butt like she's some crazy superhero who beat Hiro Hamata at bot-fighting. It really demonstrates the opinions many people have about not just those two, but other trios, too. Ex: people love Olette and hate Hayner; people love Riku and hate Kairi; no self-respecting fangirl doesn't have a crush on Marluxia but then you got those Larxene haters all in one corner conspiring on sadistic ways to kill her and erase her from the series' existence. (Not gonna lie, I was part of that group until a little while ago.) And then there's that tiny little 1% who defend Terra with their lives (including me), support Kaisora with their whole being (kind of me), and then have Larxene as their waifu (definitely me), while considering Aqua to be overrated (not me), Riku to be a badass jerk who didn't deserve his six-game-long redemption arc (he most certainly did), and those jealous guys who lost their girlfriend to a pink-haired, stuck-up anime pretty boy and will never forgive Marluxia for stealing away their gals (apologies if I misrepresented that). You got two ends of the spectrum, both supported in different ways, but still part of the fandom.
I too am a Terra truther. Cut the boy some slack, I say.
@@RegularPat Yeah. He is the true sweet idiot of the series, and along with Riku, they are the sweetest idiots to ever sweet idiot. And I love them.
Justice for Larxene! Still stand by my take of her being the most stand out female character in the series. She’s a bitch, she knows it and relishes in it. It’s so refreshing when every other original female character is pretty much cookie cutter nice girl (and like half of them are literally Kairi).
And I can see why people would prefer Riku over Kairi, Square have done my gal dirty since basically day one. The hate she gets is fully unwarranted though. Blame Nomura, not Kairi, he made the choice to consistently sideline her.
@@handsoaphandsoap so true. The two badass gals in KH that aren't copies of Kairi or given the Strelitzia are Aqua and Larxene, and even though Aqua is pretty good, Larxene doesn't lie to herself and say she always does the right thing. She knows she doesn't. She specifically explains to Sora that she's a bad guy! I admit, Larxene used to be my least favorite character in the franchise, but I've come around and joined the Larxene Protection Services.
“No self-respecting fangirl doesn’t have a crush on Marluxia” you are spitting straight truth right there my friend.
I also have had differing opinions on Larxene throughout the years. I was never one of her haters but I didn’t really care about her at first, I just regarded her existence with indifference. After KH3, however, I started having in interest in her character. By the time I learned about all that stuff that happened in Union X I thought her character was pretty cool. Overall, while she is nowhere near being in my favorites, I’m definitely not looking down on her.
39:23 Donald was there but he was knocked out which is probably why he forgot LOL
lmao good point. maybe it's canon that Donald was immediately KO'd in that fight and nobody ever explained that we actually DID beat Riku
@@RegularPat Yeah, but he sure as hell was there for the first fight!
38:45 It's always so weird to see whenever people say this and I really never understood why people thought like this. Maybe people feels like the KH3 cutscenes were slower? Maybe it's just nostalgia blinding them? Who knows but I really love that you did bring that fact up. This was a great video man, though personally TT would definitely be lower ahaha. Hopefully we can see KH3 Worlds ranked soon 🥺
I think maybe it’s because the plot isn’t very well integrated throughout 3. Kh2 has a progressing story where it slowly unfolds and introduces you to the antagonists who are thorns in your side until it culminates into the final showdown rush. While kh3 keeps all the good stuff locked behind walls of Disney meandering until the end. It’s undeniably fun and the best part of the game, but it makes the rest of the experience feel cheap and useless when nothing unfolds or happens in the Disney worlds and the villains only pop in to taunt you without engaging with you one on one at all, and if they try, they get yeeted.
So I guess the frustration isnt with the boss rush itself but rather the fact it feels well, rushed. Having everything important in the last few hours. I don’t think anyone dislikes fighting the whole org at once but I think there’s disappointment that this is the only engagement with any of them
It might be a combination of kh3 feeling "slower" (while I'm sure the boss battles are around the same length kh2 has a particular snappiness to its animations that makes it feel faster) and the battles being split up by cutscenes after you defeat each member/after the start of some battles
For me, it's because I didn't enjoy the fights in 3. I felt like the multi-boss fights were all just watered down versions of bosses that were far more epic with far more interesting mechanics in previous entries. A lot of the fights in 3's final stretch were really mash X/magic to win, whereas critical KH2's finale and proud KH1's were far more punchy with their boss fights. As someone who feels like the boss and gameplay design are just as important as giving us a cool fight on the outset, I care a lot about these aspects, while others might not really find them to be that significant at all.
Plenty of fans will see that stretch of bosses as badass and super engaging on a story level, like this grandiose payoff to all the fights we had before. They're not wrong necessarily, but as someone who plays these games for both story and challenging gameplay in equal measure, they were far too easy and uninteresting to me. I would have vastly preferred more 1-on-1 bouts, which thankfully was an itch Re:Mind scratched in spades with the data battles inclusion.
Okay. I HAD to pause the video and post this comment immediately: Thank you for pointing out that WE BEAT RIKU! Donald, I love you, I always understood how to futz with the options to get you to heal me properly, but my man... Nobody beats Riku?? Don't do me dirty like that :[
I thought that Donald said that so Sora wouldn't be worrying too much about Riku.
Plus Riku def lost to Roxas the first fight. That’s why he went back to fight again then lost again till he reached further into the darkness and released his power from Ansem to win.
@@SpiraLnEmisiS What first fight? I think it was implied in the dialogue in KH2 that there was a previous fight, but I don't think there was anything like that in Days, aside from that time when you were chasing the imposter (the hooded figure in that instance turned out to be Xion anyway).
@@WilyGryphon we are told about the first fight. I feel like there is a video of their first fight and Riku losing I can’t remember. But we basically see their first fight in the Kingdom Hearts 1 secret ending.
About turning Beast into a Nobody, Beast strikes me as someone powerful enough to actually become a member of Organization XIII, which would definitely be a worthwhile goal.
KH2 was the first game I played in the series and I’ve always loved the prologue so much. I was completely down for an entire game about Roxas and his buddies. I think the storytelling in that first few hours of Kingdom Hearts is the best in the entire series.
40:23 I can’t find the source but Nomura allegedly once called Luxord his favorite member explaining his longevity
He IS objectively cool
Even the queen of hearts loves him
I'm really sorry about Zeus, I myself lost one of my cats close to a year ago now and he was one of my closest friends.
Thanks so much. He was a champ!
The prologue absolutely shines on replay. Twilight Town is just so COSY once you know it
I've always assumed that Xaldin was acting more off his own obsessions that just so happen to somewhat coincide with Org13's somewhat vague goals of 'make Sora kill Heartless to create Kingdom Hearts', the how is left up to the specific member
And maybe it's because Xaldin has vague memories of his time as a guard to the castle/labs of Radiant Garden but ever since he tagged along with Roxas in Days he's been trying to make the Beast live up to his namesake maybe as an excuse to skulk around a castle with oddities treated as commonplace
Although I do wonder what guard training the dude got to where his technically more powerful nobody was able to have his plan thwarted by a book obsessed lady who said 'fuck this anime bullshit' and shoulder barged out of his grasp and stole back the rose.
Finally, someone who understands the genius of the prologue.
9:56 "does the existence of christmas town cannonize jesus christ in the kingdom hearts universe?" _anyone have a sewing machine? bc I split my sides from laughing so hard_ ☠☠☠☠
I only saw Zeus that one time. But now I’ll never forget him
As someone who has lost their best friend and special baby, I’m so sorry about Zeus. Those are the kind of voids that are impossible to fill. He was one of the lucky ones to have such a loving human.
At one point my Neopets shop was KH themed and named "Hall of Empty Melodies" lol
CLASSIC. Love it lmao
Tbf that's a kickass name
ive watched a good amount of your videos now after seeing you featured on trending, idk why i was on the trending page that day as it was the first and only time ever, but it was one of my accidents this year, i can feel all of the love you have for this series and it has resonated with me in every video, ive gotten emotional watching many of them. i just want to say if you do see this comment, thank you for your hard work on the videos, i hope to see many more
Don't know how this guy doesn't have more subscribers
I concur tbh
The way you freaking described exactly how I feel about hollow bastion but especially Twilight Town is unmatched. Damn.
Like for many kh fans ,kh2 was the first title of the series I played, intrigued by the Disney aspects. I wasn't really into anime lol. But being a kid growing up in a small town, around Roxas age, the whole prologue somehow just clicked. The summer routine with friends, the mystery, the melancholic yet familiar vibe of Lazy afternoon of it all. There's just something about this town and the story taking part in it that always remains with me.
(Let's not get into the ugly cries in 358/2 days ending lol)
My thoughts on Auron in KH2 have never been so succinctly explained. My attempts usually just involve a lot of pointing and stuttering and oh my gods, so thank you!
46:31
Get it? How many "Days" is this going to be?
I'm glad somebody caught that lol
@@RegularPat I just had to stop and write this comment. Lmao.
The 1000 Heartless battle made me feel like a complete badass growing up. It was like, the first time I truly felt like the king of the world and nothing will stop me. This moment was only upped in Kingdom Hearts 3 at the final Heartless army fight. Sure, many of those were static models that you couldn't really kill. But just the feeling and the spectacle of that moment man. Hands up if anyone else felt that way all those years ago man.
Ok there is so much stuff I could talk about, but I don't feel like doing an even bigger comment, so I'll just talk about beast castle.
To answer why Gaston isn't in the world is, I personally think, kinda out of necessity but primarily out of respect for beast. In kh1, he kinda needed to have moved on from his insecurities to an extent, so to bring him back to his movie counterpart they needed something extra. I guess the townspeople could have done that but honestly xaldin works better imo (and maybe Gaston stuff happened before kh1).
And what I mean by respect is because hes treated as a crucial part of what happened in hollow bastion and rightfully so. Sora was on his god damn knees giving up on life if beast wasn't there as literal support, but also as an emotional motivator. That was important enough to warrant a bigger connection with the general plot. Beast has dealt with kh stuff, and its a nice way to make org 13 present early on.
But the reason why I feel that respect is because of the cutscene where sora tries to reach out to beast by saying how much his courage moved them in kh1. While this series is all about friendship, a lot of times it falls flat for me, it's too artificial and easy to earn that, but this is one of the only times it earns it, even including main plot moments. There really isn't another moment like it in a Disney world, making beast stand out even more.
But that's not even it because imo it's heartless boss is also freaken amazing thematically, since it simbolizes beasts struggles perfectly. The first phase morphs into the environment and is chained up, because it represents the curse (I also like how its basically a darkball from kh1, which are introduced in hollow bastion). And the second phase is what the beast truly thinks he is deep down. What was inside the monster of that curse is something even worse, a feral creature fueled by anger, and nothing else. I think the boss turns invisible because beast wants to hide that nature away, tho it's still obvious even when he tries. It's so true to his character it feels like a persona boss jesus.
Thats basically it, sorry for the ultra long comment 8)
(Also waltz of the damned is a top tier bop)
(ALSO ALSO this is a top tier video)
excellent point about the Dark Thorn and the thematic tie-in there, I had never considered that
Pete is literally the embodiment of the saying “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain”
Also if I am not mistaken Pete’s kid is friends with goofy’s kid
But neither PJ or Max are mentioned in the KH series, which is a bummer because it would serve as a plot point for Pete to change for his son. Or something.
Did someone say.....
*GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!*
Tl;dr: I honestly think the KH2 prologue is the best act in the entire series.
100% agree with your take on Twilight Town. Roxas is legitimately the only character whose plight I have any sympathy for(not counting Xion 'cause I never played Days), because his issues deal with more than just the words light, dark, and heart. I truly still get a tear in my eye at "looks like my summer vacation is.. over.." Who would have expected Jesse McCartney to deliver one of the most emotionally weighted lines of the whole dang franchise?
Something I was surprised you didn't really mention was how good the prologue is at setting up and contextualizing the gameplay. Playing as Roxas you feel very slow, almost lumbering, but as soon as you take control of Sora everything is immediately fast and stylish. It really feels like even though you're at level 1(or 6 or whatever) again, Sora _has_ played a Kingdom Hearts game before, and is going to move at a naturally quicker and more fluid pace right out of the gate. The tear he gets when leaving TT is another really charged moment, it's Roxas' emotion spilling forth at having to leave his friends, which, considering that he technically doesn't even really know them, is even more _severely upsetting._
I honestly think the KH2 prologue is the best act in the entire series. And better than a lot of movies, it would honestly make a great movie on its own. You'd have:
- More time to develop Roxas' relationship with the town.
- You could more slowly drip feed the weirdness going on behind the scenes.
And in today's standard of KH graphics, it would look _(expletive)_ gorgeous. I know, yknow, KH fans just know the whole story, so there's not much that would be considered surprising, but come on. We'd _all_ watch it, yeah?
One more thing, if literally anybody cared enough to read this far, you're 100% a real one and also the best :3
yknow its a reverse mgs2
3:42 - The biggest jumpscare in KH2 (and maybe Kingdom Hearts in general) is the first visit to Hundred Acre Wood where Pooh freezes in space, Sora approaches in confusion, and then he gets knocked back out of the storybook. Scared the pooh out of me when I first saw it as a kid.
While I differ on my rankings on some of the disney worlds I absolutely love and agree with your ranking on the 3 original worlds, especially Twilight Town. Roxas is one of my favorite characters (likely because I am one of those Days truthers). I absolutely love the opening of the game and I find the tragedy of Roxas and his existence impeccable.
That was absolutely amazing. I dont often care all too much about world lists and such as they are so subjective, but all of yours had such good points and were oozing with emotion and reasons i had forgotten made me fall in love with them to begin with. Absolutely amazing job man, i look forward to your other content
I really have to say ever since i started getting invested in the games story i only saw toxic youtubers who present their points with loud=funny and your argument is invalid. And also many other toxic youtubers who enforce opinions without proper justification or explanation. You are the first mature KH youtuber that i have ever enjoyed. You present points with proper explanation and great examples even when I don’t agree with some of them such exploration over combat which just boils down to personal preference. I seriously enjoy you essay like videos however i don’t like how you look down on yourself sometimes about how ridiculous the things you believe in about this game. Over the years i have accepted how over the top the story can be with its plot holes and complicated for the sake of being complicated parts. I hope you continue creating high quality content like this and get massive success my man.
Not gonna lie here, hearing the ffx battle theme immediately made me start jamming. Glad to know someone else recognizes perfection when they see it.
love your work, keep it up
You know, speaking of the laser part of the final battle, I remember i went through that entire section using only Riku because I thought he was protecting a knocked out Sora.
The fact I was able to do it first try convinced me that was what was happening.
at the 38:45 mark Fucking thank you!
Your analysis is amazing! Funny, entertaining, brings back memories from the first time I played Kh2. I also enjoy that it is more about your favorite worlds and what you experienced within the game, rather than said world is the best for objetive reasons. Even if that does exist, it doesn't take away from the fact that everyone experiences the games of Kingdom Hearts differently and that emotional connections are tied to different favorite characters (including that we can respect other people's opinions without tearing up their favorite childhood characters and memories just because we disagree. Like Sora says to Xemnas about the heart... it isn't about anger or hatred, the heart is filled with all kinds of feelings. With all this in mind, you drove home this aspect for me in this video, so thank you. It was fun.
My big issue with Radiant Gardens whole middle section scene is actually Goofy, or more specifically his "Death"
The first time you play it's this big, heart wrenching moment and you feel that from the people closest to him and it makes you literally just feel like decimating everything in front of you, but on subsequent playthroughs it just doesn't hit that way and if anything it just brings up a question...
Why did no one attempt to cast Cure on him? Kind of seems like plot convenience to keep you from using Drives while fighting with the Final Fantasy characters. Like, God forbid we even insinuate Sora could be stronger then them and limit the gameplay mechanics by saying Goofys "Dead" for .5 seconds.
43:00 Interestingly, Mickey CAN help out in the Armored Xemnas 1 fight if you get killed and haven't used him too often before in the game.
On my first ever playthrough of KH2, I got all the way to Demyx without even realising that abilities needed to be equipped. I had nothing, no combo plus, no SDG limits, no guard, nada. I eventually paused the game and discovered this, and the change in power level was incredible.
That was me with the drive forms, I was like okaay I guess I’ll use them in an emergency. Wasn’t till way later that I realized you had to upgrade them through special grinding and boom, it was so much better
it's refreshing finding a youtuber that really gets this series in the same way i do, and has a really fun, nuanced, and honest way of expressing it. i can tell a lot of love and care goes into these videos. maybe its a weird thing to say but watching them makes me feel like i'm talking with a good friend about our shared love for something we grew up with (none of my friends grew up with these games so lol) and it's just very comfy. anyway. big fan thanks for all you do
I always loved the prologue so much from the get go. I loved playing as Roxas over Sora so much, that I frequently would play just the prologue on its own or even in the middle of other full playthroughs. As you might imagine, I was very excited when 358 came out
I remember how when I was a kid and played 2 before 1 and I didn’t get why we started as “someone who ran like a gorilla” instead of “the guy who’s with Donald and Goofy.” But at the end of the prologue I really ended up regretting my initial decision since I just felt so sorry for Roxas. Then I also got excited when days came out and since then he’s been my favorite character in the series.
Yeah, so I legit cried at the finale, realizing how tragic Roxas history was at this point. I always loved Roxas (also because I played KH2 first), and that really hit hard.
22:16 I've played through this game so many times and I'm just now finding out that Meg can throw you health and drive orbs. I never even noticed her over there. 😅
A wonderful video. It makes me want to KH2 again.
My god pat, this was awesome! I’d be here all day if I pointed out everything great and I’m only half way done wit the he video. I’ll just settle for a few things I guess. Like I had no idea that Meg would help out in the hydra battle! I’d never really appreciated how expressive and baller Tron is. Just like always, you’ve managed to keep me thinking and learning about a nearly 15 year old game.
As a bit of a repayment for all your work, I wanted to point out a neat little detail you may not know about. It’s relatively well known that Biggs and Wedge run the shops in hollow bastion, but did you know that the shop girl in twilight town that Roxas has a crush on is named Jessie? And the owner of the item shop in the grandstander area is Wantz, little brother of O’aka in FFX-2. I have to check, but I’m pretty sure the struggle announcer has an FF name too.
Additionally, while searching a bit for this comment, apparently some of the portals which offer you dream eaters are named after characters. Barr’s, Zidaine, Locke, Laguna, and lots more!
One more super obscure fun fact, are:Coded features an avatar customizer, which also has some accessories named after ff characters. But the real kicker is the art style which is used to render these avatars. It’s the same as the “thank you” screen in the recorded movie, as well as the very obscure Kingdom Hearts Online, a barebones non cannon chat room service. It’s also the art style used for the Square Enix “trading arts” figurines from the SEStore. Finally, it was recently featured walking across the screen in the Melody of Memory trailer. What a bizarre little recurring piece of content!
Ok I got way off track, but point is, great video, keep up the awesome work, hope you enjoyed the facts!
Ayyy thanks YV! I didn't know about those DDD and ReCoded things, that's neat! I cover the KH2 FF people in my KH2 obscure facts vid; Roxas and Jessie is the only canon couple in the series as far as I'm concerned
@@RegularPat No! ROXION SHALL PREVAIL!!! (along with Namiriku)
I’m so happy I’ve found your channel. For the past 2 days I’ve just been binge watching all of these awesome KH videos
I feel like KH2 really has a... "duality issue" given that it has some of the best moments in the whole series and some of the absolute worst as this list shows.
Kinda fits the game perfectly
I really love listening to everything this man says about kingdom hearts. It's the best background noise when doing something else!
So I just found this channel and everything you said about Twilight Town, every single word, is basically how I think of it. I didn't hate it in my first playthrough, but I still found more enjoyment in it after playing more of the series (by the time of my first playthrough, the only game I played before was KH1). I don't know if it's my favourite KH2 world? Maybe it is? But it's definitely top 3.
One thing you didn't touch on was the music. People praise the track that plays with Sora, but Roxas' version hits harder for me. I didn't play until 2018, but it's nostalgic to me. Just that feeling of summer evenings when this game came out in the mid-2000s, and Roxas' and his friends' clothes just help with that. I guess it's a more personal feeling of reminiscence, but it's something I'll always love about Twilight Town. A feeling you don't really get when you're in your mid-20s in the 2020s
i think the part of twilight town, and honestly the entire game, that hits the hardest for me is when sora is saying goodbye to hayner, pence, and olette, and sheds that single tear. no one in the scene understands why it happens, but as the player, you immediately understand that it's roxas, and from that point forward, for the entire game, you know that roxas is still in there. while you're having fun as sora, there's still part of roxas alive in there, practically a passenger in another's body. there's always that voice in the back of your head reminding you, and it gives the whole game an air of melancholy that i just... gah. it's so good. twilight town IS kingdom hearts 2, and i will forever defend that stance.
I'm seeing this 7 months after this was posted, which was amusingly on my birthday last year.
RIP Zeus. May he rest preacefully.
i love beasts castle mainly for the music. it honestly has to be my favorite kh disney world song
42:10 thinking about it as much as I loved Malificent in KH1 in her home series her motives weren’t that deep. It basically amounted to being snubbed an invitation from a party. So in a way pathetic Malificent is closer to the original Maleficent
I loved playing through Herc's world with Auron in my party. FFX was my favorite game back in the early 2000s and Auron was my favorite character from that game.
Okay holy mother of Yunalesca that is the BEST description of Auron I've ever heard.
32:18 Same! That save right before the Radiant Garden climax.
I didn't play CoM so when I played kh2, I was convinced Roxas was the protagonist of kh2. It didn't even cross my mind that we'd be playing as sora again and I liked Roxas more. So the "my summer is over" scene wasn't just sad because of story reasons but also because I wanted to keep playing as Roxas.
One thing that I like about the “world that never was” is how clean the castle looks.
The white and silver walls are look almost like a mix of jewels and glass. Somehow both unfinished and intended to look like this.
Almost as if this is how the mind of a super villain looks. Direct and organized and unnatural, almost as if the architect wants you to know how superior to you he is.
It’s also a great contrast to the organic black round chaos that the heartless in KH1 are associated with.
As if the Heartless are some wild and bad part of nature, while the Nobodies are the worst of humanity’s control.
I liked how Maleficent helped get Sora his confidence back in Radiant Gardens when he felt despair and she just basically went "yo you serious right now?"
38:56 Alright, I'd like to try to respond to this.
I personnaly view these climatic gauntlets of boss battles somewhat similarly to your approach of linearity. Going from boss battle to boss battle does have a bit of inherent fun and raw cool factor, but my enjoyment of it depends heavily on their context in the game and the narrative and everything beside and around the bosses.
KH1 and especially KH2 do this very well, as you pointed out yourself. Not only are their finales a satisfying conclusion to the games in both a gameplay and narrative sense, they also offer a lot to enjoy in themselves. KH1 hollow bastion, End of the World and The World that never was are all new and interesting settings that you get to explore. The boss are also brand new, for the most part. End of The World does rehash a fair number of bosses, but it has enough truly new fights. The same goes for The World that never Was, all of the fights are with characters we never got to battle before (unless if you count KH1 Xemnas).
In constrat, KH3's finale takes place for the most part in a somewhat bland-looking world that was already the final world of BBS, and once the gauntlet start you don't get to explore much, it's pretty much bosses back to back in identical arenas. Every boss has been fought in a prior game, multiple times for some of them, save for the Lich and debatably Xehanort. The fact that most of the fight are against two or three bosses at once is really cool at first, but the novelty wears off pretty quick, it leave the fights being less interesting mechnically. This is fairly subjective, but I very much prefer the one on one humanoïd fights in the series, so one or two fight against multiple characters would have been welcomed, 5 back to back is just too much. I have to admit that I have come to really like the confrontation against all three of the main Xehanorts. I think they should have kept this fight, the one with Roxas, and maybe another one. As it is, it also breaks the pace of each fight with a cutscene everytime you defeat a boss, it ends up feeling very formulaic and videogamy. It's really this third of the finally that I take issue with, with the 5 fights against multiple characters at once. I have my beefs with the other portions or the finale, but my complains there are much more subjective and petty.
Making more use of Scala would have helped a lot, it's one of the most visually interesting locale of this saga, but it's barely utilized, the keyblade graveyard takes most of the focus.
Regardind the pacing, I feel the issue with KH3's finale is that it's slightly too long, but mostly that it stands too much in contrast with the rest of the game. Every Kingdom Hearts game is 90% filler, but the little plot progression and story integration found here and there goes a long way. KH1 and KH2 both have a very interesting and important prologue that introduces you in a cryptic way to the main threat of the game, while also giving you a clear emotionnal investment (Sora losing his home and his friends to the Heartless, Roxas' tragic fate and backstory). Then the threat is gradually revealed and evolves. In KH1 the Heartless themselves are menacing enough to carry the first half on the game as antagonists, then Maleficient's council of vilain gradually come into play, which give the game variety in its bosses and progressing the plot, with Ansem being the greater evil revealed in the last portion of the game. In KH2, the recurent visits to Hollow Bastion and Twillight Town makes for a somewhat meaty beginning and middle of the game in a lore and narrative aspect. The Organisation works well as vilains, mainky because they're still new and different to what we've seen prior. There is also a decent variety in bosses, between the giant Heartlesses, the Disney vilains, and the fights against Demyx and Xaldin.
KH3 doesn't really have that, it's plot integration is decent for the standards laid by the rest of the series, but it really lacks in mystery and progression. It doesn't have a prologue to give us an emotionnal starting point, which in fairness may have been a smart move considering that KH3 is supposed to be the endgame of the saga, but it still leave us with little to no substance storywise until we go to rescue Aqua. The main game also suffer in a lack of bosses variety, gone are the humanoïd Disney vilains, with the exception of Davey Jones, and no KH character boss until the start of the finale. All of this is made worse due to KH3 as a whole being a final act in a macro sense, the filler worlds are especially annoying in that context. The game starves us for story content in most of the game, which leave the last portion having to deliver almost all of it. This leave us with a finale that is too long and too dense, while also being way more recycled and boring compared to the previous games. The emotionnal beats of KH3 all happen in rapid fire, they barely have time to breathe, which is especially dispointing considering that they've not been set up by this game, but years and years prior in other entries. It's hard not to be disappointed when the reunion of the BBS and Days trio are given the same weight and time as most of the secondary cutscenes in KH1 Hollow Bastion or The World that never was. Giving the game a strong middle point, with the rescue of Aqua and Ventus, and maybe a first visit in the Keyblade Graveyard, would have gone a long way. It would have allowed Square Enix to make a finale that drags on less and given the saga's big final moments more time to have the appropriate impact. KH3's finale have a lot of merits, but the game can't really take full advantage of them.
Other than that, great video, what you have to say is always interesting and often spot on. I've discovered your channel a couple days ago and I'm happily binging it.
I felt the same about twilight town. I am very slow with games so it took me way more time then average person to get through the world making me more attached to roxas and his story. I loved how much twilight town grew on me and leaving always felt like I was leaving home to go on a new adventure (I guess that was the point) If I had the choice to live in a KH world I would live in twilight town because of how beautiful it is to me and how happy I feel to just be there.
10:18 I don't know if anything's changed since the time you uploaded this video and the time I'm posting this comment, but in case you still haven't seen Tron yet, A. you should, it's an extremely underrated movie, and B. thinking back to your comments about how the worlds don't really integrate their plots into the KH series without being retellings of the movie, Space Paranoids actually does a FANTASTIC job at this. The overall story of Space Paranoids hits a lot of familiar beats from the original film (the scene you showed where Tron decks Sark's shit is actually from the movie, lines and all, for instance), but, as you said, it also brings in the KH lore with Ansem and Hollow Bastion. It's personally my favorite world in the game for many reasons, and this is one of them.
Shoutouts to The Grid in 3D for being integrated in a way that makes sense, too. It's about as much of a continuation from Space Paranoids as Tron: Legacy was for the original film.
This channel is gonna be big soon I’m calling it right now
I do wonder, with Auron, it feels like this Auron is THE Auron of FFX, not just a KH version of the character like the others. Most of the lines when that doll was touched were directly said in FF10 by the Braska-Era Auron.
Please continue this series. Would love to see you take on BBS worlds and the other series. Particularly since BBS and DDD have different world experiences depending on who you control.
So irony of ironies. I had your part 1 vid playing in the background while I was replaying KH2. I was doing the last trip to Atlantica when it started. THEN I did a few other things, put on part two and get the beginning of Space Paranoids part 2 literally just as you started talking about it. It must be fate! 😜
Unpopular opinion maybe but I also have such a huge soft spot for the prologue. I started the series (and gaming in general tbh) as a really young kid with a copy of KH2 that my older cousin gave me. I vividly remember being engrossed by Roxas' story; not knowing anything about the other games, I quickly got attached to this normal kid being dragged kicking and screaming into a fucked up existential crisis. Something about the contrast of the soft, cozy atmosphere of Twilight Town with the dark undertones of other-worldly creatures invading with reality itself breaking under the strain just clicked with me. I loved it so much that, when Roxas eventually had to go back to Sora, I cried real tears and had to stop playing for a while (keep in mind I was barely 7 years old)
It's definitely got it's problems, sure, but I just can't bring myself to hate it.
"if you haven't watched part 1, what are you doing here? This is part 2. I have kept the titles and numbering of these videos very simple, because that is what Kingdom Hearts Fans crave" 10/10 good joke, love it.
thinking about the mid section of kh 2 again extremely fondly because of this video. the whole battle for hollow bastion part was truly the highlight of the game and its why its my favourite to this day
this video was much more than its title, I loved it.
Just as I was about to sleep. Why would you do this to me?
Edit: Sorry about Zues.
I have notoriously poor timing!!
I actually thought Auron in FFX was Auron before the main events of FFX happen because he looks a lot younger, and I thought that this played in well with Tidus' age on Destiny Islands. It made me think that there could be a working connection between the FF characters having worlds of their own, and in the Kingdom Hearts timeline, it's just some timeline where time becomes obscured as worlds are shattered. Because this made sense to me that this Auron that somehow obscurely escaped being sent to the Farplane, and maybe perhaps it's kind of an explanation for where his character goes before we see him back inside of Sin guiding Tidus, so the story they take with him in Olympus I feel fits perfectly to this inbetween his character is kind of travelling through.
3:01 Huh. Guess that's why they're such good friends.
The thing about Sora believing in Santa Claus is Sora has seen a lot of things that he probably didn't think were real back when he was on Destiny Islands. He never mentions Santa until someone else does, while he's in a world that he knows to house the embodiments of Halloween. Why wouldn't he believe that the same world could also be home to Father Christmas himself?
i love listening to your rankings just to hear you discuss these things and honestly I just really love your tone of voice, and the reasonings always make lots of sense even if i'd politely disagree on an opinion level, they're still a joy to watch.
Anyway Atlantica best world you have shit taste /j
In all fairness, the organization as a whole doesn't really give that much of a fuck about the beast or turning him into a heartless, that's xaldin and xaldin alone bc he's got a personal loathing for him. They actually show it in 358, he goes awol to go fuck around in the castle just because he's pissed off that the beast thinks the power of love will save him and xaldin thinks love is a fucking lie. He's not just following orders; He's trying to prove a point to the others. Its honestly kind of a shame that all the complexity of his character was buried in a game most people just watched the remastered cutscenes for and called it a day. He's got serious motivation for doing what he does to the point where he as a character feels like he was tailored to fit the beast as an edgy, bitter counterpart, but because days is pretty bad gameplay-wise, most fans only remember him as an excessively hard boss fight with some weirdass sideburns and nothing more. They did my boy so dirty.
Indeed.
So his actual motivation was that of a petty high schooler.
@@fightingmedialounge519 yeah p much but at least he knocks it off after the whole recompletion thing. I think. I'd be able to give a solid answer if nomura would give him just a *scrap* of screen time.
My favorite world in Kingdom Hearts 2 is Beast's Castle because it does what I love Kingdom Hearts for. Mixing Disney and anime.
Ill agree with twilight town getting first place if only for the line "looks like my summer vacation is......over" and then the title flashes on the screen. Goosbumbs man
51:34 WHY DID THIS MAKE ME CRY
Hearing you drop “BHK” in the Twilight Town section sent me back to pre-KHII internet expeditions for any news or theories. That was like over half my life ago 😭
Your love for kingdom hearts and ffx is very similar to me and it's the first time for me to see youtubers talk about them in a positive light and not as the butt of a joke
I have a huge bias for mystery so when I first played the game as Roxas, I liked him from the start. I legitimately cried when the prologue ended (and continue to this day). Keep in mind, I was already an adult when I got this game Either 24 or 25 since I don't know if I got this game the year it got released. You know it's funny, even by the end of the game when you learn who Roxas is, I still didn't get that Roxas was an anagram of Sora lol.
As someone who played these games in several forms, from the original when they came out, to the boxed collection, I think one of the big things about KH1 vs KH2 levels is simply size. Let's not be gentle, the size of individual rooms is simply larger on average in 2, compared to the original. This allowed them to sometimes give you several encounters in a single area, allowing the combat to shine as you could switch form fighting easy heartess, to medium difficulty nobodies, to actually hard mini-game types in the span of 2 load screens. This does mean there are typically fewer overall rooms, of course, which leads to an interesting comparison between this series, and the Dishonored series, which had the same problem.
Game 1 has more rooms, but they're smaller, but thanks to the load screen separation, they can vary up the design and aesthetics more between the rooms, making the world 'feel' bigger. Meanwhile, game 2 has larger rooms, more spread out areas, and fewer load screens overall. The problem is that thanks to the lack of load screens between, to keep from jarring art direction, the individual maps have to keep a more consistent appearance, causing you to remember fewer of the rooms on their own.
Still, to be fair, both have their good and bad points there. Though I will admit, between all the games in the series, I do think KH3 did map design and scale the best.
46:17 "is that BHK?"
now there's a nice piece of nostalgia that i didn't think i shared with anyone
I don't know about Gaston being to comedic cosidering this game has Pete as a villain.
See, I played KH2 first because my mom got it for me back in 2006 since it had Mickey, Donald, and Goofy on the box art. My first character in this series was Roxas, and my first friends were Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Because of that, my outlook on Sora was pretty negative because I felt like he ripped Roxas away from me and I didn't understand why. Playing KH2 first really colored how I see other characters in the entire series. When I watch other people see Hayner, Pence, and Olette in KH3 for example their reactions are always just "Oh, hi" and then they move on. For me, when I played KH3 for the first time and landed in Twilight Town I was so excited to see them again, and I always wish they were in the games more.
I love the opening to KH2, not only because it was my first foray into the series but because I genuinely don't get bored with it. Even on replay, I genuinely have fun with the odd jobs and struggle competitions and the Seven Wonders. I like how long it is, because it can feel like the last week of summer vacation, and then the end always hits hard because of how long it is. If it was shorter then I don't think the end of Roxas' story would feel as significant.
Looking forward to the world rankings for the rest of the games!
I always thought the reason they sent organization members to harass individuals is because said individuals had a strong enough heart to create a unique nobody. Like if they succeeded with Beast not only do you get a likely powerful heartless, but also an Organization member level nobody out of it rather than just a standard abstract looking nobody.
I cant help but cry for roxas. The ending of 3 only kills me for the further benching of kairi it was alot easier to forgive even before remind sinply cause hearing xions name come outa soras mouth started a nonstop drowning of tears. Every cry you can have for a fictional character ive had em for roxas. Dude just doesnt catch breaks same for the aqua sqaud but roxas was first so it gets my tears so easy even in my 30s now
Woah. I did not know about the original kh2 Halloween town. That’s crazy.
Funny story, when I was a kid and didn’t understand how RPGs work… after the Hollow Bastion twist, I went out of my way to only kill nobodies and ignore heartless enemies to not “help the organization”
As such. I ended up going through the rest of the game majorly underleveled due to avoiding tons of fights as a result. (Let’s just say Xaldin, The Reaper, and Luxord really gave me a hard time as a kid as a result of that choice.😅)