I've been writing this script on and off for over a year. I'm not sure why I struggled on it for this long, but thank you for your patience. Honestly, thank you for your patience in general when videos take a while, since my scripts go through variable phases of difficulty. Hope you enjoy!
Dream Drop Distance is a frustrating KH game for me for several reasons both in gameplay and story but I will always give it this, for all of its problems, it sealed Riku as my favorite character in the series and effectively served as his game. He's definitely the best part of this whole thing.
Riku is the foundation that protects the beautiful house (Sora). Sora owes alot of his growth to Riku And Sora gives Riku purpose ("the strength to protect what matters") i.e the foundation makes sure the house is safe.
I don’t like the story of DDD, it jumped the shark with time travel, I don’t like the addition of the sleeping realm, but I really liked Riku’s portrayal
I love how at the end of the game, Sora completely ignores Riku's question. "Why are you having a tea party?" "You're safe, don't worry about the tea party, ignore it!"
"No I told you my name is- Ah, fine. Whatever. Axel. Fine." This game has one of my favourite scripts in the series, but Axel in particular was incredibly precious. I didn't pay him much mind until this game, even after my personal favourite, Days.
How did you go through the entirety of Days, considering it to be your favorite title in the series, and manage to somehow "not pay much mind" to Axel?
@@naughtmeinam4603 Yeah, got me thinking about that too, guy watches “Go on, you just keep running. But I’ll always be there to bring you back!” and somehow still doesn’t pay much mind to Axel. Easily in my Top 5 characters in the series, just behind Sora, Riku and Roxas.
I always interpreted the difference in the BBS Mark of Mastery exam vs. the DDD one as being due to the fact that Terra and Aqua had trained their whole lives to be Keyblade Masters, so their education was spread out over years, meaning the orb-hitting and duel acted as a simple capstone test. But Sora and Riku needed to not only learn everything that a Master is supposed to know, but they had to do it quickly and all at once, AND they had to un-learn every bit of knowledge they'd acquired throughout their journeys. Put in that context, it makes sense why their exam was so much more grueling.
I love how every time there's a "drop" K goes from talking about the story to talking about the gameplay, a nice little touch. greatly appreciated by me
I think one of the most underrated things about DDD is the claustrophobic, almost terrifying feeling of the whole journey. Like, as soon as the Mark of Mastery starts, Sora and especially Riku immediately sense that something is wrong, that things arent how they're supposed to. And yet they need to keep going until the seven Keyholes are sealed, somehow divided by a dimensional gap of sorts. And then, villains from the past appear: Ansem appears before Riku, while Vanitas appears before Sora. And yet, this is all a dream, right? So Ansem and Vanitas must must be part of the boys' dreams as well, constructed by their memories, no? (Ventus sleeps inside Sora so it would make sense for him to dream things that Ventus lived). But what if they're not? What if they're really there? Like, of course in retrospect we now know that they were very much real. But in a blind playthrough, and from the boys' perspective, its all a mystery. Are all these villains seriously back? Or is this all part of the dream? What is going with the exam? The only way to know is to push forward because we are literally caged in this nightmare until we finish the test and escape. For a 14 years old boy playing this game on his 3DS there was this terrifying feeling of looming danger and uncertainty during the whole DDD experience. This sounds really funny, but this makes DDD the most "horror" Kingdom Hearts game of them all (even IF Chain of Memories, with Sora slowly losing himself as he goes on, is also pretty fucking terrifying when you think about it).
Not to mention that Young Xehanort is probably the creepiest and most intimidating version of Xehanort we've gotten so far. Unlike the other Nort variants, YX had next to no hamminess. His voice always had this calm, sinister tone with nothing more than a slight bit of arrogance peaking through. It was only during his boss fight where he showed anything more than that and even then, it was just a single "Begone" On top of that, he was at the forefront of the games most mind-screwy moments up to and including the end of Sora's part of the story, where he's standing over him and the last thing you see is him moving down to emulate the "hand over eyes to close them" trope. "Good night, Sora" is chilling
I always thought of this Mark of Mastery exam being curated for Sora and Riku because Yen Sid knew they would need the Power of Waking since they would likely need the Wayfinder trio (or at least to just generally save them), and the earlier one that Terra and Aqua did was just like an archaic test because there wasn't any major darkness-based conflict until after the test takes place
i like this take quite a bit, but it still sort of feels like a bandaid to help fix the reality of it lol. i dont thinn that was namuras intent, but hey, maybe you hit the nail on the head🤷🏻♂️
For me, DDD has always been one of my favorite KH games, but I can’t say that any of the criticism in this video are invalid at all. It may be that I have an appreciation for busted things, but I feel like there are some not busted things that I like about the game too. I love how flowmotion added unlimited freedom to the world and the maps are really designed with that in mind. I remember finding the chest at the top of the little tower area in traverse town, ya know the one with the fairy lights? And thinking wow, they totally did design this knowing I wanted to come look up here and I got a little something for it. But a lot of the real secrets were down on the ground, where it was more dangerous. It just has a fluidity of movement that speaks to me. It may also be that I’m one of those people that actually likes a little grind in games, grinding up for some of those late game dream eaters is fun for me, and it’s really rewarded too, cause they have some super cool stuff, but not everyone likes grind so that’s super valid. I also just really appreciate the story, even if it was a bit buck wild.(I mean this game gave us the line “Darkness within Darkness awaits you” lol, which is some grade A Nomura over dramatic nonsense) Mostly cause 1. It gave Riku a chance to like, thrive as opposed to just struggling, which he deserves I think after all he’s been through and 2. Sora fails, and it humanizes him, because up to this point like, his innocence has caused him to falter and gotten him in hot water, but never just like outright fail to this degree, to the point that Riku had to come save him or he would just be gone forever. Great vid, thanks so much KingK I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time.
Agreed! Even knowing that this game is a mess, I can't help but love it. Maybe it's because it was my first KH game, but something about it is just so charming to me. And I agree with what you said, seeing sora genuinely fail and riku having to go save him is great, it humanized sora more and gave riku room to shine. Plus, I love riku and sora's relationship but sora (being the protag and all) usually does the hero stuff...so seeing riku do the saving for once was really cool!
As I said before in the preview, this was actually my first KH game. The 3DS was fairly young at the time and I was looking for new games and I figured this would be a good place to jump into the series. Boy, was I wrong.
Interesting as a KH outsider to hear the perspective of someone who’s been sucked into nomura’s craziness. I chuckled at “but, then, is there any right way to tell a story?”
I love dream drop distance for its incredible music, the emotionally charged story full of development for sora and riku, I love the final boss battles against ansem and xemnas though I agree about young xehanort but I find he’s even worse, it just feels so frustrating to get so far and have him rewind time in the end over and over because I just wasn’t quite fast enough. But the worlds in this game I love jumping and gliding around and with that gorgeous GORGEOUS SOUNDTRACK, I cannot get over my love for ddd even if 2 is my favourite ddd is a second for definite ❤️
The characterization of Riku in DDD is one of my favorite arcs in the whole series, I just wish it was in a game that was easier to swallow for most people. Interesting that you ranked BBS above DDD, since I personally found the worlds and dream eaters a more engaging adventure than what BBS had to offer (especially since you weren't playing the game three times with very little change)
I definitely agree with you. I ended up replaying DDD way more than BBS because to have to replay all three campaigns is kind of a pain, especially since you have to unlock the necessary skills with Terra, Ventus and Aqua when in DDD, once it's unlocked for one, it's available to the other, making the progression way more streamlined, natural, and in the end, way less time consuming, even with all the caring you have to do for the Dream Eaters. And the mobility available for the character made the world exploration just way more pleasant than in BBS where the characters just feels very heavy, and the world just appear to be very flat, with few exceptions.
I dunno, I just loved going to the classic Disney princess worlds in BBS. Castle of Dreams was a personal favorite and I was super pumped to see it return in Union X. The DDD worlds were just kinda uninspired in my opinion. They lacked iconic set pieces. I was really happy to see Hunchback get some love though
What's funny is that my experience with DDD is kind of the opposite. I sort of shrugged at the story as "whatever" save for a couple of key moments, and I really loved the gameplay and visuals. I still kind of do, I just have a lot of fun with DDD, even if it can be frustrating at times.
For all the problems with this games story, I really love the tonal progression. It starts off a bit uneasy compared to previous games, with the sleeping worlds and being unsure of how everything works, but playing through the Disney worlds is still typical KH charming stuff. But slowly, as the villains keep showing up, it keeps getting a bit more insecure. Then we arrive at TWTNW, and the game starts going hard. The characters have no idea why they're there, everything gets really dark, and the reveals leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. It kinda ends with a happy ending with saving Sora and Riki passing the exam, but we end the game knowing that shit's about to go down, and in the end, our protags kinda failed to stop the villains. For all the problems with this game, I just love how dark it is, and how things just keep getting worse and worse. idk how to explain that feeling, but it's unique to this game, which makes it really interesting to me. Excellent video as always mate
Yes actually I really enjoyed this video, to answer your question at the ending. DDD was my entry into this madness of a franchise. Not only was I 14 years old, but I was so confused the entire time. You'd think that turn me away, but no, it only strengthened my resolve. Of course I came into KH because of Disney and Mickey Mouse being on the box art (and that's still the top priority for me going into the future), but the story of this game was so mystifying to me that I wanted to do homework on the lore of the series up to that point. DDD will always be really special to me for that. Even though I love KH3 more now, DDD still has a high placing for my favorite video games of all time.
One of the nice things about DDD for anyone new to the series is the chronicles that give a brief overview of previous games to help catch players up. I’m pretty sure this helped me a lot when I was playing for the first time
With DDD's spirit carry-over feature I always start and end with the same dream eaters. The big dino, the tiger one, another one I can't exactly remember, and my fav meow wow Chomusuke. And it's honestly crazy how the only cool looking keyblade you can get before the final boss is locked behind getting A-Ranks in Dives and even then it has dumb hit sounds, but that aside since no one would really do it on the first go and would rather progress the game, they're stuck with the ugly yee yee ass Fantasia keyblade because the other cool looking keyblades are locked until you BEAT the game.
Yeah, the Fantasia Keyblade is an eye sore if not downright ugly. It kills all the seriousness of the final act when I see a let's player use it for the final battles.
KH3D has one of my favorite cutscenes in the series with the Guardians of Light speaking with the Real Organization towards the end of Riku's campaign ("You had the perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel.") The mood was tense and it broke off into a nice little fight; it really had me hyped for Kh3.
My problem really with the story is that so little happens. It'd make so much more sense if the main points of this were act A of KH3. And time travel was unnecesary (tough I'm perfectly fine with how Master of Master uses it).
Yeah, the bit about villains talking vague nothing nonsense is really what KH ultimately boils down to me. Even if things have a reason and motivation, the series is just too verbose for how much of absolutely nothing ends up hapenning.
I really do love the FlowMotion in DDD, it makes exploration super fun and I really enjoy what it does in terms of making world traversal and discovery of chests and stuff more interesting.
I really liked your explanation on Xehanort and it reflected how I feel about Ansem and Xemnas's relationship with him. The two probably see themselves as aspects of Xehanort and reflected his greatest personality flaws. Xehanort would honestly be less memorable if really he was the mustache twirler fans and outsiders assume he is.
Really liked the structure of this video on how you swapped between the story and the characters with the Drop mechanic. Was surprised to hear you actually thought the plot was good! Can’t wait for the KH3 video. Also, nice TWEWY music for the credits. Played TWEWY ReMix last year for the first time and the music was just bangers. So glad they included the DDD remixes.
I, for one, have honestly been anticipating this video for a while, it's the KH game I knew the least about, and your passionate, fair analysis and opinions really help me feel more like a proper KH fan despite only playing a few of the games. As always, a wonderful video, I especially love the editing. Thank you.
The dream eater icon on Riku's clothing was something I noticed almost instantly, and adored the little detail when the pay off came end game and the drop system stoped. But the better detail was the box art itself. Shocked you did not mention that as it encapsulates the story well. Sora is falling with Micky diving after him. Sora looked asleep and Micky panicked. If we take what Sora represents, light, one could say the light is fading, or sunset. On the other side Riku looks alert, kinda stoic and is rising. Darkness is lifting and if we take that we can even slot in his "to the dawn" line.
I dunno, I still love the Xemnas fight in DDD. Even with the iffy commands, it feels like a duel, since Xemnas doesn't really do any bullshit moves that require tryhard dodging or flowmotion. It's still my favorite fight in the game.
I’ve been watching your kh retrospectives since I started playing watching each video as I beat each game after beating bbs I had to go through the rest of the games without that but now I can finally watch them again!
This video was superb, it gave me a lot of the usual KH feelings even for a game I couldn't personally finish. The quality of the voice and editing was really nice on top of the points raised themselves. I feel that KH commits every single writing sin, yet creates an incredible story fueled by each and every one. Whatever the ratio of skill to luck that kind of style takes, it's worth breaking down for study. My personal take is that it uses a lot of things that makes the mystery genre work and applies it to a sprawling adventure. Not a mystery you're meant to solve ahead of the characters, but to uncover piece by piece until it all comes together in a Moment. Just incredible stuff
This one has been gnawing at me for a long time. There's always the ongoing complaint that KH's worlds are empty as hell, but Flowmotion exacerbates this problem to the extreme. It's like every world is a theme park where the only thing you can do is grind down some rails. It also made my playthrough hell because I had to redo so many of the same areas because I died a lot. However, the story is such a mindfuck that it comes back to being amazing. Maybe I should try it out again but on a lower difficulty.
28:35 This is the exact reason why Kingdom Hearts 3 is so special. In his deepest desperation watching Kairi get swept up into the heartless tornado, Sora admits what he's thought about himself his whole life. "Alone, I'm worthless." But then, Sora proceeds to save everyone by himself, and takes on Xehanort willingly being the only keyblade wielder. Sora learns that he is capable of doing things on his own, and proves it by saving Kairi alone and denying anyone's help. Sora's character arc is finally fulfilled at the end of KH3. He stops letting Riku solve all his problems, he proves to everyone how strong he truly is. For the first time in the series, Sora believes in himself.
I mean, this is mostly true... but also he needed Donald and Goofy to beat Xehanort in the end. I wouldn't say he was _alone,_ even if he was the only keyblade wielder.
@@nickm4406 True but there's a difference between being reliant on people and getting help. Sora needed to learn not to NEED other people and instead have them be part of his journey, instead of a crutch.
But this arc and lesson was already fulfilled in Kingdom Hearts 1! The entire game, Sora is constantly trying to find and look for his friends but throughout the journey, he learns that he has to sacrifice and put others before himself. Which is why, one, towards the endgame, Sora fights majority of the bosses by himself, and two, he makes the adult choice to send Kairi home and find Riku and the king later on behind the DTD. This arc was fully completed in Kingdom Hearts 2, where he lets Roxas and Namine reside in Kairi and Sora’s hearts and he brings everybody back home while also defeating Xemnas and the entire organization. In Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora does not NEED to learn this lesson again since he was more than capable of succeeding in the original trilogy. Rather than just letting go and having an acceptance arc, he just decides to use this new power which has no explanations whatsoever and just thinks that bringing Kairi back is 100% possible. It ends with Sora just not learning his lesson and the bare excuse of “oh buy our next game if you want to see Sora surviving!”
@@cloudshines812 Sora’s arc in KH1 was learning to find his strength among his friends. But in KH3 that relying on his friends is put to the test. So nah I wouldn’t say Sora’s arc was completed at all. It’s still going in fact
@@nickm4406 Very true, but to be fair, Donald and Goofy are mostly Sora's moral support. They didn't do much in terms of fighting. At the end of the fight, you see Sora deflecting Xehanort's laser. The only thing Donald and Goofy do are put their hands on Sora's back. That's all Sora, they're just giving him confidence. It's like when you're learning to ride a bike and you think someone's holding onto you but they've already let go. Sora thinks they're contributing but its Sora deflecting the laser, and using a keyblade. You're right in the fact that Sora needed to be woken up by Donald and Goofy, but I'm sure that he would have found a way around that, since they didn't do anything magical to save him they just screamed his name and he woke up lol.
"Side games"... Yeeeaah... About that... They all introduce concepts and characters and events that then come up in the later numbered games with minimal explanation and no additional context. Chain of Memories introduces Namine and kills off half the Organization, Days introduces Xion and "explains" why she didn't come up at all in KH2. BBS introduces a bunch of new keyblade wielders and explains how the guy who stole Ansem's name became Ansem's apprentice in the first place. Okay, coded is pretty skippable - data-Sora grows a heart and loses his memories, and the good guys get a nudge that they should probably do something about those missing Keyblade wielders that Mickey hasn't brought up previously. DDD explains the villains' plan going into KH3 and adds a couple more Keyblade wielders to the good guys' lineup - oh, and explains why Sora is level 1 yet again going into KH3. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if part of the reason there are these "side" games is to explain why Sora starts each numbered game at level 1...
@@rmsgrey "Side" doesn't have to mean a game is noncanon or optional lore-wise. "Side" means that they have a touch more leeway to experiment with a theme, revisit worlds, or utilize new hardware. It's not like these aren't also core games; they're mostly side by design. Though many stick to core aspects. You could pretend we have like a dozen numbered entries if you wanted.
Been with your channel for over two years now! I love your in-depth dives on franchises and I love seeing how people evaluate games. Keep up the great work you've delivered some quality content and I would love to see you produce more even if its not hour long videos.
You would be actually surprised since indeed, that's one of the video I was waiting the most for! And... I think I will die on the hill that KH 3D is actually my favorite of the handheld games of this serie ^^'... I do agree that the gameplay has some problems, but honestly, I think it just way more fun than BBS that always felt so heavy! I really like that Sora and Riku's overall mobility has been speed run, it makes the traversal of the world just snappier and may more enjoyable on repeat playthrough, which makes the look for the portals not that bothersome (Doesn't justify that this quest is indeed, not very fun, but at least it gives me a little something to focus on between drops) Also, I will die on this hill that the mini games are not that necessary to train the dream eaters, and that I really prefer them when it comes to unlock the skills than the melding system since this last one is half random for no reasons. At least, I know which dream eaters gives me what, which helps me plan what I want to level up before entering a new world with either Sora and Riku. And that's even more true on new game + since you can start again with all your dream eaters, which helps a lot, especially on Critical mode. Oh and... DDD doesn't force you on the command style, which is just... Thanks god! I hate command style for that reasons, breaks the flow of the fight so much ^^'.
November of 2021, I found “The Story So Far” collection for $30 at GameStop and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get it. I replayed 1 and 2, which I hadn’t played since my childhood. I then played everything, even RE:Chain of Memories. I recently beat 3 with every trophy after 71:20 hours of play time. Then I ran through Melody if Memory thinking it was solely a recap, but was surprised to find an extra 20 minutes of story post 3. All I need to play it the DLC and I’m caught up, to my wife’s dismay as I spend my time playing this series instead of watching shows with her. I found this account shortly after buying the collection and have been following you since. I’ve rewatched each video in this playlist countless times. Can wait for the next Kingdom Hearts Retrospective video!
I’m really happy that you took the time to see this game outside of the popular hate for it. Looking through the eyes of a fan who is actually invested in the story, no matter how convoluted, really makes this enjoyable. Great video, man.
"This isn't the video you care about, is it?" Actually, yes it is! DDD is my favorite KH game, so I've been looking forward so much for this video! And you have no idea how happy I was when I entered TH-cam and saw your thumbnail! I love hearing your opinion about this games! Even if I don't really agree with everything you said about the gameplay. Still, it's always such a delight to listen to what you have to say!
What an EXCELLENT video. Not just the essay and script, which was well paced and well done, but the editing was really really good. I loved it. Nice work.
This was a pleasant surprise. Not only are you becoming very good at these videos. But you made me appreciate and think of things in this game I haven't thought much about. Though I do have a different perspective, you nail these things on the head
I genuinely look forward to your videos, not only are you very thorough and honest in your reviews and your voice is very relaxing. Tailor made for videos like these.
Yay! I'm so glad the Kingdom Hearts series finally continues! It was really neat hearing your thoughts on this story and game. I love that understanding of why Riku is the one to become a Keyblade Master. Sora really doesn't do a whole lot, and there are some worlds where he just kind screws around... and leaves. Riku really accomplished a lot, and this felt more like his story than Sora's, which fit. Riku needed this game to take his leap to where he goes in KH3 and beyond. And Sora still got some important moments, also setting the stage for his role and journey going forward. I really, really enjoyed the final bosses in Dream Drop Distance. But I've also only played through it once (recently, but still). I LOVE the Young Xehanort fight, but maybe the novelty of it won't have the same spark on a replay. I thought it was a fascinating mixture of gameplay and storytelling, really selling just how powerful Xehanort is and reflecting his command over time through gameplay. That was awesome. But is it more annoying than exciting on a second visit? Maybe. I'm curious to find out. Though I did find Birth By Sleep's gameplay overall more engaging than Dream Drop's. I think commands, and especially leveling and then fusing (melding?) commands is way more interesting and feels like real player-driven progression than how gaining new commands works in Dream Drop, where they're so much more static. That said, Flow Motion is really fun, and some of the high level commands and unique abilities are VERY fun to play with, but it takes a long time to get there and it isn't player-driven progression. They're just collectibles that you find, rather than building up towards them from smaller abilities growing and combining to create something new. Looking forward to the KH3 vid when that comes around! But I was also really looking forward to this video specifically. Not a lot of people talk about Dream Drop Distance, so I was excited to see your in-depth look at it. Thanks for the video!
This game was the first time I've ever heard of Kingdom Hearts. Seeing the demo on my 3ds I downloaded it. Looked fun so I wanted to give it a shot. I played over 30 hours on that demo...and I'm glad it exists even tho it isn't the best in the series. It's thanks to this game I was able to get more involved in Kingdom Hearts series and shed a tear of joy when Sora was added to Smash Bros Ultimate.
In my opinion, this game is still one of my favorite, despite flaws, and I played almost every game and beat them. I love the time travel aspect since it does has rules to it, I love the dream eaters for the context of the worlds, a guilty pleasure for the series in my opinion.
Time travel was something I rolled my eyes at when it was first introduced, but the more I look at how it works and the series expands on it, the more i like it. I love that they have all these rules but the rules only apply to the specific methods. Xehanort explains the rules for how to time travel with a keyblade, but then there's the Disney rules that Merlin follows and the more science based rules that The Master follows. It's all very well thought out and DDD and KH3 just wouldn't have been the same without the return of all of its villains.
I figured it out finally! I couldn’t remember who Yensid’s eyes reminded me of, but now I know! Totally irrelevant, but his eyes remind me a lot of Scott Irvine from the old GameCube game Yu-go-oh- Falsebound Kingdom
My question with regards to Xehanort's scheme is "Why does he keep trying to Nort the Seven Lights, if he needs them all intact to forge his macguffin?"
If the seven guardians can't get together in time he'll go after the princesses instead, and if the seven guardians are assembled they have to go fight him. Meaning he gets the χ-blade either way. Trying to take a couple guardians for his 13 is another way of making it harder for the guardians to stand a good chance.
DDD is always in a weird spot for me. While it hits so many fantastic emotional notes, has one of the best soundtracks in the series, some really beautiful set pieces and (at least for me) amazing character moments and interactions, the gameplay holds it back so much. I love the way you put it: "Nomura likes to have fun". I think this is also the reason why the entire series creats some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I'm so glad that the Osaka-Team had the revelation: "Hey... maybe.... it is actually not that much fun if an enemy just breaks out mid combo and immediatly counterattacks, without giving you any possibility to counter yourself...". Or, wild idea, enemies staggering when they are hit once the show an opening... Yeah... Looking back at KH2; BBS and DDD really commited some atrocious crimes in terms of gameplay (while having some great ideas, which only makes it more frustrating for me) It's so sad that this game suffers so much from it's lackluster gameplay and completly broken mechanics... I really believe that's one of the core reasons this game is so low on so many peoples KH-tierlist. Why should I even give this game a chance and enjoy the story or characters, if I'm not even enjoing the gameplay that will get me to said moments. DDD did an amazing job in further fleshing out characters overall. I always loved Riku and his journey, this game only supported this feeling. But Sora is a completly different story. At least for me he always felt so much more nuanced, while keeping this fantastic simplicity that just always makes me fall in love with him again and again. Like when hearing Simple and Clean and seeing Soras face in the Smash Reveal: DDD is one of the core reasons why I get so extremly happy when seeing Sora. For me, there is no other character out there that can make me smile just by existing and being himself other than Sora.
This series of videos is probably the best series I have ever seen. Watched them all and some of them watched it twice. Congratulations for the work. I fucking love Kingdom Hearts.
I know you said you struggled with the script but I think it’s one of your best ones. Funnily enough, your view that the story has more merit than people credit but the gameplay just isn’t great is near enough exactly the same as mine. And the way you use the drop system to jump between discussions is genius 👍🏻 Cannot wait for the KH3 video
This video and the way you edited it and the time you carry clearly put into it and the “drops”…. You did this game justice. I’m 36 now and I was in my early 20s when playing the DS Kingdom Hearts games and I was in my mid 20s playing this but it still holds the nostalgia for me.
Coming back and watching this after the conclusion of Dark Road you really nailed Xehanort's analysis before it was even released. He lost almost all of his comrades and watched as worlds had to play out their dark paths falling from the light but powerless to stop it due to the rules of being a keyblade wielder.
I really love how this video is set up with the drop system within it. Like its such a wonderful critique of it without even needing to activly point it out. Its poetic
Your videos (especially the 358/2 Days one) were the thing that got me to start playing the entire series from start to finish, including the DS ones. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I was little playing through the Destiny Islands in KH1 on my older sister's PlayStation, since i didn't have one of my own. Thanks for finally convincing me to dive in!
Pointing out Xehanort is a contrast to Sora due to bow he treats his allies goes further than trust. Xehanort makes all his allies versions of himself while Sora is telling all these literal versions of himself that they're their own people and have identities outside of being a part of Sora. Never considered this foil until you pointed out the contrast to begin with! :D
The way you used the drops to frame your analysis was really cool! Dream Drop Distance was my first Kingdom Hearts game. I replayed the 3DS version again recently, on Critical Mode for the first time, and I have complicated feelings about it now. I still really like the story and the way it examines Sora and Riku as individuals and as friends. Gameplay-wise, I think Link Attacks and Reality Shifts are really cool. But the regular encounters just feel brutal. I felt like I was being stun-locked so easily by attacks from Nightmares. Of course Critical Mode should be difficult. But I don’t know if it’s the kind of difficulty I’m looking for in a KH game. And, man, there are so many bosses in the final world. I felt so tired by the time I got to Armored Ventus Nightmare. But my criticisms aside, Wheeflower is a precious creature and I would die for them!
@@KingKlonoa Sorry it’s just I see many say this game jumped the shark and say it’s bad writing because it had a more detailed version of the concept. With many bashing on this game for years, and some even have the gall to call this the worst one. Sorry I guess I should have finished first, it’s not normally what I do. Fantastic video with spot observations regardless.
"this isn't the video you care about, is it" I literally had no idea who you were nor did I know you had previous videos on Kingdom Hearts until the end of this one. I really enjoyed this video even if it soured my feelings about replaying Dream Drop Distance.
I used to dislike dream drop distance but now I adore the game. it's fun to mess around with the flow motion and the combat. the environments aren't the most detailed in the combat's not the most deep, but I have the main three games for those things. it can differ from person to person but I really like the pet simulator aspects of this along with the drop mechanic. I think it was a fun way to make you switch between two characters. Only real complaint is they should pause it during boss fights As for the story, I really enjoyed it but this was the point where I had to change the Japanese. I don't know if there was a change in voice direction but I cant deal with the voices in this game
I’ve been replaying the series this year, and I’ve watched each video after finishing its respective game, and it’s been a lot of fun seeing an in-depth analysis! Thanks for making your videos fun and give an honest assessment. I just finished KH3 last week; looking forward to your next video! 😊
Just finished the whole series , you are a Master of storytelling , I'm of course a big fan of kh , my favorite game... looking forward for the final part , the revival of kh 3 🤩🤩
I can't play KH 3D, so I was hoping to get an *at least* vague understanding of what it's like to play it. Thank you for your hard work, your videos always bring me a sense of relaxation and entertainment
Just wanted to say the way you broke up each section of the video using the "drop transition" along with a tease from the KH3 opening, is genius. And it certainly got my hyped up for your KH3 essay. Honestly I didnt expect you to come our with a KH3D video, considering KH3 had already come out. Frankly I didnt expect you to make a KH3 essay either, considering you already made a lengthy video with you chatting about KH3 to friends. An unexpected surprise, but a welcome one.
I will always hold the fond memory of running into you during a Heaven on High run in FFXIV and asking you to make more Kingdom Hearts content. Now the dream is dropped.
I've always had a love for this game. As a lore deep-diver, I feel rewarded for keeping track of little things like Vanitas having gold eyes and what it meant for 3 and having it pay off here and in later games.
I love DDD for two reasons 1. It was my first KH game 2. It introduced me to another series I love The World Ends With You (with neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat and rhyme being in Traverse Town)
Wowow KingK I knew youve been working on a big project, but i had no idea it would be Kh related 😉 i think you also saw that your Kh videos get the most traffic (which i love)
I've been writing this script on and off for over a year. I'm not sure why I struggled on it for this long, but thank you for your patience. Honestly, thank you for your patience in general when videos take a while, since my scripts go through variable phases of difficulty. Hope you enjoy!
Creating is an exhusting and unpreditable process. The fact that completed this after a year of sitting on it is a testament of your passion
You take all the time you need mate! Quality over quantity
Have no fear. The time you put in is indicative of your care for the product and it shows. Excellent work.
Your videos are some of my favorites. I anxiously await you to continue covering amazing games from my childhood.
I just rerererewatched this Playlist and have been waiting for this one. You take as long as you need these videos rock.
Dream Drop Distance is a frustrating KH game for me for several reasons both in gameplay and story but I will always give it this, for all of its problems, it sealed Riku as my favorite character in the series and effectively served as his game. He's definitely the best part of this whole thing.
This IS the Riku game. Also, you know, TWEWY characters make me cry on sight
Riku is the foundation that protects the beautiful house (Sora).
Sora owes alot of his growth to Riku
And Sora gives Riku purpose ("the strength to protect what matters") i.e the foundation makes sure the house is safe.
Well said Design Doc
I don’t like the story of DDD, it jumped the shark with time travel, I don’t like the addition of the sleeping realm, but I really liked Riku’s portrayal
It has the best gameplay out of any game in the entire series though, the flow motion is amazing
I love how at the end of the game, Sora completely ignores Riku's question. "Why are you having a tea party?" "You're safe, don't worry about the tea party, ignore it!"
I still wonder about the tea party
@@nerdychocobo Guess Riku beating up the Armored Ventus Nightmare was cause for celebration?
okay okay
i just got
i i think you can do make it in a while but you can do do that something you want
The touch of dropping from gameplay to story discussion with the same coherence as the game drops between Sora and Riku is just…the best.
I only noticed that’s what he was doing 19 minutes into the video LOL
"No I told you my name is- Ah, fine. Whatever. Axel. Fine."
This game has one of my favourite scripts in the series, but Axel in particular was incredibly precious. I didn't pay him much mind until this game, even after my personal favourite, Days.
A fellow Days Chad I see. My favorite on the series as well. It's just so atmospheric
Too bad they completely ruin him in KH3. They make him useless, unfunny and a complete buffoon
axel (or I suppose lea :p) is so well written in DDD, he really shines
How did you go through the entirety of Days, considering it to be your favorite title in the series, and manage to somehow "not pay much mind" to Axel?
@@naughtmeinam4603 Yeah, got me thinking about that too, guy watches “Go on, you just keep running. But I’ll always be there to bring you back!” and somehow still doesn’t pay much mind to Axel. Easily in my Top 5 characters in the series, just behind Sora, Riku and Roxas.
I always interpreted the difference in the BBS Mark of Mastery exam vs. the DDD one as being due to the fact that Terra and Aqua had trained their whole lives to be Keyblade Masters, so their education was spread out over years, meaning the orb-hitting and duel acted as a simple capstone test. But Sora and Riku needed to not only learn everything that a Master is supposed to know, but they had to do it quickly and all at once, AND they had to un-learn every bit of knowledge they'd acquired throughout their journeys. Put in that context, it makes sense why their exam was so much more grueling.
So glad someone else thought of it the same way I did
I’d always wondered that. This a great perspective and makes a lot of sense.
I love how every time there's a "drop" K goes from talking about the story to talking about the gameplay, a nice little touch. greatly appreciated by me
I think one of the most underrated things about DDD is the claustrophobic, almost terrifying feeling of the whole journey. Like, as soon as the Mark of Mastery starts, Sora and especially Riku immediately sense that something is wrong, that things arent how they're supposed to. And yet they need to keep going until the seven Keyholes are sealed, somehow divided by a dimensional gap of sorts. And then, villains from the past appear: Ansem appears before Riku, while Vanitas appears before Sora. And yet, this is all a dream, right? So Ansem and Vanitas must must be part of the boys' dreams as well, constructed by their memories, no? (Ventus sleeps inside Sora so it would make sense for him to dream things that Ventus lived). But what if they're not? What if they're really there? Like, of course in retrospect we now know that they were very much real. But in a blind playthrough, and from the boys' perspective, its all a mystery. Are all these villains seriously back? Or is this all part of the dream? What is going with the exam? The only way to know is to push forward because we are literally caged in this nightmare until we finish the test and escape.
For a 14 years old boy playing this game on his 3DS there was this terrifying feeling of looming danger and uncertainty during the whole DDD experience. This sounds really funny, but this makes DDD the most "horror" Kingdom Hearts game of them all (even IF Chain of Memories, with Sora slowly losing himself as he goes on, is also pretty fucking terrifying when you think about it).
Not to mention that Young Xehanort is probably the creepiest and most intimidating version of Xehanort we've gotten so far.
Unlike the other Nort variants, YX had next to no hamminess. His voice always had this calm, sinister tone with nothing more than a slight bit of arrogance peaking through. It was only during his boss fight where he showed anything more than that and even then, it was just a single "Begone"
On top of that, he was at the forefront of the games most mind-screwy moments up to and including the end of Sora's part of the story, where he's standing over him and the last thing you see is him moving down to emulate the "hand over eyes to close them" trope.
"Good night, Sora" is chilling
I always thought of this Mark of Mastery exam being curated for Sora and Riku because Yen Sid knew they would need the Power of Waking since they would likely need the Wayfinder trio (or at least to just generally save them), and the earlier one that Terra and Aqua did was just like an archaic test because there wasn't any major darkness-based conflict until after the test takes place
to me that fact that they're preparing for the big battle to end all battles felt like enough justification for the mark of mastery to be beefed up
i like this take quite a bit, but it still sort of feels like a bandaid to help fix the reality of it lol. i dont thinn that was namuras intent, but hey, maybe you hit the nail on the head🤷🏻♂️
For me, DDD has always been one of my favorite KH games, but I can’t say that any of the criticism in this video are invalid at all. It may be that I have an appreciation for busted things, but I feel like there are some not busted things that I like about the game too. I love how flowmotion added unlimited freedom to the world and the maps are really designed with that in mind. I remember finding the chest at the top of the little tower area in traverse town, ya know the one with the fairy lights? And thinking wow, they totally did design this knowing I wanted to come look up here and I got a little something for it. But a lot of the real secrets were down on the ground, where it was more dangerous. It just has a fluidity of movement that speaks to me. It may also be that I’m one of those people that actually likes a little grind in games, grinding up for some of those late game dream eaters is fun for me, and it’s really rewarded too, cause they have some super cool stuff, but not everyone likes grind so that’s super valid. I also just really appreciate the story, even if it was a bit buck wild.(I mean this game gave us the line “Darkness within Darkness awaits you” lol, which is some grade A Nomura over dramatic nonsense) Mostly cause 1. It gave Riku a chance to like, thrive as opposed to just struggling, which he deserves I think after all he’s been through and 2. Sora fails, and it humanizes him, because up to this point like, his innocence has caused him to falter and gotten him in hot water, but never just like outright fail to this degree, to the point that Riku had to come save him or he would just be gone forever. Great vid, thanks so much KingK I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time.
Agreed! Even knowing that this game is a mess, I can't help but love it. Maybe it's because it was my first KH game, but something about it is just so charming to me. And I agree with what you said, seeing sora genuinely fail and riku having to go save him is great, it humanized sora more and gave riku room to shine. Plus, I love riku and sora's relationship but sora (being the protag and all) usually does the hero stuff...so seeing riku do the saving for once was really cool!
@@rinrinrinrinrinrinrinrinrin this was your first kingdom hearts game? Man you must've been mad confused lol
As I said before in the preview, this was actually my first KH game. The 3DS was fairly young at the time and I was looking for new games and I figured this would be a good place to jump into the series.
Boy, was I wrong.
fax
Same…
oof
This was my first KH game also. I do not recommend any new fans start there lol.
same! i was...so confused. and after that I went to re:coded since it was older and little me thought it'd work out. It did not
Interesting as a KH outsider to hear the perspective of someone who’s been sucked into nomura’s craziness. I chuckled at “but, then, is there any right way to tell a story?”
Hey everyone, I was the editor for this one! Hope you all enjoy it 🥰
People take editing for granted. Thanks for spending hours on this video!
@@pascalsimioli6777 ahfiuahf thank you :3
Fun Fact: Sora’s In-Game grunts and Voice Clips in Smash Bros Ultimate come from this game
I love dream drop distance for its incredible music, the emotionally charged story full of development for sora and riku, I love the final boss battles against ansem and xemnas though I agree about young xehanort but I find he’s even worse, it just feels so frustrating to get so far and have him rewind time in the end over and over because I just wasn’t quite fast enough. But the worlds in this game I love jumping and gliding around and with that gorgeous GORGEOUS SOUNDTRACK, I cannot get over my love for ddd even if 2 is my favourite ddd is a second for definite ❤️
The characterization of Riku in DDD is one of my favorite arcs in the whole series, I just wish it was in a game that was easier to swallow for most people.
Interesting that you ranked BBS above DDD, since I personally found the worlds and dream eaters a more engaging adventure than what BBS had to offer (especially since you weren't playing the game three times with very little change)
I definitely agree with you. I ended up replaying DDD way more than BBS because to have to replay all three campaigns is kind of a pain, especially since you have to unlock the necessary skills with Terra, Ventus and Aqua when in DDD, once it's unlocked for one, it's available to the other, making the progression way more streamlined, natural, and in the end, way less time consuming, even with all the caring you have to do for the Dream Eaters.
And the mobility available for the character made the world exploration just way more pleasant than in BBS where the characters just feels very heavy, and the world just appear to be very flat, with few exceptions.
I dunno, I just loved going to the classic Disney princess worlds in BBS. Castle of Dreams was a personal favorite and I was super pumped to see it return in Union X. The DDD worlds were just kinda uninspired in my opinion. They lacked iconic set pieces. I was really happy to see Hunchback get some love though
What's funny is that my experience with DDD is kind of the opposite. I sort of shrugged at the story as "whatever" save for a couple of key moments, and I really loved the gameplay and visuals. I still kind of do, I just have a lot of fun with DDD, even if it can be frustrating at times.
It's the same for me lol.
For all the problems with this games story, I really love the tonal progression. It starts off a bit uneasy compared to previous games, with the sleeping worlds and being unsure of how everything works, but playing through the Disney worlds is still typical KH charming stuff. But slowly, as the villains keep showing up, it keeps getting a bit more insecure. Then we arrive at TWTNW, and the game starts going hard. The characters have no idea why they're there, everything gets really dark, and the reveals leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. It kinda ends with a happy ending with saving Sora and Riki passing the exam, but we end the game knowing that shit's about to go down, and in the end, our protags kinda failed to stop the villains. For all the problems with this game, I just love how dark it is, and how things just keep getting worse and worse. idk how to explain that feeling, but it's unique to this game, which makes it really interesting to me. Excellent video as always mate
I just love how you did the format in this. The whole switching thing was so well done. Great review!
Glad you liked it! He and I went back and forth to make it as smooth as possible 🥰
Yes actually I really enjoyed this video, to answer your question at the ending. DDD was my entry into this madness of a franchise. Not only was I 14 years old, but I was so confused the entire time. You'd think that turn me away, but no, it only strengthened my resolve. Of course I came into KH because of Disney and Mickey Mouse being on the box art (and that's still the top priority for me going into the future), but the story of this game was so mystifying to me that I wanted to do homework on the lore of the series up to that point. DDD will always be really special to me for that. Even though I love KH3 more now, DDD still has a high placing for my favorite video games of all time.
One of the nice things about DDD for anyone new to the series is the chronicles that give a brief overview of previous games to help catch players up. I’m pretty sure this helped me a lot when I was playing for the first time
With DDD's spirit carry-over feature I always start and end with the same dream eaters.
The big dino, the tiger one, another one I can't exactly remember, and my fav meow wow Chomusuke.
And it's honestly crazy how the only cool looking keyblade you can get before the final boss is locked behind getting A-Ranks in Dives and even then it has dumb hit sounds, but that aside since no one would really do it on the first go and would rather progress the game, they're stuck with the ugly yee yee ass Fantasia keyblade because the other cool looking keyblades are locked until you BEAT the game.
Fax
Yeah, the Fantasia Keyblade is an eye sore if not downright ugly. It kills all the seriousness of the final act when I see a let's player use it for the final battles.
skull noise is kind of neat
wish it wasn't so weak
KH3D has one of my favorite cutscenes in the series with the Guardians of Light speaking with the Real Organization towards the end of Riku's campaign ("You had the perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel.")
The mood was tense and it broke off into a nice little fight; it really had me hyped for Kh3.
I really wish the Symphony of Sorcery world had a section based on The Rite of Spring, just so Sora and Riku could fight an outdated-looking T-rex.
My problem really with the story is that so little happens. It'd make so much more sense if the main points of this were act A of KH3. And time travel was unnecesary (tough I'm perfectly fine with how Master of Master uses it).
Yeah, the bit about villains talking vague nothing nonsense is really what KH ultimately boils down to me. Even if things have a reason and motivation, the series is just too verbose for how much of absolutely nothing ends up hapenning.
@@QuintaFeira12 I wouldn't say that much. I do love the series, even if Dream Drop is not one of my top picks.
I really do love the FlowMotion in DDD, it makes exploration super fun and I really enjoy what it does in terms of making world traversal and discovery of chests and stuff more interesting.
I really liked your explanation on Xehanort and it reflected how I feel about Ansem and Xemnas's relationship with him. The two probably see themselves as aspects of Xehanort and reflected his greatest personality flaws. Xehanort would honestly be less memorable if really he was the mustache twirler fans and outsiders assume he is.
I've never played Recoded, started laughing at the "They put bugs in him" bit and lost my mind when I found out it's actually in the game.
Really liked the structure of this video on how you swapped between the story and the characters with the Drop mechanic. Was surprised to hear you actually thought the plot was good! Can’t wait for the KH3 video.
Also, nice TWEWY music for the credits. Played TWEWY ReMix last year for the first time and the music was just bangers. So glad they included the DDD remixes.
Haha The credits was my idea, so I'm glad it worked!
I, for one, have honestly been anticipating this video for a while, it's the KH game I knew the least about, and your passionate, fair analysis and opinions really help me feel more like a proper KH fan despite only playing a few of the games.
As always, a wonderful video, I especially love the editing. Thank you.
2:16 That zoom nearly made me spit my drink, it never gets old.
Using the drop system to flip between gameplay and story discussion is genius.
The dream eater icon on Riku's clothing was something I noticed almost instantly, and adored the little detail when the pay off came end game and the drop system stoped. But the better detail was the box art itself. Shocked you did not mention that as it encapsulates the story well.
Sora is falling with Micky diving after him. Sora looked asleep and Micky panicked. If we take what Sora represents, light, one could say the light is fading, or sunset.
On the other side Riku looks alert, kinda stoic and is rising. Darkness is lifting and if we take that we can even slot in his "to the dawn" line.
This game had some really good foreshadowing.
Been a while since I've heard Calling, but that unique version you played at the credits scene sure brought me back.
‘13 versions of himself’
Man is the embodiment of ‘well if you want something done right’
I dunno, I still love the Xemnas fight in DDD. Even with the iffy commands, it feels like a duel, since Xemnas doesn't really do any bullshit moves that require tryhard dodging or flowmotion. It's still my favorite fight in the game.
I’ve been watching your kh retrospectives since I started playing watching each video as I beat each game after beating bbs I had to go through the rest of the games without that but now I can finally watch them again!
Literally just opened my subscription page to see this posted like 30 seconds ago, what great timing lol
This video was superb, it gave me a lot of the usual KH feelings even for a game I couldn't personally finish. The quality of the voice and editing was really nice on top of the points raised themselves. I feel that KH commits every single writing sin, yet creates an incredible story fueled by each and every one. Whatever the ratio of skill to luck that kind of style takes, it's worth breaking down for study. My personal take is that it uses a lot of things that makes the mystery genre work and applies it to a sprawling adventure. Not a mystery you're meant to solve ahead of the characters, but to uncover piece by piece until it all comes together in a Moment. Just incredible stuff
This one has been gnawing at me for a long time. There's always the ongoing complaint that KH's worlds are empty as hell, but Flowmotion exacerbates this problem to the extreme. It's like every world is a theme park where the only thing you can do is grind down some rails. It also made my playthrough hell because I had to redo so many of the same areas because I died a lot. However, the story is such a mindfuck that it comes back to being amazing. Maybe I should try it out again but on a lower difficulty.
Just marathoned this entire retrospective series in a matter of days and I LOVED IT.
Fantastic content all around!
28:35 This is the exact reason why Kingdom Hearts 3 is so special. In his deepest desperation watching Kairi get swept up into the heartless tornado, Sora admits what he's thought about himself his whole life. "Alone, I'm worthless." But then, Sora proceeds to save everyone by himself, and takes on Xehanort willingly being the only keyblade wielder. Sora learns that he is capable of doing things on his own, and proves it by saving Kairi alone and denying anyone's help. Sora's character arc is finally fulfilled at the end of KH3. He stops letting Riku solve all his problems, he proves to everyone how strong he truly is. For the first time in the series, Sora believes in himself.
I mean, this is mostly true... but also he needed Donald and Goofy to beat Xehanort in the end. I wouldn't say he was _alone,_ even if he was the only keyblade wielder.
@@nickm4406 True but there's a difference between being reliant on people and getting help. Sora needed to learn not to NEED other people and instead have them be part of his journey, instead of a crutch.
But this arc and lesson was already fulfilled in Kingdom Hearts 1! The entire game, Sora is constantly trying to find and look for his friends but throughout the journey, he learns that he has to sacrifice and put others before himself. Which is why, one, towards the endgame, Sora fights majority of the bosses by himself, and two, he makes the adult choice to send Kairi home and find Riku and the king later on behind the DTD. This arc was fully completed in Kingdom Hearts 2, where he lets Roxas and Namine reside in Kairi and Sora’s hearts and he brings everybody back home while also defeating Xemnas and the entire organization. In Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora does not NEED to learn this lesson again since he was more than capable of succeeding in the original trilogy. Rather than just letting go and having an acceptance arc, he just decides to use this new power which has no explanations whatsoever and just thinks that bringing Kairi back is 100% possible. It ends with Sora just not learning his lesson and the bare excuse of “oh buy our next game if you want to see Sora surviving!”
@@cloudshines812 Sora’s arc in KH1 was learning to find his strength among his friends. But in KH3 that relying on his friends is put to the test. So nah I wouldn’t say Sora’s arc was completed at all. It’s still going in fact
@@nickm4406 Very true, but to be fair, Donald and Goofy are mostly Sora's moral support. They didn't do much in terms of fighting. At the end of the fight, you see Sora deflecting Xehanort's laser. The only thing Donald and Goofy do are put their hands on Sora's back. That's all Sora, they're just giving him confidence. It's like when you're learning to ride a bike and you think someone's holding onto you but they've already let go. Sora thinks they're contributing but its Sora deflecting the laser, and using a keyblade. You're right in the fact that Sora needed to be woken up by Donald and Goofy, but I'm sure that he would have found a way around that, since they didn't do anything magical to save him they just screamed his name and he woke up lol.
This video is so god tier lmao, I can’t wait for the KH3 retrospective. Your plot analysis is always the best.
This was my first kingdom hearts game ngl. It's interesting seeing another perspective on it.
I know nothing about KH that this video series hasn't spoonfed me. "Calling" is a bop and that's all I have to say.
Glad to be back on the Kingdom Hearts experience! Never had the patience to play any of the side games so your retrospective videos are a blessing!
highly recommend BBS and DDD
I played Chain GBA and 358 Days.
Nintendo handhelds were staples of my school days, and these were my introduction to the series.
@@runningoncylinders3829 i like those but i think not enough people appreciate chain of memories
"Side games"... Yeeeaah... About that...
They all introduce concepts and characters and events that then come up in the later numbered games with minimal explanation and no additional context. Chain of Memories introduces Namine and kills off half the Organization, Days introduces Xion and "explains" why she didn't come up at all in KH2. BBS introduces a bunch of new keyblade wielders and explains how the guy who stole Ansem's name became Ansem's apprentice in the first place. Okay, coded is pretty skippable - data-Sora grows a heart and loses his memories, and the good guys get a nudge that they should probably do something about those missing Keyblade wielders that Mickey hasn't brought up previously. DDD explains the villains' plan going into KH3 and adds a couple more Keyblade wielders to the good guys' lineup - oh, and explains why Sora is level 1 yet again going into KH3.
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if part of the reason there are these "side" games is to explain why Sora starts each numbered game at level 1...
@@rmsgrey "Side" doesn't have to mean a game is noncanon or optional lore-wise. "Side" means that they have a touch more leeway to experiment with a theme, revisit worlds, or utilize new hardware. It's not like these aren't also core games; they're mostly side by design. Though many stick to core aspects. You could pretend we have like a dozen numbered entries if you wanted.
Been with your channel for over two years now! I love your in-depth dives on franchises and I love seeing how people evaluate games. Keep up the great work you've delivered some quality content and I would love to see you produce more even if its not hour long videos.
You would be actually surprised since indeed, that's one of the video I was waiting the most for!
And... I think I will die on the hill that KH 3D is actually my favorite of the handheld games of this serie ^^'...
I do agree that the gameplay has some problems, but honestly, I think it just way more fun than BBS that always felt so heavy! I really like that Sora and Riku's overall mobility has been speed run, it makes the traversal of the world just snappier and may more enjoyable on repeat playthrough, which makes the look for the portals not that bothersome (Doesn't justify that this quest is indeed, not very fun, but at least it gives me a little something to focus on between drops)
Also, I will die on this hill that the mini games are not that necessary to train the dream eaters, and that I really prefer them when it comes to unlock the skills than the melding system since this last one is half random for no reasons. At least, I know which dream eaters gives me what, which helps me plan what I want to level up before entering a new world with either Sora and Riku. And that's even more true on new game + since you can start again with all your dream eaters, which helps a lot, especially on Critical mode.
Oh and... DDD doesn't force you on the command style, which is just... Thanks god! I hate command style for that reasons, breaks the flow of the fight so much ^^'.
I love the way you formatted this video. Dividing the timestamps by Sora's opening lines from 3 is a really cool concept. DDD Riku rules
Well honestly I think this was amazingly written. Good job, my dude, just good job!
November of 2021, I found “The Story So Far” collection for $30 at GameStop and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get it. I replayed 1 and 2, which I hadn’t played since my childhood. I then played everything, even RE:Chain of Memories. I recently beat 3 with every trophy after 71:20 hours of play time. Then I ran through Melody if Memory thinking it was solely a recap, but was surprised to find an extra 20 minutes of story post 3. All I need to play it the DLC and I’m caught up, to my wife’s dismay as I spend my time playing this series instead of watching shows with her. I found this account shortly after buying the collection and have been following you since. I’ve rewatched each video in this playlist countless times. Can wait for the next Kingdom Hearts Retrospective video!
This, like many others, was my first dive into the series. Don't really look back on it too fondly though.
Indeed.
I’m really happy that you took the time to see this game outside of the popular hate for it. Looking through the eyes of a fan who is actually invested in the story, no matter how convoluted, really makes this enjoyable. Great video, man.
You uploaded this just as I was about to cook lunch!!! (I'm making beef stew *watches and listens in the background*
"This isn't the video you care about, is it?" Actually, yes it is! DDD is my favorite KH game, so I've been looking forward so much for this video! And you have no idea how happy I was when I entered TH-cam and saw your thumbnail! I love hearing your opinion about this games! Even if I don't really agree with everything you said about the gameplay. Still, it's always such a delight to listen to what you have to say!
What an EXCELLENT video. Not just the essay and script, which was well paced and well done, but the editing was really really good. I loved it. Nice work.
This was a pleasant surprise. Not only are you becoming very good at these videos. But you made me appreciate and think of things in this game I haven't thought much about. Though I do have a different perspective, you nail these things on the head
I genuinely look forward to your videos, not only are you very thorough and honest in your reviews and your voice is very relaxing. Tailor made for videos like these.
Yay! I'm so glad the Kingdom Hearts series finally continues! It was really neat hearing your thoughts on this story and game. I love that understanding of why Riku is the one to become a Keyblade Master. Sora really doesn't do a whole lot, and there are some worlds where he just kind screws around... and leaves. Riku really accomplished a lot, and this felt more like his story than Sora's, which fit. Riku needed this game to take his leap to where he goes in KH3 and beyond. And Sora still got some important moments, also setting the stage for his role and journey going forward.
I really, really enjoyed the final bosses in Dream Drop Distance. But I've also only played through it once (recently, but still). I LOVE the Young Xehanort fight, but maybe the novelty of it won't have the same spark on a replay. I thought it was a fascinating mixture of gameplay and storytelling, really selling just how powerful Xehanort is and reflecting his command over time through gameplay. That was awesome. But is it more annoying than exciting on a second visit? Maybe. I'm curious to find out. Though I did find Birth By Sleep's gameplay overall more engaging than Dream Drop's. I think commands, and especially leveling and then fusing (melding?) commands is way more interesting and feels like real player-driven progression than how gaining new commands works in Dream Drop, where they're so much more static. That said, Flow Motion is really fun, and some of the high level commands and unique abilities are VERY fun to play with, but it takes a long time to get there and it isn't player-driven progression. They're just collectibles that you find, rather than building up towards them from smaller abilities growing and combining to create something new.
Looking forward to the KH3 vid when that comes around! But I was also really looking forward to this video specifically. Not a lot of people talk about Dream Drop Distance, so I was excited to see your in-depth look at it. Thanks for the video!
This game was the first time I've ever heard of Kingdom Hearts. Seeing the demo on my 3ds I downloaded it. Looked fun so I wanted to give it a shot.
I played over 30 hours on that demo...and I'm glad it exists even tho it isn't the best in the series. It's thanks to this game I was able to get more involved in Kingdom Hearts series and shed a tear of joy when Sora was added to Smash Bros Ultimate.
I had the same experience lol. I'm pretty sure I have more hours in the demo than the actual game
In my opinion, this game is still one of my favorite, despite flaws, and I played almost every game and beat them. I love the time travel aspect since it does has rules to it, I love the dream eaters for the context of the worlds, a guilty pleasure for the series in my opinion.
Time travel was something I rolled my eyes at when it was first introduced, but the more I look at how it works and the series expands on it, the more i like it. I love that they have all these rules but the rules only apply to the specific methods. Xehanort explains the rules for how to time travel with a keyblade, but then there's the Disney rules that Merlin follows and the more science based rules that The Master follows. It's all very well thought out and DDD and KH3 just wouldn't have been the same without the return of all of its villains.
I loved the video it was amazing. I was anticipating it for a long time, and I'm so excited to finally see your Kingdom Hearts 3 video.
Can't wait
I figured it out finally! I couldn’t remember who Yensid’s eyes reminded me of, but now I know!
Totally irrelevant, but his eyes remind me a lot of Scott Irvine from the old GameCube game Yu-go-oh- Falsebound Kingdom
My question with regards to Xehanort's scheme is "Why does he keep trying to Nort the Seven Lights, if he needs them all intact to forge his macguffin?"
If the seven guardians can't get together in time he'll go after the princesses instead, and if the seven guardians are assembled they have to go fight him.
Meaning he gets the χ-blade either way.
Trying to take a couple guardians for his 13 is another way of making it harder for the guardians to stand a good chance.
DDD is always in a weird spot for me. While it hits so many fantastic emotional notes, has one of the best soundtracks in the series, some really beautiful set pieces and (at least for me) amazing character moments and interactions, the gameplay holds it back so much. I love the way you put it: "Nomura likes to have fun". I think this is also the reason why the entire series creats some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
I'm so glad that the Osaka-Team had the revelation: "Hey... maybe.... it is actually not that much fun if an enemy just breaks out mid combo and immediatly counterattacks, without giving you any possibility to counter yourself...". Or, wild idea, enemies staggering when they are hit once the show an opening... Yeah... Looking back at KH2; BBS and DDD really commited some atrocious crimes in terms of gameplay (while having some great ideas, which only makes it more frustrating for me)
It's so sad that this game suffers so much from it's lackluster gameplay and completly broken mechanics... I really believe that's one of the core reasons this game is so low on so many peoples KH-tierlist. Why should I even give this game a chance and enjoy the story or characters, if I'm not even enjoing the gameplay that will get me to said moments.
DDD did an amazing job in further fleshing out characters overall. I always loved Riku and his journey, this game only supported this feeling. But Sora is a completly different story. At least for me he always felt so much more nuanced, while keeping this fantastic simplicity that just always makes me fall in love with him again and again. Like when hearing Simple and Clean and seeing Soras face in the Smash Reveal: DDD is one of the core reasons why I get so extremly happy when seeing Sora. For me, there is no other character out there that can make me smile just by existing and being himself other than Sora.
This series of videos is probably the best series I have ever seen. Watched them all and some of them watched it twice. Congratulations for the work. I fucking love Kingdom Hearts.
I know you said you struggled with the script but I think it’s one of your best ones. Funnily enough, your view that the story has more merit than people credit but the gameplay just isn’t great is near enough exactly the same as mine. And the way you use the drop system to jump between discussions is genius 👍🏻 Cannot wait for the KH3 video
Your videos are comfort rewatches.
This video and the way you edited it and the time you carry clearly put into it and the “drops”…. You did this game justice. I’m 36 now and I was in my early 20s when playing the DS Kingdom Hearts games and I was in my mid 20s playing this but it still holds the nostalgia for me.
I was looking forward to this, thanks man
Coming back and watching this after the conclusion of Dark Road you really nailed Xehanort's analysis before it was even released. He lost almost all of his comrades and watched as worlds had to play out their dark paths falling from the light but powerless to stop it due to the rules of being a keyblade wielder.
I love how that on the time steps it's named after what sora says in the beginning of Kingdom hearts 3,really nice
I still love the game, both in gameplay and story. It's the sole reason I got right back into the hype for KH3.
I really love how this video is set up with the drop system within it. Like its such a wonderful critique of it without even needing to activly point it out. Its poetic
Your videos (especially the 358/2 Days one) were the thing that got me to start playing the entire series from start to finish, including the DS ones. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I was little playing through the Destiny Islands in KH1 on my older sister's PlayStation, since i didn't have one of my own. Thanks for finally convincing me to dive in!
Rikku passing his test first makes the most amount of sense, since the keyblade did choose him first. I think that's just neat :))
Oh I wonder if he’ll be combing 0.2 into the kh3 video. I think it would work rather well
Pointing out Xehanort is a contrast to Sora due to bow he treats his allies goes further than trust. Xehanort makes all his allies versions of himself while Sora is telling all these literal versions of himself that they're their own people and have identities outside of being a part of Sora. Never considered this foil until you pointed out the contrast to begin with! :D
The way you used the drops to frame your analysis was really cool!
Dream Drop Distance was my first Kingdom Hearts game. I replayed the 3DS version again recently, on Critical Mode for the first time, and I have complicated feelings about it now. I still really like the story and the way it examines Sora and Riku as individuals and as friends. Gameplay-wise, I think Link Attacks and Reality Shifts are really cool. But the regular encounters just feel brutal. I felt like I was being stun-locked so easily by attacks from Nightmares. Of course Critical Mode should be difficult. But I don’t know if it’s the kind of difficulty I’m looking for in a KH game. And, man, there are so many bosses in the final world. I felt so tired by the time I got to Armored Ventus Nightmare.
But my criticisms aside, Wheeflower is a precious creature and I would die for them!
Actually KH2 introduced time travel with Timeless River. Albeit in a limited and round about way. Yet it was there.
I mention this in the video.
@@KingKlonoa Sorry it’s just I see many say this game jumped the shark and say it’s bad writing because it had a more detailed version of the concept. With many bashing on this game for years, and some even have the gall to call this the worst one. Sorry I guess I should have finished first, it’s not normally what I do. Fantastic video with spot observations regardless.
"this isn't the video you care about, is it"
I literally had no idea who you were nor did I know you had previous videos on Kingdom Hearts until the end of this one. I really enjoyed this video even if it soured my feelings about replaying Dream Drop Distance.
I used to dislike dream drop distance but now I adore the game.
it's fun to mess around with the flow motion and the combat. the environments aren't the most detailed in the combat's not the most deep, but I have the main three games for those things.
it can differ from person to person but I really like the pet simulator aspects of this along with the drop mechanic. I think it was a fun way to make you switch between two characters. Only real complaint is they should pause it during boss fights
As for the story, I really enjoyed it but this was the point where I had to change the Japanese. I don't know if there was a change in voice direction but I cant deal with the voices in this game
I’ve been replaying the series this year, and I’ve watched each video after finishing its respective game, and it’s been a lot of fun seeing an in-depth analysis! Thanks for making your videos fun and give an honest assessment. I just finished KH3 last week; looking forward to your next video! 😊
Just finished the whole series , you are a Master of storytelling , I'm of course a big fan of kh , my favorite game... looking forward for the final part , the revival of kh 3 🤩🤩
KH3D was my first (and currently only 😅) game in the series, and I really like it a lot
I can't play KH 3D, so I was hoping to get an *at least* vague understanding of what it's like to play it. Thank you for your hard work, your videos always bring me a sense of relaxation and entertainment
Just wanted to say the way you broke up each section of the video using the "drop transition" along with a tease from the KH3 opening, is genius. And it certainly got my hyped up for your KH3 essay. Honestly I didnt expect you to come our with a KH3D video, considering KH3 had already come out. Frankly I didnt expect you to make a KH3 essay either, considering you already made a lengthy video with you chatting about KH3 to friends. An unexpected surprise, but a welcome one.
I agree that Xehanort is not a mustache twirling villain. There have always been alterior motives in the story.
Your timestamps and editing are getting me HYPED for your KH3 review
I love how this review works. It’s the most creative review for a game I’ve seen in a while
It gets criticized a lot, even so, it's still my favorite KH game and one of my favorite 3DS games
I will always hold the fond memory of running into you during a Heaven on High run in FFXIV and asking you to make more Kingdom Hearts content.
Now the dream is dropped.
I've only done Heaven on High like once so I think I vaguely remember this
Slippin a brewski and sitting back playing Tera with this video playing in the background 😏 life is good.
I've always had a love for this game. As a lore deep-diver, I feel rewarded for keeping track of little things like Vanitas having gold eyes and what it meant for 3 and having it pay off here and in later games.
This video is pretty great love your in depth review and can't wait to hear more hope you're doing well
DDD might be My favorite kh game i really like the gameplay and flowmotion specially, never had a problem with the drop mechanic after i understood it
I love DDD for two reasons
1. It was my first KH game
2. It introduced me to another series I love The World Ends With You (with neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat and rhyme being in Traverse Town)
Wowow KingK
I knew youve been working on a big project, but i had no idea it would be Kh related 😉 i think you also saw that your Kh videos get the most traffic (which i love)
I love your in depth, analytical essays! 😄
>makes a half hour video as a formality
May we all strive to reach this level of effort