And with that, my Kingdom Hearts journey is complete. I feel like I just parted with someone I care deeply about: a symphony of different emotions bubbling to the surface every time I think of them and the memories we shared. These are my collected thoughts on the series as a whole, because Kingdom Hearts is so much more than the sum of its individual titles.
Kingdom Hearts, as an experience, is a unicorn. I cannot believe this series exists and what it accomplished. I had no connection to Sora and co. prior to a year and a half ago, but now I get emotional every time I see Sora's smile or think about the reunions of the 358 and BBS trios. This series most impressive feat is how it transported me back to what it felt like to be a kid. Kingdom Hearts oozes with earnestness, optimism, and nostalgia. I feel as though some of my adulthood cynicism has melted away from my time with this series. I truly don't know how to describe what Kingdom Hearts did to me, but I'm already nostalgic from my time in the Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, the Hundred Acre Wood, and Twilight Town. I've always heard that Kingdom Hearts was special, but I never could have predicted the profound impact it would have on me and who I am. Kingdom Hearts taught me the importance of living in the moment. It's not the gameplay or individual story moments that matter, it's the sum of this whole ~10ish game journey I went on, and I would have missed the whole point if I was just focused on getting to the end as quick as possible so I could move on to the next thing. As soon as I abandoned any notion of quickly finishing this series and just went along for the ride, I was hooked. It demands that you switch off your distracted, cynical, critical brain and surrender to the journey. Kingdom Hearts is the textbook definition of journey before destination, and I am a better, more hopeful person having experienced it. We could all benefit from being a little more like Sora and surrounding ourselves with people like him.
This was much more meandering and less cohesive than what I would normally write, but I truly cannot express how I feel about Kingdom Hearts in any other way. It resists traditional expression. But I did my best to find the words anyway. There is so much more I could write, but some things are best left unsaid and untainted in my memory.
Kingdom Hearts, as an experience, is a unicorn. I cannot believe this series exists and what it accomplished. I had no connection to Sora and co. prior to a year and a half ago, but now I get emotional every time I see Sora's smile or think about the reunions of the 358 and BBS trios. This series most impressive feat is how it transported me back to what it felt like to be a kid. Kingdom Hearts oozes with earnestness, optimism, and nostalgia. I feel as though some of my adulthood cynicism has melted away from my time with this series. I truly don't know how to describe what Kingdom Hearts did to me, but I'm already nostalgic from my time in the Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, the Hundred Acre Wood, and Twilight Town. I've always heard that Kingdom Hearts was special, but I never could have predicted the profound impact it would have on me and who I am. Kingdom Hearts taught me the importance of living in the moment. It's not the gameplay or individual story moments that matter, it's the sum of this whole ~10ish game journey I went on, and I would have missed the whole point if I was just focused on getting to the end as quick as possible so I could move on to the next thing. As soon as I abandoned any notion of quickly finishing this series and just went along for the ride, I was hooked. It demands that you switch off your distracted, cynical, critical brain and surrender to the journey. Kingdom Hearts is the textbook definition of journey before destination, and I am a better, more hopeful person having experienced it. We could all benefit from being a little more like Sora and surrounding ourselves with people like him.
This was much more meandering and less cohesive than what I would normally write, but I truly cannot express how I feel about Kingdom Hearts in any other way. It resists traditional expression. But I did my best to find the words anyway. There is so much more I could write, but some things are best left unsaid and untainted in my memory.
fun but flawed
calling valorant flawed is generous
calling valorant flawed is generous
Fun but flawed. NG+ fixes most issues but that requires playing the game fully w/o NG+ first :/
KH3 holds a special place in my heart. It may not be perfect, but it means a lot to me. I think people are too harsh on the game, with a large point of contention being the difficulty. Proud mode was definitely a cake walk, and I wish it had released with Critical mode, as that felt much more balanced. But overall, I think this game is something special. Especially with RE:Mind to add on to it. I love a lot of the new things the game does. Keyblade transformations are cool, and while most are not as cool as Drive forms, I think each keyblade being very unique with its transformation is a great touch. The attractions are a fun addition as well. I think gameplay wise it's fairly solid, not as tight as KH2, but good in it's own rights. The disney worlds felt good for the most part, Toy Story and Tangled being amongst my favorites.
The story for this game is one I genuinely feel is pretty strong. I don't want to spoil anything, but the game left me a mess. It was a brilliant conclusions to the Xehanort saga, and I hope that everyone can experience the series and its finale the way I did.
The story for this game is one I genuinely feel is pretty strong. I don't want to spoil anything, but the game left me a mess. It was a brilliant conclusions to the Xehanort saga, and I hope that everyone can experience the series and its finale the way I did.