The only KH game I had never completed until now. I looked up the story cutscenes before 3 came out originally, but I never fully played it. I got it for 3DS when it originally came out and dropped off about halfway in. At the time I felt like the series was far past what I had invested into it.
Playing it again was nice! It’s definitely in the same tier as the other handheld games - though it is for sure my least favorite story compared to BBS and 358/2. It’s not bad but it is almost exclusively a build up for KH3. It still has some great qualities though. It’s Riku’s game really. He develops the most here and it’s great to see him taking on a role that sora usually has. The gameplay is snappy if a bit slippery at times. It’s fun though! It plays better than BBS but the story is a fraction as interesting to me. It has plenty of wonderful and creative moments though. There’s a lot of “buts” here. Every praise comes with a criticism. I keep in mind that it was a 3DS game originally, and for that it’s pretty cool. I love seeing traverse town again and the levels are big and vast (and empty) and it’s fun to blast through!
Overall I liked it though. If we exclude re:coded for now - I’d rank the handheld games as
358/2 days > Birth By Sleep > Dream Drop Distance.
I know people slam the series for making these so critical to the overall franchise, but seriously it’s not like they’re a chore to play. They’re all very fun and easily accessible on one console now. Yes KH3 seems convoluted because it provides closure for all these games, but playing those games are pretty simple experiences in isolation. No YouTube essay will catch you up in the same way as playing them yourself. It was totally worth playing them all before my replay of 3. It’s not only helping the story make complete sense to me, it’s giving me the intended emotional investment and reframing KH3 as an incredible game for me. I was fairly disappointed on my first playthrough. I turned around on it a lot for my second and loved it. My third playthrough could end with me seeing it as a near masterpiece. Like my review on the FF13 series, I’m glad I took the time to reevaluate and invest myself in these. I’ve exchanged a disappointing experience for a completely satisfying one. In these regards I love admitting when I’m wrong.
Playing it again was nice! It’s definitely in the same tier as the other handheld games - though it is for sure my least favorite story compared to BBS and 358/2. It’s not bad but it is almost exclusively a build up for KH3. It still has some great qualities though. It’s Riku’s game really. He develops the most here and it’s great to see him taking on a role that sora usually has. The gameplay is snappy if a bit slippery at times. It’s fun though! It plays better than BBS but the story is a fraction as interesting to me. It has plenty of wonderful and creative moments though. There’s a lot of “buts” here. Every praise comes with a criticism. I keep in mind that it was a 3DS game originally, and for that it’s pretty cool. I love seeing traverse town again and the levels are big and vast (and empty) and it’s fun to blast through!
Overall I liked it though. If we exclude re:coded for now - I’d rank the handheld games as
358/2 days > Birth By Sleep > Dream Drop Distance.
I know people slam the series for making these so critical to the overall franchise, but seriously it’s not like they’re a chore to play. They’re all very fun and easily accessible on one console now. Yes KH3 seems convoluted because it provides closure for all these games, but playing those games are pretty simple experiences in isolation. No YouTube essay will catch you up in the same way as playing them yourself. It was totally worth playing them all before my replay of 3. It’s not only helping the story make complete sense to me, it’s giving me the intended emotional investment and reframing KH3 as an incredible game for me. I was fairly disappointed on my first playthrough. I turned around on it a lot for my second and loved it. My third playthrough could end with me seeing it as a near masterpiece. Like my review on the FF13 series, I’m glad I took the time to reevaluate and invest myself in these. I’ve exchanged a disappointing experience for a completely satisfying one. In these regards I love admitting when I’m wrong.