Quick Look: Kingdom Hearts III

Is this anime?

Janhanort.

Jan Ochohanort?

P.S.

Akira kurosawa, Jan.

I've never touched a KH game beyond putzing around with that DS one for a few minutes until I got tired of hearing about salt water popsicles or whatever they were, but there's something about riding a teacup around Andy's room to kill demons that is really making me want to dive down a rabbit hole here. Halp. Somebody talk me down.

Janort Jeromonort Ochoanort.

Tell me about the darkness.

That fake videogame looked like a canceled FFXV chapter.

Honestly, I'd play that Vernum Rex fake game. That was a better anime bullshit cutscene than anything in FFXIII, XIII-2, or Lightning Returns (I haven't played XV).

I'm glad someone on staff is into these games and can speak to them. I still want absolutely zero part of Kingdom Hearts in general, but damn does this looks gorgeous.

This game is bonkers in all the right ways.

This just happened and I was howling at the ridiculousness of it all (minor spoilers for Frozen world, also this boss is cool and very over the top):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_R9At900zI

That's a big Woody.

Collecting Hidden Mickeys doesn't unlock the true ending, it unlocks the secret ending which is just basically an amv teasing the next game. This is actually a lot more lenient than previous games, which required you to 100% the game to unlock it on normal difficulty.

Verum Rex is a nod and a dig at SE by Nomura for taking him off and changing Versus/XV. They took his game and essentially mangled it.

@shagge: The last three months, going through all the games and movies have been exhausting and they have taken a toll on me, emotionally and physically. I have suffered from lack of sleep and more than one headache trying to to understand it all. But at the same time it has made me fall in love with this series. SO beware, if you do down this rabbit hole, this series will grab every last bit of energy you have, make you question everything... and it might just steal your heart.

Holy cow this game is gorgeous

Is this video only in 360p?

I really enjoy playing this game despite the fact that I hate all of the voice acting and story beats with every fiber of my being.

@sethmode: Because the fighting is fun/challenging?

Please say no. I need to talk myself out of buying this game.

@frytup: Nah, not really. It just feels surprisingly good and snappy and there is more to it than it seems at first. It isn't really challenging per se, so far. If anything, it is wildly unbalanced between being comically easy and punishing at times. Having said that, a friend got the game for me thinking that I was a fan, which I never was, and I would say I would describe myself as pleasantly surprised, not blown away or anything.

In other words, my personal opinion, as a person that really doesn't care for KH's lore and storytelling style, I would say, if you DON'T already love those things, you probably shouldn't buy this.

Although, if you love Disney, the fan service in this game is out of control to a degree that is as endearing as a multi-billion dollar company playing upon your nostalgia can be.

I can't do this

ok, I finally figured out what it was, the Kingdom Hearts lore is bullshit on the level of Xenosaga bullshit, but the worlds you get to visit are super fun but doesn't really tie into the story. I like Kingdom Hearts because I get to play in DIsney Worlds, I loath Kingdom Hearts because everyone makes the story a big deal even though we all know that it's GARBAGE.

Gotta say, the back and forth between Ben and Jan at the end with the Toy Story music in the background is some Disney-ass ending lol

I fist pumped no less than three times when Jan said one of his ps2 favorites was The Bouncer.

Kingdom Hearts is a really weird thing. I don't really get it. But if you like it, you are in luck! Because this game looks pretty good for that kind of weird offputting thing.

it's amazing that the characters have unique dialogue when you go into selfie mode. Fuck.

MOM'S DEAD PARKOUR

wtf is "Galaxy Toys"? did they lose the rights to "Pizza Planet"?

If there was a Kingdom Hearts Lite Edition that was all the Disney worlds exploration stuff with about 30% as much JRPG storytelling, I would be alllllll over that.

Is this an ad??

What a quack indeed.

Part of me is afraid of the possible similarities between this and, say, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I thought they killed this show

I feel the need to point out that John Ratzenberger (the voice of Hamm) played Cliff in Cheers and not Norm.

Otherwise, they got all of their lore 100% correct.

I will never understand the appeal of these games, not that that's something important, you have the ridiculous combination of Disney and Final Fantasy characters going through a story that takes itself very seriously.

FWIW, the Memory Archive the game comes with does an OK job of getting you caught up with the major plot lines. I haven't played a KH game since 1 and I got most of what is going on, although definitely not all.

This sensitivity for spoilers is limiting my ability to make an informed purchase.

Well, we're finally here. Toy Story-level graphics in video games.

Akira Turosawa?

TUROSAWAAAAA?

Oh, Jan. Ugh.

Dammit Jan why did you have to gaslight us?

It's a hit!

As a fan of the original, I was hoping they'd go back to including more Final Fantasy stuff with this one. Sad to see that's not the case. I wonder if that's due to Disney persuading Square away from that stuff.

Fluffy ass bed. Good bed tech.

Here for Bouncer coverage

I have zero history and zero opinions for this series. Watching the video for the hell of it.

Just saying, I would buy Verum Rex

I believe they were referencing Al McWhiggin, the toy collector antagonist from Toy Story 2. He was voiced by Wayne Knight, aka Newman from Seinfeld. And yes Ben, the Seinfeld character's name is spelled with a W.

edit: I was thinking of a different part when they slipped in the "Newman" riff. Yeah, what you said about Ratzenberger.

@lonelyspacepanda: From what Nomura has said it seems like in the first few games they viewed the Final Fantasy characters as a crutch used to be taken seriously as a Square rpg, but now that people love the story in it's own right they don't need them anymore. It still kinda sucks though because I feel a few of those storylines with the FF characters were left incomplete.

I'm annoyed at such stunningly perfectly rendered and animated versions of things I love only finally got this level of care and attention in a Kingdom Hearts game... sigh.

TIL that there are more than 3 Kingdom Hearts games.

As much as I know how the story of the series goes insane and is spread among tons of games on numerous platforms, I still can't wait to play this. I've been replaying KH1 with my kids (which does not hold up at all in gameplay or design) and playing KH2 by myself (which is still a ton of fun to play). Between the two I'm all in for another game that keeps building on KH2.

And the funny thing is that the actual Kingdom Hearts lore is like 10% of the primary games, since it's mostly just standard hero's quest, smooth action RPG combat, and weird interactions between Disney / Final Fantasy characters and stories. You get a sprinkling of nonsense scenes, but even those are fun once you lean into the insanity. I highly recommend listening to Waypoint's new podcast(s) trying to decipher the lore.