As this video's doing pretty well, we're gonna try something. There's plenty of great KH content out there, so I'm going to plug a KH video that I think is underrated and if this yields positive results, we'll do it again. So here's a short KH animation that takes the Riku VS Anti-Aqua battle and (without spoiling) gives it a bit more fun and life. Great watch, the creator's hella talented. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e8WWZLd0mMvYmok.html

"Kingdom hearts 3 would rather tease a story than write one" Honestly that hit the nail on the head. My problem with this franchise summarized perfectly.

Hi there, I know this is an old video and all, but I feel if there's anyone who'd appreciate this greater context it'd be you based on this video. You posed the question "How could a series with one of the best deaths also have one of the worst?" comparing Xion's to Kairi's, and well, it has a lot to do with a person who's mostly unknown to the mainline games enjoyers. Her name is Tomoco Kanemaki. She was the lead scenario writer for Days, and is the writer of the Kingdom Hearts Novels. Even if she wasn't the one writing out the dialogue for the game she was the one who conceptualized and wrote out the big ideas and plot points of Days. If you've ever wondered why Days seemed to have a lot more writing in it, like how it has this whole allegory for corporations running employees into the ground only to replace them with younger, better ones when they're done, it's because of her. I am not saying that KH needs more of this higher writing, KH1 is campy as hell and I don't think a lack of "deep subtext" hampers it in the slightest. However, what I will say is that the current writing team seems to lack an actual writer to help them. It's what I feel is the driving reason behind the distinct lack of narrative catharsis most of KH3 has in it's finale. I don't think every issue would be solved by bringing someone in like Kanemaki for more games, such as the very heavy hand of Disney forcing them to do what they did to the Tangled, Frozen, and Pirates world, but I think it would do them a lot of good. At the very least I think it'd help cut out things like, "we don't know which way this plot should go, let's consult the fans." I may not be an expert at writing, but I have enough experience to tell you that delegating major plot points to the fans is... not a very good sign. Truthfully, I'd rather see the version of this without Roxas and Xion, because it's clear that feeling an obligation to add them back had very poor results on how they were handled. That statement from Nomura honestly settled something that's bothered me for a while. Personally, I hate that Roxas and Xion were brought back, characters who's original character arcs ended in the realization that they needed to go away for the better. The tragedy of their characters was that they willingly chose their sacrifices, and for me, effectively undoing a sacrifice for the sake of fanservice is just gross writing. Which is not to say I'd hate seeing them return under better circumstances (like with the proper guidance of a writer, see this tangent is still relevant to the original point), but I'd want some damn good writing to justify bringing them back into the fold. It's also an issue I share with Axel's return. It's a case of fanservice and not because they had some cool, interesting new journey for him to go on. (honestly that's probably why the majority of the true org XIII members get character assassinated in their farewell cutscenes in KBG) It's this lack of a writer's touch that leaves Axel's main function as... comedy relief outside of the reunion hug. Do you know how killer it'd be to see Axel take charge in the save Roxas campaign? That shit writes itself, and seeing Axel struggle would give Roxas' return some narrative catharsis. But I digress... I know this has gone supremely off tangent for the original purpose of this comment, and is perhaps excessive and self indulgent for a video with a comment section that died nearly a year ago, but I couldn't help myself, not when it's for someone who's got a passion for KH and wants to see it be the best it can be.

I honestly think that Nomura wanted KH3 to have the storyline of the mobile game and foretellers but he had no idea how to work it into the narrative, so instead KH3 basically just was a teaser for the game he actually wanted to make.

Am I the only one that is extremely bothered by the fact that Lea and Ventus never talked except for that one brief moment? Like, in BBS, Lea says of Ventus that they're friends now, and then in a cut scene with Kairi, he implies that he is drawn to Roxas because he looked like Ventus, but no, let's have everyone go to their respective trio and just stay there.

I always thought Larxene had a thing for Demyx instead of Marluxia, their dynamic always felt a lot more “Tsundere” than the practically nonexistent interactions with Marluxia

"She can bring him to the Keyblade Graveyard" HE WAS ALREADY IN THE KEYBLADE GRAVEYARD. WHY THE FUCK DID HE ONLY SHOW UP THE SECOND TIME

There’s something you should have mentioned about the 1000 heartless fight. The build up wasn’t the only memberal thing about that fight but also the reveal at the end that you SIGNIFICANTLY helped the organization with their plans. When you thought you had a major victory, they take it away from you…

Listen, I don't care how much of a bandaid was placed on Kairi's character in ReMind. She was so nonexistent as a character that her AI was given no thought. Seriously, she was the ONLY party member (In my game at least) that did nothing beyond run into an invisible wall throughout the entire fight. And when I tried to free her (Thinking her tracking bugged out), she just turned 180 degrees, ran across the field, and into the invisible wall over there. The writers don't care about Kairi. The programmers don't care about Kairi. Sora doesn't care about Kairi. I don't care about Kairi. She used to be my favorite character. She is no longer such. She had a brief moment of being important at the end of KH2 with her "This time, I'LL fight!" moment. Which was good. And then she does fuck all in KH3 other than get in the way, pretend like she's doing something, get kidnapped, and be "killed." And now let's discuss everyone's uber happy reunion at the end: So, I work in the English Literature field. This means I go through stories constantly. I yell at authors for dumb decisions in story-telling and scribble in red ink on their manuscripts. And there's something I find myself constantly telling authors: It's okay to have a tragic ending for a beloved character. Fans will constantly whine to bring the character back, but if that wasn't the original intention, it will fail. Every. Time. Roxas, Xion, and Namine were never meant to be brought back. That was never the intention behind their characters. They were tragic characters with a tragic ending. And, to a lesser extent, the same can be said about Axel and the other organization members. However, where Axel's return doesn't feel as forced and contrived (And we need our villains in the Org members), Roxas, Xion, and Namine's returns do. Axel's story didn't necessarily feel finished. So it wasn't as grating to bring him back. And it felt nice to return him because it meant the second arc of his story SHOULD have been about his redemption. Making up for the things he did as a Nobody. However, Roxas, Xion, and Namine all had very clear stories. They had a clear arc to their character and a satisfying (yet tragic) end. And even so, Roxas and Namine's end wasn't even all that tragic. But the emotional weight of their ending is undercut by their return. But their story's end felt good. It made you cry and feel the emotions. It was beautiful and symbolic. It showed the consequences of decisions made. It reminded people that there ARE consequences. Xion gave up her existence to return to Sora, so he could be whole again. Because she was simply a piece of him that was scattered. Roxas gave up his existence to return to Sora, so he could be whole again. So he (Roxas) could be whole again. As Namine told him, "You won't disappear. You'll be whole." He accepts his fate at the end of KH2 with grace after fighting against it for so long. Namine gives up her existence to return to Kairi, so she could be whole again. She never stopped accepting her end with grace. She did what she needed to make up for the things she did and then she returned to the place she belonged. And then they're all brought back. With no real explanation of a satisfying nature. They're just casually back. And it doesn't really add to the story as a whole. Yes, they had their cute mini-scenes. However, nothing of value was added. They don't massively change the direction anything goes. The battle with Roxas (And playing Roxas in ReMind) was cool and epic. But we could've achieved that without bringing him back (Considering he is a part of Sora), if that was the direction people wanted it to go. Random spitball: Sora sees Kairi kidnapped and has a freeze up moment. Panic strikes. He doesn't know what to do. Roxas takes the reigns of his body for a bit to save him and the others. Gorgeous moment with Axel after the battle to promise that he's still there. He just IS Sora. The same can honestly be said about Terra. He had a complete story. It was tragic. Granted, his return was a bit better, since it's clear that him returning was at least a casual thought floating around the writing department. But he didn't need to return. I would argue that it would've been more narratively satisfying if after Terranort was defeated (With the help of Lingering Will because how badass would that have been?! Then in ReMind we could've played as Lingering Will! Omg, the alternate reality of KH3 sounds so beautiful) the cutscene showed Lingering Will shudder and kneel down again before the armor collapsed into a heap on the ground, leaving only the keyblade sitting there. And Ven or Aqua could have a tearful moment when they say, "He's finally free." Riku inherited Terra's keyblade since Way To Dawn is apparently too edgy for new Riku. Would've been better than a damn CAR KEY. And it would've had story significance beyond "Master Yen Sid has a ton of keyblades in the basement, yo." Since Riku is who Terra chose in BBS. Then in the ending cutscene with Ven and Aqua, they place Terra's wayfinder on the grave thing they made before holding their own up to the sky, saying without words that they'll find each other eventually. Even if it's just in the next life. You can't be afraid of killing off characters and keeping them gone. If that is the original intention, stick with it. Trying to force characters back who were never meant to return does not make for a better story. It makes for an unsatisfying conclusion that doesn't feel earned.

"Master Xehanort did not get redeemed." True

39:23 Thanks for validating my not being crazy-- that's some really strong onee/shota energy, it nearly took me out and the wildest part is that THIS is the most emotion-laden line uttered by Aqua's English VA.

Seems to me that this was rushed so we can get to Versus 13 the real game he wanted to make.

This video as well as you, are criminally underrated:(

Looks like Nomura got a few too many notes from the "Steven Universe School of How To Make All of your Villains Reedeemable"

I think you're the only other person I've seen mention how Riku Replica's relationship with Namine is built on lies and gaslighting, which makes his sacrifice less heartwarming and more concerning. Even if you're meant to see him as making this choice of his own volition, Namine has never really cared about him at all, which makes any supposed bond between these characters tenuous at best. That said, the reason I imagine he doesn't take a body of his own is because he still has hang-ups about feeling like a copy of Riku, even if both of them are very distinct visually at this point given RR is (seemingly) KH1 Riku permanently.

Nomura doesn't care about Kairi, and I don't think he really ever has. He treats her like the princess peach of kingdom hearts, and it's just kinda sad. The female characters in the Kingdom Hearts series aren't treated very well in my opinion, but I guess that's just japanese writing. The few female characters in Kingdom Hearts ether die are villains or are damsels in distress and get captured by the bad guys. I thought Kairi was supposed to be a main character, but apparently not she's just a girl who gets captured or killed or to be a plot device. It's pretty sad for Kairi. I really love Kingdom Hearts, but I just wish that its characters were treated better.

1:41:39 Well, yes and no. Nomura couldn't decide whether to revive them or not. He had a Roxas-and Xion-less scenario in mind, but wasn't sure about implementing it. So, he turned to the fans to make up his mind. "There are parts of the story that I won't budge on, but when I'm having trouble, I will consider what everyone is saying." If Nomura were confident that he didn't want or need Roxas and Xion anymore, then he never would've cared about what the fans wanted.

The New Seven Hearts is a weird concept. For starters, everyone except Kairi passed their powers on for no clear reason. But then there's the narrative reason they are brought up: Xehanort will use them in his plans if the heroes don't fight him. But that raises a lot of questions. If Xehanort can just kill the opposing side and get the X-Blade (and he can, based on the fact that he does just that to Sora and Co. in the Zettaflare scene while saying that the X-Blade will form from this), why not use the Princesses as Plan A? They'd certainly go down quicker. Why would Sora and Co. not playing ball even be a factor? Ansem and Xemnas have already shown what kind of destruction they can cause if left alone, so there's no way the heroes wouldn't show up. It feels like addressing a plot point with an explanation that doesn't need to be there. Why doesn't the Organization grab some of the Princesses for leverage on the off chance that the heroes can't fill up their ranks in time for the Keyblade War? Rapunzel in particular is completely powerless at the end of her world. But we don't really have time to dwell on any of these questions because KH3 is trying to pump out yet another cutscene to answer yet another question or resolve another plot thread from one of the previous several games, which also leads to other moments that don't get enough expansion on. Demyx and Pals being Keyblade Masters in the past, for example.

Those last 3 minutes of the video. Holy shit man, emotional. For me I think KH3 became more of a symbol or idea for me rather than a new game. I would imagine myself playing the game for a long time growing up, and finally seeing it become announced in my teenage years made it feel like it would close that early chapter of my own life. The game itself was fun enough and some story beats satisfying, I just don't think it could have ever reached the emotional and straight forward finality that some people (including myself) were looking for

Funny that in the secret ending of kh1 Roxas appears with yellow eyes, but norting wasnt a thing so no one cared.

Hands down the best KH3 video I've ever seen. My God, you've made a masterpiece.

Hilarious, insightful, heartfelt, compelling, the editing, the points made, the presentation of it all, the fact that the critiques made here come form a place of love and desire to see the story really shine, the way you were able to voice many of my hang-ups and frustrations with the series, love everything about the video and I'm honestly blown away, I can only imagine all the hard work of putting this beast together. Watched the whole thing in one go and I'm sure I'll be coming back to watch it again many times more. THOSE LAST THREE MINUTES THO! Incredible job, Instant new sub!

This is so accurate! KH3 was boring nothingness on repeat, extremely back heavy and ultimately unsatisfying in its conclusion. Not to mention the dialogue, they make Sora out to be the dumbest most unaware moron in the universe every time he opens his mouth.

The funniest shit (in a bad way) is that they brought Xion back because they found the research notes. lmao

You pretty much summed up my thoughts on the finale, as much as I liked it. I loved the buildup, but the KH3 ending felt like a “To Be Continued…” rather than a proper finale to the story up to this point. If they didn’t tease all the Union X-related stuff or just showed us what was in that stupid black box, I think the story would’ve been more cohesive. I could rant about the Limit Cut story stuff, but all I’ll say is you could not convince me it's been a year between then and KH3’s ending. All the pieces were there for a grand finale, but they just weren’t put in the right place.

The editing is fucking amazing, the jokes were great, and the delivery is fantastic(pls get into voice acting, you're good!) Can't wait to see more!

This feels funny to say because the game took so long to release, but I feel like it was rushed because a lot of detail was left out so instead of the creators making a part 1 and 2 of KH3 they just decided to squeeze it all into one.

I saw the sheer quality (And horniness) of the editing and I was Like "HOW DOES THIS BEAST DOES NOT HAVE MOR-" until I realized this is your first video. Let me say what a absolutely strong way to begin your KZfaq career, I'm speechless the technical quality was on another level !!

I'mma be honest, I wasn't even a huge KH fan before playing 3. I had seen videos about the story and stuff but I wasn't too invested in it. Was excited to play KH3 and it was my first KH game that I played to completion And even I, going in with no expectations, was disappointed in the ending. Felt like such a cop-out. While I hadn't played any of the games much, I knew the story and this was just such a slap in the face. I knew when I finished it fans were not going to be happy

This was great. Broke down the whole game scene by scene. I hate that Riku just threw away his Way to the Dawn Kayblade. It's HIS Keyblade, it represents his growth as a character and his overall journey. Then some Demon Tower snaps it in half and Riku just... tosses it. Oh don't worry he gets a much better Keyblade in Yen Sid's basement. What the hell was that about? Riku sees his Keyblade snapped in two and basically says "Welp, can't use this Keyblade anymore. Oh well." You can apparently just swap Keyblades no problem, kinda makes it feel like their relevance and sentience (Keyblades choose their wielders after all) is slowly fading away... Riku saying he'd miss Ansem just feels wrong considering all of the trauma that Riku suffered. Maybe if Riku said something like "It'll be strange not having to worry about you anymore. I look forward to finding out what that's like." A sentiment like that could be a way for Riku to look to the future and tie into Ansem's last word of "It's time to move on. There is more to seek so go forth now and seek it."

Bravo!! Bravo!! 👏👏 So many great points that point out all the issues with the KH3 ending. And I love the video's ending showing why we were soo freaking hyped for this game's release for all these years!

Hey! I just got to the part of the video where you said you have no idea how Xion came back (great vid so far!). On the small off-chance you see this comment: The Organisation relearned about Xion when they found research data logs on her creation and progress on their systems. Xehanort wanted to explore the idea of bringing her back as a vessel because of her ability to wield a keyblade, and her links to Sora. He sent Young Xehanort to Toy Box to find out whether or not a so-called "puppet" could have a heart in the first place. He saw the toys as "puppets" of sorts, and split the world into two so he could try driving a wedge between their relationships. If he could witness them falling to darkness, he'd know they have hearts. His plan ultimately failed, but his goal was still achieved: The fact they were able to use light to defeat him at all was proof enough. He even remarked: "So even empty puppets can have strong hearts. I'll have to remember that". Xehanort also sent Replica-Riku to San Fransokyo to find out if the foundations of a heart can be created using data. He retrieved the defunct Baymax, and used viruses to try and create said heart within him. Again, this venture ended with relative success. With the information they needed, the Organisation set to work bringing back Xion to introduce her to their ranks. They succeeded, and made a somewhat primitive heart for her with tweaks so she may obey them. However Saix (being a traitor to the Organisation) made his own tweaks to try and return her to the light. Not only did he ensure he was paired with her during the final battle, but during cutscenes he also made conscious efforts and glances toward her while saying the names of her friends out loud in ear-shot. He was trying to get her "blank" heart to remember. As she did, Xion's independent memories locked within Sora started to bleed over to her. Eventually she regained all of her memories in one final pull, which also restored the "chain of memories" linking her to everyone else's memories.

Agree strongly. Could wax poetic but in short, KH2's strong pathos allowed you to forgive the handful of missteps. KH3 didn't execute its story well enough to get you the pathos you needed to overlook flaws, and then on top of that, its flaws were far stronger and more numerous. You covered the details well and I agree with the vast majority of the video.

31:00 this is so cathartic to hear since nobody seem to remember that, that is true, they did do all those things, some even before they turned into nobodies so their redemption makes no sense. Btw funny you bring up that Xemnas scene, because at the end of the end of that speech he said "through weakness of body, weakness of will, or weakness of *trust* most of the members chosen for the org were inadequate" which kh3 completely retcons by making most of the "new" members are old ones, including Larxene and Marluxia even tho he said trust was an issue lmao.

I’m pretty sure the Terranort we see in KH3 was not one who time traveled. Remind tells us that when Xehanort was reconstructed, Terra’s empty body was as well, and he simply re-Norted him to fill his ranks. That’s why his heart returning restores him.

So in regards to Terra-nort, there's actually a pretty decent explanation behind it. The game states in the dlc and the secret files that the only characters who have traveled through time are Ansem, Xemnas, Vanitas, Young Xehanort, and the dark replica Riku. In Terra-Xehanorts case, Terra was revived along with Xehanort after Ansem and Xemnas were killed. When Xehanort came too, he simply norted him and he became Terra-nort again. So he didn't time travel like the others.

Addressing the paopu scene: I had already been a retired avid Sokai shipper and through Kairi's personality shift from BBS (blank points..?) wasn't expecting much. However, it did fucking blow. Not only that but because my friend had an early copy and hinted at it, I decided to see how many times Sora mentions Kairi throughout the entire game (particularly without her present, like it's done in kh2). It is zero. The first scene they are in together they do not acknowledge each other in the slightest (Yen Sid's tower). The paopu scene IS the first time he even speaks in anyway in reference to her in the game. That was around 26 hours of game he didn't even think about her (My file was 30 hours). It's literally so bad. I do see more positivity towards it from Sokai fans and I can never bring myself to feel the same way as it's just not the same as it used to be nearly two decades ago. but yea when I ignore the end of the game it's actually pretty fun. Similar feelings to where the series moves on from here, though I'm slightly hopeful that the next game will at least just be less setup and mostly story. We'll see how that goes...

Loved this video but my favorite part was how much you put into talking about the thousand heartless battles and specifically sora donald and goofys look at each other. That silent “we got this” will forever be my favorite moment in the entire franchise and solidify donald and goofy as more than just recognizable side kicks, but your badass partners who have have been with you on this massive journey. It’s wonderful and this video captures that perfectly along with everything else. Keep up the great work. Also every Xheanort round table discussion has me dying.

You had said EVERYTHING I’ve been thinking about! And so beautifully played out as well! The way kingdom hearts has moved me since I was a kid keeps me coming back, and I will never stop indulging in the games even if they are bad, but I just wish with all my hearts to see a new updated game of KH that made me feel like I was playing KH2 again. I know that will most likely never happen but I still hope. Thank you for all of the time you put into this and showing that KH fans do need to have a bit of a standard.

This deserves so many more views!! I’ve been searching for KH3 takedowns that put my own thoughts into words and I think this is the best one. Well edited, funny, and accurate critiques all while still giving credit where credit is due. Funny story, I was actually so disappointed in KH3 that I didn’t even finish Olympus and I abandoned the game, only finally coming back to it recently after 4 whole years. I was like hey, maybe it’s not as bad as I first thought, only to be disappointed again. But at least I got to see the sea salt trio in glorious updated graphics so ig that’s something Anyway, absolutely amazing video, I can’t imagine how much work was put into it

You made an almost-three hour long video into S-tier content. I watched it in one sitting. Looking forward to you hopefully doing the rest of the series.

[Edit: We've passed the scene I was hopeful of, and even though it got a bit more commentary than I've seen before, it still wasn't the in depth look I'm searching for. Still very much loving the video though! Your jokes make me laugh really hard and I have yelled my agreement with your points many a time.] Loving the video so far (just about half an hour in) and I am truly hoping you address something I yelled at my TV for when I played - I have never once understood Sora's reaction to the heartless tower taking everyone but him and Riku. His reaction actually made me laugh until I realized he was serious and then I started raging. There has literally been no point in this series when someone was "gone forever", so his reaction felt so melodramatic and out of left field and I have never understood it, and I haven't been able to find a review that talks about this point yet. This coming from someone who loves the KH series, but personally only played the numbered games while watching reviews/recaps/playthroughs of the spinoffs. A heartless tower still means nothing to me - we saw it multiple times in the game and nothing bad happened. And multiple times people have been taken to the realm of darkness or wherever and they DID NOT die or were even considered lost forever (Aqua, Sora when he became a heartless, Riku, Mickey, the list really just goes on). If anyone can explain Sora's reaction to me in a way that is comprehensive lore wise I would be most grateful, but I really think this was just bad writing/voice acting. Nothing leading up to that moment made it feel like it was even REMOTELY a possibility of being true so Sora's reaction was just a total joke in my opinion. I will be keeping my fingers crossed you bring this up in some capacity but you still get my like and sub regardless because your editing and jokes are top tier!

"I haven't even talked about the cut scene with darling Vani Vani yet". 😂❤ this was absolutely amazing man I follow alot KH channels and this is one of the most well thought out breakdown videos I have ever watched. Thank you so much will spread your channel in my area of Philly. Also Vanitas is my favorite character cause I think there's a ton more to his story and dark road showed that

Tbf, for Xemnas feeling loneliness, he did say that for as long as he could remember, keyword being "remember", it was his first durge of emotions. And him saying what he said in DDD actually makes his feeling of loneliness more valid, 'cause he knew firsthand that his heart was replaced the first chance the body got.

I hate "May your heart be your guiding key" so much. It feels like a rip off of "May the Force be with you." and "Live long and prosper." Even my son like's "My friends are my power." better.

I love this video with it fair share of positive and criticism it done very well, and there are also huge props for even showing the past years of fan made video to covers of Kh3. Those were nice to see again

I know it doesn't do any good fixating on what could have been but I'm going to do it anyway. What I imagined kh3 was going to be before it came out was a journey of the protagonists to slowly release the various lost keyblade wielders until they had enough to face Xehanort. Many people talk about how aqua being freed should have happened halfway through and I'm inclined to agree. Is there any reason why the clashing of light and dark had to happen at the keyblade graveyard all within about an hour? Maybe but it could have just not been written and then you could have had the organization actually go after the heroes throughout the story. The fact that we had the entire demo as aqua and yet, in kh3 you only get to lay as her once and never in battle is absurd. The DLC allows you to play as all the characters people wanted to but still only in specific battles during a boss gauntlet. I think they should have spread out the rescue of aqua and ven and given them to us as playable characters as new warriors of light are assembled. They should have removed the hyperbolic time chamber since it didn't mean squat and just said that Kairi and Lea were training and unlocked them as playable characters after a few disney worlds.

Thank you for calling out the bad writing of Isa/Saix. That was not a good "redemption" arc. I still love the series but this aspect has become my least favorite part of KH3.

Please keep making videos, your channel is amazing. Oh and 10/10 video btw.

Easily the best Kingdom Hearts video on KZfaq, don't think I have words to express how perfect this encapsulates my and the community's thoughts and love for this series.

22:21- 24:00 felt like you just pulled those sentences right out of my brain

I'm not sure I'd consider myself a SoKai shipper because like... I don't hate? it? at least in theory? and I was just idk, waiting to see anywhere of where it went. But where it went was idk, right into the garbage, it felt. Like, idk I don't remember every bit from every game over the years because it's bee far too long but like, I felt like the ship never really got to go anywhere because Kairi has unfortunately just felt like a giant plot device rather than a character of her own and it sucks because like, i want to like her. I have spent years convincing myself that I liked her cos like, the design is good n all. She just... never felt like a properly character and KH3 made it even more noticeable than before and I guess it's just frustrating cos its like when I listen to video essays like this it just reminds me of how poorly she got treated as a character like RIP Kairi (2002-2019) - She Was Just Standing There and That's Really All She Did.

I think the main point of the "backup lights" was to explain why the guardians had to go fight xehanort instead of ignoring him to prevent making the x-blade. Like "if you don't show up we'll just kill the princesses instead and it will still work so you better show up lol" Why they decided fighting the guardians was the easier option, idk

not the door segment making me actually subscribe lol

I am so glad someone else appreciates the sarcastic venom dripping off of Aqua's "good for you!" towards Mickey. Then. Now. Forever. Fuck that mouse.

PLEASE LMFAO the singing part killed me, and your sarcastic everything, great extreme agree kh3 to me felt horribly rushed and left me unfulfilled, relying on idk emotional manipulation in certain aspects across the game which feels.....cheap?

This showed up in my recommended and I’m glad it did. The longer it’s been since this game came out I just get more and more bitter about how it ended. Hopefully kh4 will take notes from the faults of this game but we will see. Great job on the video, hope you are doing well!

idk why, but I have weird memories of Larxene doing fucked up psychological torture shit to Sora in CoM, but can't stand that game enough to go through and check.

Fantastic video, KH3 was bloated way down by too many characters. I have a feeling that it wasn't supposed to drag on that long, but Square kept pulling Nomura away to work on other things, while Osaka team made endless sub-stories to keep the Brand(tm) alive. After KH2, the series shifted more to focus on world building instead of plot it feels like. I hope the writers can start fresh in this new "world of fiction" in KH4 and keep things manageable.

It’s plus ask your uncles video will forever be my go to for a playlist of very long video documentaries I can just drop entire evenings on and not be sad at all. I am one of the many one’s disappointed by this and you 2 creators really helps put my feelings into coherent context so thank you

My problem with Master Xehanort being re-written in to a misguided protector of balance of light and darkness is the same issue I would have if Disney made Palpatine into a misguided defender of balance to the force; both characters have shown throughout their respective series that they revel in darkness and have shown no grief or regret of taking advantage of others and ruining countless lives(especially in DDD where he gloats about ruining the lives of Ven, Terra and Aqua while smiling as if he enjoyed doing it) or even a hint of doing any one thing for the greater good in the name of balance but instead out of their own self-interests and curiosity and no confusing character contradiction that are the 'xehanort reports' will change my mind on that fact because you can tell me all you want that, "xehanorts reports say his intentions are this', but if his actions throughout the series completely contradict what he says in those reports up until a certain point where his motivations and reasons suddenly change to fit what was originally in those reports than that can be summed up to lazy writing. In the end, I feel like Disney had a hand in forcing Xehanort's backstory and motivations to be changed in order to make the ending more 'palatable' to a younger audience and it really shows how rushed the story was in not just in Xehanort and his motivations, but KH3's story as a whole.

So, fun fact, the scenes that are universally seen by fans to be the best in the game are actually the ones that caused me actual irl emotional turmoil and existential dread I'm an OSDD 1b system, in other words, I have Dissociative Identity Disorder with no memory loss. It can be a tough condition at points, but it's something we've managed to live with, and to some extent have managed to be proud of. Stories like KH2, with Roxas coming to grips with needing to share his existence with Sora, helped us cope a lot with the condition! In fact, we thought it was very cool how in KH universe, splintering people or getting hearts out of one's body is a process that typically requires heavy sacrifice (Kairi KH1, Roxas and Xion, Ventus and Vanitas, Xehanort losing og body, etc.) KH3 came out a single week before our official diagnosis appointment and the replica plot has no sacrifice to it I hope this isn't traumadumping, but we think it's important to acknowledge that seeing our childhood series, the one that included the first video game we ever owned, casually declaring the obvious logical happy ending to everyone in the series is to have their own body... MIGHT have distressed us on the trip to our "Determine if you're multiple people stuck in one body for the rest of your life" appointment Because of this the entire replica plot feels so... unnuanced, compared to KH2 before it. It's such a shame. The sea salt trio and wayfinder trio reuniting does genuinely nothing for us, there's this overwhelming sense of stomping over what was established earlier to justify it happening. We're not even opposed to most getting bodies back, just, when you realize how sea salt ice cream represented Roxas and Sora initially (Salty, but Sweet!), did EVERY single entity have to separate? It feels like the nuance was strategically taken out. In the DLC Vanitas even rejects coming back with Ventus, isn't the point of his character that his existence is terrible and he desperately wants to rejoin? To us, Kingdom Hearts will always be that page from the KH2 manga, where Sora and Roxas sit together on the Twilight clocktower, eating ice cream together in their shared mental space. Hearts as close as close can be, but still existing as themselves nonetheless

0:11 through 0:57 - Goddamn man. Watching all these people be excited for this game is just.......heartbreaking. Knowing now that Nomura just rushed through this game just so he could get to the revival of his failed Final Fantasy Versus 13 project _(i.e. KH4),_ these are the people he betrayed by putting out this terrible half baked game. 0:57 through 1:25 - And in the meantime, Nomura released Dream Drop Distance.......which was such a slap to the face that it ended up sobering me up to just how badly written and played by ear thos series actually was since Chain of Memories. It was with that game that I stopped being a Kingdom Hearts fan, stopped being another one of Nomura's battered wives letting him walk all over me and take my money without question. Dream Drop Distance was the point where I finally had enough. 2:47 - KH2 huh? That's a funny way of saying DMC5 XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD 3:38 through 4:08 - so then.....you're gonna be covering the 30 dollar scam that was Re:Mind? 4:48 - Cause lord knows there has to be some amount of percentage to justify 60 goddamn USD. 5:43 - Even residential dead beat Goku is looking at this spikey haired nitwit with a look of disbelief going _"Brah"._ 6:50 through 7:52 & 13:28 - Getting Batman V Superman flashbacks here! XD 8:22 - Nomura has as much _"love and respect"_ towards Disney characters as Toei and Toriyama have for Tien Shinhan. 8:43 - Pretty impressive _(in a completely fucked up way)_ how this game manages to make a worse version of a movie that everyone hates. Can't wait to see how KH4 does an even worse version of Rise of Skywalker...........don't lie, you know that's exactly what the Star Wars world is going to be a about. 12:56 - Yeah speaking of Tien Shinhan.......... 14:03 through 14:59 - Yeah buckle up kiddies, we're going full Naruto Steven Universe up in this bitch! HALF ASSED UNDESERVED VILLAIN REDEMPTIONS AWAY! 22:18 through 23:22 - Getting Goku and Naruto flashbacks here! XD 24:04 - Oh yes, this flaccid wet fart that was even more anticlimactic than Junketsu Wearing Ryuko. 29:09 through 30:40 - Just when you thought the utter raping of death as a concept didn't get any worse than seven magical orbs that summon a wish granting dragon.......there's the bullshit that happened in FF7 Remake. This is a close neck and neck second, and from the same fucking director no less. 35:17 - Meh, I've seen better........Metroplex from Fall of Cybertron.......Metal Madness from Sonic Heroes........Baal Zebul from Bayonetta 3..........Michael Jackson in Moonwalker.......Mega Maid from Space Balls.....any given Megazord from Power Rangers/Super Sentai..... 37:34 - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ptd8qamX3MnVlqs.html

The problem (as someone who loved the game) i realize looking back is that it feels like half of it should have been in-between games, and not part of a main series one.

My severe disappointment in KH3 is only matched by videos criticizing it. This was extremely entertaining.

do the entire mobile story next, this was extremely entertaining

this is the second time i’ve listened to your video, it plays in the background while i (somewhat) do my job. i cannot put into words the utter hole kingdom hearts 3 left gaping after spending over a decade starved for this release, but you do it so perfectly - and hilariously! knowing there are people that genuinely enjoyed this game, after experiencing both one and the MASTERFULLY done two, it’s something i can’t comprehend. nor do i think i ever will. these characters mean everything to me, my childhood love come back from the war. i can tell this series meant the utter world to you as well and that the very least, i take comfort in knowing more people who had dedicated so much to this saga was left gutted by the final installment. thank you for making this ❤ also! sokai shipper here! i’ve been waiting for this budding romance since i was eight, watching sora promise kairi in a glorified sewer system that he’d bring back her lucky charm in one piece. this felt like i was observing two completely different characters wearing their faces, trying to act like the slow burn couple i spent literal years cheering for 😤 i don’t think sora even talks directly to her until the paopu scene, you could very easily convince me sora doesn’t even like her after having proceeded these events. almost gave me whiplash after witnessing sora be reminded of her any time a disney couple came together in the second game. i’m actually embarrassed by their progression in kh3, like someone throwing a toy at me and telling me to shut up about wanting things. i’d almost rather their romance never be touched on again.

Nomura is really the George Lucas of the videogames 😬 1:40:12 The DAYS trio reunion was legit the ONLY scene in the entire game that made me feel emotional! And I still prefer it over the BBS trio reunion (the GUARDIAN reveal scene still goes hard however) 1:41:39 And then I learned that Nomura wasn't planning to bring back Roxas and Xion and added them just for the fans... Now I feel Manipulated & Pandered! At least they got happy ending! Even thought Axel is now a dumbass comic relief!😩 2:15:25 ✨ 3 ✨ 3 Times in fact my excitement and Hype got diminished I tried to like KH3 3 times and it dissapointed me 3 Times! Not only on story aspect, it was a huge combination of Disney world design, Combat, Bosses, and enemies balance as well and the Re:mind content NOT being part of the main game like Final Mix usually do (Thats why the ReMind Ability Integration MOD exists, come on square...)

What an absolutely incredible video. If the mysterious unopened door doesn’t return in your future content, I’ll be writing a two hour long take down on this channel that I’ve newly subscribed to

And don't get me started with the Osaka Team's COMBAT design and balance in KH3 24:04 The saddest thing about Anti-Aqua concept was the fact I was expecting them to do build around with the fact Aqua has been trapped into the Shadow Realm for 12 YEARS and she gets gradually corrupted over time (Graded you can say they did touched this with the Fragmented Passage) But no she instantly get corrupted with being tossed in a puddle of darkness! LOL LMAO EVEN! 36:20 I like Aqua for her Magic-Combat battle style! Boobs mean nothing to me! I'm Gay! ✨ Thought she suffers a lot from the character writing concept! Her purpose in BBS is to babysit Ven and Terra! 37:50 Note the absolutely STUPIDITY of this scene! Aqua jumps and blocks Vanitas attack using her own body as a shield... DESPITE THE FACT she has the perfect 💠360 Barrier GUARD as BLOCK 💠in BBS, 0.2 Fragmented Passage and KH3! No she had to drop the idiot bomb and use her body as shield to make this scene Dramatic and having one of our female KH character in danger again! BRAVO WRITERS! VERY COOL!👏

If you believe in yourself and with a tiny pinch of magic, all your dreams can come true

1:03:40 me in 2019: "well that was some weird whiplash" Me in 2023 after the mobile game ended and seeing this clip again: "Nomuraaaaaaa!!!!" Being a kingdom hearts fan is indeed frustrating. I didn't even know about the concert lore.

You sound hot so your opinion is instantly more relevant than any other kh3 essay Also, knowing how much the square enix translators Demyx time is definitely on purpose

This was probably the best unintended recap video I ever seen. reallyed enjoy the 2 hours long video. tho I kinda would love to see a video of the games of the KH series now. this was god tier comedy in this video I haven't laugh this much in years.

It’s going to be super easy barely an inconvenience damn it you showed the guy and all damn it. Honestly kh2 was peak I don’t mind three but this ending was more spectacle than anything

I thought the whole “new princesses of heart” plot bit was to fill in a plot hole. The bad guys need the good guys to fight them to forge the chi-blade, but what if they just don’t fight? Then they’ll just kill these princesses to forge it anyway.

I don't think you needed to do the expectations point at the end, I saw the writing on the wall for kh3 and I knew years before it's release that it was gonna be disapointing, so I HEAVILY tempered my expectations for it, and even still I was surprised at how god awful the pacing and writing is in the game, almost NOTHING works, it feels kinda souless, as if they we're just making checkmarks on what should happen and just going trhu the motions. And keep in mind that I am also a lifetime fan, I grew up with this series. Also I have to touch on the characters assassinations, it feels more like aliens wearing the shells of the characters doing their best to pretend and be them while lacking a fundamental notion of what makes them tick, this is true for almost every character in the game. Look I was never much for ships, or anything relating to romance and drama for that matter but you know, Sora and Kairi were very obviously meant to be a couple from the start, I mean Riku at the start of the series already knew that and tried to help a little on that front. What i'm trying to say is that they're a very cute and romantic couple and in kh3 it's like they're barely acquaintances, and this is just one example of whiplash from character assassination, there are MANY more, like their infatuation with redempion for the villains for example. Not to mention the 20 hours of filler you have to sit thru just to have that excuse of a finale for the series. I find it impossible to have any semblance of immersion playing kh3 and I envy the ppl who can enjoy this, they're 100% injecting the purest form of copium cooked up by Heisenberg himself.

Since you are adamant on avoiding the mobile game, I'll give a spoilrer; Dream Eaters are dead kids. Their theme is associated to death, which is likely why they used it in the Final World scene.

Didn't think I would see a Kingdom hearts analysis video voiced by Frieza

Terra-Xenahort was the recompleted version of Xenahort mentioned in the RE:Coded secret ending. Lingering Will is more akin to a Fantasia Broom servant buth with imprinted Terra emotions from the BBS climax rather than a sentient creature. Yes, this isn't explained in game well.

This was superbly made. The editing was top notch, and I laughed a lot throughout. I imagine OP being dressed as an English nobleman from the Regency era. Wig and hankerchief included.

Superb! Love to see you rightfully rip apart this lukewarm entry in our beloved series hope to see more Perhaps a video on the mobile prequel? since the servers shut down sqex uploded a gachaless version so you can just wach the cutscenes, no mobile penny pinching anymore

I've watched sooo many of these videos but this. THIS hands down is my exact thought process, but the back and forth fan battles kept my mouth shut 😒 13 ironic years we waited, lol. This is FANTASTIC. Please begging for more. 👏🎉

Outstanding video, can't wait for more stuff

I will say my favorite part of doing the Saix fight either the first or second time was watching Roxas shred him while Xion would run up, do a few hits, get hit and then run over to Sora. I'd toss a potion on her and watch her run back to the fight. It was fucking adorable

Absolutely perfect video, bassicaly all that you said was correct and your comedy and editing was on point!

*wonderful* *video* ❤❤ *your* *criticism(s)* *and* *witty* *commentary* *was* *everything* 👏🏼👏🏼

What I always found funny how Xehanort gets his good ending with Erequs not even half an hour after having killed Kairi in cold blood. And Sora‘s just standing there all gucci. I know Xion told him that Kairi would be alright. He still just saw the love of his life die in front of his eyes due to this old man. Now said man goes to literal heaven right in front of his eyes. And he has absolutely 0 qualms with it. Fascinating. Truly a human reaction.

I don't know how this video passed me by for so long, but I loooooove it. Nice work.

KH2 was done in the Renissance disney era. KH3 is the modern disney era... Yup, makes sense it was so bland-

I would happily watch you snark about any game I've played. If you ever want to go back and just joke around about the cutscenes of earlier KH games, please share here! I'll come running to watch. Thank you so much for making this. There was never a dull moment and that's impressive for such a long vid.

Amazing video. Loved every minute of it 🎉

You’re super underrated! Your editing is amazing

Love your humor, man. You legit had me loling more than once. And that ain't easy. Subscribed.

So I'm one hour in so far, I don't know if you'll adress it later in the video, but just wanted to say that you forgot to mention one last thing that made the 1000 Heartless fight in Kingdom Hearts II so great; the consequences. As you said, it was that one epic fight that shook the entirety of Radiant Garden and gave us an amazing middle half act to Kingdom Hearts II (alongside the exploration of Tron's world, the reveal of Xehanort/Ansem/Xemnas, the fight against Demyx, meeting Sephiroth and fighting alonside Cloud, Leon, Tifa and Yuffie), however at the end of it all, Sora is confronted with the horrific truth: Saix reveals to him the the Organization is using him to kill heartless so that their hearts can join their artificial Kingdom Hearts made out of people's hearts, in contrast to Ansem's Kingdom Hearts made out of Worlds hearts. And oopsy! You just destroyed 1000 emblem heartless as Sora! And thus released AT LEAST 1000 hearts to be fed to the organization! This is what really puts this huge sequence as something amazing in my opinion: intense buildup, amazing and epic moment and tragic conclusion that contrasts every feeling you had prior to it!

Boy I sure love how you edited the fight between Aqua and Vanitas, making her appear weaker than she actually is, even though Vanitas was on the back foot near the end and had to resort to cowardly tactics by targeting Ventus 😑 Don't get me wrong, I still think the result of that fight scene doesn't make much sense; knowing what she's capable of, Aqua had plenty of ways to prevent things from ending that badly, yet the writers apparently don't know shit about power scaling and just want Sora to yet again steal the spotlight.

You know, I can't help to note that KH3 had the same issues that Marvel is having post Endgame. Instead of telling compelling stories about interesting characters, everything is a setup for something else. Just like Marvel phase 4, KH3 was homework, when it was supposed to be the ending of a 20 year long story. Something they had to get out of the way because they had teased it for way too long and the expectations were too high. I think the failure of FF VS XIII had something to do with that as well. But, to fashion my tinfoil hat for a bit, more than the writing team, I think it had to do with corporate meddling, especially from Disney, considering the handling and balance of worlds from each parent company. Incredibly fun video! Great writing, great jokes! Keep em coming!

The story ended at 2 for me. Idc if by some miracle 4 revived the series, canonically in my mind, 1, CoM, Days, and 2 is all that the series will ever be. That letter at the end of 2 is just a birthday party invitation from Mickey.

Pretty good review of the final act. I'm pretty sure every fan could agree the writing could've been better (I have a rewrite on the whole game myself, might even do it for the whole series as a writing project.) I only watched the first four trailers and had a blast with the game despite its flaws. Even though I enjoy the concert only cutscene readings and interviews. They were referenced in the game- but not having the Kairi letter to Sora, the Namine/Terra interaction, and the interview where it was said that once you aquire Master status you can upgrade to a master level keyblade. The last bit is very very important to not explain in game. I agree with your rebuttle about may your heart be your guiding key replacing my friends are my power. I love the key quote, it was on my graduation cap. But it should have stayed said by characters like Chirithy and the characters of the past. But thank you for your dedication to edit this long video

god bless america, i love this video. thank you for making this!