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Honestly, since I first wrote this post, I've thought more about how the Buu Saga could have been even more divergent XD If there had been no martial arts tournament, and Videl just wanted to learn about ki. If teaching her was a longer process, one that involved Trunks too, and the old cast was reintroduced through the eyes of the new generation. If Videl learned about the dragon balls during her training and convinced Gohan and the kids to go on a hunt for them, letting the foursome bounce off one another on episodic adventures that could have carved out new roles for Vegeta, Piccolo, etc. If the Supreme Kai wasn't a god at all, but a white wizard, and if he and Babidi were both searching for the dragon balls as well to either revive Majin Buu or destroy him. If fusion, the Z Sword, the Ultimate/Mystic power-up, etc. were all matters tied to white magic, and magic as a separate force from ki were a bigger part of the story and tied into the defeat of Majin Buu.
...And so on and so forth. Haven't really fleshed it out in detail.
Build A Better Buu Saga
Oh, the Buu Saga…from initially getting passed over in Kai to almost getting passed over by TeamFourStar, it’s almost as if the collective understanding of all corners of the Dragon Ball community is that this is a saga that just…didn’t. It didn’t give a proper cap to the overall series, it didn’t stick the landing even on its own terms, it didn’t have the best fights or villains or character moments…it just didn’t.
For myself, the Buu Saga actually has my favorite beginning of any storyline in Dragon Ball. Gohan being my favorite character in the series, I was happy to see him take up the mantle of Series Lead (a fact that the manga pointed out in asides multiple times), and the huge shake-up in the status quo made for some exciting possibilities. Videl and Goten were wonderful additions to the cast, the current timeline’s Trunks was quite the contrast with his future self, I think the Great Saiyaman was amusing, and the lead-up to the World Tournament is some of the best material out of the entire series. The middle section of the saga, while uneven, is a fun and wild ride too, with Majin Buu being a very distinct villain from his immediate predecessors and concepts like the fusion dance giving a jolt of new energy (no pun intended) to battles. Gohan’s development as he tries to regain the power he’s lost since the Cell Games during this part of the story doesn’t get enough credit either.
Yep - the Buu Saga, in my books anyway, is a solid arc full of fantastic characters and moments…in its first two thirds. The moment Super Buu becomes Buutenks, the story rapidly deteriorates, as Akira Toriyama decides to arbitrarily reject or ignore every bit of set-up and development he’d laid down up to that point and goes on auto-pilot, ending the conflict with tired retreads of old ideas while using characters whose story this has not been. It’s not even that anything in the ending of the saga is all that bad; it’s just such an about-face, such a divorce from everything in the story up to that point - material that I really liked - that it feels more disappointing (to me, anyway) than if it had been more poorly produced.
I’m not the first, or the last, to think about how the Buu Saga might have had a stronger ending, and more coherence overall. Over on the Kanzenshuu forums a few years ago, I even wrote up some my thoughts on what I would’ve liked to see. Thanks to TeamFourStar’s release of their “Day of Fate” remix, though, I’ve been thinking about this more lately, and my ideas have changed quite a bit from the last time I wrote them down. With that, I figured I’d lay out my outline for an alternate Buu Saga, one that I think would’ve given the series a stronger cap and paid off its initial set-up.
Before we get started, I’ll make three caveats plain:
- Goku isn’t here. This isn’t out of any dislike of the character. I’m actually quite happy with Goku serving as a supporting figure, and a mentor to Goten and Trunks, in the middle third of the Buu Saga. But I think it’s ultimately detrimental to a story that purportedly follows the successor protagonist to have the original hero pop up as early, and for as long, as Goku ultimately was in the saga as-is. To see what Gohan and the others would make of a world totally devoid of Goku is a more interesting idea to me anyway.
- No Old Kai. He may be fun, he may have unique abilities, but Old Kai and his powers offer too many cop-outs. Which is not to say that there isn’t a place for a mentor figure like Old Kai in the saga, but…well, keep reading.
- I don’t care about post-manga interviews. Yes, I am aware that Toriyama retconned Buu’s origin, among other things, in interviews he gave after finishing the manga. I am ignoring these, and I’m ignoring anything from Super. What was in the manga, and the anime, back in the 90s is all the material I’m drawing from.
- You know the story, right? For brevity’s sake, I’m just going to point out where I would’ve made changes, not writing up the full series of events. I assume anyone crazy enough to read this knows at least the gist of the Buu Saga anyway.
All that said - here we go:
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Where can I find the new group fic
You mean, the one currently open to contributions on the Discord? It hasn't been archived anywhere yet.
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And, on a positive revisit note - I didn't appreciate before now how well some of the Disney characters' voices were captured in this game. Mushu is a stand-out. I can absolutely believe that he would say all of these lines, just as he says them here. And his interactions with Sora and Donald are some of the best notes of comedy in the game.
“Kingdom Hearts II revisited” Part III
I had meant to cover the first pass on all the Disney worlds in one post, but this game is just too long, and I have too many notes. For now we’ll just go over everything up to and including Disney Castle/Timeless River. Maybe the second pass can fit into one post.
Going back to KH II after KH III, you notice certain things that would probably have been taken for granted before. One example is how little talk there is about the “world order.” That’s something that’s existed as a concept since the first game, but it isn’t a big deal in the early part of the series. Outside of King Triton knowing about the Keyblade, our heroes never breech it, and there isn’t an excessive amount of pressure to maintain it - unique looks for certain worlds, and line or two is about all the first game spends on the subject. That pattern holds true for the second game. Granted, most of the worlds in KH II are worlds either used or alluded to in KH I, involving numerous characters who are well aware by now about other worlds. But as of this writing, I’ve played through the first pass on Port Royal, which has no such ties, and the closest thing to a mention of the world order is Sora and friends remarking how different the world looks to the others when they first show up. That’s it. If anything, they’re too blase about it in Port Royal, but I’ll come back to that another day.
The point is - the “world order” just wasn’t a major issue in the early games of this series, nor did it need to be. It certainly didn’t need to turn into a one-note running gag of Donald berating Sora for disregarding the world order, especially when Sora - in the limited time given to the subject in these early games - is fairly mindful of it.
And that’s another thing that changed in the time between KH II and III - who’s the butt of the jokes made about the mission. KH III is loaded with characters chastising, critiquing, demeaning, mocking, and castigating Sora, and having been thoroughly retconned into a shonen doofus, Sora unfortunately gives them some justifiable cause (though I would argue it’s still excessive.) But in this game, the butt of the jokes is Donald. And while there is some teasing involved, most of it is without commentary, and comes from Donald doing the same shtick he’s known for in the mainline Disney canon - being hot-tempered, greedy, impulsive, boastful until challenged, or desperate to avoid trouble with Daisy. This works so much better as a source of comic relief. Donald is a character specifically designed to end up with egg on his face, and since he’s not the protagonist, using him as a go-to for comedy doesn’t undermine the credibility of the hero.
Now, onto the Disney worlds themselves…
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I'm not going to do another full series of posts on Kingdom Hearts II as I play through it again, but there are a few points I'd like to revisit.
In this post from a few years ago, I said that I felt Yen Sid's exposition in this game was much more effective than in later entries of the series. I maintain that the reasons why it's Yen Sid delivering information are better here, and that Yen Sid himself works better as a character here than he ever has since. But the actual exposition here, at least in regards to the villains, is so much sloppier than I remembered.
Technically, all the set-up for the next several hours of gameplay is presented in this area: that, while defeating Ansem SOD and sealing the Keyholes safeguarded the worlds, the Heartless still exist as a force of nature, people like Pete will still exploit them to do evil, and Pete is specifically looking to create powerful Heartless out of Disney characters; and meanwhile, Organization XIII is using the Nobodies to pursue a sinister, unknown goal that King Mickey is investigating and that has something to do with Sora and Roxas. But it's never clearly laid out in that fashion. Instead, those books offer bad "poetic" summaries of the series thus far, and Yen Sid reiterates lore mechanics before explaining Organization XIII. It's also very strange that Yen Sid never acknowledges or references that Pete is outside his door, flooding his tower with minions to try and make him into a Heartless.
I think the fact that the exposition here is so clumsily worded helps reinforce the mistaken impression that the Disney world visits are "filler." The player has to make sense of the information presented at Yen Sid's tower after that world has wrapped and the Disney visits are well underway - something I would applaud, if I thought it was an intentional and well-executed decision. But it comes off as unintentionally clunky.
This section of the game could have been cleaner, and tighter, with some polish to Yen Sid's dialogue and an acknowledgment of what Pete was doing down below. Let's say that, after Sora refuses to show "proper respect" to Yen Sid, the cutscene proceeded like this:
Donald: Master Yen Sid, this whole tower's overrun with Heartless!
Goofy: And ol' Pete's escaped from his banishment, and he's tryin' ter turn you into a Heartless too!
Sora: What's going on, Master Yen Sid? We ran into the king, and he sent us here on a train, but he didn't explain -
Yen Sid: (gestures for quiet) Yes - the king has been busy of late. And it was necessary to get you away from Twilight Town as soon as possible. The king has asked me to bring you all up to speed.
Donald: But Pete!
Yen Sid: Rest assured - we are in no danger from that old scoundrel here. But I cannot say the same for the worlds. You see, Pete is the last of Maleficent's legion, and he has been attempting to set himself up in her place. He's been traveling among the worlds, seeking powerful beings to transform into equally powerful Heartless.
Sora: So the worlds aren't at peace after all...but I thought we defeated the Heartless?
Yen Sid: Your efforts did seal off the hearts of many worlds and restore those lost to Ansem's treachery, Sora - make no mistake about that. But Heartless are born of the darkness in peoples' hearts, and so long as that darkness remains, Heartless will be born, and those such as Pete will use, and be used, by them.
Sora, Donald, Goofy: *sigh*
Donald: Is the king fighting against Pete?
Yen Sid: (shakes head) He and I are both confident you can handle Pete and the Heartless. But there is a new threat, more concerning - (summons image of Donald, turns it into a Heartless) - if one such as you, Donald, succumbs to the darkness in your heart, you will become a Heartless. This you know.
Donald: Aww...
Yen Sid: But if a person has a strong enough will, be they evil or good, the body they leave behind will form into a new being - a Nobody. (Turns Heartless into Dusk)
Sora: A Nobody...?
Yen Sid: Unlike Heartless, which act on animal instinct, Nobodies operate in a higher manner. They can think and plan. And some - (conjures image of Organization XIII) - have retained their human form. These are the members of Organization XIII.
Sora, Donald, Goofy: Organization XIII?
Yen Sid: (nods) Nobodies with unique and frightening powers, first seen in the ruins of Hollow Bastion. They command the lesser Nobodies. The Organization appears to be using them to work toward a goal. What that goal is, we do not know. That is what the king is trying to find out.
Sora: Organization XIII...but why did the king tell us to leave Twilight Town?
Yen Sid: Whatever the Organization is planning, it may involve you, Sora.
Sora: Me?
Yen Sid: (nods) They tried to prevent your waking. And their Dusks were in pursuit after you. The king wanted the Keyblade's chosen wielder safe while he sought the answers to their goal. (waves hand, banishes images) Be warned - Nobodies are empty shells, devoid of a heart and all emotion, doomed to return to darkness. They may appear to have feelings, but this is a ruse. You must be vigilant.
Sora, Donald, Goofy: (nod)
Yen Sid: Wielder of the Keyblade, this is the task set before you - go forth and defend the worlds from the Heartless, and find out what you can about Organization XIII.
Sora: Task? Of course, but - Master Yen Sid, did the king say anything about Riku? I hoped we could go back to the islands together. Kairi's waiting for us.
Yen Sid: Yes, I know. But I'm afraid I have no news of Riku. And remember, Sora, everything in your journey is connected - whether you will find Riku or not, whether you will return to your islands alone or with your friend, and whether the islands will be there. It all depends on you. Now, then - you will need more suitable traveling clothes. Those look a bit too small for you.
...And scene.
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part II
Having covered a section of the game that’s better than I remember, let’s move on to something that doesn’t quite hold up as well.
Which is not to say that the first leg of Sora’s journey in KH II is bad - far from it. There’s quite a bit of good from his awakening to the first trip to Hollow Bastion. For one thing, the joy Sora, Donald, and Goofy share at being awake and together again is very sweet, and a great way to bring their friendship back into play. King Mickey’s brief appearance effectively gets him more involved at the point of action in this story, and builds a sense of mystery and anticipation for what’s to come with minimal dialogue - the curse of so many later, clumsier efforts in this series to manage the same feat. And, while the player knows by this point in the game that Roxas was some part of Sora, and can probably figure out that he was his Nobody, the fact that Sora doesn’t know that makes perfect sense, and doesn’t undermine him in any way, as denying a character knowledge the audience has sometimes can. The slow tease of traces of Roxas emerging in Sora gets off to a rather touching start in the way he says goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette. I can’t say I really understand why it’s unsettling on their end - so far as I know, this series has never tried to tie data replicas to their true selves in a way that would make them have some sense of knowing Roxas - but compared to some truly untenable connections made in later games, this isn’t all that egregious.
There is a part of me that wishes that goodbye was the last we ever saw of Twilight Town in this series. I’m aware that there’s plenty more content for it, but Sora’s goodbye and sense of loss, while a little prolonged and confused on the trio’s end, was a moving scene, and that is undermined somewhat by the goodbye not being a final one. On the other hand, I remember liking some of the later Twilight Town material. I may come back to this point in a future installment.
The arrival at Yen Sid’s tower brings more highlights, not the least of which is the introduction of Pete to this series. If every character reveal in this series was as good as his, future titles would have at the very least gotten off to better starts. In one short scene, the games tells you everything you need to know about this incarnation of Pete, and what sort of antagonist he’s going to be. It’s charming, it’s funny, and it’s a great tease for the much more serious reintroduction of Maleficent at the end of this world. And that reintroduction is another highlight. The idea that the very memory of the Mistress of all Evil would be powerful enough to revive her is an interesting concept. I wonder if there was a desire to tie back into the themes of Chain of Memories by going that route; if so, the connection isn’t made as explicit as it perhaps could have been, but that’s not necessarily a flaw.
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The hub is up to date.
The Kingdom Hearts Hub
Since I’ve written a lot about this at this point…
KINGDOM HEARTS
“Kingdom Hearts” revisited
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part I
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part II
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part III
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part IV
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part V
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VI
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VII
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VIII
Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part FINAL
KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES
Mini-Review - Kingdom Hearts: Reverse/Rebirth
“Chain of Memories” revisited
“Reverse/Rebirth” revisited
KINGDOM HEARTS II
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part I
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part II
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part III
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part IV
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part V
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part VI
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Part VII
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Final Mix
“Kingdom Hearts II” revisited, Final Thoughts
KINGDOM HEARTS III
Rave Zero
A Minor Rant
More Ranting
Botching Backwards and Forwards
But What About Kairi
Build a Better Prequel
Penultima Raving
The Positives
Final Thoughts
So What To Do About It?
Re:Mind, Re:View - Part 1 (of 1?)
Re:Mind, Re:View - Part 2 (of 1)
MISC.
So About That Roxas…
Kingdom Hearts III: re:Write
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part FINAL
I'm shocked every time I play the game by the ending. I still cannot believe that Kingdom Hearts was allowed to end the way it does. Video games might not be as expensive or as influential as a major motion picture, and Disney might not be terribly hands-on with the development of each game, but I can't imagine the company today allowing such an untested, improbable, and high-profile crossover to go through without a happy ending for some insurance. I can scarcely imagine the Disney of the early 2000s allowing it, but what do we have? An ending where Mickey Mouse is trapped in the realm of darkness with an edgy teen who was tempted by a figurative devil, Donald and Goofy are adrift in the universe with no clear way home, and the young/first love story between the original characters ends with them literally pulled apart. It took two more games for any of these characters to find a happy ending which was later torn up, but never mind.
But if those other games had never come - if Kingdom Hearts was a critically acclaimed but financially unsuccessful game, or if Square folded after 2002, or if they and Disney had a parting of ways that kept any more games from being made - the ending of KH I is still an almost perfect finale. And a large part of that comes down to the fact that it is an ending.
Leave out the rest of the series and take KH I on its own terms. The main conflict is that world after world is being consumed and destroyed by the Heartless, ostensibly due to the League of Disney Villains but really due to Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. King Mickey recognizes the danger and organizes a resistance with Final Fantasy characters that tries to learn what became of Ansem, and Sora ends up tasked with saving vulnerable worlds and undoing the damage already done.
By the end of KH I, the goals of the heroes are all accomplished. The story doesn't turn out to be a cog in the ever more convoluted scheming of a guy in a black coat; it's self-contained and resolved. All the Ansem Reports are found, Mickey's efforts with the FF crew provide vital aid to Sora, and Sora saves the universe.
On a character level, everything set up in the beginning of the game has a resolution. The innocent, childlike, plucky underdog proves himself a responsible, selfless, true hero over everyone's expectations (except for Kairi's). The posturing, swaggering big man on campus technically chosen to play hero proves himself a pawn to darkness, but finds redemption in the end. The girl caught between them, a girl with a mysterious past and budding insecurity about the future, turns out to have a big destiny and gains renewed faith through her love and trust in Sora. Donald and Goofy honor their vows to their king, and the king is confident that all is well. They all may end up separated, their victory tinged with loss and sacrifice - but they've all grown and changed through their adventures, in ways that satisfy the conflicts and doubts they have at the start. Their conflicts end.
It's not necessary that they all make it home for a happy ending (as beautiful as that moment is when it finally comes in KH II). It isn't necessary that they die either. And it isn't necessary to have a secret movie teasing a possible future entry, as fun as that is. The finale, as bittersweet as it is, ties up the game, in a way I can only fault for how technically illogical (but thematically brilliant) Kingdom Hearts the place is, and for not making as good a use of Chernabog as they could have.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VIII
I mentioned in my KH II revisit that KH I is the only Disney property since Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 (the live action remake very much included) to tell a good story with Belle and the Beast. The latter character acting as a parallel to Sora for the beginning of Hollow Bastion is a great touch too. And if Belle's dialogue boxes don't really "sound" too much like her, I do like that she stands apart from the rest of the princesses in the library, doing research. None these details are labored over, but they're smart and appreciated choices in direction and plotting.
And, speaking of plot - every time I come back to this game, I have a renewed and deepened love for how the story is handled in this section of the game. The subversion of the "chosen one" and "hero's journey" archetypes is so beautifully done, clear and impactful without straying into obnoxious meta-commentary on storytelling, and Sora and Riku (as they were in this game) are the perfect characters to go through that subversion. I daresay I don't know of a better example of a pair of rivals coming to a head and defying the expectations everyone had for them (well - everyone but Kairi). And the fact that, as a consequence of that subversion, Donald and Goofy end up (briefly and indirectly) allied with Maleficent is one of the many gutsy story choices I cannot believe Disney allowed to go through for this game.
The twist with Ansem is the only clean villain twist in the series - that is, it's the only one that works without at least one asterisk. And the Princesses of Heart (again, as they were in this game) as a plot device is a great way to take a Disney concept, darken it a little, and make it a organic and integral piece of the crossover. And that all this takes place on Hollow Bastion is appropriate, because of all the original elements created for the series, that world (yet again, as presented in KH I) is the most successful at uniting Disney sensibilities with Square/Final Fantasy sensibilities, aesthetically and narratively. It's the ideal penultimate stage for a game like this.
But with all that praise out of the way - the way the series has developed since KH I has made me ambivalent about quite a bit surrounding Hollow Bastion. And that is not fair. No one involved in making KH I could have known how the series would pan out, or that Kingdom Hearts would ever be a series. If an element works in the initial entry of a series but ended up being developed in a negative way, that shouldn't take away from its effective use earlier on. But it's impossible not to at least dwell on consequences and alternate possibilities with KH at this point.
To start with the weapon at the heart of the series - Most of the dialogue and lore dropped in KH I treats the Keyblade as a singular entity, a mysterious and powerful object that has bestowed itself on chosen bearers, good and evil, throughout history. The Keyblade of Heart and Mickey's Keyblade popping up in the third act does not easily square with that set-up, even with a last-minute note about the "two keys" in The End of the World. I can accept the Keyblade of Heart as a unique creation of the princesses' hearts by Ansem while possessing an intended wielder of the Keyblade, and Mickey's having one is an admittedly satisfying eucatastrophe. I can't say I have any thoughts on how certain plot points could have been resolved without those two blades either. But with how out of control Keyblades have become since, part of me wishes that they could have found a way to make the story work with there being just the one and only Keyblade wielded by Sora.
Part of me also wishes that Maleficent never came back after her defeat here. As much as I love the idea of her story in KH II and the concept of her "origins" in BbS, the execution in both games is uneven (the latter more than the former), and nothing since has been remotely satisfying. On the other hand, I'd be loathe to see anyone else representing the pinnacle of Disney villaindom, so for that reason alone, I'm less torn on Maleficent than I am the Keyblade issue.
Where I'm most torn so far as villains go is with Ansem. Playing this game again, I found the slow reveal of his true nature so successful, and so satisfying, that I had to reconsider my thoughts about KH II. As much as I enjoy just how improbably effective the twist about "Ansem" being Xehanort is, it is a dilution of what was an immensely pleasing arc. I'm now wondering about a KH II with no DiZ and no villain twist - just Xemnas as the Nobody of Ansem, a man who corrupted himself and his apprentices.
And now it's time to revisit a point I raised in Part I: the Princesses of Heart. It's always bothered me that Alice is one of them, and I admit that's entirely because of my persnickety ways. For one thing, if Wendy isn't pure enough to be a Princess of Heart, then Alice - of a similar age and disposition - shouldn't be either. But Alice is also not royalty of any kind, not in her books, not in her film, and not in Disney's many marketing ventures. You can say that "Princess of Heart" is really just a pithy way of saying "seven maidens whose hearts happen to be devoid of darkness and therefore have vague yet potent powers," but when five of the six taken from Disney are royals by birth or marriage, Alice sticks out like a sore thumb.
To be sure, it's not as if the KH team had a lot of options to choose from at the time. The only realistic options for a sixth princess who really was a princess in 2002 would have been Ariel and Pocahontas. It might have been fun to bring the latter into KH, but it's hard to imagine her ending up captured by the Heartless, and harder still to imagine Disney wanting to remind people of a film they'd already begun to sour on as a company. As for Ariel, I'm more than content to have her as a party member who can fend for herself. I also don't think you can be counted pure of heart if you cut deals with sea witches, however innocent your motives.
Really, Alice being in the line-up wouldn't be more than a minor itch in my anal-retentive mind...if it weren't for the fact that, by her not being a real princess, the door was opened for Kairi not to be a real princess.
And again, that wouldn't be more than a nitpick if it was just a matter of rank; it's not as if Kairi needs to be a princess to be a good character. But the way the game handles her, I don't think anyone could be chastised for thinking that Kairi was Hollow Bastion royalty. Her heart inside Sora's stirs at the castle slide in Deep Jungle. She has memories of living in a castle, of being told bedtime stories by her grandmother in the library of the castle of Hollow Bastion. Ansem calls her "princess" multiple times. I know that in the extra Ansem Report added in Final Mix, he just refers to her as "a girl," but if that was always the intention - if Kairi was always meant to be an ordinary girl who happened to be a Princess of Heart - then they really shouldn't have put so much effort into suggesting otherwise.
And now consider that it took until Melody of Memory for any meaningful expansion on Kairi's past in Hollow Bastion, and how perfunctory it was compared to the piles of lore and backstory spent on Xehanort, the Organizers, the Nameless Star, Ven, and his stupid focus-pulling cat. I think that, had Kairi been established as the princess of Hollow Bastion and a pivotal figure to a pivotal world, that would have given her real estate within the lore that would have made it harder to ignore her for so long in the narrative. Then again, given how quickly the series' priorities seemed to shift even within CoM and KH II, maybe it wouldn't have mattered.
Kairi is also tied into my one major gripe with Hollow Bastion in KHI, which is one of my only major gripes with the story as a whole. Remember how Sora tells Kairi to stay in Traverse Town, telling her that she'd be in his way? And remember how, when he gets back to Hollow Bastion, the six Princesses of Heart tell him that they're barely keeping the darkness at bay and that it's costing all their vaguely-defined power not to give in?
Gee, if only there were a seventh Princess of Heart who could lend her light to theirs. And if only we knew who she was and where she was. And if only we had a spaceship we could use to bring her to Hollow Bastion. And if only, should Sora be foolish enough to leave her behind, all his friends from Traverse Town followed him to Hollow Bastion and could have brought her along with them.
If only...if only...if only...
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VII
I can't speak to what the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts is like, but the English version has always done a brilliant job capturing Jack Skellington's voice. His dialogue reflects every facet of his character: elegant, theatrical, polite, delusional, and just a little pompous. Ooogie Boogie's always been on point too, speaking like the bullying but jazzy slob that he is. And this spot-on character writing is used in an original story! As far as adapting the flavor of a particular Disney movie in the writing - this Disney movie, at a time when the company still treated it like the ugly stepchild - Halloweentown is one of the best.
Visually, it's much less successful. I've never liked the look of Halloweentown in KH I, with its harsh reds and purples and copious amounts of ugly brown. On playing the game again, it might be my least favorite world aesthetically in the game, and the only reason it's not dead last for the entire series is because Port Royal in KH II looked even worse. Port Royal also doesn't have the saving grace that is Oogie's house, which I do think is well-designed. I wish it stuck around even after you defeat him, but I appreciate how that works out story-wise, and it's a fun area to climb and explore while it lasts. The gambling den is the highlight of the house, and the more fun and engaging stage of the fight with Oogie.
And you better believe that I fight him with Jack in my party. His movement and combat suit him just as well as his dialogue, and like Aladdin in KH I's Agrabah, Jack makes the Top 3 for my favorite party members in the series (Ariel's the other, for all the reasons I gave for appreciating Atlantica last time). Having Oogie fight you through gambling first, then a runaway possession by the powers of darkness, is a nice break from the more direct villains that precede him (Hades excepted).
Storywise, Halloweentown is the closest a non-Pooh world comes to being "filler." It's not - it's a world on the brink of destruction that needs saving just like the rest, and Oogie's in the League of Disney Villains - but none of the cutscenes build on the larger story or the lore the way every previous world does. It's the most self-contained adventure within the larger framework of "we must rescue Disney from darkness." I don't raise that as a complaint, though. It's rather nice to have a lighter world at this point in the game.
Neverland is much more embedded into the larger story, and it's an extremely well-written one. And yet I don't have too much to say about it; its virtues so far as driving Riku along the path to darkness, taking another step toward explaining what's up with Kairi, and giving Sora another step up in his hero's journey, are self-evident. And it's another world where the voice of a particular Disney character (Captain Hook in this case) is captured flawlessly. I don't think I fully appreciated how well he's handled before, but as far as lines and facial animation go, he may now be my favorite of the Disney villains used in this game.
Gameplay-wise, my biggest frustration with Neverland is that there's really one one combat area where you can really take off with flight. I'm sure the claustrophobia of the ship was by design, and I don't mind so much of the action taking place within the Jolly Roger, but it would be great to have a second open space where you can fly around unencumbered for regular combat.
Of course, you can fight Phantom in an open space, and I really love this boss. It was a nightmare fighting him the fist time I ever picked up this game, but as soon as you figure out his orb, it's easy (in principle, at least) to know what to do. It's not even that hard to beat him with a full party as long as you're willing to be generous with Stop magic. But he is still a challenge, and like with Kurt Zisa, I like that he demands a good mix of magic and physical attacks. I get why later games opted for more elaborate fights with main villains in lieu of these kinds of one-off Heartless fights, but I do miss them.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part VI
Atlantica is my favorite world in KH I. It may be my favorite world in the entire series. That isn't because I love the movement mechanics of the underwater world, though I do enjoy them. And it's not because I love the storytelling in this world, though I do think it's a brilliant section for plot, character, and lore (more on all those momentarily). It's my favorite because Ariel is an option for your battle party.
That might seem a slight reason, but The Little Mermaid is not only one of my favorite Disney films, but one of my favorite films full stop. Depending on my mood on a given day, it may take the top slot on a Disney list. But the one substantive issue I have with it is a big one: despite Ariel being the heroine, every other element of the film existing to service her story, she has almost nothing to do with defeating the villain who manipulated and betrayed her. Worse, she ends up a damsel in distress at the bottom of whirlpool. For Kingdom Hearts to make Ariel a party member who can fight against Ursula - in both forms - was so gratifying the first time I played this game, and it's remained so ever since. If KH III deserves credit for nothing else, bringing back Ariel as a Link Summon (the most useful one after Simba IMO) was a great move, but combat-ready Ariel in your party as part of a story that pays off all her talents and personality still takes the cake, and it's one of the best things this series has ever done with a Disney character. (It also removed the only possible rationale for giving The Little Mermaid the live action remake treatment, but I'll spare you my thoughts on that ongoing enterprise today.)
Ariel's dynamic with Sora is also one of the strongest between him and a Disney character from outside Mickey's realm. They've got a nice big sister-little brother vibe. Had the Kingdom Hearts TV series ever panned out, it would've been great to see that expanded on. But there's also some nice thematic work achieved through their relationship, Ariel's wanderlust mirroring Sora's from earlier in the game and Sora having become world-weary by that point. Given how pronounced that quality became in KH II, it's a shame that aspect couldn't have been tapped again.
And then there's King Triton, better-versed in Keyblade lore than Sora, Riku, the Traverse Town crew, and even Genie. Whoever's idea that was in the writing process, it was a great choice, and well-placed within the narrative. Had the possibility of a destructive Keyblade master come up too soon, it might have made it too easy to predict some of the twists in Hollow Bastion; too late, and there wouldn't have been time for a sense of foreboding to build. Though I do wish the graphics of the time would have let Triton's destruction of the crystal trident been a little more like his attack on the grotto from the film (the scariest scene in a Disney film for little-kid-me).
Gameplay wise, I prefer Ursula's first stage to the second. Once you get the hang of avoiding their attacks, the big-head enemies in KH I are a little too easy IMO. The first stage is more involved. On the other hand, defeating the big-head Ursula with Ariel in the party is a more cathartic experience, for all the reasons mentioned above.
Finally, I'd be curious to learn more about the music decisions for KH I. How did Atlantica and Halloweentown come to be the only worlds (besides the Disney Castle cutscenes) to use music from their respective films? I'm glad they did; playing along to "Under the Sea" is great. But Yoko Shimomura could certainly have come up with something fitting.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part V
This playthrough has been a blow to my pretensions of having a good memory. I'd completely forgotten that King Triton isn't the only good Disney character from outside Disney Castle who knows something about Keyblades and Keyholes. It makes perfect sense for the Genie to have some insight into them, but I really like that he knows less than Triton does. It's better for pacing reasons that he doesn't, but it also fits his character - I can't imagine that a magical being who spends so much time contemplating mid-20th century American pop culture while stuck in his lamp would keep his ancient legends straight.
Of all the Disney worlds in the series that try to condense their source films into the game, KH I's Agrabah is the most successful IMO. It's really the only level in the game that did so. Olympus Coliseum, Halloweentown, Monstro, and Neverland feature original stories, and Wonderland, Deep Jungle, and Atlantica use only pieces of their films (to greater and lesser degrees) in their stories. Agrabah has almost all the major elements of Aladdin in it: Aladdin's street rat origins, Jasmine's escape from the palace (albeit under entirely different circumstances) and her love affair with Aladdin, Jafar's scheming to take over Agrabah, the quest for the lamp in the Cave of Wonders, Genie's comedy, his freedom, and the three wishes. Even "Prince Ali" gets worked in. The only thing left out from the film is the finale where Aladdin and Jasmine get together.
Why it works here compared to later worlds in the series is that, despite using so much of the film, all of those elements are re-contextualized to fit the time frame that KH I had to work with and, more importantly, were modified to fit the needs of KH I's larger story. There's no room to fit the "Prince Ali" element proper into the plot, and if the attempt had been made, it would've been an abridged version lacking the comedic texture that makes it work in the movie, and it would have distracted from Sora's story and the plot of the League of Disney Villains. It was much better to make that a brief mention and have the three wishes applied to the battle with the Heartless.
And speaking of battling Heartless - Aladdin's in my Top 3 for Disney world battle partners in the entire series. The dude rocks. And Jafar makes for one of the more challenging two-part bosses in the game. Kurt Zisa is, for my money, the most difficult secret boss in the game, Sephiroth very much included. And that's (usually) a good thing! I like having to shift between physical and magical strategies, and I like that he's a boss that let you get good value out of the Summons (sadly, I wasn't able to duplicate my last playthrough, where I beat him with multiple Summons instead of just Tinkerbell and dumb luck at dodging his vertical spin after she bought me a free life).
Part of me wonders if Monstro and Agrabah shouldn't have been reversed in order. On the one hand, Riku nabbing Jasmine makes for a good shock and a sense of foreboding; the player knows how far gone he is at that point, but Sora doesn't. But why does Riku need the quest for the seven princesses explained at the end of Monstro when he's already captured one of them?
And I might as well cover Monstro in this post, as I don't have too much to say about him. This is one world where I agree with the complaints about KH I's platforming. I appreciate that the bowels of a space-whale should be a claustrophobic place, but the chambers are too small and too packed with crap to make the concept work in an enjoyably challenging way. Instead, it's just tedious.
Storywise, however, Monstro is a great turning point for Sora and Riku. Taking a cute Disney character hostage might be an easy way to sell moral decline, but it's so much more effective than three minutes of lore gibber-gabber by one-note pricks in black coats. And whichever executives at Square and Disney are responsible for giving the final OK to these games' plots should have made the staff re-watch this scene ahead of every scripting session since KH I. The first game as a whole works against later characterizations of Responsible Riku being the one to clean up after lazy, do-as-he-pleases Sora, but that scene and this world demonstrate most clearly how big a retcon that change was.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part IV
This is the kind of question, that, in a good fantasy, you'd only ask after multiple revisits, but - why exactly does the League of Disney Villains want Riku's help? Most of them are magic, one is a god, and they can all summon the Heartless to their aid. Unless Maleficent somehow knows that Riku was the original chosen wielder of the Keyblade, or the Heartless knew and manipulated her into recruiting him - neither possibility is explicitly stated anywhere in the game - there isn't any given reason for her and her cronies to use him, other than a villain's usual penchant for having others do the dirty work and the thematic necessity that Riku be corrupted while Sora proves his valor. I don't bring this up as a critique; most fantasy stories (most stories of any kind, really) have such elements that work, and work well, without any specific logic to them. It's just something you notice on the fifth or sixth playthrough.
You also notice the quality of the 100 Acre Wood minigames in KH I compared to later entries. I wrote during my KH II revisit that I thought the 100 Acre Wood shouldn't have been brought back, due to its effect on the pacing of the front half of the game and its repetition of KH I's Torn Page gimmick. I softened on that later on, and KH II's story for Winnie the Pooh is still leagues better than KH III's, but KH I still made the best use of the 100 Acre Wood narratively and thematically. In terms of gameplay, however, I think that KH II has the first game beat. The minigames here are fun for a first playthrough tied into the plot, but I don't find them fun enough to try and pull off under a time limit, or to revisit under any circumstances. Whenever I've gone too long without a revisit, I think my mind tends to conflate the Pooh story of KH I with the games of KH II - the best of both worlds - and assumes they were together, which improves the reputation of the first game's take on Pooh and diminishes the second's.
One thing my mind doesn't mix up is Traverse Town and Twilight Town, and there's no question which is the better hub. Twilight Town may have more to do and more lighthearted minigames, but it can't compete with the dramatic heft of a refugee camp. Nor can skateboarding, outdoor movies, or even making dishes with Little Chef compete with minigames that pull on the heartstrings and contribute to the bigger goal of saving the Disney worlds from darkness. What Scrooge is going to turn down the chance to rescue Winnie the Pooh from existential confusion and despair? Why would anyone with a soul not want to make sure all 99 dalmatian puppies make it back home? And what Disney fan worth their salt doesn't want to recover the lone surviving hearts from four Disney worlds and have them available as Summons?
(Though, on the subject of Summons: I do wish Mushu was available a little earlier in the narrative. By the time you find him, there's too good a chance that Sora and company are so powerful on their own that there's no need for Summons except in a few of the secret bosses, so it's easy for Mushu not to get used. Which is a shame, because he's a lot of fun. In a past playthrough, I got good use out of him, Dumbo, and Tink against Kurt Zisa.)
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part III
Just like with Wonderland, I have to ask - am I the only one who likes the vines in Deep Jungle? I don't love that section; I never even noticed there were timed vine courses until this playthrough, and I didn't bother with any of them; but its design is decent and it's fun enough. If anything, I would have preferred that area to be larger and have a vertical element to the vine swinging to give it a little more complexity.
Story wise, this has always seemed one of the strongest worlds in the game - in the whole series IMO. It's got great character beats with Sora's feud with Donald, his momentary deviation from the mission, and Clayton's temptation. The slow build to revealing the world's heart has a great pace to it. Deep Jungle is yet another example of the first game's variety in how limited the initial presence of the Heartless is. Sabor as a recurring threat could perhaps be a little more challenging and a little more present, but he's a welcome alternate baddie. The tease that King Mickey might be around, or at least was, and the way the Disney villains cap the world and reveal the princess they kidnapped provide a fine connection with the larger story.
For gameplay, I'm continually impressed how they found a way to incorporate magic into Tarzan. It would perhaps have been worth it, given Sora and Donald's tiff, to restrict party options so that Donald couldn't be a battle companion until after Clayton's defeat. That's the way I like to play this world. And if I'm being especially nitpicky, I would say that Deep Jungle or Wonderland could've done with some dialogue explaining what the White Mushrooms are without giving away the answers to their charades; they're easy to please now, but I can still remember my bafflement on the first playthrough years ago. But they're not terribly hard to figure out without such dialogue, so it's not as if the game suffers from its lack.
The one thing I don't like about Deep Jungle is how much emphasis it places on the gummi blocks. Why the gorillas have them and are giving them to Sora for saving them, I have no idea, but it's good enough as a hook for part of the story. What really bothers me about the gummi blocks in this world - and in all the Trinity and other hard-to-reach chests they pop up in throughout the game - is that it represents a lot of space devoted to a not-so-great piece of gameplay. I don't dislike the gummi ship flights of KH I, but they are the least successful version of that mechanic, and the Warp Drive appears early enough in the game that you can easily avoid spending any more than the bare minimum of time. Less gummis and more items related to the main adventure would've been welcome.
Part of me thinks that, if they really wanted the gummis in Deep Jungle - and they are relevant to that world's story - there should have been something else from King Mickey found there, like a page from a ship's log that gave another hint as to his adventures. On the other hand, Mickey's logs on top of the Ansem Reports would probably be too much written material.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part II
Confession time: Olympus Coliseum has always been my least favorite world from the first game. My feelings about its source film have a lot to do with that. Hercules is a lot of fun. Hades is a hoot, the design sensibility is wild, and the concept of using gospel music for a tale of gods and heroes was brilliantly thought of and brilliantly executed. But I think Herc himself is the most boring protagonist Disney animation came up with in the 90s. He is what critics of Superman think Superman is (and what he frankly sometimes is in fact). The mishmash of Superman and Rocky for his story is an awkward one, and not being a big fan of sports or sports movies, I groan through all the beats of the sports movie formula the movie hits. With a hero that bland and a villain that charismatic and entertaining, the movie can't work the way it wants to. As enjoyable as many of the parts of Hercules are, it never gels into a satisfying whole.
Sora being a more compelling protagonist than Hercules himself, that bullet was dodged. And the vibe I get from Hades in KH I is that he was, if not the loser of the League of Disney Villains, the one who was least committed to the group and the most desperate to employ low cunning, which undercut his otherwise slick persona and made him more effective (and even a little pathetic) as a villain. But there is still a lot of the sports movie mentality in Phil's attitude toward Sora and company, and it's hard not to take all the tournaments as Sora and Donald assuaging their egos (Goofy comes off more as Sora's cheerleader in cut scenes). It's not exactly the meatiest story material in the game.
With all that said - "least favorite" doesn't mean I don't like Olympus Coliseum. I like it plenty. If only for variety's sake, I'm glad to have a tournament world, and unlike Atlantica in KH II, Olympus Coliseum executes its concept well and still connects to the larger story. When it does so, it's very effective. KH I's Cloud is still who I think of when I picture the character, and his and Sora's relationship is quite touching. The tournaments give good revisit value and the prizes are nice (though it does irk me that the Gold Match with the Ice Titan doesn't come with a prize). The cut scenes for this world also have a healthy dose of the cartoon comedy that's sadly come to be in short supply in the series.
However, Olympus Coliseum does have one of the bigger narrative hiccups in KH I. I'm sure I noticed this in a past playthrough, but it irked me more this time - having Sora declare that his friendship with Donald and Goofy is so strong that it would let them defeat even the mighty Hercules, and that friendship is what it takes to be a true hero, would be a wonderful sentiment if it wasn't immediately preceded by a fight with Herc where Sora tells his friends to step aside so he can go one-on-one.
It's more than a nitpick and less than a crippling flaw; Sora couldn't have gotten to that fight with Herc unless Donald and Goofy supported him through the Hercules Cup, after all (at least until the game lets you fight through it solo). And KH I has very few such issues. But it is there. And if there's any repeat world that I think KH II handled better narratively, it's Olympus.
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Yet Another Kingdom Hearts Revisit, Part I
Against my better judgement (because once I start any of these games, it becomes an inescapable time sink until I finish), I started up another playthrough of Kingdom Hearts. Initially, this was just because I had the itch to revisit certain boss battles and never thought to create multiple saves at different stages of the story for easy access before, but inevitably, a fresh look has led to pondering the story - and, in this case, the gameplay.
Which leads me to Wonderland. Am I the only one who likes this world? Based on some of the comments I've seen, this may well be another instance where my utter lack of experience with video games outside this series works in KH's favor, as the only real platforming experience I have to compare it to is the Spyro the Dragon trilogy. But Wonderland really doesn't seem that bad. Sora and his Mickey Mouse shoes might have a little trouble on the mushrooms, but he can still get around. The different configurations of the Bizarre Room are fun to find and navigate, the puzzles are basic but enjoyable, and there's a good amount in this world to encourage revisits.
And I only realized on this playthough that, on the first revisit after Hollow Bastion, I hadn't ever checked back in with the Queen of Hearts and her cards. Wonderland has always been a nice slice of variety in the first game, having a villain who wasn't part of Maleficent's cabal. But to have the queen, with all her many, many faults, avow her opposition to the Heartless and have her men ordered to fight them, is an excellent cap on the world's story, one I'm sorry to have missed all these years.
I do have aesthetic objections to Wonderland; it doesn't look that much like the film and the Lotus Forest borders on the ugly with its color choices. And as marvelous a beginning to the "save the Disney worlds" quest as Alice's trial makes, and as good a hook her disappearance is, I have grown increasingly disenchanted over the years with her being one of the Princesses of Heart - but that's for another post.
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Reblogging because I'm in a good enough mood to acknowledge one of the better parts of KH III. I was reminded of it because I'm replaying KH I and just got to the end of Atlantica, where Ariel expresses her longing to see other worlds. So good on III for paying off at least one redhead's desires.
Up where they run
Up where they fight
Up where they slay the monsters of night
Now that I’m free
At last I can see
All of these worlds
What would they give
If they could live
Free from my waters?
But they must pay
Not one more day
Shall they roam free
Up here on land
They understand
And they don’t reprimand their daughters
Bright young women
Sick of swimmin’
On a killing spree
Now it’s my turn
And don’t I love
Slaying these Heartless here up above
Out of the sea
Where I can be
Part of these worlds
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Can you draw a full picture of misty from that picture where Cilan sets her up with ash
Not sure which piece of art you're referring to. I have scenes I'd like to draw, but my free time for fan art is extremely limited these days.
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I wish we could have gotten more of Cassidy and butch than one brief appearance in the Lycanroc obedience school arc. Where in the Lycanroc obedience school did they appear anyway?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Don't know what to tell you. The original Rocket trio didn't show up that often either.
The easiest way to find them is to run a search for their names in Part III of the archive.
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