Thoughts on Birth by Sleep? Great game? Meh game? Watch the new NC on A Christmas Carol - ua-cam.com/video/8oA_LxoIT5s/v-deo.html Watch all DisneyCember's here - bit.ly/DisneyCember Follow us on Twitch - www.twitch.tv/channelawesome
I'm just waiting for him to go over Chain of Memories because I actually played it on the original Game Boy advance which I think is a much better way of playing the game than in the HD remake where you can't see what's behind you in battle without first turning the camera. However this Christmas I am getting a PlayStation 5 only so I can play the Kingdom heart games via The Story So Far and Kingdom Hearts 3. I'm still a Nintendo Fanboy at heart but I said that I would only get a PlayStation if only to play The whole Kingdom Hearts series because of my love of Disney. Like I said the only Kingdom heart games I ever played were the ones that were released on Nintendo systems like Chain of Memories, 358 Days/2, Re:Coded, and Dream Drop Distance. However I've never been able to fully beat any of the games to the end credits even though I made some great progress in most of them
The way you described this gam kinda explains Dynasty Warriors: Fighting the same levels but from different perspectives. It's a great stress releasing game as you take out tens or hundreds in seconds. One piece of advice, until you level up ... DON'T PURSUE LU BU!
One little touch I love is how the writers got the point of Cinderella's message. Yes, dreams take effort to make a reality, but it takes incredible strength of mind, will, and (dare I say) heart to believe they _can_ be a reality, especially around people who keep trying to keep you down. Once you know you have that kind of strength, you're set to take that next step.
I loved Leonord Nemoy performance in this. Always enjoy when he plays the villian(like Galvatron) I also had the biggest smile on my face when I heard Alan Young voice for Scrooge McDuck
It's funny that he mentions that he had to actually grind in order to win a level. When I watched Doug's playthrough of fallen order, I kept thinking to myself, "Why isn't he grinding? Why isn't he exploring? He should look for more healing stims!" but then you hear how he's a casual gamer and not a completionist and it begins to make sense.
Yeah I don’t know that you need to grind as much as combine the right skills. If I remember correctly you can actually break the game pretty quickly if you know what skills to combine.
I'd say that's due to more impatience than causality, I'm a bit of a casual, but I love grinding and exploration (Thank Chugga and the xenoblade in him)
One moment I love was when Ventus was talking with Maleficient and she accuses Terra of wrongdoing, only for Aqua to come in and deny that Terra would do such a thing. However, when playing as Aqua, you don't get the context of the accusation, so she's just emphatically denying that her friend did anything wrong, period. Such a great friend.
@@kdusel1991 BBS is fantastic imo. One of the best in the series as far as story goes. And if you like using magic, playing as Aqua in this game is one of the most satisfying things in the entire series.
I loved the opening theme to BBS. Although I was confused as to why they reused it in the remakes of KH 1 and 2. Since the original song IIRC was called Sanctuary(unless I'm remembering wrong?)
The BBS version of the Keyblade Graveyard theme is one of my favorite tracks of the whole series. It exudes this air of mystery, hardship, and deep sadness. The BBS version of Dearly Beloved also might be my favorite version of the series, mostly because of how perfectly it's utilized in the secret ending.
Of the KH series, Birth by Sleep is my favorite, partially because of the hype at the time of KH2's secret ending and being the first prequel to dive into the backstory of its universe and fully showing us the true big bad of the series Xehanort. On the Disney side of things its selection of worlds was pretty good with most focus on the earlier works of the Animated Canon compared to the first games and being more Renaissance Era. Doug's playthroughs were very entertaining and I hope to see more. I think Dream Drop Distance is the last major one to do both for its story and very eclectic mix of Disney worlds. Melody of Memory would also be a good one to do, if just to hear his opinion and analysis of KH's music.
Honestly I love all the side games, not necessarily from a game play perspective but from a story perspective. When I watched my brother play the first game so many years ago, I thought it was cool but had no idea it would end up with such a layered and complex story. Yeah you can just play the 3 main games and be mostly satisfied but all the side games add something special and answers questions. I understand not wanting to play them all because most of them have a very different style of game play but they're definitely all worth watching.
I think if there was another one for him to play and stream it would be Chain of Memories, but something tells me the card combat system would drive him insane. I know it made that game straight up unplayable for me even, though I know the story and characters are really interesting.
I remember when you played in the Cinderella level, right after she goes off to the Ball the fairy godmother suddenly turns to one of the 3 and goes "WHO ARE YOU?!" You were remotely laughing your ass off, and so did I 😂😂😂
On the Fifteenth Disneycember my Critic gave to me: Fifteen Story Paths, Fourteen Cartoon Cameos, Thirteen Scene Ruining Jokes, Twelve Awesome Warriors, Eleven Bad Fanfictions, Ten Awkward Cases, Nine Possum Jokes, Eight Glitchy Jedi, Seven Dead Eyed Puppets Six Decent Burgers, Five HORRIFIC DEATHS, Four Best Friends, Three Leaping Frogs, Two Quiet Moments, And a Spider Flying Round the City!
I think playing Ventus' story first is optimal, in part because of the "Did Terra do these horrible things?" and also because Ven's story reveals Vanitas' origins (or apparent origins) at just the right time while Terra's story says "Oh, Xehanort ripped him from Ven's heart" at the 1/3 mark. Jason Dohring is better on-screen than he was voicing in this game. As is Willa Holland.
Storywise, I like playing Aqua first, Ventus second, and Terra third- partly because I like to keep the whole 'mystery' of what happens to Terra for as long as I can, and also because Aqua's involvement in the plot isn't really that important until the last episode anyway...
this is actually one of my favourite KH games. specially love the battle system, the merging really motivates to experiement with different skills and magic
I actually loved this prequel, I really did enjoy visiting Deep Space where you encounter the characters from Lilo & Stitch which was totally worth experiencing!
The three characters gimmick reminds me of the first Sonic Adventure where you play as different characters but the levels, gameplay and the story are unique to each character you play as.
I know this game can be broken when you really grasp the melding system, but my God it is some of the most fun I've had in this series. With the extremely fun if overpowered commands mixed with the cool forms that the characters can transform into, it straight up feels like the best kind of power fantasy.
Hoping this means there's a possibilty of seeing Dream Drop Distance/3D covered in next years Disneycember. Honestly ome of my favourite of the non-mainline KH games and one of the best soundtracks in the series.
@@mcwyman7928 Coded provided vital build-up for the returns of the Wayfinder and Sea Salt trios, as well as Namine, expanded context for some of the events of KH1, and a much-needed break in the series' pacing between BBS and DDD. Don't get me wrong, it's the worst KH game, and the only one you could probably get away with skipping, but it's still a necessary chapter.
Watching Doug play through one of my favorite games of this series was so fun and hilarious. Everyone trying so hard not to backseat yet finding it so hard not to was the greatest entertainment anyone could ask for. Maybe because of my love for this game I never noticed the stiffness of terra and aqua but I did notice it more when Doug pointed it out and yeah it's definitely there but thankfully KH3 proves they both can fulfill their rolls better. After having seen him play this it makes me wish that Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim was remastered to have him play through those. I think the mixture of a fighting game with the rpg elements might be a bit more his style since there isn't as much melding but more typical rpg equipment stores and abilities.
People are talking about how Mark Hammil and Leonard Nemoy both being in this is like a Star Wars and Star Trek crossover. Another time was on Faerie Tale Theatre. In Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, James Earl Jones is the genie and Leonard Nemoy is the evil magician.
You raise a good point about Terra and Aqua's voices, but if you ask me, their improvements really kick in around the halfway mark of their stories, with the final act being their strongest point. It gives me the impression that all the actors were recording their scenes in the same order as they play out in the game, and Jason Dohring and Willa Holland were left to figure their performances out as they went along. Plus, their grunts and battle cries in the gameplay are totally passable. I'm glad they stuck around to show they weren't total miscasts, because the way I see it, better direction goes a long way.
"Out of all the games, this one I got the fastest in terms of how it operates." X to doubt, you never really got used to the controls in the first two games because you were only using half of them.
I played this game right after I beat the 1st Kingdom Hearts for the 1st time I was told it would save me a lot of trouble and a lot of questions for the 2nd one and when I played the 2nd one when aqua's armor was revealed I literally got Goosebumps and it made me appreciate the game so much more!!!
Funny you say that because the scene with Aqua's armor and Keyblade was a final mix exclusive. In the original PS2 KH2, the only glimpse of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus that you get is the secret ending "The Gathering", which isn't even the full scene (that would be "Birth By Sleep", the Final Mix secret ending). Still I bet it would have been wild to see that scene with Aqua's armor for the first time with the full context!
The BEST playing order is Ventus, Terra, Aqua. You start out the game anyway as Ventus, so it made sense for me to keep playing as him. And during his game you are as much in the dark has he is when a stranger comes to you and says your friend/big brother figure is in danger. It’s just so much better not knowing than knowing. The entire time I was with Ven and assumed everyone was lying about the things Terra had done. So much so, I had to play Terra next to find out if any of it was true….and most of it was! Shocking! I know! And then saving Aqua for last also makes the most sense as you play her for the secret chapter after the ending anyway, just as you played as Ven for the tutorial. So it all flows better.
Birth By Sleep was one of the games of the franchise I really wanted to experience, but never got to it until the remasters/Final Mix came. I really loved the idea of playing with the three main characters, while listening to the incredible voice acting of both the new and classic characters. The order of play and the characters' playstyle can reflect on the gamer's style of playing, thus the reason why Terra, Ventus and Aqua are so different. The playstyle this time is a slot command instead of the classical 4 commands for attack, magic, items and summon; and the Meld Technique takes a lot of pratice and hit and miss for first timers, but once you get used to it, it gradually becomes natural. The Link system substituting the summons is also very interesting to use, thanks to the perks you get once evolving the links you create throughout the game. The worlds we traverse are interesting too. Once again, the protagonists are inside a Disney movie, but instead of running the entire movie, each character plays a third of the plot, while sometimes intersecting with one another. Leonard Nimoy and Mark Hamill as the two Keyblade Masters were the best choices we could ever had to represent old, but wise men. To be honest, when I first heard the voices, I kinda felt like "Wait a minute, I think I heard this guy before" and when I found the truth I could only laugh. There's actually some secrets that can only be achieve through playing at higher difficulties and going through outer routes - like new secret bosses (at the Mirage Arena, the Keyblade Graveyard and the Land of Departure) and a secret story that happens after Aqua saving Terra and begins wandering through the Realm of Darkness, with another super hard boss.
3:30 Heather was still helping Doug through this? no wonder he was underleveled and struggling! Jesu cripso was no one else available to help this man through this game! He had to rely on the same person who said that Birth By Sleep is optional (Which if you're a true KH fan, you KNOW is not true, even the creator stated it's as important as 1 and 2). I knew Doug was going to struggle with this game, and this basically reaffirms what I thought was going to happen.
I think it’s really telling just HOW casual a gamer Doug is when during the ending cutscenes in Disney Town with Pete and the award, he kept saying “hey this is taking too long” and “omg who cares”, or even earlier when we met young Kairi he said “oh it’s just the usual light and dark, you can keep talking”. Doug isn’t a big story guy for games, he just wants to hit stuff. That’s perfectly valid, and I think it reaaally hits him during something like III which did have quite a lot of cutscenes. I remember on my first playthrough of III I never had any issues sitting through the cutscenes, but Doug was begging for them to end because he wanted to play. Just a different play style and it’s completely understandable.
@@alibrennan5977 he’s not skipping them because the cutscenes are telling the story. That’s the other thing about Kingdom Hearts is that it has a serialized story it tells through cinematic as well as gameplay.
BBS is probably the best none numeral entry in the KH franchise. It’s probably a hot take but it has one of the best stories and introduce such fan favorites.
Hands down, BBS is my favorite game. I played it on Proud and got the secret endings on my second playthrough. It took a bit to get into the voice acting, but I LOVED the gameplay. The melding system was fun because I liked seeing what I'd create.
When I played this game the first time I did play it in the order Ventus, Aqua and Terra and what Doug says is so right. I feel like this was the best order to go with.
birth by sleep was the most dramatic game out of the series for me. i really liked it. and it started off a theory of what was confirmed for me later on in other games. it was my favorite kingdom hearts theory in the entire franchise for me.
for the grinding aspect... that's why I really miss the rubber band technique. for those unfamiliar, the rubber band technique is where back in the psone and ps2 days, controllers had a turbo function. This was especially helpful in games like Suikoden and early FF games where the mobs just randomly popped up as you moved around the screen. you basically set the turbo button on the action/attack button, put a rubber band around the controller in a way to hold the button down, and have another rubber band to hold the toggle sticks in a way so your character was just running around in circles on the map. This way you can continuously be engaging in random encounters for however long you want. that way you don't have to just sit there hours on end doing it, just wasting time grinding. Then you could be doing homeork, or house cleaning, or just watching your favorite anime or movie or whatever while the rubber bands and turbo do all the work for you.
What I did in this game was Ventus, Terra, and then Aqua. And yes, it does bring out a mystery on what's going on and if Terra is good, bad, or just misled. And I personally did like the different advantages that you just characters had. Ventus was faster than the other characters, Terra what's stronger and made more damaging hits even though he was slower, and Aqua was more agile and could zip around people very quickly even though she was more weaker. Overall, I think it's one of my favorite Kingdom hearts games personally speaking
If Doug is surprised about a game starting on handheld, he’s in for a pleasant surprise when he gets to Dream Drop Distance. Large areas with a verticality, it feels like the world design was for a console entry.
On the 15th day of disneycember the critic gave for me: 15 Keyblade swords 14 cartoon actors 13 killable gods 12 hunting gadgets 11 time jump ins 10 broken walls 9 extinct species 8 lightsaber customs 7 CG horseshits 6 untasty burgers FIVE MULTIVERSES 4 red pandas 3 talking frogs 2 ice craking nuts and an amazing superhero game for me
No pun intended but this game holds a special place in my heart. I actually love the Wayfinder trio a lot more than the main three. They just seemed far more interesting than Sora Riku and Kairi. I personally enjoyed all three of their stories as each had its fair share of memorable moments. Personally I believe Aqua really shined in this game as her story had in my opinion the most emotional moments, as she was forced to fight possessed versions of Terra and Ventus. Not to mention she was the only one who became a Keyblade master. The only problem was (at the time) her voice actress Willa Holland. I’m a fan of her’s but she sounded bored the entire game. However she gets better as the series goes on, so maybe she wasn’t given good direction when she was recording. She was also the first playable female in KH which was phenomenal and unheard of at the time, as both Kairi and Namene were too wrapped up in their own problems. Lastly she wasn’t a damsel in distress and could hold her own in a fight. In fact it’s possible she’s the strongest of the 3 as she was able to defeat Terra and Ventus who likely had their powers increased by being possessed (admittedly Aqua did have some help from Mickey in the last Vanitas fight but considering she defeated him twice before it isn’t a stretch to say she could beat him on her own even with Ventus being controlled). The only thing that I wish could of happened was that Terra and Aqua became a couple as I absolutely believe they are the best couple in KH. BBS really is a masterpiece 10 out of 10 😇😇😇😇😇
It's a prequel to the first few KH games, but yeah, it's definitely meant to be played after those, simply because that's the order they were all released. Telling someone to play BbS before KH I would be like telling someone to watch the Star Wars prequels before the original trilogy; it just wasn't the intention of the creators for obvious reasons. Also, if you can get your hands on a Nintendo DS and 358/2 Days, that one's worth a play, too. Like BbS, it plays like a standard KH game, and if you're wanting an emotional gut-punch, hoo boy, it'll give it to you. I point out the DS version because the game unfortunately hasn't gotten a true re-release, just the "movie" on the various KH collections.
Seeing people liking Kingdom Hearts and critiquing is quite refreshing. It gets tiring hearing people bashing the series and Nomura for it's story, it's the same jokes over and over again. 🙄 It's not perfect by all means, but the series does well when it needs to.
I can't believe you didn't mention Mark Hamill as Master Eraqus! Yeah he was only in a few scenes, but he was great and I love how he and Leonard act off of each other.
I grew up with Kingdom Hearts. I would consider myself a fan of the worlds and the soundtrack the most, and as cheesy as the story can be, the first couple games I am nostalgic for the plot. I do have to say BBS is my favorite game in the entire series and one of the few games I can play more than once.
Personally, this is my favorite game in the franchise. I love the characters and worlds they picked. Also, all 3 of the characters are well written. I have played most of the games, but I always end up comparing them to this one.
On the fifteenth day of Disneycember, Doug Walker gave to me: A confusing game series, Roger Rabbit 2, Thor’s creative bankruptcy, bad-ass history, Pixar’s biggest bomb, Marvel’s craziest ending, Blue Sky’s first sequel, Order Glitchy Glitch, a Zemeckis remake, the best Fox family, a Marvel horror movie, Domee Shi’s debut, one of my favorite Disney shows, Blue Sky’s first movie, and the best Spider-Man game ever!
So ill be the one to point out that the main reason you thought Aqua was the hardest to play as was because you kept using her physical attacks instead of her commands, specifically her magic ones. That’s her speciality and when used regularly (along with proper melding) she arguably becomes IMO the strongest of the three protagonists.
Actually, Sora also cried because of emotion when in Twilight town saying goodbye to Pence, Hayner and Oletter. Its supposed to symbolize his openess to new hearts and people how Roxas and Ventus both seeked refuge in him.
While I never had a PSP, and only got to play BBS on the PS3 and PS4 remasters, I did do a blind first playthrough on Standard, then did the Proud mode for all three and got all the stickers for the Secret Episode.
Doug's experience with this game is definitely different from mine. Cause this is the first KH game I played, and Terra was the hardest, Ventus was intermediate, and Aqua was easy. Plus, my favorite moment was in Lilo and Stitch's world where you fight Gantu, and Stitch calls him fat in alien language(Yeah IDK what Language Stitch uses) Also, I didn't mind Terra's voice in this. Plus I loved Vanitas as a villain. Although I had no idea Leonard Nemoy voiced Xehanort.
I've played Birth By Sleep many times on the PSP and once on the PS4 and I will say I never melded or any of that, just played through the game, switching keyblades, and gaining new skills. Maybe it's different for some people?
6:28 Considering Birth By Sleep’s plot is basically Revenge of the Sith’s plot expect in kingdom hearts and everyone’s a moron. Terra might as well be Anakin Skywalker. Plot aside games pretty good
The thing is: The designers actually intended for players to play all three simultaneously, not to play each story separate, so there really isn't a "correct" way to play the game. This is why in Dream Drop Distance they added a mechanic that forces you to switch between the two characters while playing the game. The reason why Terra is first is because he's actually the character most KINGDOM HEARTS fans would be familiar with going into the game, not because his story is best played first.
And Nimoy's replacement, Rutger Hauer, also passed away shortly after. So for the Re:Mind DLC for KH3, they got Christopher Lloyd to voice Master Xehanort.
When I played it I started with Aqua because 1) she seemed the most interesting and 2) unapologetic male gaze. That said, storywise it makes sense for her to not be the first one as she is a bit harder to play.
@@sofaris576 So true. I remember the first time I played through Aqua's campaign (on standard) I died multiple times to optional unversed encounters in her early game. Once you start getting high level commands though she's probably the most fun to play.
@@mcwyman7928 After leaving the Land of Departure I actully spend some time on the command Board to get some good magic. Made Cinderella World so much easier and more fun.
The first time I played, I went for Ventus, then Terra, then Aqua, I believe, and I STILL maintain that playing Ventus first is the BEST way. Playing Aqua before Terra makes the audience more understanding toward her and frustrated toward Terra, but playing Terra before Aqua makes Aqua's assumptions and lack of understanding far more offputting. So it is interesting how the order can affect a player's feelings toward the characters.
I made a sequential video of the game, where all of the scenes happen in the correct order. But I never uploaded it for fear of a Disney copyright strike.
On the fifteenth day of Christmas The critic gave to me 15 Disney-Worlds Five Rescue Rangers Two Gods of Thunder 12 predators 11 Space-Rangers Two superhero-lawyers A mammoth raised by possums 8 Jedi-Knights A talking marionette 6 Burger-restaurants Three Multiverses A family of red pandas A girl in a strange frog-world Three ice age mammals And a Spiderman in a pear tree
So about the Camera issues, the handheld it was released on, The PlayStation Portable, didn’t have a second analog stick. So if your wondering why the camera is iffy, there you go
On the fifteenth day of Disneycember, my Critic sent to me (Fifteen Keyblades) (Fourteen Cartoon Cameos) (Thriteen Screaming Goats) (Twelve Predators) (Eleven robot cats) (Ten 4th Wall Broken) (Nine Icebergs) (Eight Stormtroopers) (Seven Puppets Abominations) (Six Hamburgers) (FIVE BRUCE CAMPBELLS) (Four Red Pandas) (Three Friendly Amphibians) (Two Angry Ancient Rhinos) And a Friendly Neighborhood Hero
Another way that can help you beat up is having the Mickey mouse ability that double boost your experience and XP Walker by you get experience by walking. problem is only aqua and ventus get the Mickey mouse power. That was the only way I got those two characters up to level 100 but I never got Tera to level 100.
Thoughts on Birth by Sleep? Great game? Meh game?
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Great game. ANGUISH LEVEL Super bosses.
nani tf? a video game?
I can't wait to see you destroy 358/2 days.
I'm just waiting for him to go over Chain of Memories because I actually played it on the original Game Boy advance which I think is a much better way of playing the game than in the HD remake where you can't see what's behind you in battle without first turning the camera.
However this Christmas I am getting a PlayStation 5 only so I can play the Kingdom heart games via The Story So Far and Kingdom Hearts 3. I'm still a Nintendo Fanboy at heart but I said that I would only get a PlayStation if only to play The whole Kingdom Hearts series because of my love of Disney. Like I said the only Kingdom heart games I ever played were the ones that were released on Nintendo systems like Chain of Memories, 358 Days/2, Re:Coded, and Dream Drop Distance. However I've never been able to fully beat any of the games to the end credits even though I made some great progress in most of them
The way you described this gam kinda explains Dynasty Warriors: Fighting the same levels but from different perspectives. It's a great stress releasing game as you take out tens or hundreds in seconds. One piece of advice, until you level up ... DON'T PURSUE LU BU!
One little touch I love is how the writers got the point of Cinderella's message. Yes, dreams take effort to make a reality, but it takes incredible strength of mind, will, and (dare I say) heart to believe they _can_ be a reality, especially around people who keep trying to keep you down. Once you know you have that kind of strength, you're set to take that next step.
With both Mark Hammil and Leonard Nimoy being in this game basically makes it the closest thing we'll ever get to a Star Wars /Star Trek crossover .😄👌
I never thought of that and now this will live rent free in my mind
Good point
Patrick Stewart and Mark Hamill were in several UberEats commercials together
Meanwhile the Uber Eats commercials with Mark Hammil and Patrick Stewart are crying in a corner.
Indeed
I loved Leonord Nemoy performance in this. Always enjoy when he plays the villian(like Galvatron)
I also had the biggest smile on my face when I heard Alan Young voice for Scrooge McDuck
It's funny that he mentions that he had to actually grind in order to win a level. When I watched Doug's playthrough of fallen order, I kept thinking to myself, "Why isn't he grinding? Why isn't he exploring? He should look for more healing stims!" but then you hear how he's a casual gamer and not a completionist and it begins to make sense.
Oooh, I didn't know Doug was a casual gamer until you said so.
Yeah I don’t know that you need to grind as much as combine the right skills. If I remember correctly you can actually break the game pretty quickly if you know what skills to combine.
@@danielsettle3942 Thundaga can take care of mobs pretty well.
I'd say that's due to more impatience than causality, I'm a bit of a casual, but I love grinding and exploration (Thank Chugga and the xenoblade in him)
One moment I love was when Ventus was talking with Maleficient and she accuses Terra of wrongdoing, only for Aqua to come in and deny that Terra would do such a thing. However, when playing as Aqua, you don't get the context of the accusation, so she's just emphatically denying that her friend did anything wrong, period. Such a great friend.
“Destiny is never left to chance.”
- Master Xehanort.
Love that line because it perfectly sums up this game.
Never played this game but played 358 days/2. Fantastic game. Never got to finish it cause my house was broken into years ago.
@@kdusel1991 BBS is fantastic imo. One of the best in the series as far as story goes. And if you like using magic, playing as Aqua in this game is one of the most satisfying things in the entire series.
@@mcwyman7928 will definitely check it out! I have a ps4 so I might get the story so far game and then launch into KH3.
The fight with the Magic Mirror as Terra is one of the best fights in the series visually.
I love The Magic Mirror. He’s so cool because he’s not really a villain. He’s just an object that does the Evil Queens bidding and nothing more.
One fight I really hated was terranort xD
The music was really cool in BBS. The Worlds theme, Terra vs Eraqus, Tears of Light, Ventus's theme. It's just dramatically awesome.
I loved the opening theme to BBS. Although I was confused as to why they reused it in the remakes of KH 1 and 2.
Since the original song IIRC was called Sanctuary(unless I'm remembering wrong?)
@@nine_tails137 You misremembered. KH1 always uses Simple and Clean, and KH2 always uses Sanctuary.
@@TriforceWisdom64 Ah, so it was KH2 that used that song. My bad.
The BBS version of the Keyblade Graveyard theme is one of my favorite tracks of the whole series. It exudes this air of mystery, hardship, and deep sadness.
The BBS version of Dearly Beloved also might be my favorite version of the series, mostly because of how perfectly it's utilized in the secret ending.
Of the KH series, Birth by Sleep is my favorite, partially because of the hype at the time of KH2's secret ending and being the first prequel to dive into the backstory of its universe and fully showing us the true big bad of the series Xehanort.
On the Disney side of things its selection of worlds was pretty good with most focus on the earlier works of the Animated Canon compared to the first games and being more Renaissance Era.
Doug's playthroughs were very entertaining and I hope to see more. I think Dream Drop Distance is the last major one to do both for its story and very eclectic mix of Disney worlds. Melody of Memory would also be a good one to do, if just to hear his opinion and analysis of KH's music.
Honestly I love all the side games, not necessarily from a game play perspective but from a story perspective. When I watched my brother play the first game so many years ago, I thought it was cool but had no idea it would end up with such a layered and complex story. Yeah you can just play the 3 main games and be mostly satisfied but all the side games add something special and answers questions.
I understand not wanting to play them all because most of them have a very different style of game play but they're definitely all worth watching.
I think if there was another one for him to play and stream it would be Chain of Memories, but something tells me the card combat system would drive him insane. I know it made that game straight up unplayable for me even, though I know the story and characters are really interesting.
I remember when you played in the Cinderella level, right after she goes off to the Ball the fairy godmother suddenly turns to one of the 3 and goes "WHO ARE YOU?!"
You were remotely laughing your ass off, and so did I 😂😂😂
On the Fifteenth Disneycember my Critic gave to me:
Fifteen Story Paths,
Fourteen Cartoon Cameos,
Thirteen Scene Ruining Jokes,
Twelve Awesome Warriors,
Eleven Bad Fanfictions,
Ten Awkward Cases,
Nine Possum Jokes,
Eight Glitchy Jedi,
Seven Dead Eyed Puppets
Six Decent Burgers,
Five HORRIFIC DEATHS,
Four Best Friends,
Three Leaping Frogs,
Two Quiet Moments,
And a Spider Flying Round the City!
There's something so funny about that end with Aqua's smiling face and staring eyes and the metal music.
I think playing Ventus' story first is optimal, in part because of the "Did Terra do these horrible things?" and also because Ven's story reveals Vanitas' origins (or apparent origins) at just the right time while Terra's story says "Oh, Xehanort ripped him from Ven's heart" at the 1/3 mark.
Jason Dohring is better on-screen than he was voicing in this game. As is Willa Holland.
Storywise, I like playing Aqua first, Ventus second, and Terra third- partly because I like to keep the whole 'mystery' of what happens to Terra for as long as I can, and also because Aqua's involvement in the plot isn't really that important until the last episode anyway...
For an excellent example of Willa Holland in live action, watch Arrow.
@@dvader518 Exactly what I meant. And for Jason Dohring, I was thinking of Veronica Mars and iZombie.
Yeah I think the voice acting improves as the series goes on, they just got really bad voice direction for most of the game
@@azurelionheart I agree, but from a gameplay pov isn’t not optimal as going in that order helps you forget how you play as aqua.
this is actually one of my favourite KH games. specially love the battle system, the merging really motivates to experiement with different skills and magic
I actually loved this prequel, I really did enjoy visiting Deep Space where you encounter the characters from Lilo & Stitch which was totally worth experiencing!
I remember playing this game and it’s an enjoyable experience
Awesome to hear.
@@chasehedges6775not a masterpiece as kingdom hearts 2 but I played this year when Doug did his Disneycember
The three characters gimmick reminds me of the first Sonic Adventure where you play as different characters but the levels, gameplay and the story are unique to each character you play as.
I know this game can be broken when you really grasp the melding system, but my God it is some of the most fun I've had in this series. With the extremely fun if overpowered commands mixed with the cool forms that the characters can transform into, it straight up feels like the best kind of power fantasy.
Hoping this means there's a possibilty of seeing Dream Drop Distance/3D covered in next years Disneycember. Honestly ome of my favourite of the non-mainline KH games and one of the best soundtracks in the series.
There are no non-mainline KH games.
@@yedffgd Coded says hi
@@mcwyman7928 even Coded
Literally the only relevant story material we get out of Coded is that the letter Mickey sent at the end of KH2 was about Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.
@@mcwyman7928 Coded provided vital build-up for the returns of the Wayfinder and Sea Salt trios, as well as Namine, expanded context for some of the events of KH1, and a much-needed break in the series' pacing between BBS and DDD. Don't get me wrong, it's the worst KH game, and the only one you could probably get away with skipping, but it's still a necessary chapter.
Watching Doug play through one of my favorite games of this series was so fun and hilarious. Everyone trying so hard not to backseat yet finding it so hard not to was the greatest entertainment anyone could ask for.
Maybe because of my love for this game I never noticed the stiffness of terra and aqua but I did notice it more when Doug pointed it out and yeah it's definitely there but thankfully KH3 proves they both can fulfill their rolls better.
After having seen him play this it makes me wish that Final Fantasy Dissidia Duodecim was remastered to have him play through those. I think the mixture of a fighting game with the rpg elements might be a bit more his style since there isn't as much melding but more typical rpg equipment stores and abilities.
People are talking about how Mark Hammil and Leonard Nemoy both being in this is like a Star Wars and Star Trek crossover. Another time was on Faerie Tale Theatre. In Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, James Earl Jones is the genie and Leonard Nemoy is the evil magician.
You raise a good point about Terra and Aqua's voices, but if you ask me, their improvements really kick in around the halfway mark of their stories, with the final act being their strongest point. It gives me the impression that all the actors were recording their scenes in the same order as they play out in the game, and Jason Dohring and Willa Holland were left to figure their performances out as they went along. Plus, their grunts and battle cries in the gameplay are totally passable. I'm glad they stuck around to show they weren't total miscasts, because the way I see it, better direction goes a long way.
"Out of all the games, this one I got the fastest in terms of how it operates."
X to doubt, you never really got used to the controls in the first two games because you were only using half of them.
This is my favorite handheld Kingdom Hearts game, it’s the equivalent to Zelda: Link’s Awakening which the game helps further the lore of the series!
I played this game right after I beat the 1st Kingdom Hearts for the 1st time I was told it would save me a lot of trouble and a lot of questions for the 2nd one and when I played the 2nd one when aqua's armor was revealed I literally got Goosebumps and it made me appreciate the game so much more!!!
Funny you say that because the scene with Aqua's armor and Keyblade was a final mix exclusive. In the original PS2 KH2, the only glimpse of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus that you get is the secret ending "The Gathering", which isn't even the full scene (that would be "Birth By Sleep", the Final Mix secret ending). Still I bet it would have been wild to see that scene with Aqua's armor for the first time with the full context!
Oh really?? I didn't know that! That's so interesting!
This is Kingdom Hearts 0. That's the sum of it and it is required as much as 1&2.
The BEST playing order is Ventus, Terra, Aqua. You start out the game anyway as Ventus, so it made sense for me to keep playing as him. And during his game you are as much in the dark has he is when a stranger comes to you and says your friend/big brother figure is in danger. It’s just so much better not knowing than knowing. The entire time I was with Ven and assumed everyone was lying about the things Terra had done. So much so, I had to play Terra next to find out if any of it was true….and most of it was! Shocking! I know! And then saving Aqua for last also makes the most sense as you play her for the secret chapter after the ending anyway, just as you played as Ven for the tutorial. So it all flows better.
Birth By Sleep was one of the games of the franchise I really wanted to experience, but never got to it until the remasters/Final Mix came. I really loved the idea of playing with the three main characters, while listening to the incredible voice acting of both the new and classic characters. The order of play and the characters' playstyle can reflect on the gamer's style of playing, thus the reason why Terra, Ventus and Aqua are so different.
The playstyle this time is a slot command instead of the classical 4 commands for attack, magic, items and summon; and the Meld Technique takes a lot of pratice and hit and miss for first timers, but once you get used to it, it gradually becomes natural. The Link system substituting the summons is also very interesting to use, thanks to the perks you get once evolving the links you create throughout the game.
The worlds we traverse are interesting too. Once again, the protagonists are inside a Disney movie, but instead of running the entire movie, each character plays a third of the plot, while sometimes intersecting with one another.
Leonard Nimoy and Mark Hamill as the two Keyblade Masters were the best choices we could ever had to represent old, but wise men. To be honest, when I first heard the voices, I kinda felt like "Wait a minute, I think I heard this guy before" and when I found the truth I could only laugh.
There's actually some secrets that can only be achieve through playing at higher difficulties and going through outer routes - like new secret bosses (at the Mirage Arena, the Keyblade Graveyard and the Land of Departure) and a secret story that happens after Aqua saving Terra and begins wandering through the Realm of Darkness, with another super hard boss.
3:30 Heather was still helping Doug through this? no wonder he was underleveled and struggling! Jesu cripso was no one else available to help this man through this game! He had to rely on the same person who said that Birth By Sleep is optional (Which if you're a true KH fan, you KNOW is not true, even the creator stated it's as important as 1 and 2). I knew Doug was going to struggle with this game, and this basically reaffirms what I thought was going to happen.
I got this with the collection on Switch and haven't played it for that long but I do like that they fit other Disney movies into these spinoffs.
This along with KH1 are my favorite entries in the series
I think it’s really telling just HOW casual a gamer Doug is when during the ending cutscenes in Disney Town with Pete and the award, he kept saying “hey this is taking too long” and “omg who cares”, or even earlier when we met young Kairi he said “oh it’s just the usual light and dark, you can keep talking”.
Doug isn’t a big story guy for games, he just wants to hit stuff. That’s perfectly valid, and I think it reaaally hits him during something like III which did have quite a lot of cutscenes. I remember on my first playthrough of III I never had any issues sitting through the cutscenes, but Doug was begging for them to end because he wanted to play. Just a different play style and it’s completely understandable.
He does know he can skip cutscenes in these games right?
@@alibrennan5977 he’s not skipping them because the cutscenes are telling the story. That’s the other thing about Kingdom Hearts is that it has a serialized story it tells through cinematic as well as gameplay.
BBS is probably the best none numeral entry in the KH franchise. It’s probably a hot take but it has one of the best stories and introduce such fan favorites.
When you asked chat for help I’m surprised that their answer wasn’t “just get the mine spell”.
I was just screaming internally inside of myself xD
A disneycember review on my birthday is one of the best birthday gifts ever!!
@AT Productions thank you!!!
Man, the melding in this game was so fun! By the end of my playthrough with Aqua, I could clear entire rooms with just a few button presses!
Honestly, Birth By Sleep is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game.
"You're not a very good liar."
"You're not a very good actor."
Lol.
Hands down, BBS is my favorite game. I played it on Proud and got the secret endings on my second playthrough. It took a bit to get into the voice acting, but I LOVED the gameplay. The melding system was fun because I liked seeing what I'd create.
I'm glad to see Doug quickly becoming a Kingdom Hearts fan! Welcome to the club, man!
When I played this game the first time I did play it in the order Ventus, Aqua and Terra and what Doug says is so right. I feel like this was the best order to go with.
birth by sleep was the most dramatic game out of the series for me. i really liked it. and it started off a theory of what was confirmed for me later on in other games. it was my favorite kingdom hearts theory in the entire franchise for me.
for the grinding aspect...
that's why I really miss the rubber band technique.
for those unfamiliar, the rubber band technique is where back in the psone and ps2 days, controllers had a turbo function. This was especially helpful in games like Suikoden and early FF games where the mobs just randomly popped up as you moved around the screen.
you basically set the turbo button on the action/attack button, put a rubber band around the controller in a way to hold the button down, and have another rubber band to hold the toggle sticks in a way so your character was just running around in circles on the map. This way you can continuously be engaging in random encounters for however long you want. that way you don't have to just sit there hours on end doing it, just wasting time grinding. Then you could be doing homeork, or house cleaning, or just watching your favorite anime or movie or whatever while the rubber bands and turbo do all the work for you.
Terra and Aquas voice acting:
When you make Matthew Broderick sound like Nicholas goddamn Cage
What I did in this game was Ventus, Terra, and then Aqua. And yes, it does bring out a mystery on what's going on and if Terra is good, bad, or just misled.
And I personally did like the different advantages that you just characters had. Ventus was faster than the other characters, Terra what's stronger and made more damaging hits even though he was slower, and Aqua was more agile and could zip around people very quickly even though she was more weaker.
Overall, I think it's one of my favorite Kingdom hearts games personally speaking
If Doug is surprised about a game starting on handheld, he’s in for a pleasant surprise when he gets to Dream Drop Distance. Large areas with a verticality, it feels like the world design was for a console entry.
On the 15th day of disneycember the critic gave for me:
15 Keyblade swords
14 cartoon actors
13 killable gods
12 hunting gadgets
11 time jump ins
10 broken walls
9 extinct species
8 lightsaber customs
7 CG horseshits
6 untasty burgers
FIVE MULTIVERSES
4 red pandas
3 talking frogs
2 ice craking nuts
and an amazing superhero game for me
No pun intended but this game holds a special place in my heart. I actually love the Wayfinder trio a lot more than the main three. They just seemed far more interesting than Sora Riku and Kairi. I personally enjoyed all three of their stories as each had its fair share of memorable moments. Personally I believe Aqua really shined in this game as her story had in my opinion the most emotional moments, as she was forced to fight possessed versions of Terra and Ventus. Not to mention she was the only one who became a Keyblade master. The only problem was (at the time) her voice actress Willa Holland. I’m a fan of her’s but she sounded bored the entire game. However she gets better as the series goes on, so maybe she wasn’t given good direction when she was recording. She was also the first playable female in KH which was phenomenal and unheard of at the time, as both Kairi and Namene were too wrapped up in their own problems. Lastly she wasn’t a damsel in distress and could hold her own in a fight. In fact it’s possible she’s the strongest of the 3 as she was able to defeat Terra and Ventus who likely had their powers increased by being possessed (admittedly Aqua did have some help from Mickey in the last Vanitas fight but considering she defeated him twice before it isn’t a stretch to say she could beat him on her own even with Ventus being controlled). The only thing that I wish could of happened was that Terra and Aqua became a couple as I absolutely believe they are the best couple in KH. BBS really is a masterpiece 10 out of 10 😇😇😇😇😇
It's a prequel to the first few KH games, but yeah, it's definitely meant to be played after those, simply because that's the order they were all released. Telling someone to play BbS before KH I would be like telling someone to watch the Star Wars prequels before the original trilogy; it just wasn't the intention of the creators for obvious reasons.
Also, if you can get your hands on a Nintendo DS and 358/2 Days, that one's worth a play, too. Like BbS, it plays like a standard KH game, and if you're wanting an emotional gut-punch, hoo boy, it'll give it to you. I point out the DS version because the game unfortunately hasn't gotten a true re-release, just the "movie" on the various KH collections.
Seeing people liking Kingdom Hearts and critiquing is quite refreshing. It gets tiring hearing people bashing the series and Nomura for it's story, it's the same jokes over and over again. 🙄 It's not perfect by all means, but the series does well when it needs to.
You guys should do the Yakuza series next. Perfect for a nostalgia trip
It was my first kingdom heart game, and I gotta say, it was REALLY enjoyable.
I have never played Kingdom Hearts before it's so cool you're reviewing them.
FAVORITE. KINGDOM. HEARTS. STORY. EVERRRR!! (I'm a cutscenes watcher haha!)
Ahhhh so scared & excited to see his thoughts!! 😆
I can't believe you didn't mention Mark Hamill as Master Eraqus! Yeah he was only in a few scenes, but he was great and I love how he and Leonard act off of each other.
I grew up with Kingdom Hearts. I would consider myself a fan of the worlds and the soundtrack the most, and as cheesy as the story can be, the first couple games I am nostalgic for the plot. I do have to say BBS is my favorite game in the entire series and one of the few games I can play more than once.
Personally, this is my favorite game in the franchise. I love the characters and worlds they picked. Also, all 3 of the characters are well written. I have played most of the games, but I always end up comparing them to this one.
On the fifteenth day of Disneycember, Doug Walker gave to me: A confusing game series, Roger Rabbit 2, Thor’s creative bankruptcy, bad-ass history, Pixar’s biggest bomb, Marvel’s craziest ending, Blue Sky’s first sequel, Order Glitchy Glitch, a Zemeckis remake, the best Fox family, a Marvel horror movie, Domee Shi’s debut, one of my favorite Disney shows, Blue Sky’s first movie, and the best Spider-Man game ever!
So ill be the one to point out that the main reason you thought Aqua was the hardest to play as was because you kept using her physical attacks instead of her commands, specifically her magic ones.
That’s her speciality and when used regularly (along with proper melding) she arguably becomes IMO the strongest of the three protagonists.
Thats why her path is my favorite tbh
Hardest part was the ice cream mini game I Disney world for me.
BBS is Star Wars. Terra is Anakin. Aqua is Obi Wan. Mickey is Yoda
Xehanort is Palpatine and so on
Master Xehanort is one of the best video game villains ever, in my opinion
Actually, Sora also cried because of emotion when in Twilight town saying goodbye to Pence, Hayner and Oletter. Its supposed to symbolize his openess to new hearts and people how Roxas and Ventus both seeked refuge in him.
6:28 Funny enough, I also got a huge Anakin vibe from Terra when I first played BBS.
I see Doug didn't have the unfortunate experience of having to do Terra's entire story a 2nd time.
While I never had a PSP, and only got to play BBS on the PS3 and PS4 remasters, I did do a blind first playthrough on Standard, then did the Proud mode for all three and got all the stickers for the Secret Episode.
Love love LOVE Aqua.
I honestly like to flip flop between the storylines as I'm playing, to get the story a bit more coherently
All those years of being in Arrow really did wonders for Willa Holland if you compare BbS Aqua's voice to 0.2 and III Aqua's voice.
If Doug ever picks up kingdom hearts again I hope he plays kingdom hearts dream drop distance on console of course
Doug's experience with this game is definitely different from mine.
Cause this is the first KH game I played, and Terra was the hardest, Ventus was intermediate, and Aqua was easy.
Plus, my favorite moment was in Lilo and Stitch's world where you fight Gantu, and Stitch calls him fat in alien language(Yeah IDK what Language Stitch uses)
Also, I didn't mind Terra's voice in this. Plus I loved Vanitas as a villain. Although I had no idea Leonard Nemoy voiced Xehanort.
PSP was really ahead of its time.
The PSP original was one of the console's most impressive games, and it even had an option to slightly downgrade it to use less battery.
Can somebody pls tell name of that music which plays on a background? Much appreciated 🙏
Oh Kingdom Hearts.
Unexpected but welcome.
Enjoyed *Playing* this one
Can't say I'd ever be masochistic enough to go for 100%, but I still had fun with it.
I've played Birth By Sleep many times on the PSP and once on the PS4 and I will say I never melded or any of that, just played through the game, switching keyblades, and gaining new skills. Maybe it's different for some people?
6:28 Considering Birth By Sleep’s plot is basically Revenge of the Sith’s plot expect in kingdom hearts and everyone’s a moron. Terra might as well be Anakin Skywalker. Plot aside games pretty good
One of the best
The thing is: The designers actually intended for players to play all three simultaneously, not to play each story separate, so there really isn't a "correct" way to play the game. This is why in Dream Drop Distance they added a mechanic that forces you to switch between the two characters while playing the game.
The reason why Terra is first is because he's actually the character most KINGDOM HEARTS fans would be familiar with going into the game, not because his story is best played first.
Gameplay-wise this was easily my favorite until 3 came along. Great times!
Leonard nimoy killed this role. It’s such a shame he passed before kh3. The new voice actor did ok, but how do you follow a legend like that??
And Nimoy's replacement, Rutger Hauer, also passed away shortly after. So for the Re:Mind DLC for KH3, they got Christopher Lloyd to voice Master Xehanort.
When I played it I started with Aqua because 1) she seemed the most interesting and 2) unapologetic male gaze. That said, storywise it makes sense for her to not be the first one as she is a bit harder to play.
Honestly Aqua starts out harder but as the magical powerhouse of the trio she becomes a beast after you get some skills fore her.
@@sofaris576 So true. I remember the first time I played through Aqua's campaign (on standard) I died multiple times to optional unversed encounters in her early game. Once you start getting high level commands though she's probably the most fun to play.
@@mcwyman7928 After leaving the Land of Departure I actully spend some time on the command Board to get some good magic.
Made Cinderella World so much easier and more fun.
The first time I played, I went for Ventus, then Terra, then Aqua, I believe, and I STILL maintain that playing Ventus first is the BEST way. Playing Aqua before Terra makes the audience more understanding toward her and frustrated toward Terra, but playing Terra before Aqua makes Aqua's assumptions and lack of understanding far more offputting. So it is interesting how the order can affect a player's feelings toward the characters.
The Disney castle location racing is my favorite part of this game any remember that segment in this game
6:27 There's an Endor world in Kingdom Hearts 4. Anakin will likely be Vader there but felt like it was worth mentioning.
This is the only kingdom hearts game I haven’t plattinumed. Because of the ice cream maestro trophy. Also melody of memories
I made a sequential video of the game, where all of the scenes happen in the correct order. But I never uploaded it for fear of a Disney copyright strike.
Kingdom Hearts feels like one of those 1-2 million word Fanfictions that have exhausted their audience's attention span about 500,000 words ago.
That sand comments even funnier with the whole light and dark thing and Mark Hamill
I'd really love to see you review the classic Star Wars video games as well as the modern ones
On the fifteenth day of Christmas
The critic gave to me
15 Disney-Worlds
Five Rescue Rangers
Two Gods of Thunder
12 predators
11 Space-Rangers
Two superhero-lawyers
A mammoth raised by possums
8 Jedi-Knights
A talking marionette
6 Burger-restaurants
Three Multiverses
A family of red pandas
A girl in a strange frog-world
Three ice age mammals
And a Spiderman in a pear tree
So about the Camera issues, the handheld it was released on, The PlayStation Portable, didn’t have a second analog stick. So if your wondering why the camera is iffy, there you go
On the fifteenth day of Disneycember, my Critic sent to me
(Fifteen Keyblades)
(Fourteen Cartoon Cameos)
(Thriteen Screaming Goats)
(Twelve Predators)
(Eleven robot cats)
(Ten 4th Wall Broken)
(Nine Icebergs)
(Eight Stormtroopers)
(Seven Puppets Abominations)
(Six Hamburgers)
(FIVE BRUCE CAMPBELLS)
(Four Red Pandas)
(Three Friendly Amphibians)
(Two Angry Ancient Rhinos)
And a Friendly Neighborhood Hero
Another way that can help you beat up is having the Mickey mouse ability that double boost your experience and XP Walker by you get experience by walking. problem is only aqua and ventus get the Mickey mouse power. That was the only way I got those two characters up to level 100 but I never got Tera to level 100.
I remember getting a psp just to play this game
Honestly, it's my second favourite game in the series
This is probably my least favorite of the games, but it's still a really good game! Please play DDD! It has so much good development for Riku!
And so much tedious gameplay especially with the stupid as hell drop gauge that double annoying if you drop during boss fights.
Doug:
This counts as Disney Media, right? RIGHT?!?!
😆😆