Honorable Mentions: Kairi Awakens: Aka Sora commits die. Honestly deserves a spot in the top 10, I just didn’t necessarily have a whole lot to say about it. Sora’s most critical character moment. Consider it a locked in #11. Tears: Aka Xion’s death. A gut-wrenchingly emotional scene; I am just, unfortunately, one of those sticklers who gets caught up on the ice cream line. I know that ice cream is like one of the two or three things they both understand about friendship, but...did it have to be the VERY last thing he says to her? The Lost Masters: Aka the KH3 epilogue. Mostly self-fellating because it was a twist I partly felt coming, along with some impeccable voice acting and hype for the next saga. I’m mainly being results-oriented by keeping it off the list, since I’d rather know how exactly this plays out (at least to some extent) before giving it a full-fledged spot on the list.
Oh that Xigbar Twist. I didn't seen that one coming. I was think Xigbar would betray Xehanort in the Final and would cause troubel for Sora and The Gang, but that was great. Also i liked his death scene.
if you're interested in the Union X / Dark Road games I think a cool video idea would be talking about the story coming out of them, since they're getting pretty spicy now
The Lost Masters is definitely my favorite one because I was spoiled that Xigbar survived, but I thought he was the master of masters. I had no idea he was Luxu. So I was spoiled on the twist, but I was still shocked by it when it happened because it wasn't what I thought it was.
Man i hated the english version of Tears... If you are curious the original line was Roxas:"No! Xion! Let's have ice cream again! The 3 of us!" Even though he brings up ice cream here too. its in a different context. he says "the 3 of us"...meaning even though he was upset with axel about him lying to him. he still consider him his friend unlike the english version.
Imagine them making a Lea-based game where he visits the Coco world and learns about remembering people to maintain their "immortality". I would cry yet again.
@@leonmercury3732 I think you're forgetting that one time that xion died and everyone litterally forgot she ever existed Coco is completely on par for Kingdom hearts
@@leonmercury3732 I mean, the final world is full of people who are dead dead, the only issue for age ratings is showing the death on-screen, that shouldn't be an issue with coco
Chain Of Memories is lowkey the darkest game in the series. Besides all the wacky murdering going on, Sora is convinced that someone he doesn't know is the love of his life, and turns into an obsessive jerk that abandons his friends. That game is nuts, and I love it.
@@MegaSpideyman ...Kind of, but in a different way. I think the "dark" part of Riku's half comes from the "panic" moments he has when he's grappling with the darkness, as well as the remorse he feels.
Regular Pat: "And don't even get me started on the steadily growing contingent of people who would voluntarily watch and listen to what this man has to say. They might be the silliest sillies of all." [waves at the screen] Me: [waves back]
16:48 100% agree, i think that the writers of this of this series are never given enough credit for the way they display trauma and PTSD in both Aqua and Riku in a way that’s both more realistic than most media that covers that kind of subject while simultaneously making the metaphor laid out in a way that makes it obvious for the kiddos to understand with no trouble
My personal favorite has to be Axel confronting Xion in 358/2 Days: “ Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!” It shows so much about Axel’s character, about how all he cares about is his friends, but he uses that clinginess to justify the terrible things he does. And while we’re at it, I would include “who will I have ice cream with” in my top 5; not for that line necessarily, but for the part where he says, “I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.” I was definitely choking back tears.
Those are both really good scenes and two of my three favorites in Days, with the third being when Roxas is speaking with Axel before leaving the Organization. That entire scene is emotional and an important moment for Roxas's character growth, but shout-out to the lines "I don't. I can't." and "If I can't get answers here, I'll get them somewhere else." for putting two knives into my heart not even fifteen seconds apart. I do think that “who else will I have ice cream with?” makes more sense (and becomes more emotionally impactful) the more you analyze it. Roxas has existed for less than a year. Emotional maturity takes much longer than that in the best of cases and Roxas is definitely not in a great environment for emotional growth. On top of that, sharing ice cream is a defining moment in every single one of Roxas's friendships up to that point (and probably in most of the memories he cares about). To Roxas, friendship /is/ sitting on a clock tower and sharing ice cream with someone. So when he asks "who else will I have ice cream with?" he might as well be asking "who do I even have left at this point?" and that's heartbreaking. Though “I feel like I’m forgetting something really important" is pretty damn heartbreaking, too.
@@amconners Agreed. For me, “Who will I eat ice cream with” is as heart-wrenching as my child saying “who will read to me while you’re away on your business trip?” It’s not the reading that matters, but the relationship.
I feel like people who hate that Sora disappears at the end of 3 are kinda missing the point. If Sora really had saved everyone and come back safely, there would have been no consequences for him going into the depth of space and time, and that would have really sucked. Like yes, the whole series has a lack of consequence due to deaths being able to be nullified and such, but sometimes you have to bring some consequence to make things right. And Sora disappearing makes the ending better as he's able to do everything he wanted but at a cost. And I see that as a good thing. If 3 was the definitive ending of the franchise, and the last shot was Sora disappearing...I would unironically be fine with that. The hero saved the day and everyone in it, but he couldn't save himself. That has way more meaning and impact over just "the hero saves the day. That's it, game over". I would love to hear your KH3 podcast too. I don't see it on your channel.
Excellent points dude! I've come around on that perspective more and more each time I come back to this scene. As for the podcast, you can find that linked in the description of Part 2 of my KH2 world rankings (the podcast was uploaded to a channel that pre-exists this one)
Also, there's something kind of wonderful about a hero who has his own happy ending in place (KH2), but is so self-sacrificing that he gives it up just to make sure that everyone else is happy.
I think the issue stems from the way the scene was presented, how sora and kairi are next to one another, especially after sharing a paupu there not long ago THEN having him dissapear suddenly. If they'd shown a wide shot of kairi on her own, then cut to the sora+kairi close up, then another wide shot of him dissapearing, i think it would have made more sense.
Terra got to be like four different people, the lucky guy, lmao... damn boy your commentary is hilarious keep up the work I’m entertained also you seem to have fun with it, so it’s a win win situation
The KH series has grown up with us. KH 1 is about making friends, KH 2 is about reconnecting with old friends as well as making new ones ( finding Riku and Kairi)and KH 3 is about growing up and accepting that life is hard.
“One day I will set this right” has slowly but surely crept into my top 3. Just a combination of perfect payoff and an instance where the fans got something right. And the BBS trio is my trio.
Absolutely. A roller coaster of twists, I was especially shocked when Terra spoke through the guardian (the wiki says it’s not technically his heartless, I don’t know how that works) and the emotional payoff at the end is sheer perfection. And lastly, MAJOR props to Jason Dohring for taking the part seriously this time around, because it might have been the greatest performance I've ever seen in this series.
If there's any scene that has ever gotten me in all of KH, it's Sora meeting Xion Sora has always been portrayed as a sweet person, but it's never really shown in cutscenes aside from being a walking smile, but to see him care and reassure someone out of pure care was something else.
I have a HUGE soft spot for the opening cutscene of DDD. It's so pretty and well done and encapsulates everyones journey so far as well as being beautiful. I personally wouldn't count it as a "cutscene" but ya put the KH1 ending (deserved, albeit) in the list so
That Vexen death scene is even more mortifying when you realize that Axel is seemingly taking some sort of sick pleasure from killing one of his coworkers.
@Regular Pat love the vid, just a couple of interesting details: -Xehanort's motivations were very clear from the start, as soon as he meets terra after he failed the mark of mastery exam he says that darkness isn't bad by nature and hints at master eraqus obsesion with the light that blind's him, after he gets "saved" by terra he reinstates how eraqus is blinded by the light and ads how he is a fool (very typical bad line there) for not undertanding the balance between the darkness and the light (crucial to Xehanort's motivation) and in the flashbak he has with eraqus Xehanort's reveals that he want's to cover the world with darkness again so a better world would succed. It was very clear what he wanted and how he would accomplish it. He even says "Out with the old and in with the new" when he is about to "steal" terra's body. -Blank points is a pre rendered cutscene, the cuts to black with text are there for mere style points. It's clear that it's prerendered because characters seem to have very low quality textures compared to the hd remasters, using the prior psp models and textures, and locations from the cutscene aren't present in the game's code.
Thanks for the clarification on the Xehanort of it all, I genuinely couldn't remember when and where he went into detail on stuff. Interesting regarding Blank Points. I should have realized it was pre-rendered considering the environments aren't really present anywhere else except for DI at the end.
This was very very refreshing to see, and you giving all your reasons make this all the more interesting and easy to understand. Also I laughed multiple times in this
i’m so glad you brought attention to the brilliance of the Union X involvement in KH3. that literally gave me goosebumps and had my jaw agape when playing for the first time. such a genius tie in of the mobile properties. that’s one of my favorite scenes in KH3 besides the Anti-Aqua encounter and the end bits. i love all your picks! i can’t choose a top 10 right now exactly but here’s some of my favorites in no particular order. i really wish i knew the exact scene names because these are really long and i’m sorry: 1. Roxas rejoining Sora in KH2 2. Sora’s sacrifice in KH1 3. KH2’s ending 4. Blank Points 5. Union X in KH3 6. all BBS endings 7. Sora leaving Twilight Town in KH2, saying bye to Hayner Pence and Olette 8. the cutscene in Re:CoM where we find out the truth about Repliku and Namine from Larxene before her final fight 9. Repliku’s death in Reverse / Rebirth 10. Anti Aqua fight / saving Aqua in KH3 11. the entire opening for KH1 before Destiny Islands 12. KH1’s ending 13. the scene right before Xion’s boss fight in Days 14. Riku stealing the Keyblade from Sora in Hollow Bastion 15. Riku vs. fake Sora on Destiny Islands then being saved by Kairi from the darkness, right before the Zexion fight in Re:CoM great video as always dude
A good bunch of these were also in contention. Love the Repliku death, and I noted it in the vid with some on-screen text but I do love that little moment with Sora leaving TT in the beginning. Thank you for watching!!
Your explanation for #10 is SO GOOD. it gives me chills. It reminds me of David Jaffe, creator of god of war and twisted metal, saying that video games have the potential as the greatest story telling medium, as your actions can have a direct effect on how the story is told. The mechanic of the name in game contest personifying my friends are my power is so perfect. Thank you for showing me the light of kh3.
YEA, this was a ton of fun to listen to!! There's a little kh series that's been going on recently: Playstacin's "One X[chi] Moment" which has a bunch of youtubers talking about their fav scene in the series and why it means so much to them. I don't know if this was intended to be your entry to that playlist, but this was such a fun breakdown highlighting some moments I'd forgotten about
The end of KH3 got me too man. Worst part is it isn't just Kairi that's gonna be upset, but basically everyone on that beach outside of maybe Terra has some big connection to Sora and are gonna be upset that he's gone. Even Isa, who's relationship with Sora was entirely antagonistic when he was Sai'x, has some reason to want Sora there. Tbh I want and Isa apologizing to Sora for all he did wrong moment and Sora forgiving him, but idk if anyone else wants that.
I finished High School around the time KH3 came out. Kingdom Hearts 1.5, 2.5 and 2.8 accompanied me through that journey. Xehanort saying congratulations, Ansem's final words both felt like the culmination of a journey that reached further than these games and even before Sora's death I was in tears.
Thank you for these videos. I'm a big KH fan....but some of the stuff you say really connects and makes me think about my own life. Thank you these videos.
Great video as always. Kingdom Hearts has so many great cutsence. As my Nr.1 i would say: Blank Points. It was a time where i was a Kingdom Hearts Fan, but not that hardcore like nowadays and my use of internet was like a beginner. But look at the Final Mixes i would love to play, the fan covers of KH3 (sometimes i thought: It must be out) and Kingdom Hearts BBS, i didn't have a psp but watching the scene even without know all the other stuff from BBS was still great and an early memory for deep driving into in internet side of Kingdom Hearts.
Bro you went from about 500 subscribers to nearly 16k in 7 months. Congratulations man. I don't remember when I subscribed, but I'm glad I did! You're great at what you do, may your heart be your guiding key
I think Memorize actually has decent story relevance, at least in BBS alone. The rest of Ven’s story is about him going off to make friends. It may be a bit cheesy, but I think he was inspired by Lea. A guy he’d never met who wanted everyone, even a random stranger he knew nothing about, to remember him. The rest of Ven’s story, at least til he learns about the X-blade, is almost completely set in motion by this one scene and this one character. It was already great, but I think this makes it even better
This makes me consider what my favorite scenes would be. Really almost any time that "Link to All" is playing in the background ends up being a good contender.
Great list and fantastic video Pat! It's clear to see how much work went into it, and the script was very well written. I really enjoyed it, so thanks for putting in the time and effort! You definitely deserve more attention =D
For all my years of playing KH1, when I finally 100% it on ps4 for platinum, the ending scene made me ball... its never made me cry that hard until then. Simple and Clean just hit a nerve.
Fantastic video man! This video needs way more views. Very entertaining and really thoughtful commentary. Well said on everything. You had some really good picks in here. I liked how you went with a lesser known and subtle scene for the number 1 spot. I’m inspired to make my own video like this, it’s now on my list of videos I want to make. If and when I make it I’ll be sure to give you a shoutout! Keep it up man great stuff.
My favorite scene will always be the entire Roxas sequence in The World That Never Was during KH2FM. The fight and the scene that follows along with Roxas and Axel saying goodbye just hits home.
"What... a journey you and I have had..." Ansem's saying that to Riku, not Sora. Also, Nomura has just said Xehanort will no longer be an ANTAGONIST. But what if a version of him was a PROTAGONIST? I hold out hope for an Ansem SoD reception arc.
@@MrAuthor3DS nooooo, that's Young Xehanort's story, before he grew up and possessed Terra and got amnesia and killed himself and became a Heartless and Nobody and tried to start the Keyblade War. Also I mean after MoM.
I don't really think he'll bring back Xehanort.. KH3's ending was a happy ever after for Xehanort and Eraqus to be happy in the afterlife, best friends after all. Really heartwarming, he did bring back Xion tho, even tho her death was one of then saddest in the franchise.. That's the shit i hate about KH, he can bring back any characters back at any time without any explanation or sacrifice because of time bullshit, still my favourite franchise.
A Top 10? ✨ Brilliant! Was wondering when you'd be uploading again! I hope there'll be some more great content coming our way with Melodies of Memories releasing in Nov. 👌🏻
It's pretty sad if you read Axel's inner thoughts in the character files and learn that amidst everything that happened, he never forgot about Ventus, and always hoped he'd meet him again. But he was afraid to mention Ventus to anyone as if somehow talking about him would jinx his chances of seeing him again someday.
I’m so glad you included #10, it literally made me scream when I realized what was happening, and again when I saw my name! Never before have I been glad I included my real name in my user name in a game like that. It was so good! I expected them to put us in the credits, and I would have been fine with that, but they went above and beyond with that!
Nah when I was a young boy I cried myself to sleep at the end of KH1. That was a whole journey, I just went back to watch it and as soon as Kairi says "I know you will!" And the music hits, my heart skipped a beat
My favorite KH scene is definitely Axel recapturing Xion in Days. Not gonna write a Ted Talk about it, but "Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!" is one of my favorite lines in this series.
I think my #1 favorite scene would have to be the entire fight between Roxas and Xion, as well as Xion’s death scene at the end. Every line said is needed and perfect, every shot is visually stunning, the song that plays through the fight “Vector to the Heavens” is absolutely gorgeous, and it would without a doubt have the top spot for Kingdom Hearts moments that moved me to tears.
Awesome scenes, really gives me a better appreciation of the gravitas of these scenes without the adrenaline of the gameplay. Personally, though, my favorite scene is the Zettaflare scene. Very little context and emotional stakes but; Donald Duck single-handedly one shotting one of the most powerful enemies in the series? Heroic sacrifice? 9001/10
I think the Ansem scene is also Riku getting over his own flaws too, since he and Ansem were a lot alike when Riku sought to see new worlds at ANY cost. Ansem tells Riku that that part of him that enjoys seeking more isn't wrong, but Riku has learned to value his friends more.
You should do that. And this video made me realize I never seen the bbs secret endings before. Kh3 plot points would of made alot more sense to me if I would of seen it lol
14:35, "Can't he do one more murder for old times sake?" But didn't he do self murder in KH2 ? Does that count? Apex of the murder character development of our boy Axel.
Hey, Pat. I know this video is 3 years old and others have probably already pointed it out to you, but at 28:07 you insinuate that Namine was the star in The Final World. That person is an unnamed protagonist in the same game as Yozora. I was compelled to comment because I thought the faceless person was Namine as well. I always love your videos! I watch them front to back!
in the fight in KH3 against Young Xehanort, Xemnas, and Ansem SOD, I firmly stand by the most acceptable one to kill last is Ansem, just because of that send off in his defeat cutscene, it just hits hard, especially when the last obstacle before the final boss, is the final boss from the start of your journey, much like what Darkside was back in KH1 when you fought Ansem
Whatever the “Everybody thinks they’re right.” Scene is definitely my favorite, the voice acting from Axel sells it, and I can feel the desperation and Emotion
Nah, but Xehanort receiving such a peaceful end and exit was absolutely cheap. The fact that he was the root source and cause of many peoples suffering and had no immense karmic backlash. Foul asf if you ask me
@Hooty HOOT HOOT I admit, it is pretty hard to forgive someone who killed your best friends and boyfriend, not to mention yourself. But I do believe that Eraqus genuinely forgives Xehanort.
I'm honestly shocked to see my own favorite scene as number 1 on this list. Admittedly, I'm major fans of all 3 characters shown in the scene, but I also love how we get the philosophy at the center of Lea's character shown during this scene. It actually became a major inside joke in my friend group, to the point I think everyone just thought we were really big fans of alliteration using the letter 'L'.
Unless you have already, would love if you did a video on the music of Kingdom Hearts. Not just the Utada Hikaru songs, but a lot of the other instrumental tracks as well. Like Roxas' theme, or Xion's, Axel's, or world themes, or different recurring music. Something like that.
Outside of ranking the intros I haven't done anything that really focuses on KH music, mostly because I lack the vocabulary and musical knowledge to make something that I think would be worthwhile, but two friends of mine have music-centric KH channels that might scratch that itch; Green Requiem on YT is doing a series retrospective on every game's music and Kinode has videos that deep dive on character themes, in addition to his 2nd channel Sound Ideas which is a podcast for KH music discussion.
Here I am, three years after this video was posted, and just now realizing something because of it. The reason why Axel/Lea was so willing to backstab and do what he does to the Organization as a whole but especially the first 6 members and especially especially the ones who were researchers (Vexen, Zexion) is because if what they were doing to Subject X.
for your number 1 scene, I'd also add that for me when I was first playing that game, right off the heels of KH2, we didn't know Axel would be back. Hearing Lea talking about 'as long as people remember me I'll live forever' was like a sucker punch to the gut to teenage me who thought he was gone forever
I'm sure someone already said this, but I will as well, but no, Blank Points is not using those black screens to hiding the game loading the files. Unlike the majority of the cutscenes in BBS, which take place within the game engine (thus why it has to load the cutscenes), the ending and Blank Points are pre-rendered cutscenes. They aren't FMVs like the opening films, because they still adhere to the physics of the graphics engine, but they are pre-rendered and the environments and character models aren't loaded into the game simultaneously while running a script for what the models are intended to do in this scene that can be glitched out for hilarious effect, such as the infamous 2 Kairi's glitch from the English and Final Mix versions of original PSP release. Basically, its prerendered because if it wasn't, scenes these long could probably overload the UMD if they were done in real, since they take a lot of data. While prerendered scenes do take up a lot of data, they are much easier to have them play over doing it in real time on a portable game system. Hope that helps.
@@RegularPat I did, but I'm not the one with the videos currently! And some people don't like being rambled at sometimes. Always best in my experience to own up to doing it in case one is unintentionally annoying someone else. But that's just how I view it.
Ironically despite KH1 being my favourite game in the series, pretty much every hype moment I can think of across the series come almost exclusively from KH3. You've got the return of Roxas, Terra breaking free, Zettaflare, Sora rescuing Riku and Mickey. For all the shit a lot of people give the third game, it has some objectively BANGER moments
my favourite scene is absolutely the end of kh2 where sora and riku have a heart to heart. maybe a generic choice but it just works so well on so many different levels and makes me feel so, so soft. should probably give an honourable mention to the kh3 sea salt trio reunion seems as it makes me cry without fail seeing them all hug and sob
31:30 Vehemently disagree. The "All the pieces lie where they fell. Where they wait for him" is unbelievably integral to the cutscene, and honestly, it's the part that hits hardest. It's an incredibly succinct way of describing the end of Birth By Sleep. Everything horrible that transpired is stuck that way, unless Sora comes along and fixes it. All of the series tragedy is just sat there waiting to be fixed. Hoping it all gets wrapped up properly.
Hi! Thanks for your KH videos! It's always great to see someone passionate about the series talking about it so in depht. If you don't mind me making a suggestion: how about top 10 (or 13 if we're being meta) Kingdom Hearts Plot Twists, this series is filled with them and I haven't really found someone talking about it.
The manga did my favorite version of this fight because by god the still of vexen with a blade through his nonexistence is amazing and I re-read that particular volume repeatedly
I really did like how Riku's character ark was treated, his PTSD was well addressed. Particularly in CoM and KH3d. In KH2 and KH3 we get to see Riku synthesize the changes he struggled through in CoM and 3d, but without the side games it wouldn't have hit anywhere near as hard
Honestly it sometimes feels like Ansem (SoD) is kinda like Riku's dad. Obviously it's not one-to-one, but throughout the series, Ansem often feels like he's not only trying to achieve his own goals, but bring Riku along in the process. Yes, Riku was the easiest available vessel in KHI, but Ansem didn't actually eject his heart until Riku became too feisty to be practical. And Ansem's death only cements that. He's impressed by Riku. It almost feels like he's sad that it had to come to this. And Riku echoes the sentiment; he says that he's going to miss Ansem. It's a very interesting relationship that I wish could have been explored more.
isnt axels change in tone justified? he gains a heart in being recompleted allowing him to feel, this is the only reason marluxia was so manipulative and did not care whatsoever for anyone or anything in or around his way. You can also see Axel turn into his old self for a few moments in KH 358/2 days when Xion gets caught in the castle, and when he has to bring xion back in that scene where roxas tells her to stop and her without a thought in mind took her out and without a word to roxas runs away in a corridor of darkness. His nicer tone is really him while the facade of murder is just a getup
All worthy choices, among my favorite 'good, high-quality, objectively stellar scenes' would be Sora's Sacrifice in KH (just the sheer shock factor of it as you sorta touch on), the way he just smiles before committing suicide. It's an event that at first seems resolved in 10 minutes but then as the series progresses you see the wider implication, Xion's death (the music, the angles, just seeing these two complete innocents suffer feelings they can't and shouldn't be able to comprehend) for just how gutwrenching it is, the Union X reaction commands from KH3 for all the reasons you mentioned, and Ansem SOD's final defeat, also that you sum up perfectly. At that point we're kinda used to 'now that you've killed me I love you I'm not evil anymore' but here it feels most natural and sincere. But there's another type of scene that I think is my favorite, from KH3 - I call it the 'should be silly (and is) but also just so damn cathartic and cheer-worthy. I think there's something to be said for just how much I adore some of the scenes that just fully represent KH - so cheesy and silly but also so cathartic and just makes you want to cheer. A lot of the moments people like from KH3 or laugh at but wouldn't consider objectively great I adore. I unironically adore seeing Sulley just grab super-edgy evil badguy and just making him his bitch, and the Zettaflare scene will forever have a place in my heart. I still remember having to pick my jaw up off the floor and then just laughing. In that respect though, my favorite scene (not just KH3, I think maybe the whole series) is seeing Woody just verbally slaughter Xehanort. It's cheesy, it's silly, it's emotional, it's dramatic, the way his boot with 'Andy' written on it instigates it, it just works so perfectly for me.
My favorite scene has to be the ending of Kingdom Hearts 2. We finally get the reunion on the beach with Sora, Riku, and Kairi: the true resolution to the ending of Kingdom Hearts 1. Add to that how Roxas and Namime appear, smiling at each other, with a sort of bittersweet feeling because they're whole now. Even though they don'tget to be their own person, they can still be together. And then Sora says, "We’re back!" and Sanctuary starts playing--it's just perfection.
In regards to number 10, it’s kind of a blatant rip off of both Nier games so it’s not really unique to KH, Nomura probably hit up Yoko Taro being like “yo, can I steal your idea”, still a good scene that made me tear up tbh
I think with the ending of kh3 it also calls back to what Xigbar said at the very beginning of Olympus, He doesn't respect mindless heroism of one person if it means someone else has to dive in to save them, which is exactly what happened to sora, so I'm very curious to see how Xigbar's going to respond to him about this in the future.
The ending to KH1 DID get me and that's because I didn't play it until it was nearly 9 years old. I was in the early years of a long road through college and this conclusion just hit me and hit me hard. Glad I waited because it would not have had the same impact on me as a 10 year old
I'm sad at the exclusion of one of my favorite scenes in any video game from this list. In my opinion, one of the greatest moments in KH3 and one I'll remember for the rest of my life: Woody DESTROYING Young Xehanort Also Sully yeeting Vanitas is up there too
Here are some of my favorite scenes: Summer's end from KH2 KH3's end My friends are my power from KH1 Roxas and Namine reunite at TWTNW Roxas's Return in KH3
Honorable Mentions:
Kairi Awakens: Aka Sora commits die. Honestly deserves a spot in the top 10, I just didn’t necessarily have a whole lot to say about it. Sora’s most critical character moment. Consider it a locked in #11.
Tears: Aka Xion’s death. A gut-wrenchingly emotional scene; I am just, unfortunately, one of those sticklers who gets caught up on the ice cream line. I know that ice cream is like one of the two or three things they both understand about friendship, but...did it have to be the VERY last thing he says to her?
The Lost Masters: Aka the KH3 epilogue. Mostly self-fellating because it was a twist I partly felt coming, along with some impeccable voice acting and hype for the next saga. I’m mainly being results-oriented by keeping it off the list, since I’d rather know how exactly this plays out (at least to some extent) before giving it a full-fledged spot on the list.
Oh that Xigbar Twist. I didn't seen that one coming. I was think Xigbar would betray Xehanort in the Final and would cause troubel for Sora and The Gang, but that was great. Also i liked his death scene.
if you're interested in the Union X / Dark Road games I think a cool video idea would be talking about the story coming out of them, since they're getting pretty spicy now
@@TheFreshMakerHD I really need to get myself caught up on the mobile game stuff, I feel like I'm always lagging behind on it lol
The Lost Masters is definitely my favorite one because I was spoiled that Xigbar survived, but I thought he was the master of masters. I had no idea he was Luxu. So I was spoiled on the twist, but I was still shocked by it when it happened because it wasn't what I thought it was.
Man i hated the english version of Tears...
If you are curious the original line was
Roxas:"No! Xion! Let's have ice cream again! The 3 of us!"
Even though he brings up ice cream here too. its in a different context.
he says "the 3 of us"...meaning even though he was upset with axel about him lying to him. he still consider him his friend unlike the english version.
Imagine them making a Lea-based game where he visits the Coco world and learns about remembering people to maintain their "immortality". I would cry yet again.
A little morbid for kingdom hearts, but I'd love that.
@@leonmercury3732 I think you're forgetting that one time that xion died and everyone litterally forgot she ever existed
Coco is completely on par for Kingdom hearts
@@struanpeat5116 she kids show died, though. She didn't die die.
@@leonmercury3732 I mean, the final world is full of people who are dead dead, the only issue for age ratings is showing the death on-screen, that shouldn't be an issue with coco
@@struanpeat5116 I guess the concepts are different in my head, but you're right
Chain Of Memories is lowkey the darkest game in the series. Besides all the wacky murdering going on, Sora is convinced that someone he doesn't know is the love of his life, and turns into an obsessive jerk that abandons his friends. That game is nuts, and I love it.
Do you think Riku's half maintains that?
Have you seen Pat’s video on CoM?
"Me, Riku... And Namine."
With a happy smile on his face as he forgets the love of his life. That moment always sticks with me.
@@MegaSpideyman ...Kind of, but in a different way.
I think the "dark" part of Riku's half comes from the "panic" moments he has when he's grappling with the darkness, as well as the remorse he feels.
@@fruitlion8 Why do you think that is?
Regular Pat: "And don't even get me started on the steadily growing contingent of people who would voluntarily watch and listen to what this man has to say. They might be the silliest sillies of all."
[waves at the screen]
Me: [waves back]
16:48 100% agree, i think that the writers of this of this series are never given enough credit for the way they display trauma and PTSD in both Aqua and Riku in a way that’s both more realistic than most media that covers that kind of subject while simultaneously making the metaphor laid out in a way that makes it obvious for the kiddos to understand with no trouble
Ah shit... That "look it's the 7 wonders of twilight town" hit me way harder than i was ready for and actually teared up watching this
This entire series takes "The True Xs (Sometimes pronounced Kyes) and the friends we made along the way" to its natural conclusion.
My personal favorite has to be Axel confronting Xion in 358/2 Days: “ Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!”
It shows so much about Axel’s character, about how all he cares about is his friends, but he uses that clinginess to justify the terrible things he does.
And while we’re at it, I would include “who will I have ice cream with” in my top 5; not for that line necessarily, but for the part where he says, “I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.” I was definitely choking back tears.
Those are both really good scenes and two of my three favorites in Days, with the third being when Roxas is speaking with Axel before leaving the Organization. That entire scene is emotional and an important moment for Roxas's character growth, but shout-out to the lines "I don't. I can't." and "If I can't get answers here, I'll get them somewhere else." for putting two knives into my heart not even fifteen seconds apart.
I do think that “who else will I have ice cream with?” makes more sense (and becomes more emotionally impactful) the more you analyze it. Roxas has existed for less than a year. Emotional maturity takes much longer than that in the best of cases and Roxas is definitely not in a great environment for emotional growth. On top of that, sharing ice cream is a defining moment in every single one of Roxas's friendships up to that point (and probably in most of the memories he cares about). To Roxas, friendship /is/ sitting on a clock tower and sharing ice cream with someone. So when he asks "who else will I have ice cream with?" he might as well be asking "who do I even have left at this point?" and that's heartbreaking.
Though “I feel like I’m forgetting something really important" is pretty damn heartbreaking, too.
@@amconners Agreed. For me, “Who will I eat ice cream with” is as heart-wrenching as my child saying “who will read to me while you’re away on your business trip?” It’s not the reading that matters, but the relationship.
I feel like people who hate that Sora disappears at the end of 3 are kinda missing the point. If Sora really had saved everyone and come back safely, there would have been no consequences for him going into the depth of space and time, and that would have really sucked. Like yes, the whole series has a lack of consequence due to deaths being able to be nullified and such, but sometimes you have to bring some consequence to make things right. And Sora disappearing makes the ending better as he's able to do everything he wanted but at a cost. And I see that as a good thing. If 3 was the definitive ending of the franchise, and the last shot was Sora disappearing...I would unironically be fine with that. The hero saved the day and everyone in it, but he couldn't save himself. That has way more meaning and impact over just "the hero saves the day. That's it, game over".
I would love to hear your KH3 podcast too. I don't see it on your channel.
Excellent points dude! I've come around on that perspective more and more each time I come back to this scene. As for the podcast, you can find that linked in the description of Part 2 of my KH2 world rankings (the podcast was uploaded to a channel that pre-exists this one)
I think it's more the fact that it's shakily explained and such a sudden moment that bothered people. Still one of the most impactful moments in III.
So basically, he understood the destiny he'd be going down, and accepted it.
Also, there's something kind of wonderful about a hero who has his own happy ending in place (KH2), but is so self-sacrificing that he gives it up just to make sure that everyone else is happy.
I think the issue stems from the way the scene was presented, how sora and kairi are next to one another, especially after sharing a paupu there not long ago THEN having him dissapear suddenly.
If they'd shown a wide shot of kairi on her own, then cut to the sora+kairi close up, then another wide shot of him dissapearing, i think it would have made more sense.
Always refreshing to see genuine passion for such an iconic series. REPRESENT!!!!
Terra got to be like four different people, the lucky guy, lmao... damn boy your commentary is hilarious keep up the work I’m entertained also you seem to have fun with it, so it’s a win win situation
The KH series has grown up with us. KH 1 is about making friends, KH 2 is about reconnecting with old friends as well as making new ones ( finding Riku and Kairi)and KH 3 is about growing up and accepting that life is hard.
“One day I will set this right” has slowly but surely crept into my top 3. Just a combination of perfect payoff and an instance where the fans got something right. And the BBS trio is my trio.
Same
Absolutely. A roller coaster of twists, I was especially shocked when Terra spoke through the guardian (the wiki says it’s not technically his heartless, I don’t know how that works) and the emotional payoff at the end is sheer perfection. And lastly, MAJOR props to Jason Dohring for taking the part seriously this time around, because it might have been the greatest performance I've ever seen in this series.
Best trio change my mind
“We know Kairi is gonna play a more active role in the process if Melody of Memory is anything to go by.”
*HA!*
whomp whomp whaaaaa~
If there's any scene that has ever gotten me in all of KH, it's Sora meeting Xion
Sora has always been portrayed as a sweet person, but it's never really shown in cutscenes aside from being a walking smile, but to see him care and reassure someone out of pure care was something else.
I have a HUGE soft spot for the opening cutscene of DDD. It's so pretty and well done and encapsulates everyones journey so far as well as being beautiful. I personally wouldn't count it as a "cutscene" but ya put the KH1 ending (deserved, albeit) in the list so
That Vexen death scene is even more mortifying when you realize that Axel is seemingly taking some sort of sick pleasure from killing one of his coworkers.
There's a reason he leads the Assassin Nobodies.
to be fair vexen is a dick.
To be real, I also took a bit of sick pleasure from it. Vexen gave me genuine creeps, and watching him die kinda relieved me.
@@khaspertastic9902 especially after that battle amirite
#10 gave me goosbumps. I like where this list is going.
your channel is criminally underrated, I love your content!
@Regular Pat
love the vid, just a couple of interesting details:
-Xehanort's motivations were very clear from the start, as soon as he meets terra after he failed the mark of mastery exam he says that darkness isn't bad by nature and hints at master eraqus obsesion with the light that blind's him, after he gets "saved" by terra he reinstates how eraqus is blinded by the light and ads how he is a fool (very typical bad line there) for not undertanding the balance between the darkness and the light (crucial to Xehanort's motivation) and in the flashbak he has with eraqus Xehanort's reveals that he want's to cover the world with darkness again so a better world would succed. It was very clear what he wanted and how he would accomplish it. He even says "Out with the old and in with the new" when he is about to "steal" terra's body.
-Blank points is a pre rendered cutscene, the cuts to black with text are there for mere style points. It's clear that it's prerendered because characters seem to have very low quality textures compared to the hd remasters, using the prior psp models and textures, and locations from the cutscene aren't present in the game's code.
Thanks for the clarification on the Xehanort of it all, I genuinely couldn't remember when and where he went into detail on stuff. Interesting regarding Blank Points. I should have realized it was pre-rendered considering the environments aren't really present anywhere else except for DI at the end.
This was very very refreshing to see, and you giving all your reasons make this all the more interesting and easy to understand.
Also I laughed multiple times in this
i’m so glad you brought attention to the brilliance of the Union X involvement in KH3. that literally gave me goosebumps and had my jaw agape when playing for the first time. such a genius tie in of the mobile properties. that’s one of my favorite scenes in KH3 besides the Anti-Aqua encounter and the end bits.
i love all your picks! i can’t choose a top 10 right now exactly but here’s some of my favorites in no particular order. i really wish i knew the exact scene names because these are really long and i’m sorry:
1. Roxas rejoining Sora in KH2
2. Sora’s sacrifice in KH1
3. KH2’s ending
4. Blank Points
5. Union X in KH3
6. all BBS endings
7. Sora leaving Twilight Town in KH2, saying bye to Hayner Pence and Olette
8. the cutscene in Re:CoM where we find out the truth about Repliku and Namine from Larxene before her final fight
9. Repliku’s death in Reverse / Rebirth
10. Anti Aqua fight / saving Aqua in KH3
11. the entire opening for KH1 before Destiny Islands
12. KH1’s ending
13. the scene right before Xion’s boss fight in Days
14. Riku stealing the Keyblade from Sora in Hollow Bastion
15. Riku vs. fake Sora on Destiny Islands then being saved by Kairi from the darkness, right before the Zexion fight in Re:CoM
great video as always dude
A good bunch of these were also in contention. Love the Repliku death, and I noted it in the vid with some on-screen text but I do love that little moment with Sora leaving TT in the beginning. Thank you for watching!!
I was one of the lucky people who got my name in KH3, so that scene always makes me smile trying to spot my name whilst button mashing
Your explanation for #10 is SO GOOD. it gives me chills. It reminds me of David Jaffe, creator of god of war and twisted metal, saying that video games have the potential as the greatest story telling medium, as your actions can have a direct effect on how the story is told. The mechanic of the name in game contest personifying my friends are my power is so perfect.
Thank you for showing me the light of kh3.
loved this video, the scenes and your meaning behind them were so heartfelt it brought a tear to my eye a couple times lol
YEA, this was a ton of fun to listen to!! There's a little kh series that's been going on recently: Playstacin's "One X[chi] Moment" which has a bunch of youtubers talking about their fav scene in the series and why it means so much to them. I don't know if this was intended to be your entry to that playlist, but this was such a fun breakdown highlighting some moments I'd forgotten about
Oh wow I had no idea! That's neat tho, I'll have to check it out
The end of KH3 got me too man. Worst part is it isn't just Kairi that's gonna be upset, but basically everyone on that beach outside of maybe Terra has some big connection to Sora and are gonna be upset that he's gone. Even Isa, who's relationship with Sora was entirely antagonistic when he was Sai'x, has some reason to want Sora there. Tbh I want and Isa apologizing to Sora for all he did wrong moment and Sora forgiving him, but idk if anyone else wants that.
I finished High School around the time KH3 came out. Kingdom Hearts 1.5, 2.5 and 2.8 accompanied me through that journey. Xehanort saying congratulations, Ansem's final words both felt like the culmination of a journey that reached further than these games and even before Sora's death I was in tears.
My favorite scene was in KH3 when you realize that Ansem SoD's shadow thing was revealed to be Terra.
Thank you for these videos. I'm a big KH fan....but some of the stuff you say really connects and makes me think about my own life. Thank you these videos.
That's awesome to hear, glad you enjoyed!
Number one for me is easily the reunion between the Days Trio. That scene is just pure perfection
Great video as always. Kingdom Hearts has so many great cutsence. As my Nr.1 i would say: Blank Points. It was a time where i was a Kingdom Hearts Fan, but not that hardcore like nowadays and my use of internet was like a beginner. But look at the Final Mixes i would love to play, the fan covers of KH3 (sometimes i thought: It must be out) and Kingdom Hearts BBS, i didn't have a psp but watching the scene even without know all the other stuff from BBS was still great and an early memory for deep driving into in internet side of Kingdom Hearts.
Blank Points is so heavy and well done, it's an excellent pick for a #1 scene for sure!
Bro you went from about 500 subscribers to nearly 16k in 7 months. Congratulations man. I don't remember when I subscribed, but I'm glad I did! You're great at what you do, may your heart be your guiding key
I think Memorize actually has decent story relevance, at least in BBS alone. The rest of Ven’s story is about him going off to make friends. It may be a bit cheesy, but I think he was inspired by Lea. A guy he’d never met who wanted everyone, even a random stranger he knew nothing about, to remember him. The rest of Ven’s story, at least til he learns about the X-blade, is almost completely set in motion by this one scene and this one character. It was already great, but I think this makes it even better
This makes me consider what my favorite scenes would be.
Really almost any time that "Link to All" is playing in the background ends up being a good contender.
Great list and fantastic video Pat! It's clear to see how much work went into it, and the script was very well written. I really enjoyed it, so thanks for putting in the time and effort! You definitely deserve more attention =D
Thanks so much!!
@@RegularPat My pleasure Pat! =D
For all my years of playing KH1, when I finally 100% it on ps4 for platinum, the ending scene made me ball... its never made me cry that hard until then. Simple and Clean just hit a nerve.
Fantastic video man! This video needs way more views. Very entertaining and really thoughtful commentary. Well said on everything. You had some really good picks in here. I liked how you went with a lesser known and subtle scene for the number 1 spot. I’m inspired to make my own video like this, it’s now on my list of videos I want to make. If and when I make it I’ll be sure to give you a shoutout! Keep it up man great stuff.
Sorry I missed this! Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it!!
My favorite scene will always be the entire Roxas sequence in The World That Never Was during KH2FM. The fight and the scene that follows along with Roxas and Axel saying goodbye just hits home.
"What... a journey you and I have had..."
Ansem's saying that to Riku, not Sora. Also, Nomura has just said Xehanort will no longer be an ANTAGONIST. But what if a version of him was a PROTAGONIST? I hold out hope for an Ansem SoD reception arc.
Isn't that Dark Road?
@@MrAuthor3DS nooooo, that's Young Xehanort's story, before he grew up and possessed Terra and got amnesia and killed himself and became a Heartless and Nobody and tried to start the Keyblade War. Also I mean after MoM.
I don't really think he'll bring back Xehanort.. KH3's ending was a happy ever after for Xehanort and Eraqus to be happy in the afterlife, best friends after all. Really heartwarming, he did bring back Xion tho, even tho her death was one of then saddest in the franchise.. That's the shit i hate about KH, he can bring back any characters back at any time without any explanation or sacrifice because of time bullshit, still my favourite franchise.
A Top 10? ✨ Brilliant! Was wondering when you'd be uploading again! I hope there'll be some more great content coming our way with Melodies of Memories releasing in Nov. 👌🏻
Definitely want to do some sort of review after Melmem comes out!!
It's pretty sad if you read Axel's inner thoughts in the character files and learn that amidst everything that happened, he never forgot about Ventus, and always hoped he'd meet him again. But he was afraid to mention Ventus to anyone as if somehow talking about him would jinx his chances of seeing him again someday.
I’m so glad you included #10, it literally made me scream when I realized what was happening, and again when I saw my name! Never before have I been glad I included my real name in my user name in a game like that. It was so good! I expected them to put us in the credits, and I would have been fine with that, but they went above and beyond with that!
Nah when I was a young boy I cried myself to sleep at the end of KH1. That was a whole journey, I just went back to watch it and as soon as Kairi says "I know you will!" And the music hits, my heart skipped a beat
That's the best singular 10 seconds of the entire series, god damnit
What a great video. I agree with much of your list. Goosebumps. Thank you
Thank you for including that Ansem SoD moment. That part hit me really hard!
My favorite KH scene is definitely Axel recapturing Xion in Days. Not gonna write a Ted Talk about it, but "Go on, you just keep running. But I'll always be there to bring you back!" is one of my favorite lines in this series.
Not to mention in a dream sequence in DDD, Roxas holds that statement against him as a promise. It's a less notable scene, but it stuck out to me.
I think my #1 favorite scene would have to be the entire fight between Roxas and Xion, as well as Xion’s death scene at the end. Every line said is needed and perfect, every shot is visually stunning, the song that plays through the fight “Vector to the Heavens” is absolutely gorgeous, and it would without a doubt have the top spot for Kingdom Hearts moments that moved me to tears.
Awesome scenes, really gives me a better appreciation of the gravitas of these scenes without the adrenaline of the gameplay.
Personally, though, my favorite scene is the Zettaflare scene. Very little context and emotional stakes but; Donald Duck single-handedly one shotting one of the most powerful enemies in the series? Heroic sacrifice? 9001/10
I think the Ansem scene is also Riku getting over his own flaws too, since he and Ansem were a lot alike when Riku sought to see new worlds at ANY cost. Ansem tells Riku that that part of him that enjoys seeking more isn't wrong, but Riku has learned to value his friends more.
Really like your videos man you should have more subs
Y'know what, I agree. I am going to talk to management about this
You should do that. And this video made me realize I never seen the bbs secret endings before. Kh3 plot points would of made alot more sense to me if I would of seen it lol
love this vid brotha so good
I cried so hard at the end of KH1 as a kid and it still makes me cry as an adult.
14:35, "Can't he do one more murder for old times sake?" But didn't he do self murder in KH2 ? Does that count? Apex of the murder character development of our boy Axel.
Hey, Pat. I know this video is 3 years old and others have probably already pointed it out to you, but at 28:07 you insinuate that Namine was the star in The Final World. That person is an unnamed protagonist in the same game as Yozora. I was compelled to comment because I thought the faceless person was Namine as well. I always love your videos! I watch them front to back!
Cut to now and he’s at 8k subs. Pats growing real fast.
in the fight in KH3 against Young Xehanort, Xemnas, and Ansem SOD, I firmly stand by the most acceptable one to kill last is Ansem, just because of that send off in his defeat cutscene, it just hits hard, especially when the last obstacle before the final boss, is the final boss from the start of your journey, much like what Darkside was back in KH1 when you fought Ansem
I was fucking SCREAMING and JUMPING when the gamer tag reaction command came up. First play through of KH3 restored the child in me.
well done video, I really enjoyed it
Whatever the “Everybody thinks they’re right.” Scene is definitely my favorite, the voice acting from Axel sells it, and I can feel the desperation and Emotion
Nah, but Xehanort receiving such a peaceful end and exit was absolutely cheap. The fact that he was the root source and cause of many peoples suffering and had no immense karmic backlash. Foul asf if you ask me
A breakdown of Union X would be cool, it’s the only KH game I haven’t fully completed.
I'm definitely considering this...with a twist :0
I love your vids! What a great series
Awesome you killed this vid🔥🔥🔥
On the Checkmate cutscene, you say no one forgives him.
Eraqus: Do I exist?
@Hooty HOOT HOOT I admit, it is pretty hard to forgive someone who killed your best friends and boyfriend, not to mention yourself. But I do believe that Eraqus genuinely forgives Xehanort.
@Hooty HOOT HOOT oh ok
Love the content! Keep it up!
I'm honestly shocked to see my own favorite scene as number 1 on this list. Admittedly, I'm major fans of all 3 characters shown in the scene, but I also love how we get the philosophy at the center of Lea's character shown during this scene. It actually became a major inside joke in my friend group, to the point I think everyone just thought we were really big fans of alliteration using the letter 'L'.
Unless you have already, would love if you did a video on the music of Kingdom Hearts.
Not just the Utada Hikaru songs, but a lot of the other instrumental tracks as well.
Like Roxas' theme, or Xion's, Axel's, or world themes, or different recurring music.
Something like that.
Outside of ranking the intros I haven't done anything that really focuses on KH music, mostly because I lack the vocabulary and musical knowledge to make something that I think would be worthwhile, but two friends of mine have music-centric KH channels that might scratch that itch; Green Requiem on YT is doing a series retrospective on every game's music and Kinode has videos that deep dive on character themes, in addition to his 2nd channel Sound Ideas which is a podcast for KH music discussion.
@@RegularPat Ah, ok.
Thank you.
@@RegularPat It wouldn't just be about the music itself, but how it sounds and fits the scene, world, or scenes.
Holy shit the way I've just binge watched your top 10 videos
Here I am, three years after this video was posted, and just now realizing something because of it.
The reason why Axel/Lea was so willing to backstab and do what he does to the Organization as a whole but especially the first 6 members and especially especially the ones who were researchers (Vexen, Zexion) is because if what they were doing to Subject X.
8:45 I mean, if you think of it, your Luke Skywalker analogy is apt because this is pretty much exactly what happened with Vader.
that donald heal clip was insane
for your number 1 scene, I'd also add that for me when I was first playing that game, right off the heels of KH2, we didn't know Axel would be back. Hearing Lea talking about 'as long as people remember me I'll live forever' was like a sucker punch to the gut to teenage me who thought he was gone forever
I'm sure someone already said this, but I will as well, but no, Blank Points is not using those black screens to hiding the game loading the files. Unlike the majority of the cutscenes in BBS, which take place within the game engine (thus why it has to load the cutscenes), the ending and Blank Points are pre-rendered cutscenes. They aren't FMVs like the opening films, because they still adhere to the physics of the graphics engine, but they are pre-rendered and the environments and character models aren't loaded into the game simultaneously while running a script for what the models are intended to do in this scene that can be glitched out for hilarious effect, such as the infamous 2 Kairi's glitch from the English and Final Mix versions of original PSP release.
Basically, its prerendered because if it wasn't, scenes these long could probably overload the UMD if they were done in real, since they take a lot of data. While prerendered scenes do take up a lot of data, they are much easier to have them play over doing it in real time on a portable game system. Hope that helps.
Yeah I did get that cleared up for me, honestly did not spend enough time thinking about it lol. Thank you for clarifying further!!
@@RegularPat No problem. Though I am sorry for the long ramble on it.
@@NemesisSP If you hadn't noticed, I'm in the business of long rambles myself
@@RegularPat I did, but I'm not the one with the videos currently! And some people don't like being rambled at sometimes. Always best in my experience to own up to doing it in case one is unintentionally annoying someone else.
But that's just how I view it.
God each of these scenes gives me goosebumps
Ironically despite KH1 being my favourite game in the series, pretty much every hype moment I can think of across the series come almost exclusively from KH3. You've got the return of Roxas, Terra breaking free, Zettaflare, Sora rescuing Riku and Mickey. For all the shit a lot of people give the third game, it has some objectively BANGER moments
20:35, damn you got me D:
my favourite scene is absolutely the end of kh2 where sora and riku have a heart to heart. maybe a generic choice but it just works so well on so many different levels and makes me feel so, so soft. should probably give an honourable mention to the kh3 sea salt trio reunion seems as it makes me cry without fail seeing them all hug and sob
Yeah, Xehanort and Thanos both had like the "greater good through the end justifying the means" kind of theory.
31:30 Vehemently disagree. The "All the pieces lie where they fell. Where they wait for him" is unbelievably integral to the cutscene, and honestly, it's the part that hits hardest. It's an incredibly succinct way of describing the end of Birth By Sleep. Everything horrible that transpired is stuck that way, unless Sora comes along and fixes it. All of the series tragedy is just sat there waiting to be fixed. Hoping it all gets wrapped up properly.
Axel actually grew more emotions as a human, aka Lea, being why he acts less mysterious and ruthless, but is more on the funny side.
"Just like me, Ansem peaked in 2002"
Hi! Thanks for your KH videos! It's always great to see someone passionate about the series talking about it so in depht. If you don't mind me making a suggestion: how about top 10 (or 13 if we're being meta) Kingdom Hearts Plot Twists, this series is filled with them and I haven't really found someone talking about it.
The manga did my favorite version of this fight because by god the still of vexen with a blade through his nonexistence is amazing and I re-read that particular volume repeatedly
3:10 I hope someday someone will see "Lodiii" and think "wow that idiot never timed a good raid, I swear to fucking god."
I really did like how Riku's character ark was treated, his PTSD was well addressed. Particularly in CoM and KH3d. In KH2 and KH3 we get to see Riku synthesize the changes he struggled through in CoM and 3d, but without the side games it wouldn't have hit anywhere near as hard
Great #1! Looking back I wish they didn't spoil it in the trailer cause I was on top of those BBS trailers & it's unfortunate that I saw that 😔
Honestly it sometimes feels like Ansem (SoD) is kinda like Riku's dad. Obviously it's not one-to-one, but throughout the series, Ansem often feels like he's not only trying to achieve his own goals, but bring Riku along in the process. Yes, Riku was the easiest available vessel in KHI, but Ansem didn't actually eject his heart until Riku became too feisty to be practical. And Ansem's death only cements that. He's impressed by Riku. It almost feels like he's sad that it had to come to this. And Riku echoes the sentiment; he says that he's going to miss Ansem. It's a very interesting relationship that I wish could have been explored more.
isnt axels change in tone justified? he gains a heart in being recompleted allowing him to feel, this is the only reason marluxia was so manipulative and did not care whatsoever for anyone or anything in or around his way. You can also see Axel turn into his old self for a few moments in KH 358/2 days when Xion gets caught in the castle, and when he has to bring xion back in that scene where roxas tells her to stop and her without a thought in mind took her out and without a word to roxas runs away in a corridor of darkness. His nicer tone is really him while the facade of murder is just a getup
I love the scene where Riku gets his body back in KH2. Music slaps
All worthy choices, among my favorite 'good, high-quality, objectively stellar scenes' would be Sora's Sacrifice in KH (just the sheer shock factor of it as you sorta touch on), the way he just smiles before committing suicide. It's an event that at first seems resolved in 10 minutes but then as the series progresses you see the wider implication, Xion's death (the music, the angles, just seeing these two complete innocents suffer feelings they can't and shouldn't be able to comprehend) for just how gutwrenching it is, the Union X reaction commands from KH3 for all the reasons you mentioned, and Ansem SOD's final defeat, also that you sum up perfectly. At that point we're kinda used to 'now that you've killed me I love you I'm not evil anymore' but here it feels most natural and sincere.
But there's another type of scene that I think is my favorite, from KH3 - I call it the 'should be silly (and is) but also just so damn cathartic and cheer-worthy. I think there's something to be said for just how much I adore some of the scenes that just fully represent KH - so cheesy and silly but also so cathartic and just makes you want to cheer. A lot of the moments people like from KH3 or laugh at but wouldn't consider objectively great I adore. I unironically adore seeing Sulley just grab super-edgy evil badguy and just making him his bitch, and the Zettaflare scene will forever have a place in my heart. I still remember having to pick my jaw up off the floor and then just laughing. In that respect though, my favorite scene (not just KH3, I think maybe the whole series) is seeing Woody just verbally slaughter Xehanort. It's cheesy, it's silly, it's emotional, it's dramatic, the way his boot with 'Andy' written on it instigates it, it just works so perfectly for me.
That point you made about the keyblades not being special post kh3 is wild lol in kh3 they handing out keyblades like oprah giving car ls
My favorite scene has to be the ending of Kingdom Hearts 2. We finally get the reunion on the beach with Sora, Riku, and Kairi: the true resolution to the ending of Kingdom Hearts 1. Add to that how Roxas and Namime appear, smiling at each other, with a sort of bittersweet feeling because they're whole now. Even though they don'tget to be their own person, they can still be together. And then Sora says, "We’re back!" and Sanctuary starts playing--it's just perfection.
Looks like my summer vacation is
over
In regards to number 10, it’s kind of a blatant rip off of both Nier games so it’s not really unique to KH, Nomura probably hit up Yoko Taro being like “yo, can I steal your idea”, still a good scene that made me tear up tbh
I think with the ending of kh3 it also calls back to what Xigbar said at the very beginning of Olympus, He doesn't respect mindless heroism of one person if it means someone else has to dive in to save them, which is exactly what happened to sora, so I'm very curious to see how Xigbar's going to respond to him about this in the future.
The ending to KH1 DID get me and that's because I didn't play it until it was nearly 9 years old. I was in the early years of a long road through college and this conclusion just hit me and hit me hard. Glad I waited because it would not have had the same impact on me as a 10 year old
Not gonna lie. When I first played KH3 at #10 I cried a little. It was so well done.
"Aqua... Aqua has blue hair"
- Regular Pat, 2020
I'm sad at the exclusion of one of my favorite scenes in any video game from this list. In my opinion, one of the greatest moments in KH3 and one I'll remember for the rest of my life: Woody DESTROYING Young Xehanort
Also Sully yeeting Vanitas is up there too
Here are some of my favorite scenes:
Summer's end from KH2
KH3's end
My friends are my power from KH1
Roxas and Namine reunite at TWTNW
Roxas's Return in KH3