So uuuhhh, I didn't expect this video to blow up as it did. Thanks to everyone who's given kind words or even disagreed with me. I didn't redo the intro because I expected this thing to get like 5 views, but to clarify, this is a super cut of 4 videos I had already done with minor changes made to each. Think of this as the DX version. I've always been a little scared to keep making long videos since I've always been told people don't have the patience for them, but given the positive feedback here, I'm gonna go forth with some bigger ideas in the future. I know a lot of y'all want to see me talk about KH3. I have every intention to eventually do it, but it will likely be closer to the release of KHIV than it is to today. I am much more passionate about some other ideas at the moment. I post updates a lot on BlueSky so follow me there - bsky.app/profile/novazone.bsky.social
You are good, I am not even a fan of the series, I never really understood why people enjoyed it so much. I always thought it was only okay at best and kinda boring and pretty lackluster at worst. Though, with its rabid fan base that almost seemed like a religion to me, I was kinda put off by it even more since I couldn't really understand peoples love for the game. Though, I find videos like these a great way to see people's perspectives and I believe does a much better job than people simply fanboying or fangirling over such things. I think it showcases the love and enjoyment for such games and reveals how people actually feel about them.
Definitely glad to hear as I loved this video, and I love long retrospectives. Looking forward to see what you do in the future! Definitely subscribing.
I like to watch this long form content because I spend a lot of time working on something else. It's a lot more like a podcast that has visual aids whenever I choose to look over. Love it
This is a insanely well put together and fleshed out.... documentary? Review? It's a bit in depth for the title review lol and your level of research and analysis for something this complex is immaculate. Can't guess how long this must have taken you to put together. Only/first video I've seen of yours and you get the sub straight away dude 🙌
The Lingering Will being a suit of armor given life by nothing but the wearer's sheer unyielding hatred and rage for a single individual is one of the hardest things in fiction
According to all known laws of world travel, there is no way Beast should be able be in Hollow Bastion. Travel between world is only possible by traveling through the void between worlds. Beast, of course, is there anyway, because Beast doesn't care what humans think is impossible.
It's is possible, even though the organization seems to think different, that Beast's cursed transformation into his animalistic form is somehow related to darkness giving him a bit of "armor" in that context but that's really just head cannon. I think what they were going for is that the brute strength of Beast's will to rescue Belle shielded his heart and guided him to her. Not that that makes anymore sense than the prior option.
Seeing "kingdom hearts isn't that confusing" followed by a 3+ hour length video is hysterical and what got me to click on this Edit: y'all. I literally know the entire plot. I know that it's not that confusing. I just think it's funny that the video is so long
@@Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1024 With yourself, by yourself with only yourself to guide you as you find yourself sometimes lacking but you've got to trust yourself since you believe in yourself and you only have yourself to blame.
@tgatt5759 it's because the game is played on the DS which makes it harder to control and not as fluid as say KH2 or 3. 358/2 would have alot more merit and interest from other fans if it was made on console, hence the "2 analog sticks" which are the two thumb sticks on console controllers
One correction: Axel isn't in the lower ranks of the Organization. He's Xemnas's personal assassin, taking out anybody who gets in his way. That's an important job. He's not really disrespected until he betrays the Organization
it's not wrong to think he's near the bottom rung. Organization Number has little to no bearing on their place in the pecking order, just the order they were recruited (Marluxia is actually the third strongest member and yet he's Number 11). Axel was the one constantly disrespected and left doing the Organization's dirty work. In his own words, he's "always stuck doing the icky jobs"
@@nataliecoronado4206 yup. I can't wait to see him complete his Keyblade training. So glad we are getting a decent looking kingdom hearts for Android and iPhone along with PS5
@@elipticalecliptic481 yea because for whatever reason Namora acts like his limbs are gonna fall off if you actually treats her like a character and not a plot device
@@weridplusho I don't think he does it just to fuck with people honestly Idk what his deal is with Kairi he set up her wanting to be more involved and hints to it but never commits to it for whatever reason and seems content with using her as a plot device and damsel even tho he knows people hate that .
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Even the way you describe it sounds like he's fucking with fans. lol I get the whole thing with Kairi is to both use her as a plot device and develop her character when she's not, it's just the _unapologetic_ way he writes her that gets me. Kairi is the perfect example of when the writer doesn't want a character around anymore but can't kill them off.
The best memory i had of KH2 was beating the last phase of xemnas with a friend. We were taking turns trying to beat him but we both sucked ass at mashing the triangle on the laser barrage xemnas did, but we somehow did it after mashing triangle together with our little kiddy fingers. Both of us couldn't care what the ending was, we were so hyped that we finally beat him together
Throwing in that "Restoration at 12%" line there after explaining Roxas' day-to-day life, it creates this foreboding sense of 'this isn't going to last'.
@@mjestik5268It makes sense. He IS number 2, after all. Whoevwr holds the penultimate seat next to Xemnas in the Organization would have to be important to things. I'm sure Nomura left most of their backstories vague on purpose so he could fill in later, but he probably at least had a general sense that Xigbar would be more important in the grand scheme of things.
@@voiceofthelegion578 I’m quoting the final encounter between Riku and Repliku, yeah. The fact that this exchange exists is great for messing with people though.
@@alekthecool123 a attack that has a low chance of frezzing the opponent stopping their next turn. This chance is increased with the upgraded versions of the move: Bufula, and Bufudyne. You can also hit multiple opponents with this move using; Mabufu, Mabufula, and Mabufudyne Hope this helps
8:26 I never noticed that Riku's gloves didn't fully cover his entire hands and now I can't unsee that (seriously, that's going to bother the shit out of me for a while).
I figured it had something to do with his fighting style. Since Riku liked fighting one handed and doing the sweeping swings while keeping his sword held mostly at his fingers and just above his palm using sweeping swings that use long arcs that generate most of the power. While Sora used his arms and brute force to to do most of his attacks in the first game
Ngl as someone who never played kingdom hearts before this was like watching a movie fr hell the story with aqua ventus and Terra almost had me crying fr amazing video I understand now why this game and series is loved so much
That final story mission in 358/2 where you’re cutting through hordes of heartless as Roxas desperately tries to hold onto what little of Xion he remembers is incredible. I’d love it if it got a remake some day, one where it plays like a modern KH so the gameplay is actually good.
Did u really not like the game play because it's honestly one of my favorite kh games. The only one I played I didn't like the game of was chain of memory
One thing I want to mention as far as the whole "keyblade master" thing in KH1 goes. in japanese, it's "keyblade no yuusha" (hero of the keyblade) but that's a mouthful in english so keyblade master was used in the localization. so in the end, nothing was retconned in that regard, just kinda a chance accident term that localization chose that nomura eventually also used.
I haven't watched the whole video yet so apologies if I'm being redundant by saying this, but I think it makes sense of you think of keyblade masters as a sort of lost culture. If you think about it, most keyblade wielders went missing a decade ago and they mostly keep to themselves anyway - in that case I think it's perfectly reasonable for characters in kh1 to have created this mystical ideal about the keyblade and how special and rare it is, and in subsequent titles (especially BBS) we're shown more of what a keyblade "culture" looks like, with TVA's training and mark of mastery and such
@@NovaZoneTV No one else but Sora is called that (as far as I can tell in the my Japanese playthrough of the games rn - on 384/2 days now). But in CoM, Riku is called Yami no Yuusha (Champion/Hero of Darkness) by the Organization, and Sora is gets the second name of Hikari no Yuusha (Champion/Hero of Light), during Riku's campaign.
I just finished the video and honestly it is truly amazing. The editing, the jokes, the music all of it just S tier. This game series is one of my favorites and honestly captures so much of my childhood, thank you for taking the time to make this amazing retrospective.
Couldn't agree more, hell KH2 was the only reason I got in to KH at all. I never played the first game, had no interest in it, I watched a video of someone playing KH2 after it came out and when I saw the final fight I just had to play it and decided it was probably a good idea to play KH1 first lol.
I'm always happy to see Sora's KH1 outfit being given the respect it deserves. A lot of people criticize it for looking too much like Mickey Mouse, but they're not realizing that was the whole point and it's perfect for what Kingdom Hearts is. It's a Disney game that crosses over with Final Fantasy, so of course it makes sense for Sora's design to be based on Mickey's classic look. It's something I think was sadly lost in most of Sora's later outfits.
It works for Kingdom Hearts 1 since at that point in the series, it really is just a simple Disney crossover. As soon as Kingdom Hearts 2, the franchise takes on its own identity that's noticably less, uh, Disneyfied(?) than Kingdom Hearts 1, so it makes thematic sense that the Mickey influence is less pronounced Also his later outfits are just plain drippy fr
Demyx never listens to what the organisation says. Pretty impressive that he was fed with nobodies being with no heart daily but he is more aware of what he is.
I just gotta say, it sucks Billy Zane didnt reprise his role as Ansem after KH1. He did a phenomenal job and really gave Ansem that ominous tone with his voicework.
Coming back to watch this video right now, hearing that the writers of kingdom hearts also rewatch UA-cam videos like this one to refresh their memory. I can’t wait for the next game to come out
I really want to see Soras Darkness explored more. It shows up actually pretty frequently. 1. Dark side growing out of his shadow. 2. Shadow sora that riku pulls out of him in neverland 3. Sora turning into a heartless to get kairis heart 4. Antiform 5. The organization trying to harness his darkness while he slept to turn him into a host for Xehanort 6. Rage form 7. Xehanort taking your light leaving only soras darkness during the final fight of kh3
Even with references in the manga that darkside IS soras heartless. Seems like sora being an incredibly powerful heartless if not the strongest is always something thats hinted in the background
@@ryanmcwilliams8784 well, if Coded exists, is to show us what Sora's heartless looks like, and is capable of doing if Kairi didn't turn him back to normal See? Coded is toooootally relevant to the overall plot :)
the probably accidental comedy of the thumbnail saying " it's not that complicated " right next to the 3 hour run time is smth worth noting, i think [ that being said- excellent work, it's a great video ! ]
Honestly I agree. It’s not really confusing. There is just a LOT to remember. Plus, a lot of it deeply revolves around concepts that are very foreign to our modern real world understanding.
Fun Fact: The letter "χ" in Ancient Ionian Greek is pronounced like "key" and is now pronounced as a palatal/velar fricative in Modern Greek. It was never pronounced like "kai". Only English speaking normies pronounce it that way. In short, Nomura did his research.
Its still stupid why would you not make the difference more clear having 2 things both be called" key blade " but be two completely different things is just dumb and makes things needlessly confusing.
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Nomura: Needless? No... The confusion... Is darkness. I have placed you in darkness. This darkness is necessary for your enlightenment. Embrace darkness, embrace confusion. Find the light within this darkness.
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Well...the χ-blade is the origin of all Keyblades (they are created in its image) so them sharing a homophonic name kind of makes sense; it is essentially the "true Keyblade".
@@thatoneblackdude3333 see, the thing is that The χ-blade is the original and first keyblade.... ever. The other blades were all named after it. So having them share a similar name makes perfect sense. But anyways, the game has subtitles so...
When I played Chain of Memories as a kid I was pretty convinced that it would be "non-canon" in a sense, and Sora losing his memories of the game at the end basically confirmed that for me. I fully expected to start KH2 in that field again, with CoM "happening", but forgotten and never mentioned again, which I was pretty sad about. Starting up KH2 and seeing the castle and Marluxia in the opening was one of my most exciting childhood memories. Felt like I was in on a secret club because I knew what was going on and that it actually mattered!
This is one of the most satisfying feelings that permeates through the entire series. Playing Kingdom Hearts 3 for the first time and having the context to understand what's going on was an amazing experience. The series does such a good job of rewarding your investment in it by making almost everything matter and have some form of payoff, even when you least expect it.
The problem is that the vast majority of people refuse or don't play handheld games. I can't play the handheld games, they are not good games. So I won't finish them.
Alright so I’m only 9 minutes into this but I just gotta praise how well done this is so far. The stuff you mentioned about Sora and Riku’s character design was mind-blowing. Buckling up for the rest of this adventure.
@@NovaZoneTV thanks to that I noticed how the Keyblades colour scheme is the same as Riku, so it looks more natural on Riku than on Sora when he takes it away from him
Kingdom hearts isn’t confusing, it’s complicated, these are two very different things. A confusing story is a mess that contradicts itself or is hard to keep track of because it doesn’t do a clear job of explaining. A complicated story is what kingdom hearts is, it has so much to cover that it takes 3+ hour videos, this does not make it a bad story, I think that metal gear is one of the best video game franchises ever but I also think it’s pretty complicated, hopefully that all made sense to you.
I cannot stress enough how great this video’s pacing is. I find so often that UA-cam commentators have no charisma or any sense of pacing in their writing but this 3 hour long video about a video game series I’ve never played is the most enthralled I’ve been watching something on UA-cam in months. Keep making your stuff, man!!
Riku replica's death was very much doubted, he says "I wonder where a fake goes" and Riku says "who knows maybe it'll be where I end up" in which Replica scoffs and say "a faithful replica to the end"
As someone who has put probably about five thousand hours into this series, even this taught me a few things (mainly Sora being the only wielder at the beginning of kh1, and Ansem only writing the *first* report) This is a MASTERCLASS in attention to detail. This covers pretty much every single plot point without considering X and III. You've done the impossible, king. Keep it up.
1:43:29 as someone who's first game was 358/2 days of all things, it's actually not the worst place to jump in at. Getting to learn about these characters like this made going through Kingdom Hearts 2 at a later date WAY more cool when you actually know and have been friends with the Organization members, and knowing their relationship to Roxas, and how they are trying to get control of him again through Sora throughout 2.
I always say if you have the means to absolutely play through the games in release order, but it's really fun to see people's experiences of the series when they jumped in from other points in it :3 (plus like if you have fun playing it "wrong" who cares right)
Yeah, Days was my entry as well. And I think I wouldn’t have gotten into the series nearly as quickly had I started with another game. Yes, there’s a lot that you don’t understand if you start here, but that’s actually what I loved about it. Besides just putting me on the same page as Roxas, it places this air of mystery front and center that compelled me to know more. I then carried that mentality on to the rest of the series, and found it rewarded me for it.
Re:coded was my first, which was also an underrated first entry. Didn't pay attention, so when I played Days right after, I knew the basics of the world but had no idea what was going to happen.
I jumped in at DDD. Therefore my experience with the franchise is very personal to me, since so much of it is by going on wikis, watching random UA-cam videos and let's plays since retrospective Videos weren't a thing back then. An experience I will probably never have again but it was so much fun to obsess over finding out the context of everything happening, throughout my internet searching.
I played parts of the first game on my aunt's ps2 when I was like 10, but that was the majority of my experience until I ended up playing 358/2 days before playing kingdom hearts 2 as well, so I know exactly what you mean. I'm so glad I did too, everything hits so much harder when you have that context and I can't imagine how I would've felt without it. Axels "death" scene legitimately made me cry the first time I ever reached it and it still makes me tear up a little ngl. "He made me feel like I had a heart." 😭 Days is still my favorite entry in the series too.
during the part in KH2 opening where Roxas remembers Sora's name. In japanese, Kairi's/Namine's voice gave him a hint to "look up" Which is a pretty nice touch since in Japanese, Sora means sky.
Probably my favorite narrator for a video essay I've seen. Not afraid to call out things existing just because the developers thought it was cool. Succinctly skipping over shiz that has little relevance, and really just getting to the core of the story and its themes
I like this. This just feels like someone who actually played kingdom hearts and payed attention, thorwing all the BS aside and just looking at KH as any average game series and giving it the, what I would say as minimal, effort to actually pay attention to it. Not coming up excuses at to why its too goofy to take even look at or too convoluted to pay attention too. Just seems like someone who grew up playing games, understands how games were made then, and enjoys experimentation in games enough to get through something like kingdom hearts. You honestly take me back to an era of gaming I miss so much. tldr, wonderful video dude.
@@Gloomdrake ikr! I like to my explain the “convuluted” ness of KH to be based on my experience of LoTR. If you only watched a portion of Lord of the Rings until Frodo got to Rivendale, then fell asleep and woke up when the crew was on the Mountain, Frodo is fighting Golem and watched until the end credits. Im sure anyone would be confused simply replace the movie with a book or any kind of plot driven story. That is what explaining KH to someone who missed games or missed chunks of the story.
Also nomura makes These games so that he lets us i terpret things( wich is some of the fun) He only gives us enough to work with befor eather revealing the truth in a future Titel or not I do have some headcanons that have some Basis on context from the games mostly relatet to Xehanorts plot that ar mostlikely what nonura thought. I Respect him as a writer he isnt as bad as people thing. People just hate his ideas and ar Not smart enough to figure things Out on ther own and becaus its cool to hate ther hate. Fantasy Plots ar fallen with "BS" lore all the time anyway so kh isnt doing anything wrong..but why people hate on it i dont understand. Yes its "weard" but its a story and game Not real life soweit cares.
@@indedgames4359 Nomura's writing sounds bad when people take it out of context for comedy. Like how a fish dies when you take it out of water. It's a nice experience if you meet it on it's own terms, though
Seeing (and helping) Sora and Riku block a literal onslaught of attacks while always defending the other's back (at the end of KH2) will never not give me chills. Till the day I die
Honestly, I agree. I've never touched a Kingdom Hearts game (it's high on my "I want to play it eventually but that day is not today" list) but I feel like I have a pretty solid grasp on the lore and story. It's not complicated at all, but it IS convoluted. I can follow it's story easily, but the methods it uses to tell it's story can be confusing
As far as keyblade wielders go the way I always interpreted the lore is that you can either be bequeathed a keyblade or your heart can forge one. The only requirement is having a strong enough heart either strong in darkness or light you can seemingly lose access to a keyblade if your heart weakens but how keyblades are made/ how they work are a very underdeveloped aspect of kh
The way I see it, just as the x-blade is the counterpart of Kingdom Hearts, the keyblades are essentially artificial mini-versions of the x-blade made for use by people. On a related note, I believe that the Keyblade of Hearts in KH1 is essentially an incomplete x-blade.
@@sixthcairn that does kind of make sense yea I’m just saying the specific way you can forge a keyblade is in a few ways. Like if a realm creates a keyblade from its own heart you get the kingdom key or kingdom key d If a person creates a keyblade from their own heart/someone creates one for their heart that’s how you get stuff like the way to dawn and most other keys we’re shown And if kh forms a keyblade that is the x-blade
The other thing is they could be a descendant of one of the Dandelions (seriously, that's the ultimate Get out of Jail Free Card for the series: 'Oh well, they're just... a descendant of one of the Dandelions. So that's why they can use a Keyblade.'. In Sora's case, well we know why he's one (Ventus' heart resided in him for so long that he unknowingly went through the ceremony without having to physically make contact with another Keyblade Wielder). Also since it seems that Sora can't become a Keyblade Master, that means he's probably the Endless Potential.
@@kaison12205 I don't think Sora's the MoM. If he IS someone we've seen before, I'd be more likely to put my money on Ephemer. But that's just from our frame of reference. It's probably someone we've never seen before. Someone on the KH development team years back when Back Cover came out said that if you wanted to do power comparisons, you could compare it to an anime like Sailor Moon. Ansem from the first KH game would be like Beryl, and the MoM would be like Galaxia. Now whether that means that the MoM was taken over by some evil entity like Galaxia was, I don't know.
Getting to the end, very very very long stretch but Lee picks up Ventus's training sword, and made a heart felt connection with him in that moment. In a game with a character touching another character's blade, that is kinda Ventus's moment with Lee.
I was think of that scene whenever I get confused about Axel being a keyblade wielder, but at the same time the logic in it is very finicky considering it's a fake keyblade.
I always assumed that ventus’ heart connecting with sora’s was the reason why sora was able to wield a keyblade and also why the older he got the more he looked like vinitas (who came before the connection between ventus and sora). It makes a parallel with roxas (soras nobody) looking like ventus, and sora looking more like vinitas when ventus lost his heart and connected with sora. Terra’s lingering will even mistakes sora for vinitas in kh2.
"Thus begins the final fight between the strongest being of darkness, and 3 boys taking turns holding their braincell." Holy crap I lost it at this and cackled for a good 5 minutes.
I just want to point out how horrifyingly accurate the "there can't be 2 keyblade masters" line from riku in the first game is, even though I'm 90 precent sure it was a mistranslation from "there can't be 2 hero's" or something like that. But I mean every time we have been shown a mark off mastery exam, only one person gets made a master (Riku or Aqua). So so far in the series, yes, there can't be two keyblade masters
I remember watching the commercials on Disney about a game of Disney x Final Fantasy and being so hyped for it. I remember getting it for Christmas of 2002 when I was 9 and playing the hell out of the game. I know the plot is nonsense and Nomura loves to mock us but goddamn Kingdom Hearts is my favorite series of all time so thanks for this amazing analysis 🙏🏽
One of Sora's key character traits is his friends and the connections he makes. It makes complete since that it's all Roxas wants and what motivates him and it also makes 358/2 one of the most underrated games in the series. I would love a full remake.
I loved this compilation of video essays. It's such a refreshing thing to see someone who understands and loves Kingdom Hearts go through it without just saying 'oh its so complicated' because like you said, if you follow all the breadcrumbs, it all adds up. It's a passion project spanning decades and it's my favourite game series ever. Thanks so much.
I’ve seen other videos explaining kingdom hearts’ story but this is the first one to lay it out in a way that makes sense to me. It’s incredible how simplified and rich this explanation is.
1:12:03 fun to think this was the pinnacle of characters from different FFs interacting with each other back then, before Dissidia was a thing... seeing Cloud and Squall figthing back to back, exhaling that big "we are rivals" vibes... so epic definitely still one of my favorite scenes of the whole franchise
13:19 I kind interpret it not as "they have no actual heart" but that they are "heartless" in the way that someone can "heartless and cruel" which fits with how we see heartless behave in most cases.
i knew little to NOTHING about kingdom hearts going into this video to pass my time at work and OOOHH BUDDY its the way i was CRYING during most of the KH2 portion i am ACHING. coworker kept giving me looks as she walked past lmao. love this video and you explain things in a very concise way and i REALLY appreciate going through some of the split portions of games in chronological that keeps the events lined up super well. cant wait to check out more!!
this is an absolutely fantastic series! got randomly pushed by the algorithm to me and i'm super glad it did. a very concise, clean analysis of the plot across all the games pre-kh3. great work!
I have to say, even with it's flaws story wise I really love and appreciate Re:Coded on the DS. I mean it essentially is kh1 on the go! Plus it's gameplay is kind of fun for level 1 crit runs 😃
There aren’t many ‘flaws’. Most ‘flaws’ are misconceptions because people are incapable of following something other than the simple cookie cutter stories that plague media or simply personal opinions, such as disliking the aspect of time travel.
I loved recoded but I wish the developers did something else instead of the minigames. I think one of the reasons recoded on the ds exists is because they wanted to see how much of the first game they could fit on the ds.
Loved the CPU system. The combinations to get newer and more powerful moves, the ability to freely customize your difficulty on all fronts, and the chips really sold it for me. 3D was great too for me, only issue was I wish you could at least turn off the Drop Gauge after the main story to help with exploration.
I finally gotta come clean... Ive watched this video more times than i want to admit.. Amazing rewatchability due to such a well made video. Thank you for letting me and so many others relive all the feelings attached to this franchise!
i am someone who has never played kingdom hearts, but is really interested in the story, and this was FANTASTIC. please consider making another instalment covering X and III (and anything else in the Kingdom Hearts series you find interesting, i didn’t even know there were novelisations!!) - i would really love to hear your thoughts on them!!
When I’ve played the ‘confusing games’ like 3d and 3 I’ve NEVER found them confusing. It’s only when I go on the internet with everyone screaming xyz makes no sense do I start to overthink it a bit, but when I rewatch the cutscenes it always makes sense again, once I get the internet ramblings out my head. Plus, it’s a LOT easier to grasp when you have basic trust in tetsuya nonura who clearly loves his own franchise.
There’s nothing wrong with having critical thinking skills and finding something to be a plot hole. People can have different opinions on if a story is coherent or a mess.
This sounds like a bs comment. Kingdom hearts is a great series and i love the games but the story is a mess. Anybody who told me that they understood the story as it is was full of it. They thought they did but they didnt.
@@drewmyers3916 no you can absolutely understand the story just by playing them in order of release, but that's not to say that the story isn't a complete fucking mess after 3d
@@mikashi1593 that has nothing to do with that. kh just has straight up, objective, plotholes. i love the series and i wish i could say something different, but it just is how it is.
"I don't care who you are, THIS {Vexen/Even} is a fucking villain design." Facts. Which is added to my shock, when KH3 revealed he was actually the one to plan and execute being a double agent against ROXIII.
Sometimes I forget how many funny allusions and jokes I made to KH3 in this thing. Only makes me think even more "damn, it'll be way funnier to wait until 4 releases before making a 3 video"
this is genuinely the most entertaining retrospective I've ever watched, the editing and your narration are INSANE. this is everything I've now realised I wanted in deep dives. can't wait to watch more of your work
This video is wonderful, and it did answer some questions I had and gave me some information I either forgot or missed. I do hope you make the KH3 retrospective.
That damn summer vacation is over line gets me every time I think oh yeah kingdom hearts this game makes me happy but no blindsided every single time I play it gets me all emotional
Being a fan of the whole X series of games, especially the story of KHUX, seeing the life pods at 27:22 described as not being plot-relevant for the dark seeker saga hurt my soul 🥲 So much happened there...
27:33 I have never taken a deeper breathe and just hit my bowl and actually shook my head. I was so in this video. That was so good it was extremely cringy.
Im always saying this. Like kingdom hearts is like a book series. Playing KH1, 2 ,and 3. Is like reading harry potter book 1, 4 ,and 7. And also people meme about how long it takes to explain kingdom hearts but its a 20 yr old series. Great video!
The series set itself up to be misinterpreted by branching out to multiple different platforms. While it’s a privilege to be able to afford a console or a handheld in the first place, at least once you have one, it is ALMOST (almost) unheard of for vital sequels in the series to go to different platforms by different companies. It’s almost classist in how dumb it is. It is reasonable to expect even your poorest fan to eventually trade in their old PS model and use savings to get the latest model so they can play the latest KH game. That’s one thing. But these games had multiple handheld ones on various systems. The only reason it wasn’t an issue for me was because my dad and brother are also gamers so somebody always had what I needed, between the three of us in one house. But I knew so many friends that had certain games they just didn’t play. Hell, there’s a freaking mobile game I never played that HAS IMPORTANT INFO lol. KH is a book series except one is physical copy only, one is a visual novel, another is only available on kindle, and another is an audiobook.
9:25 Guardando nel Buio and L'impeto Oscuro are just two italian titles for music, the first meaning "Looking in the dark" and the second meaning "Obscure Impetus/Impulse"
It's been like 20 years since I played kh1 and I still get teary eyes over the sora and Riku fight at hollow bastion and when he finally meets up with Riku and kiari in kh2 even tho he had ansems face, just the emotion he has about finally being back with him. And that kh2 ending of finally being back home after everything. I cri. Really tugs on my heart. Don't even get me started on how fucking good simple and clean works to bring all those feelings flooding back into literally anybody who played the games. Thankyou for this video since I never got to play the in-between games or even kh3. I would have never gotten the missing context to one of my favorite stories.
This is the most complete summation of the KH series I've watched. It found a way to let me relive a lot of the amazement I had for this series as a kid while also being realistic and critical to the series. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this, clicked on a whim and was enthralled for the the whole 3.5 hours. I would love to see a KH3 video, as well as a UX and Dark Road breakdown if those are things youre invested in. Im more excited to see the future of this series now than ever. Hopefully KH4 will lead to some new discoveries for the lore, and characters we love!
Fun fact: You can straight up stunlock Terranort in BBS for a bit by attacking him while he's in the middle of doing the full Dark Volley shotlock. Specifically the bit where he's twirling around and shit. Ars Solum does wonders when you interrupt him with it lemme tell ya.
Played kingdom hearts 1 and 2 on ps2 when they released. I’ve recently been trying to get back into kingdom hearts and final fantasy but I don’t have the attention span or time to watch every cutscene or play all the ported games. I truly have such an understanding of the story world characters and motivations and could really tell and appreciate the amount of time and effort you put into this video. Thank you so much.
Fun Fact regarding The Lingering Will's difficulty: He, as well as about half of the organization, can be infinitely looped. With the right combination of abilities (no high jump, yes negative combo or have the Fenrir Keyblade equipped [but not both], no Combo plus, no combo finishers) if the player merely short-jumps and attacks once, while the boss is in a vulnerable position where he/she will take recoil/knockback from your attacks, he/she will not recover in time to avoid you, yet again, short-jumping and attacking once. This can be looped throughout the entire battle (assuming The Lingering Will doesn't collide either any other the stone structures in his arena, if he does, he can break out of the loop, idk why). This can be easily started by using Donald's Comet limit as soon as the match starts (give you invulnerability throughout its duration and can stagger the boss) this works on The Lingering Will, and half or most of the organization and their data battles, however, in Data Axel's case, you still must get rid of the fire floor before you can strike the final blow. In battles were Donald is not present you can use Sora's trinity limit instead. but this isn't how the truly skilled play...
Wow. I watched this video in pieces each night before bed as a refresher for one of my favorite, yet confusing stories in gaming. I appreciate all the time and effort that you put in on this incredible video. Thank you
As a LIFELONG KH fan, I'm thrilled to say that this retrospective actually did clarify a lot of stuff!!! ESPECIALLY with DDD. That third act is a doozy. This video was an absolute pleasure. THANK YOU!
358/2 days is such a masterpiece I cried so much during that part of the video. I'm kind of in a position where I was questioning if kh was every actually intelligently written and during that part of the video I got my answer
Days is one of my favorite games in the series. Roxas was already my favorite after playing KH2 but Days really made me love him more. I was surprised at how well Xion was integrated into the story given up to that point no one had mentioned her.
This is the best Kingdom Hearts summary ever made, congrats and thank you the awesome content. Just finished to play everything before KH3 and was looking for some recap, and damn, this video is perfect. Not only you got the main plot points in one video but you were also able to tell most of the thoughts we had at the time of each game released, you described exactly what I thought in the end of KH2, that was nostalgic to watch. Thank you, I'll watch this every time I want to reconnect with KH
Hey man just wanted to say I know you’ll reach far. The fact that I watched a couple minutes of this video thinking it was from a highly known channel considering the overall quality with the details and great commentary and being surprised by seeing how it was the contrary of that. It amazed me the dedication and the result to realize it isn’t being seen throughout UA-cam. If you’re doing such a good job now I can’t imagine what you’ll do in the future and I’m here for it. Personal bias considering I grew up playing KH but still, props to you man. Hope for the best and God bless.
I played kh days first. Then rechain of memories, kh 2, and kh 1. My dad passed away when I was 9 and he had the ff7 movie. I loved that movie and after he died I remember seeing Roxas on a commercial and I begged my mom to get it for me, I thought Roxas was cloud. Kh days means so much to me. The story of Roxas was so sad
This is the perfect primer for KH3, Im starting it soon. I recently rediscovered my love for KH1, CoM, and of course 2. This is perfect prep work for me.
I started this video for a quick catchup, thinking about skipping everything I didn't want to hear/already knew and in the end I've watched the whole 3.5h. Such a nice summary, I loved it :) I hope you feel the need one day to make the videos about the Union X games and KH3 to finally fill all the pieces of the puzzle... Because oh my god what a puzzle.
Played all the games dozens of times. Gotta say this was very well done! The humor was spot on. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle unchained/ dark road, and KH3.
So uuuhhh, I didn't expect this video to blow up as it did. Thanks to everyone who's given kind words or even disagreed with me.
I didn't redo the intro because I expected this thing to get like 5 views, but to clarify, this is a super cut of 4 videos I had already done with minor changes made to each. Think of this as the DX version. I've always been a little scared to keep making long videos since I've always been told people don't have the patience for them, but given the positive feedback here, I'm gonna go forth with some bigger ideas in the future.
I know a lot of y'all want to see me talk about KH3. I have every intention to eventually do it, but it will likely be closer to the release of KHIV than it is to today. I am much more passionate about some other ideas at the moment.
I post updates a lot on BlueSky so follow me there - bsky.app/profile/novazone.bsky.social
Take my sub damnit
You are good, I am not even a fan of the series, I never really understood why people enjoyed it so much. I always thought it was only okay at best and kinda boring and pretty lackluster at worst. Though, with its rabid fan base that almost seemed like a religion to me, I was kinda put off by it even more since I couldn't really understand peoples love for the game. Though, I find videos like these a great way to see people's perspectives and I believe does a much better job than people simply fanboying or fangirling over such things. I think it showcases the love and enjoyment for such games and reveals how people actually feel about them.
Definitely glad to hear as I loved this video, and I love long retrospectives. Looking forward to see what you do in the future! Definitely subscribing.
I like to watch this long form content because I spend a lot of time working on something else. It's a lot more like a podcast that has visual aids whenever I choose to look over. Love it
This is a insanely well put together and fleshed out.... documentary? Review? It's a bit in depth for the title review lol and your level of research and analysis for something this complex is immaculate. Can't guess how long this must have taken you to put together. Only/first video I've seen of yours and you get the sub straight away dude 🙌
The Lingering Will being a suit of armor given life by nothing but the wearer's sheer unyielding hatred and rage for a single individual is one of the hardest things in fiction
For real and his theme Rage Awakened is so fitting for it
Kinda like Clockwerk from Sly Cooper, actually.
Berserker armor
Or like full metal
Right, like it goes hard, and I've seen something go that hard a few times
According to all known laws of world travel, there is no way Beast should be able be in Hollow Bastion. Travel between world is only possible by traveling through the void between worlds. Beast, of course, is there anyway, because Beast doesn't care what humans think is impossible.
It's is possible, even though the organization seems to think different, that Beast's cursed transformation into his animalistic form is somehow related to darkness giving him a bit of "armor" in that context but that's really just head cannon. I think what they were going for is that the brute strength of Beast's will to rescue Belle shielded his heart and guided him to her. Not that that makes anymore sense than the prior option.
Is this a Bee movie reference?
10/10 post
It Was his live for belle
Do you like roses 🌹 ?
He must have an incredible willpower!
Seeing "kingdom hearts isn't that confusing" followed by a 3+ hour length video is hysterical and what got me to click on this
Edit: y'all. I literally know the entire plot. I know that it's not that confusing. I just think it's funny that the video is so long
For real I read the title and I was like just the pure fact it is such a long video is hilarious and proof the story is a lot haha
😂
I mean it isn’t really confusing if you play them in order
@@Nixus237good luck finding the 20 different consoles to do that lol. Especially since certain games like 358 didn't get updated to new consoles
@@CodexQuinn you just need a ps4 and you don’t need to play 358 since they out the full story on 1.5
Roxas: What's summer vacation?
Axel: "Well you see, there's a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it."
Bruh, this one's pretty good. I'm gonna pin it
Sounds like an annual problem to find out how to spend it imo. But could just be me
Like maybe buliding a rocket? Idk
or you could fight a mummy i guess
Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower. Just a suggestion.
I love how Xehenort was so pissed at how useless everyone else was that he decided to just do it all himself 13 times
If you can't get someone to do it you've got to do it yourself
@@Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1024 With yourself, by yourself with only yourself to guide you as you find yourself sometimes lacking but you've got to trust yourself since you believe in yourself and you only have yourself to blame.
Thirteen times, lol.@@Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1024
*old man voice:* “grah, why did I bother trying to Nort unwilling people. I’ll just find people who *want* to be me. Like, uh, me!”
@@Lukecario1216Barry really dropped like the most quotable video of all time then basically dipped lmao
I’m turning 35 this year and I can truly say thank you for this. 😅
Thank you very much & happy 35! 🙇♂️
“I just wished I could’ve played these 358 days over 2 Analog Stick” this is the truest statement ever made in gaming
😂😂
I'm dumb. I don't get it
@tgatt5759 it's because the game is played on the DS which makes it harder to control and not as fluid as say KH2 or 3. 358/2 would have alot more merit and interest from other fans if it was made on console, hence the "2 analog sticks" which are the two thumb sticks on console controllers
I love the pun in this statement too haha
it's actually possible if you have a modded n3ds !!! you can use the circle pad for full 360 movement and the cstick for camera controls!!
One correction: Axel isn't in the lower ranks of the Organization. He's Xemnas's personal assassin, taking out anybody who gets in his way. That's an important job. He's not really disrespected until he betrays the Organization
Isn’t he the 9th or 10th member? So technically he is one of the lower ranks
@@WayofMJ the order they were recruited is not representative of their rank, more so representative of the timeline... somewhat lol
@@WayofMJ Axel is Number 8.
it's not wrong to think he's near the bottom rung. Organization Number has little to no bearing on their place in the pecking order, just the order they were recruited (Marluxia is actually the third strongest member and yet he's Number 11). Axel was the one constantly disrespected and left doing the Organization's dirty work. In his own words, he's "always stuck doing the icky jobs"
@@nataliecoronado4206 yup. I can't wait to see him complete his Keyblade training. So glad we are getting a decent looking kingdom hearts for Android and iPhone along with PS5
“Ansem’s stand, Owner of a Lonely Heart” is the best Ansem stand joke I’ve ever heard
one ive hear is "sympathy for the devil"
"There are now three flavors of Kairi walking around. This is the best flavor"
I see you're a man of culture as well.
funnily enough, the original flavor is the least developed
@@elipticalecliptic481 yea because for whatever reason Namora acts like his limbs are gonna fall off if you actually treats her like a character and not a plot device
@@thatoneblackdude3333 He knows what he's doing whenever he writes Kairi. He simply does it with a smile enjoying the lamentations of the fans.
@@weridplusho I don't think he does it just to fuck with people honestly Idk what his deal is with Kairi he set up her wanting to be more involved and hints to it but never commits to it for whatever reason and seems content with using her as a plot device and damsel even tho he knows people hate that .
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Even the way you describe it sounds like he's fucking with fans. lol
I get the whole thing with Kairi is to both use her as a plot device and develop her character when she's not, it's just the _unapologetic_ way he writes her that gets me.
Kairi is the perfect example of when the writer doesn't want a character around anymore but can't kill them off.
The best memory i had of KH2 was beating the last phase of xemnas with a friend. We were taking turns trying to beat him but we both sucked ass at mashing the triangle on the laser barrage xemnas did, but we somehow did it after mashing triangle together with our little kiddy fingers. Both of us couldn't care what the ending was, we were so hyped that we finally beat him together
Funny thing is that you’re supposed to mash triangle and x as one is for sora and the other is for Riku
@@Serna171 Yeah I typically pause, turn the controller so my thumbs are on both X and Triangle and then mash, mash like the wind.
After playing kh 1, 2 seems easier. Coming from dragon all game my bottom mashing from beam struggles n collisions was far beyond now
@@nicholasholladay-elser7307Why'd I never think of this?!
Throwing in that "Restoration at 12%" line there after explaining Roxas' day-to-day life, it creates this foreboding sense of 'this isn't going to last'.
Oh my god, hearing Xigbar say he's not just "any old dude" in KH2 with the context we have now really just blew me out of the water
And then with the added context of ALL KH3 it’s even better!
Fucking Nomura planned Xiggy being Luxu all along...
@@CodexQuinnincomprehensible
@@mjestik5268It makes sense. He IS number 2, after all. Whoevwr holds the penultimate seat next to Xemnas in the Organization would have to be important to things. I'm sure Nomura left most of their backstories vague on purpose so he could fill in later, but he probably at least had a general sense that Xigbar would be more important in the grand scheme of things.
i dessperately need thiss guy to explain whatever the fuck iss going on with union crosss
Kingdom Hearts" "Having two Rikus would be confusing"
Also Kingdom Hearts: "So, everyone is named Ansem"
They did have two rikus though
@@voiceofthelegion578”because I’m you.”
“No, I’m me!”
“‘I’m me,’ he says.”
@@raisylvaine8398 I think you're just quoting the game but this exchange could have happened between half the cast honestly
@@voiceofthelegion578 I’m quoting the final encounter between Riku and Repliku, yeah. The fact that this exchange exists is great for messing with people though.
@@raisylvaine8398 just seeing it written out with no context, it looks like a meme
I can't believe I got called out as a persona fan in the first 5 minutes of the video
HEY WHAT THE FUCK IS A BUFU
@@alekthecool123 a attack that has a low chance of frezzing the opponent stopping their next turn. This chance is increased with the upgraded versions of the move: Bufula, and Bufudyne. You can also hit multiple opponents with this move using; Mabufu, Mabufula, and Mabufudyne
Hope this helps
@@HeroXAS thanks
@@HeroXAS no it doesn’t help. Wtf persona.
@@ryanmcwilliams8784 ok fine. Its an ice attack that does more damage and freezes more easily the longer the name is
8:26 I never noticed that Riku's gloves didn't fully cover his entire hands and now I can't unsee that (seriously, that's going to bother the shit out of me for a while).
Naruto, animation error be like.
Wait until you notice how small Hayners jacket is
I figured it had something to do with his fighting style. Since Riku liked fighting one handed and doing the sweeping swings while keeping his sword held mostly at his fingers and just above his palm using sweeping swings that use long arcs that generate most of the power. While Sora used his arms and brute force to to do most of his attacks in the first game
@@deathmastersful no it’s just a stupid design.
He also has overpants for his jeans
Ngl as someone who never played kingdom hearts before this was like watching a movie fr hell the story with aqua ventus and Terra almost had me crying fr amazing video I understand now why this game and series is loved so much
That final story mission in 358/2 where you’re cutting through hordes of heartless as Roxas desperately tries to hold onto what little of Xion he remembers is incredible. I’d love it if it got a remake some day, one where it plays like a modern KH so the gameplay is actually good.
Someone did a mock up of that with the KH3 engine that looks fucking insane!
@@NovaZoneTV Oh neat. If it’s on UA-cam somewhere I’ll have to see if I can find it.
AND THEY BETTER FUCKING KEEP THE MULTIPLAYER GOD DAMN IT BBS WHY
It’s so awesome because of the usage of the DS’ two screens, so you see faint memories of the cutscenes on the bottom screen
Did u really not like the game play because it's honestly one of my favorite kh games. The only one I played I didn't like the game of was chain of memory
One thing I want to mention as far as the whole "keyblade master" thing in KH1 goes. in japanese, it's "keyblade no yuusha" (hero of the keyblade) but that's a mouthful in english so keyblade master was used in the localization. so in the end, nothing was retconned in that regard, just kinda a chance accident term that localization chose that nomura eventually also used.
But can there be two Keyblade No Yuushas?
@@NovaZoneTV
Good one XD
@@NovaZoneTV This town ain't big enough...
I haven't watched the whole video yet so apologies if I'm being redundant by saying this, but I think it makes sense of you think of keyblade masters as a sort of lost culture. If you think about it, most keyblade wielders went missing a decade ago and they mostly keep to themselves anyway - in that case I think it's perfectly reasonable for characters in kh1 to have created this mystical ideal about the keyblade and how special and rare it is, and in subsequent titles (especially BBS) we're shown more of what a keyblade "culture" looks like, with TVA's training and mark of mastery and such
@@NovaZoneTV No one else but Sora is called that (as far as I can tell in the my Japanese playthrough of the games rn - on 384/2 days now). But in CoM, Riku is called Yami no Yuusha (Champion/Hero of Darkness) by the Organization, and Sora is gets the second name of Hikari no Yuusha (Champion/Hero of Light), during Riku's campaign.
I just finished the video and honestly it is truly amazing. The editing, the jokes, the music all of it just S tier. This game series is one of my favorites and honestly captures so much of my childhood, thank you for taking the time to make this amazing retrospective.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is a masterpiece. I've played it probably 90 times through and that ending STILL makes me get goosebumps and teary eyed.
Honestly I played kh 1 and 2 so many times. They were one of the only games I 100%
I'd say kingdom hearts 1 is a masterpiece. I've played that so many times....two....meh
Couldn't agree more, hell KH2 was the only reason I got in to KH at all. I never played the first game, had no interest in it, I watched a video of someone playing KH2 after it came out and when I saw the final fight I just had to play it and decided it was probably a good idea to play KH1 first lol.
God no it's not a masterpiece. It has major flaws to hold the game back from that caliber.
@@notusgodwind4512nah the gameplay of the first one is the reason I can't go back
KH2 has a useful camera an in my opinion is way more enjoyable
I still remember the sheer dread I felt striking that final blow to Master Xehanort as Terra, only for him to say "Only now...have I truly won...!"
Truly a “fool! This isn’t even my final form!!” shonen antagonist moment
Got a similar feeling fighting terra-nort as aqua and bearing his first phase only to hear "not yet!" as he summons forth the Guardian
I'm always happy to see Sora's KH1 outfit being given the respect it deserves. A lot of people criticize it for looking too much like Mickey Mouse, but they're not realizing that was the whole point and it's perfect for what Kingdom Hearts is. It's a Disney game that crosses over with Final Fantasy, so of course it makes sense for Sora's design to be based on Mickey's classic look. It's something I think was sadly lost in most of Sora's later outfits.
It works for Kingdom Hearts 1 since at that point in the series, it really is just a simple Disney crossover. As soon as Kingdom Hearts 2, the franchise takes on its own identity that's noticably less, uh, Disneyfied(?) than Kingdom Hearts 1, so it makes thematic sense that the Mickey influence is less pronounced
Also his later outfits are just plain drippy fr
"Oh we do too have hearts. Don't be mad."
WAIT HOW THE FUCK WAS DEMYX THE ONLY ONE TO GET THAT THAT SOON?!
OH MY GOD
Because Demyx is a badass who acts like a moron when in actuality he is a fucking genius xD
Well he was an ancient keyblade master which if it's time travel I dont get but whatever
I just don't get the "Don't be mad."??
Demyx never listens to what the organisation says. Pretty impressive that he was fed with nobodies being with no heart daily but he is more aware of what he is.
I just gotta say, it sucks Billy Zane didnt reprise his role as Ansem after KH1. He did a phenomenal job and really gave Ansem that ominous tone with his voicework.
Coming back to watch this video right now, hearing that the writers of kingdom hearts also rewatch UA-cam videos like this one to refresh their memory. I can’t wait for the next game to come out
Hyped for when KH3 makes a reference to one of my flubs. Like making Zack and Cloud married because I called him Zack Strife
All you have done is make me want to replay KH, and for that I salute you.
I really want to see Soras Darkness explored more. It shows up actually pretty frequently.
1. Dark side growing out of his shadow.
2. Shadow sora that riku pulls out of him in neverland
3. Sora turning into a heartless to get kairis heart
4. Antiform
5. The organization trying to harness his darkness while he slept to turn him into a host for Xehanort
6. Rage form
7. Xehanort taking your light leaving only soras darkness during the final fight of kh3
Even with references in the manga that darkside IS soras heartless. Seems like sora being an incredibly powerful heartless if not the strongest is always something thats hinted in the background
I want heartless Sora to just be a super emo sad boy sora
@@ryanmcwilliams8784 well, if Coded exists, is to show us what Sora's heartless looks like, and is capable of doing if Kairi didn't turn him back to normal
See? Coded is toooootally relevant to the overall plot :)
the probably accidental comedy of the thumbnail saying " it's not that complicated " right next to the 3 hour run time is smth worth noting, i think
[ that being said- excellent work, it's a great video ! ]
Honestly I agree. It’s not really confusing. There is just a LOT to remember. Plus, a lot of it deeply revolves around concepts that are very foreign to our modern real world understanding.
Fun Fact: The letter "χ" in Ancient Ionian Greek is pronounced like "key"
and is now pronounced as a palatal/velar fricative in Modern Greek.
It was never pronounced like "kai". Only English speaking normies pronounce it that way.
In short, Nomura did his research.
Its still stupid why would you not make the difference more clear having 2 things both be called" key blade " but be two completely different things is just dumb and makes things needlessly confusing.
@@thatoneblackdude3333
Nomura: Needless? No... The confusion... Is darkness. I have placed you in darkness. This darkness is necessary for your enlightenment.
Embrace darkness, embrace confusion.
Find the light within this darkness.
@@thatoneblackdude3333 Well...the χ-blade is the origin of all Keyblades (they are created in its image) so them sharing a homophonic name kind of makes sense; it is essentially the "true Keyblade".
@@thatoneblackdude3333 no its not. Because the subtitles helps.
@@thatoneblackdude3333 see, the thing is that The χ-blade is the original and first keyblade.... ever. The other blades were all named after it. So having them share a similar name makes perfect sense. But anyways, the game has subtitles so...
It's been 2 years now and this is still the BEST retrospective on UA-cam. Kudos and thank you!
I've watch this like 4 times, I love this video lol
When I played Chain of Memories as a kid I was pretty convinced that it would be "non-canon" in a sense, and Sora losing his memories of the game at the end basically confirmed that for me. I fully expected to start KH2 in that field again, with CoM "happening", but forgotten and never mentioned again, which I was pretty sad about.
Starting up KH2 and seeing the castle and Marluxia in the opening was one of my most exciting childhood memories. Felt like I was in on a secret club because I knew what was going on and that it actually mattered!
This is one of the most satisfying feelings that permeates through the entire series. Playing Kingdom Hearts 3 for the first time and having the context to understand what's going on was an amazing experience. The series does such a good job of rewarding your investment in it by making almost everything matter and have some form of payoff, even when you least expect it.
Same. The first game in the series i played tho was chain of memorizes as i didn't have a playstation at the time
same lol
The problem is that the vast majority of people refuse or don't play handheld games.
I can't play the handheld games, they are not good games. So I won't finish them.
@@mr.voidroy6869 theres a version for the ps2 one, what are you on about?
Alright so I’m only 9 minutes into this but I just gotta praise how well done this is so far. The stuff you mentioned about Sora and Riku’s character design was mind-blowing. Buckling up for the rest of this adventure.
Thanks, I know very little about character design and that paragraph started from me rambling at my friend at 3AM😅.
@@NovaZoneTV thanks to that I noticed how the Keyblades colour scheme is the same as Riku, so it looks more natural on Riku than on Sora when he takes it away from him
I love all of the "don't worry about it" thrown in because wooooof there is a lot there in those moments if you let yourself go down those tangents
Kingdom hearts isn’t confusing, it’s complicated, these are two very different things. A confusing story is a mess that contradicts itself or is hard to keep track of because it doesn’t do a clear job of explaining. A complicated story is what kingdom hearts is, it has so much to cover that it takes 3+ hour videos, this does not make it a bad story, I think that metal gear is one of the best video game franchises ever but I also think it’s pretty complicated, hopefully that all made sense to you.
I cannot stress enough how great this video’s pacing is. I find so often that UA-cam commentators have no charisma or any sense of pacing in their writing but this 3 hour long video about a video game series I’ve never played is the most enthralled I’ve been watching something on UA-cam in months. Keep making your stuff, man!!
Riku replica's death was very much doubted, he says "I wonder where a fake goes" and Riku says "who knows maybe it'll be where I end up" in which Replica scoffs and say "a faithful replica to the end"
I mean it would be cruel for him to say something mean in someone’s dying moment lol.
As someone who has put probably about five thousand hours into this series, even this taught me a few things (mainly Sora being the only wielder at the beginning of kh1, and Ansem only writing the *first* report)
This is a MASTERCLASS in attention to detail. This covers pretty much every single plot point without considering X and III.
You've done the impossible, king. Keep it up.
1:43:29 as someone who's first game was 358/2 days of all things, it's actually not the worst place to jump in at. Getting to learn about these characters like this made going through Kingdom Hearts 2 at a later date WAY more cool when you actually know and have been friends with the Organization members, and knowing their relationship to Roxas, and how they are trying to get control of him again through Sora throughout 2.
I always say if you have the means to absolutely play through the games in release order, but it's really fun to see people's experiences of the series when they jumped in from other points in it :3 (plus like if you have fun playing it "wrong" who cares right)
Yeah, Days was my entry as well. And I think I wouldn’t have gotten into the series nearly as quickly had I started with another game.
Yes, there’s a lot that you don’t understand if you start here, but that’s actually what I loved about it. Besides just putting me on the same page as Roxas, it places this air of mystery front and center that compelled me to know more. I then carried that mentality on to the rest of the series, and found it rewarded me for it.
Re:coded was my first, which was also an underrated first entry. Didn't pay attention, so when I played Days right after, I knew the basics of the world but had no idea what was going to happen.
I jumped in at DDD. Therefore my experience with the franchise is very personal to me, since so much of it is by going on wikis, watching random UA-cam videos and let's plays since retrospective Videos weren't a thing back then.
An experience I will probably never have again but it was so much fun to obsess over finding out the context of everything happening, throughout my internet searching.
I played parts of the first game on my aunt's ps2 when I was like 10, but that was the majority of my experience until I ended up playing 358/2 days before playing kingdom hearts 2 as well, so I know exactly what you mean. I'm so glad I did too, everything hits so much harder when you have that context and I can't imagine how I would've felt without it. Axels "death" scene legitimately made me cry the first time I ever reached it and it still makes me tear up a little ngl. "He made me feel like I had a heart." 😭 Days is still my favorite entry in the series too.
during the part in KH2 opening where Roxas remembers Sora's name.
In japanese, Kairi's/Namine's voice gave him a hint to "look up"
Which is a pretty nice touch since in Japanese, Sora means sky.
Probably my favorite narrator for a video essay I've seen. Not afraid to call out things existing just because the developers thought it was cool. Succinctly skipping over shiz that has little relevance, and really just getting to the core of the story and its themes
I like this. This just feels like someone who actually played kingdom hearts and payed attention, thorwing all the BS aside and just looking at KH as any average game series and giving it the, what I would say as minimal, effort to actually pay attention to it. Not coming up excuses at to why its too goofy to take even look at or too convoluted to pay attention too. Just seems like someone who grew up playing games, understands how games were made then, and enjoys experimentation in games enough to get through something like kingdom hearts. You honestly take me back to an era of gaming I miss so much. tldr, wonderful video dude.
It made sense to be confused back before all the games where ported onto a single console, so people could actually miss games. Now there's no excuse
@@Gloomdrake ikr! I like to my explain the “convuluted” ness of KH to be based on my experience of LoTR.
If you only watched a portion of Lord of the Rings until Frodo got to Rivendale, then fell asleep and woke up when the crew was on the Mountain, Frodo is fighting Golem and watched until the end credits.
Im sure anyone would be confused simply replace the movie with a book or any kind of plot driven story.
That is what explaining KH to someone who missed games or missed chunks of the story.
@@Gloomdrake yep . Atleast watch the cutscenes.
Also nomura makes These games so that he lets us i terpret things( wich is some of the fun) He only gives us enough to work with befor eather revealing the truth in a future Titel or not
I do have some headcanons that have some Basis on context from the games mostly relatet to Xehanorts plot that ar mostlikely what nonura thought. I Respect him as a writer he isnt as bad as people thing. People just hate his ideas and ar Not smart enough to figure things Out on ther own and becaus its cool to hate ther hate.
Fantasy Plots ar fallen with "BS" lore all the time anyway so kh isnt doing anything wrong..but why people hate on it i dont understand. Yes its "weard" but its a story and game Not real life soweit cares.
@@indedgames4359 Nomura's writing sounds bad when people take it out of context for comedy. Like how a fish dies when you take it out of water. It's a nice experience if you meet it on it's own terms, though
Seeing (and helping) Sora and Riku block a literal onslaught of attacks while always defending the other's back (at the end of KH2) will never not give me chills. Till the day I die
Honestly, I agree. I've never touched a Kingdom Hearts game (it's high on my "I want to play it eventually but that day is not today" list) but I feel like I have a pretty solid grasp on the lore and story. It's not complicated at all, but it IS convoluted. I can follow it's story easily, but the methods it uses to tell it's story can be confusing
The story telling thing make more sense when you which 2 FFs influenced it the most: FF7 and FF8.
As far as keyblade wielders go the way I always interpreted the lore is that you can either be bequeathed a keyblade or your heart can forge one. The only requirement is having a strong enough heart either strong in darkness or light you can seemingly lose access to a keyblade if your heart weakens but how keyblades are made/ how they work are a very underdeveloped aspect of kh
The way I see it, just as the x-blade is the counterpart of Kingdom Hearts, the keyblades are essentially artificial mini-versions of the x-blade made for use by people. On a related note, I believe that the Keyblade of Hearts in KH1 is essentially an incomplete x-blade.
@@sixthcairn that does kind of make sense yea I’m just saying the specific way you can forge a keyblade is in a few ways.
Like if a realm creates a keyblade from its own heart you get the kingdom key or kingdom key d
If a person creates a keyblade from their own heart/someone creates one for their heart that’s how you get stuff like the way to dawn and most other keys we’re shown
And if kh forms a keyblade that is the x-blade
The other thing is they could be a descendant of one of the Dandelions (seriously, that's the ultimate Get out of Jail Free Card for the series: 'Oh well, they're just... a descendant of one of the Dandelions. So that's why they can use a Keyblade.'.
In Sora's case, well we know why he's one (Ventus' heart resided in him for so long that he unknowingly went through the ceremony without having to physically make contact with another Keyblade Wielder). Also since it seems that Sora can't become a Keyblade Master, that means he's probably the Endless Potential.
@@SBaby as long as sora ain’t the MoM I’m fine
@@kaison12205 I don't think Sora's the MoM. If he IS someone we've seen before, I'd be more likely to put my money on Ephemer. But that's just from our frame of reference. It's probably someone we've never seen before.
Someone on the KH development team years back when Back Cover came out said that if you wanted to do power comparisons, you could compare it to an anime like Sailor Moon. Ansem from the first KH game would be like Beryl, and the MoM would be like Galaxia. Now whether that means that the MoM was taken over by some evil entity like Galaxia was, I don't know.
Getting to the end, very very very long stretch but Lee picks up Ventus's training sword, and made a heart felt connection with him in that moment. In a game with a character touching another character's blade, that is kinda Ventus's moment with Lee.
I was think of that scene whenever I get confused about Axel being a keyblade wielder, but at the same time the logic in it is very finicky considering it's a fake keyblade.
I always assumed that ventus’ heart connecting with sora’s was the reason why sora was able to wield a keyblade and also why the older he got the more he looked like vinitas (who came before the connection between ventus and sora). It makes a parallel with roxas (soras nobody) looking like ventus, and sora looking more like vinitas when ventus lost his heart and connected with sora. Terra’s lingering will even mistakes sora for vinitas in kh2.
.... holy shit
"Thus begins the final fight between the strongest being of darkness, and 3 boys taking turns holding their braincell."
Holy crap I lost it at this and cackled for a good 5 minutes.
2:25:30
I always thought the only reason Sora can use a keyblade is because Ventus joined his heart to Sora's heart.
I just want to point out how horrifyingly accurate the "there can't be 2 keyblade masters" line from riku in the first game is, even though I'm 90 precent sure it was a mistranslation from "there can't be 2 hero's" or something like that. But I mean every time we have been shown a mark off mastery exam, only one person gets made a master (Riku or Aqua). So so far in the series, yes, there can't be two keyblade masters
we lost so many good actors just hearing Christopher Lee got me teary eye
Not to mention Leonard Nimoy AND Rutger Hauer as Master Xehanort.
I remember watching the commercials on Disney about a game of Disney x Final Fantasy and being so hyped for it. I remember getting it for Christmas of 2002 when I was 9 and playing the hell out of the game. I know the plot is nonsense and Nomura loves to mock us but goddamn Kingdom Hearts is my favorite series of all time so thanks for this amazing analysis 🙏🏽
Props to you for making me feel more emotion in the 358/2 days segment than any other 20 minute long explanation of that games story has given me.
One of Sora's key character traits is his friends and the connections he makes. It makes complete since that it's all Roxas wants and what motivates him and it also makes 358/2 one of the most underrated games in the series. I would love a full remake.
1:21:45 Axel uses Self-Destruct! It's super effective!
I loved this compilation of video essays. It's such a refreshing thing to see someone who understands and loves Kingdom Hearts go through it without just saying 'oh its so complicated' because like you said, if you follow all the breadcrumbs, it all adds up. It's a passion project spanning decades and it's my favourite game series ever. Thanks so much.
I’ve seen other videos explaining kingdom hearts’ story but this is the first one to lay it out in a way that makes sense to me. It’s incredible how simplified and rich this explanation is.
28:00 HOOOOO GOD DAYUM Billy Zane’s KH1 Ansem voice is smooth like butter 😮💨🔥🔥 also that turn is hella HAWT 🔥🔥🔥🔥
it feels so nice to find people who connect to and see kingdom hearts and it’s story the same I do
this game has defined who I am as a person
I'm sorry that happened to you
i absolutely died at the "im me he says" then it cuts to credits that was way too funny bravo man
I ALWAYS sob at the 358 story. So beautiful. There is nothing else so tragic i swear
1:12:03 fun to think this was the pinnacle of characters from different FFs interacting with each other back then, before Dissidia was a thing... seeing Cloud and Squall figthing back to back, exhaling that big "we are rivals" vibes... so epic
definitely still one of my favorite scenes of the whole franchise
13:19 I kind interpret it not as "they have no actual heart" but that they are "heartless" in the way that someone can "heartless and cruel" which fits with how we see heartless behave in most cases.
i knew little to NOTHING about kingdom hearts going into this video to pass my time at work and OOOHH BUDDY
its the way i was CRYING during most of the KH2 portion i am ACHING. coworker kept giving me looks as she walked past lmao. love this video and you explain things in a very concise way and i REALLY appreciate going through some of the split portions of games in chronological that keeps the events lined up super well.
cant wait to check out more!!
this is an absolutely fantastic series! got randomly pushed by the algorithm to me and i'm super glad it did. a very concise, clean analysis of the plot across all the games pre-kh3. great work!
Yeah i saw it the otherday, and finally decided to watch it.
I have to say, even with it's flaws story wise I really love and appreciate Re:Coded on the DS. I mean it essentially is kh1 on the go! Plus it's gameplay is kind of fun for level 1 crit runs 😃
Especially with how you don’t even have to use level up tiles since you get stat tiles anyways
There aren’t many ‘flaws’. Most ‘flaws’ are misconceptions because people are incapable of following something other than the simple cookie cutter stories that plague media or simply personal opinions, such as disliking the aspect of time travel.
Although I didnt really appreciate the game, im glad you enjoyed it.
I loved recoded but I wish the developers did something else instead of the minigames. I think one of the reasons recoded on the ds exists is because they wanted to see how much of the first game they could fit on the ds.
Loved the CPU system. The combinations to get newer and more powerful moves, the ability to freely customize your difficulty on all fronts, and the chips really sold it for me. 3D was great too for me, only issue was I wish you could at least turn off the Drop Gauge after the main story to help with exploration.
I finally gotta come clean... Ive watched this video more times than i want to admit.. Amazing rewatchability due to such a well made video. Thank you for letting me and so many others relive all the feelings attached to this franchise!
i am someone who has never played kingdom hearts, but is really interested in the story, and this was FANTASTIC. please consider making another instalment covering X and III (and anything else in the Kingdom Hearts series you find interesting, i didn’t even know there were novelisations!!) - i would really love to hear your thoughts on them!!
When I’ve played the ‘confusing games’ like 3d and 3 I’ve NEVER found them confusing. It’s only when I go on the internet with everyone screaming xyz makes no sense do I start to overthink it a bit, but when I rewatch the cutscenes it always makes sense again, once I get the internet ramblings out my head. Plus, it’s a LOT easier to grasp when you have basic trust in tetsuya nonura who clearly loves his own franchise.
There’s nothing wrong with having critical thinking skills and finding something to be a plot hole. People can have different opinions on if a story is coherent or a mess.
This sounds like a bs comment. Kingdom hearts is a great series and i love the games but the story is a mess. Anybody who told me that they understood the story as it is was full of it. They thought they did but they didnt.
@@drewmyers3916 no you can absolutely understand the story just by playing them in order of release, but that's not to say that the story isn't a complete fucking mess after 3d
@@drewmyers3916 you had no idea. Nothing is bs, KH never be a simple series yet ppl these days wants a simple story
@@mikashi1593 that has nothing to do with that. kh just has straight up, objective, plotholes. i love the series and i wish i could say something different, but it just is how it is.
"I don't care who you are, THIS {Vexen/Even} is a fucking villain design."
Facts. Which is added to my shock, when KH3 revealed he was actually the one to plan and execute being a double agent against ROXIII.
Sometimes I forget how many funny allusions and jokes I made to KH3 in this thing. Only makes me think even more "damn, it'll be way funnier to wait until 4 releases before making a 3 video"
this is genuinely the most entertaining retrospective I've ever watched,
the editing and your narration are INSANE. this is everything I've now realised I wanted in deep dives. can't wait to watch more of your work
Directors cuts are always great, especially for this series! It's good stuff man
K.
L.
TPP should’ve got a directors cut
M.
This video is wonderful, and it did answer some questions I had and gave me some information I either forgot or missed. I do hope you make the KH3 retrospective.
That damn summer vacation is over line gets me every time I think oh yeah kingdom hearts this game makes me happy but no blindsided every single time I play it gets me all emotional
Being a fan of the whole X series of games, especially the story of KHUX, seeing the life pods at 27:22 described as not being plot-relevant for the dark seeker saga hurt my soul 🥲 So much happened there...
27:33 I have never taken a deeper breathe and just hit my bowl and actually shook my head. I was so in this video. That was so good it was extremely cringy.
I was able to bring my wife up to date on the series as she only played kh1 and kh3. So yeah!!!! Thanks so much for this video we both enjoyed it!
Im always saying this. Like kingdom hearts is like a book series. Playing KH1, 2 ,and 3. Is like reading harry potter book 1, 4 ,and 7. And also people meme about how long it takes to explain kingdom hearts but its a 20 yr old series. Great video!
The series set itself up to be misinterpreted by branching out to multiple different platforms. While it’s a privilege to be able to afford a console or a handheld in the first place, at least once you have one, it is ALMOST (almost) unheard of for vital sequels in the series to go to different platforms by different companies. It’s almost classist in how dumb it is. It is reasonable to expect even your poorest fan to eventually trade in their old PS model and use savings to get the latest model so they can play the latest KH game. That’s one thing.
But these games had multiple handheld ones on various systems. The only reason it wasn’t an issue for me was because my dad and brother are also gamers so somebody always had what I needed, between the three of us in one house.
But I knew so many friends that had certain games they just didn’t play. Hell, there’s a freaking mobile game I never played that HAS IMPORTANT INFO lol.
KH is a book series except one is physical copy only, one is a visual novel, another is only available on kindle, and another is an audiobook.
9:25 Guardando nel Buio and L'impeto Oscuro are just two italian titles for music, the first meaning "Looking in the dark" and the second meaning "Obscure Impetus/Impulse"
I love that the title says Simple but the video is 3.5 hours long in a true Kingdom Hearts fashion 💕
It's been like 20 years since I played kh1 and I still get teary eyes over the sora and Riku fight at hollow bastion and when he finally meets up with Riku and kiari in kh2 even tho he had ansems face, just the emotion he has about finally being back with him. And that kh2 ending of finally being back home after everything. I cri. Really tugs on my heart. Don't even get me started on how fucking good simple and clean works to bring all those feelings flooding back into literally anybody who played the games. Thankyou for this video since I never got to play the in-between games or even kh3. I would have never gotten the missing context to one of my favorite stories.
This is the most complete summation of the KH series I've watched. It found a way to let me relive a lot of the amazement I had for this series as a kid while also being realistic and critical to the series. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this, clicked on a whim and was enthralled for the the whole 3.5 hours. I would love to see a KH3 video, as well as a UX and Dark Road breakdown if those are things youre invested in.
Im more excited to see the future of this series now than ever. Hopefully KH4 will lead to some new discoveries for the lore, and characters we love!
Fun fact: You can straight up stunlock Terranort in BBS for a bit by attacking him while he's in the middle of doing the full Dark Volley shotlock. Specifically the bit where he's twirling around and shit.
Ars Solum does wonders when you interrupt him with it lemme tell ya.
Played kingdom hearts 1 and 2 on ps2 when they released. I’ve recently been trying to get back into kingdom hearts and final fantasy but I don’t have the attention span or time to watch every cutscene or play all the ported games. I truly have such an understanding of the story world characters and motivations and could really tell and appreciate the amount of time and effort you put into this video. Thank you so much.
Fun Fact regarding The Lingering Will's difficulty:
He, as well as about half of the organization, can be infinitely looped.
With the right combination of abilities (no high jump, yes negative combo or have the Fenrir Keyblade equipped [but not both], no Combo plus, no combo finishers) if the player merely short-jumps and attacks once, while the boss is in a vulnerable position where he/she will take recoil/knockback from your attacks, he/she will not recover in time to avoid you, yet again, short-jumping and attacking once. This can be looped throughout the entire battle (assuming The Lingering Will doesn't collide either any other the stone structures in his arena, if he does, he can break out of the loop, idk why). This can be easily started by using Donald's Comet limit as soon as the match starts (give you invulnerability throughout its duration and can stagger the boss) this works on The Lingering Will, and half or most of the organization and their data battles, however, in Data Axel's case, you still must get rid of the fire floor before you can strike the final blow. In battles were Donald is not present you can use Sora's trinity limit instead.
but this isn't how the truly skilled play...
Great video dude. Kh4's announcement has injected a whole new life into the community I hope videos like this bring new fans to the series.
Wow. I watched this video in pieces each night before bed as a refresher for one of my favorite, yet confusing stories in gaming. I appreciate all the time and effort that you put in on this incredible video. Thank you
let me have just one original experience
As a LIFELONG KH fan, I'm thrilled to say that this retrospective actually did clarify a lot of stuff!!! ESPECIALLY with DDD. That third act is a doozy. This video was an absolute pleasure. THANK YOU!
358/2 days is such a masterpiece I cried so much during that part of the video. I'm kind of in a position where I was questioning if kh was every actually intelligently written and during that part of the video I got my answer
was the answer you got "no"?
because it should be
Days is one of my favorite games in the series. Roxas was already my favorite after playing KH2 but Days really made me love him more. I was surprised at how well Xion was integrated into the story given up to that point no one had mentioned her.
This is the best Kingdom Hearts summary ever made, congrats and thank you the awesome content. Just finished to play everything before KH3 and was looking for some recap, and damn, this video is perfect. Not only you got the main plot points in one video but you were also able to tell most of the thoughts we had at the time of each game released, you described exactly what I thought in the end of KH2, that was nostalgic to watch.
Thank you, I'll watch this every time I want to reconnect with KH
358 has in my opinion the best story in the series. It plays out as more of a hopeful tragedy then a whimsical adventure and I love it for that.
A 3 and a half hour video explaining why kingdom hearts isn't complicated. At this point, it's complicated. Sign me up!
Reading through these comments is truly uplifting. Thank you!
Hey man just wanted to say I know you’ll reach far. The fact that I watched a couple minutes of this video thinking it was from a highly known channel considering the overall quality with the details and great commentary and being surprised by seeing how it was the contrary of that. It amazed me the dedication and the result to realize it isn’t being seen throughout UA-cam. If you’re doing such a good job now I can’t imagine what you’ll do in the future and I’m here for it. Personal bias considering I grew up playing KH but still, props to you man. Hope for the best and God bless.
I played kh days first. Then rechain of memories, kh 2, and kh 1. My dad passed away when I was 9 and he had the ff7 movie. I loved that movie and after he died I remember seeing Roxas on a commercial and I begged my mom to get it for me, I thought Roxas was cloud. Kh days means so much to me. The story of Roxas was so sad
This is the perfect primer for KH3, Im starting it soon. I recently rediscovered my love for KH1, CoM, and of course 2. This is perfect prep work for me.
I started this video for a quick catchup, thinking about skipping everything I didn't want to hear/already knew and in the end I've watched the whole 3.5h. Such a nice summary, I loved it :) I hope you feel the need one day to make the videos about the Union X games and KH3 to finally fill all the pieces of the puzzle... Because oh my god what a puzzle.
Played all the games dozens of times. Gotta say this was very well done! The humor was spot on. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle unchained/ dark road, and KH3.