Post by Ryan_MYeah on Jan 3, 2018 3:04:10 GMT
I’d almost forgotten how much I’d enjoyed these games. I got the PS4 collection as an early Christmas gift, and they’ve been eating up some of my time.
I mean, I’m not usually into these types of JRPG’s, as they tend to take themselves so seriously, and I hate, hate, hate grinding. However, maybe it is just the surface level Disney gimmick that gets me, but the overly serious brooding is really reigned in with the knowing wink and smiles (“yes, we know it’s silly, let’s run with it”), and even the grinding doesn’t irritate me that much.
First game, had this been the only one, I feel it would have been a perfectly good game, but not great. The hack and slash mechanics are fun with some flashy combos and great special attacks and magic, and while they are quite dated and clunky (and it’s a punishingly difficult game at times), the enemies and Great boss battles are so good. The story is your basic save the world adventure with barely any surprises, but characters are always a huge saving grace of these games, and that’s the case here.
Then I replayed Chain of Memories... I hate this game. It’s just an overlong, overcomplicated bridge to make 2 make sense, and if it weren’t for giving us key context on characters like Namine and Organization XIII, I’d suggest skipping it altogether. Fighting mechanics aren’t even enjoyable. I hate the numbered cards that the game forces on you to make it feel “innovative”, when all it really does is make the game feel cumbersome and artificially difficult.
Experienced 358/2 Days for the first time, I didn’t get to play the full game, as the PS4 version only let you watch cutscenes. So Story was all I really had to go on with this here, and it not only gives great context to character motivations, but goes above and beyond in making the Nobodies feel sympathetic and ironically human, especially the friendship between Roxas and one of my favorite characters Axel (Got it Memorized?)
So now I’m playing KH2, which is probably one of my favorite games of all time, if I’m being honest. Every weakness that the hack and slash mechanics of the first game had has been addressed and ironed out, expanding them and refining them at the same time, giving you a lot more to do with much more interesting quests and expansive worlds, the introduction of those awesome reaction commands, the various Disney worlds are so enjoyable to run through (sans Musical Atlantica, which I’m dreading visiting), and leveling up has never felt more natural and breezy to me. The game isn’t as punishing in its difficulty, but it can still be pretty challenging if you’re not careful in combat. And this is the best story of the entire series, full of deeper, darker, funnier moments, and greater character work. And the Utada theme song’s better than the first.
After I finish that, I’m looking so forward to playing Birth by Sleep for the first time, and then catching up to the other games before KH3. I just wish they’d stop wasting time on all of these random experimental games and getting so lost in the convoluted set ups and tie-ins.
So, anybody else played these games? Any fans?
I mean, I’m not usually into these types of JRPG’s, as they tend to take themselves so seriously, and I hate, hate, hate grinding. However, maybe it is just the surface level Disney gimmick that gets me, but the overly serious brooding is really reigned in with the knowing wink and smiles (“yes, we know it’s silly, let’s run with it”), and even the grinding doesn’t irritate me that much.
First game, had this been the only one, I feel it would have been a perfectly good game, but not great. The hack and slash mechanics are fun with some flashy combos and great special attacks and magic, and while they are quite dated and clunky (and it’s a punishingly difficult game at times), the enemies and Great boss battles are so good. The story is your basic save the world adventure with barely any surprises, but characters are always a huge saving grace of these games, and that’s the case here.
Then I replayed Chain of Memories... I hate this game. It’s just an overlong, overcomplicated bridge to make 2 make sense, and if it weren’t for giving us key context on characters like Namine and Organization XIII, I’d suggest skipping it altogether. Fighting mechanics aren’t even enjoyable. I hate the numbered cards that the game forces on you to make it feel “innovative”, when all it really does is make the game feel cumbersome and artificially difficult.
Experienced 358/2 Days for the first time, I didn’t get to play the full game, as the PS4 version only let you watch cutscenes. So Story was all I really had to go on with this here, and it not only gives great context to character motivations, but goes above and beyond in making the Nobodies feel sympathetic and ironically human, especially the friendship between Roxas and one of my favorite characters Axel (Got it Memorized?)
So now I’m playing KH2, which is probably one of my favorite games of all time, if I’m being honest. Every weakness that the hack and slash mechanics of the first game had has been addressed and ironed out, expanding them and refining them at the same time, giving you a lot more to do with much more interesting quests and expansive worlds, the introduction of those awesome reaction commands, the various Disney worlds are so enjoyable to run through (sans Musical Atlantica, which I’m dreading visiting), and leveling up has never felt more natural and breezy to me. The game isn’t as punishing in its difficulty, but it can still be pretty challenging if you’re not careful in combat. And this is the best story of the entire series, full of deeper, darker, funnier moments, and greater character work. And the Utada theme song’s better than the first.
After I finish that, I’m looking so forward to playing Birth by Sleep for the first time, and then catching up to the other games before KH3. I just wish they’d stop wasting time on all of these random experimental games and getting so lost in the convoluted set ups and tie-ins.
So, anybody else played these games? Any fans?