(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Kingdom Hearts III. Note: The clips that are all shown are from Doug's Twitch streams of himself playing the game)
Doug (vo): Oh, boy, I can't wait to talk about this one. For those not in the know...hell, I'm not even sure I'm totally in the know...this game got a lot of hate when it first came out. People were so pissed off and so betrayed, I thought about calling it The Rise of Skywalker of the series. I didn't even play these games at the time and I knew about the hate it got. But the more I looked into it, the more I saw a lot of fans saying, "Hey, lay off, it's great! C'mon, it's a good ending!" What I'm trying to get across is, I have no idea what way to bullshit my opinion to not get a ton of down votes on this video. Honestly, I feel like with this game, no matter what I say, I'm gonna get a ton of down votes, no matter what. That's just to let you know I'm not being swayed either way and I'm just gonna be honest like I always am with these reviews. With that said... (The video suddenly cuts to black) ...I thought this game was a lot of fun.
(We are immediately shown a clip from Dark City, showing the Strangers torturing John Murdoch)
Strangers: Kill him! Kill him!
(We go back to Kingdom Hearts III)
Doug (vo): Now before you go crazy, keep in mind, I played these games back to back, I didn't have to wait ass-teen years and go through a million other side games. I was just playing the main three and watched a recap video of what happened in-between. And if you're only playing the main games, by God, you need to watch a recap video in-between. Also keep in mind, I really like the Kingdom Hearts games, but I don't really think about them much after I'm done playing them. I really get sucked in while I'm playing them, I enjoy the worlds and the characters and even all the tropes with a complicated story and mix of anime cliches and Disney cliches. With that said, if you hate this game or have a lot of criticisms of it, I'm probably gonna agree with you because there are a shit ton of flaws. They just didn't distract from my overall experience, and I will admit, the flaws in these games are part of the fun for me.
Story and review[]
Doug (vo): The story... (Laughs) ...I'm not even gonna try. No, I'm really not kidding when I say it is comical to try and explain what happens in these games. Even the first two are a little tricky when you get down to it. I mean, there are just some details that you kind of question, but you're not supposed to, it takes a second to catch on. But still, the initial idea you get, like in Lord of the Rings, a lot happens, but what are they supposed to do? They're supposed to get rid of that ring and defeat Sauron, you got it. What's the core of it? You're supposed to save Kairi and Riku, you save them in different ways, but that's ultimately what you're supposed to do. This one, throughout two-thirds of the game, I had to keep reminding myself what the hell I was supposed to do. All I really got was, you're supposed to level up to defeat Xehanort, the ultimate bad guy. There's so many long, complicated conversations in this, which, again, is part of the fun of Kingdom Hearts, they over-explain everything. But, yes, when you are constantly fighting all these various creatures and bosses and such, it does kind of take away when you're asking yourself, "Why am I doing this again?".
(Footage focusing on the game's fighting sequences is shown)
Doug (vo): With that said, let's talk about the fighting. The gameplay, personally for me, is my favorite, but I will admit, I'm very biased. As you've probably picked up, I'm one of those gamers that doesn't want to think too much when I'm playing and I just want to go and destroy shit and smash stuff up, which is not to say you can't do other things, you can still use magic and various other moves and summons and all that good stuff. In fact, I think they even add a lot of other variations. But with the exception of maybe curing yourself, they're not really needed. Even in the other games, there were moments where I had to utilize other moves, other potions, other different types of magic or techniques or whatever. With this, all I had to do was level up, and when it said "press triangle", I pressed triangle. But it looked and felt really good every single time I did it. So if you're someone that loves rushing in and just smashing the shit out of all your enemies, this is perfect. If you're someone that likes to figure stuff out and you have to use different techniques in order to get through different levels, I mean, you can, but it's not required. This game is surprisingly easy. This is the first time I played one of these games on standard mode, and it still felt like I was playing on beginner. It doesn't really get challenging until the last third, and even then, I got through it fine, there really aren't many moments where I can recall being really upset and screaming at the screen, "Just let me win! What am I doing wrong?", nothing like that. It just took a couple tries, I had to figure out the pattern, and boom, it was done. But it was also super enjoyable, so I really can't complain.
(Footage focusing on the game's graphics is shown)
Doug (vo): It probably goes without saying...and I'm willing to bet even people who don't like this game have to admit this...it looks goddamn beautiful. This game uses Unreal Engine, which I've used all the time in VR, and anytime I play a game with this engine, I'm always blown away by how good it looks. In the Pirates of the Caribbean level, sometimes, I had to do a double take because I thought it was just a clip from the movie. And naturally, as you'd expect, the designs are really great in this as well. I wasn't really excited to go to a Toy Story level, I mean, what, are we going to go in a toy store? Well...yeah, and the toy store is pretty fucking awesome. I love the variety of different children's playthings that get possessed and try to kill you, and the sheer size and detail is so much fun to explore. This is probably the closest these games have gotten to feeling like you're just playing a movie. Maybe they indulge that a little too much.
(Footage focusing on the game's numerous cutscenes is shown)
Doug (vo): You've probably heard there's way too many cutscenes in this game, and while, yes, they certainly are right, there is a little bit more to discuss than just that. The cutscenes, when characters from the game are talking, I actually surprisingly enjoy. There's a lot of moments of recap, kind of like in a Wagner opera when they'll just take a chunk and sing what happened in the previous ones, but for the millions of games and various characters this has, for me, that was really welcomed. Where I legit start to get pissed off, though, is in the Disney worlds. Everybody watching this has seen Tangled, has seen Frozen, has seen Big Hero 6, and if they haven't, this game is not gonna get the essence of them in this amount of time. If you've never seen Frozen and this is your introduction to it, I get the feeling that movie's kinda gonna be ruined for you. So, yeah, we don't need a shot-by-shot recreation of Rapunzel interrogating Flynn. We don't need to waste a ton of time seeing if Buzz thinks you're a good guy or not. We, sweet Jesus on high, Mary, God, Joseph, do not need to hear "Let It Go" again! And I'll even be the first to say, I could stomach it fine if they did something different with it. For example, you see Sora, Donald and Goofy approaching Elsa, she's about to sing. Maybe if they got, like, caught in the castle or they were trying to use their own magic powers to not get frozen or not get crushed by the giant pillars and columns and whatnot, that would be kind of fun. But for the most part, you're just watching the damn song. It did get frustrating playing the game and then having to set the controller down whenever a cutscene happened, because I feel like there's a better way you could utilize this as a game, and it does sometimes.
(Footage focusing on Riku and Sora's fight with a Heartless in the Dark Margin is shown)
Doug (vo): Without giving away too much, there's a character that turns evil about halfway through, and while, yes, it definitely makes sense why and it turns into a boss battle, the way they explore the boss during the battle makes you understand more why that choice was made. Everything from how the character walks to what the character is saying is explained in the background while you're playing.
(Footage focusing on The Final World is shown)
Doug (vo): There's even, I was shocked to find, a breathtaking moment when you're in this kind of purgatory world. You can just go to the next level, but if you explore a little bit, you find these other entities that are also stuck in purgatory. And I'm not even kidding, this is some of the best writing I've heard in anything. Kingdom Hearts, a video game, movies, books, I don't care. These monologues actually really stuck with me after I was done reading them.
(We are shown moments of Doug reacting to the scenes where Sora interacts with Nameless Stars in The Final World)
Doug: Oh, Jesus Christ. "That crying...I have to find it. Embrace it. The sweet weight I carried." Ju...I...h-hold on! (off-screen) Fuck! Fuck! (onscreen) "My dear, beloved burden". Oh, oh! (puts his hands over his face) Oh, no! (groans; muffled) Holy shit! (normal) This is the best stuff in the game! This is the best stuff in any of the games I played.
Doug (vo): They are so poignant and so heartbreaking and means so much because these characters are here, but you had to look for them. It wasn't just shown to you in a cutscene, you had to explore a little bit, and you got rewarded. It made the game and the world feel a lot more inhabitable.
(Footage focusing on the Disney worlds and story is shown)
Doug (vo): As I'm sure a lot of people have pointed out, the Disney worlds don't really play much into the story either, but I don't know, I feel like I was kinda used to that with these games. Yes, this one ties the Disney worlds the least into the overall story, and, yeah, the more I hear about what they originally had in mind with Frozen, it would have been cool to see them go all the way with that. But with the exception of a couple, the Disney worlds and characters really do kind of feel like chess pieces, which is ironic, you see them actually playing chess in this. When the actual Kingdom Hearts story does get going, which, kind of a spoiler, it doesn't really until the final third...unless you like the Organization XIII characters coming out and going, "Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh!" and then disappearing...I did find myself really getting sucked in. Yes, I did watch a recap of what happens in-between these games, and, yeah, some of these characters, I didn't really see their introductions, but I really felt like I got to know a lot of these characters and a lot of them really do have satisfactory endings. I like for as much exposition and overexplaining that there is in these games that there are moments where they just need to say very short, poignant sentences that get to the heart of what they're about.
(Footage focusing on the Gummi Ship stages is shown)
Doug (vo): I'll say the one thing I legit hated in this one, like I didn't enjoy at all, was the Gummi Ship stuff. I already wasn't a huge fan of it in the other ones, but I don't know, I sort of saw it as a pallet cleanser, and it worked fine, I guess. This one, there's a lot more to explore, a lot more requirements needed in order to move forward, and for a game that's honestly been pretty generous in that department to suddenly throw this in in the goddamn Gummi Ship portion, it really did get under my skin. I don't know, it's probably just a personal preference, though.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): And, yeah, I really do feel like that's what this game out of the main three comes down to the most, personal preference. I know, yes, you can technically say that about anything, but the amount of years this goes back and how many fans it's acquired and how many have grown up with these games is going to play a big part in how much you enjoy it. I personally am the most basic bitch gamer. I grew up with Super Mario Bros., man, I don't really need that great a story or characters as long as it's fun to play and looks kinda nice. Not to say I don't get sucked into games that have really great story and characters, it's just not a requirement for me. So, whenever I did find myself getting emotionally involved, I just considered it icing on the cake. But I know there's a lot of people that really take so much more out of these games, and for you, I don't know what you're gonna think of it. All I can say is, I had a good time. I thought it was fun to play, it looked beautiful, I still followed the story and characters enough, and did get emotionally involved. Honestly, if anything, the hate I've been hearing so much about, it really lowered my expectations, to the point where I was really surprised I was getting into it as much as I was. So, yeah, I'm really glad I've been introduced to these games. I'm not gonna act like they're perfect, but that's also what kinda makes them really fun. I did find myself enjoying it more than just a fun little game to play, I did get into the characters and I did get into the story. But what did you guys think? Do you think these are some of the greatest games ever made or do you think they're overhyped? Do you think they started off great and then turned to shit? Did you grow up with it or just discover it, and what was your acceptance of it either way? Like I said, I'm not an expert on the fanbase, so I'd love to know all your different opinions on it. Let me know what you think, and until next time, let your heart be your guiding key.
(A scene showing Sora preparing to finally close Kingdom Hearts is shown)