Wednesday, January 30, 2019

T5W#181-Top 5 First Impression Thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III

January 29, 2019, a day we thought would never come.  It only took 14 years of waiting, waiting, waiting and a bunch of other games that didn’t include a “III” attached to it.  But Kingdom Hearts III is finally here and I garuntee anyone who hasn’t finished it yet will be glued to it for the rest of the week.  I got mine at Gamestop the night of release and after a few hours with it, I think for this weeks Top 5 I could share my initial thoughts, My Top 5 First Impression Thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III…man it still feels weird to know that game is actually here.  Let’s get to it shall we?
 
#5-I wanna duel wield Keyblades
This is probably asking too much from the get go…but I want two Keyblades at the same time.  Ever since the secret ending movie from the first Kingdom Hearts, “Another Side, Another Story,” where we saw Roxas slicing his way through legions of Heartless solo, I wanted to do the same thing.  We eventually could do this in Kingdom Hearts II, in the same setting too except with Sora.  I just hope we don’t get 3/4ths of the way into KHIII before I can get to my favorite kind of combat style.
 
#4-Familiar territory with new fun
One of the biggest draws of any new Kingdom Hearts game is getting the chance to visit new worlds based on the vast Disney pantheon.  I am psyched to visit the worlds of Big Hero 6, Toy Story and Frozen.  Buuuuut I don’t think I’ll be getting to those right away like I hoped.  We start the game off with a couple of familiar worlds (wont spoil where and ill do my best to keep beginning spoilers minimal).  Thankfully, we get to explore new aspects of said worlds and its allowed for some great action packed moments and just plain moments of chill, a chance to get reaquinted with this multiverse after a long time between sequels (numbered sequels that is).
 
#3-The Cutscenes are GORGEOUS
If nothing else, the long wait for KHIII shows in the stellar graphics.  Every tiny bit of animation feels like the Kingdom Hearts we know but KHIII is graphically lightyears ahead of its predecessors.  The cutscenes alone feel top notch and the transitions from full motion video into combat is seamless.  Oh and the ability to summon Disney rides like the Pirate Ship and the Tea Cups, my jaw always drops whenever I can do that.  Suddenly, waiting 14 years feels worth it just to witness how good this game looks.
 
#2-The Soundtrack is Amazing
I need this OST.  Nevermind the beautiful new intros from the singing voice of Kingdom Hearts, Hikaru Utada, Yoko Shimomura (Final Fantasy XV) has delivered possibly her crowning achievement in the series to date.  The new themes are great but its revisiting those old worlds and hearing the updates of new themes that really strikes a chord.  I haven’t played a Kingdom Hearts game in a really long time, not since KHII maybe 10 years ago.  So hearing the old themes new and improved felt like a great homecoming gift.  You can get excited to this soundtrack or fall asleep to it like a lullaby. 
 
#1-Lost on the Story but still having fun
I really should have done my homework going in so this is partly…or mostly on me.  So like I said above, in the 14 year lull between main numbered games there have been other Kingdom Hearts games, both prequels and continuations.  So the story has built up from Kingdom Hearts II across multiple games, multiple systems.  I never had a chance to play Birth By Sleep, 358/2 Days, Coded or Dream Drop Distance…so im definitely still lost as the game goes on and im introduced to new characters and plot developments (at Kingdom Hearts II only had one preceeding game, Chain of Memories, and that was easy to explain).  It feels like im complaining and I am a little, I don’t like being lost.  However, I have some good memories trudging through the story of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II with Sora, Donald and Goofy, whether its seeing a Disney world on the Playstation or kicking the crap out an impossible to beat Boss fight.  Those same feelings are still present early on in the game.  And while I don’t know everything leading to this point, I definitely cant wait to see how this all comes to a head. 

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