Christ, don't remind me of Mak going grey. Or of Mak in general. It makes me sob internally. Holy hell, thanks for reminding me. Maybe I will.
Pff. Even if I wanted to, I'm on probation for six months. Gotta be a good boy. I'll just debate him to death for post count. I'm gonna go for...
He was never supposed to die in CoM, and his "deaths" in KHII were not deaths at all. Whether these decisions were made due to popular opinion or not has nothing to do with them being rational in-universe. You seem awfully entitled to watching this guy get killed off. Any rate, why would he continue being that merciless killer when it wasn't really who he was to begin with? Even at the point where he was assassinating Org. members, he was doing it for a friend's benefit. He looks out for them; that hasn't changed. Besides, he's been confronting those problems and flaws of his for every game thus far. You later chastise a character for having their plot arc rehashed, yet this appears to be the opposite argument: that Lea should continue going through the same crap and being the same character. Spoiler That's not really explaining anything. I guess you have nothing to say about the moments he has with Roxas that I mentioned in the first post? Or his brief glimpses of Xion and Naminé, and the implications thereof? Some examples of his alleged idiocy might help. Spoiler The reason he's gone through the redemption plot several times is because he keeps messing it up. He may have felt triumphant in CoM, but all he did was defeat a representation of his darkness; that didn't change the fact that he was denying that part of himself, nor did it keep the dark from tempting him. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Days, when he does some truly awful things to a couple of innocent kids in the name of reuniting his friends. KHII didn't solve that either; it just gave him a free pass out of his dark form. 3D for Riku is about more than just admitting who he is and what problems he's caused; it's about moving past that, getting himself together, and setting things right. Until he did that, the plot arc wasn't truly resolved. On the other hand, it very clearly is now, so technically 3D does more differently than II or Days did. So what's the problem? Riku is no longer a self-hating angst factory about his dark side; are you saying you'd prefer if he still was?
I am simultaneously filling the KH3D section with life and asking Laria to the puppy prom, for all that tells you. I have a feeling I'm not going...
Directed by Cedric the Entertainer. Starring Kel Mitchell as the protagonist and antagonist. Yes, that Kel. Having dance fights with himself. Welcome to Dance Fu.
DAHLING YOU LOOK FETCHING AS ALWAYS. I GOT YOU A BOUQUET
Did you like the bosses in this game more than any other, or hate them with a passion? Do you like their designs but hate the way they behave, or vice-versa? How's the difficulty treating you: easier or harder? What's your favorite boss in the game, and are they now your all-time favorite or does an earlier game's boss still trump them? As shall quickly become the standard, Novapinions under the spoiler. Not too many actual plot spoilers, but just in case somebody wants to go into these fights totally blind. Spoiler: Novapinions The game wasn't any harder for me, and I'm so-so on many of the boss designs. My reactions ranged from "Oh, that's kinda neat" to "What the what am I looking at." None of them offend the senses, but I don't think they'll stick with me. ...Oh, wait, I lied. I was deeply offended by the Spellican being named Spellican. I think my favorite boss was the Anti Black Coat Nightmare. Because first off the boss music was bangin'. Seriously though, very clever boss, not only in its attacks but in its AI; it actively punishes you for rushing it down, unless of course you're such a high level you can just power through it, and it uses the large arena both to obscure its moves and keep you at a distance. Seeing an enemy use HP balls against the player was a treat for me. One step closer to my dream of a boss with an HP bar comparable to yours who spams Curaga when he gets low... The Xemnas fight, although super-easy, gets an award for building in interesting ways on the way he fought in KHII. Seeing some of his latter-form attacks scaled down to reasonable sizes was interesting, e.g. those tumbling buildings are way scarier when there aren't miles and miles of empty space you can fly through to avoid them. And maybe it was just a cheap parlor trick, but I smiled when I saw his energy walls could be jumped using Flowmotion. Way to integrate, guys!
I'd be interested to hear your explanation for these.
All right, I fully acknowledge I'm out in the aether on this one. But maybe the MX we see in that scene is Xehanort's form after Terra has been freed from his influence. I originally heard that Leonard Nimoy was only signed on to voice MX in Birth by Sleep, but perhaps his reappearance in KH3D is a sign that Squeenix convinced him to play a bigger role in the series. It may be that Nomura originally intended Terranort to be the new face of Xehanort, but changed his mind as of Dream Drop Distance. The only thing that really conflicts with this hypothesis is the fact that Master Xehanort says, in reference to Mickey counting off the guardians of light, "...two on that list belong to me now." Pretty clear he's referring to Sora and Terra. But here's the thing: Considering the fact that Xehanort's time travel affects the traveler's memory, it could be he somehow doesn't know he's going to lose Terra. He lost Sora, after all, and didn't know it in advance. It's kind of a flimsy defense, but I intend to air out all my crack hypotheses before the next game hits in case I nail it on a fluke again. It seems likely that Terranort is among the numbers of the seekers of darkness and just has his hood up. Poor little guy must be shy. Only one thing doesn't make sense to me in that case: Why was Master Xehanort referred to as Xehanort's "most future self?" In the case that Terranort is present, that's simply not true. The phraseology seems to imply that age has nothing to do with it, for one; otherwise, he would've just said "my oldest self." In fact, even without Terranort, several Xehanorts are further along on the timeline than any appearance of Master Xehanort outside of KH3D. Seekernort succeeds him, Xemnas succeeds him, Saïxnort succeeds him... Hell, the only one who precedes him is YMX! So what's up with that? Did the kid just not know better? Did he assume the oldest one was the furthest down the timeline? Or was it really a mis-translation? Guess we'll only find out if someone brings it up in an interview, or KHIII answers the question.
You know yourself better than anybody else. Do any of the characters click with you? Do you look at their decisions and say, "Yeah, I would've done that," or do they not make sense to you at all? Are there any you vehemently hate for the dumb stuff they do? That last one might sound out of place, but I for one tend to get mad at characters who remind me too much of myself when they make mistakes or start acting like idiots. Hence my hatred of Riku circa KHII/Days. More importantly than looking at stuff you have in common is thinking about motivations. You don't talk to other people much; why is that? There are a handful of antisocial characters in Kingdom Hearts, but they each have their reasons. Lexaeus doesn't talk much in general because he's stoic, he prefers to speak with his actions. Saïx usually only talks to people when he has business with them, so he'd probably be pretty reserved in other situations. Any FFVIII vet knows Leon talks a lot more in his head than out loud, usually because he's judging people. Any rate, there might be more than one character you identify with. They're all mixes of traits that anybody can have. Or you might not identify with any of them; no story represents every kind of person that can exist.
Naturally, spoilers abound, so be careful. Did KH3D change your opinion about any of the cast? Do you like anyone more or less now? Did they do something in KH3D to impress you or to make you cringe? I feel like this is gonna be a hot button for this subject, so in anticipation: New Riku. Yea or nay? Reasoning always appreciated. Nova-flavored opinions under the spoiler. Beware the rampant endgame plot talk. Spoiler: Novapinions So. The three characters I like a lot more now are Riku, Xigbar, and Sora. A contributing factor to all three is drastically improved writing/voiceover quality; their lines seem much more natural now, and they have some really great ones throughout... "You treat hearts like they're bottles on a shelf, but they're not.""Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong every time.""Your mistakes always end up being other people's problems.""Maybe so. But I'm here to change all that."Riku's character entered a mire in the Days/KHII era, where he lost all his boyish charm and just became a self-loathing broodpile. 3D brought back his determination and light-heartedness, and that's just what I was hoping to see. Even as far back as KHII, I always had the feeling that Xigbar played a bigger role than he let on. He was just way too laid-back, too smug about everything, even dying. Like he knew what'd happen. Sure enough, it could be argued he was almost as important in the hierarchy as Xemnas, considering the former helped in the latter's creation. AND WHEN HE SAID "I'M ALREADY HALF XEHANORT" AND THE CAMERA ZOOMED IN ON HIS FACE JFC I LOST MY MIND HE'S BEEN NORTED THIS WHOLE TIME AND NO ONE KNEW KFJSHGKSDGKJSH IMAGINE HOW MUCH HE MUST KNOW HOW MUCH HE MUST'VE SEEN AAAAGH I've never disliked Sora at all, but he's remained fairly innocent throughout the rest of the series up to now. Considering the tragedy that surrounds him and the number of people who've sacrificed themselves to help him, or whose sacrifices have granted him boons, it was nice to see him come face-to-face with that, really see the consequences and own up to it. He has been kind of carried intermittently throughout his journey, but 3D worked it into his character arc rather nicely, culminating in a reaffirmation of perhaps his most famous line: "My friends... They are my power!" And the way he treats Roxas when they meet again... That really hit me in the gut. He pretty much said what I'd been thinking since Days. Even if he didn't pass the exam, he's earned the right to be called a hero. All that outta the way... There's one character that kinda bothered me. Lea. I've been back and forth on Axel; sometimes I like him, sometimes I just really want him to go away. As much as I enjoy his characterization in this game, how he bounces back from all the tragedy that befell him and maintains his laid-back, cocky demeanor... he also has some seriously goofy lines, in a game that is otherwise exceptional for its voice work. Guarantee nobody's gonna forget "'Dark Rescue' is my middle name" for a while. Honestly, it's Flynn's delivery that bothers me most; some lines seem out of his comfort zone, especially when he's showing off in front of Master Xehanort. It almost sounds like his voice is cracking when he says "You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel." That said, the character's actual involvement in the plot is aces as far as I'm concerned, and I like the idea of a former Org. member becoming a... 'light warrior', if you will. Sort of the opposite of what Xehanort was hoping for, innit?
"Oh shit haha does this count as a call-out thread" Things Nova Should Really Consider Before Posting While On Probation
You should definitely check the Spamzone tho I left you a present
Will you go to puppy prom with me
Don't count it out, but lemme wear this one out first. I just found it and I really like it.
...Ok fine I am dis
I am actually 100% Riku I get everything for free and then squander it and it ends up going to someone else I try to protect everybody and be the hero except all my ideas are bad and they usually end up with my problems in addition to theirs I also go through periods of my life where I completely lose my moral compass and just start ruining lives And my luck in love is gARBAGE RIKU I FEEL 4 U BRO.
Ahh, just like old times
N-NOPE NOT BUDGIN'
...That's really cute BUT I MAINTAIN MY STANCE :<
