Finally got around to finishing this and uh, yeah it's good.
I'd say it's a very middle of the road Kingdom Hearts game. Not as good as KH2 but not as a bad as KH1, it's a nice middle ground lol.
although to be honest if i went back to KH1 with my now love for the goofiness of this series instead of finding it alienating and weird I would probably like it a lot more, should replay some day.
Anyway getting off topic, Dream Drop Distance.
I mostly liked it, as there is with every KH game I have my issues so let's go through it.
The story is... I mean it's fine up until they start doing time travel. Then you lost me. Spoilers but yeah time travel... in Kingdom Hearts... apparently this is a big plot point according to my friend so uh, yay.
BEFORE the time travel it was nothing special but it was enjoyable, just Sora and Riku dicking around some disney worlds with more mysterious hooded people running around. Nothing new. I liked the ending though. These games do endings very well.
The gameplay is... well. It's the Birth By Sleep style of gameplay, or at least that's what I'd say it's closest too. It's not as fluid (or fun) as KH2 but not as slow and choppy as KH1, so yeah BBS style. They also bring back the command deck from BBS, and I swear to God, if they add this fucking thing into another KH game I am going to lose it. I really do not like the command deck.
There are some new gameplay mechanics as well. Those being:
Spirits
Flowmotion
and Dropping
Spirits are your new companions for the game. Fuck Donald, Fuck Goofy. You got spirits now. They're basically neat little animals you can make with materials that all have different abilities. Just like regular companions they can range from fairly useful to "why the fuck are you even here?" but, the main part of these fuckers is that they are now the main way to unlock abilities. Via a special skill tree that is unique to every spirit, you get new abilities and stat boosts for your two characters. I do not like this. Just give me ability points. I don't wanna grind for materials to make spirits and then spend hours training them just to get some good abilities, it's annoying. The spirits themselves are harmless and fun new additions... but then you added the skill tree and it made me sick of them.
alright so Flowmotion is the new way of getting around, you gain a special power aura and the ability to bounce off walls and spin around shit and basically just zip around the place and it is VERY fun. I love it. The same thing was in Fragmentary Passage and I loved it there so very pog.
Now, the main gimmick of the game is Dropping. So throughout the game you play as both Sora and Riku, each going through basically the same story but from different views and with slight variations. Every... around 20-30 minutes whatever character you're playing as will fall asleep (yes there's a plot reason for this) and you'll be forced to drop into the other characters adventure. There are items in the game that can extend the time you have before you drop etc and so forth but yeah. Honestly? I actually really like this mechanic. I've heard some complaints about it and I do understand why people don't like it, but I rather enjoy it. It helps keep things fresh so you're not stuck as the same character the whole game and it forces you to have some decent time management skills. Also I find it kinda funny that you can just be in the middle of intense boss fight and either Sora or Riku will just pass the fuck out in the middle of it lmao.
The only bad part about the whole thing is that if you are in a boss fight and you drop to the other character, once you drop back in, the boss is back to full health instead of being where you left him. Which is annoying.
Speaking of bossfights... eh their fine i guess. Nothing really special, all kinda generic. Ansem 2nd form can suck my dick though.
The rest of the game?
well i'm tired so i'll be brief.
The worlds are pretty good. We've got a mostly new selection here instead of all the usuals. The only returning worlds being Monstoro and The World That Never Was, everything else is brand new which was nice to see. Some of them are a bit bland on the level and world design part but some are amazing. Symphony of Sorcery being my favourite. That world is fucking beautiful.
If you've read these before you know I like my keyblades. This game has some pretty decent Keyblade designs but again, nothing special. Also the only way to get extra Keyblades here is through the story, no side stuff.
The only side stuff through the whole game revolves around the spirits and it's all pretty boring.
The soundtrack is of course, on point.
Overall? Again like I said it's good. The story is enjoyable, the gameplay is mostly enjoyable. Each world is nice and fresh and the soundtrack slaps.
The main issues just being kinda bland enemies and bosses as well as there being no side stuff or really any post game. Also there's just nothing here that really captivated me like there has been for a lot of the other games. It really does feel like the most generic Kingdom Hearts game since KH1.
But, I can now, finally (as soon as I watch Union X), get to Kingdom Hearts 3. My friend says it's her fav KH game so I am hella excited.
Also excited to finally be done for awhile lmao. don;t get me wrong I have fallen in love with this series but damn I am starting to get tired lol.
I'd say it's a very middle of the road Kingdom Hearts game. Not as good as KH2 but not as a bad as KH1, it's a nice middle ground lol.
although to be honest if i went back to KH1 with my now love for the goofiness of this series instead of finding it alienating and weird I would probably like it a lot more, should replay some day.
Anyway getting off topic, Dream Drop Distance.
I mostly liked it, as there is with every KH game I have my issues so let's go through it.
The story is... I mean it's fine up until they start doing time travel. Then you lost me. Spoilers but yeah time travel... in Kingdom Hearts... apparently this is a big plot point according to my friend so uh, yay.
BEFORE the time travel it was nothing special but it was enjoyable, just Sora and Riku dicking around some disney worlds with more mysterious hooded people running around. Nothing new. I liked the ending though. These games do endings very well.
The gameplay is... well. It's the Birth By Sleep style of gameplay, or at least that's what I'd say it's closest too. It's not as fluid (or fun) as KH2 but not as slow and choppy as KH1, so yeah BBS style. They also bring back the command deck from BBS, and I swear to God, if they add this fucking thing into another KH game I am going to lose it. I really do not like the command deck.
There are some new gameplay mechanics as well. Those being:
Spirits
Flowmotion
and Dropping
Spirits are your new companions for the game. Fuck Donald, Fuck Goofy. You got spirits now. They're basically neat little animals you can make with materials that all have different abilities. Just like regular companions they can range from fairly useful to "why the fuck are you even here?" but, the main part of these fuckers is that they are now the main way to unlock abilities. Via a special skill tree that is unique to every spirit, you get new abilities and stat boosts for your two characters. I do not like this. Just give me ability points. I don't wanna grind for materials to make spirits and then spend hours training them just to get some good abilities, it's annoying. The spirits themselves are harmless and fun new additions... but then you added the skill tree and it made me sick of them.
alright so Flowmotion is the new way of getting around, you gain a special power aura and the ability to bounce off walls and spin around shit and basically just zip around the place and it is VERY fun. I love it. The same thing was in Fragmentary Passage and I loved it there so very pog.
Now, the main gimmick of the game is Dropping. So throughout the game you play as both Sora and Riku, each going through basically the same story but from different views and with slight variations. Every... around 20-30 minutes whatever character you're playing as will fall asleep (yes there's a plot reason for this) and you'll be forced to drop into the other characters adventure. There are items in the game that can extend the time you have before you drop etc and so forth but yeah. Honestly? I actually really like this mechanic. I've heard some complaints about it and I do understand why people don't like it, but I rather enjoy it. It helps keep things fresh so you're not stuck as the same character the whole game and it forces you to have some decent time management skills. Also I find it kinda funny that you can just be in the middle of intense boss fight and either Sora or Riku will just pass the fuck out in the middle of it lmao.
The only bad part about the whole thing is that if you are in a boss fight and you drop to the other character, once you drop back in, the boss is back to full health instead of being where you left him. Which is annoying.
Speaking of bossfights... eh their fine i guess. Nothing really special, all kinda generic. Ansem 2nd form can suck my dick though.
The rest of the game?
well i'm tired so i'll be brief.
The worlds are pretty good. We've got a mostly new selection here instead of all the usuals. The only returning worlds being Monstoro and The World That Never Was, everything else is brand new which was nice to see. Some of them are a bit bland on the level and world design part but some are amazing. Symphony of Sorcery being my favourite. That world is fucking beautiful.
If you've read these before you know I like my keyblades. This game has some pretty decent Keyblade designs but again, nothing special. Also the only way to get extra Keyblades here is through the story, no side stuff.
The only side stuff through the whole game revolves around the spirits and it's all pretty boring.
The soundtrack is of course, on point.
Overall? Again like I said it's good. The story is enjoyable, the gameplay is mostly enjoyable. Each world is nice and fresh and the soundtrack slaps.
The main issues just being kinda bland enemies and bosses as well as there being no side stuff or really any post game. Also there's just nothing here that really captivated me like there has been for a lot of the other games. It really does feel like the most generic Kingdom Hearts game since KH1.
But, I can now, finally (as soon as I watch Union X), get to Kingdom Hearts 3. My friend says it's her fav KH game so I am hella excited.
Also excited to finally be done for awhile lmao. don;t get me wrong I have fallen in love with this series but damn I am starting to get tired lol.