Kingdom Hearts is a game I grew up playing; there is so much nostalgia for this game and there's a charm to the somewhat innocent and unassuming storyline in this entry, before it does a triple axle backflip nose dive into the convoluted and near impossible to follow mass it is today. Every entry spanning the ridiculous number of devices and consoles is vital for all the main storyline payoffs, so if this game snags you as it has me, get ready to watch some YouTube videos on the mobile games before you play KH3.
I'm playing through this again this year but for the first time ever on Proud mode. The challenge is mostly fair and rewarding, and there's definitely a big spike after completing the first bit of Hollow Bastion. The only reason I'm leaving this as a 4.5 is because, especially on Proud, traversing Hollow Bastion is a miserable experience. To move around, you have to interact with switches that cannot be interacted with until the enemies have been defeated that you're within range of. The enemies will regularly wipe Donald and Goofy and you're left getting stunlocked in a corner by 4/5 enemies all at once. The actual landscape and level design is fantastic apart from this massive oversight.
I'm playing through this again this year but for the first time ever on Proud mode. The challenge is mostly fair and rewarding, and there's definitely a big spike after completing the first bit of Hollow Bastion. The only reason I'm leaving this as a 4.5 is because, especially on Proud, traversing Hollow Bastion is a miserable experience. To move around, you have to interact with switches that cannot be interacted with until the enemies have been defeated that you're within range of. The enemies will regularly wipe Donald and Goofy and you're left getting stunlocked in a corner by 4/5 enemies all at once. The actual landscape and level design is fantastic apart from this massive oversight.