A really cool ARPG battle system that I felt I used to it's full extent by the end of my Proud difficulty playthrough. At times I felt like I was playing Shin Megami Tensei, what with dying in 2-3 hits and needing to cast defensive magic constantly to offset it. Way past the point of no return I was begging for an option to switch difficulty mid-playthrough. It's a shame that the options seem to be 'extremely easy' or 'ball-bustingly hard'.
Graphics and effects are gorgeous, perfectly marries the Disney & Squaresoft aesthetic which helps sell the story as well. A perfectly fitting narrative for a kid's game by framing Sora's childlike wonder as a literal force for good with the light/dark analogy. Also appeals to adults who have long lost sight of their inner child; Riku is so dead-set on growing up that he caves in to negativity (Darkness) as a means to an end. A perfect analogy for a game matching universe-ending stakes with Disney cartoons.
Despite never playing this growing up I still think this game is quite special and it makes me wish I knew more about this series before I decided I was too old for it, at least before real adulthood replaced puberty and I got over that.
Graphics and effects are gorgeous, perfectly marries the Disney & Squaresoft aesthetic which helps sell the story as well. A perfectly fitting narrative for a kid's game by framing Sora's childlike wonder as a literal force for good with the light/dark analogy. Also appeals to adults who have long lost sight of their inner child; Riku is so dead-set on growing up that he caves in to negativity (Darkness) as a means to an end. A perfect analogy for a game matching universe-ending stakes with Disney cartoons.
Despite never playing this growing up I still think this game is quite special and it makes me wish I knew more about this series before I decided I was too old for it, at least before real adulthood replaced puberty and I got over that.