The most shallow KH experience. I've been playing through the series but refrained from reviewing the numbered titles, mostly because II and III came out at crucial points in my life where discussing them would be practically necessary and require me to reveal far more than I'd be comfortable. So let's talk about this one instead...
It sucks! Most of the now tired gripes about KH's narrative and production stem from Dream Drop Distance. The combat now actually is a button masher, the story is convoluted but not in the fun way it is in the other titles, and so many strange gameplay gimmicks are tacked on that serve to make this game feel sluggish, tedious and boring.
The basic physical combo is practically useless, and new keyblades don't differentiate at all. On Proud difficulty and higher you can get combo'd to death incredibly quickly, even after unlocking Second Chance/Once More. The command deck makes an even stronger argument against its own existence with the incredibly broken balloon spells, which the game told me I'd used thousands of times after I was finished. Flowmotion, parkour moves that can connect into physical attacks, do piddly damage and constantly remind you how bad the physics are. Nothing in this game seems balanced, or really developed past the point of "this seems cool let's try it". I admire DDD's experimentation, but it all just seems like piled on weight to BBS's pared down combat system in the worst way possible.
Level design also suffers here, with the new Disney Worlds feeling barren and overly large The films chosen here are actually quite good, playing into the series' strengths by representing older films (Pinocchio and Fantasia), newer fare (Tron Legacy), along with some deep cuts (Three Mousketeers). The eclectic choices here are diminished by how samey they all feel, usually opting for open city streets and wide open fields with little to change it up. There's nothing to do in these worlds but loop between bad combat encounters and poorly directed cutscenes.
Narratively this game is hard to hate, considering how much of it is pure fan service for SoRiku shippers. Their relationship is really sweet, developing as they both try to grow as people and move away from the mistakes of their past. Sadly, the major threat here is one of KH's weaker ones, Xehanort's younger self. He mostly shows up in each world to talk a lot of nonsense at Sora or Riku and then teleport a monster for them to fight. It's a shame after the great streak of villains the series had so far been known for, especially coming after BBS and Haley Joel Osment's terrific performance as the sneering Vanitas matched with Leonard Nimoy's striking portrayal of Master Xehanort.
The least essential KH entry by far, so bogged down by its own bloated systems and narrative. It's a shame that what little to like that there is here is rather good, it just makes the wasted potential taste all the more sour.
It sucks! Most of the now tired gripes about KH's narrative and production stem from Dream Drop Distance. The combat now actually is a button masher, the story is convoluted but not in the fun way it is in the other titles, and so many strange gameplay gimmicks are tacked on that serve to make this game feel sluggish, tedious and boring.
The basic physical combo is practically useless, and new keyblades don't differentiate at all. On Proud difficulty and higher you can get combo'd to death incredibly quickly, even after unlocking Second Chance/Once More. The command deck makes an even stronger argument against its own existence with the incredibly broken balloon spells, which the game told me I'd used thousands of times after I was finished. Flowmotion, parkour moves that can connect into physical attacks, do piddly damage and constantly remind you how bad the physics are. Nothing in this game seems balanced, or really developed past the point of "this seems cool let's try it". I admire DDD's experimentation, but it all just seems like piled on weight to BBS's pared down combat system in the worst way possible.
Level design also suffers here, with the new Disney Worlds feeling barren and overly large The films chosen here are actually quite good, playing into the series' strengths by representing older films (Pinocchio and Fantasia), newer fare (Tron Legacy), along with some deep cuts (Three Mousketeers). The eclectic choices here are diminished by how samey they all feel, usually opting for open city streets and wide open fields with little to change it up. There's nothing to do in these worlds but loop between bad combat encounters and poorly directed cutscenes.
Narratively this game is hard to hate, considering how much of it is pure fan service for SoRiku shippers. Their relationship is really sweet, developing as they both try to grow as people and move away from the mistakes of their past. Sadly, the major threat here is one of KH's weaker ones, Xehanort's younger self. He mostly shows up in each world to talk a lot of nonsense at Sora or Riku and then teleport a monster for them to fight. It's a shame after the great streak of villains the series had so far been known for, especially coming after BBS and Haley Joel Osment's terrific performance as the sneering Vanitas matched with Leonard Nimoy's striking portrayal of Master Xehanort.
The least essential KH entry by far, so bogged down by its own bloated systems and narrative. It's a shame that what little to like that there is here is rather good, it just makes the wasted potential taste all the more sour.