KH3 - Anyone else finished it yet?

[Darth Ganon]

I did have fun with this game, but at the same time it was a disappointment.

• The very main reason it felt like that to me is that it felt like a rushed conclusion. I think the BS secret ending, Re:Coded, and DDD did a great job setting up the finale and KH3 just kind of dumped it in the end and said "Here you go."
• I don't like how detached Sora was in some of the worlds. The story unfolded in Arendelle and The Caribbean in the background without involvement by Sora and co. and he was separated a bit in the second half of Corona if I remember right.
• The 100 Acre Wood was AWFUL. It was there just to be there and essentially had just one minigame. Only one visit.
• Characters such as Kairi and Lea got a shaft. I think the Twilight Town gang were represented better than them, but no by much. I also wish there was more to the town than just cooking.
• No Final Fantasy characters.
• No super bosses.
• Maleficent and Pete added NOTHING. I'd rather they weren't in it at all.
• I get the clash between the 13 and 7, but it's a shame there wasn't more of that through the game. Kind of how I wish there were more Organization XIII fights outside of TWTNW in KH2.

BUT, despite my gripes, I did have fun. Gameplay was solid and the worlds were fun (especially The Toy Box, Corona, and San Fransokyo). There were some great cutscenes, too, like Roxas' return, Aqua and Ven coming back, and COME GUARDIAN breaking free. Oh yeah, TETRA FLARE.

I am looking forward to the DLC and it appears that it will address some of the issues with the base game, but it was still missing from the initial experience.

[Jessweeee♪]

• I don't like how detached Sora was in some of the worlds. The story unfolded in Arendelle and The Caribbean in the background without involvement by Sora and co. and he was separated a bit in the second half of Corona if I remember right.

Yeah, I had fun and all, but it really doesn't compare to say, Toy Box. Toy Box was perfect story-wise. It was an original story with the Toy Story characters that tied in really well to both fictions. I think it helps that both Toy Story and Kingdom Hearts have really existenial themes.

[Wolf Kanno]

I haven't even started it. I was doing a replay of all of the series and got burnt out around the time I got to Birth by Sleep. Still kind of plan on finishing those playthroughs and tackling KHIII sometime, but it will likely be next year.

[Wolf Kanno]

I am close to finishing KHIII and I have words... I'll probably do a huge word explosion once I'm finished. Literally at the final boss right now and I don't have any of Re-Mind so it will just be on the base game.

For those who actually finished it. How have your thoughts changed since you originally beat it? Anyway already do a few more playthroughs?

[I Don't Need A Name]

I've just yesterday finished the game for the first time, alongside Re:Mind.

My wife is a big fan and wanted me to have finished it finally, so I binge played the entire series over the past year, so I probably am burned out too much on Kingdom Hearts - but my 2p:

Pros:
- The battle system was fun and fluid, although a little too vertical (see cons)
- Any reference to the Union X storyline is the only real enjoyment I'm getting out of KH at the moment, so the Epilogue was good!
- The chess board as a plot telling device was cool. Loved (SPOILER)the tease of Sora vs The Foretellers as the next storyline
- Axel, Xion and Roxas' reunion was great.
- The Gummi Ship became somewhat fun, for a change.

Cons:
- I can't decide if this game is the worst in the series, or just better than Dream Drop Distance. The storyline has gotten so convoluted (I followed it fine until DDD but it's been all downhill since then) and the payoff has never been worth it.
- Enemies despawining themselves mid-fight by flying too far away. What's that all about?
- The verticality of the battle system meaning that you spend all your time in the DLC being juggled by bosses
- The difficulty, up until Re:Mind was virtually non-existent. Because I knew how hard Yozora was, I played on Standard rather than Proud and I think I healed 3 times during the entire game. The Re:Mind bosses were a real test that I'm glad Sekiro prepared me for
- The Disney worlds. They stopped being an, albeit minor, plot telling device and just became a completely pointless snoozefest of walking through the Disney story with minimal interaction. Toy Box and Monsteropolis were fun, the rest were soul destroying. Also, the lack of Disney bosses (outside of Davy Jones) was weird and felt like Disney interfering a little - they were all just replaced by monsters instead.

For what it's worth, I'm enjoying Melody of Memories, but I don't expect to really get any joy out of the story at the end of it.

[Fynn]

Well now that it’s finally coming to PC, I may actually play it. Though not before there’s a significant price drop because I’m poor lol

Also, not really feeling making an EGS account, so I don’t know whether I should wait for it to maybe come to Steam or not

[Del Murder]

I beat it a while ago. My thoughts are pretty similar to IDNAN. Overall I thought it was fun, but definitely did not live up to the hype that was built for 14 years. I did like that they went with mostly new Disney worlds but pretty much failed to integrate them with the storyline. It felt like playing different games. I also thought the battles were pretty simplistic and I wish they went with something like the BBS system which added new layers to it. I also wish there was more optional content like a coliseum, more optional bosses, or some additional equipment to collect. For the overall storyline, it was already such a mess that there was not much they could do. I did think they wrapped it up best they could with the mess they created.

[Fynn]

I think what puts me off the most is the fact that I don’t feel there’s any intrigue to be had. This is the final battle we’ve been building up to since BBS and from what I heard the game is literally just the lead up to that and poof, you’re done. The best part of KH for me has always been how surprising and crazy it can get, so the fact that I’ve known what this game is going to be about for over a decade isn’t exactly fun. However, I am happy that after this we’re finally leaving Xehanort behind and we can get to theorizing about all nes stuff again

[Wolf Kanno]

So I will start this with a general Pros/Cons thing and then jump into a final conclusion at the end. There will be obvious spoilers of course.

Pros:

• Despite my initial skepticism, I really enjoyed the Formchange mechanic. Really added more variety to battles. The best part was that it struck a nice compromise with KHII's forms and BbS' Style mechanics as it was way more user-friendly than Forms, but not utterly game breaking like Styles.
• I appreciate the overhaul of keyblade mechanics in the game. I liked the return of abilities being attached to each one like in KHII. I really appreciated the fact you could improve their power so you can keep them all viable. I liked that shotlocks were attached to the keyblades and not their own thing. I also loved the fact you can equip and easily switch between three at one time.
• Of the original Keyblades my favorites were Wheel of Fate, Ever After, and Happy Gear. I also loved getting the Starlight keyblade from UX.
• It was nice to see after so many games that Hercules' world became a proper world and not just the Coliseum world.
• Tangled was amazing and of all the Disney worlds, I felt it captured the film the best. I was especially happy I got to see a recreation of Rapunzel's famous Best Day ever scene. Not to mention I felt it was the most gorgeous world despite being the most linear.
• Despite feeling the franchise is overrated, Toy Story was also an impressive world, being one of the largest and really adapt at playing up the setting's scale. I also enjoyed piloting mecha toys.
• Despite having the most incoherent plot, the Caribbean was a fun world to traverse and I really enjoyed the ship mechanics. I liked that most of the world was Sora showed up during one of the worst Pirate movies
• I loved the Ratatouille side game even though I never used the cuisine function.
• While incredibly brief, I appreciated the fact you could play as Riku and Aqua for some parts of the game.
• I really appreciated the fact the Game and Watch parody games made it in as side games. I actually had fun playing them on KHUX during the KHIII promotional period.
• I feel KHIII shows how much scene stealing power the old Org. XIII members have as Marluxia, Vexen, Luxord, Demyx and Larxene were all super fun when they appeared and I especially loved the banter they all had with Marluxia and Larxene already plotting a second coup, everyone dumping on Demyx, and finally seeing some members who never interact with each other actually interact.
• As a Roxas fan, I loved his return sequence and appreciate the fact he's a total powerhouse. Like he is scary overpowered and it makes sense why Xemnas actually looked intimidated when he returned. My boy is a beast.
• The sequence with Chilithry was super cute.
• Seeing Donald doing something super impressive was pretty damn cool and I love the memes it generated explaining that this is why he never heals Sora.
• The KHUX scene was one of the coolest sequences in the game, and while my name was likely not in there, it was still super neat and reminded me of the ending to Nier: Automata.
• The twist about Xigbar's identity was probably one of the game's best twists for UX fans.
• The reunion between the Clock Tower Trio was easily the most gut-wrenching and my favorite sequence towards the end. I won't lie, I started to tear up when Xion's theme played and when the three got their group hug in. Really conveyed well how much bulltrout they all went through. I also appreciate the fact that Axel and Saix's story was resolved outside of the new things the game added.
• Though it took me awhile, I grew to enjoy the Gummi Ship sequences. I still think KHII did it the best, but this game made it interesting.

Cons:

• I was really disappointed with how Twilight Town came out. It is my favorite original world and it was just underwhelming. I'm also annoyed that despite appearing a lot in the game, neither Radiant Gardens or Destiny Islands were available to explore.
• KHIII proved to me that so much of the series appeal for me is hitting those nostalgia buttons with their Disney properties and having grown up in the Disney renaissance, I'm not as attached to the newer stuff or Pixar. I never felt excited to be in any of the worlds if I'm going to be honest.
• With that said, I do want to remark that Monstropolis, Frozen, Winnie the Pooh, and Big Hero 6 were the most disappointing worlds. Frozen was just jarring because Sora never really stayed with any one character so more than other worlds it felt like the plot of Frozen, now feat. Sora and company. I mean freaking Hans doesn't even get a speaking line and only shows up at the very end of the sequence with no context without knowing the film, yet we got to see a recreation of Elsa's ''Let if Go'' song number and even a partial version of the ''Do You Want to Build a Snowman''. Priorities were very skewed in that world. I mean the Caribbean has the same issue but at least the world was actually fun to play in.
• Big Hero 6 was also strangely short for a world as massive as it is. I mean you have to go back in to actually see everything in there because you won't with the plot.
• Monstropolis on the other hand just felt the most underwhelming which really hurt because Monster's Inc is my favorite Pixar property. I was expecting more with the door mechanics since the ending sequence was one of the most fun parts of the film and the world tries to recreate that feel. I also think it's sad we missed the opportunity to have Sora reveal he had a monster he feared growing up. Would have been hilarious.
• Winnie the Pooh was also underwhelming and completely unnecessary. Which is really disappointing because that world is usually one of the best for tugging at the feels for me. But here it just feels like they were contractual obligation to feature a sequence with it since it was a numbered entry. Yet you can finish it in one go and it features only one location within the book, and three variations of the same mini-game. When the CoM version of the world was more memorable and engaging, you know you smurfed up.
• Initially, I was kind of excited that Sora was looking to get some real character development in this entry, but adly I don't feel it ever came to pass really. Stuff happens to him for sure, but he still largely stays his dopey self and uses Deus ex Machina powers to get out of having to grow as a character.
• I can easily tell Kazuhige Nojima was helping to write this script. The Power of Waking reeks of Jenova syndrome where it's abilities are stated fairly plainly but then magically gains new properties as the plot demands.
• Kingdom Hearts needs to lay off time travel as a plot device. I mean there are four different ways to access it and they get more convoluted with each new variation.
• The big battle with Xehanort and his cohorts is very underwhelming. Part of the issue is that boss battles were underwhelming in the base game and the buildup was too much tell and less show.
• Of anything the plot is underwhelming. I mean Sora spends 90% of the game visiting Disney worlds to rebuild his strength and regain the Power of Waking and the last 10% is just the rest of the cast derping around waiting for Sora's main character powers to kick in to finally move the plot along and then the big final battle that is interrupted by a big fake out death sequence and an annoying boss fight trying to restore the Seven Guardians. I mean it takes maybe thirty minutes to go from traveling to the World of Darkness to save Aqua and then wake Ventus and stop Vanitas. Like two major sequences we been building up to and neither felt quite as climatic as they should have.
• Speaking of, the rest of the cast not named Sora and, to a much lesser extent, Riku are incredibly underwhelming. I mean Roxas gets his big scene along with Xion and Axel, but that's it. Most disappointing was the Wayfarer Trio who consistently under-performed throughout the whole game. I mean these three are practically Masters and yet they are in constant need to be saved by Sora. I think Kairi loses more of her personality with every entry she appears in.
• Also, the game could have done a better job with conveying how Riku met the remains of the Riku Replica from CoM in the WoD. Seemed really weird Riku was chatting him up all the time like they had been bonding all of this time since CoM.
• As I feared, I felt the game spent more time sowing the seeds of mysteries for the post-Dark Seeker arc than actually trying to tell a convincing story.
• I feel this game has the most underwhelming secret movie in the series yet. A fictional character waking up in the real world is not exciting, it's overdone. And while I know that world is not the real world and instead Fictional Reality with a specific name, the shock value is lost on me.
• Am I the only one a bit lost to the fact that several lower tier weapons in the synthesis shop are locked behind the post game? I mean I got the + versions of both of Donald and Goofy's weapons but they have weaker weapons I can't acquire because the materials are locked behind the Battle Gates which don't unlock until you beat the game. Likewise, why are Wellspring Crystals the got to material in this game. Everything from the best gear in the synthesis shops to the final levels for Keyblades required it in every recipe.
• The Cuisine mechanic is interesting but just never seemed worth it. Like I may use the XP+ one to grind to lv. 99 but I never saw much purpose in it for the main game. Maybe if I play on Critical mode?
• Finding the ten treasures in Frozen Slider for the last Orihalcum + material was a bitch and a half.
• I also hated the fact that the Unversed only appear in Monstropolis and thus I had to keep grinding that world for all of the Sinister series materials.
• Attractions are overpowered and a nuisance.
• I was also disappointed that a lot of the new mechanics don't really have any story explanations for how Sora acquired them. He just knows how to Shotlock and formchange. I'm surprised the summons still got an explanation.

Overall, KHIII continues a trend coded and 3D started by being fun games with questionable mechanics and a plot that at best feels like a waste of time and at worst, utterly stupid. While the Disney worlds in this game were not my favorite, most of the worlds were still fun to traverse and play in. I had fun, and that's what matters in the end. The gameplay felt like KHII with just a lot of the gimmicks from the side games added in but it worked.

The story is disappointing but not surprising for me since I've felt it had been going down hill for awhile. I mean I feel the mobile game is the only thing doing anything interesting with the narrative and I find part of the issue is that Sora is a boring character by this point in the series. KHIII had an opportunity to have him grown, but I just don't feel like he earned it in the story. Like I honestly feel that if Sora had just went along with Riku and Mickey to the Dark World, he would have still managed to save the day.

I mean this was suppose to be a finale for everything we've been playing since KHII and yet I felt it always fell short of the grandness it could have been because the game decided to focus purely on Sora derping around the Disney worlds and not letting us see the rest of the cast, you know the characters that actually went through some serious trout and have issues that need to be resolved like coming back into existence. KHIII should have ran with the idea of playing as everyone. We shouldn't have had to wait until the end to battle it out with the New Organization XIII it should have started with them fighting them while retrieving their allies saving the final battle with Ansem, Xemnas, and Old Xehanort for the final dungeon. Could you imagine the Roxas/Xion sequence taking place in Twilight Town and adding the other kids to the mix with Roxas trying to save the three kids who don't even really know they were friends? Have Riku be the one helping the Big Hero 6 crew take down Riku Replica in San Fransokyo. Like the game felt too small in scope narratively speaking and I wish we had spent more time with the characters many of us grew up on playing the series and not just give everyone their token five minutes and then it's back to Sora. I mean the last thirteen years of the series since KHII was expanding the story beyond Sora, so it baffles me that he had to stay the focus.

Crap plot, still a fun game.

[Del Murder]

I do wish we had more play time as other characters. It felt like they were building this game to be a multi-protagonist finale but it mostly focused on Sora. BBS is still my favorite and one of the reasons is that you got to play as three distinct characters.

[Aulayna]

The DLC actually addresses many of those criticisms, but yeah (sadly) again like with FFXV it took DLC to actually make the base game "feel" complete.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I finally beat this game.

I've spent the past couple months going through the "all in one" package to experience the story from start to finish. I've played and beat several of the other games but this was my first playthrough of KH3.

My initial thoughts after seeing the various endings are pretty much:

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I suppose as long as you can accept that they're clearly making the plot up as they go along, it becomes easier to digest. Time travel? ok. Sora is the host body for 3 other people? ok. Somebodies can become nobodies and then become somebodies again?....ok.

Death doesn't really mean anything. No matter who you defeat, no matter how many of your friends fall, assume that they can mysteriously walk out of a dark portal and gesture at the camera in Kingdom Hearts 7. We'll find out why they're a part of the 4th Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts 9.

Also, I don't feel that Isa earned a redemption arc. Would have liked to see more there. I'm still unclear as to how he showed up in the joyous endgame cutscenes.

The KH3 Gummi experience was my least favorite. I just have a preference for the Point A to Point B shooting roller coaster ride.

One of the biggest heartbreaks for me was the fact that Twilight Town was just window dressing. Really, we just see the tram commons and the forest? No train station, no struggle arena, no secret hideout. Not even the inside of the mansion. Radiant Garden only viewable by cutscene, too. In my opinion the Disney worlds were WAY too long and I think I would have rather had like 45 minutes taken off of each one in exchange for putting more detail into the KH original worlds.

I suppose one plus of only really exploring Disney worlds is that it forces Organization XIII to talk to you there, making the Disney worlds feel less isolated from the overall story.

That being said, I think my favorite Disney world was Tangled. It was a lot of fun seeing Rapunzel react to things and I think the dancing mini-game was my favorite. I also spent a fair amount of time in the Caribbean, the open world ship exploring was expansive enough that sometimes I forgot this was a world within a larger series of worlds, and I wasn't just playing a pirate game. I also enjoyed the Final Fantasy wink on the pirate keyblade, having the special "Highwind" move that turns your keyblade into a lance.

But I have to say even if you have to give the plot some side eye, the whole experience and the gameplay is still a ton of fun for me. I like the emotional payoff of the 358/2 gang and the BBS gang getting to do their group hugs, even if story wise you kind of squint at the journey they took to get there.

My favorite part:

I LOVED, loved, loved, loved, the way in which they included the winners of the Union X contest. I thought they would just get their names in the credits, but wow. Even though my name wasn't there I like to think one of the many keyblades was that of my UX character.

I love that scene. Since a big theme of the series is "my friends are my power", I like having a literal representation of that in the form of player's usernames.

I'm not sure how to feel about (SPOILER)Yozora. Leave it to Kingdom Hearts to write their own fan fiction. Some have taken it as a sign that maybe we'll get the (SPOILER)Versus XIII we've only dreamed about. But I'd be careful with that one. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Also,

Riku's keyblade was the downgrade of the decade. Big woof on that design. He may be the first keyblade user to use an actual oversized house key.

Way to the Dawn or bust.

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I also beat Re:Mind. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't "Replay the last level of the game but with deleted scenes this time".

I probably won't play Melody of Memory for a while, I've had my fun after 10-ish games. Idk if this is a hot take or not but I think that Dream Drop Distance was the most fun I had playing a Kingdom Hearts game in terms of gameplay, story aside. It's the KH battles you know and love but with pets and parkour.

[Fynn]

You think that’s a hot take? Try having Chain of Memories be your favorite game The eyebrows that get raised whenever I say it lol