Even though I never got into any of the Kingdom Hearts game outside of the console entries, I, like many other fans in the same boat, attempted to straggle off to YouTube to make sense of all the convolutions that took place prior to the third console game.
Although I'm a great lover of storytelling, I find that I just don't care about the large cast of characters plaguing this one. What started as a light-hearted story with a nice touch of darkness just isn't engaging. It's not a game that grew up with fans of my generation. The Disney-esque dialogue, while charming in the first two, was absolutely tedious in this one and after a while, I found myself skipping the slow-paced though gorgeous cut scenes because... I just don't give a fuck about the story. They repeat the concepts of sleeping and waking, of hearts and lack thereof, of replicas and heartless and nobodies and Organizations... To the point where I didn't care to keep up. Sora has two or three other people squatting rent-free in his heart. We've got the Sora/Roxas/Ventus deal with Riku being the playground of the Names villains that span time and don't fucking die, then Kairi is training by sitting on logs and pining over Naminé and Sora while Axel broods over being reduced to a boring side character. I can't bring myself to care about Ventus, Terra and Aqua, who are more palette swapped originals. Vanitas is probably the most interesting. Also, the fucking black box deal. Just don't care.
I'm a fan of complex fantasies, but this is just in the same vein as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball when a climax of power and realization is erased by losing memories and another new bad guy. Complexity is moot if you just don't care about any of the characters. So in terms of dialogue and story, this game fails for me. I skip those cutscenes, those many, many cutscenes more often than I watch them.
However...
The battle system and gameplay itself is stellar. While the chains can stutter at times and Sora doesn't always respond right away to my button mashing, the transitions between the myriad abilities are beautiful and I find the button presses to be more engaging and rewarding. I love the minigames and the seek style missions. The Classic Kingdom game section is a fun distraction even. What the game lacks in engaging me with the cutscenes, it really makes up for in actual gameplay. I love the mazes and the rewards for being curious. Like Final Fantasy XV, I find that the beauty and play style distracts from what I'm not getting from the story.
Again, I find games like Witcher 3 and Skyrim are just more appealing. Humor is great, but I find that certain entertainment pulls it off with more sincerity and skill. Japanese writing used to deliver that for me but nowadays, I'm finding more effective writing elsewhere. I also find I've developed a preference for effective meshing of gameplay and story. Uncharted is a series that has a way of making me feel as if I'm more involved, even when the cinematics take over. I don't play games to be held hostage in cutscenes so I appreciate it when writers understand the strengths of interactive media and make it worthwhile.
Going back to KH, I still find the world designs charming in this one. I love the whimsical ship battles even though swimming and flying the Gummy Ship somehow got worse over time. I also find Sora doesn't always redirect well during a chain where he finishes off an enemy and ends up swatting at the air rather than soft locking onto an enemy that's literally right in front of him. Swatting at a wall, no matter how beautiful, is a minor annoyance.
I still suggest that you go ahead and play this one. Following the story isn't necessary. The game itself often guides you past the cutscenes so you needn't force yourself to watch on the chance you'll miss what you're supposed to be doing. I haven't yet finished it, but there's a big chance I won't be going for Platinum. The requirements seem to verge into the tedious side of achievement with little reward. It's definitely worth playing, even if completion isn't on the menu.
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