Yep, every now and then I just gotta sit down and pinch myself to realize that this is for real. Squaresoft, at the peak of their, ahem, game; Disney, evergreen purveyor of animated delights, coming together to make the proverbial ham 'n' pepperoni pizza of video games. Let's all just give a bit of thanks to the powers that be for dealing us a decent hand here, huh?
Of course, as awesome as it is to spend your time fighting alongside Donald Duck, Jack Sparrow, and FREAKIN' AURON, it would all be window dressing if the series' distinctive action/RPG hybrid gameplay weren't some of the most fun, slick, and addictive RPG gameplay systems in the business. Each game's journey from so-so giant key slinger to quasi-demigod who can obliterate the strongest of enemies in the blink of an eye is always an awesome and intensely rewarding one.
If the series as a whole has an achilles heel (and it certainly has a slew of nagging problems to be discussed in greater detail in game-specific reviews) it would be the needlessly complicated spiderweb of a plot it's tangled itself into. Every time you think you've figured something out, out of nowhere there's some sort of confusing curveball that sends your carefully organized mind palace into Mind Fuck-y freefall. There are limits to how epic and dramatic you can make a story about people who swing giant keys around and regularly say the word "Goofy" with a straight face. It might've been better if it were a tad more simple and clean, but then again it's sort of part of the series' identity and charm. Oh well.
And everybody knows the pain caused by the on-off quality of the character animation. Sometimes what's on-screen is jaw-droppingly identical to those legendary pieces of animated art, at other times all you see is blank-faced, lip-flapping morons. It just shatters the magic at very inopportune moments. It's a bit of a joke when the very worst entry in the series (Coded, as it there were any doubt) more frequently features high-quality models and animation than the main series installments. It's sad, but they probably have some sort of good reason behind it (hopefully not laziness).
At its best, Kingdom Hearts is a delightful boon upon humanity that celebrates the best Disney and Square have to offer. And that's just pretty damn good there, fella.
The Best of Two Worlds
Yep, every now and then I just gotta sit down and pinch myself to realize that this is for real. Squaresoft, at the peak of their, ahem, game; Disney, evergreen purveyor of animated delights, coming together to make the proverbial ham 'n' pepperoni pizza of video games. Let's all just give a bit of thanks to the powers that be for dealing us a decent hand here, huh?
Of course, as awesome as it is to spend your time fighting alongside Donald Duck, Jack Sparrow, and FREAKIN' AURON, it would all be window dressing if the series' distinctive action/RPG hybrid gameplay weren't some of the most fun, slick, and addictive RPG gameplay systems in the business. Each game's journey from so-so giant key slinger to quasi-demigod who can obliterate the strongest of enemies in the blink of an eye is always an awesome and intensely rewarding one.
If the series as a whole has an achilles heel (and it certainly has a slew of nagging problems to be discussed in greater detail in game-specific reviews) it would be the needlessly complicated spiderweb of a plot it's tangled itself into. Every time you think you've figured something out, out of nowhere there's some sort of confusing curveball that sends your carefully organized mind palace into Mind Fuck-y freefall. There are limits to how epic and dramatic you can make a story about people who swing giant keys around and regularly say the word "Goofy" with a straight face. It might've been better if it were a tad more simple and clean, but then again it's sort of part of the series' identity and charm. Oh well.
And everybody knows the pain caused by the on-off quality of the character animation. Sometimes what's on-screen is jaw-droppingly identical to those legendary pieces of animated art, at other times all you see is blank-faced, lip-flapping morons. It just shatters the magic at very inopportune moments. It's a bit of a joke when the very worst entry in the series (Coded, as it there were any doubt) more frequently features high-quality models and animation than the main series installments. It's sad, but they probably have some sort of good reason behind it (hopefully not laziness).
At its best, Kingdom Hearts is a delightful boon upon humanity that celebrates the best Disney and Square have to offer. And that's just pretty damn good there, fella.