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Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue |OT| May our hearts be our guiding key

I think my enjoyment of the worlds also has some correlation to how much it travels off the beaten path, or how the story/characters change with the presence/involvement of SDG/TAV. For example, playing through Notre Dame where you pretty much can figure what's going to happen, vs Beast traveling to Hollow Bastion to save Belle.

Or, in other words, how much the plot/world is integrated into the larger narrative rather than just retelling a story people already know.

I mean, yes and no. The stuff in KH2 with the heartless version of Scar and the gigantic heartless jungle creature thing is extremely bad; KH2's Tron material tracks the movie pretty closely (more or less) but feels really good.

I think part of it is really just that KH1 had much more effort put into writing the Disney portions of the games than any of the other games did.
 

RocknRola

Member
I think my enjoyment of the worlds also has some correlation to how much it travels off the beaten path, or how the story/characters change with the presence/involvement of SDG/TAV. For example, playing through Notre Dame where you pretty much can figure what's going to happen, vs Beast traveling to Hollow Bastion to save Belle.

Or, in other words, how much the plot/world is integrated into the larger narrative rather than just retelling a story people already know.

Gotta say, in terms of Disney stuff nothing has come close to that awesome Beast appearence in Hollow Bastion. It wasn't just the cutscenes either, it was him basically being a "1 man army" in a high level area since your powers were nerfed for quite a bit when you first got there.
 

peronmls

Member
BBS and Re:CoM are both pretty amazing from a systems point of view, honestly, and as far as the basic gameplay loop is concerned. It's mainly that KH2FM (not so much vanilla kh2, if we're being honest) has really really excellent melee mechanics. As far as the RPG elements are concerned, Osaka's basically got Tokyo beat; it's just that KH2FM has basically gold-standard ARPG melee combat and balance and boss design.

reCOM used KH1/2 engine. That's why it still felt great so I wouldnt compare it to osakas work as the game was still using KH1/2s
 

shmoglish

Member
Lmao I felt bad at first only saw the first part I was bout say damn sorry dude.(I only know because I screwed the same area you're probably in because I forgot
Haha, sorry. Would be a rude answer for a great response.
This was the first time I had a problem with the rythmgame
down in the cave with riku
 
So, got done with 0.2 thing.

I liked it. I like how it is pretty much BBS gameplay. That and KHII were my faves, so this is great to see. The animations and effects look great, it plays mostly great with the typical get wrecked in the corner situations.

My only real gripe are the character looks. Gone are the nice matte like look from before, to these doll like looks. Sometimes it (Aqua) looks great, other times it looks off. I hope they find the right, improved look by the end.

I think I'll try Critical. Disappointed this had to be unlocked, I prefer to just start with it. Saw a video of the optional boss. Is that one worse than Xehanort on BBS with Terra on Critical? Because he was a total shit bag.
 

peronmls

Member
KH1 and KH2 have different engines, actually.

No they don't. They both have many of the same function used in the games. Some of the functions even made it into recom but not a lot. Go find the debug of reCOM and use the .elf to see the functions in some kind of disassembler. That is if you know how to read MIPS Assembly.
 
No they don't. They both have many of the same function used in the games. Some of the functions even made it into recom but not a lot. Go find the debug of reCOM and use the .elf to see the functions in some kind of disassembler. That is if you know how to read MIPS Assembly.

I could have sworn KHII's engine was done from the ground up mostly to accommodate the physics & animation functions necessary for Lion Sora in the Pride Lands, something that they weren't able to get functioning with the original engine. At least, I remember someone (either Nomura, or some programmer from the team, can't remember) saying as much.
 

peronmls

Member
I could have sworn KHII's engine was done from the ground up mostly to accommodate the physics & animation functions necessary for Lion Sora in the Pride Lands, something that they weren't able to get functioning with the original engine. At least, I remember someone (either Nomura, or some programmer from the team, can't remember) saying as much.

I remember that. Nomura seems to like to play a game of phone with the team. Not that he's wrong. I just don't think "ground up" was the right choice of words. I will say KH1 to KH2 is a huge step up. KH1 was the base. They beefed it up so much that it's hardly seems like KH1s engine but it still is. Music even works the same. You can literally import KH1 music into KH2 and it will read it without any problems but not in reCOM
 
I remember that. Nomura seems to like to play a game of phone with the team. Not that he's wrong I just dont think "ground up" was the right choice of words. I will say KH1 to KH2 is a huge step up. KH1 was the base. They beefed it up so much that it's hardly seems like KH1s engine but it still is. Music even works the same. You can literally import KH1 music into KH2 and it will read it without any problems but not in reCOM

So it's more or less a retooled version than a different one entirely? Makes sense then, I didn't know that.
 

HeelPower

Member
I could have sworn KHII's engine was done from the ground up mostly to accommodate the physics & animation functions necessary for Lion Sora in the Pride Lands, something that they weren't able to get functioning with the original engine. At least, I remember someone (either Nomura, or some programmer from the team, can't remember) saying as much.

I was blown away by the pridelands section in the remaster.

The pridelands is effectively another game.He moves and animates fundamentally differently compared to the human form.(and so does the party)

That would be a $20-30 DLC piece nowadays.
 

Mediking

Member
Just got done playing a few minutes. Its really fun and visually good. Voice acting is good. The new song is really good. Cosmetic changes is a nice welcome.

My only complaint is that R1 doesn't always lock on and that Aqua's model goes from pretty to weird looking at times. Like she looks too plastic yet pretty.
 
image.jpg
Oh man I hate this image, he overcomplicated everything so much (and he's still making edits to it).


Thank fuck for that 0.2 patch the other day, it was a breeze. Beat the third Mirror Aqua without taking damage, and the final boss took me two tries. Hell, I struggled more on the Devil's Tide boss before it. Now just have to gain 20 levels and I'm done with 0.2.
 
I swear, the trash mobs combo'd with the huge load zones in
The World That Never Was
makes the whole thing feel like a boss encounter in and of itself. Like you're on the last trash pack of the load zone, you clear one wave, you think you're Scot free, then suddenly two t-Rexes spawn to send you back to the beginning! This world makes it feel like a different game!

I remember this zone kicking my butt on the 3DS and it's nice to see it hasn't changed.
 

peronmls

Member
Just got done playing a few minutes. Its really fun and visually good. Voice acting is good. The new song is really good. Cosmetic changes is a nice welcome.

My only complaint is that R1 doesn't always lock on and that Aqua's model goes from pretty to weird looking at times. Like she looks too plastic yet pretty.
That's because it locks on once you let go of R1. That needs to be fixed as I and maybe most hold it without noticing.
 

LAA

Member
Had to restart KH3D for the 3rd time yesterday as I learnt Exp Zero does count as an ability needed for one of the trophies.
Did pretty well though, up to the last world now and finished flick rush stuff (finally).
Now it's just finishing off special portals/getting commands which is more daunting than it sounds... kept fully finishing dream eaters ability boards when I should have just moved on when I got what I wanted, only made like 7 dream eaters total so far, fear I'll be making and grinding a lot more ha ha.
 

SoulUnison

Banned
I hate the BBS team's idea of "Aerial Recovery."

In KH2 you could hit the button pretty much at any point you were "knocked back" in the air and it worked reliably.

After years of playing BBS and DDD I still don't really understand how or when "Aerial Recovery" is supposed to work.
 
I hate the BBS team's idea of "Aerial Recovery."

In KH2 you could hit the button pretty much at any point you were "knocked back" in the air and it worked reliably.

After years of playing BBS and DDD I still don't really understand how or when "Aerial Recovery" is supposed to work.
Yeah, that payback blast or w/e it is in DDD barely worked? Like I would be thrown into the air and I'm mashing square in order to flip back, attack, and dodge, but Sora/Riku doesn't do it. Confuses the hell out of me.
 
Finished DDD. Had a great time, I have some nitpicks though but they are a result of me being a big fan of KH2.

Between this and 0.2 is pretty clear how Osaka Team does Kingdom Hearts combat. They focus on encounters that have you getting attacked from everywhere and plenty of attacks that just stunlock you. I also find what they consider to be a combo much more strict than KH2. It doesn't mean their games are bad but their approach is different and in my opinion isn't as good as KH2.

Of course KH3 doesn't need perfect KH2-styled combat to get me to love it. It just needs a lot of options for combat and movement and it looks like we'll get that with Flowmotion, Drives, Attraction Flow, and Keyblade Transformations. This and hopefully movement abilities like Aerial Dodge, and Glide should make dealing with the crazy encounters they make a lot more reasonable. In the end I think Osaka Team make great games and they basically are the KH team now. They've done great work.

One thing I'll say for sure though is fuck the Command Deck I hope it's gone for good. Being hit mid-cast and having your move be put on a cooldown is horrible and infuriating.
 

Just T

Member
Doesn't it make more sense for it to be Kairi, given her and Aqua's interaction in BBS? I thought it was a nice touch having her tag along with Riku. I feel like Sora saving Ven is more appropriate if they go that route.
Riku & Mickey have experience being in the RoD, Kairi has no darkness for the heartless to prey on, & Lea has the black coat that shields from darkness. Sora/Donald/Goofy are effectively the least qualified to go there.

Personally, I feel Kairi should be the one to save Aqua since she's the one Aqua ultimately passed the keyblade down to, intentional or not. It's off putting to me that 0.2 seems to regard Kairi's connection with Aqua as seemingly irrelevant compared to Sora's & Riku's.
Yeah Kairi would work too but looks like she'll be busy training. Sora's inevitable meeting with Ven should make for a nice scene.
 
Finished 0.2, everything about the designs of the worlds was amazing. Took me so much longer to beat the game because I was looking all around and exploring all the nooks and crannies.
 

Meowster

Member
To this day I don't understand how people can hate CoM. Those battles against Replica Riku and the Organization members were top tier experiences.
That fight against Riku IV was probably the hardest normal fight I've ever had in the series.... maybe it is easier now. As an eleven or twelve year old though, that fight was hard as hell.
 

silva1991

Member
Country of musketeers battle theme is so good. I'm so getting that lion spirit.

Also I think I like DDD more than BBS at this point.

Finished DDD. Had a great time, I have some nitpicks though but they are a result of me being a big fan of KH2.

Between this and 0.2 is pretty clear how Osaka Team does Kingdom Hearts combat. They focus on encounters that have you getting attacked from everywhere and plenty of attacks that just stunlock you. I also find what they consider to be a combo much more strict than KH2. It doesn't mean their games are bad but their approach is different and in my opinion isn't as good as KH2.

Of course KH3 doesn't need perfect KH2-styled combat to get me to love it. It just needs a lot of options for combat and movement and it looks like we'll get that with Flowmotion, Drives, Attraction Flow, and Keyblade Transformations. This and hopefully movement abilities like Aerial Dodge, and Glide should make dealing with the crazy encounters they make a lot more reasonable. In the end I think Osaka Team make great games and they basically are the KH team now. They've done great work.

One thing I'll say for sure though is fuck the Command Deck I hope it's gone for good. Being hit mid-cast and having your move be put on a cooldown is horrible and infuriating.

So much truth in this post.
 

Azuran

Banned
Country of musketeers battle theme is so good. I'm so getting that lion spirit.

Also I think I like DDD more than BBS at this point.

I'm only on the Pinocchio world but I have to say enjoying DDD just as much as BBS too. People love being negative about it so I was expecting a "bad" game but it's actually a pretty fun experience to say the least. Yes, it's not perfect and there's some things that annoy me, but the overall package is still pretty strong.

There's no way I would call it a "bad" game like some people love to remind us. Sometimes I wonder about the really high standards some people have when it comes to games.
 

Psxphile

Member
I think one of the main complaints was enemies that had like no hitstun, you'd wail on them and they'd just up and break your combo and/or commands, and supposedly that's been fixed in the HD release. Without gameplay comparisons it's hard to tell, though.

But no, when people say DDD was bad they're mainly talking about where the plot goes. Oh, and Dream Eaters get a lot of hate too since they effectively replace actual party members.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
Party members have... never really been much of a significant contribution to KH combat anyway (don't hurt me) outside of mulligans via extended iframe actions, which might or might not as well have been non-party moves (see: BBS)

Player character progression, abilities and stats being tied to Dream Eaters, on the other hand, can get infuriating really fast without a shitload of time for trial and error, or more likely in this day and age, just consulting a guide beforehand.
 
Party members have... never really been much of a significant contribution to KH combat anyway (don't hurt me) outside of mulligans via extended iframe actions, which might or might not as well have been non-party moves (see: BBS)

Player character progression, abilities and stats being tied to Dream Eaters, on the other hand, can get infuriating really fast without a shitload of time for trial and error, or more likely in this day and age, just consulting a guide beforehand.
Donald's Thundaga makes a huge difference in KH1, IMO. Basically eliminates all your trash mob problems forever in the postgame. Oh and MP Gift for even more comically broken MP gain (rest in peace, super unbalanced vanilla MP Rage).

Something I'd love to see patched into KH1/KH2 for the PS4 version is just straight up giving you three allies instead of two anytime there's a guest party member available. It would make both games significantly easier at times and that's a shame but also: it'd be cooler and that matters more imo
 

silva1991

Member
Maybe not in 1, but limit moves with Donald and Goofy makes KH2's combat even better.

Hell, I think there is a mushroom challenge where it's almost impossible to win without practicing Donald's limit move.

I'm only on the Pinocchio world but I have to say enjoying DDD just as much as BBS too. People love being negative about it so I was expecting a "bad" game but it's actually a pretty fun experience to say the least. Yes, it's not perfect and there's some things that annoy me, but the overall package is still pretty strong.

There's no way I would call it a "bad" game like some people love to remind us. Sometimes I wonder about the really high standards some people have when it comes to games.

Not the best KH game, but it's good and fun. I think having party members(spirits) is part of what makes me like this more than BBS.
 

Kain

Member
DDD is and always was legit fun. A bit broken and has some questionable design choices, but it's a good game. I guess the negativity comes from the clusterfuck nonsense of the plot. And probably the infuriating final boss. OMG I almost throw my 3DS out the window the first time I beat it then failed the last QTE and was stuck in a bug and had to reset the thing. Ugh.
 
Really enjoying the objectives in 0.2! I feel I got a bit lucky with Queen of the Rink, and having some troubles nailing down the one for freezing 5 heartless.

Not sure what it means by the description of the objective.

Otherwise, 0.2 has me looking forward to 3 even more now :) feels so good to be playing console KH again.
 
Really enjoying the objectives in 0.2! I feel I got a bit lucky with Queen of the Rink, and having some troubles nailing down the one for freezing 5 heartless.

Not sure what it means by the description of the objective.

Otherwise, 0.2 has me looking forward to 3 even more now :) feels so good to be playing console KH again.

AFAIK you have to freeze 5 Heartless and, in your next attack, you need to destroy those 5. Blizzaja followed by Thundaja is how I managed to succeed with it.
 

LAA

Member
With BBS VS DDD, have to say I find it hard to choose between them, both have their pros and cons.
BBS's cons for me are the worlds are too similar for each character, so for the most part, the same game is being played 3x (which DDD mostly fixed this problem).
Didn't like the command board/command melding. Command board is just a boring game to play for me and you need to play it for certain commands/items/trophies. Command melding I just wasn't a fan of due to the low % rate of getting certain commands.

DDD's cons for me are: flow motion is mostly used in an annoying and boring way to traverse the map. Boost into wall/jump/repeat mostly.
Not as many optional/secret bosses as BBS and the one it did have I didn't really enjoy and didn't really tease at the future like past secret bosses did.
Spirit bonding, as much as it's cool that there's a big choice of spirits/commands they unlock, I don't like the bonding aspect put into it. You can spend a significant amount of time just patting/stroking them and mini games to get the LP you want probably and doesn't feel you get enough quickly or as much through normal gameplay.

Personally too, I think in the end BBS's story interested me more, though of course I still liked/enjoyed DDD, just BBS was quite refreshing at time, being the first to implement the new battle system, new playable characters that feel different to play as, and took place in a time period we had no knowledge of at the time, so was interesting for all those reasons. DDD was more exciting for carrying on the current story and mostly including worlds/characters never seen in KH before.
 

Famassu

Member
Although I have to say, the whole "Drop" thing is kind of in the way sometimes. In La Cite Des Cloches I found myself being dropped into Riku & Sora, for no reason other than "You took too long exploring bro, sorry."

Yes there are items you can use and you can quickly Drop manually to one of them and back again and keep going, but it's a bit annoying. Feel like that kinda cuts the flow of play a bit. Dunno, maybe it made sense on a handheld space where people would play shorter sessions in general.
I'm in the second to last world and I've Dropped, like, 7 times. Just create one deck that only has Drop-Me-Nots and change to that deck to use one whenever the Drop gauge is nearing the last gauge and you should never find yourself in a situation where you Drop without choosing to yourself.
 
I'm in the second to last world and I've Dropped, like, 7 times. Just create one deck that only has Drop-Me-Nots and change to that deck to use one whenever the Drop gauge is nearing the last gauge and you should never find yourself in a situation where you Drop without choosing to yourself.

I agree. I could count the amount of times I had a forced-drop on one hand. Every other time I manually dropped or extended the time limit. There's really so much you can do to prevent dropping.
 

tdwig

Neo Member
Had to restart KH3D for the 3rd time yesterday as I learnt Exp Zero does count as an ability needed for one of the trophies.
Did pretty well though, up to the last world now and finished flick rush stuff (finally).
Now it's just finishing off special portals/getting commands which is more daunting than it sounds... kept fully finishing dream eaters ability boards when I should have just moved on when I got what I wanted, only made like 7 dream eaters total so far, fear I'll be making and grinding a lot more ha ha.

Welp, I didn't realize you needed EXP Zero on DDD either for the 'Ability Ace' trophy which is only available on proud & critical. Gonna have to start a ng+ to finish the platinum.

Edit: Should be a matter of leveling my spirits on proud ng+ with balloons until I have all the abilities again so not too terrible but still pretty terrible.
 
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