"Himanshu Talwar, Josh Brant, and Mario Piacquadio are back again with the 10th episode of the PlayStation Enthusiast Podcast. Join us as we discuss Kingdom Hearts, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, and more!" -- Enthusiast
Trying to break into Kingdom Hearts is a nightmare.
My advice; play the games in release order. Alot of people say story chronological order but that can be really confusing. Trust me.
I think a problem that SE is going to run into (or already has run into) with this series is that a lot of the people still following it were kids / teens when they played the first one, and are now much older. I know I'm finding it increasingly hard to tolerate the childishness of some of the stuff in these games, and I'm sure there are plenty of original players who have since just stopped following the series for this reason. I can't count the number of times I was playing KH3 and just feeling like, "What the f*** am I doing?"
SE can keep the series PG-13, and try to get a new audience of kids, but how do they intend to get kids into a series with a story that has been expanding since 2002, and over the course of like a dozen games? Especially when there are already loads of newer franchises out there that have already pretty much cornered the kids / teens market.
Honestly, I think they should either end the series once and for all, or take it in a more mature direction, and ditch the Disney stuff (I know, unpopular opinion, probably). It is a series that hasn't really grown with its audience, I feel. Alternatively, they could try to steer it in a more all-ages Studio Ghibli direction, sort of like Final Fantasy.
I felt this way with KH3 as well, ended up dropping it around half way through. I won't even bother with KH4.
Same here. Kingdom Hearts 3’s dialog was way to childish for me and I only played just to finish the story and wrap up the near 15 year wait.
I doubt I would be buying any other games unless they go in a more mature (all-ages) direction as OP said.
you gotta remember Disney has to sign off on everything they do with KH. Disney is super protective of their IP,
Either way I don't disagree with you on a lot of this stuff becoming more and more of an issue. But it's okay that fans grow out of things like this. But if they do decide to keep it more for the young audience then they will have to solve the problem that the article mentions.
Yeah, I just don't know what they could do to get all the kids invested in it at this stage. The only thing I can think of is a total reboot, but that would be an enormous project, and they clearly have no intention of doing it. I mean, the series has just embarked upon another "saga", which, if it's anything like the last "saga", will take another 2 decades to complete, will consist of 6+ games, and will convolute the overall narrative even further (if that's even possible). It seems to me that, if this is SE's plan, and if they want people to still care about the series in 5-6 years time, then their only real option is to try to appeal more to a non-adolescent audience. Otherwise, the kids won't care because they won't have a clue what's going on, and the adults won't care because the series is too childish.
Having said all that, the Yozora stuff, and the footage we've seen from KH4, does seem to MAYBE indicate that the series is going in the direction I'm talking about, but it's too early to say for sure. KH4 might look completely different the next time we see it, knowing SE.
Kingdom hearts 3 is horrible ..that's why you felt that way. It's the worst in the series by far.
My issue is with the decline of the writing which has been an issue for Square-Enix games across the board. KH3 should have gone out with a bang and felt very satisfying, but instead it was like a wet tissue and left feeling like I missed a lot of content. Having said that, KH3 was probably the last KH game I'll purchase.
Im playing 3 as my first one and I got that same feeling. Enjoying the variety and combat but im not into the story...too confusing.
Indeed. If you wanna give it a try, just go with 1-3. The other games are unfortunately needed to know but you can just youtube all the cutscenes by order of release of each game.
From games that digitaltrends DeAngelo Epps has always wanted to play but missed out on, like Odin Sphere, to newer titles that he'd love to re-experience like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, there was enough there to justify diving back in. And those titles aren’t even a small percent of what’s available here. Vanillaware titles, Square Enix games, NIS franchises he’d never even heard of — there’s a whole lot to dig into.
PSPlus is Amazing for RPGs and NIS America, Square Enix and Vanillaware games are perfect for PSPortal.
Not really a 'secret' but a paradise indeed, I just finished Soul Hackers 2, pretty good, and started Labyrinth of Galleria and I am having a blast. Tons of great RPGs in the PS4/PS5 family
Perfect for playing on the Portal, since rpgs can be such timesinks. For those people who can't stay glued to the TV, it's good to give some freedom around the house, out on the porch or whatever. I haven't picked up a Portal yet, bc of life priorities, but I definitely anticipate picking one up asap and playing more rpgs!
I'm currently playing Final Fantasy VII:Remake for the first time on PS5 and I am freaking blown away by this game so far. I don't know why I waited this long or due to my huge backlog but had to be honest, this game exceeded my expectations.
Yea, story pacing aside, the combat system is pretty killer, especially if you slow it down to play it more like a tactical turned based jrpg!
I actually wish FF16 had gone this route, instead of the DMC route. The FF7:R system gave enough action for those who wanted to play that way, while still appeasing us old school turn based jrpg fans.
Glad you're enjoying!
Some of the best in game HDR I've ever seen in that game. I liked it a lot too. My first final fantasy game believe it or not
Also included are Star Ocean The Divine Force, Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, Unpacking.
Hot damn those are some high quality games right there. I've been meaning to give 13 Sentinels a go, just haven't had the time to get around to it.
I had it on my wishlist waiting for a Discount, when I knew I would be close to playing it, so much in my backlog already, might as well try it now.
Also looks at ALL those Star Ocean titles!!!
The story is so great especially if you don't know what's going on, When i played it I kept thinking I bet this is "it" no I bet that's "it" no it's got to be this, but "it" wasn't those things in the end.
It's Japanese story telling style at it's finest, lead you along and let you wonder what is actually going on really keeping you engaged to figure out the mystery.
The RTS gameplay I really enjoyed too, my only regret was that there wasn't even more of it!
Probably why they hiked the price, so there could be better quality games and less shovelware.
It's one of the best story ever made in recent years, there's a reason it was nominated the best narrative in 2020's TGA.
I heard 13 Sentinels has a superb story, gotto try it at one point.
I can vouch for Nier Replicant, it has one of the coolest endings I have experience in a game. Took me a while to complete the game fully, but man, it was more than worth it in the end.
13 Sentinels is a must play if you haven't. Like, I can't praise enough what an awesome story and set of characters that game has.
