How Kingdom Hearts 3 Sabotaged Itself

The Variables leading to Kingdom Hearts 3's Release would have a much Larger Effect on the games reception than Fans may realize, many they aren't at fault for... This Video dives What went Wrong with KH3 before release leading to its divisive reputation among the Kingdom Hearts Community.
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Kingdom Hearts News / Info Sites I often use:
▷ www.khinsider.com
▷ www.kh13.com/
▷ www.khwiki.com/
#kingdomhearts #disney #gaming #anime #pixar

[@ProdigyxCD]

Overall... I LOOOOVEEEE Kingdom Hearts!! THE SERIES IS PEEEAAAAKKKK!! If you enjoyed this video or found it Insightful remember to Like the Video! Also consider checking out our Patreon for some Early Content www.patreon.com/ProdigyxCD

[@charlesgamercw9272]

I already told them that the perfect video game will never exist, I was waiting for Kingdom Hearts 3 to be perfect.

[@Redxan600]

@@charlesgamercw9272 KH3 is already perfect.

[@charlesgamercw9272]

@@Redxan600 Everything else yet, however I don't feel so good, I technically had a mental breakdown because in KH3 manga I was expecting more for Kairi in not being destroyed and then another story is non-perfect AND also the waiting for KH4 is taking so long, no trailers in Summer Game Fest, D23 and Gamescom, there's nothing guaranteed to be perfect if Kairi doesn't reunite with Sora as soon as possible.

[@Neku628]

12:50 Another thing, but wasn't Terra supposed to be there when Ventus woke up like he was shown at the end of the Kingdom Hearts BBSFM secret ending.

[@Chadzilla_the_Keyblade_welder]

Over the years, I always knew that the Kingdom hearts fanbase was Never gonna be the same after KH3 came out. It was NEVER gonna satisfy everyone. No matter how the game turned out. I'm personally the side that loves it, but I get why some don't.

[@M.A.D.C.J]

I agree

[@tuckercherry3562]

Yeah, I have to say I agree

[@iggyp4390]

The trailers weren’t the problem. The fact that almost the entire plot of the grand finale of the Dark Seeker Saga could be fit into a handful of trailers was the problem. In the end, regardless of all the excuses from trailers to fan expectations, this dev team just wasn’t ready to handle a game of this scale. Nomura knew they weren’t, that’s why he wanted them to work on the Xehanort prequel game first. I was brushing up on old Famitsu interviews and Reddit threads recently, and rereading them took me back to a time where the words “Kingdom Hearts III” were such a source of joy. So many hours daydreaming about it for 13 years. Yes, young ones, 13 years. We knew all along that every game, every Ultimania interview that came out was a piece of Nomura’s puzzle that was always building to one thing and one thing only: Kingdom Hearts III. At school and on summer vacation, KH3 was a dream we kept in our hearts as we moved through life. The E3 2013 announcement trailer will always be one of the happiest moments of my life. Summer vacation has to end sometime, so most old fans just wanted to have one last grand adventure in the world of Kingdom Hearts that had been a place to escape for so many of us. One last adventure through our favorite worlds with our favorite characters. That was really all the older fans were ever asking for. I’ll never understand why Square-Enix or Nomura didn’t appreciate just how much this game and its story would really mean to people. As silly and cliche as it it was, the Dark Seeker story was something people cherished. And KH3 was their one and only chance to say thanks for the loyalty over the years. 5 years later, it’s still such a bittersweet thought that the long “dream” of KH3 really is over.

[@Flapalapagus]

This is why I am so happy with myself that I spent the last 5 odd years completely ignoring everything Kingdom Hearts 3 related until I could play it myself. Including all trailers and gameplay except the initial one. Also the reason the trailers are so spoiler based is cause they were originally made with how the Japanese do their advertising for movies and anime. Most other countries prefer to keep the surprise for you to find out… But Japan goes “HERE IS YOUR SURPRISE!! FIND OUT HOW IT HAPPENED YOURSELF!!”

[@sakonan4883]

It depends. Movie trailers in America spoil too much. I was more of a superhero fan, and many DC trailers (I hate DC) spoil basically the whole movie. The problem is that, that means all the good parts are in the trailer and there’s nothing to expect. Even Marvel does it with Doctor Strange 2 spoiling all the good moments. It was even worse back in DDD. They had 2, 10 minute long trailers. 3 had only 4 minute long trailers at best. I was almost worried.

[@Flapalapagus]

@@sakonan4883 I suppose a big part of it is what they are willing to show to an ad company to avoid excess leaks as well

[@ntrg3248]

I agree with this, and the Japanese audience seems to be okay with this sort of thing. I remember when JP trailers came out for Persona 3 reload, I commented in Japanese something along the lines of, "There's a lot of spoilers in these trailers, this is an inconvenience to new players" and some asshole replied, "you're an inconvenience" To be fair most people who replied to it were nice about it and made reasonable points like "A new player isn't gonna know who this is so it's not a spoiler for them" but I still remember that one prick who annoyed me.

[@bigmac371]

Hell yeah brother, finally someone who did what I did. I watched the d23 trailer on the luminous engine and that’s it. And stopped watched kh stuff to prevent it being in my recommended

[@agodelianshock9422]

KH3 languished in development hell and then got rushed out the door after an engine swap. Its a miracle we got what we did honestly. Re:Mind with critical mode was honestly not that bad, but the base game was a bit rough compared to what I'd expect from a direct sequel to KH2. I think the series should go in 2 directions from this point onward with one half following Sora and the Foretellers/Quadratum story with that Disney focus and the other half going deeper into the edgier Organization XIII/ World That Never Was vibe with Roxas. i know for a lot of people Kingdom Hearts is about Sora and Disney but my first experience was as Roxas and he will always be my main character

[@oreotaku4017]

Roxas honestly has nothing much left except maybe be a part of whatever is going to happen with Lea and Isa

[@TophDaGreat]

Some problems I had with KH3 in no particular order. Long post. Apologies in advance. 1. The pacing. Many will argue KH never had good pacing but I think it was handled better in KH 1 and 2 compared to 3. Put yourself in the perspective of playing the game for the first time. In KH1, it becomes apparent early on that Maleficent and the other Disney baddies are the obstacles we have to go through. As we progress through the worlds, we knock them off one by one and so it feels like progress was being made as the showdown with Malef got closer. KH2 also had this with org 13 as we do take some out on the way to TWTNW. In KH3, the endgame is pretty much known by all. The 7 guardians vs the 13 seekers in the keyblade graveyard and that's great for the END GAME, but what happens on the build up to that?Nothing of note happens to Sora and company at all. That's why many will say the main game was just filler up to Keyblade Graveyard. Sora was supposed to figure out how to use the Power of Waking but it just ended up becoming that lazy you always had the power all along trope. There are some things that happen in the game, but we don't directly see it which leads me to 2. Off screen storytelling. A lot of stuff happens off screen. I was looking forward to seeing how Mickey and Riku would go to ROD. KH 0.2 put me under the impression that we'd explore the ROD on a larger scale. In KH 3, they go there off screen and we dont get an explanation on how they got there. Same thing with their new Keyblades. Riku and Mickey are also getting bodied for some reason despite both of them being masters and having more than enough experience with the ROD at this point. We know Kairi and Lea are training, but are not told what kind of training they are doing or how long they've been training. KH 1 and 2 showed a lot of the lore and we the players experienced it in real time but in KH3 a lot of stuff is just happening off screen. We aren't supposed to ask any questions and just accept it. 3. Lack of hubworld. This is a big one. KH1 and 2 had hubworlds we went back to as the events of the game progressed. KH3 didnt have that and Twilight Town was nerfed in size. For me this affected my enjoyment of the game and it felt like something was missing. 4. Trailers. This has been talked about more than enough. Too much was shown. I understand they really wanted to sell the game was finally here but there were so many moments that would have meant waaaaaaaaaaaay more if we didnt know. There were hardly any surprises left going in if you watched every trailer. Most content creators are not gonna talk about this because its good for their channel obviously. The hype was good in the short term but imo it hurt the game itself in the long term. There are some other things I could address, but those were the main ones. If I could give an honorable mention to one more issue it would be some of the content creators on KZbin. Many of them were non stop hype machines dedicating their channel to nothing but KH3 hype in the build up to the game. Then when the game was released with a mixed reception and polarizing story decisions, "some" of these content creators just dipped and never addressed the criticisms. Some of them still avoid talking about KH3 to this very day. At the end of the day, its a video game and everyone is entitled to their opinion. KH3 didn't live up to the hype for me and it soured my feelings on the franchise. That said, I wouldnt bully someone else who had a different experience from me and did enjoy it and anyone that does do that is a mean person. At the same time though, people who did enjoy the game can at least acknowledge some things weren't handled right. Bullying people who liked something you didn't is toxic but I feel ignoring the issues and acting like the game is a perfect 10 out of 10 is also just as toxic. Sorry for the long rant. Love the content btw.

[@Redxan600]

1. I disagree. The pacing of this story is really well told and showed off the character development with Sora. The worlds he visited has buildup for the endgame. Marluxia and Larxene warned Sora to gather everyone to the battlefield or else they'll harass the princesses. Vanitas returned to be a member of the thirteen darkness along with telling Sora that Ventus lives in his heart, giving him that information. 2. Perhaps they got there by using the Keyblade to open the portal or Yen Sid opens a portal for them. Either way, it doesn't matter how they got there. But I do agree that we should have explored the world a little better with Riku and Mickey. And they just explained that Heartless are stronger in their homeworld. It would make sense for them to get easily bodied, if not, outmatched. And Kairi and Lea are training on how to use and control the Keyblade, to which I believe it doesn't matter to the plot at all. If anything, how did Riku even manifested a Keyblade for Kairi at all? Why not ask that question? 4. Regular Pat and Thegamersjoint have talked about it. "That said, I wouldnt bully someone else who had a different experience from me and did enjoy it and anyone that does do that is a mean person. At the same time though, people who did enjoy the game can at least acknowledge some things weren't handled right. Bullying people who liked something you didn't is toxic but I feel ignoring the issues and acting like the game is a perfect 10 out of 10 is also just as toxic." Don't lie. I keep seeing you bullying others just for praising KH3 alone. You don't let others have the positive opinions about KH3. And I'm sure as hell you don't act the same whenever people praises kh2. Just because someone gives KH3 a 10/10 doesn't mean they're ignoring the flaws. And they shouldn't have to point out the flaws if they want to. If we're going by your logic, tell me the things that went wrong with kh2.

[@TophDaGreat]

@@Redxan600 Im not a kh2 purist. KH1 is my fav game in the series. I haven't bullied anyone for liking KH3, but I just think some content creators are cowards because they run from the issues of the game and never did a proper review for the game. You dont see any ducking like that for any other kh game. Just kh3.

[@Redxan600]

@@TophDaGreat Stop lying bro. How come I've seen you attacking someone's opinion for praising KH3 on Skyward wing video from mid to peak then? And again, people do not have to point out the things they do not like about the game. You should not have to force them out to critique something they like just because they highly praise it. If anything, the reason why they won't bring up the issues is maybe the fact that people like you have already brought up the issues and do not want to repeat what everyone is parroting. And even then, some of the criticism for KH3 is just straight-up wrong.

[@TophDaGreat]

@@Redxan600 I recall that vid. I said KH3 was mediocre to which someone responded saying I didnt know what mediocre meant but I do know what it means and that's exactly what the game was. I didn't hate the game or attack that person though. And I'm not a kh2 purist so don't assume or generalize.

[@Redxan600]

@@TophDaGreat It was not that comment I was referring to. Someone said that KH3 was already great and never mid. And you attacked them saying that it was. And even with that comment you're referring to. You still attacked them and forcing your opinion on them saying it doesn't deserve an 8/10. You can have the opinion that you don't like KH3. You can't just tell others that they can't praise it too highly. They are free to have that opinion much like you're free to have the opinion that you think KH3 is mediocre. To which I heavily disagree.

[@TotallyCluelessGamer]

I actively refuse to watch the trailers for games I am excited for. This started well before KH3, but watching the trailers after the fact retroactively justified my decision.

[@NicolasMendoula]

In my humble opinion. If the goal of both parties were to complete their teams (7 guardians of lights and 13 darknesses) it would have better to see the progress. For exemple The heroes could have needed to obtain certain items or resources in Disney world in order to construct the replica's body. They could have fought the new organization in order to prevent Xehanort to nort his vessels. You know you need something that belong to the person for them to time travel. Maybe Xehanort must reunite in order to summon them. The world should've been related to each characters reappearance. The keyword is progression. Sora deblock all his new powers almost instantly. When does he learn form change ? When does he learn his attraction magic etc...

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Agreed. I felt like the progression of his abilities in KH3 felt non-existent.

[@LewisJones-sj1lm]

Remind felt like Square was being cheeky to me. Instead of addressing issues stated by countless fans they went back in and made out they’d intentionally left holes in the cutscenes and the plot of the game just to patch them up later, as if to say “we didn’t half ass the game, we intended this all along.” I don’t believe that. Remind shouldn’t have been a separate DLC. It should have been akin to Final Mix. They should have gone into the *main* game and inserted more cutscenes and given us more clarity on the story in the base game and given us more content. That would justify selling it separately, maybe just as a downloadable upgrade like it always has been.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@LewisJones-sj1lm agreed. I think the development of the DLC could have cooked as long as the Elden Ring DLC. Now, there is a DLC that is nigh-perfect and a developer that listens to the dedicated community.

[@sammerscrescent7925]

I will NEVER get over how the series has done Kairi dirty once again. The series has gone way backwards from KH2, which had a peak story. And MoM did no justice to her character development. There's no doubt the game and dev team HATE Kairi. I'll say this; I'm never buying another KH game again.

[@Erikthedood]

The people that created her character hate her? Lmao. No. You think that just because she’s not the most important or overpowered character she’s useless?. Shonen anime power scaling doesn’t apply to a character’s actual importance. If you’re still bitching about this perception of Kairi I have no doubt you’ll be playing the next game. See you then. Rent free

[@slippyquack7672]

What pissed me off about the game, was the story in particular. It dragged on in certain worlds for far too long (starring directly at Frozen) while other worlds felt rushed through and vague. I can kind of look passed that though.. what nearly killed it for me was how at every turn, damn near everyone mocked Sora for either failing the Mastery test or for not learning the the power of awakening. I mean, it's not like he didn't save everyone and keep everything from falling into darkness on his own with no guidance or help, wasn't abandoned by the very people he did everything in his power to save, and even gave up his own heart/life in the process to save one of them, all the while one of the main people that could've helped did absolutely nothing but sit on his ass the whole time barking orders (becauses he's ReTiReD) up until the last minute and still contributed next to nothing. Without Sora brute forcing his way through everything through sheer power of will (and friendship), everything would've went to hell a lot sooner. The trailers did great in generating excitement and hype, but the game itself.. the story? Left a nasty taste in my mouth with how everyone treated Sora, the kne person that actually got off his ass to something.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Oh god. I hated Arendelle, Kingdom of Corona, and the rest tbh. The only worlds I even remotely liked was Toy Box, The Caribbean, and Olympus.

[@liammccbyrne4184]

what really ruined KH3 was Square not giving Nomura Versus XIII.

[@SoraFan23]

I will be brutually honest. Kingdom Hearts 3 received a mixed reception for several reasons. Many long-time fans of the series had sky-high expectations, given the long wait between Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3. The game was burdened with the weight of wrapping up complex storylines, satisfying fan expectations, and delivering gameplay that lived up to its predecessors. It felt like most of the game was focused way too much on the Disney aspect and they just left all the important stuff at the end. The criticisms largely stemmed from the story, which some felt was convoluted or failed to provide satisfying resolutions to certain character arcs. Others pointed to the gameplay, feeling that while it was polished, it lacked innovation or challenge compared to earlier entries. Additionally, the long development time and extensive marketing built up a level of hype that was nearly impossible to fulfill completely. With that said I did like the combat and the graphics were great, I just think if maybe the game had better pacing and had more answers then maybe I would enjoy it more. Looking ahead, game developers and publishers must learn from these experiences. They should consider more strategic, perhaps more conservative, marketing approaches that build excitement without overselling the product. Transparency is crucial, but so is the element of surprise and discovery that makes gaming special. As for leaks and spoilers, the industry needs to continue to develop better methods for protecting game content. But more importantly, there should be a cultural shift within the gaming community towards respecting the shared experience. A game’s impact is often strongest when experienced as intended, without foreknowledge of every twist and turn. Ultimately, the debate around how much to show, how to handle leaks, and how to manage fan expectations will continue to shape the gaming industry. Kingdom Hearts 3 serves as a reminder of the challenges in meeting fan expectations and the importance of balancing hype with reality. Going forward, the key will be to find ways to excite and engage players while preserving the integrity of the gaming experience.

[@MBCWCWMTC]

I do feel like the trailers did give to much away before we had it. And before the game happened so many leaks flew around youtube. I did cave. And that did impact my viewing of KH3 something I waited for. For 13 years

[@Darth555]

Considering the first KH4 trailer already did something that prodigy mentioned happened with 3, in that they revealed a character we weren't sure was making a comeback, I'm worried SE didn't learn their lesson with KH3. My main criticism of KH3 comes from the story, mainly that it left me with more questions than answers. I'm a little fatigued from this franchise leaving me starving for plot. It was really bad during the Union X era, where we'd wait months for an update, only to have a 5 minute cutscene.

[@Hyskaris]

The way the writers tried to set up the endgame of KH3 was incredibly lackluster. Nomura, of course, has a lot of background experience with video games, but he's never the sole writer. For example, KH3 also had Masaru Oka on the writing team, who's previous works include most of the Kingdom Hearts series, though in varying roles between story writer and the base scenario writer. I'm not gonna say they're washed up, but there's something in their recent works that just lacks the spark the original games were able to give you AS you went along. They have fun ideas for certain parts of the games, like Roxas' prologue, or the Hollow Bastion Heartless attack. But stuff like that is nowhere to be seen in KH3. It's a very linear journey with hardly a twist or turn besides some fun goofing around in Disney worlds. Any plot-related stuff is relegated to random interactions with the baddies showing up, taunting Sora and crew, and then leaving. Which was a trend we saw in Dream Drop Distance, too. Villain shows up, says crpytic thing, leaves. It's only slightly better in KH3, since we get more scenes of what *other* people besides Sora are doing, but it's hardly the payoff we could ask for when KH1 and KH2 were able to give you way better feelings of progress. It's as if the writers couldn't really think of a way to make the middle of the game feel like eventual progression to where the end of the game was. Even the first world you visit, Olympus, isn't an original world like every other KH game would have you start in. It's straight into the Disney to get you distracted by that, and hopefully you don't notice how barebones the "main story" is until you're at the end of it. Now, you could argue that since this is a direct sequel in a long series of stories tied together, it wouldn't be fair to judge this game as a stand-alone title. But fuck it, they're selling it for 60 dollars on launch day, it needs to be help up to the same standards. Square Enix marketing has this fuck-all-awful habit of just spoiling shit to get people to come play the game *IN CASE* they were on the fence about it. Now, KH3 is a sequel to a beloved series. People were already gonna play it, even if we didn't see so much as a frame from the game before it launched. But the advertisements are aimed at two groups of people: the invested fans who look at the over-revealing trailers and think "what else is in the game?!" and the other fans who may have fallen out of love with the games, but are drawn back in by the over-revealing scenes. Now, obviously this means the marketing isn't actually for invested fans. It's to trick the invested fans into believing there's way more going on, and this marketing is just to get you thinking. But there really wasn't a lot that wasn't already made cryptic by the game itself, ie Sora disappearing and vs XIII somehow coming back. If anything, people who don't watch the marketing get more because their own anticipation for the unknown is heightened, while another fan already knows the secrets and just has to puzzle how they get there. In the case of Anti-Aqua, it ended up being fairly weak if you already knew she was coming. For Roxas' return, and by extension Xion's, it was almost like a copout because the main story didn't actually focus on Roxas in the slightest, despite some teaser trailers trying to make it seem like it would. And in my eyes, that ties back to the writers not actually knowing how to get there. Since the middle of the game didn't have a huge focus on where we were heading, the only things to really show up would've been the "safe" material, ie the Disney worlds and combat. And then for the main story? Well, the end of the game is sorta all they got. You'd think the marketing team would just go all in on Disney ads at that point, but either they didn't think of that kind of perception, didn't give a shit if it was deceiving, or some higher up told them to put the end-game in the trailers anyways. I'm not gonna preach about how to fix KH3's story, or even KH3 at all, bc hooboy that's another conversation. But the writing is definitely a core issue. Locking in on this idea that the baddies NEED to be fought at the end of the game, and not realizing that means the middle of the game had very little substance, that's a core writing issue. It's something that would call for a rewrite in other offices, but I have a feeling they dug their heels in and swore it would work. And now it's a somehow linear mess, with the complications made to be more "engaging" only ending up confusing. Plot lines needing to be reopened just to be snapped shut again because this is the final game in an arc, and the new arc is pulling into the station fast. I mean this in the most heartfelt way, I know these writers can do better. I've seen them do better. They can do it again, and I believe in them. Despite all the bumps along the way.

[@Clyburn9057hi]

For me KH2 was the perfect ending to the series because it concluded where KH1, Chain of Memories, and 365/2 days (I know it was made later)left off. Everything wrapped up in a bow and nothing else was left on the table if you ignore the secret ending and the sequel bait. The problem with KH3 was that people waited 13 years for the infamous KH3 and not a spinoff. Square made so many plots and plot holes that when the game released it retconed so many things that the incoherent story became white noise and even then it didn't have the same pace as Sora's mission in the first or second game. First game had riku appearing and a disney overarching plot. Second had the organization messing everything up. The third has sora going through a bunch of worlds only to be told that he always had the ability like some sort of deus ex machina. Then the whole story is dumped at the end of the game witch Xehanort not even getting a proper punishment. Instead it's sequel bait all over for KH4 and people by this point don't care or just have fallen off because KH3 was a mess. It was far too easy at launch to and the combat was also lackluster. I even bought the remind and have yet to get to the end of it. It's sad because the game had so much potential and yet the horrible writing and greed for another game instead of actually caring for this one led to this game not being received well. Regardless I will buy KH4 only because of Sora since I kind of grew up with him.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@Clyburn9057hi agreed

[@yuugenmagenevileyes9881]

For anyone who hates this game, remember there's worse AAA titles out there. I mean do I even need to mention the state of AAA gaming nowadays. At least KH3 is playable, doesn't have any predatory micro transactions, and the game is at least fun.

[@LewisJones-sj1lm]

My main issues with the game are how they saved Aqua and woke up Ventus. They sowed seeds of giving us a satisfying conclusion to those plot elements over several games. I would have accepted every other flaw in the game if they had just done that right and they did not. We needed Dark World exploration and we needed to go and find Ventus on our own terms. They made a big deal about finding the Chamber of Waking. What happened to Aqua’s armour being stowed away? The whole Anti-Aqua sequence was bafflingly lame too. It’s clear they did that entire sequence for trailer bait, but it’s so astonishingly bad and uncooked. It comes out of nowhere and it’s gone within minutes. Ventus just woke up when we needed him, reacting to his heart being inside Sora I guess. Why couldn’t Namine just force her way out of Kairi if Ventus can do it? How did Roxas even return? The remind explanation made no sense to me. I have a lot of burning questions. Some of these answers I might be missing myself. But it all just compounds into this questioning mess.

[@DrMike18]

I probably never going to like KH3, but a major problem going into what killed my enjoyment for the game was the trailers/marketing. We got shown damn near everything important and exciting, especially in the last two months before the game dropped. Like I could’ve lived with the lackluster story, but show everything to, like you said, it wasn’t a matter “if” something would happen but “when” it happened. I’m glad that Square has learned that lesson since all their newer games haven’t revealed everything the way that KH3 did. Too much spoilers in the trailers, a painfully average story, and a painfully average rushed finale really hurt the game. Thank god for ReMind because that was the only thing that saves it from being my least favorite game in the series.

[@LewisJones-sj1lm]

It didn’t deliver on anything. Things they tried to deliver on were hugely inconsistent and didn’t make any sense. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the cutscenes in general. It had a lack of Kingdom Hearts and too much Disney. We didn’t even get legacy keyblades until a patch came out. It was bland, soulless, lacking in creativity, hugely inconsistent and disappointing, barely even recognisable as a KH game for me. There was nothing here that said it was KH minus the characters, even they phoned in their lines a lot of the time. People who say it just didn’t live up to the unprecedented hype are being disingenuous. Yes, it was hugely hyped, but not living up to that is not the problem. KH4 looks to be doubling down on going in that new direction. I am extremely worried this franchise is losing its identity and becoming something else. Some people won’t even be coming back after KH3 was such a mess. I have very little interest in it, despite being a life long adorer of this franchise, playing every game, buying them all countless times and as much merch as possible. KH3 really soured the franchise.

[@M.A.D.C.J]

It really wasn’t that bad

[@Ramxenoc]

I always knew Roxas was gonna come back. The thing that shook me more was Nomura's interview where he said originally the sunset trio wasn't going to return but since they were so loved they came back. My best friend said the intro ending also spoils the story but i'm like if you KNOW this game and its story it was obvious especially with the hints throughout the game. The WHOLE thing has led up to Sora has to save everyone. You can't save people that don't exist without bringing them back so I really don't think the roxas reveal was that bad. I think the dark aqua stuff should've COMPLETELY stayed under wraps.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@Ramxenoc I love the sunset trio, but I felt like they should already had bitter-sweet endings ❤️ at the end of the day, it’s whatever the player likes ❤️

[@Dragon_Lair]

I love all the Kingdom Hearts games and I hope Disney doesn't ruin this franchise like they've ruined so many others.

[@ProdigyxCD]

Disney has done good with this Franchise so far, for some I know KH3 is pushing it but Idk if I'd blame that on Disney minus potentially Frozen. Still want to see some Movies that haven't made it in Kingdom Hearts yet make it in KH4.

[@Dragon_Lair]

@@ProdigyxCD My concerns lie in the rumor that after a concert that Nomura and the composer were told that they received news that will change Kingdom Hearts forever. I'm thinking that they got a dictate on how the game should be or what it should include and since Disney owns Kingdom Hearts that Nomura has no choice but to give them what they want. Which is why we don't have news because they had to redo things.

[@Neku628]

9:57 I remember "Just A Pancake" making a parody song of Utada's opening song for Kingdom Hearts 3.

[@chiruki]

KH3 is my favourite KH game however I do see why people were disappointed by it. I got into the series at the back half of 2018 and I was caught up by around October of that year so I didn’t experience the wait time for KH3 that a lot of long time fans did (though now I’m experiencing this with KH4) this inevitably caused people to develop certain expectations that the game was never going to be able to fulfil. I feel like square played into this with the trailers. They knew what they were doing and what would instantly come to fans minds when they saw these moments. Anti Aqua comes to mind as an obvious example. This moment almost didn’t need to be in the game due to how short the segment was. It was almost like the only reason this moment even existed was so they could put it into the trailers just to create more hype and set certain expectations even her design played into this. If you watched all the trailers before release you basically already saw a good majority of the games and this isn’t good. Even though it was the first time playing the game it was almost like you have already experienced the game before there wasn’t many surprises because you already had an idea as to what was coming. Every world was revealed which is to be expected as that’s the best way to market the game but other than that almost the whole keyblade graveyard segment was shown. In my opinion none of this segment of the game should have been shown at all. To this day I still can’t believe that scala was shown. I’ve seen many people play KH3 and I’ve noticed that people who have either watched non or a few trailers seemed to have a better experience and enjoy KH3 more than people who watched every trailer but of course like always exceptions exist. This makes me nervous for KH4 because while like everyone I’m just craving more KH4 info I just hope they learned from KH3 and don’t show us too much of the game before we get to experience it for ourselves.

[@Sandromatic]

I don't think showing/teasing scala is that bad, especially since it's shown in the opening of the game too. But yeah basically that "final battle" trailer was certainly too much.

[@jesseshaver2262]

Kingdom hearts 3 is the only game I’ve played 99% of the way through, then just uninstalled before finishing. It felt like a chore and the writing and story were atrocious. Combat felt extremely bullet spongey. Felt soulless

[@Redxan600]

@@jesseshaver2262 I disagree with everything. Especially KH3 felt soulless. To me, it was the opposite. It was full of love and showed off how cool the characters are and even went into depth with Sora's character development.

[@ProdigyxCD]

I'm sorry that was your experience

[@Origin_Reach]

The combat was one of the few good things for 3, it's just the story (up until the Keyblade Graveyard) was pretty bad imo I really enjoyed when the OG characters were all on screen even though watching everyone die pissed me off immensely. I think going through most of the worlds (A majority of them were a snoozefest) The Keyblade Graveyard made it worth it to me. Oh and for the next game I pray that Skrillex has nothing to do with the opening theme for the game, I can't stand Face My Fears😂

[@daigu2509]

They removed jump canceling ur moves so ofcorse it sucked. Game just became spaming either and Firaga. So bad and boring combat.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@daigu2509 I agree. The combat feels like there is too much given to eh player at once and that the developers basically expect you to know how to use half the shit they throw at the player in the beginning. KH3 basically felt like a chore to go through and the combat was brain-dead easy.

[@ramshadify]

KH3 90% Filler 10% Actual story

[@Redxan600]

@@ramshadify Nah. There is story within that game.

[@Origin_Reach]

The majority of the game Sora was trying to get the Power of Waking back. Ventus literally has to tell dude he had it THIS ENTIRE TIME. The story was not it for this game. I did like seeing everyone come together even if they did nothing other than die and got a restart. I did definitely cry at the end though. I only hope 4's story is better than 3's. I also wish the game was still on the Luminous Engine but I understand why it was switched to Unreal

[@Redxan600]

@@Origin_Reach It was not just for the Power of Waking. This story also has character development for Sora as he goes through all the worlds. And the characters did do more in this story. Kairi helped Sora from fading. Roxas came in and helped out. Even Saix helped out the heroes.

[@Erikthedood]

So just like all of the other KH games right? When was the last time you replayed all of the other games? They all have this structure.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@Origin_Reach agreed. The story was very dry imo, especially after playing all the other games, which had stronger stories.(except coded imo)

[@Syntherus]

This is my main complaint with KH3. It should not have spent so much time on Disney worlds imo. Keep them in there, sure, but they overstayed their welcome toward the end of the game with all the stakes on the line. It could have done without 2 less Disney worlds and I would have been perfectly fine. It deserved to primarily focus on the main plot and characters since the game was the conclusion of a 20 year long story. There should have also been more KH original worlds like the Realm of Darkness and Land of Departure as well. Whenever we get to an original world in the games it feels like things are really picking up pace in game. Having more of them in KH3 would have made the game feel really big and grand, and sold the fact that this is a major conclusion within the series. Not to mention that the events connected to those places were a big deal and I don't think they were built up properly or given enough time. Spending more than 5 minutes dwelling on those things finally happening would have been appreciated. Instead it felt like they were in a rush to get it all over with.

[@jadap1789]

Kh3 could have been so much better. I really hope they don’t fuck it KH4

[@JabamiLain]

So do I. I have hope. People mess up sometimes. Doesn't mean it'll happen often.

[@jadap1789]

@@JabamiLain exactly I’m still hopeful

[@theploddingparadox840]

What infuriated me was that I actually *did* try to avoid trailers and spoilers, but everyone kept putting every world reveal in their fucking thumbnails. By the time I played it, I realised they had all been already spoiled for me without my consent. The mystery and surprise of each world was such a large part of my KH enjoyment growing up, so having this stolen from me for KH3 was legitimately heartbreaking. The most I could do was use spoiler-block extensions on my desktop, but they only worked half the time. I also couldn’t use anything like it on my phone, so it was kind of pointless.

[@kuricosmos]

Your theory is good Prodigy but I'm going to be honest with you. The trailers spoiling stuff had almost no effect on the people who didn't like KH3. The real sabotage for KH3, was that it took forever and a day to release. Since honestly I saw every trailer and nothing was lost for me when I played. I was surprised by the execution of what was teased. That said I'm not disagreeing that they showed too much, more wanting to add to those mentioning this is how Square Enix and really Japanese media does it. Now Re:Mind was marketed fantastically, which also means KH4 will likely follow that. Hence...us suffering. We're used to getting this much exposure so not having it, exacerbates KH4. So this is a pro and con scenario. How much can they show without spoiling? The best solution is for Square Enix to keep quiet until it's close to launch. Curate the trailers tastefully and launch timely. That's the magic bullet. You can tell KH3 was trying really hard to drum up hype and apologize to fans for the wait. I do think it did help them sell more. KH3 sold the most in the franchise after all. As for the polarizing, try not to worry about it. Re:Mind did its job, KH4 will do the rest.

[@Jakerams]

I'll say not allowing the characters to get opportunities in the spotlight was the main issue. If you removed the other guardians, nothing changes because Sora's contributions are the only ones that matter. It also doesn't help that Sora plot convenience his way through most of the problems faced within the game.

[@Redxan600]

@@Jakerams They all did got their opportunity in the spotlight. Aqua got her moment when she fought Vanitas one on one. Terra has his moment when he stops Xehanort and got his body back. Even Kairi helped Sora and everyone else from fading away. Also, KH3 is Sora's story. It shows just how mature he developed throughout the game and shows off his strength of character.

[@Jakerams]

@@Redxan600 I'd say these are not getting their moments. Aqua vs Vanitas handled in a way that it put Aqua in a poor position so they could conveniently reveal that Sora never lost the power of waking thus allowing him to free Ven and save Aqua. With Terra it's a situation of Terra-Xehanort could have dropped Sora, Aqua, and Ven together but he left Sora out thus allowing Sora to help the guardian and recover Terra's body from Xehanort's possession. Kairi helped Sora who then went on to help everyone else, this allows for Sora to be the savior. I'd say Sora lacks maturity and he very little character. Also even Nomura in the Ultimania for KH3 mentioned how ideally the keyblade graveyard stuff should have been characters with connections battling but he chose not to because the flow of the game required Sora to move. Meaning even Nomura knows that these characters didn't get a proper moment within the spotlight. Also I want to give an example of KH3 + ReMind giving a moment to characters that made no sense. ReMind added a battle against Saix and Xemnas. Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Lea all clashed with Xemnas yet no X-Blade fragment was produced. The sigil was produced but no fragment until after Xemnas was defeated in the fight you do alongside Riku and Mickey. Considering Riku Replica, Xigbar, Terra, Xion, and Master-Xehanort all produced a key without being destroyed this shows that destruction is not necessary. Inconsistencies like this is an example of how little thought went into the story and characters.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@Jakerams 100% agreed. Certain story decisions get nonsensical, but KH3 fanboys will get very defensive over others having differing opinions on their favourite game.

[@Redxan600]

@@xXLunatikxXlul Or... we "fanboys" have a civilized and respectful disagreement unlike you who has to go around and not be open-minded about the other side and calling names.

[@ansemthetrueseekerofdarkne2730]

I'm honestly fucking sick of "wars" in anime esque projects being a single battle, if that. An actual keyblade war should consist of multiple battles with decisive victories and losses, possibly spread across multiple worlds and years.

[@zadi10gaming16]

I liked KH3, I didn't love it. To me KH is about Disney and FF characters being crucial part of the plot. And you can't deny that they are one of the coolest part of KH. Fighting Cloud, Leon, Sephirot but also Ursula, Maleficent, Jafar. Not having FF characters at all, even Disney character as world bosses are the biggest let down.

kh3 without dlc is not worth

[@edoardopalmer2379]

>i love KH3 more than KH2 ok. dislike and comment, to help with algorithm because "while I disapprove of what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it" but still closing the video because there's nothing of substance here

[@Erikthedood]

>person has different opinion than you, immediately discount their opinion. super intelligent and reasoned

[@REDEEMERWOLF]

When KH3 came out I had successfully avoided literally everything about it so I went in completely fresh with no expectations and it became my favorite game in the series. It was everything I loved about kingdom hearts, with some flaws sure, but it had heart. When I went online I was so shocked to see all the hate, but I did slowly learn about the expectations people had about the game from the trailers and from the crazy theories people had made up. I can understand the anger they must have felt, but I hope they can look at KH3 now and the positive aspects about the game. That being said, we can all learn something from this which is to avoid trailers for something you're going to play or watch anyway, and you should only watch trailers for something you're not familiar with. I know it's cool to see what's going to happen and get excited for it, but you gain so much more from going into a game or experience completely fresh with no expectations.

[@iamawesome4026]

I played every game but since I watched Disney, they were so many ads for kingdom hearts 3 and I didn’t get it until a year later

[@madkaiser4887]

Yeah it's pretty much a case that Regular Pat and TheGamersJoint did make a point, of how much over-marketing has affected Kingdom Hearts 3 in a way. The former made a similar video to yours, and the latter pointing as you mentioned at 19:42, that it's an issue that Square Enix themselves continues to do even outside of Square Enix, like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and even NEO TWEWY (the irony as that game wasn't properly marketed, didn't even appear at Square's big E3 presentation, and after that they dropped a KH3 Final Trailer before release just like that). The only outlier that seems to avoid that would have to be both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI (tho that's more of a Creative Studio 3 thing, than say a Creative Studio 1 and 2).

[@barrysmith4610]

KH3 was indeed a step down, very lackluster experience. KH2 and BBS are Peak KH. I fear that KH4 will continue the downward trend

[@Juanpa_SC]

Great video! I hope that someone at SE's team watches this. As much as we are starving for KH news right now, I would die if the same situation happened all over again.

[@jdforeman79]

Square overcompensates with their game trailers cause they know people loose interest after waiting years and years with little to no information after they announce a game. Take KH4 for example. Announce trailer, 2 year dry spell of nothing.

[@vonborgah]

Big part of it is Disney, they keep the breaks on most of the time. Trailers were good and didnt spoil by definition since the context was missing. Opinnions aside ofc.

[@BrennySpain]

You are truly amazing, Prodigy! You’re one of my favourite kingdom hearts KZbinrs ever! I don’t know how you do it honestly. You definitely do things differently compared to all the rest which is truly saying a lot.

[@aceproductions43]

I'm probably not going to watch the trailers that come within a year of KH 4's release if they are as filled with spoilers as KH 3's

[@M.A.D.C.J]

Some points I agree but some I don’t but respect your opinion. I find it weird because a lot of people who hate KH3 don’t give too much emphasis on respectful qualms or issues. Honestly it’s a great game with plenty of replay value. But KH fans are pretty toxic and have been since KH2

[@michaelhowell2809]

Yooooo the hype for this game was so unreal. Then the ending happend and I was let down hard lol

[@Retrospect2000]

I completely agree with everything you said really. I've been a fan of KH since the early days of the series, and I can't even put into words how hyped I was for Kingdom Hearts III. Kingdom Hearts III was a masterpiece to me and I never understood why so many people disliked it, but I can definitely understand the criticism when it comes to marketing. They showed WAY too much of this game pre-release and while I was loving every bit of it at the time, it definitely would have been better left for the game itself. I think part of the problem is that they announce games way too early and try to compensate by showing a ton of stuff in the trailers, but that's not really necessary in my opinion. I mean lets be honest if the release date trailer we got in 2017 was the final trailer I doubt sales would have really suffered that much, if any at all. I hope they learn from KH4. BTW this video was really well done! I'm excited to see what you make next.

[@xnrosaigaming]

Kingdom Hearts Union Cross/Dark Road has been removed on iOS and Android App Stores.

[@Icarus975]

I was talking about this with a friend the other day but I wonder how different KH3 would’ve been received on Launch if the Vanilla game had 0.2 as the prologue, Data Battles, Yozora, Oathkeeper & Oblivion, the faster updated Re:Mind combos and the Re:Mind content was in there from the start (Not the aspects of Re:Mind DLC cutscenes repeating the story because of Sora going back but moreso the extra gameplay stuff elements if that makes sense alongside cutscenes that explained further missing context.)

[@Redxan600]

@@Icarus975 I would still say the results would still be the same, more or less in my opinion. But I am glad the 0.2 prolouge wasn't a thing because that would *REALLY* ruin the story. We start off as a character in the beginning and then all of a sudden we're back to the main protagonist without knowing what happened to her. It would be the Roxas prolouge all over again. Back then, people did not like that.

[@Icarus975]

@@Redxan600it would’ve made the Dark Aqua twist way more insane if that wasn’t revealed in the trailers at all.

[@TophDaGreat]

KH3 would have been received better if it had all that. Story issues aside, the lack of content in base KH3 was another problem the game had. KH2FM set the standard for what a lot of people expected would be the norm for KH mainline games. 2FM was a ps2 game so it would not be out of reason to assume a PS4 game could do what 2FM did but on a much larger scale. Base KH1 had a lot of content. Base KH2 didn't and was carried by FM. Had KH3 had everything you suggested the overall content would have satisfied more players but the story would still be just as divisive as it is today, but it would have been easier to swallow that due to the content we would have in exchange.

[@Redxan600]

@@TophDaGreat I'd argue base KH3 did have a lot of good content with its Keyblade leveling and it's formchanges, to the Caribbean ship battle and its wide open world, and even some of its minigames. The DLC for KH3 only amped it up.

[@Hiper_F64]

I just hope that KH4 Trailers don't overshare their information, and I won't be mad if we get less trailers of KH4, as long as I can play spoiler free. Because one thing I wish I could change of my time playing KH3 is the information of all those trailers, I still love KH3 (is my favorite), but I feel I could have expierenced it better.

[@agentcazu]

Never watched any trailers except the initial one and never kept up with the news except if we had a date for it. Made me shocked and surprised with all the things and still pissed off with certain choices (Frozen). I got to enjoy the game going in blind.

[@sorakekevii]

i love Kingdom Hearts 3. its my favourite Kingdom Hearts game. its better than Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix in my opinion. it sucks how still, people cant just like the game without others still having to trash their opinions, calling the game bad and a disappointment and everything

[@Redxan600]

@@sorakekevii What's even worse is that those same people gaslight us saying that the ones who likes KH3 are the toxic ones whenever we have a respectable and civil disagreement.

[@TotallyCluelessGamer]

When you like any game but the golden child of a series that's what people do. My specific issue with KH3 debate is that 90% of the people hating on it are just regurgitating stuff a single KH2 speedrunner who actually just sucked dramatically at the game said less than a week after the game came out.

[@Redxan600]

@@TotallyCluelessGamer I know exactly who you're talking about. He doesn't even know how to play the game at all and treats the gameplay like it's kh2. I lost all respect for him as soon as he started gaslighting everyone by saying the KH3 fans are the toxic ones. And to add to the KH3 debate. Anything they don't like about KH3 can be applied to the same thing to kh2 with the worlds not contributing to the plot. The gameplay just being spamming x and triangle. And the endgame rushing. But as soon as you point that out, they'll attack you and say that kh2 can do no wrong.

[@sorakekevii]

@TotallyCluelessGamer are you talking about that one speedrunner that did those comparison vids between kh2 and kh3?

[@TotallyCluelessGamer]

@@sorakekevii I don't actually remember anymore because it was almost half a decade ago when I stopped watching.

[@michaelkrogh624]

The trailers really were the epitome of hype. Idk if I was ever so hyped for anything ever when they were dropping these kh3 trailers. But to be honest it was too much, and generally I overall was a bit underwhelmed with kh3's story and would say it was disappointing because of how hyped I was for it

[@granthelas4468]

More Disney and Final Fantasy worlds and less of the giant heartless

[@Erikthedood]

There have never been final fantasy worlds in these games. Do you mean KH “original” worlds? Because if so, I agree.

[@joyhappiness]

The trailers showing off "too much" of KH3 is not and never will be a problem. The problem with KH3 is that it wasn't its own game standing on its own feet both from a gameplay perspective and a story perspective.

[@Redxan600]

@@joyhappiness I'd argue that it does stand on its own feet with their story and gameplay, even if it did showed off too much with its trailers.

[@ProdigyxCD]

For a series and Fanbase that OBSESSES over Story and Theories I think spoiling more than half of them is a Major Problem. Not the "only" Problem, but definitely a big one in my opinion..

[@joyhappiness]

@@ProdigyxCD I disagree, but I will also admit that I am a weirdo that doesn't "believe" in spoilers. Also WARNING - I'm about to RAMBLE because I have unreasonably strong opinions about KH3 lol. Yeah everyone has their first time experiencing a game, but knowing the destination ahead of time doesn't make or break a game. It's the JOURNEY - i.e the details that make up moving from point A to point B - that really matters. And that is KH3's problem. Its scope is essentially "The second (or Nth if you got caught up with KHUX lore after the fact) Keyblade War", and the way the plot and gameplay progress is exactly like a roller coaster that is winding up to a peak...but never gives the satisfying drop afterward. Instead, upon reaching the peak, the ride stops and we get abruptly reseated to an entirely new rollercoaster (DR/ML/KH4). Keep in mind that "Kingdom Hearts III" is actually "Kingdom Hearts 3 part finale", with the other two parts being Dream Drop Distance and 0.2 BBS. KH3 got "split" into three parts due in part to release timing and hardware capabilities, as well as the dev teams being shifted around different projects.

[@keenanjackson2668]

How does it not, the combat has the biggest learning curve of all the numbered titles, and it's the only game where you have multiple defensive options that can be used at any time in a combo and the only game where are able to close the distance on and enemies and take advantage of any opening, hell you can honestly create your own openings. Trust me the gameplay stands on its own to feet no problem honestly.

[@dytgyfgyffuh243]

The story should have ended with kingdom hearts 2

[@Neku628]

We should get a video game about Dark Road and UX now, it'll make up for the lousy movie we were graced with.

[@Espurr.8]

When it comes to kingdom hearts 3 i hear so many different opinions people either love it or hate it

[@saphirolink8738]

I like KH3, but I would had move some events at the end of the game earlier like freeing Aqua in midgame. Yes, they show maybe too much returning characters and new worlds.

[@JabamiLain]

I prefer to look to the future. To the fourth main installment. After reflecting upon Yozhora and Sora's connection, I've been thinking of what the poem for "KH 4" could be. I think these lyrics from the singer, Olivia Rodrigo, will fit just fine: "But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze My footsteps on the ground You'll see my face in every place But you can't catch me now Through wading grass, the months will pass You'll feel it all around I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere But you can't catch me now No, you can't catch me now"

[@marsh6486]

KH3 scratched my numbered title itch for sure - hoping I’m not 40 when 4 comes out 😢

[@Saliha189]

Ive been a fan of KH for about a year, so way after kh3's release. I decided I wanted to see some trailers for all the KH game, and I was really surprised about the trailers. A lot of stuff was in the trailer which would been way better kept as a suprise

[@tbenigma4817]

One thing I hear a lot is that they recommend xehanort and his ultimate goal but it's hinted through xehanort wants the light to be everywhere but realizes with light must come darkness so he needs to become the person who can control the darkness so no one has to fear the darkness (good intentions bad actions taken) or he becomes learning experiences for the hero to come and do the impossible. One thing i loved about the destined child thing is xehanort and sora are kinda equal in importance even if xehanort wasn't the destined child if it wasn't for him and his actions sora would never have been able to do the things he did. Personally the added importance put on xehanort here even if I'm just thinking too much into it made me love kh3 even more than I already did.

[@princessdawn982]

I don't agree with many kh3 criticisms. But this I definitely do. Before I even clicked on the video, the answer for me was the trailers. The trailers showed way too much.

[@vincentvalentine3801]

I hope the KH4 trailers will be like the FF7 Rebirth trailers. They showed very little which left room for surprises.

[@dytgyfgyffuh243]

The story should have ended with kingdom hearts 2 it far better

[@keenanjackson2668]

@@dytgyfgyffuh243 let's be honest though, KH2 had some story issues as well

[@darkscoutergamer6168]

@@keenanjackson2668 ?

[@keenanjackson2668]

@@darkscoutergamer6168 parts of KH2 story was pointless, for example Sora was looking for riku while the whole time mickey knew were riku was, Also he kept try to send Sora to find riku even though riku didn't want to be found. Another problem was the organization plan, which was basically to use Sora to kill heartless to gather hearts to open KH, "which Sora pretty much was already doing so them revealing themselves before KH was done and kidnapping Kairi only to not use her for leverage even though kidnapping her was counter productive to there plans. Sora was also acting pretty dumb in kh2 and yet people say he acts dumb in 3, for example it shouldn't have took him as long as it did to figure out that Roxas was his nobody considering all the clues he had and the talk with Marlin about nobodies. Also people swear that KH2 Sora is a bad ass because of a couple of witty one lines and some trash talk to the organization members, but he got checked by many minor characters like hades and land of dragons army grunt. Also Disney worlds in KH2 was just as pointless as they were in 3.

[@darkscoutergamer6168]

@@keenanjackson2668 whoa a entire paragraph lol il definitely check it out completely soon(that Riku stuff wasn’t pointless btw lol and some things you said dont makes sense)haha and btw doing well?🙏🏻😎for sure the story does have some small issues but overall? It was great anyway and still my fav game in the series although it might change soon upon replay.

[@skarlet0735]

Kingdom Hearts 3 is my favorite game but it has a lot of negative aspects some which got resolved in remind

[@zSarahRose]

I heard the stories but I had no idea it was THIS bad. I'm so, SO glad I went out of my way to avoid trailers and spoilers, and I will do the same for KH4.

[@Nedum05]

The main reason I like KH3 is because 1. It’s my first game in the series and 2. I went into it completely blind. So I understand why people still prefer KH2 (heck, I do too) but I still love KH3 and I eagerly look forward to what’s next.

[@JabamiLain]

I'm on the side of those who hate it. The worst part is that unlike most of the fandom back then, I had only become a "KH" fan like 3 or 2 years prior to "KH 3" launching. My waiting time was less. My hype was fresher. And it still couldn't be satisfied. I almost quit the series because of it.

[@demonfoxs]

The game was great however I wish they would have left most of the suprises for us. Showing everything the way they did in the trailers and not giving us more suprises was kind of lame. I mean at least we knew something was going to happen with union X in kh3 but it was a massive surprise having Ephemer show up.

[@auraswan951]

Honestly as a fan since KH1 (fav birthday present), I stopped "avidly" watching the trailers after the 'Final Battle' trailer came out. I fully unplugged from KH content until I started playing KH3.

[@jjcb5343]

RE mind was really a redemption arc for kh3 the base game was alright but the dlc made the moves tighter and the data org battle were great

[@OsoFatRaps]

I honestly thought the 13 year wait was on purpose

[@digichu007]

KH didn’t wait for 13 years. KH2 literally continues chronologically in Coded (DS), DDD (3DS) and 2.8 (PS4). Riku became a keyblade master in DDD, after the events of KH2. They set up 2.8 with the Birth By Sleep (PSP), and other prequels and midquels, before culminating it in KH3 😅. Even the mobile games lore are canon.

[@OsoFatRaps]

@@digichu007 I mean from KH2 to KH3 brother

[@charlesgamercw9272]

Everything could go perfect if Kairi was rescued in time before Xehanort could strike her down, however, the perfect video game will never exist, if they don't give us what really we want, then do it yourself, use mods, Destiny Trio vs Armored Xehanort and Final Battle in Scala Ad Caelum, customize cutscenes with Data Greeting, using new voice clips by using AI and then everything perfect.

[@Redxan600]

@@charlesgamercw9272 Listen, I do not care if you do not like KH3. I do not care if you do not like the ending. I honestly do not care if you want to write a fanfic just for your satisfaction. But to use A.I. just for voice clips is where not only I disagree with you, but to tell you to eff off with A.I. No person's work should be taken over by A.I., stop advocating for ai and start supporting real talents.

[@charlesgamercw9272]

@@Redxan600 I just giving an idea because no one wanted to make a fanmade cutscene where Kairi was saved by Sora in time before Xehanort could destroy her, even so, Xehanort gets the X-Blade, and boom, everything perfect without her dying.

[@Redxan600]

@@charlesgamercw9272 Well, it's a terrible idea. No artist's work should be replicated with ai. And it doesn't make sense for her to die without Xehanort getting the X-Blade. He would still need thirteen pieces. Yes, I agree that I did not like how Kairi perished, but I just don't agree with this idea. Along with you suggesting ai.

[@charlesgamercw9272]

@@Redxan600 Luckily she was revived in ReMind but he paid his own life by hers at the end by not accepting in moving on like Young Xehanort did when his comrades were killed by Baldr to forge X-Blade, also Kairi's name means "separation" meaning that she could be separated from Sora forever. At the same time, remembering the part of 13 clashes, it wasn't exactly the defeat of the Organization XIII members, Sora could toss his Keyblade at Xehanort to clash with No Name Keyblade, then Kairi is saved by Sora and Xehanort still gets the X-Blade, just a possible theory.

[@LewisJones-sj1lm]

I don’t subscribe to the idea that the overall plot is too confusing. I have a firm grasp on it I’d like to think. It’s fairly straight forward if you’re willing to listen. But KH3 was genuinely badly written and its inconsistencies were laid bare for all to see.

[@LewisJones-sj1lm]

Why did everyone stand there brainlessly while Ventus got bodied? Still don’t get it.

[@Faming59]

I like kh 3. And the ideas for gameplay. I just hate how its so easy. And even though i have problems with the story. I wouldn't have minded it. But i didnt like how xehanort got a redemption at the end. It wasn't full on but i honestly hated it. It seems now adays villains get redemption arcs which i dont mind. But i do with this one. He felt like someone who couldn't be redeemed. That he was too far gone for his goal. All the terrible stuff he did to get there too. And after all of that suffering he caused which he never batted an eye to. Suddenly switched up. Sometimes giving them redemption just ruins a villain and thats exactly what happened with him. It would have been better if he died never giving up on his goal. And getting enveloped by the very thing he used. Darkness. I can forgive everything else about the game for the most part. Its just that which makes me hate it

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

It felt like a complete retcon of his character from KH BBS and DDD. He was evil in those games.

[@Faming59]

@xXLunatikxXlul EXACTLY. Like I don't mind giving him more then being evil in like his past like dark road. But instead of him going "okay I'll be good now" he should have been "imma be evil all the way through". He legit killed kairi right before that fight too

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

@@Faming59 I agree. He didn’t need a redemption arc, especially after all the shit he put the characters through.

[@Faming59]

@xXLunatikxXlul yep. Even his nobody/heartless put people through tragedy. Legit every version of him is just evil. I didn't even like the new va for him. Kh 3 ruined him for me in every way

[@Redxan600]

@@Faming59 Xehanort did not get redeemed at all. Read the reports from BBS. His goal is still there. No one forgave him other than Eraqus.

[@Redxan600]

This is a take that I know that no one will ever agree with me. I honestly don't mind that the trailers showed off too much of KH3. I also would not mind if the trailers even showed off the ending. *SO AS LONG AS THEY PROMISED WHAT THEY SHOWED* I know that Square spoils a lot in their trailers especially with their final trailers with every game they're marketing. But despite that, KH3 is still one of the best games they've made even if they did showed off too much.

[@paulinhorobertogoncalvesdo2687]

I in 2019 play without any trailers and it was so amazing like the best story ever i then procide to play others kingdom hearts games and my favority its kh3 along side with dream drop distance

[@galakkun6071]

If they do the same thing with KH4, Imma start putting down KZbin for a while until the game actually releases 😂

[@MikeOxLongerr]

There was no spoilers as i played through the game

[@TronSAHeroXYZ]

Mods make it better than the original.

[@Redxan600]

@@TronSAHeroXYZ Nah. Mods only adds the fun meter up a notch to an already fun game.

[@iceclkeyheart3060]

Now that it's finally on sale the mods have fixed a lot of my grips with the game. Some Band-Aids on it if you will Kingdom Hearts III is finally a good game

[@Redxan600]

@@iceclkeyheart3060 It's already a good game even before the mods came. I'd even say the base game is already good before we got the DLC.

[@iceclkeyheart3060]

@@Redxan600 it was close to a good game imo. Had a few things that were holding it back that reminds and now mods have fixed for me

[@Origin_Reach]

@iceclkeyheart3060 exactly. I like the game (not more than the others), but it's not perfect and can be criticized (civilly, I might add lol)

[@cameronboushehri9423]

FINALLY someone gets it! This is the one game that ruined everything. I personally HATE it. You know how it feels to have your childhood ruined? Five years have passed since this game came and it’s STILL a total failure. The reason why I utterly hate it is because it was all wasted potential. I waited and waited for 13 years since KHII and 6 years since Dream Drop Distance and it was never worth it. There were a countless number of plot holes, Kairi and the rest of the main characters deserved WAY better, and overall there was a total lack of equality between the characters and plot. I blame Tetsuya Nomura, what was he even thinking? He doesn’t even care about what he’s doing anymore, he’s lost his way. All the fans have obviously given up on it, nobody not even Square Enix cares about it anymore. It’s already dead. Everyone’s more focused on Final Fantasy VII remake. That game is WAY better than this and definitely worth the wait. Why couldn’t KHIII been as good as that? That’s my critique and I’m sticking to it.

[@Redxan600]

@@cameronboushehri9423 *Siiigh* You did not wait thirteen years. You waited six years. There has already been games in between the years that told the stories of this series. Kairi and the rest of the characters *DID* get what they deserved in the game. Aqua finally got home. Terra came back. Riku finally has closure with Darkness and Ansem. Even Kairi saved Sora and everyone else. Nomura still cares about this series. And it shows. Don't speak for all of us that everyone has given up on this series. And Square still cares about this series as well. While I haven't played the remake of ff7, I'd say that KH3 is still great as that game. I'm not changing your mind or anything. I just disagree.

[@KFro9k]

The fact that Soranort never became a reality makes KH3 a bad game, simple as that.

[@JabamiLain]

It's not the only thing that makes it bad. But I still have hope of seeing some form of a possessed Sora.

[@Auron1Roxas2]

Clown, kingdom hears 3 didn't sabotage itself. It's a fantastic game and idiotic fans are crying over nothing.

[@saberbladefang250]

Nomura was definitely working at other projects at time especially like xenoblade chronicles 2 and final Fantasy 7 remake sequels and final fantasy 13 versus. also nomura even spent the last 13 years and his team members were working on other projects. While kingdom Hearts 3 was still unfinished and it felt a bit incomplete with no collusium been built. That goodness for the mods