Kingdom Hearts II - #34 - Songs and SpOoOoks

[@SirSpoofy]

Under the sea Under the sea Down where it’s worse You gotta rehearse with off-key goofy Up there’s an awesome hack and slash Down here’s a poor button mash There is no ring Donald can’t sing Someone kill me

[@SirSpoofy]

Also, I’m now thinking of sora pulling an ELF and yelling “SANTA!!! OMG!!!”

[@EzioYuio]

Who said Donald can't sing? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2OTeXmggLWogJY

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

"Someone kill me" But then who will make silly parody lyrics for us to enjoy?

[@southhill6667]

@@EzioYuio ...I have witnessed perfection.

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

@@EzioYuio Oh god. Why did I listen to all of it?

[@rekipstar]

WHEN SORA SINGS "TAKE IT FROM ME" AND THAT BIG SMILE WITH THE ARMS UP... SO FUCKING CUTE. ADORABLE BEAN I LOVE HIM

[@starlight_circuitry]

What I'm getting from this episode is Sora is that friend who isn't bothered by horror movies, but loves to watch them with people to see them get spooked.

[@Overhazard]

Ugh, my dad was like that.

[@dmas7749]

honestly i think he's just oblivious to fear

[@MrAuthor3DS]

11:44 Ah, yes. It takes the basic Magnet spell to get a big heavy statue, and even stronger Magnet magic to get a tiny, lightweight pendant.

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

Sora singing actually made me happy. I'm so glad Disney somehow always gets people who can sing at least decently at a minimum.

[@01ChaosWarrior]

To be fair, would YOU ever stop feeling like a kid if you basically lived in Disney World?

[@timothymclean]

23:00: Part of why Sora is so immature probably has to do with the years he spent in stasis. He's physically something like 15, but he probably only spent 12 or so awake.

[@coastersplus]

Re: Donald singing - there's a video on here of someone singing Simple and Clean in Donald's voice and it is wonderful.

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

Just spent five minutes punishing my ears with that. It was BEAUTIFUL.

[@krishnansubramoni7801]

@@KeybladeMasterAndy Same XD

[@timothymclean]

5:40: Wait, Sora's singing ability is directly tied to his Drive Guage?

[@SirSpoofy]

Well, Anti-Form is connected to the drive garage so other hellish abominations wouldn’t surprise me

[@Mikesean45]

Thank you, this is officially my new head-canon

[@julieheinz9067]

"Under the Sea" was probably the best song in KH2 in my opinion, in part because it was originally in English and there were no awkward meter or rhyme translation issues from Japanese

[@MarnixVanDelm]

drive forms in Halloween town change sora's pumpkin mask, it's hard to see on character but easy on HUD icon

[@dakirakage]

27:35 Jack just got smacked with a door

[@Cavouku]

Dan "Did you really think I would miss an opportunity to play rhythm games?" Floyd.

[@Mikesean45]

And this was when fans everywhere discovered Haley Joel Osment could carry a tune.

[@ingonyama70]

Indeed, the best thing about these musical numbers is that he can hold his own alongside Jodi Benson and Samuel Wright. They're still not fun to play and the original songs are still lame as hell, but they're still sung well. BY THOSE THREE. (and Pat Carroll, it's not her fault Ursula's Revenge is terribad)

[@Mikesean45]

@@ingonyama70 Maybe not Jodi Benson level, but he doesn't sound bad! Not saying that I want more Disney musical numbers in KH3 (I do), but I hope Osment got a little better in 13 years. Just...no more original songs unless someone from Disney actually wrote them.

[@TheMajorJF]

The little mask on sora's head changed when you went into wisdom form.

[@MatthiasPendragon]

Maybe it's just Dan's utter glee at subjecting us to the musical numbers, but I couldn't help but smile all the way through that Under the Sea bit.

[@trienforcer974]

05:04 Donald no, I've heard you sing simple and clean and that was hard enough on my ears and heart, please, i don't want to be subjugated to that kind of emotional trauma again.

[@jaydenwebster7510]

Wait what? When?? Can I see?

[@kuronosan]

I mean, Donald's already an aquatic bird...

[@Ninjinhah]

Jack's one of the best party members in KH2 for sure! Also, don't forget to try your Drive forms while in Christmas Town!

[@justember794]

Sora is only 15 in this game, so he kind of still IS a big kid, lol. And here was a more noticeable change for the drive form in the portrait on the hud.

[@mikki3983]

23:10 thats called trauma response

[@qwerty77772]

19:53 You're slippin' there Jack! You said Santa's name correctly!

[@megamaxmax4]

In Halloween Town, you basically display drive forms by changing your Halloween mask. For example, wisdom form is a black mage mask.

[@jafortune]

You're making us suffer. But we suffer with love.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Here in -Oceania- Atlantica, Suffering is Joy.

[@mariacargille1396]

The locket-- what we know so far 1. Looks like gold 2. Floats 3. Apperantly magnetic Working theory: probably a young mimic who hasn't learned how metals actually work in camouflage class yet.

[@brettd2308]

I am ready for this finny fun. Been waiting for it. Edit: also I have to say, it's even more fun to watch someone play these sections, since the only bad part of them is the somewhat lackluster execution of the rhythm minigame. Just watching them be played is just like watching a musical.

[@endermage77]

23:05 *GASP* The Sora-Donald-Goofy rule has been broken!

[@endermage77]

Musical Ratings Part 2 "I've Got Everything:" Still can't fit lyrics to rhythms for a darn out of 10 "Undah Da New Sea:" Sebastian does wonders

[@brockormond4131]

Why of course Jack can do anything... ever hear of a Jack-of-all-trades?

[@asrieldreemurr1988]

part of that world but everyone else is there

[@noukami22]

Dan, pls. I can only strangle myself to death once.

[@ingonyama70]

I do respect the work that went into animating the musical scenes, and I'm pleased they got the original cast to do the songs. Jodi Benson and Samuel E. Wright nail the songs in 2005 just as well as they did in 1989, and that's amazing. And, yes, Haley Joel Osment has a decent singing voice. He captures Sora's energy and upbeat attitude just as well "IN *SONG* FORM!" as he does his spoken lines, and eh does it while remaining reasonably on-key. HOWEVER...Trying to achieve some facsimile of the scenes from the movie on PS2-level hardware with the in-game engine was never going to be a rousing success. You can't shift the lighting or change the actor's facial expressions too much. Look at Ariel reaching through her grotto's...skylight? Oceanlight? Not sure what to call it...in the game, as opposed to in the movie. There's just no comparison. I appreciate what they were trying to do, but the game's character models were not designed for subtleties, and a lot of the songs in "The Little Mermaid" thrive on their subtle details as much as the bigger, "splashier" (ehehe) moments. But that's not my real problem with these musical numbers. I think the main reason these two numbers upset me are the gameplay elements and composition. As you said, Dan, having the button presses' timing be off as it was really did affect the enjoyability of these scenes. Even if the button presses were pefectly on-point, the interface would still be *incredibly* intrusive. runcating the songs from the movie...one of which I consider to be one of the best ballads in Disney canon...alters the structure, at the expense of of a lot of its emotional impact. "Part Of Your World" is, s someone once put it and not inaccurately, "very pretty whining"...meaning it should capture Ariel's angst and immaturity as much as her yearning. Here, her thoughts of the surface feel like a daydream, rather than the deep discontent she felt in the movie that resonates with so many teenagers (whether or not it's justified). It hurts the song, which in addition to the bad interface and off-beat button presses, just makes the whole experience an exercise in frustration. I do feel the need to ameliorate my criticisms by saying that, yes, I did get into the KH2 version of "Under The Sea". Partly because *I am not the one playing it* , which helps theenjoyability immensely. Also partly because Donald and Goofy do not sing along...Goofy only really sang well in "A Goofy Movie" and nowhere else, and the less said about Donald's singing the better...but also because Haley Joel Osment and Jodi Benson's inclusion into the song help switch it up, and both of them really do give good performances. I would actually, legitimately not mind a full-length performance of this song by these three. I could actually think of a few neat ways to divide up the bridge between them. Sadly, this is as good as the rhythm, sections get, music-wise. Again, the rest of the songs are sung competently enough, but as they're no longer the legendary Menken/Ashman numbers, they're not nearly as competently written.

[@HanabiraKage]

Did...did that gate open and smack Jack in the face at the end there?

[@Ninjinhah]

Right on time to lunch! Thanks for the company, Dan!

[@fourcatsandagarden]

I can't believe people wanted to skip Sora singing. Like.......this whole choice was a...uh, well, it was certainly a choice. That I do kind of wish hadn't been made. But it's all worth it just for happy little Sora singing.

[@timothymclean]

I like the _idea_ behind the Atlantica choreography bits, but the choreography itself is kind of...odd, in both a Watsonian and a Doylist sense. It doesn't look that interesting to watch in an Atlantican musical, and not all of it justifies the constant QTEs. I want to see Dan intentionally miss every button prompt, just to see how Sora fails to swim around a bit or how Ariel fails to gently turn a small object. (Beyond that, it's hard to increase and reduce tension when you rarely have button prompts coming up more than five seconds apart.)

[@MiseFreisin]

Ariel, there are only thirteen (interesting number) corkscrews in that box. Count 'em again.

[@wrlrdqueek]

Sora can be a big kid, he just spent 2 years in a memory reconstruction chamber. It was 2 years, right?

[@Zyrvaria]

best episode so far easily, it has the most Atlantis songs so far

[@0MidnighttheDragon0]

hot take: Haley Joel Osmett isn't actually that bad of a singer here. He just sounds unexperienced and like he's jsut a disney fan singing to a song he lieks. ya know, like...most disney fans. jsut singing for fun rather than being amazing. Plus, it actually kinda makes sense that Sora helps out with the musicals regardless of his singing voice, cuz he just wants to help people. it's really IC for him. Idk, I just see Atlantica in KH2 get a lot of hate and I feel that it's...really undeserved. it's not my fav world dnot get me wrong, btu I just...dont feel it deserves the "AVOID IT LIKE THE (Well I cant say avoid it like the plague since apparently humanity doesnt do that)" treatment it always gets.

[@qwerty77772]

If Atlantica was more like this, using songs from the movie, I wouldn't hate it so much. They have the scenes for Poor Unfortunate Souls and Kiss the Girl in the game but not the songs themselves. What possible copyright trouble could they have had?

[@Ninjinhah]

13:40 Wait, are you actually teasing the return of my beloved study of Sonic animation? I REALLY look forward to that!

[@Robolewa]

To fully complete the journal (those unfamiliar may have noticed gold mickeys next to some items in it while Dan scrolls around) requires replaying the songs an extra time. Not, playing for a high score or anything, just play them again once each. That is a big part of why I don't personally care for the world too much. I know Dan intends to do all the optional bosses, but I don't think that he will be completing the journal (at least, not on screen). Fortunately, he doesn't need 100% journal for the "secret special" ending, but enough of that for now.

[@PancorRath]

each Drive form changes the mask Sora wears in Halloween Town

[@Ramo2653]

As I’m going through this game I wasn’t able to really pay attention to the song and rendering because I was so focused on the mini game. It was good to be able to just watch it and not have to worry about that.

[@curi0usbystander486]

One thing I liked about KH1 was that if you do monstro after hollow bastion the scenes are different. Or if you complete the deep jungle before wonderland the scene in hollow bastion is also different. But i don't think It would have worked here.

[@damrod]

How would it have been different in those instances then?

[@curi0usbystander486]

@@damrod Basically: If you do Monstro after hollow bastion (I think the trigger is the dragon fight) Sora will call Riku a fake and he will leave so he won't help you in the fight against the parasite cage. If you complete the deep jungle before wonderland the scene with all the villains will change and you won't see Alice but rather you will see Snow White entering.

[@damrod]

Is that only with the remixes that way or also the original PS2 game?

[@curi0usbystander486]

@@damrod The monstro one I'm positve it existed in the original. The other one I'm not sure.

[@wrlrdqueek]

Man, Christmas just gets earlier every year.

[@keyofpop]

I agree, these highway gummi levels are BIG TIME Sonic mood.

[@princesschica8139]

"-and this one is at-" *ding* "...And this one is a-" *ding* got me laughin so hard

[@Ederisien]

True, plenty of time to get to Sonic. I am, however, missing Monster Hunter World. I don't know why, but even with the co-op it feels most like cozy Side Quest to me, of all the series currently on the channel. And since I've been rewatching Side Quest (again), I've been wanting more content like it. I especially love the special 'story teller voice' Dan puts on for the item reading, both soothing and immersive into the Dark Souls world. I'm glad there's more speculation about Kingdom Hearts lore lately, I enjoy those bits, especially as Dan plays through it.

[@leonardoluiz7487]

Shout we start telling Dan to try out Reflect? I think it's better for him to start trying sooner than later since he'll have to fight the optional bosses and reflect is pretty good in this game.

[@Actual_Mr_G]

Oh noes ... I got spookeded ...

[@mr.fluffyface431]

3:20 I'm glad you like it Dan. to me it just sounds ever so slightly wrong. I can't see why they couldn't just use the original recording.

[@jjstarA113]

"What would I give to wear a shirt..."

[@CamsEyeView]

Man this story point in the Nightmare Before Christmas town would have been really interesting...if Dan didn't do the Hollow Bastion/Twilight Town stuff so early....now it makes no sense with maleficent doing what she's doing right now.

[@rmsgrey]

You think just because Maleficent helped stop the Organization from taking over Hollow Bastion that she's going to stop causing mischief elsewhere? She's still not a good guy, and she's still looking out for her own interests...

[@CamsEyeView]

@@rmsgrey well duh, but in terms of the story, it doesn't work...because for the first part of the game, it's pretty much Maleficent and the Heartless as usual, but once the halfway point starts, it's the Organization...

[@DesViper]

13:20 I get mad MegaMan vibes

[@biadoras]

I love Halloween Town. Or should I say Holiday town now when it is merged with Christmas. ^^

[@JohnDoe-nm4rp]

Yes just when i was getting bored ! Thx u so much dan

[@dmas7749]

yeah...Atlantica actually is de-synced in the HD collection, but i believe it's fine in the PS2 original

[@Banedragon]

15:48 which season

[@fisherdotogg]

A Sonic game composed by Yoko Shimomura? Oh, please I want it. But as for another Sonic game to get to, you could try Riders, as that's another of the 2006 releases and the animation is actually pretty good, all things told. You have to play the GCN or PS2 versions though. Xbox has bugs and PC doesn't animate eyes because it was a bad port job.

[@bnerd1]

sora drive forms change a little bit his left eye mask changes

[@datenegassie]

What happened to the fourth purple/pink snail in the "Under the sea" song? Kingdom Hearts II is literally unplayable.

[@verdragon5591]

Maybe it's just that I haven't seen the Little Mermaid (Or been to Disney World) in a while, but did anyone else get the impression that Jodi Benson kind of phoned it in for Part of Your World? It might also have something to do with the new cover or how it was all mixed, but it feels like no one was giving it their all, which is ironic, considering that out of this selection of songs Part of Your World is the only one Ariel actually sings in the movie. Who knows, maybe everyone just devoted their energy to Under the Sea, which does sound noticeably better, and Kevin Michael Richardson and Haley Joel Osment aren't half bad in it...

[@ImperatorPenguin]

So long as it's not one of Sebastian's duds... you all know the one.

[@JM-nothing-more]

how come you can see the city in the background on the worlds-map?

[@justember794]

I think that's supposed to be the fuzzy reading the Chipmunks are talking about. It was less clear before they mentioned it this time.

[@RSorei]

...I actually enjoy the Ariel world a lot? I mean, sure, it caught me off guard and some of the new songs aren't exactly amazing! But I like the score of The Little Mermaid, and seeing Sora & co trying their best to perform is adorable :D

[@Ultracity6060]

It's really distracting how this is basically DDR where all the button prompts are random and off-beat.

[@tzisorey]

Dan's getting closer to being a proper voice actor. Well, maybe. A little. Perhaps.

[@wolfson109]

So does this mean that there are Christians in Destiny Islands?

[@damrod]

I kinda got bored of the halloween town in KH2 though. It has a fun story if you are into those wacky things but i got bored of the whole christmas story in halloween town. Atlantis however, i liked their wacky stuff in there for this version :P

[@vonthegamer3414]

Hey guys what's up I'm going to be playing kingdom hearts hearts on the 14th of December when I get the game I'm excited to tell are you all about my experience plus I'm excited for Kingdom hearts 4