Kingdom Hearts Isn't Confusing, Actually

[@kingdomkey6184]

When people say that KH is confusing, I always wonder how much they've engaged with the franchise. Even though watching a cutscene compilation is usually enough for other games, it just isn't for KH. There's plenty of things you miss with that, like non-voiced dialogue, gameplay elements that end up relevant to the story (like mushu's summon), and especially secret reports. Also, the story tends to be very dense, so the gameplay gives you time to digest what you just watched. When I first tried to get into the series, I tried reading a very condensed text version, and it was so confusing b/c there were so many missing pieces. But a few years later, when I watched someone else play the games, it made so much more sense. In the end, KH is a series where you get back what you put in. If you try to speedrun the story, of course it won't make sense. But if you really invest the time it takes to play the games, it will be beyond worth it. Not every piece of media is designed to be accessible to everyone, so if a 400+ hour experience isn't your thing, Kingdom Hearts might just not be a good fit for you.

[@Jheff99]

Top tier comment right here, you are absolutely right on all of this.

[@garrettwood6271]

Inaccessibility can be confusing

[@JButterZJ]

heyi really enjoy your videos

[@trustyrat8632]

@@garrettwood6271they are very accessible though

[@est.sar.9276]

If I have to play 11 games to understand the 3 main games, you are doing something terribly wrong. KH1 to KH2 made a decent job to do not make you fell out of place. But the amount of MANDATORY content between KH2 to 3 is just too much to be acceptable. The MCU is doing the same thing, but worst. There are movies that you just watch to get the post-credit scene, wich expands the main arc.

[@jacobglancy7523]

I suppose it's actually pretty fair to assume that Riku says "there can't be two Keyblade Masters" in the first game simply because he doesn't know he's wrong.

[@binkyboy448]

The funny thing is, he's not saying there can't be two masters of _different_ Keyblades, just that there can't be two masters of the _same_ Keyblade at the same time...which gets proven wrong by Roxas's existence later.

[@ljeans531]

​@@binkyboy448 well no. Cause Roxas IS Sora

[@Senny_V]

That might be one of the most fatal mistranslations ever. In the original, it's just about two *heroes*. And then he gives Sora the wooden sword so he can go back to "playing hero", essentially.

[@phonesjuda7318]

@@binkyboy448 again, he wouldn't know he is wrong.

[@jacobglancy7523]

@@Senny_V ah, that makes sense. That is a shame. I wonder if "Keyblade" singular vs. plural is also an English thing?

[@starbutter2730]

I dont give a shit what people say, I actually really love the story and characters. I started playing it all a few months back after getting into them as a kid but never getting to experience the others and its all just so charming.

[@Jheff99]

Hell yeah, good for you. Doesn't matter what other people think as long as you're enjoying it!

[@Evnyofdeath]

About Retcons, a lot of things that casual fans and detractors call retcons actually aren't. Some people were screaming bloody murder at the reveal that Nobodies can feel real emotions and regrow their hearts, despite Roxas and Xion's entire character arcs being about exactly that.

[@Redxan600]

Not to mention, in Chain of Memories, Axel had a moment of excitement after letting Namine escape. And Namine herself let out a tear after saying goodbye to Sora. KH2 basically showed us that Demyx felt fear as he ran away. Going even further, one of Days secret reports showed us that Axel is feeling sad for lying to Roxas. The details were right there, it's just the leader of the cult who gaslighted everyone into thinking that Nobodies have no hearts.

[@KingHarambe_RIP]

@@Redxan600 I agree but it didn’t help that when nobodies as a concept were first explained Yen Sid, arguably the wisest guiding force in the series, also said they had no hearts. Sora repeatedly said this out loud without the game really acknowledging they were all clearly wrong. Years later the gang just kind of accepts this as fact without any fanfare.

[@OniContraverum]

@@Redxan600 not only that but we literally see Xemnas brainwashing Roxas about him not being able to feel anything at the time of his "birth"

[@yderga8707]

Yes but it makes far less sense the more you think about it. We can assume Axel grew a heart separate from Lea then as well. What exactly causes someone to grow a heart? Also it's confirmed that Roxas did indeed posess Ventus heart during the duration of 358/2 days, which explained him being able to use a Keyblade. If were led to believe the Nobody is just a "shell" left over, or a body, and a "heart" is the representation of one's self, wouldn't it just be more sensible to say Ventus heart was piloting Soras unfinished nobody, rather than making up some crazy excuse to justify Roxas being his own person and having emotions? I know a lot of people hate the whole "Roxas and Ventus being the same person" idea, but Narritively it makes a hell of a lot more sense than whatever Nomura came up with. I personally just think he should've made Roxas and Ventus the same "person" or being and never brought back Xion (honestly after 358/2 days she has nothing to contribute to the story) and avoided the whole "nobodies growing hearts" and "puppet bodies" thing altogether. And yes I know Xion and Repliku were puppets, but they were unstable. Having the ability to just create a new body for yourself whenever you want feels extremely cheap to me, and eliminates a lot of the sense of weight behind a characters actions.

[@andrelima4125]

@@KingHarambe_RIP replaying that game made me look at Yen Sid kinda like old Eraqus, so eager to beat xehanort and the organization that he doesntg even care about who or what they are

[@emohabibi]

as someone who got into the series with KH3. yeahhh, it's not really that confusing, just a little complicated - but that makes it really interesting! I can't name any other video game series that I've gotten this invested in, made this many theories about, just spent overall a lot of time on, and that's really special, and it wouldn't be the same if if it was 'short and sweet'

[@ladyweirdo6035]

Anyone who thinks that in KH1 the keyblade is something special only Sora could wield didn't pay attention. Riku wielded Soul Eater and Mickey had the Kingdom Key D all in KINGDOM HEARTS 1.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

Soul Eater is not a Keyblade.

[@lazyvoid7107]

Duh only Sora can use it

[@lukasruston8618]

Not to mention the Keyblade of Heart that Ansem used... sure it was an artificial Keyblade but it was still a Keyblade.

[@TennelleFlowers]

Thanks for this! It’s so tiring to hear people disparagingly call kh’s writing confusing, or hear people complain about it’s intricacies…when I think it’s my favorite part of this series. I just love how much there is to sink your teeth into and take in. But even if you are just going through the games, the base story is still accessible and fairly easy to follow as long as you’re paying attention. And I also love how KH is often written like a mystery, which is often another point people hold against it and often gets misaligned in the whole retcon talk. Characters can keep secrets, be wrong, or lie about things, and that’s an important part of the narrative! It’s cool! Not many series even have the *opportunity* to create an interweaving story like this, where characters are learning and re-learning truths about their own universe as we do, which is very fitting for a series exploring the mysteries of the heart, something that in real life, is also a messy journey of self discovery. KH is also like a big soap opera. The character dynamics, reveals of relations to other characters, character deaths and returns, betrayals, triumphs, how characters clash because of their opposing goals, is the heart and soul of the series. It’s a lot! But it’s what makes the series fun! I affectionately call KH my ongoing soap, and I think if more people accepted that’s what they’re jumping into, it would maybe set their expectations better. Anyway, great video!

[@Xackadee]

It's not a topic that gets too explicitly covered in this video, but on this subject, a sentence I've been saying in just about every conversation I have with the KH fandom these days is "The story of Kingdom Hearts isn't complicated; the lore is". People like the ones you cited here regularly spread this notion that the plot of KH is a complicated labyrinth of plot twists, plot holes and retcons, but I consider this complaint to be a constant and massively misconceived case of mistaken identity. The series isn't devoid of fault in its writing and there are occasionally examples of a twist in the story that throws people for a loop for a variety of reasons, usually ones personal to them, but the story isn't as much of a mess as people make it out to be. It's not even as loaded as people make it out to be. The plot of just about every game is fairly consistently "Defeat the bad guys and save your friends". Anything that happens in the *story* is just some branching variation of those two objectives. But this story takes place in a setting of rather intricate and unique *lore* that is regularly getting built on and having rules added to it (or possibly taken away). When people think of the complicated aspects of Kingdom Hearts, they're not thinking about all the character relationships, the number of subplots or who the real villain is, all aspects that are typically very simple and straightforward aspects of the series (with notable exception, I'd say, to the mobile games, funnily enough). They're thinking of replicas, the realm of darkness, the unversed, time travel, the X-blade and any other number of aspects of the setting that are used by the plot as a vehicle for the story. As such, I understand why the misconception exists, but I'm tired of people misdiagnosing the series and creating a reputation for some dense narrative that is actually very accessible at heart. Because that's part of why KH has such a range of experiences for those who engage with it. To some, the lore isn't worth trying to wrap your head around so they just enjoy the ride and focus on the story and characters. To others, they try to understand and engage with the lore but either the quantity or execution of it frustrates them and causes dissatisfaction with the series (which they're entitled to). Others still do the same and either forgive those issues or never have them in the first place, enjoying the series all the more _because_ there's such a massive bunch of fantasy to wrap your head around. But at the end of the day, so many people get into these different experiences by picking up any game, whether it's KH1, KH3 or even 358/2 Days and getting invested in the characters. The lore may baffle them, but whatever their take on it is, the story leaves them wanting more, not less. Whether their intrigue in the lore is rewarded or not, it's not the primary selling point and never has been. So Kingdom Hearts _can_ be confusing but not for the reason that everyone says and I'd argue not for a reason that most matters.

[@tiphotisted]

The vast majority of any KH game's story is extremely simple: Power of friendship trumps all, visiting different worlds and the battle of light vs darkness. The only true difficult aspect to grasp is keeping track of the different versions of everybody that has multiple selves and where they are.

[@patrickripleyiii134]

Everyone is xehanort and everyone else is sora ezpz

[@astripedgoon6579]

I always found it weird when people say kh is confusing and then bring up some obscure tiny plot point as evidence. Even when I was a kid back when there were only 4 games i never found the plot to be confusing.

[@Jheff99]

Glad I could finally put this argument to rest. Now nobody will fight about Kingdom Hearts ever again.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

Nah. This video proves nothing but the fact that you are a blind KH fanboy that refuses to see the bad in something you like. I mean, it's so dishonest to only put Shippuden Naruto and leave out Part 1 Naruto. How about inflating the KH total hours to 390 hours for no reason when it should've just been 219 hours? Or how about the fact that you can further reduce the time investment by at least 50% by just watching the cutscenes instead of actually playing the games?

[@Jheff99]

@@ShadowbannedAccount OOF! 1. 0:50 is a direct quote of me acknowledging the bad in KH 2. The number I provided IS the time required to watch all of Naruto and Shippuden. 3. 3:08 I give you perfect reasoning for how I got the avg 390hr estimate because partial completion is required to understand the games. 4. 4:50 I acknowledge the potential to watch recaps yet that often leads to confusion for people because they're cramming a lot of info at once. But I figure you don't want an actual rebuttal, because if you did you'd just have watched the video. You just want to be mad. I'm sorry my making of this video ruined your life. I hope one day you can come to love this series as I do.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@Jheff99 0:50 Right. Using a positive adverb "fairly" and a neutral-sounding adjective "complex" instead of negative ones like "convoluted". You even stopped for a while before saying "bad writing" and "craziness", showing that you didn't really believe them and you hesitated in saying them. It is all proven by how the rest of the video, you refused to call people right and instead used (or implied) terms like "you are entitled to your opinion", "it's your opinion", or "I see why you feel that way". However, when you attacked the opposing side, you hold absolutely nothing back, using negative-sounding terms like "miserable qualities", "there is no excuse", or the condescending "sorry my video ruined your life". This is all a part of analyzing body language (even though it's not part of the body) and body language does not lie. Is it so hard to say "I am wrong about time investment. You don't need 400 hours because you can watch the cutscenes" instead of attempting to strawman my argument "Cutscenes? You mean recaps? I do acknowledge the disadvantages of recaps". No. I know what I said. I meant CUTSCENES. 50 hours is enough to watch the entire thing except mobile games and Secret Reports. Let's be very generous and say that it also takes 50 hours long to watch videos of Secret Reports and mobile game cutscenes/recaps. 100 hours is enough (or at least SHOULD BE enough). You refused to mention this in the video, because you knew it would've invalidated the entire video.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

I'll give you an example. Yen Sid explained why Mickey never mentioned Aqua to the Destiny trio until KH3. It's not that we don't like the reasoning (subjective). It's because the reasoning is stupid (objective). He let a less-experienced Mickey go into the Realm of Darkness for a Keyblade, which is less important than saving a human life. Mickey even stayed in the Realm of Darkness until Chain of Memories happened, and that was BEFORE Yen Sid gave the prohibition. He had a lot of time to search and save Aqua. This is further added by the fact that Yen Sid allowed Riku to basically do the same thing Mickey would've done (saving someone), but the realm that Riku goes is even more mysterious and potentially dangerous than the Realm of Darkness. We all know that the ONLY reason Nomura made Yen Sid say that is because the Aqua plot point was made AFTER KH1 and CoM were released. They do this many, many times. To explain why they want to remove Roxas from Sora after establishing that he was happy inside Sora, to explain the Re:Mind DLC, to explain the Gary Stu moment that is Sora deus ex machina-ing his way to save his friends and travel back in time, to justify the insufficiency of the number of different Xehanorts available (making characters that should have nothing to do with Xehanort having yellow eyes).

[@whatif9854]

@@ShadowbannedAccount Holy shit, he did ruin your life.

[@InvisibleInque]

People conflate “confusing” with “complicated” all the time.

[@ZekeTheThunderWolf]

Well the difference is whether you understand it or not.

[@FrogWizard224]

In the spirit of this I recommend Kingdom Smarts a podcast where one fan explains the series to someone with no prior connection to the series in ~30min chunks. As they work through the games the student starts calling upcoming plot bits so yes if you put it all together in release order it makes sense. Love your content!

[@Ztony22]

greys anatomy on the same chalk board as kingdom hearts and Naruto gave me whiplash

[@Jheff99]

The three greatest stories ever told, baby.

[@the_echoYT]

People just aren't used to consuming stories the way KH presents itself. A big part of it probably has to do with the fact that it's *ONE* story... split across many different entries. Compare it to something like One Piece, a similarly dense, complicated and lengthy story. One Piece is separated into chapters and volumes, but it's all *just* One Piece. There's no separation of works. The same could be said of a TV show like Breaking Bad or Mr. Robot. There are episodes and seasons, but it's all brought under a singular "work." Video games don't have this luxury, not typically, so people expect a level of distance between any two games of the same series. Metal Gear has the same problem, often being slated alongside KH as a game where "nothing makes sense." These franchises are built on self-references and long-term payoffs, something that just isn't common in the medium. People are used to turning their brain off and having the story handed to them when they play a video game. They don't expect a story to ask them to pay attention, remember fine details and pick up on similarities and consistencies in order to puzzle out what isn't being directly told to you. Kingdom Hearts requires your investment. It's as simple as that.

[@raiku6518]

True

[@tetitous]

Another big thing that would also hinder people from understanding the series is the translation which, while it is still usually good enough, can sometimes cause misunderstandings (like the whole "uniqueness" of the keyblade thing in KH1, for example), a lot of small mistakes can sometimes have bad repercussions on the series' general comprehension, like erasing plot threads related to certain specific wordings and such. Anyways, I sometimes find it crazy just how much people are calling KH plot points "retcons" when they often are debunked litteraly within the game they appear in (nobodies can grow hearts, it was obvious litteraly from KH2, Marluxia and Larxene don't understand Namine's powers, so it's okay that the way they describe them is different than the way Namine does, there are TWO keyblade wielders in KH1! Mickey exists!)

[@TalysAlankil]

I've always said that Kingdom Hearts isn't confusing, it's just literally the only video game narrative that's been ongoing for 20 years with regular instalments and no soft reboots, combined with a gamer culture that has been conditioned to disregard the story and a fanbase which actively discourages people from actually trying to engage because, well, it's so complicated, why even try. But your argument is a lot more solid than that and really concise, well done!

[@timedragon5492]

You know, I still stand by my claim that KH is no more confusing than 90% of JRPGS or pretty much any long-running franchise that has been going on for over 10 years. It's just easier to make fun of because it has Disney characters.

[@Wolf_Dominic]

Personally, I have chosen to do them in chronological order. In general, it’s how I prefer to play games. I know some people have issues with an approach like that, but it’s how I tend to get the most enjoyment out of game series.

[@rokumi1424]

Kingdom hearts isn't confusing at all it's just 20 years of lore. You would expect 20 years of lore to be a lot to take in.

[@ryanhoward8694]

I just…have people not read any epic fantasy series or watched any anime? Because those get really complicated and confusing at times. I dunno. The “KH is hopelessly complicated, confusing, and incoherent” claim just never made sense to me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@2bitbyte]

I always wondered if I was crazy or if Kingdom Hearts really was like, the ONLY video game to have this much continuity. I guess it is. Shame, because I LOVE all that sweet, sweet continuity. So for me, the franchise has never been all that confusing... I may not understand a thing YET, but I know I will eventually. Because it has CONTINUITYYYYYY!!

[@zachbahamutson5477]

Thank you, the big problem is that people try to condense the plot into a single paragraph or something like that when trying to get others into the series. That's not how you do it you have them sit down, insecure the Kingdom Hearts 1 disc, and tell them to play it and to pay attention to the story. Once they finish the game ask them if they enjoyed it.

[@RealTrachta]

Agree love when franchises have actual continuity. It's what I loved about Star Wars pre 2007 Clone Wars.

[@FormalGibble]

I pray that the people who think kingdom hearts plot is confusing never try to get into call of duty zombies. Now that's a series that is hard to follow.

[@ThrillingDuck]

I've always said the plot of KH is convoluted, rather than confusing, but interestingly it's actually harder to explain than it is to absorb (assuming you approach it properly, in release order). This is a good video, and I agree with its overall statement, but I personally feel that the writers of this series use retconning entirely too liberally - and too often they use it to backpedal on ideas, rather than elaborate on them. I would argue that this has had a negative effect on the story's overall coherence and created more plotholes than it filled in, over time, but because the retcons are added progressively, they don't retroactively ruin the games that preceded them. You can totally just play the original trilogy (1, CoM, and 2), for example, and have a great time with a clean narrative. Framing the non-numbered entries as non-essential spinoffs did not do the public perception of series' narrative any favors, but at least people seem to be wise to it now, and those who are invested in the story know that they need to keep track of every release. Including the music rhythm game lol.

[@TekTheNinja]

I've always said if you just play all the games in order of release it's really not confusing.

[@TekTheNinja]

There's some things I disagree with though. I don't think every KH game is required. I think the mobile games are mostly skippable, Coded is entirely skippable, Melody of Memory is skippable, and hot-take, the only really important plot points in Dream Drop Distance can be summed up by telling you a few sentences saying what happens in the last portion of the game.

[@emohabibi]

@@TekTheNinja Some of the games are skippable BUT you get the biggest payoff if you engage with them all. And they also reveal some pretty good character backgrounds + lore: Coded reveals a lot more into Sora and Riku's characters and relationship with each other, Melody of Memory is not only a cute way to honor all the music of the series but provides us with crucial details as to where the cast will be next, and DDD (once again) dives into Sora and Riku's characters and (again) relationship with each other. And the mobile games are shaping out to be really important, with the KH4 reveal and the emphasis on the bloodline arc. IMO you can skip a lot of the games if you're just in it for the basic plot and just read a recap or watch some cutscenes online but if you want to enjoy the series to the fullest and everything it has to offer, it would be worth it to play it all. I think it's just mainly how invested you want to get in this series. Like personally, I've watched cutscenes for most of the games and am currently going through playing all of them but I'm just really invested in the story, the characters, the world building. Some people aren't, they just like watching edgy characters with Keyblades lolol and that's okay!

[@herculejoestar5809]

The irrational hatred for recons is wild too much stuff needs expanding for retcons to not exist

[@Nyzer_]

I would argue that the KH series' story isn't necessarily as confusing as the fanbase makes it out to be, but aspects like the sheer amount of time needed to be invested do help cause it to be poorly understood. But there are a couple other major issues that contribute greatly to this confusion, even for fans who played most of the games and got competent recaps of the rest. The first would be how the series tends to constantly change the importance and legitimacy of certain plot points. The idea of a lone Keyblade Master is a less severe example of this - but if you played only KH1 and maybe CoM, you might be confused going into one of the later games in which lots of characters have Keyblades. But this is nowhere near the only case of this sort of thing happening. Protecting the world order, the idea in KH1 that the worlds would close off after beating Ansem, Axel's CoM characterization, the idea that Nobodies don't have hearts or emotions, Xion's existence as a siphon meaning she can't live alongside Roxas (or Sora), the importance of Norting as a concept, or Kairi getting proper Keyblade training - all of these are just examples of plot points or character traits that are introduced and treated as important for a while, but just end up either going nowhere or being undone with little fanfare. Even if you played every single game, when you spend two, five, ten, or fifteen years with your knowledge about certain parts of the game solidifying in your mind before another game undoes it, it can be hard to follow along with that change. You've held on to X idea for so long that you don't even think about it anymore, it's just the default understanding for you. This is one of the major reasons that going overboard with retcons is considered a poor choice. The second would be how the series itself PRESENTS a lot of these things. Kairi acquiring a Keyblade is something that should be a momentous moment, yet it goes completely unexplained. I can't even remember if it was ever explained after the fact in-game - IIRC, there's an interview that explains that because she and Aqua held Aqua's Keyblade together, it counted as a bequeathing, but I don't think this information ever made its way into the games. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, there's the end of DDD. DDD's end sequence does a very mind-fucky exposition vomit dump on the player, and while this is at least somewhat intentional (they're keeping Sora distracted and confused while slowly corrupting him), the failure to properly pace out the story (to such a degree that some players apparently missed the flashback explaining that Sora and Riku were time traveling) leaves no time for anything to properly sink in and be understood by the player. Making it worse is just how much is packed into that part. They reveal the concept of Norting, which sounds very interesting at first, and especially when the Aquanort trailer first released, but it ultimately ended up going absolutely nowhere, and could have been completely cut in favor of bog standard direct possession. They also make a big deal about teasing the idea of all those other hearts within Sora's, but that one is a reveal that KH3 fails to follow up on - Xion and Roxas are restored off screen without needing Sora to extract their hearts, and Vanitas outright tells Sora that Ven's heart is within him, only for Sora to forget it so completely that he watches Aqua wonder out loud where Ven's heart could be and says nothing. That definitely bleeds into the first issue I mentioned, but that's the point - mix both of these together and you really start losing people. There are less severe examples of poor presentation, such as, in KH2, Axel losing Kairi off screen, or how the characters go from being kicked out of Hollow Bastion by Maleficent to getting back to their Gummi Ship, which goes through a really unnecessary flashback when it could have just shown the gang being dragged through a dark portal from the start, then has Sora escape that place by opening a gate and then... saying he can't use the gate yet...? So all in all, is KH confusing and riddled with plot holes? No. But it's hard to follow along with, not only because of the sheer amount of time required to go through every game, but also because multiple parts of the presentation are sloppily done.

[@Kingdom850]

The fanbase aren't the ones making it confusing lol what? They actually want people to be invested so they DON'T get confused.

[@Nyzer_]

@@Kingdom850 Making it OUT TO BE. They're saying it's worse than it is - a good summary (though not a very brief one) can explain more than enough for Kingdom Hearts III to make sense to players. Of course, that's only by knowing enough about the series to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff in hindsight. There's a lot of unnecessary convolution and poor explanation going on in this series.

[@runemaster8656]

Really well said.

[@TopTwom]

"Confusing" just depends on the understanding of the person. I find Quantum Mechanics confusing... but thats MY fault for not being educated on the topic. If someone finds KH confusing thats their fault for not paying attention or putting in the time. You may still not like it... but its not inherently confusing.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

Quantum Mechanics does not exist for entertainment. Kingdom Hearts does.

[@TopTwom]

​@@ShadowbannedAccount And thus it has excelled at it's job because it has thouroughly entertained millions of people from all walks of life.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@TopTwom Do you know what "entertain" means? Quantum mechanics isn't learned so people can be entertained. Quantum mechanics is learned because if it's learned successfully, it can potentially further boost the power of computers. You can basically become more powerful if you can learn to take advantage of quantum mechanics. It is NOT for entertainment. You do not become more powerful after learning the Kingdom Hearts story.

[@TopTwom]

@@ShadowbannedAccount What are you fucking on about? I'm saying that KH exists to entertain... and it does so sucessfully. Buddy, you are arguing at points no one is making here.

[@UniqueHandles]

@@ShadowbannedAccount Counter-point, Ant-Man.

[@aroccoification]

Um... KH is my favorite series and I've beaten ever KH game multiple times and I can say with complete certainty the story is complicated. Its not a matter of opinion. You've got a protagonist with like 5 different peoples hearts in his chest, several sets of different people with the same faces, time travel, android replicas and people dying and being reborn in every game. Its a beautiful series but is unequivocally complicated

[@Jheff99]

You are absolutely right. But I never said it wasn't that complex, my main point is that despite the complexity you can understand all of it pretty easily if you play all the games. Since it's your favorite series do you understand it for the most part?

[@aroccoification]

@@Jheff99 yeah I understand everything just fine besides the mobile games. That being said I'd be lying if told you it hasn't taken me decades, multiple console purchases and several playthroughs of each game to get to the level of understanding I have now and even so there is still much more to learn. It's definitely a complicated series which is one of the things I like about it. The problem isn't the complexity its people who haven't played the games enough assuming the fact it's complicated is a bad thing. Then people who have played the game get defensive and lie saying it's not complicated when it is complicated and that's a good thing. Metal gear and lost are both complicated and people love those it's not a flaw it's one of their main strengths just like KH. A complex interwoven narrative is exactly what im here for... aside from the emo yaoi boys of course

[@Jheff99]

@@aroccoification yeah we're saying the same thing here. It is complicated, but not hard to understand/get into nowadays since basically all the games are on modern console. But you still need to put in about 390 hours in order to understand it. But I say all this in the video. You should watch it, it's pretty alright.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

The story itself isn't even deep. They make it complicated for the sake of being complicated. Deep story is like Naruto, especially the Itachi plot twist. Even in Akatsuki, Itachi never did anything that's really wrong. He never caught any Tailed Beast, he almost eliminated Orochimaru (the Leaf traitor) as quickly as possible. Even Itachi visiting the village right after the Third Hokage's death fits in perfectly with the plot twist. That's what deep storytelling is.

[@aroccoification]

@@ShadowbannedAccount yeah I agree. Kh is complicated but not deep like Naruto. Naruto does the best over arching narrative character wise I've ever seen

[@apolloforabetterfuture4814]

People are literally just not big brained enough to comprehend it. I hate sounding like a pretentious knob but it's just true. The only confusing part is replaying 1 and trying to figure out what's reconned and what's just the characters not understanding the full truth.

[@demp11]

8:25 even ansem-riku was beable to summon a keyblade which Sora stabbed into himself. There never was one keyblade it was from the first game clear they will be more.

[@yat282]

The reason that we don't know everything about how passing on keyblades work is because that would set more rules for the stories they can tell in the future.

[@ljeans531]

This video is objectively epic and I hope it gets a crazy amount of views. The normie community needs to hear this. I've been a fan since 2006. And the first time my brain really hurt was during the mobile games, but th ending to UnionX was epic. I think the games use misdirection a lot and people think they are supposed to understand what's happening when the writers intend for there to be a mystery.

[@revan8795]

I also think people that haven't relatively kept up with the series. I think this is why people might find it off putting. Long term players and fans have had time to take the stories in. I also find it disingenuous to say there are plot holes and no thought put into since there are call backs to all the hints and major reveals that we have had so far. I think they actually reward people that actually think and read between the lines. Xigbar has been teased as more than what he seems. He hints about his previous lives with his comment about if he had a keyblade. Also Xigbar teased Ventus in Days. Also Larxene used her lighting to do things with the ice. You can see it whenever she does anything in the Elsa world.

[@SuperheroWannabe]

thank you I've been saying this video title for years

[@salted3807]

kirby on the other hand...

[@loopyvirgo]

Great video, I’ve loved kingdom hearts since the first release and only having a PS2 when a lot of the portable games came out def left me confused. It’s a game that absolutely requires your time and effort, but it totally rewards you with huge emotion and it’s just pure fun. Sure it’s not Shakespeare, but I always have a blast with it. Kingdom Hearts is a game best experienced with your emotions rather than trying to apply logic, because if you go with it, it genuinely does make sense.

[@berenmccormack8767]

This format is great, would love to see you do this for other series!

[@Jheff99]

Thanks! I definitely had a lot of fun making this one. What other series would you like to see this format for?

[@berenmccormack8767]

@@Jheff99 great to hear it, could tell from the video full of energy! More JRPGs would be great, especially the ones like Xeno, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest that kind of scare people off

[@Jheff99]

Oooh I'd love to do a Final Fantasy one! I'll definitely keep that in mind!

[@DPSS927]

As a longtime KH fan, I can point out to only one moment where these games actually confosed me. And that was the whole timetravel plot in KH3D.

[@13KuriMaster]

Actually, there may be a simple in-universe answer to the Larxene using Ice magic deal. Okay, so here's the thing, when fighting Roxas in KH2 or his data version in coded, the only magic he uses against you is Light based magic (typically with pillars of light) but due to being apart of Sora and equals with him in skills, he should be capable of using any magic... and sure enough, when you play as him in 358/2 Days and 3 Re:Mind, he has access to other forms of magic. So it could be that despite Larxene preferring Thunder magic, she and presumably all the other organization members are capable of all the other forms of magic, but don't use them due to a combination of various factors, like not having the time to learn some, or just preferring the one they are most associated with (I believe Larxene did comment that Ice wasn't her style as she was making the labyrinth). After all, in 358/2 Day's Mission mode, you can play as all members of the original Organization, Larxene included, and you can use any magic in the game with any of them... though it's not practical for all of them.

[@Jheff99]

That actually makes a lot of sense! KH is pretty loose with its magic system anyway, regarding what characters can and connot do. So I really like this theory.

[@13KuriMaster]

@@Jheff99 Thanks.... actually, now that I think about, we probably have many more examples where characters should have certain types of magic but aren't shown using them unless you are playing as them... like how Xeahnort should have access to all the time magic is literal time displaced younger self is shown doing, but doesn't use any Time Magic at all in his fights (and only uses Stopza like, once in a cutscene). To how just about any Keyblade wielder, good or bad, should be theoretically capable to use just about any spell that the "dull ordinary boy" that is Sora was able to pick up with seemingly relative ease.

[@ashleysayshey8067]

i watched this video and clicked off to like it and how does this have so little traction!!! this is such a good video !

[@Jheff99]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate that!

[@SunGuardian524]

Another thing to point out is mistranslations. Even tho they're checked over on both sides (minus KH3 actually), mistranslations can still happen & the creator has noted this. Like for "the Keyblade Master" in KH1 in ENG was "Keyblade Hero" in JPN, for example. & yea, it's great to remember that it's just some guy with a team creating a story. Of course they're gonna want to do things because they look cool. But there's usually some logic they string to it to at least make sense of it. & I wouldn't exactly call it bad writing. Like you said, a lot of things happen for a reason whether the viewer likes it or not. There def are bad choices tho, like why do we need to watch Xemnas watch down a stairway for like a whole min, but knowing the literary devices used to write the series gives a better idea of why things happen. I'm really glad to see more of these kinds of vids to be made! It's really tiring to see people complain how things in KH that can just be solved by looking up more information or just coming to terms that the series isn't for them

[@yderga8707]

See the problem i find with kingdom hearts is that almost all of the background or hidden lore required to make certain things make sense are up in the air for interpretation or stuffed into secret reports. None of the mainline characters are inquisitive or deep thought so they dont really care to ask and just accept the ridiculousness of it all. On top of that, the most logical conclusions that fans come up with are usually squashed by Nomura. And instead met with an explanation thats overly convoluted and poses more questions than it answers. On top of on top of that i dont think Nomura plans far ahead and often decides to recton his world rules or make convenient plot workarounds to make his story work the way he wants to, reguardless of whether it makes sense or not.

[@TheOneMillionthNerd]

Wonderful video! I feel we need to normalize admitting that a series isn't for everyone. Not everything has to be the best or worst thing ever.

[@shy6107]

i am clapping delightedly, thank you for this. this is also why i cringe whenever certain streamers i watch say they're going to play kingdom hearts (almost always specifically just the numbered titles) because i know from the outset that they're just not going to enjoy themselves, and that sucks. ngl when the retcon bit started i was definitely on my guard, bc (as you probably know) retcon is a word used *ad nauseum* in this fanbase, and 9 times out of ten the thing they're complaining about ISN'T EVEN A RETCON. i was pleased to see my hesitation was unwarranted though, as not only did you point out that retcons are not *inherently* bad (which they arent), but the examples you used were indeed unambiguous retcons. like no, i do not beleive that the kh team meant for the pods from kh1 to show up as vital plot devices twenty years later in a mobile game- but i'm glad they did because that decision SLAPPED. i squeeled like a giddy schoolgirl when that shot panned up to reveal them. now if only the majority fanbase would recognise that half the things they call retcons where most certainly planned and foreshadowed twists that they just didnt see coming.... istg modern movie culture's obsession with nonsense shock-value 'twists' has ruined the word, but a genuine twist is one that is supported by the narrative on a rewatch, even if it not made obvious at first, and kh imo EXCELS at these. every twist and turn in the series has narrative precedence, and if we don't see why right away, it's probably because we don't have all of the reveal yet. the nobody's regrowing hearts thing is probably the most well-known example that people cry retcon about, but even from the nobody's *introduction* in CoM (before we even knew them as nobodies), there were hints that this may not be entirely true, and even with multiple games of hints and foreshadowing it was nearly a decade before we got confirmation in-game that was the case. kh is a sloooooow burn in many ways, which is probably why theory communities thrive with kh, bc it's deliberately built to foster them for extended periods (and oh boy don't even get me started on people taking characters words at face value when KH is not in the slightest bit afraid to have characters a) lie, or b) THINK they are telling the truth, completely unaware that they are entirely incorrect). honestly, Master of Masters felt like he was talking to the audience when he said 'the truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear' and judging by everything i have seen with my eyes so far, this is entirely correct. (sorry for novel length comment, i love kh A Lot)

[@memoryman15]

Well, you just put the games back on my radar and set me up to play them right, so thankyou. I got them all in the PSPlus catalogue, so perhaps it's time to try the series.

[@davesinsanestudio8072]

Huh, this is pretty good.

[@Xiosoranox]

Any fan of JRPGs in general knows KH is not only par for the course, but it's actually one of the *less* confusing series you'll run across.

[@DowntownTasty]

I agree. I don’t find it confusing either. It’s just a LOT of lore. Which I’m one of those people that love that

[@MikeKennedyNFL]

You, good sir, just earned a sub!

[@Dreq458]

KH was simple until BBS at the earliest. Heartless, nobodies, and replicas were simple enough to understand. The only "problems" were: - Ansem's identity was retconned, but it was still easy to understand - Namine and Xion were weird anomalies - Most people didn't play CoM - Data Twilight Town prologue, which was *supposed* to be confusing at first - The names "heartless" and "nobodies" are ironic misnomers. Heartless *ARE the hearts* (despite KH1 Leon stating that they're "those without hearts") and nobodies *ARE the souls and bodies.* - People didn't read the reports in KH1&2, one of which explained how and why Sora didn't actually regain his body and soul when Kairi purified his heartless. If he actually did regain them, then Roxas couldn't have existed since he was literally Sora's leftover body and soul. - *The explanations are wordy* 😅 The fact that Roxas, Namine, and Xemnas weren't identical to their somebodies wouldn't have mattered because no one else's somebodies were revealed at that time. People would've just thought that all nobodies' appearances naturally change slightly upon their creation.

[@zachbahamutson5477]

Xemnas just dialed his hair differently from Terranort.

[@lukeshoo]

Good luck with your channel!!! Kingdom Hearts 3 is so underrated in my opinion, brought down by people who just wanted an HD remake of KH2

[@Jheff99]

Thanks! Yeah I love KH3. I've got my criticisms but I definitely don't understand all of the hate.

[@lucariojet]

I sunk 45 Hours into Monty Xander's Lore Dump Kingdom Hearts series, where there covered every game including the mobile ones, and came out a fan. Will I buy the next game? Probably not. But I'm so invested in the story now.

[@ElectricBarrier]

Kingdom Hearts isn't any more complicated and confusing than Metal Gear Solid, and everyone loves Metal Gear Solid. Imagine if someone hopped on with 4, and bitched about how confused he was. We'd laugh at that guy and tell him to play the other games.

[@JButterZJ]

i appreciate your videos man, really

[@StaraviaXIII]

"The rabid fanbase always has the answer" wait so answering questions makes you a rabid fan base??? Also I've always thought Yen Sids reason for never telling the others about Aqua is actually really good, we know these characters, they'd do absolutely reckless things to save people, and let's face it, I don't think anyone jumping into the realm of darkness without the proper experience or skill would be the smartest idea, I mean Aqua was named a keyblade master and we see her get slapped around in there.

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Hm, I could pretty much agree with more or less everything you said in this Video, there has been times where I have felt like I understand Kingdom Hearts more than most sometimes, Anyway, you did very well with this Video, I really appreciate it.

[@Billy193]

As someone who prides them self on knowing the kingdom hearts lore pretty well, I agree with the fact that it is a lot to remember to piece the story together. It’s not really that confusing, but series requires that you remember stuff from every game. That’s something I really like about the series and makes everything feels so interconnected. Stuff that happened five games ago could still play a role, or be referenced in some way. Hell, I never thought KH2 maleficent’s resurrection scene would finally come back and be explained over 10 years later. This series truly rewards those who are deeply involved and pay attention. But to the outsider, this may be a daunting task to delve into so much lore. What is a confusing I do not think so it all. I tried watching Game of Thrones episode one, now that stuff truly befuddled me.

[@Furinalover2736]

I love Kingdom Hearts for the story, worlds, disney characters and the kingdom hearts characters as well. I never knew where to start as I brought all the games and I began at Kingdom Hearts 3 and watching all the recaps of the kingdom hearts games to understand it all without playing the previous kingdom hearts. Would that be good enough in not seeing it as confusing?

[@sergin8073]

I love how the emblem heartless supose to exist only after the experiments of Ansem with them (between KHBBS and KH1), and in the mobile games (that happened milions of yearts bf Ansem even existed) they apear, BUT they are a digital version from the future (bc of the book of prophecies) and only when our MC are in side missions, in all main story cutscenes with Ephemer and the other characters from UNX there is no Emblem heartless in sight 😮

[@iamawesome4026]

Kingdom hearts recoded was my first kingdom hearts game when I was young

[@demp11]

I only found it confusing until I watched a summery of the phone games! They really explain a lot and the mini series in the all in one package was lacking a lot of information. I really should have played kh3 after watching the summery of the phone games, they explain a lot about the lore behind the series really important stuff.

[@texasjoehotdog1838]

To be fair, you have to have a *very* high IQ to understand Kingdom Hearts. The drama is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of cosmic spirituality most of the character moments will go over a typical player’s head. There’s also Xehanort’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterization - his personal philosophy draws heavily from *Narodnaya Volya* literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly *appreciate* the depths of these character moments, to realise that they’re not just heartwarming - they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Kingdom Hearts truly ARE idiots - of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the beauty in Riku’s existential musings on the light and the dark, which themselves are often cryptic references to Turgenev’s Russian epic *Fathers and Sons.* I’m smirking right now just *imagining* one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Tetsuya Nomura’s genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools.. how I *pity* them. 😂 And yes, by the way, i DO have a Kingdom Hearts tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the ladies’ eyes only - and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand.

[@kamikaze5528]

"Kindgom Hearts' story makes no sense!" *Proceeds to skip every cutscene in the game." I've seen a let's play doing exactly that.

[@DouglasStewart99]

Respect for you doing this video J Heff. I swear people that complain about how "confusing" KH's lore is are the exact same people that complain about Blazblue lore. Yes the story is *DEEP,* but I never really felt it was just impossible to follow.

[@marymurphy1429]

In the words of superbutterbuns the story of kingdom hearts isn't that confusing, it's just a lot to memorize. The only part that still trips me up sometimes is the time travel stuff that 3d introduces but time travel being confusing isn't even a problem exclusive to kh so I don't think that's particularly noteworthy. Maybe that's just me though

[@Jheff99]

She is actually kinda the one that inspired me to make this video. But yeah 3D gets a bit wacky.

[@lukasruston8618]

I understand a lot of people not liking the idea of time travel being introduced... but KH actually goes a long way to establish rules for it that don't break the continuity and (in my opinion) actually make it really fun.

[@Redxan600]

In other words, just pay attention. Honestly, this video shouldn't be made if people just pay attention, form their own opinion, and don't listen to others who don't know anything about the series. Seriously, because of it, there have been so many misconceptions about this franchise. And the thing about retconning, there are so few retcons that they don't even matter to the plot. (E.G. Donald not knowing that Yen Sid lives in the tower even though he visited it before. And Goofy stating that King Mickey was the one who banished Pete when it was actually Queen Minnie.) I, thank you for making this video. This has to be said.

[@Redxan600]

@@johnprokhgamer Oh, I know it's you. Because your primary account is also named John and here you are with this alternate account named Johnprokhgamer which you created just recently likean hour ago. You're really becoming sad now for a win. Anyways, it's really not that confusing. You just refuse to pay attention. An actual grade schooler can understand this if they pay attention to the story.

[@neoxthegamer4930]

I've said this for years and people laughed at me. All i said is you HAD TO PLAY THE GAMES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

[@innerkaioken]

Thank you. That’s it. Just thank you for finally saying this.

[@middy5284]

its just dumb that games on cell phones and flash games on browsers are considered AS IMPORTANT as mainline numbered games.

[@kupotenshi]

KH lore/rules of the universe aren't presented to you from an omniscient narrator reciting from a history book, but through characters in the game trying to figure out the world for themselves. The unreliable narrator trope has been present since the first game, from the antagonist being a researcher trying to understand the heart, from your main character in a fish out of water journey. No one in the series is all knowing (not even the MoM I'd argue), so of course they'll say things that get proven or debunked later on. I don't believe there have been any ret-cons. We just learn more about the reality of the universe, the truth, the more time we invest in the story. The best thing about this series is going back and playing older titles when you learn more information. No plot point has been forgotten about.

[@driley1988]

I said that for years that kingdom hearts story is not as complicated as people make it out to be

[@jancarmona1155]

At first I tought 390 hrs was a lot of time to just play 1 game series, then I remembered that my original Pokemon Diamond save file has over 400 hrs, that I have more than 1K hrs of Apex and than my Fire Emblem Three Houses save faile is over 250hrs. Now I feel like I'm speending too much time playing videogames xD

[@Geekezf]

Never saw it confusing either. Disapointing on some parts yes, but confusing? Never.

[@Mathias-t]

It's not so much confusing, as it is needlessly complex/convoluted at times. The story shouldn't be too hard to keep up with as long as you engage it properly. I'm not going to fault anyone who finds the story confusing though, because as we all obviously know, there is A LOT of information to remember.

There's Literally KH timeline which made it so that you can understand the WHOLE story up to KH3 so you can get catch up. No excuses anymore.

[@DjSKitZ929]

This man single handedly countered the entire anti kh fan base with 3 words…. “Not Objectively, no” 😂

[@Loansome_]

I think this is a fair way of explaining the high level of the series, but I would like to make it clear that 200-400 hours is NOT a minimum requirement for you to enjoy the series or feel that you HAVE to beat everything under the sun just to enjoy it. You are completely valid to and should approach the series by playing one game at a time. Play the first game, which is around 25 hours long, see if you like it or not and you are free to drop out at any point. If you get hooked, all that means is more seasons of your favorite show! But don't feel like you're obligated to do more than you should, take it slow. Also story summaries do NOT get you any investment to the characters (I'd argue KH is a character-focused story first, so that is crucial) and just shove information in your face about every relevant plot point, and you will be arguably more lost by ingesting the story that way over the cutscenes. Characters and plot points get set up, settle over time, then pull and hit you at the right time. That's what matters. The other, more complicated stuff is just a frame for the real story to be told, which is in the characters, their relationships, moments of happiness and sadness, and cool moments. It's a video game, just have fun with it :)

[@megasoniczxx]

To be honest, the story didn't really start getting confusing for me until KH3D introduced the time travel shenanigans and of course the stuff from the mobile game that they put in KH3 but that's only because I never played it and I don't really have any inclination to.

[@coldandstinky]

I agree with this. Like yeah it might seem much, but when you go through it to get to the KH3 it is worth it. I would argue that your enjoyment of it is better if you actually take the time to play the games instead of rushing to get to something else. For me it is like One Piece. There are a lot of episodes and it requires an immense amount of patience. But it is better if you are just taking your time rather than rushing through. It is not confusing it is just that there is a lot to remember. Kinda like a history book of things.

[@edfreak9001]

tbh while i've not had the chance to play most of the titles beyond 1, 2, and CoM (and when i played CoM I did not care about the plot much because I was like 12 lmao) just hanging around the community and listening to people like Regular Pat talk about the series helps piece it all together. Not to say that this is the best way to understand the plot but, even if you don't get all the tidbits it's not that hard to thread things together. And it's not like the game's stories aren't still engaging and enjoyable even if you don't understand what's going on. If you only played KH1 and maybe KH2 and then got dumped into BBS I bet you'd still find lots to enjoy there despite being a fish out of water with the setting and it's relation to the main series.

[@mimik173]

6:00 THE NIGHTMARE TIME

[@DrhpJerhtun]

to you who say its too long of a series i say final fantasy... wait

[@ianprescott7924]

What an original video idea!

[@LoiValdes]

I swear that the only confusing thing is the X series and once that you understand it, it's easy. The Sonic series has a more complicated lore than KH and I'm not joking

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

The time investment argument falls apart when you realize that it's 100 times easier to understand Naruto AND Dragon Ball's story combined than it is to understand Kingdom Hearts, despite them requiring more time investment.

[@lukasruston8618]

Oh my god, I see you everywhere... listen, the people here don't care about the anime that you fanboy over, we're all here to talk about a game we like. Have you ever considered that maybe people don't want to watch anime because they actually want to be involved in the story? Like a game lets you? You can't just say "But this anime has better story." when maybe people just don't like watching stuff like that and like playing games instead? For me at least, I play Kingdom Hearts over watching anime that is "better" because it actually feels like I'm involved in the story which lets me get more attached to the characters which lets me get more invested in the story, etc. Also, frankly, I have seen a ton of your comments yet I never seem to find anyone agreeing with you on this point... that's strange, isn't it?

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@lukasruston8618 How old are you? It's clear that you are not an adult, considering your logic. "I never seem to find anyone agreeing with you on this point" Take this for example. First, you are objectively wrong. This comment has more than 1 like. Second, this is a positive video. It will be filled by people who blindly like the game like you. It will be a COMPLETELY different story if I comment on any negative video like AskYourUncle's video. You should try visiting those negative videos' comment sections.

[@lukasruston8618]

@@ShadowbannedAccount Okay, let me speak like you for a second; *ahem* "If I went to those negative reviews, I'd only find people blindly hating the game! They're all children for just hating something that they don't like and all of their dumb arguments as to why the game is bad! Besides, I can get more than 1 like on my comment by defending the game on one of those videos so I'm automatically correct!" Also, my point about not many people agreeing with you is the fact that you went to A POSITIVE video to leave countless NEGATIVE comments and there are very little people who are actually agreeing with you so I honestly don't know why you even bothered :/ Also, calling me a child is absolute gold when you're the one going around to every single KH review you can possibly find, leaving just an absurd amount of comments on them when you could just... oh I don't know... ignore it if you don't like it? Frankly, I'm surprised you're not a bot with the amount of comments you leave, not impressed mind you, I feel sorry for you actually that you have nothing else to spend your time on.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@lukasruston8618 I never said what you said in the first paragraph, except the first sentence. First strawman. "I'm automatically correct" Again, never said that. I'm just saying that there ARE other people who agree with my comment. Why I bother, do you ask? Because the truth is the truth, no matter how many people agree with it or like it. "go around to every single KH review" There are TWO strawmen that you built here. One, I do not go around to every single KH review. Two, this is not a KH review. This is a fanboy defense video.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@lukasruston8618 The "impersonation" passive-aggressive act and the no-life insult convinced me that you are not an adult that should be taken seriously.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

Do you know how much of an outrage the Potara retcon alone did to the Dragon Ball community? Even one retcon is a big deal.

[@simplekid4328]

Kh1 was the only one I didn't 100% (even finished the app they had) because I never knew how to beat that grim reaper dude u fight in front of Big Ben

[@Tari_10_Editz]

Why not just use stopga on the clock, do it again when the hands are starting to move again When the reaper is red, burn him When he's blue, freeze him When he's yellow, shock him When he's grey, whack him with the keyblade of your choice

[@n64memeface76]

While you do give amazing points on the topic, I would disagree on what you said about the time investment involved. I would’ve instead said to try the games even if it seems like a lot

[@gdawg1585]

People just want to sh*t on this game and give bullsh*t excuses to hate this series

[@Ronin11111111]

Doing gods work here bro

[@superiormeh]

Great video, man. You guys gotta remember, As much as we love some of our favorite youtubers, they have shown us a lot of times that they can be block heads. A lot of times. So don't take their "reviews" to heart.

[@CherryPascalle]

You just need to play the games in release order and the story isn't hard to follow. It's like a book series. You start with the first one, than the second one, etc. The only difference is you need to play KH based on the release date. That's it.

[@MarKreationsStudios]

I agree with all of this! Honestly it pisses me off so much when people just shrug it off as confusing and convoluted, because that sentiment is what kept me from checking out the series until a couple years ago. I missed out on a childhood of KH because a friend told me it was stupid and too confusing. I hate it!

[@barsabe]

before watching the video i was straight

[@barsabe]

joking aside, thank you man for finally telling the truth, still hot though

[@Jheff99]

😘

[@thebuddah1253]

Playing the games in order gets you everything you need. Union X on the other hand...

[@GeekMasterGames]

*slams table* THANK YOU. The plot is NOT confusing. It is a LOT, but it is not overly complicated.

[@Z-A-C]

It only makes sense if you’re into spiritual shit. Just wait til kingdom hearts 4 and 5 starts to touch on the topic of stuff like the void, reality/universe shifting, Dreaming and Afterlife being one and the same, reincarnation, and a bunch more topics that the Master of Masters will utilize to become the greatest fictional antagonist known to mankind. We’re talking Dr Stange spiritual mirror dimension type shit. YEAH. It’s gonna be great.

[@GryynGlo]

J Heff, you are conflating confusion and inconsistency. When people are complaining that KH is confusing, they aren't necessarily saying it has plotholes or is inconsistent, but rather that it is unneccesarily complicated, or that the story is told in such a way that it's difficult to keep track of it. Ret-cons are confusing whether there exists a plothole-proof explanation for them or not, not because of the plot's "objective" consistency, but because of the way people understand media. The phrase "objectively confusing" is totally meaningless, as confusion is always a subjective experiential term, and can never be objective. That you are able to come up with an explanation for the plot doesn't change the fact that the plot is confusing, if anything it demonstrates how confusing the series is.I think it's fair to say that the series is incredibly complicated and at times convoluted, and that these qualities very often can be confusing. Even for people who have played the series front to back mutliple times the game can be confusing, even if they understand most of it. No amount of "objective" analysis can prove that a phenomenon isn't experienced in a certain way

[@Jheff99]

People make lots of arguments regarding KH being confusing, like Videogamedunkey conflating plot holes with things that he simply didn't understand. And it's claims like that which I'm addressing here. Where people treat their personal experience as universal. "Objectively confusing" IS utterly meaningless yet people still try to treat KH's confusion as an objective fact. And that's what I'm arguing in this vid. Yes the series is convoluted and complicated which can lead to confusion, however it is still very possible to fully grasp the story which is my main point here. Thanks for watching tho!

[@GryynGlo]

@@Jheff99 I think I disagree with your argument here- the fact that it is meaningless for something to be objectively confusing doesn’t mean that the word confusing can only be used in a reductive subjective sense. As far as I know, nobody is using the word confusing in the exact way you are polemizing against it. Rather than other people claiming that KH is objectively confusing, my understanding is that this is your way of proving their point to be false, a point they are not making in the first place. If something is excessively complicated and convoluted, I think it would be fair to label it as confusing, even though it’s meaningless to speak of it as a purely objective phenomenon. Thus, if dunkey calls KH3 confusing, be it because of plot holes or simply that it’s hard to follow, both would be proper uses of the term ‘confusing’, describing something that in a general sense has the capibility to confuse people. I think denoting a work of media as confusing, even though not all people will be confused by it, is fair use of the term. In the same way i could call a movie amusing in a general sense, even though not everyone who saw the movie would be amused by it. In your comment you claim both that arguing against claims that KH is ‘objectively confusing’ (which I postulate no one is legitimately claiming, making the point a strawman) and that proving that KH can be understood is what you are arguing in the video. Which one is it? If KH is not confusing (in a ‘fair’ or general, but not objective, use of the term, as objective confusion is meaningless) having to prove that it can be understood coherently would be an incredibly silly task, wouldn’t it? But if it has to be proven that KH can be understood coherently, it seems clear to me that it also easily can be understood as something incoherent (i.e. being generally confusing or what we mean by the term ‘confusing’ when describing a phenomenon that is experienced in a general way). I do not deny that KH can be understood or claim that it is totally incoherent. I do however think it is totally fair to label something with this level of complexity and amount of ret-cons as confusing, even if you who have played through all of the games and are generally paying attention when doing so.

[@ShadowbannedAccount]

@@GryynGlo Lmao. The guy @Jheff99 here is like a quantum mechanics professor complaining that a lot of people don't understand quantum mechanics.

[@jushajod]

I totally agree with @GryynGlo. Their (dk the pronoun) arguments outweigh the claims of the vid.

[@thebuddah1253]

People dump hundreds to even thousands of hours just playing elder scrolls.