Kingdom Hearts II -#48 - Xemnas

[@julieheinz9067]

"Why do they always turn into ships?" --description of me engaging in any fandom ever

[@callowguru2611]

I love your dedication to calling the party the King's Fools. I agree that it should be the canon name for the party.

[@ArgentusAurum]

......The thing that gets me is that Sora ended up fighting a Sith Lord dual wielding red lightsabers seven years before Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars Franchise.

[@leonardoluiz7487]

It's no coincidence, that was the moment Disney decided to buy Star Wars.

[@duderman4252]

@@leonardoluiz7487 makes ya wonder if they with the illuminati

[@astrotello4643]

Kinda sad Sora never called Riku out on Santa

[@liamwhite3522]

First line in KH3 between those two, I'm calling it now!

[@ingonyama70]

Save it for their inevitable return to the Holiday Worlds.

[@Valtharr]

"A mysterious dark portal opened, and I have no idea who did it...let's better jump through!" Our wise and noble king, everyone.

[@01ChaosWarrior]

First off, you got to love how good the KH villains are at giving monologues. Seriously, they are incredible at chewing the scenery! Secondly, I've got to give you credit Dan, I've never seen someone have THAT much trouble with Xemnas, either as a fight, or with the reaction commands before. Its really fun to see someone have trouble with the zebra man for once outside of the post game content! Something that is kinda cool about Xemnas' fights though, is that he is the only Organization member who will reward you for not immediately pressing the reaction command during certain sequences. Waiting during certain cinematics will trigger different responses that can really look cool and deal some good damage for the effort. (For instance, you saw two of three different outcomes in the skyscraper run during the 1v1 fight. The one you didn't see would have had Sora slam Xemnas right into the building.) To touch on why Kingdom Hearts can get so much sentiment in, I would say its because of emotional sincerity. The KH games never wink at the audience, or make jokes at their own expense, and they always have the characters be upfront with who they are and what they feel. When the characters are sad, they FEEL sad. When they are happy, they have the biggest smiles possible. When they are angry, they scream in frustration. In a world where people can often feel afraid to be themselves, it feels good to see the characters in this series so honestly allow their emotions to flow without care, and not have them get criticized for "being too emotional" or "being immature". There is something nice about everyone just being open and honest with each other about how they feel. It can be cheesy, and sometimes it can be goofy, but Kingdom Hearts has more, well, HEART then pretty much any other franchise could bear.

[@MrTTnTT]

You nailed it on how Kingdom Hearts has heart.

[@jameshart2622]

"It can be cheesy, and sometimes it can be goofy, but Kingdom Hearts has more, well, HEART then pretty much any other franchise could bear." It can sometimes also be Sora or Donald as well.

[@alexivan8615]

@@jameshart2622or Pooh ;p

[@Inlelendri]

For some reason, the thing that got me most was Mickey running to Riku and Riku picking him up. That connection is just...

[@KinaCow]

I can't help but feel like Sora, Riku and Kairi seem to have this sadness to their characters compared to the first game. In KH 1, they were so innocent and the adventure was motivated by a simple desire to just see the world. But now they've experienced so many difficult emotions. Not just themselves but seeing others close to them struggle with pain, loneliness, confusion, etc. It really shows how these three have matured between games. It's a little sad to see that innocence wiped away but it's an accurate portrayal of what growing up is like. As crazy as the story is, those core human emotions are always there, the emotions shared and understood by everyone. And that's what keeps me coming back to this series for more.

[@supersonic776]

Thanks so much for this, Dan! Not just for the let's plays, but also for the reading of the Ansem reports. Your narration really is top shelf.

[@jollyotter1998]

8:00 Don't be a buzzkill, Sora. Riku was just doing some Nier: Automata cosplay.

[@julianogodoy964]

He should've kept it. Black Coat and the blindfold are cool

[@CamiloFHSC]

KH2 was my entry to the series and I played it with no context other than Final Fantasy meets Disney. Didn't know the characters (the non Disney ones at least), didn't know the plot or what everyone was on about with "light", "darkness", "nothingness" or even what was the deal with the "princesses of heart" or what the heck was Namine and why they needed to thank her... nothing. Yet the story and the characters eventually go to me (in no small part I think because the game itself starts detached from KH1 and CoM by starting with Roxas). As any good Square game, even when there is a super convoluted story line with lots of rhetorical back and forth discussing the abstract nature of light and darkness and whatnot, the focus remains on smaller stories and how they affect Sora and his friends. I can say a lot about KH and it's occasional pitfalls. But god DAMN they know how to build up emotional journeys.

[@dndnerd1]

... i cannot, for the life of me, see roxas' checkerboard pattern clothes and not think "gosh, that boy must love ska". like, i know that it's supposed to be a "mixing of light and dark" motif, but, to me all i can think is "yep, he's a rudeboy" also 1:03:00 "drive closer, i want to hit them with my sword" comes to mind

[@TheBigRalph]

1:17:24 Kind of poetic that final scene happening with those specific keyblade and form (the Oblivion being a keyblade token from Riku and the Limit Form being a reference to Sora's past)

[@lukmasterjr]

So, question, what does Sora tell his parents now? "Yeah, mom, I was asleep for a year, you had forgotten about me, then remembered you have a son, then remembered he's been missing for a year, then Kairi disappeared, again, then, eventually we came back. No, mom, I have not been taking drugs for a year"

[@Valtharr]

You know, if my son would suddenly be able to summon a giant key out of thin air, or cast Real Actual Magic, I would be ready to believe anything he says

[@lukmasterjr]

@@Valtharr I'd slap him and ask where his key was, when I lost my car keys 2 years back and had to pay for replacements

[@Valtharr]

@@lukmasterjr ...what?

[@Mikesean45]

If there's one thing I wanna see in KH3, it's Sora's parents. I kinda just want to see their reaction to...all of this.

[@thegustbag]

Follow up question: will Sora finally eat his dinner?

[@40Kfrog]

1:23:20 Sora? I think it's for you- it's a cutscene.

[@lucastanner2474]

*At last! The Kiln of the First Flame!*

[@DarkinPunk]

I can't get over how off-putting it is to hear Rikus kid voice coming out of that older man body.

[@darter9000]

My mind keeps trying to picture Xehanort/Fake Ansem wearing what Riku is wearing under that cloak...

[@ironmilutin]

You got any proof that he's not?

[@superbun277]

Once again Dan, it's been an honour and a pleasure experiencing this game with you. I started watching the playthrough of KH1 curious just what "those weird games with the keys and the Disney characters" were all about, but damn it, I think I've caught the Kingdom Hearts bug now. Mine was always an Xbox household growing up (and these days I've migrated to elusively PC gaming) but, man, If I had a Playstation back in the day I would have been all over this series.

[@pacha269]

exact same thing here. i saw KH1 on twitch by chance once and i thought it was interesting then binge watched all of this lets play !

[@JochemKuijpers]

Having had a playstation and KH1, I enjoyed the first levels a lot! Not knowing any English back then sure made it hard to progress though. Revisiting these games brings back memories ^^

[@duderman4252]

Anyone would've. It's a great game with good mechanics (not you CoM) great story and characters, and a great blend

[@Dinuial]

RE: Beast as human downgrade. It is a problem which predated Disney. On seeing the Cocteau La Belle Et La Bete, Bette Davis' reaction was "Give me back my Beast."

[@Artista_Frustrado]

-I really dig that Xenmas big boss form is a Monster made out of spaceships, while Ansem's was a Giant spaceship made out of monster parts, Xehanort couldn't decide on a theme didn't he? -& Dan till the end never used the Final Form despite spending a hot minute trying to get it -Ok Sora & Riku but both of you have more than enough Clones to befriend yourselves

[@callowguru2611]

To be honest, limit form is better than final.

[@djfirewolf]

Final Form with Firaga tho

[@Abdallah-i4g]

Yes so true

[@rmsgrey]

The pink symbol from Leon's letter(?) photo(?) - whatever document he's looking at, the pink symbol looks like a reference to Rinoa - she has that whole wings motif, both in the pattern on the back of her top, and in her sorceress limit.

[@Ninjinhah]

1:15:00 Dan, you gotta up your Reflect game! For the Data fights, try to mix Reflega in between your air-dodge reactions... The explosions deal massive damage to Xemnas even in the mid of his crazy teleportation combo.

[@bumblebeebee31]

Wonder what Sora's parents think about him being home after years of just dropping off the face of the earth

[@ingonyama70]

Just under 2 hours? This is a perfectly appropriate length for Kingdom Hearts episodes. ^_^ (I kid, I'm sure editing this was a hellacious slog, but it WAS a blast seeing this much of it) I'm working on Birth by Sleep, and I've seen the 358/2 Days and Re:Coded movies on the FInal Mix disc, but this is easily my favorite Kingdom Hearts thus far, for all the reaons Dan listed. Beautiful, ridiculous, stupid, unabashedly idealistic story, combined with beautiful, easy-to-learn, ridiculously over-the-top gameplay. Reaction Commands are what all Quick-Time Events want to be when they grow up, glorious and rewarding without being controller-breakingly punishing to execute. And of course, everyone here is so much more evolved and stronger as characters than they were in the first game. Say what you want about Kingdom Hearts' plot, the character work is some of the best I've seen in gaming. Everyone's arc makes *emotional* sense, even if the logic is completely bonkers, just like a Disney movie. Kingdom Hearts has reinforced something that I've believed about every story I read, watch or play: Above all else, you have to forge a connection between your characters and the audience. Once that's done, you can take them literally anywhere you want. Thanks, Dan and Carrie, and congratulations. SUPER excited for more Night in the Woods, and looking forward to what you have in store in the future!

[@ariella1454]

Crying like a baby at that ending cut scene. I’ve probably seen it like a dozen times and it still manages to make me cry each time 😭😭😭

[@petervilla5221]

At last, at the end of the adventure, Dan finally pressed triangle with x. It all comes full circle, what an amazing game.

[@djfirewolf]

Not too late??? 😅

[@lksas2295]

i just have to say Dan, it's amazing how you call Kingdom Hearts ridiculous with such love

[@trace9021]

I can't stop hearing Xemnas as the Soulcalibur announcer now, he didn't have that much dialogue until this episode so I never realized they were the same actor.

[@DragonxFlutter]

@6:23 - =applause= Sir Christopher Lee, everybody. He was truly one of a kind, and he will most certainly be missed. @47:57 - So...what I'm able to gather is that...in a very roundabout and complicated way, Roxas and Namine can very convincingly be called the twin children of Sora and Kairi. Because that's all I got out of how they described Roxas and Namine's magical make-up. Is that just me? @59:50 - Kairi: DAMMIT!!

[@jafortune]

Yeah the Kingdom hearts credits really are Simple and Clean aren't they?

[@Catasros]

"There's more to a heart then just anger or hate. It's full with all kinds of stuff. Don't you remember?" "Unfortunately... I don't..." That exchange would've been heartbreaking (sorry) if birth by sleep didn't exist...

[@krzuker]

So here it is, merry Xemnas

[@zachrodan7543]

"who gave the organization a death star?" Have you seen Xemnas' weapons, also the fact that he wields force lightning? Perhaps he should really be called Darth Xemnas. I'm sure star wars was an inspiration for his combat style. heck, the last gummy mission was basically a tribute to the death star trench run scene

[@JanceSoltero]

6:10 I couldn’t have said it better myself.😊 And nice timing with the pun by the way I don’t know if you did that accidentally or on purpose but I saw what you did there.😂❤

[@andrew_ray]

So, fun fact about the first Xemnas fight: when you're running up memory's skyscraper, there are actually three different reaction commands: Clash, Breakthrough, and Finish. Clash just stops Xemnas from damaging you, Breakthrough does a bit of damage to Xemnas, and Finish does a lot. After an entire game of teaching you to press (△) the moment it appears, the optimal strategy here is to wait through the first two RC's. Good game design, huh?

[@TonyTank721]

1:35:40 I mean, if I was one of those VAs, you couldn't pay me to not come back for a Kingdom Hearts game.

[@flarelord8425]

Regarding Star Wars being Disney now: When I recently replayed this and fought Xemnas, I couldn't help but incorporate the following KH Headcanon: Since Xahanort can time travel, I assume that Xemnas's RED LIGHTSABERS are actual lightsabers because he time traveled forward into the future to where Disney owned Star Wars, and brought them back with him. #CANON

[@timothymclean]

Can he travel far enough into the future that all media (and most of humanity) is owned by Lord Disney, and then come back with a Green Lantern ring or BFG9000 or something?

[@flarelord8425]

@@timothymclean no, he can't get to any point past where KH series ends in our timeline. It's a peacetime thing ^^

[@Crazybean2012]

That transition from in-engine cutscene to pre-rendered hit me like a brick. Also, the final boss's attacks are so nice to look at, wow

[@Theraot]

"I want to get hurt too" -- Kairi

[@bookfan1239]

An hour and forty three minute video? LET’S GOOOOOO!

[@raupy_prince]

what a crazy ride these games are, every time. "I'm not a giant sap like you", says the biggest sap in the entire game. I'm not too familiar with Days & Coded beyond what happened in the cutscenes, but I'm incredibly excited for when you get to BBS and 3D :D

[@pedrogarcia8706]

Love the fist bump between Sora and Riku in their limit.

[@pedrogarcia8706]

Also I can't believe you missed that first few skyscraper reactions. I don't think I've ever seen anyone miss them.

[@akiraishin7141]

5:48 Ansem just called him Rico, right? Hahaha

[@tzisorey]

The Darkness sacrifices it's Xemnas and half it's life points, to summon BLUE EYES WHITE DRAXGON!!!

[@LoneRider98]

I think you mean Blue Eyes White Xangdro

[@saedigasay-dee-guh3108]

Xemnas's dragon form looks like a synchro cyber dragon boss monster that was meant to come out in the 5ds era but never did

[@Ninjinhah]

1:17:40 so. many. CHILLS. This scene never fails to give me the goosebumps. I can't hide, I actually cried the first time I saw that.

[@rundinj]

Jesus a 2 hour episode? I am not prepared for this right now

[@krzuker]

That black and white coat that Xemnas is wearing in the big final battle is incredibly mid-2000s

[@TalonSky]

It's been over ten years and I still cry at the ending. THIS is why people still play these games.

[@starlight_circuitry]

2:59 My rommate's cat when she decides to walk on my keyboard and yell in the middle of the night

[@VaultLink]

I feel the reason why the gameplay is more important for 358/2 than the other games that were made into movies in the compilation is because it really gets you in the shoes of that story with how the gameplay reinforces that feeling of doing a repetitive job

[@TheCanadianPuppeteer]

Whoa! An hour and forty minutes of Kingdom Hearts 2? Yes please!!

[@pinkwings8036]

I wish there was a better base for Roxas and Namine's chemistry, they bounce off of each other better than Sora and Kairi do. JAMES EARL JONES WAS IN THIS? One thing changed, Riku. You're sitting in Sora's spot, and he's in yours.

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

I’m so glad I went back and caught up. So many feels.

[@CiaranDeNaMasc]

Whoa, that conversation between riku, sora, mikey and xemnas before the fight feels incredibly... I don't wanna say wrong, but... "Complicated" in todays political landscape... "We hate you cause you mess up our world and we don't care what you feel or think cause you are not like us...." Yeeeesh...

[@bookfan1239]

CiaranDeNaMasc Not exactly. They don’t think Nobodies CAN feel anything. I haven’t played the games, but from what I’m getting, they’re going to be proven wrong later?

[@timothymclean]

@@bookfan1239 I sure hope so, but the fact that members of the minority agree with the dehumanizing stereotypes, without anyone questioning them, doesn't bode well.

[@rmsgrey]

@@timothymclean @Susmitha DiZ and Yen Sid put forward the view that Nobodies have no hearts, and so no emotions, and Xemnas agrees, but, even just in this game, Axel sure acts like he has emotions, and Roxas wields, not one, but two keyblades - and wielding a keyblade at all requires a strong enough heart, which means having a heart at all. Dream Drop Distance makes it clearer what's happening with Nobodies and hearts, and what Xemnas knows and why he says what he does about it. It'll be a while before we get there - first there's 358/2 Days, Birth By Sleep, and Re:coded to go through.

[@Ghiaman1334]

Yeah it's kinda like 'Wow I hope feeling for the bad guys now is intentional because that's what's happening'

[@Alfonsotakles]

KH main characters suffers a severe case of "Okay, I believe you"-itis, where they instantly believe everything they are told. So, when they were told that nobodies have no hearts, and seek nothing but to do bad things, they accept it as a universal truth. And, since bad stuff is bad, the bad guy must be stopped at all costs. Mix this with Xemnas having very little scene-time in this game (later games in the series explore a lot better Xemnas as more than "the bad guy") and the roller-coaster storytelling of KH, and yeah... The scene really gets uncomfortable when you stop to think about it. Although, in all fairness, "the mess up our world" part includes trying to convert to heartless (which can be seen as killing) Beast and the entire population of Port Royale (or at least, all the pirates). So... Yeah. KH storytelling.

[@pluto8615]

Riku's cloak showed off his collar bones, then he tears it off and is wearing a high collar shirt underneath, KH logic right there

[@SchultzDorinda]

The Black Coats are magical, therefore I'm willing to accept that it is normal

[@ray30k]

With that last move against B&W Xemnas, I almost feel sorry for the guy's spine.

[@hadriennogueira3726]

50:36 Legendary edit right here

[@shadeknight6537]

Now, this game's story wraps up pretty nicely. Sora and Riku are back to their home after they visited other worlds like they had planned. Mickey and the rest of the King's Fools are back to the heartland of their monolithic mega conglomerate, and everything is all hunky-dory in the vassal worlds of Mickey's interdimensional empire. Logically, this would be a good note to end the overall story on. Unfortunately, there was a problem - the game made money. And when a game makes money, sequels will continue to be pumped out, no matter how little room there is for it. That, and Nomura gradually fell into madness and really wanted to see if he could create a string of sequels that was bigger, dumber, more nonsensical and contrived from the last.

[@firenter]

Again, thanks a lot for playing these Dan! I've been trying to play alongside but I got stuck on the Roxas fight. (Underleveled and just used the ol' MASH X strategy) So thanks for showing the rest of the game to me. Now I'm gonna try and see if I can make any sense of BBS and Coded.

[@ReaperOfStories]

That ending had more friendship speeches than an episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged!

[@timothymclean]

14:37: Mickey, have you ever considered that hearts can command people to do bad things? You know, stalk someone they're infatuated with, beat up people who speak ill of their favorite historical figure, defend _50 Shades of Gray?_ 21:21: ...Do you guys really think scolding Xemnas like a naughty child is going to help anything? 30:45: What happens when the body is removed from the soul and heart? Does that form some kind of hearty ghost and a corpse? 50:25: Xemnas, stop saying things I was already thinking about the protagonists. It only makes me think even less of them. 54:45: Remind me...is this a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy, or Disney and Dark Souls? 1:10:07: I've wondered the same thing. I guess it's just what people do when they see two characters who're closely-connected enough. ...Is that not the kind of ship you meant? 1:13:33, 1:17:00: Hey, Xemnas really _is_ ripping of Lord Palpatine! 1:31:25: Just a few more months, unless KH3 gets delayed again. 1:39:00: Sora, you _idiot._ You _never_ say something like that!

[@trace9021]

KH3 went gold a few weeks ago. I don't think there's any way they can delay it now.

[@timothymclean]

@@trace9021 ...Oh. (I haven't really been paying attention.)

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

1:34:57 Hold the phone....Vivi was voiced by Melissa Disney.

[@krzuker]

I feel like the relationship between Sora, Kairi & Riku is really similar to the relationship between Naruto, Sakura & Sasuke. Is this setup just a really common archetype in anime that I'm just not well-versed enough to name more examples of, or is that unique to these two properties (the very earnest, kind of dumb protagonist; his dark & brooding best friend who's tempted by the powers of darkness; the girl who watches from the sidelines and is possibly a romantic interest for both). Heck, I'm not even familiar enough with Naruto to know if that's an accurate comparison, but it feels very similar to me. Any thoughts?

[@KinaCow]

I agree with this. But I think Riku is a much better deuteragonist than Sasuke... it also took Sasuke such a long time to redeem himself, and his redemption wasn't even that satisfying, at least IMO. Most of it happened off-screen, after the series ended. I think Sakura also had a larger role in the Naruto plot overall. She became quite capable with strong abilities, though of course she also could have been developed better, especially as Shippuden dragged on... I'd also say that the relationship between Naruto and Sakura was better developed than Sora and Kairi, because they grew closer through trying to bring Sasuke back, whereas in KH, it was mostly Sora trying to bring Riku home while Square didn't let Kairi do much :/

[@nathanjxaxson]

Is it me or did Dan never figure out that it's a triangle-button battle, invoking Dark Shield to save you and Dark Aura to do damage?

[@jancesoltero5007]

13:56 this is a funny scene because we actually see the progress of when the Mickey and Pete were actually friends you know back in timeless server when he was the captain and Mickey was one of his boat boys the actual reference this of how time actually flew by when they have this conversation With boat references.😄😉☝️❤️

[@Ghiaman1334]

9:01 Guess this is leading to a... total eclipse of the heart

[@vel0xraperio]

Wow. A feature-length finale! I can't help but feel like maybe this episode and yesterday's could have been split up a bit better to make this series an even 50 episodes. Although, as Dan says, there's still a looooooot left to explore in this game.

[@lycanthrope182]

Alright, if no one is gonna ask, I will. Why is Riku tall and jacked, while Sora has remained a scrawny little nerd?

[@sannaenmark9300]

Daan. Why you gotta keep entertaining us over christmas? Take a couple of days off, enjoy the holidays. And well played!

[@timothymclean]

He probably has the holiday stuff recorded already. If I had to guess, I'd guess that the credits voiceover was recorded after recording at least _some_ future videos, so that he knew what fit into the schedule (e.g, how many episodes and when).

[@Sky_The_Daily_Dreamer]

8:23 Well Sora... For starters, you and the rest of the King's fools where asleep for like an year, Kairi wasn't even aware what happened, and King Mickey does what King Mickey does best and that is to run off to who knows where... So yeah, the guy kinda had to resort to his own forces. But , its cool now you're all here and got his back so, now the poor guy can breathe (probably lol xD)

[@pontuslidekil6840]

Those that mean that all dates sora and kairi goes on will be dubble dates?... With like parts of themselfs.

[@Adam-cq2yo]

When they "get down and dirty," will it be a foursome?

[@pontuslidekil6840]

@@Adam-cq2yo The really hard hitting questions you will only find here people.

[@Mikesean45]

...Aren't Roxas and Namine kind of siblings?

[@unversedhero6028]

@@Mikesean45 Yes. In a twisted sort of way Sora and Kairi made them, so they are basically like their kids.

[@JoeReMi123]

1:32:25 "One more chance to do silly voices" I'm thinking all of their lines may actually be voice-acted this time. Then again, it's probably not a plot-important world so idk.

[@Nielzabub]

Fun fact: Megalazer is the name of Sora, Riku, and Kairi's high school band. Donald and Goofy play drums and backup ukulele.

[@flarelord8425]

Also, hyped for the rest of this, but Really do want to see the rest of Night in the Woods.

[@shuyuyummy3924]

For some reason I, when I saw the dragon ship thing at the hour mark, I immediately said, "It looks like a Pokemon."

[@lucianodebenedictis6014]

I don't know who is more mysterious and powerful: Naminé or Pluto?

[@SchultzDorinda]

How about Pete? The guy opens a door to the past because he is sad that Maleficent abandons him 😂

[@ptcarbonproductions2013]

50:17 Xemnas turns into a boat.

[@fourcatsandagarden]

I'm really curious what Xehanort's Org13 name might have been if he hadn't stolen Ansem's name. Heartnoxx, anyone? (And also trying to play with Riku's name just because: Kixru, Xirku, Ixruk. And for Kairi - Kixria, Kirixa, Akirix, Rixika...those are actually kind of nice, at least in comparison to what I can think of for Riku and Xehanort.)

[@MrAuthor3DS]

1:36:46 ...And we're STILL waiting to see Rinoa in the series! I mean...I am, at the very least. (That was the wings symbol on the back of Rinoa's shirt. It's also present on Leon's jacket in the Kingdom Hearts series.)

[@natetheknight2809]

First time going through KH, so I don’t know if this is a spoiler or not. But, if the X rule holds true… who is “Another” (Xehanort anagram without the X)? A question I’m curious to see if answered in the future.

[@timothymclean]

Critiques of Ansem's scientific ability from a grumpy biology student: 1:15: Of course you are! You turned on a machine pointing at a big metaphysical heart thingy, _without knowing what it would do,_ you *idiot!* 1:49: Hey, Ansem. Psychology, sociology, and economics would like a word with your understanding of science. 2:24: I'm not surprised. You didn't even set up a control group, did you? That's elementary-level scientific procedure, Ansem. 2:34: ...You _have_ contained hearts in data. They just didn't act the way you expected. 2:38: _How do you not have any clue what your damn machine does, you utter buffoon?!?_ 3:25: I'd say I like this guy, but he's probably not talking about Ansem's research procedures. 3:45: ...Then again, maybe he is. How do you accidentally create an entire race of incidentally omnicidal beings? 4:04: What, a guy who tests machines before figuring out what they do caused chaos? NO! 4:51: Look at your teacher, Xemnas or Xenahort or whatever your name is. You shouldn't be proud of surpassing him. You should be embarrassed for ever being behind someone who doesn't know what his own machine does, and no I'm not dwelling on that too much, it's utterly _moronic!_ There are Crichton novel scientists with more common sense than Ansem! 5:05: I think Xemnahort proves that he knows some stuff about making new worlds. Not that you'd know, since you seem to dismiss anything you don't currently understand as unknowable...which basically makes you the Kingdom Hearts equivalent of a Young-Earth Creationist. 6:45: See, Ansem? This is what happens when you turn on machines without knowing what they do! ...Oh, right, you're dead.

[@callowguru2611]

This is a great comment.

[@EldritchZoeArchive]

More Like "Ansem the completely-ignorant-about-the-scientific-method"

[@rmsgrey]

If no-one ever turned a machine on without knowing what it would do, we'd have a lot less technology. At some point, you just have to actually experiment if you want to find out anything. So far, CERN has managed to avoid destroying the planet but it's been a theoretical possibility, however unlikely, every time they make a more powerful particle accelerator. And how do you test for what will happen when you point a digitiser at a giant moon made of hearts without pointing a digitiser at a giant moon made of hearts? The fake Kingdom Hearts is, if not a singleton, at least extremely rare (I can only think of two comparable entities in the cosmology, and one of them was destroyed by Sora et al in KH1, and the other is inaccessible ever since the Keyblade War that ended the Age of Fairy Tales...) so you can have theories about what might happen, but the only way to find out if you're right is to point and click...

[@Soumein]

"Oh, right, you're dead." Or IS he?! C'mon, this is about as shonen as it gets; no one really dies.

[@PlayFramePlus]

I love everything about this comment.

[@StormyStories]

I love the literal Deus Ex Machina of that machine turning Riku back out of nowhere=P but seriously, Great "Finale!" I'm so happy with this whole series!

[@NobodyC13]

Saix's sword thing is called a claymore, it's this giant two handed sword that originated from Scotland.

[@ShadowOnTheWall666]

I'm watching this series for the second time because you're awesome Dan and I am just noticing that the ship boss resembles Terra's armor. Clever hint to Xehanort's identity.

[@whoisthisguy128]

After beating the game on critical mode, watching Dan do the final fight without blocking/reflect/dodge/summons was painful, but I'm surprised he got the "hit both buttons" on his first try... Not that it would have killed him on normal mode.

[@CLB872]

I recall losing my giddann mind at this point in the game, 15 years old or so and just watching this fight going more and more insane anime and I adored every minute of it. I've played a lot of spectacle games but this fight still is in my top 10 for sheer holy crap.

[@ASlackerAlex]

I'm really enjoying going through KH with you, they're super fascinating since I never was able to play them myself. One question, will you be doing a story retrospective for this one as well?

[@PlayFramePlus]

I may do some every few games? Maybe before Birth By Sleep, if I have time...

[@ICountFrom0]

it might be the sequance at 1:13:20 that I never could pass, or the other riku portion of the fight a little further on, but for some reason... never could win this one. Got frustrated, and gave up permently at some point... Okay, the attack I remember, didn't happen. I vaugely think it involved Riku being taken by a giant shadow, and crushed to death, unless sorah could get there in time?

[@JM-nothing-more]

52:15 don't you give me hope for a Star Wars world in KH3

[@DanimalHype]

1:17:33 SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!!!

[@Terraoblivion]

Now that it's over and Dan has talked about desire to see the fairy Gull Wings again, something I certainly support, it's time to state the obvious. Whether you love Final Fantasy XIII or hate it, I'm sure we can all agree that Lightning has to be in the game, just to see her moodiness and overseriousness crash against the wall of ridiculous that's Sora, Donald and Goofy. It must happen.

[@restlessDSM]

Well SE does still love to promote Lightning and put her in everything so there is a good chance. I'll admit I love her character too.

[@dduuddeechil]

I must have beaten this game 100s of times, but that cutscene with Sora and Riku at the end just gets to me. Kairi's letter to Sora always gets me to crack the stupidest smile

[@tubeminer1325]

There's just something so cool about seeing Sora and Riku fight together.

[@callowguru2611]

Omg I love Xemnas's voiceover. So good.

[@kaptenteo]

A story summary of this game would be great later.

[@justember794]

Do you have a favorite Organization member? To fight? Animation? Personality? Design?

[@timothymclean]

Praise for Larxene was pretty prominent in the previous game.

[@callowguru2611]

@@timothymclean that's because Larxene's voiceover is so good you can't help but love her. A villain that enjoys being a bad guy and the simple pleasures of villainy feels like such a rarity these days.

[@peggyliepmann5248]

My theory that this mind-bending series is the kind of thing research papers get written about in-universe is growing stronger...

[@Halosty45]

This isn't even his final form.