Situation Commands - The Continued Influence of Birth by Sleep

I've had a lot to say about the current gameplay trend that Kingdom Hearts is experiencing through 0.2 Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts III. Many of the gimmicks established through the spinoff titles have become integrated into the classic combat systems of old, and so I thought I'd give my thoughts.
Twitter: / miedaxx
Twitch: / miedax
Music:
"Lazy Afternoons" - Kingdom Hearts II
"Phantom" - Persona 5
"Break it Down" - Persona 5
"Life Goes On" - Persona 5
"When Mother Was There" - Persona 5
"Beneath the Mask (Instrumental)" - Persona 5
"Sunset Bridge" - Persona 5
Additional Video Sources:
358/2 Days: • [TAS] DS Kingdom Heart...
Re:coded: • [TAS] DS Kingdom Heart...
Chain of Memories: • [TAS] GBA Kingdom Hear...
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: • Video
Super Smash Bros: • Video

[@Soraalam1]

For some stupid reason I only saw this video today, but I love you Dax. Extremely good and true.

[@VeNate13]

Soraalam1 Ditto

[@Wizard_Pikachu]

Same here, it's strange.

[@mattcamp480]

Me too

[@matty9460]

Same, and I agree "wtf happened to this series" so glad to hear people actual critical of the game. Shame it's really only speedrunners and lvl1 run players and not the community as a whole

[@MrBassem95]

Im glad I saw it because recently it seems people think the combat in 3 is going to be amazing

[@SuperButterBuns]

always love ya KH videos Dax keep up the good work!

[@jet100a]

SuperButterBuns God, I really hope they bring back drive forms

[@x_Xith_x]

hello Butter Buns I love your videos they are great and always manage to make me laugh or make me think.

[@scorpioigor]

Am I the only one who doesn't like these flashy, all-over-the-place attacks and miss the simplicity of Kingdom Hearts 1?

[@Gamelover882]

You're not alone. I liked the slower battle system along with the close up camera angles too.

[@danielramsey6141]

Same.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Same. I kinda miss the "basic" set of magic too. I mean, don't get me wrong but I really wish we had more utility magic like Stop(halts enemies actions and some bosses for a short period of time , Aero (shield with dot on contact and blocks projectiles), reflect(explosive barrier), and magnet(acts as a black hole of sorts and pulls enemies to its core and deals mini for while on contact). Point is we need to return to more offensive spells so the combat doesn't feel so brain dead. KH3s combat lacks a lot of what I loved KH1 and KH2 had. Hopefully some of the original developer team returns.

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

I love the amount of Options KH3 has in terms of attacks, spells, etc.... hopefully KH4 keeps combat balanced...

[@shibmeister222]

I want HD Aqua to step on me

[@someone-zz7yq]

goddamn...yes !

[@TheAnimatedGamer]

And she's norted now? ABSOLUTELY

[@allisonfields3108]

I want her to bench press me then toss me off of a cliff

[@phoenix221186]

Evil aqua is hot aqua ... XD

[@ShadowArabesque]

Where does the line start??

[@LinkinMark1994]

I am so fucking sick of the command deck. Also, finally somebody has something good to say about Re:coded's battle system.

[@bojacxfanren]

LinkinMark1994 I agree with him Re: Coded probably has the best combat system after KH2

[@boyishdude1234]

Bojacx 99 it does actually have the best combat system from the games after KH2.

[@SonnyFRST]

Many would disagree with me, but the thing I liked the most about Re:Coded were the keyblades. In particular that game's only original keyblade, 0/1, because of that broken as fuck Attack Scope overclock.

[@dmas7749]

I liked Oblivion. After experiencing Attack Haste, every normal attack just felt too slow and clunky. Still doesn't flow quite as smooth as KH2 though. Felt like having the Finish command felt kinda gimmicky. Somewhere between 0.2's Situation Commands and that would fit quite nicely in a KH game though.

[@trevorrobinette472]

LinkinMark1994 once I finally got around to playing re:coded, I was surprisingly impressed with the battle system; I was expecting something closer to bbs and ddd... then I learned it was a different team that made the game lol

[@Bl00dyBizkitz]

u make gud vidya

[@TheMike0088]

ey, its one of the two KH speedrun-bizkitz. fancy seeing you here.

Vatividya? V:

[@sonicbrawler182]

Good video and for the most part I agree, but personally, I still find myself enjoying situation commands. Like, it's not that I disagree with what you say or have a rebuttal. Situation commands do have balance issues and a problem in that they don't seem 100% consistent. But the most important part to me is that they are FUN to use, and they already are IMO. Like you outlined, my main problem with Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance is that combat just doesn't feel satisfying, the characters felt really clunky to control, most of the commands didn't add anything meaningful to my combat arsenal, I was forced into command styles, etc. They tried to slap too many raw RPG elements into my Action-RPG hybrid game. However, 0.2 fixed much of my problems with BBS Aqua. Her keyblade strikes feel more satisfying and tight now, and she feels generally more fluid and all of my combat options feel like they mean something and work in synergy. Situation commands may have that inconsistency problem, but they are consistent if you use just one type of magic at least, so if there is a situation where I want Firaja or another element, I know I can get it, and using Ethers, I can refill my MP to start chains of other elements to stack my Tier 4 Magic commands, and unleash them all consecutively. So while I agree it's not a perfect system and I hope KH3 can improve it, I didn't view it as a crippling issue, more like a minor flaw. I still found the system fun and meaningful overall, and as such, 0.2 BBS would actually be my third/fourth favourite game in the series (KH1FM is my favourite, followed by KH2FM, and 0.2 BBS sits around the same level as Re:Coded to me). The unique gameplay of the KH series is probably my favourite part about it, so I'm not ignorant to when it has issues. But I feel like this video overblows the severity of the Situation Command issues a bit. What's most important is that they are fun, and I feel they are. It'd be great if they balance them better, but I'd rather have something that's fun and a bit unbalanced, than something balanced and boring. BBS and DDD were both boring and unbalanced so I really do appreciate the direction of 0.2 and, by extension, KH3. EDIT: Also you mentioned that hitting multiple enemies at once adding to the meter removes the strategy and consistency from the system, but I actually disagree with that. You're supposed to aim for multiple enemies at once precisely because it builds your meter faster, allowing you to stack more Tier 4 Magic commands while expending less MP. This rewards the player's skill in reading the enemy's movement and baiting them into an optimal position to strike them all at once with magic, therefore giving them their Tier 4 Magic faster. I actually consider this a positive idea since KH has never particularly excelled at crowd control combat. It has good options for it but the combat system is clearly more designed with smaller groups of enemies and one-on-one combat in mind, so having mechanics built with larger groups in mind, which they probably want because being a big budget PS4 title demands a sense of scale with larger enemy counts for fights, is actually a pretty cool addition.

[@IncompleteMemory]

always felt iffy about the gameplay of kh games after 1 and 2, it's great hearing you and BB explain exactly why that is, even if it makes me sad when i think about the future of this series

[@lpfan4491]

Fi i honestly have problems with the kh1 bosses

[@carterwright360]

Please come back and make videos.

[@pepacrow6794]

This man just called Xion a problem. Instant trigger

[@bashbro1able]

Really enjoyed this analysis. We need more of this stuff, not just for Kingdom Hearts, but for video games in general. Ironically, the only series that I feel truly gets a lot of this kind of well-edited, critical analysis type of content is the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. Or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. Nonetheless, I just want to say a few things. I do have a pet peeve when people fault the Osaka games such as BBS and DDD for its combat when it was clearly never trying to be an extension of KH2's mechanics in the first place. I get the complaints made towards it, like the boss battle designs and the lack of balance, but some complaints just surmount to "it's not like KH2 so it's terrible" and that's a little unfair imo. Not to mention, none of these games were ever true successors to KH2 in the first place, which is why there was such a switch up. It's clear that they're saving the traditional combat system and its overall tight design for the numbered titles, so I think that for what it is, it's not as bad as some make it out to be. For instance, if BBS and DDD were not in the KH series in the first place I doubt many would trash it as much as they do (not to say that's it's being trashed a great deal or anything, but a fair amount). So while I do understand your criticisms, I do think they can be a little over bloated in terms of ruining the overall experience. I also think your "KH fans only care about style over substance" comment can apply to about 80% of fandoms in general, not to mention that despite the love for BBS by presumable "casuals," even the majority of them will still acknowledge KH2 as the peak in quality for the franchise. Just doesn't mean these games can't be fun in their own way either. But I do also understand that it IS in the KH series and comparisons are inevitable, and they're understandable, but reducing their value as if they're pure trash seems a bit harsh. BBS and DDD are clearly not on the same level of polish as KH1 or 2, but I don't think they're trying to be either. The combos are not the focus, the magic is, and it's reasonable to believe that that would be much harder to balance. It was an opportunity to allow us to perform over the top skills that weren't entirely present in the original two games. It's its own thing, so judge it for what it is and not for what it's not, and the same can go for the complaints towards KH3, being that its an amalgamation of the two gameplay styles, not a copy and paste remake of KH2FM. Regardless, I do respect your opinion and I actually agree with you a lot, but I don't think those setbacks fracture the overall experience (well, maybe DDD). But to each's own. Your issue with the new combat seems to be, simply put, is that there is a lack of consistency.

[@TheSphereHunter]

DAX! YA BACK!

[@himynameiszipp]

The points you made and the digging you did into the mechanics were awesome. I enjoyed the 0.2 mechanics, but could definitely tell it didn't have the same flow that the first 2 had. The points you made about the Osaka Team making their combat animations slow and clunky is incredibly true, as I noticed that every game after 2 made it difficult to land finishers on enemies, and how it was quick and easy to find one move to spam due to its unbalanced power over other abilities. I have a lot of hope for KH3 and what's to come. Not being able to have full control like we used to is something that definitely irks me, but if the changes you pointed out (that before I had never noticed) stay within the final product then I'll be happy with having at least that. Awesome video man. Subscribed.

[@MemeinAndDreamin]

HiMyNameIsZipp hey man can u sub 2 my channel?????

[@himynameiszipp]

Of course dear friend. ❤

[@samuely6423]

If you think xion's a problem wait till you see what they did to ventus's and marluxia's backstory

[@cursedvideos4005]

What ?

[@danielijust8776]

@@cursedvideos4005 time travel. They where Part of the dandelions. Larxene too

[@TheJel2]

Thought the video was presented pretty darn well and your points were really good and made me think a lot c:

[@Jay-kx4jf]

I always figured that the side games were being used for game mechanics experimentations so they could try new things without making the main numbered series a pain to play (too different mechanics)

[@AL3X7355]

Yeah me too

[@dmas7749]

That sounds like an excuse to release unbalanced and messy mechanics to me. I like BbS, but good lord, RIP balance.

[@OneGamer2EnvyThemAll]

The best way to test how balanced and well-designed your game is is to play on its highest difficulty. In this case, Critical Mode Level 1. BbS taught us that bosses that have instant attacks meant to hit the player matter what is maybe not the greatest-designed system, since the player now has to rely on luck in order to not get hit and die instantly to an attack they "meant" to brush off.

[@93003ayo]

Yeah, it'd be okay if the story wasn't important though

[@mieDAX]

UPDATE: I thought I'd add to this post and ask you guys what kind of Kingdom Hearts content you might like to see from me in the future? I have a couple of ideas that I wanna eventually get to, but I'd love to hear about any specific topics that y'all may want to see me tackle. --------- I'm so mad at myself for putting "Action" rather than "Hybrid" in the categorization graphic, how the hell does that slip through? If you make videos like these then remember to always quadruple-watch your final render! Ah well, in any case, thank you all for the kind words! I'm glad y'all are enjoying the video, and I hope to get more out soon. I know it's been a long time since I've released anything and I apologize for that, life has dealt me some heavy hits this year and I'm doing my best to make some major changes. That being said, for those who have been subscribed to me previously, I appreciate your continued support. And to those who are new, welcome! Thanks so much guys.

[@caiomascarenhas5910]

talk about the partners in the game! How does it change the gameplay, switching donald for mulan or etc? How were they implemented in each game that the party system does exist? :D

[@olelarson4725]

Honestly i just want a video it doesn't matter what.

[@OwNAvenged]

Sir, where are you? No uploads in a year. That's a big sad.

[@luigiq2861]

Please come back and talk about Re:coded and why it works.

[@AGGSab]

yo bro you ok?

[@bojacxfanren]

Wow, just fishing for a fan boy of a fandom to come up "Smash isn't a fighting game" "Xion is a problem"

[@agenthollands4140]

It isn't

[@diego1marcus918]

@@agenthollands4140 youre right, xion isnt the problem

[@agenthollands4140]

@@diego1marcus918 that almost works if I didn't say it lol

[@diego1marcus918]

@@agenthollands4140 xion is just a puppet, therefore an it jk

[@shadowjesus9]

Why is channel dead ;(

[@castle3267]

Papa Nomura found him and slaughtered him for criticizing his games

[@ViralCrush1]

Hey Dax! It was cool talking to you on Discord about this, and you were right: there's a lot you had to talk about in the video overall. I think, personally anyway, that there's definitely a lot of stuff put into the games after 2 to make combat as flashy as possible, and the combat is almost describable as better cheesed than mastered. There's no real sense of skill to mashing square as Mysterious Figure warps around you just to stay invincible. There's no sense of accomplishment stacking magnega then thundaga in your deck for the mobs. To be honest though, I kind of like it a little, as a casual player. It feels almost good to play, despite some awful design decisions and muddy combat. That said, 3's looking like it'll shape up rather than ship out, and I'm praying too for it to be one-hit-one-tick on the situation gauge. In regards to keyblades, maybe that'll be a level of preparation needed for certain fights? IE Second form is more handy for this fight, so we equip it for that, much like someone fighting data Axel would likely equip Mysterious Abyss! I love this kind of video, and I genuinely cannot wait for more. For instance... why Xion such a problem? :P

[@tylercafe1260]

358/2 Days had significant influence over the combat. It introduced Status Ailments on your Normal Spells. They also had an extremely in depth equipment abilities that rewarded you for carefully planning panels. KH3 very much kept that philosophy giving all spells unique utility or status to help the flow of combat.

[@GenericMcName]

Wait, people avoided to use Magic in KHII? Did I do something wrong by spamming Reflectga?

[@rocketdog734]

Generic McName Nah Reflega works better than the mess that's KH2's guard

[@rober150]

Living Detritus The mess that's KH2 guard? what do you even mean?

[@rocketdog734]

rober150 Alright, so it's not really a mess per se, but it's just a gripe I've had for a while. Literally every other game (excluding CoM) has a guard that becomes active immediately, while KH2 Sora spins around to guard, which I'm pretty sure is more difficult to time. I mean, I wouldn't remember, considering almost every time I could've used guard I used reflect instead. At this point, it could've just been my imagination, but it just felt too slow.

[@rober150]

Living Detritus Yeah, KH2 guard feels a bit slower than KH1 so the timing is different, so it's something to get used to, but the block itself is great not just because of stuff like counterguard but because it gives enough Iframes to be able to guard again, dodge or do whatever immediately unlike BBS as an example. In that game there is a gap where you don't have Iframes but you also can't put up your guard again in time so you are fucked, Terranort meteors are especially problematic for this same reason Fun fact: if you notice during limit form Sora's guard is as fast as it was in KH1 because it imitates it

[@dmas7749]

Well another reason why Limit form is fucking awesome. Imo better than Final.

[@omersaar4682]

Ok, you clearly deserve more views and subscribers, the quality of the video was amazing!☺☺

[@koalabyte3536]

Are you going to be making a video on Kingdom Hearts 3 soon? I'm loving your analysis of the combat. I appreciate the form changes a lot, but the lost of "Reaction Commands" in favor of "situation commands" really feels like a loss to me.

[@CubeSeal]

This video has aged pretty well.

[@benadiromz]

Dude, you talk about things one even don’t know that knows... Love your videos man, I hope your channel grows a lot!!

[@Badsauser]

Welcomr back Dax! We missed ya man

[@C_Ranked]

I'm actually currently playing BBS and I agree completely, while I don't hate everything about the battle mechanics (I think D-Links are really cool and should've have more use throughout the game) I definitely agree on the fact that most of the gameplay is just building the strongest deck over actually strategizing the battle you're currently in, not to mention the bosses either require not much thought or have bullshit super armor that make your attacks feel like a wet noodle. KH3 definitely looks like the step in the right direction, it looks like a good middle ground with the combat strategy of kh2 while also having in the flashiness of bbs, I really hope for the best but y'know it's squeenix so who knows

[@LuigiaTV]

C-Ranked When in doubt just surge and dodge, surge and dodge.

[@8bitmagic]

LuigiaTV best advice

[@godzilla4189]

KH# is actually taking feedback from the various appearences of the Toy Story demo. The E3 version of said demo already has a lot of fixes compared to the may demo.

[@Quickword15]

@Cranked @Actually you have to strategize BECAUSE bosses have super armor. Kinda thankful its not the same formula as the other games and it works just fine. Never understood the all hate behind BBS, floaty combat isn’t a real problem in BBS since the game works well with it unlike some other titles.

[@laststrike4411]

@@Quickword15 Bro, why are you lying? There's no thought that goes behind dodgeroll/shotlock spam.

[@rober150]

It's interesting to go back to this video, and what we knew of KH3 back then, with the new info that has surfaced since then I'm glad that the keyblade switching and storing forms is a thing now because it alleviates a couple of the problems with the system in this, and it comes with a nice new mechanic of instantly switching forms provided that you stored one before Let's just hope they keep it all well balanced and more consistent for it's release date I must also say that the "2018 my ass" bit has aged extremely well, like a fine wine

[@Max_G4]

It always annoys me when people refer to KH 1 and 2 as the first 2 titles in the series. The second game is Chain of Memories.

[@midshipman8654]

I really like the idea of command decks. I just wish they took up a resource like magic points or something to compensate and wire them into other aspects of combat better. The idea of having a ATB system where the time meter is applied to indivigual actions instead of your whole turn is GREAT! doubly so if you can choose what those actions are.

[@choudclucker]

This video is beyond put together well. Good job man!

[@shikadude95]

Great video man! You just got a subscriber that was such an experience. I gotta say the Persona music really sealed it, your voice and the soothing music blend quite well together. Looking forward to what else you got, man.

[@PerilsofPokey]

Kiss me.

[@rober150]

I felt the exact same way about the situation commands and have the same concerns for the balance on KH3. Let's hope they really can get everything under control and polish the gameplay Nice video

[@Asgard314]

Yooo your editing and writing are both incredible for the amount of subs you have. I've had a lot of fun marathoning all of your videos over the past few hours and I'm only disappointed by the amount there were to view. If you're in a position to do it I'd LOVE to see more from you. You're incredibly talented at this, and I'd be stoked to see how much better you can get over time.

[@haisekaneki4962]

Just discovered this channel with this video and I'm really digging your content. Speaking of the video itself,it's really well constructed and organized.From talking about how mechanics works in the games unto talking about how Situation Commands can make or break KH 3 while still bringing up jokes here and there is really well presented. All in all,I completely agree with your thoughts,and i really hope Osaka team gets their shit together on KH 3 and make the best KH game to date. -a new subscriber

[@Mx._Jess]

excellent video, perfectly summed up the problems with situation commands. when I saw something like 5 situation commands in the last 2 kh3 trailers, my heart sunk a few feet, I'm sure kh3 will be lots of fun and have great aspects to its gameplay, but the underemphasis on player choice is disheartening, and the fact that the wider community doesn't seem to mind is even more so.

[@Mx._Jess]

And that's not even mentioning the impact it'll doubtless have on speedruns, I've seen many a 0.2 run die because of inconsistent situation commands, in a full game like kh3 it'll be extremely frustrating and as a result I don't expect its lifespan to be very long in that regard

[@zemom.a.8171]

Jesse McClure 50% of the community is dumb af anyway

[@milanmitra8381]

I was honestly upset at this video initially, but then I realized it came out over a year ago, before KH3 gameplay was shown, and it was clear that it resembled KH2 more than Osaka Team's previous titles.

[@jayomega2717]

No it didn’t

[@tropichawk850]

This was an extremely informative and thought provoking video on aspects to the game mechanics found within Kingdom Hearts that I've had yet even to think about. It really has opened my eyes to some of the smaller intricacies of the series' gameplay, and after watching both this, and your KHII video, I feel like I am much more aware to these minute, yet effective details. You clearly are one of the foremost minds on these such aspects for game designs that one can find anywhere within the Kingdom Hearts community, and it is with this in mind that I feel I must at least attempt to humbly request your assistance at better meshing and developing several Kingdom Hearts mechanics into a fan game I wish to make. There aren't many details I am willing to spare on here, as the more often a project is publicly spoken of, the more likely it is to be hammered down with a C&D, however, if there is someplace else we can speak about this, such a Discord or something of the like, I would be more than happy to divulge some of the more private details there. I can tell you here that I intend to recreate and mesh several mechanics from the KH series, that I want to reinvent them in order to meld together more seamlessly, and to make them operate beautifully on the grand scale of a whole, not only as a sum of it's parts. To achieve this, though, I desire to gather some of the best game-centric minds the beloved KH community has to offer, and to get them together in the same room, brainstorming, improvising, as well as perfecting ideas. I certainly have the drive to see a project such as this through, as I've been formulating plans for this game off and on well over a year at this point, with no signs of my passion fluttering. There are no constraints to be found on my willpower, and so the issue is my newbie leveled knowledge on the specific details of game design, which is exactly the reason why I am here, asking you for your assistance on this undertaking. I know very little in comparison to you, and thus to have you working on this project with me would be a tremendous blessing to have. Either way, I've drug this comment on far too long with my inessential, and overly fancy speech, so I shall leave the final verdict up you. Regardless of whether or not this idea interests, I do wish to commend you on the amount of time and effort you put into your videos, and I very much look forward to seeing how your channel grows from here on out. Thank you for your time in even reading this needlessly long comment, and I hope you have an absolutely stunning day.

[@laststrike4411]

How's it going so far?

[@KodasGarden]

I'm sad that you aren't posting regularly. Just found your channel today, and you made some really quality content.

[@khias433]

Are you ok

[@castle3267]

Nah he died

[@alchemike6346]

i always have the impression that situation command have a great potential if well balanced.I mean square got a lot of feedback from ddd and the other games. they know that flowmotion in ddd was broken because of feedback so they are working on making it a lot less broken making the athletic flow.I think that these years of spin offs helped team osaka to grow and i can see that they are working hard to ge the best experience and even surpass kh2 (combatwise will be really hard almost impossible but im pretty sure the rest is gonna be better).Im still confident in kh3 to deliver a great gameplay,they're on the right track just need to polish it more.I mean i appreciate the fact that they want to make us use magic in a more smooth way and give more options at once immediatly.There will be a lot of experimenting in this game if nothing is broken.

[@Emantheseeker]

The subtle editing with your voice and Hades movements... Dope.

[@copilot13]

Great video, like the analysis, but here's my take on Drives. I never felt that most player used them as intended. They were fun to use (especially as a kid) but during my Critical runs, I often used them more fore healing/s. Occasionally I'd use Final for some cool magic or Limit for a couple bosses, but for the most part, I never really used the playstyles they were meant to promote (i.e."Oh I need to use more magic, better switch to wisdom"). I really prefer 0.2's system of working your way up to the forms. It's a departure from the vast options and quickness of KH2, but (assuming Osaka team balances the game and bosses properly), I think there is more interesting and challenging gameplay in requiring the player to think ahead and adapt their playstyle to reap the benefits of a form. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Edit: Typed my commment halfway through. Forgot that it seems it's only one form per Keyblade so that would put a damper on things. But that's still unclear whether other forms are available or not

[@jonnysac77]

How about limits and summons?, it's seems like almost everything in the game is locked behind situation commands which is why there so concerning, it's the thought of that the game is gonna mostly play itself which worries pretty much anyone who dived into the mechanics

[@jonnysac77]

I'm sure it'll be a fun flashy romp but we all know KH can be so much more than that

[@RedfurredPikachu]

I saved drive forms for bosses and some of those drive forms came in handy. I'm probably going to treat keyblade transformations the same way honestly. The only thing I care about gameplay wise is that boss fights are fair. Osaka team has at least three bosses that are super cheap, I don't remember any from Birth by sleep at the moment though.

[@chaellExE]

Everythingyou say in the video about the combat is still an issue in KHIII, especially about the melee. I choose the warrior precept and started to build around that, only to find out that Sora is not only slow and does way less damage than you expect him to be at nearly the greatest battle he has ever gone to. He is also lacking in melee skills. And magic does way more damage is overall effective due distance, attack speed and overall damage output, with the depletion and charging of MP as a negative. Also the only reasonable magic spell seems to be fire and its evolution. Due the fast casting of the spell and overall damage out put and AOE only later levels. In the game they manage to butter that up by stating that he has "lost" his abilities due crumbing in to the darkness, but on his journey and level system he never really learns any moves. Later we "learn" that Sora power are just dormant in him until called upon. They only thing towards that is evident in the game is fact that the weapon and transformation carries the moves that he is supposed to wield on his. Also the graphic of III compared to 0.2 is bumped down, both in overall game play as cut scenes. Magic and hairs do not look that fantastic. Also, Also, You want a surefire way to tell that another company has been working on a franchise instead of the ones that started the initial work? Look no further than comparing some items and attack names, because yes, KH also suffers from this. PS: I do not think that 0.2 as was just a test drive demo of the new system. I personally believe that it was a test to see if fans would pay 60 dollars for a demo, that should've been free because of the game it was suppose to hype. But yeah, fans do pay.

[@ivanl.c.1862]

i agree with you, but iirc that disc hes talking about comes with a full game (ddd i think), the glorified demo and a movie. like, a legit movie. i thought it was gonna be like 10minutes at max but NOPE XD

[@AndysTake]

I agree with you on KHIII's combat, it's more or less exactly the same as 0.2. Which sucks.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

Too true. Even with the last few patches we've got and new combo modifiers, Magic flash bring updated, and the new combo finished still kinda feel underwhelming. No aerial finishers, no really great new support abilities, and even the movement abilities and flow motion is just barebones and only there to remind us that DDD was a thing, and flow motion was busted in that game and they have no idea how to make it balanced. Also, they gave us pretty much all offensive magic and MAYBE 1 OKAY defensive magic and that is water because it can block SOME projectiles and attacks(from what I have experienced in-game); however, reflect will always be best lol that just cannot be contested but I don't understand why they couldn't bring back old spells like Stop, Magnet, or even give us combination spells by combining two or more spells. I just feel like Kingdom hearts was a missed opportunity.

[@jonahabenhaim1223]

Maybe you’re seeing what I’m not seeing.... I might notice something in KH3 that I like that you wouldn’t perhaps

[@chaellExE]

@@jonahabenhaim1223 true. Taste, expectations and such do differ from person to person. And that is alright. I am just commenting on some of the points that has been addressed as an issue in the game regarding my experiences of it. In which I confirm that I still do experience it as an issue.

[@extremegamer7890]

This video is really good, i’d be interested in an analysis of the gameplay of KH3

[@ElUltimoBruguero]

Only five minutes in this video and now i love you.

[@bencicaballero8986]

i bet u only say dis bcuz ur a spedruner No but for real I'm so glad you're back with some more quality analysis and discussion on this franchise we all love-hate

[@novum6304]

I can answer your question before the first minute was over. Nomura openly said the handheld titles were experimental.

[@newssbluebubbims5099]

Saw your beyond the X button and i knew almost anything you say id agree with ya, and this video is no different . Style over substance is no good, and situation commands are dumb. also very interested in your opinion of KH3's combat as a whole bc im kinda finding it lacking

[@castle3267]

Kh3 is kinda the same as 0.2 so probably the same

[@HybridAngelZero]

FINALLY Someone appreciates Re: coded and Chain of Memories. I've always really enjoyed the strategy and gameplay execution of both

[@ipwnukazu]

hoping you make a video now kh3 is out, its still very flawed

[@mastervidxad5883]

Great video. Kingdom Hearts 2 will always have the best game play. Hopefully Kingdom Hearts 3 will be good. Also, this whole Xion bashing feels unnecessary.

[@haveagoodday7021]

Nah, Xion was just there to add uneeded drama. Remove her and Days would be almost the same.

[@mastervidxad5883]

Lost Meme You say it as if Xion was the worst thing to happen to the series, which is not true. In fact, I would argue that Xion is one of the better female characters in the entire Kingdom Hearts series (yet people would choose Aqua over Xion cause of her playstyle as well as her being hot, which I would believe that's mostly the reason). Also removing her from the game would CHANGE the story, not make it remain the same. Only reason why people don't like her is because people saw Xion as a Kairi clone, which I would honestly agree with, not gonna lie. But compared to other female characters, Xion is the most developed. So no, she isn't pointless, just people love to find reasons to hate on her while also circle jerking to Aqua.

[@Gamelover254]

Well I'm gay and Aqua's my favorite character in the series so there goes that theory :/ in fact a lot of girls have Aqua as their favorite character as well. She is very pretty sure but she's also selfless, can take care of herself, saved her two friends on multiple occasions, sacrificed herself to save her friend and she kicks ass! Also, not to make your original comment seem totally hypocritical, but the whole Aqua bashing feels unnecessary.

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

KH3's comabt was okay

[@laststrike4411]

@@mastervidxad5883 I'm fine with Xion...but honestly, the other guy's right. The girl's big contribution to the series was literally just correcting the retcon that is her existence. Remove her from the story and Roxas will likely still wind up the same place he did in the end. He might lose the ability to duel wield, he might gain it quicker. He likely won't go on the suicide mission he did at the end, but Riku was always gonna hunt after his ass to get Sora back. The most we lose is a BBS teaser that wound up not mattering that much in the end anyhow. All the same, I like her.

[@noirkeysky]

love the content and the humor

[@HxH2011DRA]

I'm a simple man. I hear P5 music, I press like

re:coded combat is actually pretty enjoyable

[@goldsocks9999]

I love flashy combat because kh2's combat is so fucking flashy

[@veloxplayer098yeeeah7]

I have a question. What is max% in a Sonic Boom Wii U file? 100% or 111%

[@orlandofurioso7329]

0.2%

[@kuba37571]

Cool video, nice to see you again after an eternity, but 5:18 "I could care less" hurts my soul ;__;

[@killerblodychuky6]

well you can equip up to 3 keyblades at once so you can pick your favorite forms and so you dont get only 1 form and also the game got delayed nice predict XD

[@ThomasAtlus]

Fucking thank you for putting what is basically all of my thoughts into one video as to why I feel so off about KH's gameplay these days

[@megasoniczxx]

Yeah, one thing that really irks me is the fact that drives are tied to these situation commands too. It feels like they're trying to make the act of activating drives simpler for beginners though it just comes off as removing a consistent and viable option that you could pulled out at specific situations to make full use of them...in favor of just handing them to you for just beating things up and giving the player huge jumps in power for essentially just playing the game and it makes me worry about how balanced this is going to be in the long run since situation commands are so frequent and whether you get the magic attacks or DF's its assured that you will gain massive advantages from them so I don't know how they're going to accommodate enemies to this beyond just making them damage sponges.

[@mangomariel]

I agree with everything you said, but I kinda like the randomness. It can be tricky to react to stuff you can't predict on the go. It's a gameplay style in itself. It does take out some strategic planning, but it brings some impulsive quick thinking on the go. It's like playing a sorcerer instead of a mage (dnd reference) But many reaction commands are bullshit. Like attractions and most team attacks in kh3.

[@soul_survive]

This deserves more views, holy shit

[@PataHikari]

Interesting analysis. I have to find your complaints about AOE triggering Situation Commands a bit too nitpicky though. Like, generally dealing with random enemies has always been easy in Kingdom Hearts games. It's always the bosses that are the main challenge and where the battle system is tested. Also, Xion is great fyi.

[@bobbeans817]

"dealing with random enemies has always been easy in Kingdom Hearts games" Have you played through CoR in 2FM on Critical Mode, or any required mob fights for that matter? That shit is hard, CoR Nobodies 3 is debatably more difficult than Lingering Will. I dunno, the fact that Situation Commands trigger seemingly randomly eliminates any strategy you have in battle aside from "hope and get lucky." The battle system matters just as much for normal enemies as bosses imo

[@PataHikari]

Yes, yes I have. I've beaten KH2 FM on Level 1 Critical. Frankly the hardest part of that section is dealing with the Sorcerers, who are frankly terrible enemies in terms of design since their attacks are completely disconnected to actually hitting them. Everything else is dealt with easily with Magnega and Summons.

[@m1ssconductor686]

Bob beans They don't trigger randomly, it is obvious that they're influenced by what you do (such as only attacking with the keyblade will change into spellweaver) Although it does seem like it will be TOO easy to use it, like if you mix up thunder, fire, and blizzard spells you'll get the new tier for all of them (I mean at the expense of mp but still)

[@BigM5304]

Came from SuperButterBuns's twitter

[@johndeguzman8801]

Max Carere same

[@MyNameJefff]

God, I fuckin love that music choice.

[@Gkm-lm2zc]

What great content, it is fun to watch something that feels critical yet comical and interesting, very unfortunate that this is really old

[@willionaire9737]

great video, a shame you havent posted in a while

[@mmmnfriedpickles807]

I muttered "Thank you" to myself several times throughout the video,can't wait to see more.

[@marcossierra3498]

You know I never looked at situation commands in the first place, thank you for this video.

[@XxbiohazardxX223]

re:coded is the best game gameplay wise since KH2

[@oddkris9256]

You coming back bro?

[@matty9460]

A days game that basically just used kh2 textures and gameplay would've been so good

[@RiceMov]

"Like Bayonetta in Smash..." Fucking instasubbed, loved the video!

[@DrakeyC]

Unfortunately this video proved very prescient. - Situation commands do tend to trigger randomly, especially Attraction attacks, which totally break up the flow of battle by grinding combat to a halt so you can play a minigame to damage enemies - The "gauge" (arrows) is impossible to read. - Tying Drive Forms to Keyblades is extremely limiting and makes the Keyblade stats and abilities feel superfluous beyond Drives, which is not helped by how some Keyblades copy the movesets of others giving them even less identity. If anything, with how you can switch between Keyblades in battle, Keyblades almost feel like Deck Commands. - Shotlocks are here and they add utility with being able to dash through them, but you never really have to do that except when a platforming segment forces you to - The game is an absurdly easy button-masher with little incentive to experiment for its ease. I don't think I ever cast an Aero spell once. And it's a shame because they added a lot of new magic-augmenting support abilities to try and give you strategy options, but you don't much need them.

[@metumortis6323]

Personally, I love the new situation command system in kh:bbs 0.2fp (wow even the abbreviation is long!). I think its the perfect blend of the quick time events of kh2 and the novel idea of the command board system. Plus it also encourages diversity in combos that I missed in the numbered kh games. In fact I have pooled roughly 25 hours in this glorified demo because I love the combat which gives me even more hope and excitement for kh3.

[@Mcormic]

It's depressing, but it's true... Don't really have much to add other than that.

[@dmas7749]

I like the Situation Commands but they did feel too random... A better idea would have an actual bar, maybe even color-code it from the actions performed, with spells landing multiple hits or on multiple targets awarding less to make up for it (or weaker damage output, though less preferable). Then, ONLY the most performed action becomes a situation command that will either be on a timer (like 0.2), or limited in number (say, 3) with the oldest being replaced. In addition we should be able to select which one we want to use, like getting Firaja and then Thundaja, we could use Thundaja first even though Firaja came first. While they do seem a little overpowered, making the gauge take longer to fill will make them seem like more of an epic feat. Drive forms could be a reward for doing multiple SCs, to avoid just feeling like another one. -Though I would also like to see the Drive gauge just return...- Modern KH does tend to disconnect the strategy and technicality between the menus and gameplay like you said, so hopefully they will return to it being equal parts menu and equal parts actual game.

[@terrenceswiff]

Forgot why I'd subbed, it's been so long since the last vid. But yeah, you make great videos huh? Also, I like Xion :

[@pedrog06]

Dude where are you?? Your kingdom hearts videos are the best video analysis that I saw about kh's combat system, don't disappear man

[@nicknackproductions572]

Hey, since you briefly mentioned it in your video, what did you think of Automata? It's personally my favorite game of the year, and while it's not quite as good as Kingdom Hearts II I still enjoyed it immensely and found it to be a better KH game than any of the recent spin offs.

[@zoinksmoment]

“It just works” I think a certain Todd told me this once and it didn’t work at all

[@itsOGP]

First time seeing this video but you funny af wit this shit bruh you literally said everything i was thinking I’ve always hated the inconsistency in media movies, tv shows particularly video games. Like if something is working why not stick with it ya know? Anyway i got sum pretty good news via recent footage of KH3 a lot of problems have been fixed without a doubt! You can switch keyblades mid battle upon will so having one form during a fight is no longer an issue. Great vid dax I’m looking forward to ur future review on the game. 9 MORE DAYS!

[@DiscoDeoxys]

The music in the background was confusing me so much because i’m watching this video on my PS4 and i have the Persona 5 theme that plays this music on the home menu

[@rocketdog734]

i just want a parry that doesn't look glitched lmao

[@diegolomba2613]

I keep hearing about this "she-on" thing. Does anybody know what he's talking about? I don't remember anything like that.

[@motlopoway]

You like persona 5 music dontcha squidward

[@Hunter-vz6ur]

2 years late to the party but please don't call our sweet Xion a problem she is great

[@loganbigmo]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, you know. You can love Xion, as much as people can dislike her.

[@nicholasjane8054]

I played the demo in Disney Springs this month and as far as the command styles being tied to keyblades, you can actually change keyblades on the fly now. So you can go from hammer to second form to whatever you want essentially.

[@trevorrobinette472]

The osaka teams flashy elements aren't problems in themselves, it's that they haven't seemed to be able to take all of the systems they decide to put in the game, from command decks to basic combos to level design to enemy and boss ai and so on, and balance them to make a complete gameplay experience. Magic, limits, and summons were sorely underused by the majority of kh2's player base, so I get the impulse to make their equivalent to magic flashy and too powerful to not ignore, but they made it overspammable and ignored the very core of the kingdom hearts battle system: the basic combo. I have fun playing bbs and ddd, but the games are shallow compared to kh2 (once you finally grasp all of the unexplained mechanics).

[@RedfurredPikachu]

Says you I have no problem using regular keyblade attacks in their games, and I often beat enemies pretty quickly too.

[@lvl3-wizard81]

I agree with the notion that having a player feel more in control of which situation commands they produce is important. I had my share of moments where I went "What the heck?" In 0.2 because I thought I was setting up for one command and got another. While I understand why the timer is there, I also think that it could at least be longer so that you can feel like you can be more choosy about when you use them. 30 seconds is ok, but still kinda makes you feel like you have to use it practically right away. Over all I agree that with a little improvement situation commands could be amazing, but I do think it'll need that tlc before I let myself love it as much as I want to

[@dduuddeechil]

Rewatching this after finshing up KH3. Would love to hear your perspective on its combat system, and the way situation commands are developed since 0.2(:

[@GrayvyFellow]

I am curious about what you think of KH3. There was a video I saw in regards to *spoilers* that shows you can apparently have one form on standby when you activate it and go to another keyblade along with using regular thunder to stun the opponent for a brief moment to use focus to jump towards them. So forms seem to have a lot of utility. Though from what I gather things like the attractions are more flash over function so there seems to be an imbalance on that end.

[@heavyrain5949]

You weren't wrong lol

[@TheColynSlayer]

Love that Persona 5 OST when it’s present in videos like these

[@demi-fiendoftime3825]

I love the comand deck because it allowed me to use that awsome Move Riku used when posesed by Ansem in the first game aka Dark Aura which KH1 and 2 would never allow with their stricter slower more precise systems I'm glad about situational commands as they're the perfect compromise along with forms and Keyblade transformations becoming an equivalent to comand styles this game is going to be crazy

[@samuell24]

Situation commands I feel are different from birth by sleep in a major way. The command deck was an integral part of BBS and it was essentially required to play the game, situation commands while major give the player more choice over which ones they use and which ones may feel too “BBS” for them. The combos seem to be more akin to KH2 but this way if you need something extra powerful you can rely on situation commands that suite your play style.

[@samuell24]

Although I agree in 0.2 that the combo attack animations are not good, also there were no combo modifiers present which was a huge problem to me and hopefully that won’t be what KH3 is like.

[@tropichawk850]

How would you rank these KH titles in terms of gameplay: 1, Coded, CoM, and 0.2? Ex. 4) CoM 3) 1 2) 0.2 1) Coded