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Kingdom Hearts Community Thread: Now everybody can be a Keyblade Wielder!

And now I've finally started my KH1.5HD playthrough. It's only been like a year since I last played KH on PS2 but all the music still made me so giddy, I decided to pre-order 2.5HD right away

This is going to be great
I trust you too will be platinuming re:CoM! :)

don't
 

Falk

that puzzling face
I will. :V

We're in a little bit of a quiet period before some more recording sessions in September and then two concerts at opposite sides of the planet in October so I'm going to just clear out some RPG backlogs in the summer.

edit: derp, thought you quoted me.

edit2: Speaking of the concerts, we're doing a show in Boston with a Capcom/SQEX/Access Games setlist, coincidentally enough, on Oct 2nd, and then Taiwan on Oct 11th, this time with the attendance of Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masashi Hamauzu and more that I can't talk about right now. This is pretty much going to be the period of time where the hype levels for KHHD2.5 are through the roof. Really looking forward to it.
 

aravuus

Member
The music in 1.5 is so improved it's not even funny. TaQ and gaqdan did a stellar job.

Compare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTJzjsmJi7g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw4_E_OQPbE

I didn't even know they'd touched the music lol

Yeah, the original is great but I gotta say the extended version is absolutely amazing

I trust you too will be platinuming re:CoM! :)

don't

I never platinum my games, I don't really care about trophies or achievements that much

KH would be the one game that deserved it tho
 
I am a semi trophy whore. Sometimes I know I HAVE to platinum/100% a game I am passionate about no matter how crazy the requirements are (KH FM, FF X, RE4, PS All-Stars) KH2FM and BBS FM will be in this category. I WILL platinum them, there is no way around it. Even if it means speedrunning all the 3 characters 4 times to get difficulty trophies or having to do a 100% run on lvl 1 mode. Danganronpa is in this category for me tho it's a work in progress and I'm doing all the post game stuff slowly, not forcing myself too much.

Then there are the games I just like so much that I decide to platinum them mid game (Ni No Kuni, DmC, Gravity Rush, Tales From Space, Crack in Time, Plants VS Zombies, VLR, Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends, Ducktales, Velocity Ultra... These are the way trophies should work, you start to get deeper into a game you find you like without it being a burden and instead become somewhat rewarding. KH FM while I knew I had to plat the game obviously also falls to this category as well. I would have done everything the trophies recuire pretty much anyway for a 100% run. The speedruns were so fast that it didn't bother me at all really with cutscene skip now available. I actually really enjoyed the speedruns.

Then there are the games that bring shame to a trophy whore. There are 2 games I 100% ONLY because of the trophies even when both of the games fuckin sucked. Chronovolt and Altered Beast. I have no excuse for these. But also in this category are games that are just so fuckin fast to platinum you don't care too much if the game isn't too good. You just want the platinum. Zone of the Enders HD would be one of that kind. I think it took me like less than 6 hours to platinum that game. I didn't hate or love it but it was just so easy to get so fuck it.

But as I said in the end I'm only a semi trophy whore. I never really force myself to platinum games if I don't know what I'm in for. But sometimes it really pisses me off if there is a game I love and there is some real bullshit trophy in there. Like Persona 4 Golden. I'm one bronze trophy short for a platinum but I just can't do it cause that one trophy is such bullshit. It really pisses me off since it definately became one of those games I really wanna plat but I just can't force myself cause I have no idea how long it will take.

Regardless of me liking trophies and liking KH even I will raise my hands at the sight of Re:CoM trophylist. 1 proud playtrough is enough for me.

But more on topic: I really don't know what to expect from the 2.5 trophies. Yasue says they really put more thought into them compared to 1.5 but then again he gives examples like ''something something MICKEY!'' (translation: die at a boss) or ''something something ANTIFORM!'' (translation: random shit). I mean, these are not offensive trophies by any means but these are like the most unimaginative trophies you could come up with.
 
I expect to have to beat the game on Critical (yay!) and complete the Journal (ugh). Hopefully I don't have to ace every single Gummi Ship mission, and I don't expect to have to complete an Exp 0 Critical playthrough.

BBS's trophies ought to be even more straightforward, I think.
 

Caladrius

Member
I don't know how you people can actually finish the journal.

I lost my mind just trying to finish a few of the minigame objectives.
 
Sorry, "have to" was the wrong phrasing because I'm not a trophy whore. I looked at all of the assorted KH ones and was like "lol nope."

I only do things I find unfun/unsatisfying in order to Platinum a game if there's, like, just one trophy like that and the rest of them aren't a big deal. If there are a shitload of awful ones it's easy to write the whole thing off.
 

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
I've played nearly every single game in the series (including the Final Mixes) and cleared most of them on the highest difficulty, but so god help me you couldn't convince me to do the journal.

I look forward to when the Trophy list is posted.
Jiminy's Journal in II will only be a Silver. They'll be that cruel.
 

Caladrius

Member
I've never played a Kingdom Hearts game in Proud mode I am so weak

Proud isn't that much more difficult than standard.

In vanilla Kingdom Hearts 2 in particular it's only slightly harder than standard.

BBS/DDD aren't nearly as well-balanced for Critical as KH2FM is.

In the sense of difficulty curve or general difficulty? I didn't notice any glaring problems, but then again I'm not very detail oriented so this stuff tends to slip by me.

I look forward to when the Trophy list is posted.
Jiminy's Journal in II will only be a Silver. They'll be that cruel.

I still don't understand the thought process behind trophy tiers.
 
In the sense of difficulty curve or general difficulty? I didn't notice any glaring problems, but then again I'm not very detail oriented so this stuff tends to slip by me.

General difficulty, kinda. In the sense that KH2FM's Critical mode just makes enemies amazingly dangerous but doesn't raise their defense (and in fact adds to Sora's offensive capabilities), whereas BBS and DDD basically just do big thoughtless stat boosts to all enemies so they take a good deal longer to kill (which is kinda boring).
 
BBS Critical Mode makes some bosses ridicilous bullet sponges. For example if you don't significantly level up Aqua or cheese with shotlocks you will be fighting Vanitas in neverland for 7 hours. Proud>Critical in BBS since all Critical does to raise difficulty is halve your damage. Yippee.

Shotlock is like the only thing that makes Critical somewhat bearable thanks to how cheap it is.

Still haven't tried DDD in critical mode.
 

Caladrius

Member
General difficulty, kinda. In the sense that KH2FM's Critical mode just makes enemies amazingly dangerous but doesn't raise their defense (and in fact adds to Sora's offensive capabilities), whereas BBS and DDD basically just do big thoughtless stat boosts to all enemies so they take a good deal longer to kill (which is kinda boring).

BBS Critical Mode makes some bosses ridicilous bullet sponges. For example if you don't significantly level up Aqua or cheese with shotlocks you will be fighting Vanitas in neverland for 7 hours for example. Proud>Critical in BBS since all Critical does to raise difficulty is halve your damage. Yippee.

Shotlock is like the only thing that makes Critical somewhat bearable thanks to how cheap it is.

Still haven't tried DDD in critical mode.

I grind 5 levels per world religiously (well, that and abuse Mega Flare+Seeker mines), so that's probably why I didn't notice.
 
Here is an example (tho it is a little extreme due to lvl 1 runs but shows what I mean). Compare how the enemy HP bar reacts in BBS and KH2 Critical lvl 1 modes. It's the same thing in Critical normal runs but not quite as extreme.

BBS

KH2
 
Well i sure was like 4+ hours on the last set of bosses in Critical DDD. Specially for one attack that OHKO you instantly and it's really hard to predict.

One thing i will never understand is how people can do Lvl 1 Runs. I can't figure it out how stressing and psychologically exhausting it must be to play the games that way, and if it's fun at all, because it surely comes with LOTS of disadvantages and boss fights could last forever...
 
Well i sure was like 4+ hours on the last set of bosses in Critical DDD. Specially for one attack that OHKO you instantly and it's really hard to predict.

One thing i will never understand is how people can do Lvl 1 Runs. I can't figure it out how stressing and psychologically exhausting it must be to play the games that way, and if it's fun at all, because it surely comes with LOTS of disadvantages and boss fights could last forever...

It's honestly pretty dull in BBS/DDD (and, now that it's available, in KH1FM HD).

It's fun in KH2FM though. You get enough bonuses in that game through equipment and Bonus Levels that you're still capable of dealing decent damage to bosses, but they pose an extreme risk to you. It's thrilling, not exhausting.

LV1 Critical runs in KH2FM aren't really that different, difficulty-wise, from something like playing a Devil May Cry game on the second hardest difficulty (albeit far less polished and tight, combat-wise). Your deaths are your own fault and you can get damn good at the game.

KH2FM, between guard, juggle, reflect, magnet, and dodge roll, gives you plenty of tools with which to defend yourself with i-frames and/or incapacitating your enemies, and you've got plenty of tools with which to deal damage too. It's also fundamentally a less strictly stat-dependent game than BBS/DDD are (look at the way that level-ups function in those games).
 
I love KH2FM's approach to Critical Mode. Instead of halving your damage output and doubling the amount you take, it pretty much turns the game into glass cannon mode: Sora deals more damage than normal (There's a 1.25x damage multiplier added to Sora's attack stat)... but so do the enemies. So instead of Critical Mode encounters being battles of attrition, they're more about using all of the tools you have to get through enemy encounters as quickly and efficiently as possible while taking as little damage as possible.
 
It's honestly pretty dull in BBS/DDD (and, now that it's available, in KH1FM HD).

It's fun in KH2FM though. You get enough bonuses in that game through equipment and Bonus Levels that you're still capable of dealing decent damage to bosses, but they pose an extreme risk to you. It's thrilling, not exhausting.

LV1 Critical runs in KH2FM aren't really that different, difficulty-wise, from something like playing a Devil May Cry game on the second hardest difficulty (albeit far less polished and tight, combat-wise). Your deaths are your own fault and you can get damn good at the game.

KH2FM, between guard, juggle, reflect, magnet, and dodge roll, gives you plenty of tools with which to defend yourself with i-frames and/or incapacitating your enemies, and you've got plenty of tools with which to deal damage too. It's also fundamentally a less strictly stat-dependent game than BBS/DDD are (look at the way that level-ups function in those games).

I'll take your word and try one when i get KH 2.5. Reading your thoughts makes me believe that playing that way could push the player to use and employ other techniques and methods to overcome the bosses, something that can be avoided easily in some difficulties (i really don't remember even using reflega or parrying much in the game).
 

botty

Banned
December cometh....forever away.

image.php
 
I love KH2FM's approach to Critical Mode. Instead of halving your damage output and doubling the amount you take, it pretty much turns the game into glass cannon mode: Sora deals more damage than normal (There's a 1.25x damage multiplier added to Sora's attack stat)... but so do the enemies. So instead of Critical Mode encounters being battles of attrition, they're more about using all of the tools you have to get through enemy encounters as quickly and efficiently as possible while taking as little damage as possible.

Yup. And you get quite a few additional tools too. In a lot of ways it feels like the best, most intense version of the game rather than *just* an extremely challenging mode.
 

Caladrius

Member
It's kind of funny to think that vanilla Kingdom Hearts 2 is going to be relegated to "cellphone version of coded" tier on the need-to-play list of Kingdom Hearts games. While all the Final Mixes make their originals obsolete, I don't think the others were so completely outmoded.

I'm trying to think of a comparable case outside of Kingdom Hearts where the rerelease/remake spanked the original this much.
 

Son Of D

Member
I'm trying to think of a comparable case outside of Kingdom Hearts where the rerelease/remake spanked the original this much.

You could make a case for FFXII International. But that all depends on how you feel about the job system.

Anyway, you think it'll still be possible to do this in KH2.5? Just completely trivializes the battle.
 
You could make a case for FFXII International. But that all depends on how you feel about the job system.

Anyway, you think it'll still be possible to do this in KH2.5? Just completely trivializes the battle.

Unless they tweak basic rules of the battle system, yes. Many bosses have some way to cheese them by use of a specific ability. For example you can beat data Vexen by just spamming Firaga. Or Xemnas in KH1 with Graviga.
 
It's kind of funny to think that vanilla Kingdom Hearts 2 is going to be relegated to "cellphone version of coded" tier on the need-to-play list of Kingdom Hearts games. While all the Final Mixes make their originals obsolete, I don't think the others were so completely outmoded.

I'm trying to think of a comparable case outside of Kingdom Hearts where the rerelease/remake spanked the original this much.

DMC3SE, maybe?

FFX-2 International also added a TON of stuff, but it's less well-integrated into the game.
 

Caladrius

Member
I just realized that if Ventus and Roxas are going to coexist Ventus is probably going to be the one with a more dramatic redesign.

My curiosity is going to torment me until we get KH3.

You could make a case for FFXII International. But that all depends on how you feel about the job system.

Anyway, you think it'll still be possible to do this in KH2.5? Just completely trivializes the battle.

DMC3SE, maybe?

FFX-2 International also added a TON of stuff, but it's less well-integrated into the game.

Those sound like they measure up.
 
I'd actually argue that FFXII:IZJS doesn't quite measure up. It does a FANTASTIC job of fixing the issues with the original game, just like KH2FM, but it's not nearly as good in terms of added content specifically.
 
I'm gonna play Kingdom Hearts 2 in proud mode, I want to play KH 1 in Proud mode but I keep telling myself that I'm eventually going to buy HD 1.5 Remix.
 

Caladrius

Member
wait that means that back when I beat KH 1 I was playing easy mode....

Sort of. Final Mix's standard is somewhat harder than international standard.(Damage is cut and One more is received much later depending on your choices at the beginning of the game.), but International standard is far harder than Final Mix's Easy mode.

Final Mix's proud is moderately harder than standard, but since you've played the first game already and probably aren't too rusty you should do fine.
 

Soriku

Junior Member
BBS Critical Mode makes some bosses ridicilous bullet sponges. For example if you don't significantly level up Aqua or cheese with shotlocks you will be fighting Vanitas in neverland for 7 hours. Proud>Critical in BBS since all Critical does to raise difficulty is halve your damage. Yippee.

Shotlock is like the only thing that makes Critical somewhat bearable thanks to how cheap it is.

Still haven't tried DDD in critical mode.

I was planning on playing BBS on Critical. Nvm then.
 

Seda

Member
I know some people didn't care for it, but the Vanitas boss fight in Neverland in Aqua's story is one of my favorite in the series. Looking forward to replaying it.

Caladrius's comments about mines reminded me of it as it was fun to chump Vanitas into them.
 
wait that means that back when I beat KH 1 I was playing easy mode....

Sort of. Final Mix's standard is somewhat harder than international standard.(Damage is cut and One more is received much later depending on your choices at the beginning of the game.), but International standard is far harder than Final Mix's Easy mode.

Final Mix's proud is moderately harder than standard, but since you've played the first game already and probably aren't too rusty you should do fine.

Yeah, in order of difficulty:
FM Beginner > Normal > Final Mix > Expert > FM Proud
 
I know some people didn't care for it, but the Vanitas boss fight in Neverland in Aqua's story is one of my favorite in the series. Looking forward to replaying it.

Caladrius's comments about mines reminded me of it as it was fun to chump Vanitas into them.

I'm looking forward to most of Birth by Sleep's bosses, really. They're not as intricately designed as KH2's bosses, or even the best of KH1's, but they're all pretty great nonetheless. Should be a lot better without PSP slowdown, too.
 

Hachitora

Member
I just realized that if Ventus and Roxas are going to coexist Ventus is probably going to be the one with a more dramatic redesign.

My curiosity is going to torment me until we get KH3.
I highly doubt they're gonna bring back Roxas. Though a redesign for one of them does pique my interest.
 
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