Support NeoGAF

[Peff]

So after finishing Ven's story I'm more confused than ever about the overall story of KH. Like, Vanitas, what was up with that whole thing? A kinda mind-blowing but confusing moment.

Spoiler

When Ventus was attacked by the Heartless in the flashback, Xehanort took the darkness in Ventus' heart and it took the shape of Vanitas, but that left Ventus incomplete. After a while, Xehanort took Ventus to Destiny Islands so he could rest in peace at the same time Sora was being born. Their hearts connected, and since from then on Sora is replacing the darkness in Ventus, Vanitas resembles him.

.

 

[Pureauthor]

Spoiler

When Ventus was attacked by the Heartless in the flashback, Xehanort took the darkness in Ventus' heart and it took the shape of Vanitas, but that left Ventus incomplete. After a while, Xehanort took Ventus to Destiny Islands so he could rest in peace at the same time Sora was being born. Their hearts connected, and since from then on Sora is replacing the darkness in Ventus, Vanitas resembles him.

.

AKA the storywriters threw darts at a dartboard and said, "okay, I guess we can make this work if we squint and tilt our heads".

 

[WrenchNinja]

So after finishing Ven's story I'm more confused than ever about the overall story of KH. Like, Vanitas, what was up with that whole thing? A kinda mind-blowing but confusing moment.

Spoiler

Xehanort wanted the X-Blade, but to create it he needed two keyblade wielders, one with a heart of light and another with a heart of darkness to clash. So he ended up extracting the darkness in Ventus' heart to create Vanitas. Throughout the game Vanitas tests Ventus to see if Ventus has reached equal footing with him and only does by the end of the game.

Spoiler

The reason he looks like Sora is because after Xehanort extracted Ventus' darkness, it left Ventus comatose and weak. When Sora was just born he came to Ventus' heart to help heal him and fill up that broken part. Since Sora ended up replacing Vanitas in Ventus' heart, Vanitas ended up looking like an evil older Sora.

 

[Peff]

AKA the storywriters threw darts at a dartboard and said, "okay, I guess we can make this work if we squint and tilt our heads".

It could have been so, so much worse.

 

[yencid]

Spoiler

Xehanort wanted the X-Blade, but to create it he needed two keyblade wielders, one with a heart of light and another with a heart of darkness to clash. So he ended up extracting the darkness in Ventus' heart to create Vanitas. Throughout the game Vanitas tests Ventus to see if Ventus has reached equal footing with him and only does by the end of the game.

Spoiler

The reason he looks like Sora is because after Xehanort extracted Ventus' darkness, it left Ventus comatose and weak. When Sora was just born he came to Ventus' heart to help heal him and fill up that broken part. Since Sora ended up replacing Vanitas in Ventus' heart, Vanitas ended up looking like an evil older Sora.

Spoiler

Aaahhh so the begining of the game (the awakening) was sora.

 

[Seda]

I finally got around to beating MF. Basically 'surge' skills are his weakness.

 

[Aru]

Experience 221 is driving me crazy. I can't beat it thanks to that stupid camera.

 

[badcrumble]

I finally got around to beating MF. Basically 'surge' skills are his weakness.

Which character, and which set of skills, did you use?

 

[Niblet]

I don't understand how un-equipping skills will make the MF fight easier. Has this been confirmed?

 

[sciplore]

Just got it on Monday and been playing it nonstop since then. Working my way through Terra story at first right now should be finishing him up soon enough. Not going to lie I was getting pissed in the beginning when the game was loading up so much even though I did the big install but once I hit sleeping beauty world (which looks awesome) its been gravy. Started off in proud mode which was dumb of me because my action game skills are a little on the crappy side (I am a mash "x" whore) but I grind often enough so that has been saving me a bit. Or I am just forcing myself to get use to the fighting and the damn camera system.

Love the command board even if I hate Ventus secretly because the little jerk is always winning.

Also happy that I managed to get the pre-order bonus through amazon, but sadly they were not made in mine for my old clunky 1001 guess I am long overdue for an upgrade anyway.

 

[Seda]

Which character, and which set of skills, did you use?

I used Aqua, who had all passive abilities, around level 60, and the only skills I used were 2 Curaga commands and 4 Fire Surge Commands. I also had Renewal Barrier (plus the usual movement commands, Cartwheel, the double jump, etc...).

Basically after each of MF''s attacks, all of which you can dodge by nonstop cartwheeling, there's an opening to use Fire Surge.

His projectile whirlwind, projectile fire X thing, the blue whip attack, and the final swing of his combo (a frontal somersault swing), all leave an opening to use a surge attack.

Also, when MF splits into 4/5 figures, I quickly used Fire Surge to ram into the bunch and get rid of the clones before they can cause too much trouble.

I don't understand how un-equipping skills will make the MF fight easier. Has this been confirmed?

I had all passive skills equipped and my command list full. He was hard (took about 6 tries, learning his attacks and patterns) but not unbearable. I'm playing on Proud.

 

[7Th]

This game seriously has the worst cut-scenes out of any game I've played this year, and I played a lot of games with shitty cut-scenes this year.

 

[Kingsora]

This game seriously has the worst cut-scenes out of any game I've played this year, and I played a lot of games with shitty cut-scenes this year.

Say what?

 

[cosmicblizzard]

This game seriously has the worst cut-scenes out of any game I've played this year, and I played a lot of games with shitty cut-scenes this year.

In what sense? Writing? Direction? Animation?

 

[Mr_Brit]

How do you defeat

Spoiler

Vanitas in the fight where Mickey helps you

?

 

[badcrumble]

How do you defeat

Spoiler

Vanitas in the fight where Mickey helps you

?

Anytime the game gives you serious trouble, Shoot Lock is probably a good idea.

 

[Tucah]

Beat the game yesterday. The final boss was a little easy, but I had a ton of fun with the game overall. It's easily the best KH in terms of gameplay, the command board system is fantastic. Combat is everything I want from an action RPG - varied, fast and vastly entertaining. The storyline was terrible, but KH in general has a pretty horrendous plot, IMO. I don't have much hope for hope for the next DS game since 358/2(?) days was probably the worst game in the series, but I hope the 3DS game is just as good as BbS.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

How do you defeat

Spoiler

Vanitas in the fight where Mickey helps you

?

Spoiler

Don't be afraid to let Mickey take him on alone if your health is low.

Mickey does more damage than you at that point anyway.

 

[7Th]

In what sense? Writing? Direction? Animation?

Concept, writing and direction; the cut-scenes are, quite honestly, just an overall mess of uninspired mediocrity.

 

[badcrumble]

I think it's pretty likely that the Final Mix's Secret Chapter will be one where you play as

Spoiler

Mickey, probably starting out with Yen Sid before moving on to explore the other worlds. If they do a whole chapter with Mickey playable, I really hope they (a) explain how he ended up inside Kingdom Hearts at the end of KH1, (b) give him something surprising for a final boss, possibly hinting at future games, and (c) have him end up with his weird alternate version of the Kingdom Key as a final weapon. Maybe they could even have it continue far enough past the end of BBS that it'd tell some of the beginnings of Xehanort's takeover of Radiant Garden, deportation of Kairi, and fall into darkness, plus getting to play as Mickey would be pretty flipping cool.

Also, if they do that, it'd be a pretty big deal for the franchise in terms of what they're allowed to do by Disney, so I'd love to see it.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Concept, writing and direction; the cut-scenes are, quite honestly, just an overall mess of uninspired mediocrity.

Eh, I agree to some extent but KH has always been like that IMO. Only the important scenes were the ones I always paid attention to.

 

[Princess Skittles]

It's definitely got the best battle system in the KH series so far, but it's also the least friendly in the series to get 100% seeing that you have to so many runs of the Command Board and various Mirage Arena matches to get your little Mickey stamps in the journal.. and I guess there are some commands (shotlock only, I think) that are only on Command Boards not to mention melding takes SOME guess work (at least with getting all of the passive abilites). KH1 and KH2 were really much more chill on helping guide the player towards 100%. A minor complaint, admittedly.

 

[badcrumble]

It's definitely got the best battle system in the KH series so far, but it's also the least friendly in the series to get 100% seeing that you have to so many runs of the Command Board and various Mirage Arena matches to get your little Mickey stamps in the journal.. and I guess there are some commands (shotlock only, I think) that are only on Command Boards not to mention melding takes SOME guess work (at least with getting all of the passive abilites). KH1 and KH2 were really much more chill on helping guide the player towards 100%. A minor complaint, admittedly.

It depends on what you consider to be 100%. KH2 had an assortment of atrocious and rewardless minigames that you needed; also, KH1 and KH2 had a shitload of synthesis-grinding that was required for 100%, especially if you wanted enough AP to equip every skill. Birth By Sleep, on the other hand, is much simpler to complete in this fashion (partly because there basically are no stat-up items).

 

[Peff]

It's definitely got the best battle system in the KH series so far, but it's also the least friendly in the series to get 100% seeing that you have to so many runs of the Command Board and various Mirage Arena matches to get your little Mickey stamps in the journal.. and I guess there are some commands (shotlock only, I think) that are only on Command Boards not to mention melding takes SOME guess work (at least with getting all of the passive abilites). KH1 and KH2 were really much more chill on helping guide the player towards 100%. A minor complaint, admittedly.

Getting the stamps is definitely more complicated here, but KH2 did require setting records in all those mini-games and also needed full completion of the Gummi Ship stuff to get 100%, so it could have been worse

I think it's pretty likely that the Final Mix's Secret Chapter will be one where you play as

Spoiler

Mickey, probably starting out with Yen Sid before moving on to explore the other worlds. If they do a whole chapter with Mickey playable, I really hope they (a) explain how he ended up inside Kingdom Hearts at the end of KH1, (b) give him something surprising for a final boss, possibly hinting at future games, and (c) have him end up with his weird alternate version of the Kingdom Key as a final weapon. Maybe they could even have it continue far enough past the end of BBS that it'd tell some of the beginnings of Xehanort's takeover of Radiant Garden, deportation of Kairi, and fall into darkness, plus getting to play as Mickey would be pretty flipping cool.

Also, if they do that, it'd be a pretty big deal for the franchise in terms of what they're allowed to do by Disney, so I'd love to see it.

Hm, we'll see, but the timeline is pretty tight since

Spoiler

we know his every move during BbS and he'd barely have an hour or of gameplay. It's basically fighting Vanitas with Ventus, helping Aqua and Kairi, fighting Vanitas in Neverland, getting rescued by Aqua, and then the Keyblade Graveyard.

Also, the reason why he goes to the Realm of Darkness during KH1 is precisely because he wants to obtain the golden Kingdom Key thing. Nomura has stated that he wants to fill that gap in the story, and it could be pretty neat, but I think he needs a better fighting style.

 

[badcrumble]

Hm, we'll see, but the timeline is pretty tight since

Spoiler

we know his every move during BbS and he'd barely have an hour or of gameplay. It's basically fighting Vanitas with Ventus, helping Aqua and Kairi, fighting Vanitas in Neverland, getting rescued by Aqua, and then the Keyblade Graveyard.

Also, the reason why he goes to the Realm of Darkness during KH1 is precisely because he wants to obtain the golden Kingdom Key thing. Nomura has stated that he wants to fill that gap in the story, and it could be pretty neat, but I think he needs a better fighting style.

Eh, I dunno,

Spoiler

I think that just like the other characters you could insert all sorts of other stuff in the different worlds between the bits where he intersects with the main story.

 

[Peff]

Yeah, I suppose so. Not getting my hopes up though

 

[Urban Scholar]

Ahem

Spoiler

So what am I not doing right fighting Vanitas in the final half? I'm supposed to fill the command gauge. This is triggered by the clash but I'm not even sure how to do this?

 

[Jigsaw]

this mysterious figure guy is just cheap,i'm level 53 with aqua on proud and he 1 hits me,he even ignores blocking,mines,second chance and once more,it's just cheap...you spend 10 minutes cartwheeling across the room waiting for an opening to attack and he 1 hits you...is it worth leveling to 99?otherwise i'll just kick his ass with cheats

Ahem

Spoiler

So what am I not doing right fighting Vanitas in the final half? I'm supposed to fill the command gauge. This is triggered by the clash but I'm not even sure how to do this?

i just hammered the triangle button until the quick time event starts and then rotating the analog nub,i think 4 times was enough to fill the gauge

 

[Chesskid1]

i know chances are high than this has been asked already, but what should i know before i start? i've only played kingdom hearts and that was a long ass time ago, so i only remember glimpses of the game but i can't resist some PSP RPG sexiness. if someone could recommend some reading or video to watch to catch me up on what I need to know, i would really appreciate it. thanks.

 

[Pureauthor]

Gameplay wise, it's pretty different from other KHs, so you'll be fine anyway. There's a tutorial in the beginning.

If it's plot wise, just don't bother. Seriously, don't.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

It's definitely got the best battle system in the KH series so far, but it's also the least friendly in the series to get 100% seeing that you have to so many runs of the Command Board and various Mirage Arena matches to get your little Mickey stamps in the journal.. and I guess there are some commands (shotlock only, I think) that are only on Command Boards not to mention melding takes SOME guess work (at least with getting all of the passive abilites). KH1 and KH2 were really much more chill on helping guide the player towards 100%. A minor complaint, admittedly.

Yeah, I'm still working at trying to 100% Terra, and it definitely isn't for the faint of heart. The medals in the arena, in particular, are taking up a lot of time to get. At least the command board is fun and is pretty easy to win 100% of the time on.

 

[BiggNife]

Any tips for the first Coliseum tournament as Terra?

I've been having little to no trouble with the game so far but for some reason I'm finding this really frustrating. I can usually get to round 8 or 9, but then I fall victim to the time limit. Any ideas on how to kill enemies quickly outside of Shotlock?

 

[cosmicblizzard]

i know chances are high than this has been asked already, but what should i know before i start? i've only played kingdom hearts and that was a long ass time ago, so i only remember glimpses of the game but i can't resist some PSP RPG sexiness. if someone could recommend some reading or video to watch to catch me up on what I need to know, i would really appreciate it. thanks.

It's a prequel so you could get by with little knowledge of the other games.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Any tips for the first Coliseum tournament as Terra?

I've been having little to no trouble with the game so far but for some reason I'm finding this really frustrating. I can usually get to round 8 or 9, but then I fall victim to the time limit. Any ideas on how to kill enemies quickly outside of Shotlock?

Magnera/Magnega + Thundara/Thundaga. Just keep using those.

 

[Zierath]

Any tips for the first Coliseum tournament as Terra?

I've been having little to no trouble with the game so far but for some reason I'm finding this really frustrating. I can usually get to round 8 or 9, but then I fall victim to the time limit. Any ideas on how to kill enemies quickly outside of Shotlock?

Magnega and Zero Graviga will cut through any defenses pretty instantly, they're also great for the very last round.

 

[Nose Master]

I'm kind of regretting playing through with Terra first. It seems like everything is explained in his story, so the other two will just be wandering around going "BWUH" the entire time and it'll ruin their narrative. :[

EDIT: What does it mean when a skill has a little gray box by the icon?

 

[RadioHeadAche]

I find the Mirage Arena to be a much better place to level up commands because I can level up my character as well. So, exactly what is the point of the command board? It's still fun, but it seems like the MA is the better of the two options, and less time consuming.

EDIT: What does it mean when a skill has a little gray box by the icon?

Did you pause a command board game?

 

[Niblet]

I'm kind of regretting playing through with Terra first. It seems like everything is explained in his story, so the other two will just be wandering around going "BWUH" the entire time and it'll ruin their narrative. :[

This is interesting to hear. I'm very satisfied with having played Ventus->Aqua->Terra partly due to that same reason. It kept me interested in the story having me wonder what was going on with Terra. I was right along instep with Ventus and Aqua thinking "surely this cannot be true . . . can it? But why?"

What do all the rest of you that played Terra first think?

 

[Pureauthor]

What do all the rest of you that played Terra first think?

It allows you to get 'play as a complete moron' out of the way first.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

This is interesting to hear. I'm very satisfied with having played Ventus->Aqua->Terra partly due to that same reason. It kept me interested in the story having me wonder what was going on with Terra. I was right along instep with Ventus and Aqua thinking "surely this cannot be true . . . can it? But why?"

What do all the rest of you that played Terra first think?

I was mostly satisfied going Terra-Ventus-Aqua. I realized it still went out of order in a few worlds but that was probably inevitable considering the progression of the game. I was definitely satisfied with doing Aqua last considering

Spoiler

you play as her in the final episode.

 

[demonkaze]

I've just started my final playthrough as aqua now, after doing terra first. I loved terra's story whereas I hated ventus' story other than the final scenes really, I hate characters that are overly nice.

Saying that, I'm really looking forward to aqua's playthrough.

 

[Pureauthor]

It could have been so, so much worse.

This much worse?

 

[Princess Skittles]

Sooo.. did anybody actually apply the PSP decals? I'm starting to think they'd look pretty good on my Lavender PSP.

 

[badcrumble]

I'm trying to figure out a good final skill setup for each character. For Ventus I'm thinking Megaflare, Salvation, Faith, and Ars Arcanum, possibly switching Ars Arcanum out for Tornado. For Aqua, it's Magic Hour, Megaflare, Seek Mines, Thundaga Shot, and 2 Curagas. For Terra, it's Ars Solum, Megaflare, Chaos Blade, and 2 Curagas (though I'm thinking of replacing Chaos Blade with Sonic Blade since it's faster, only takes up one block, and frankly seems to do more damage per hit).

Can't remember the movement skills or Shoot Locks for everyone, but you get the gist of it (and those aren't quite as important anyway, though I wouldn't mind figuring out the best Shoot Lock for each character). Everyone's got their final finisher equipped because said finisher tends to do a good job of giving some invincibility and time to recharge skills (though generally speaking I tend to find myself using high-level command style finishers instead).

Any suggestions/improvements? Terra seems especially ineffective, though really you're supposed to use his physical attack more frequently than you do with the other characters and I realize that.

 

[Mejilan]

Sooo.. did anybody actually apply the PSP decals? I'm starting to think they'd look pretty good on my Lavender PSP.

Not a fucking chance! :lol

 

[badcrumble]

Not a fucking chance! :lol

Didja finish KH1 yet and do any of the late-game sidequests/superbosses?

 

[Mejilan]

Season/series premieres of The Event and two brands of NCIS and family obligations revolving around the holiday of Sukkot have effectively kept me away from my consoles. I'm still about to engage Hollow Bastion part two, but I really hope to wrap the game up by tonight, or tomorrow night at the latest! And I haven't even touched Move or the Robin Hood blu-ray that arrived earlier this week!

Making steady Days progress though. I think I'm approaching day #80.

 

[Adam Prime]

Okay this game improved TREMENDOUSLY after I changed the Controls to Setup B. Now it plays more like Phantasy Star Portable 2, where you just tap L to recenter the camera instead of both buttons. Ah, I'm so glad that I figured that out. I instantly improved in combat! :lol

... So has anyone tried Ad Hoc Party for all the Multiplayer stuff? The arena challenges look like they could be a lot easier.

 

[yencid]

Okay this game improved TREMENDOUSLY after I changed the Controls to Setup B. Now it plays more like Phantasy Star Portable 2, where you just tap L to recenter the camera instead of both buttons. Ah, I'm so glad that I figured that out. I instantly improved in combat! :lol

... So has anyone tried Ad Hoc Party for all the Multiplayer stuff? The arena challenges look like they could be a lot easier.

i tried it in the japanese version and they are indeed easier. Of course me and my friends where over level 35 when we went in.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Any tips for the first Coliseum tournament as Terra?

I've been having little to no trouble with the game so far but for some reason I'm finding this really frustrating. I can usually get to round 8 or 9, but then I fall victim to the time limit. Any ideas on how to kill enemies quickly outside of Shotlock?

I just cleared this part last night. I used two of the second tier anti-gravity skill for the large enemies and a number of elemental dashing attack skills to zip around and murder the smaller ones. It's pretty easy to clear all ten rounds in half the time.

It's the final encounter in the Coliseum tournament that gave me fits. Bring a healing spell or two with you.