(UPDATE: Removed again) Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
- Details
- Published on May 18, 2018 @ 11:56 pm
- Written by Joey
Update 3: The re-upload has been taken down!
Update 2: We've replaced the video with a re-upload!
Update: Unfortunately Gamespot have removed the video!
Gamespot have published a video showing off 23 minutes from the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III. In the video of the Toy Box world, you can hear the voice acting and sound effects during battle.
COMMENTS
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Buzz's impersonator sounds very close to Tim Allen, so I'm happy with that. Woody does sound a little off but I'm sure he will grow on me :)
So weird to see the Toy Story scenes completely in English!
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
i see there going to be a trust isure with sora with his world
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
With many stand ins and voices not reprising, you have to get used to the change and not flip out, or make a meme out of it, the change it a bit off but you'll get use to it.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
With many stand ins and voices not reprising, you have to get used to the change and not flip out, or make a meme out of it, the change it a bit off but you'll get use to it.
Oh, absolutely. It's just Jim has sounded better in some other games. I feel he's a little off this time.
But it's so cute that the mother and Molly were referenced! Sad that they were kidnapped (were all humans kidnapped)?
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Sora's voice sounds bloody amazing. The perfect balance between KH2 and DDD. Buzz is either Tim Allen or the world's greatest impersonator. As for Woody...it'll grow on me.
Also, "Sora, Donald, Goofy". It returns.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Young Xehanort looks weird and awful again. I think that's just the TV though.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I gotta watch this real quick! Sad that it's not direct capture but ah well.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
DRAG THEM TO FILTH, GOOFY
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Buzz being reminded how he saw things real like he was defender of the Galaxy was a nice nod, actually Buzz is interesting because he doesn't believe anything that's happening is reality. If this was TS1 Buzz and we followed that movie, it'll bee a different story.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm glad I watched this. This makes me feel a lot better about the game. I'm loving so much of what they are doing here: story, themes, cutscene direction, characterization, level design, atmosphere, etc. This makes me a lot more confident in KH3. I'm satisfied. I think the only other KH3 thing I'll see is the release date trailer and then I'm going to go on a lockdown avoiding all news until release.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
So we’re in the replica world. It seems that’s the twist. The whole time Woody and Buzz have thought everyone else was lost, but it was actually them stuck in the copy of the world. So the Zurg-esque Heartless battle probably does take place here after all.
The only concern I have is if we’ll never actually enter the “real†Toy Story universe, meaning we wouldn’t meet Jessie and the others. But it could be the case so that they could say the events take place within the film canon but don’t actually impact it. But that would just feel a bit cheap to me.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm glad they confirmed YX is a toy. Which makes it hilarious to think he kidnapped Andy and his family while he was that small, lol.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
DRAG THEM TO FILTH, GOOFY
one weird small think i liked about this bit was how Sora interrupts a bit with "It's true" when he says Donald grumbles a lot. It's not in the captions, but i liked it because it made it feel a bit more realistic to have them kind of talking over each other a bit. i wonder if they'll be doing stuff like that more often this time around.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Okay, SO that monster at the end was SO cool! I can't wait to see how that thing plays when I have the game in my hands! Oh, and everything else was great too. They weren't kidding when they said that this one would be more interactive, oh my God. The voice acting and writing is spot on!
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
this looks so damn beautiful
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
The more I watch the more in love I am with all of it. Words can express how much I've missed the SDG trio and their interactions. Reminds me of KH2.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
From the way Woody and Buzz were talking, specifically about Buzz's Laser now functioning, it gave me the impression that Woody, Buzz and the rest are actually in the "fabricated" new world, with everyone else back in the real world. This could possibly explain the disappearance of humans.
Edit: Just caught that someone on the previous page caught attention of this too!
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Where does Yozora come from? I'm lost.
Wow, you can hardly read that text. I hope they put a thicker boarder around the text. Also, is Barbie the inspiration to that doll play house? (the background poster) or another brand? Possibly Polly Pocket?
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Where does Yozora come from? I'm lost.
Rex is playing a random video game with a character called Yozora who looks like Sora. Yozora means 'night sky', in contrast to Sora which means 'sky' (and Noctis Caelum also apparently means 'night sky')
| Wow, you can hardly read that text. I hope they put a thicker boarder around the text. Also, is Barbie the inspiration to that doll play house? or another brand? Possibly Polly Pocket? |
Remember that it is off screen with show room lights bouncing off the screen. It will be properly readable on your television.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm glad they confirmed YX is a toy. Which makes it hilarious to think he kidnapped Andy and his family while he was that small, lol.
I'm still baffled by that. It just comes off as more silly than threatening.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm still baffled by that. It just comes off as more silly than threatening.
I imagine he shapeshifted back into normal form, kidnapped them, then changed back. Unless that's a replica of him, Idk I skimmed through it.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I think Yozora is what Sora would be if he was actually a Final Fantasy character.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Rex is playing a random video game with a character called Yozora who looks like Sora. Yozora means 'night sky', in contrast to Sora which means 'sky' (and Noctis Caelum also apparently means 'night sky')
Ah, I missed this. Is this in the video in the OP?
| Remember that it is off screen with show room lights bouncing off the screen. It will be properly readable on your television. |
Point taken. - Buzz
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
The cutscenes are so good! The character interactions and dialogue are super great, but I also thought that was the same for 0.2 and Back Cover so I hoped it would translate.
I think Woody and Buzz sound good tbh, but I am used to those actors. I have played a few games with them now.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Ah, I missed this. Is this in the video in the OP?
Rex nearly knocks everyone over because he's so excited to have a Yozora toy in Andy's room lol
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm actually impressed by Hayley's new voice work so far. He doesn't sound as forced as in 0.2 & DDD.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm actually impressed by Hayley's new voice work so far. He doesn't sound as forced as in 0.2 & DDD.
His first line worried the FUCK out of me, but everything after that was surprisingly good. I'm happy that he's not doing the whole "WOWIE ZOWIE" routine every five seconds now.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Yikes, video was removed just before I was going to see it, that's a shame...
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Rex nearly knocks everyone over because he's so excited to have a Yozora toy in Andy's room lol
I know, I saw that. I wanted to see the game and what Yozora looked like :P
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
one weird small think i liked about this bit was how Sora interrupts a bit with "It's true" when he says Donald grumbles a lot. It's not in the captions, but i liked it because it made it feel a bit more realistic to have them kind of talking over each other a bit. i wonder if they'll be doing stuff like that more often this time around.
Solidly sure that this was a mistake. He says it again two seconds later.
That said, wow. On a presentation level, this game has never been in better shape.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Wow, I JUST managed to watch the video before it was removed. GOD I am so in love with it. I can't even describe it, every little movement of Sora was so precious, their banter. It felt like coming home, no matter how cheesy it sounds
I'm actually impressed by Hayley's new voice work so far. He doesn't sound as forced as in 0.2 & DDD.
ALL THE YES!! He sounds amazing and if he keeps that up, I'll be so happy. He sounded so natural and it really made Sora shine even more than his animation did alone.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Any chance the video can be officially uploaded again? Kind of sucks not everyone had a chance to watch it.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Any chance the video can be officially uploaded again? Kind of sucks not everyone had a chance to watch it.
Cutscenes from Toy Story were not suppose to be uploaded in the first place. The fact that Gamespot did it, and with clear audio as well, was a miracle.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
*Video Removed*
Welp, time to go into sadness until the next event, glad I saw it
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Finished it.
I'm not impressed with the dubbing. The best one in there is Rex. Donald, Goofy and Hamm are fine. Sora, while better than KH3D, is still pretty awkward and forced. Woody and Buzz definitely aren't comfortable doing dubbing. Every delivery sounded pretty awkward.
However, the best part is probably the writing and cutscene direction. The characters act so much like themselves and interact well with the others. The cutscenes themselves have so much life to them.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I am beyond frustrated right now. My husband insisted we go to the store for some stupid drinks that could have waited, and I come back to find the video has been pulled. I hope someone out there had the good sense to download the thing off of YouTube in case of this, but yeah. I get that it was basically a miracle for it to happen in the first place.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Guys, I'm certain that video isn't gone forever. Someone must have nabbed it.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Any chance the video can be officially uploaded again? Kind of sucks not everyone had a chance to watch it.
I’m guessing they weren’t supposed to show the cutscenes after all and someone didn’t get the memo. I’m guessing SE didn’t want the cutscenes shown widespread since they’re still fine tuning things. But maybe now they’ll consider publishing a few clips of them or something since it’s out there.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Re-upload. Watch it quickly:
[video=youtube;qr1wkKabdj8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr1wkKabdj8[/video]
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Solidly sure that this was a mistake.
I wondered that, but Sora's mouth moves when he says it as well?
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Re-upload. Watch it quickly:
[video=youtube;qr1wkKabdj8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr1wkKabdj8[/video]
Beat me to it. Enjoy! Download it!
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I got to watch the video before it was taken down thankfully. I gotta say, the voice work is pretty fantastic so far! Woody sounds a little off, but I think everyone gave some great performances in those cutscenes. I also love their characterization and interactions, and I think it's some of the best in the entire series. Disney being more involved, along with the better hardware, seems to be paying off!
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Can we all apreciate the Shrouding Dark Cloud remix music? OMG i got goosebumps hearing it.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
One thing to note:
Each Link and Attraction Flow has it's own battle music
Tea Cups and Ship: Hand In Hand
Ariel: Atlantica battle theme
Wreak it Ralph: unknown track
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Okay, I'm howling at all of the meta-humor that Nomura's thrown into this level. Whoever thought up the idea that the toys are confusing Sora, Donald and Goofy as toy versions of heroes from a Final Fantasy game (that Rex has been obsessing over as of late no less) deserves a raise.
The subtle name nod to Noctis with Yozora? Magia and Aegis (aka Magic and Shield)? Level 47? Stuck on a Bahamut boss fight? I love it.
So yeah, I'm elated that this world feels more like a throwback to the way KH1 handled its Disney levels with it playing a relevant role in the ongoing main plot. It sounds like Olympus Coliseum will do the same, since it's supposedly the starting level of the game and 0.2 left us with Sora heading there to regain his lost powers after DDD, so I'm hoping this will reflect on the other levels in the game too. One of the biggest weak spots of KH2 for me was how the vast majority of worlds in that game were essentially filler for the main plot. Fun filler and still a great game, but it was filler nonetheless.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
The subtle name nod to Noctis with Yozora? Magia and Aegis (aka Magic and Shield)? Level 47? Stuck on a Bahamut boss fight? I love it.
Oh, it goes deeper. In Toy Story 2, Rex is stuck on the boss Zerg and is inspired for that scene.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
well, just finished watch it and i got to say, best thing I've seen!
It feel like i was watch an actual Toy Story movie and the transitions between cutscene to gameplay was flawless. plus we still have the take into account that the events in KH3 are indeed canon to the Toy Story timeline. this makes me want the game even more now. not to mention Rex geeking out over Sora was priceless.
in short, this was amazing!
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Oh, it goes deeper. In Toy Story 2, Rex is stuck on the boss Zerg and was inspired for that scene.
Oh I'm well aware. That's why I love that they threw in the callbacks to Rex being a diehard gamer. I'm just geeking out over the Final Fantasy references in particular.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Didn't watch it all as to avoid spoils but the voice dub is great! Haley has definitely improved as Sora again since DDD. Just a few blurbs here and there. Mike Macrae's Buzz got better as it went on and same with Jim with Woody. Though Jim is easily the weakest of the bunch.
I'm mostly glad we could see Young Xehanort is toy sized as well as I always thought. It made no sense to me all those who thought he was human sized stepping on Sora all these months.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I wondered that, but Sora's mouth moves when he says it as well?
Yeah, I don't think it was a mistake but a bit. They were two different takes, and the mouth was fully animated
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Please!!! Help me to see this footage!? I missed it and now that I found out it existed I MUST SEE IT! I have to see it, it's killing me! I am going to die if I don't see this RIGHT AWAY! PLEEEEASE.....
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
One thing to note:
Each Link and Attraction Flow has it's own battle music
Tea Cups and Ship: Hand In Hand
Ariel: Atlantica battle theme
Wreak it Ralph: unknown track
I didn't catch the attraction flow, but I did hear the links.
Kinda thinking the Ralph one is the battle theme for the world in UX? They need to make new music for it either way
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Didn't watch it all as to avoid spoils but the voice dub is great! Haley has definitely improved as Sora again since DDD. Just a few blurbs here and there.
At this point, I think there's several factors at play that determine how good a job Haley does per game when turning in a performance as Sora.
- Is he voicing KH1 Sora or Older Sora?
- How is Sora being characterized by the script of the game?
- What kind of direction is Haley getting from the dub crew when he's in the booth?
If Haley doesn't have to go higher pitched as Sora and can use the deeper part of his vocal range that's clearly more comfortable for him these days, that helps a lot in turning in a more natural performance. Likewise, if Sora is written well in the script, that helps too.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
At this point, I think there's several factors at play that determine how good a job Haley does per game when turning in a performance as Sora.
- Is he voicing KH1 Sora or Older Sora?
- How is Sora being characterized by the script of the game?
- What kind of direction is Haley getting from the dub crew when he's in the booth?
If Haley doesn't have to go higher pitched as Sora and can use the deeper part of his vocal range that's clearly more comfortable for him these days, that helps a lot in turning in a more natural performance. Likewise, if Sora is written well in the script, that helps too.
Amen to that. I always felt like KH2 Sora's parts in 3D felt a bit more natural than KH1 Sora's parts. That and a LOT of the characters suddenly sounded off to me in 3D, most notably Xigbar and Sora. I can also already say that I enjoyed Young Xehanort more in this short scene than in the entirety of 3D, so it seems like the direction there was not the best. I'm really glad it's improved so much again.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Gamespot reposted the footage, but with all the spoilery stuff cut out.
[video=youtube;4nDTPu2-X2k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nDTPu2-X2k[/video]
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Amen to that. I always felt like KH2 Sora's parts in 3D felt a bit more natural than KH1 Sora's parts. That and a LOT of the characters suddenly sounded off to me in 3D, most notably Xigbar and Sora. I can also already say that I enjoyed Young Xehanort more in this short scene than in the entirety of 3D, so it seems like the direction there was not the best. I'm really glad it's improved so much again.
Yep. Honestly, I still think Haley's best performance in the series was in Birth by Sleep. He crushed it as Vanitas and the Secret Ending bit with KH2 Sora handled quite well too. So far, he sounds pretty great in KH3 too!
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I love how fluid everything is. There seems to be a lot more creativity going into the camera angles, scoring, physicality, and staging in the cutscenes. Now that this has been posted, I’d love to see them release the demo maybe after E3 with the fixes in place they said they’re already working on. At this point, the content is out there anyways. They shouldn’t release it right away as that would set a bad precedent, but releasing it in a month or so would show us what improvements they’ve made since this.
I’m just blown away by how massive this is. So much more than I expected. Has there been anything about the three aliens? It sounds like they were kidnapped too, but we only know about the Rex and Hamm rescues it seems.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
So I watched the video and at the 5:26 mark Rex brought up Slinky, even if it's just a small mention, I'm so happy Slink's in the world, since I was worried that he would've been written out due to copyright issue but glad he's still in the game.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Wow. Cutscenes are great,at least 3 bosses in the world and a lot of easter eggs.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm in love with Buzz characterisation in this game. It's a smart throwback to when Woody was jealous of Buzz in Toy Story. Except this time, it's distrust more than anything else.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Hmm I think this little detail went unnoticed but the final scene with the monster boss did anyone else notice Final Fantasy summon Alexander attached to it's back? Awesome! :biggrin:
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
So I watched the video and at the 5:26 mark Rex brought up Slinky, even if it's just a small mention, I'm so happy Slink's in the world, since I was worried that he would've been written out due to copyright issue but glad he's still in the game.
Slinky and Molly were mentioned so that really gives me hope. Side characters aren't being completely ignored or conveniently forgotten and I love that :D
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Slinky and Molly were mentioned so that really gives me hope. Side characters aren't being completely ignored or conveniently forgotten and I love that :D
It's moments like that where I'm really hoping if it came from the Pixar writers they influenced the rest of the writing staff on the game to give the other worlds the same treatment.
Re: Update: Video Removed - Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Was that R. Lee Ermey as Sarge? If so then I hope Square does a special tribute to him like they did with Wayne Allwine.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm starting to think the heartless spaceship really is the endboss. It's a more grandiose battle seemingly set in a dream-like area while the others are mundane toys fought in a store. So much for Zurg.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Hearing Haley Joel Osment here is so reassuring. I was very worried about his voicing of Sora after the 0.2 ending, but I think this is the best Sora has sounded since KH2. I’m sure the better less forced writing than usual helps. It’s crazy there’s still just so much we don’t know about this game. Sure we’ve seen a lot of Olympus and Toy Story now, but that’s really it. We’ve only seen one small area of Tangled over the last four years and a little bit of Monsters Inc. just a couple months ago. We still hardly know anything about the story, and we’ve hardly seen any of the characters too. There’s so much this game has to get done story wise that even though Olympus and toy story are such large scale worlds, they really must be just a tiny fraction of this game.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Speaking specifically to these cutscenes, I'm not thrilled. The first impression is good: the way in which the TS gang is introduced feels natural and functions as a fine hook; there's a sense of the comradery which has been built between the toys which would certainly resonate with fans of the films while still being accessible to others. I really enjoy SDG's entrance into the world, as well: their (or Sora's) bewildered recognition of the change of state mirrors the audience's, evoking a new sense of scope and, with it, a kind of wonder. Charging straight into battle is classic KH, and the players are all on the board and ready to go: it's cogent.
The post-battle cut scene effectively disarms this narrative momentum. The warm welcome initiated by the first few scenes falls by the wayside as the audience is systematically frozen out of this new dynamic, which lacks any sort of tonal direction and, worse, drops the ball on an emotional throughline. This is DDD writing all over again; stilted, over-long, tenuous. Rex is yelling (WHY IS REX YELLING), Buzz is ambivalent, Woody is clueless (then suddenly he isn't); this is all happening while SDG sit there along with the audience waiting for the plot to kick in again, barely reacting. There's a spark of surprise at the mention of the Organization (albeit probably unwarranted at this point), and then the whole scene just dries up as the characters slot into their prefabricated roles and it just plods on with the camera lingering around the edges awaiting an expressive moment, like I swear it felt like the longest cut scene in KH history and I'd bet it isn't as long as half of them.
The scene with YX is more egregious as it strains for a new achievement in anachronism, YX being decidedly the wrong Big Bad for this level and another showcasing of zero tonal cognizance. The whole plot might as well dissolve into slapstick as our "chilling" antagonist drones cryptically at a group of action figures and then vanishes just like always (and never a moment too soon), leaving Sora (of all characters) to piece together his intentions. The problem is we don't need a riddle, we need an objective which we're still lacking, and the way Buzz gets looped into this as some sort of sour grapes fall guy instead of the cosmic narcissist he's supposed to be is too tepid to entertain and ends up distracting, like gunk in the wheels of the narrative. Woody is also awkwardly unpersonable, and he neither coheres nor conflicts sufficiently with Sora as a protagonist-- he's just sort of a Disney character who-is-there, much like the plot is just a Disney plot which-is-there with some programmed interruptions.
Basically I don't see how any of this is essential. It's all going to be justified retroactively through YX's involvement I know, but there's no sense of how it pushes any of the main characters forward, and that's what should be made apparent in the opening segments. It's nice that Sora wants to help Woody and his friends, but his drive to do so isn't put into focus and substantiated by the storyline in which we find him, so all the TS characters just sort of orbit him and act slow on the uptake to give him the illusion of agency only for YX to show up just to pass along the narrative baton and then dip. The dialogue is clunky throughout, too. I don't think I understood a single word YX said and I'm well acclimated to KH jargon by now.
I did like most of the vocal performances, which ranged from suitable to exemplary: it's clear HJO really knows Sora inside and out by now and he carries the character with such ease and affability that his charm feels almost infectious even in the dullest moments. Hearing Donald and Goofy get to play their respective buddy roles is sweet, and the TS stand-ins weren't distracting to me in the least, although Buzz's VA performs him as flat as a pancake. Ben Diskin as YX continues to put me to sleep, hearing him waste his range on this gray crayon of a bad guy is unfortunate. They really could have used any other non-Xehanort Org member here, Xigbar would have been a good fit. He's hokey and malicious enough to translate into the world's aesthetic.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Speaking of Ben Diskin, apparently he was one of those attending the event as well.
Anyone of our staff got to meet him in person there?
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I don't think the Heartless ship is the final boss. I'd expect an Org XIII boss.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
If Sora Donald, and Goofy are Yozora, Magia, and Aegis (Never thought I see that name outisde Persona 3), what would Riku or Kairi be?
Don't know but it basically means " night sky " ( reference to Prince Noctis ? And Sora means " Sky") " protection/ shield " ( Goofy wields a shield ) and Magia was a person planned to poison people, but then later redeemed, though it's most likely how Magia is close to "Magic " and Donald is a magical wizard.
So Sky, Protection and Magic.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Speaking specifically to these cutscenes, I'm not thrilled. The first impression is good: the way in which the TS gang is introduced feels natural and functions as a fine hook; there's a sense of the comradery which has been built between the toys which would certainly resonate with fans of the films while still being accessible to others. I really enjoy SDG's entrance into the world, as well: their (or Sora's) bewildered recognition of the change of state mirrors the audience's, evoking a new sense of scope and, with it, a kind of wonder. Charging straight into battle is classic KH, and the players are all on the board and ready to go: it's cogent.
The post-battle cut scene effectively disarms this narrative momentum. The warm welcome initiated by the first few scenes falls by the wayside as the audience is systematically frozen out of this new dynamic, which lacks any sort of tonal direction and, worse, drops the ball on an emotional throughline. This is DDD writing all over again; stilted, over-long, tenuous. Rex is yelling (WHY IS REX YELLING), Buzz is ambivalent, Woody is clueless (then suddenly he isn't); this is all happening while SDG sit there along with the audience waiting for the plot to kick in again, barely reacting. There's a spark of surprise at the mention of the Organization (albeit probably unwarranted at this point), and then the whole scene just dries up as the characters slot into their prefabricated roles and it just plods on with the camera lingering around the edges awaiting an expressive moment, like I swear it felt like the longest cut scene in KH history and I'd bet it isn't as long as half of them.
The scene with YX is more egregious as it strains for a new achievement in anachronism, YX being decidedly the wrong Big Bad for this level and another showcasing of zero tonal cognizance. The whole plot might as well dissolve into slapstick as our "chilling" antagonist drones cryptically at a group of action figures and then vanishes just like always (and never a moment too soon), leaving Sora (of all characters) to piece together his intentions. The problem is we don't need a riddle, we need an objective which we're still lacking, and the way Buzz gets looped into this as some sort of sour grapes fall guy instead of the cosmic narcissist he's supposed to be is too tepid to entertain and ends up distracting, like gunk in the wheels of the narrative. Woody is also awkwardly unpersonable, and he neither coheres nor conflicts sufficiently with Sora as a protagonist-- he's just sort of a Disney character who-is-there, much like the plot is just a Disney plot which-is-there with some programmed interruptions.
Basically I don't see how any of this is essential. It's all going to be justified retroactively through YX's involvement I know, but there's no sense of how it pushes any of the main characters forward, and that's what should be made apparent in the opening segments. It's nice that Sora wants to help Woody and his friends, but his drive to do so isn't put into focus and substantiated by the storyline in which we find him, so all the TS characters just sort of orbit him and act slow on the uptake to give him the illusion of agency only for YX to show up just to pass along the narrative baton and then dip. The dialogue is clunky throughout, too. I don't think I understood a single word YX said and I'm well acclimated to KH jargon by now.
I did like most of the vocal performances, which ranged from suitable to exemplary: it's clear HJO really knows Sora inside and out by now and he carries the character with such ease and affability that his charm feels almost infectious even in the dullest moments. Hearing Donald and Goofy get to play their respective buddy roles is sweet, and the TS stand-ins weren't distracting to me in the least, although Buzz's VA performs him as flat as a pancake. Ben Diskin as YX continues to put me to sleep, hearing him waste his range on this gray crayon of a bad guy is unfortunate. They really could have used any other non-Xehanort Org member here, Xigbar would have been a good fit. He's hokey and malicious enough to translate into the world's aesthetic.
The general theory for why Nomura chose YX and the darkness for Toy Box is because he ties in with the theme of childhood and youth associated with toys. He is the youngest Xehanort after all.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
"Oh my God, look at us!"
"You know what the magic is for, we gotta protect the world order!"
*mere moments later*
"Huh? What do you mean we're toys? Oh, and those clearly irregular guys are the Heartless and the Organization. They split the world in two. Oh, but we can't tell you anything more, eh! It would upset the balance, unlike all those things we already told you!"
God, I basically hate transformations at this point.
------
Yeah, I'm actually not crazy at what I'm seeing either. alexis fully pointed out just how much these cutscenes have DDD's poor writing's shadow all over them: the slapstick comedy bit where every toy "interacts" with SDG went on for way too long and had no real purpose. Buzz's doubting of Sora could've been something I liked if it had him going away for a bit doing his own attempt at rescuing the toys, but like this it seemed yet more time-wasting dialogue. What's the point if he's still coming? Just to have a moment at the end of the world's story where he apologizes to Sora and talks about friendship and bonds? Saw that already, and it would be better with actual weight to it.
Young Xehanort, you keep being the absolutely forgetful and devoid of personality shell you've always been.
Now that I'm seeing full combat segments... I don't know... I still need to try it obviously, but it feels like I'm watching 0.2 gameplay, and I did not want to see that. Also I think I will play the game with only the X button, I've seen enough links and summons for a couple of playthroughs. I'm obviously not saying people playing the KH III demo shouldn't use the new features, that's a given, but seeing how Sora gets kicked around the second he's not doing them I'm wondering if you're required to have an animation every two swings.
So yeah. The "Disney Shenanigans" seems to keep reigning supreme, and I'm not feeling well, anything from what I'm seeing.
Everything could change, maybe they intentionally didn't put any cutscene with heavy character/story moment, maybe the gameplay is better than I'm seeing.
But just in case, I will prepare myself for KH III having some of the recent issues the series introduced that I dislike.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Woof. Couldn't even get Jim Hanks, huh?
The voice direction and script are real bad, but everything looks gorgeous.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm starting to think the heartless spaceship really is the endboss. It's a more grandiose battle seemingly set in a dream-like area while the others are mundane toys fought in a store. So much for Zurg.
Eh, still seems anti-climactic imo. But who knows....the toy fights seem way more interesting to me tbh lol. Tho with them, I sorta am doubting Zurg now too. I'm just glad its not all Heartless and Org members.... the fact Pixar is helping to make these new characters I think sorta makes me happy still.
[FONT=Verdana]
"Oh my God, look at us!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]"You know what the magic is for, we gotta protect the world order!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]*mere moments later*[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]"Huh? What do you mean we're toys? Oh, and those clearly irregular guys are the Heartless and the Organization. They split the world in two. Oh, but we can't tell you anything more, eh! It would upset the balance, unlike all those things we already told you!"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]God, I basically hate transformations at this point.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]------[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Yeah, I'm actually not crazy at what I'm seeing either. alexis fully pointed out just how much these cutscenes have DDD's poor writing's shadow all over them: the slapstick comedy bit where every toy "interacts" with SDG went on for way too long and had no real purpose. Buzz's doubting of Sora could've been something I liked if it had him going away for a bit doing his own attempt at rescuing the toys, but like this it seemed yet more time-wasting dialogue. What's the point if he's still coming? Just to have a moment at the end of the world's story where he apologizes to Sora and talks about friendship and bonds? Saw that already, and it would be better with actual weight to it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Young Xehanort, you keep being the absolutely forgetful and devoid of personality shell you've always been.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Now that I'm seeing full combat segments... I don't know... I still need to try it obviously, but it feels like I'm watching 0.2 gameplay, and I did not want to see that. Also I think I will play the game with only the X button, I've seen enough links and summons for a couple of playthroughs. I'm obviously not saying people playing the KH III demo shouldn't use the new features, that's a given, but seeing how Sora gets kicked around the second he's not doing them I'm wondering if you're required to have an animation every two swings.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]So yeah. The "Disney Shenanigans" seems to keep reigning supreme, and I'm not feeling well, anything from what I'm seeing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Everything could change, maybe they intentionally didn't put any cutscene with heavy character/story moment, maybe the gameplay is better than I'm seeing.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]But just in case, I will prepare myself for KH III having some of the recent issues the series introduced that I dislike.
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Eh, the first thing I think you are looking too seriously at. Them realizing they changed form for like 7th time in their adventures isn't the same as them really realizing they are legit moving toys. They didn't really get a chance to take it in either to figure it out since they fight almost instantly.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Everything else,well idk, it clearly doesn't matter that I would rather see their interpretation of Disney shenanigans than Xehanort babbling about hearts and darkness anyday lol. There doesn't need to be a big purpose to the scene other than that tbh. Its a crossover game after all. Seeing all these characters interact is half the fun for some of us otherwise its just a bunch of serious stuff happening all the time. Which, I still think their could be in this world? I mean, I clearly don't know, but since this was said to only be 30% of it, there is plenty of room for some serious talk.
[/FONT]The Buzz subplot will almost certainly end that way tho, yes lol. I mean, that last scene already looked like he was at least warming up to them.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
[FONT=Verdana]Eh, the first thing I think you are looking too seriously at. Them realizing they changed form for like 7th time in their adventures isn't the same as them really realizing they are legit moving toys. They didn't really get a chance to take it in either to figure it out since they fight almost instantly.[/FONT]
Nah it's cool, that's just my personal gripe. It's not a deal breaker on the game or anything, it's just... I'm not a fan of how they handled this concept and I struggle to find any more usage for it than selling more action figures.
(is what I would say, but do they even make that many figurines of Sora's different forms?)
Either way, I'm just not into the transformation. Especially how big they are in this game, the Monsters ones are actually a bit distracting.
[FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Everything else,well idk, it clearly doesn't matter that I would rather see their interpretation of Disney shenanigans than Xehanort babbling about hearts and darkness anyday lol. There doesn't need to be a big purpose to the scene other than that tbh. Its a crossover game after all. Seeing all these characters interact is half the fun for some of us otherwise its just a bunch of serious stuff happening all the time. Which, I still think their could be in this world? I mean, I clearly don't know, but since this was said to only be 30% of it, there is plenty of room for some serious talk.[/FONT]
You're perfectly right, it's a crossover. So I hope we'll get more than just the Disney side and some rushed serious plot stuff near the end.
It's not that I don't think serious themes won't be there, I just hope they'll be better than DDD or even KH II, where recereating fun moments from the Disney movies was the prime concern and villains' characterization and goals were left in the dark and/or for fans to speculate and fanfic about.
Just... please give me a Young Xehanort that emotes and doesn't just appear to deliver cryptic warning number #27 and leave.
[/FONT]Also you make a good point, what about Zurg? Man I know some people who will be pissed if he isn't in the game.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
The general theory for why Nomura chose YX and the darkness for Toy Box is because he ties in with the theme of childhood and youth associated with toys. He is the youngest Xehanort after all.
That's a plausible motif and I'd be willing to run with it if Nomura had taken any time to craft YX as a featured villain rather than run-of-the-mill filler fodder. As it stands, his blank slate shortcut of a personality makes it difficult for this theory to connect, and if this is what Nomura was going for he would have been better off using Gula or developing an original evil kid stand-in for KH3.
God, I basically hate transformations at this point.
------
Yeah, I'm actually not crazy at what I'm seeing either. alexis fully pointed out just how much these cutscenes have DDD's poor writing's shadow all over them: the slapstick comedy bit where every toy "interacts" with SDG went on for way too long and had no real purpose. Buzz's doubting of Sora could've been something I liked if it had him going away for a bit doing his own attempt at rescuing the toys, but like this it seemed yet more time-wasting dialogue. What's the point if he's still coming? Just to have a moment at the end of the world's story where he apologizes to Sora and talks about friendship and bonds? Saw that already, and it would be better with actual weight to it.
Haha. I've come to enjoy the way the toy designs look (especially Donald and Goofy) but yeah the way these characters progress through these scenes is so random and improbable. Buzz is particularly confounding, his characterization doesn't provide an avenue for believable conflict or reconciliation so we're left just trying to make some basic sense of his dilemma. Maybe he will go off on his own at some point so Jessie can join the team?
Now that I'm seeing full combat segments... I don't know... I still need to try it obviously, but it feels like I'm watching 0.2 gameplay, and I did not want to see that. Also I think I will play the game with only the X button, I've seen enough links and summons for a couple of playthroughs. I'm obviously not saying people playing the KH III demo shouldn't use the new features, that's a given, but seeing how Sora gets kicked around the second he's not doing them I'm wondering if you're required to have an animation every two swings.
I gotta agree on the combat: now that it isn't being subjected to quick cuts of different bits of spectacle, it seems like it confirms most of my worries about it. To be frank, it barely looks upgraded from DDD except to add more fireworks and I don't see the value to the variety: for one, all of the Keyblade transformations appear to do fundamentally similar things and even have suspiciously similar move sets (add range and AoE damage and cool splash effects to normal combos), and it just looks very busy without any real payoff. I'm not sure I like Sora's normal attack style either, it seems very loose and weightless, like he's liable to not land where you want him to land. Ariel looks like a cool summon, though I can't imagine why one would choose to use her over the arsenal of faster methods at the player's disposal to take out enemies. Both Ralph and Meow Wow are easy passes for me, as unless they have a specific function that hasn't been outlined both of them just seem to extend the combat needlessly.
Keyblade Transformations really are a bummer, I'm hoping the Drive Form mechanic is more inspired.
Also I just have to say I'm not a fan of the shimmery scalable wall design, it's so distracting and sinks the immersive quality of these beautifully rendered environments. I seriously hope it can be turned off; I'd rather take my chances looking like a digital dummy trying to run up bad walls then look around and see that graphical glitch at all times.
Everything could change, maybe they intentionally didn't put any cutscene with heavy character/story moment, maybe the gameplay is better than I'm seeing.
They're definitely holding back for Orchestra/E3, which I remain optimistic and enthusiastic for. Toy Story was always my least favorite world reveal tbh; I think it's a good movie but a bad choice for a video game level, and everything they appear to have done with it has just been about trying to spin it furiously into something it isn't in order to make it fit.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Nah it's cool, that's just my personal gripe. It's not a deal breaker on the game or anything, it's just... I'm not a fan of how they handled this concept and I struggle to find any more usage for it than selling more action figures.
(is what I would say, but do they even make that many figurines of Sora's different forms?)
Either way, I'm just not into the transformation. Especially how big they are in this game, the Monsters ones are actually a bit distracting.
[FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]
You're perfectly right, it's a crossover. So I hope we'll get more than just the Disney side and some rushed serious plot stuff near the end.
It's not that I don't think serious themes won't be there, I just hope they'll be better than DDD or even KH II, where recereating fun moments from the Disney movies was the prime concern and villains' characterization and goals were left in the dark and/or for fans to speculate and fanfic about.
Just... please give me a Young Xehanort that emotes and doesn't just appear to deliver cryptic warning number #27 and leave.
[/FONT]Also you make a good point, what about Zurg? Man I know some people who will be pissed if he isn't in the game.
They actually are making figures of all 3 of them in their Toy Story forms I believe lol. So that is a thing, but actually until this point only the Halloween Town forms were made into figures by Square themselves. Funko just did Tron forms, and Diamond Select are making figures of the Timeless River forms now though lol. But it took a decade to get figures of either of those so I would say that isnt the first priority lol.
And ah, so I do get that gripe 100%. I hated how KH2 didn't do anything with the villains, and the Disney slapstick in that game in particular was written really bad imo. I think its honestly been better since then in that regard for me at least? Nothing makes me cringe like some of the stuff in that one.
I don't want plot rushed either, for sure. But I sometimes worry about the opposite as well I guess? If they don't take to show character moments then they are just static beings moving along in a twisting plot. Which I sorta think the series already has an issue with imo. Like I do enjoy quite a few of the KH characters but I still think a lot of them are 2-dimensional. They just don't take time to develop them or give them what they need as characters cuz they need to move on to the next big twist or whatever it feels like. So I appreciate the levity of Disney fun. But I get why others wouldn't see it that way ha.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I hated how KH2 didn't do anything with the villains, and the Disney slapstick in that game in particular was written really bad imo. I think its honestly been better since then in that regard for me at least? Nothing makes me cringe like some of the stuff in that one.
I don't want plot rushed either, for sure. But I sometimes worry about the opposite as well I guess? If they don't take to show character moments then they are just static beings moving along in a twisting plot. Which I sorta think the series already has an issue with imo. Like I do enjoy quite a few of the KH characters but I still think a lot of them are 2-dimensional. They just don't take time to develop them or give them what they need as characters cuz they need to move on to the next big twist or whatever it feels like. So I appreciate the levity of Disney fun. But I get why others wouldn't see it that way ha.
Only the villains?
KH II delegated every original character not named Sora to be more than 90% of the time behind the scenes and most of the Disney scenes where irrelevant to the actual plot.
Not taking the time to really develop the characters and make people care more for them is no surprise when the characters are barely shown and/or involved at all with a myriad of plot devices put in place to keep them out of focus for most of the time.
And IF they are shown it is mostly only to deliver some cheesy one liners, show how they suffer or are otherwise incapacitated (for the "good guys") or how they blabber some cryptic sounding nonsense (for the villains) the audience will only fully understand when reading the in-game reports and the corresponding Ultimania.
An engaging, rich plot does not automatically rule out interesting characterisation and character interactions, on the contrary, a good plot should incorporate that instead of relying only on a barrage of "shocking" twists.
I deliberately not watched the parts including any story related cutscenes from III yet but when I read some of the analysis pieces given here I am certainly sceptical when it comes to the characters.
The formula introduced in DDD was better than the mess KH II did with leaving almost all stuff not concerning SDG behind the scenes, but that still doesn't mean the way DDD handled it was sufficient to really call it high quality story telling.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
What I do like about KH3's writing so far coming from a (writer's perspective) is that Sora is not suddenly turned into a all-serious protagonist due to the criticism from previous games. So far I can tell that this Sora is much more specific with his wording but he's also still very adaptable with his peers and as always cheerful. This I noticed very clearly in the probably (early 2nd act) of Galaxy Toys where Sora wasn't being "Uh who are you?" instead he was very proactive and simply aware of YMX. In 0.2 Sora seemed so out of character that I first feared his writing was going downhill, but this is a good step in the right direction.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
KH's writing was never the game's strongest element so I wasn't too bothered by it (though after so many years you'd think they would tighten it more) However, I thought the dialogue was pretty good in the later half of the video. I'm liking where they're going with Buzz's character, it's always good when they get the Disney characters more involved in the plot instead of just sticking them in coz it's Disney. The meta humor with SDG being video game characters was clever and the voice acting sounds fine to me, maybe it's just the quality of the video that's making the voices sound a bit odd.
The music is great as always, I like the callback to the old tracks, but I especially can't wait to hear more of the new music (wonder when we'll hear the new Dearly Beloved).
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Nah it's cool, that's just my personal gripe. It's not a deal breaker on the game or anything, it's just... I'm not a fan of how they handled this concept and I struggle to find any more usage for it than selling more action figures.
(is what I would say, but do they even make that many figurines of Sora's different forms?)
Either way, I'm just not into the transformation. Especially how big they are in this game, the Monsters ones are actually a bit distracting.
[FONT=Verdana]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana]
You're perfectly right, it's a crossover. So I hope we'll get more than just the Disney side and some rushed serious plot stuff near the end.
It's not that I don't think serious themes won't be there, I just hope they'll be better than DDD or even KH II, where recereating fun moments from the Disney movies was the prime concern and villains' characterization and goals were left in the dark and/or for fans to speculate and fanfic about.
Just... please give me a Young Xehanort that emotes and doesn't just appear to deliver cryptic warning number #27 and leave.
[/FONT]Also you make a good point, what about Zurg? Man I know some people who will be pissed if he isn't in the game.
In my opinion you are too nagging, considering that KH3 is clearly trying to follow KH1 more where there was more Disney. I'm afraid that on the contrary KH3 will be too childish as in its time was KH1.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Haha. I've come to enjoy the way the toy designs look (especially Donald and Goofy) but yeah the way these characters progress through these scenes is so random and improbable. Buzz is particularly confounding, his characterization doesn't provide an avenue for believable conflict or reconciliation so we're left just trying to make some basic sense of his dilemma. Maybe he will go off on his own at some point so Jessie can join the team?
Maybe.
It's not impossible, losing party members is actually kind of a staple if we think of Auron and Peter Pan; I'll actually take a step back and withold judgement on that.
It would also kinda make sense with the Toy Story movies, I do recall Buzz being a last minute show in a couple of those as well.
Credits when they're due, the toys transformations are probably the best looking ones.
I gotta agree on the combat: now that it isn't being subjected to quick cuts of different bits of spectacle, it seems like it confirms most of my worries about it. To be frank, it barely looks upgraded from DDD except to add more fireworks and I don't see the value to the variety: for one, all of the Keyblade transformations appear to do fundamentally similar things and even have suspiciously similar move sets (add range and AoE damage and cool splash effects to normal combos), and it just looks very busy without any real payoff. I'm not sure I like Sora's normal attack style either, it seems very loose and weightless, like he's liable to not land where you want him to land. Ariel looks like a cool summon, though I can't imagine why one would choose to use her over the arsenal of faster methods at the player's disposal to take out enemies. Both Ralph and Meow Wow are easy passes for me, as unless they have a specific function that hasn't been outlined both of them just seem to extend the combat needlessly.
Keyblade Transformations really are a bummer, I'm hoping the Drive Form mechanic is more inspired.
Also I just have to say I'm not a fan of the shimmery scalable wall design, it's so distracting and sinks the immersive quality of these beautifully rendered environments. I seriously hope it can be turned off; I'd rather take my chances looking like a digital dummy trying to run up bad walls then look around and see that graphical glitch at all times.
They're definitely holding back for Orchestra/E3, which I remain optimistic and enthusiastic for. Toy Story was always my least favorite world reveal tbh; I think it's a good movie but a bad choice for a video game level, and everything they appear to have done with it has just been about trying to spin it furiously into something it isn't in order to make it fit.
The good old concern surrounding this game: how much flash, and how much substance? I am waiting on a couple of people who played the demo's opinion as well. I just want at the very least some satisfying simple ground combos.
And, while I certainly am not trying to throw accusations, perhaps this is some Cuphead scenario where... not the most proficient players were called, which could justify at least the enemies' successful hits on Sora.
Can't wait for the Orchestra. Even if nothing new comes up, I'm down for some mindless KH fun.
And ah, so I do get that gripe 100%. I hated how KH2 didn't do anything with the villains, and the Disney slapstick in that game in particular was written really bad imo. I think its honestly been better since then in that regard for me at least? Nothing makes me cringe like some of the stuff in that one.
I don't want plot rushed either, for sure. But I sometimes worry about the opposite as well I guess? If they don't take to show character moments then they are just static beings moving along in a twisting plot. Which I sorta think the series already has an issue with imo. Like I do enjoy quite a few of the KH characters but I still think a lot of them are 2-dimensional. They just don't take time to develop them or give them what they need as characters cuz they need to move on to the next big twist or whatever it feels like. So I appreciate the levity of Disney fun. But I get why others wouldn't see it that way ha.
I mean, given the glaring flaws with characters and writing you and Sephiroth pointed out, it's at least understandable why you'd be okay with more Disney fun, that's done properly, so expectations are often repayed.
...huh. That's probably what many who just loves these trailers feel that I don't get.
That's useful insight.
In my opinion you are too nagging, considering that KH3 is clearly trying to follow KH1 more where there was more Disney. I'm afraid that on the contrary KH3 will be too childish as in its time was KH1.
I think KH1 was the least childish and possibly the least Disney-centric of all the KH games. Almost no time was dedicated to Disney characters doing Disney stuff, the closest the game got to kids' comedy was Donald and Terk's semi-love story, Sora and Goofy laying on top of Donald in Hook's ship, and some accidental fall here and there.
Everything else? Dark atmoshpere, dark tones, even dark colors more often than not, Heartless and planetary destruction everywhere.
Hollow Bastion and End of the World alone were probably darker than any other KH title.
Also, I'm not quite sure I see KH III following KH1 that closely at all.
Which I'm not surprised at all btw, I've long since accepted it's not going to be like KH1: different people are on the writing staff, and this game is much more connected to newer titles.
Like I always say, it's kind of ironic but opposite of what casual fans are doing you could just NOT play KH1 and KH II at all, and that would do close to no damage to your understanding of the story if you played BbS and DDD. KH III is their creature.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
That's a plausible motif and I'd be willing to run with it if Nomura had taken any time to craft YX as a featured villain rather than run-of-the-mill filler fodder. As it stands, his blank slate shortcut of a personality makes it difficult for this theory to connect, and if this is what Nomura was going for he would have been better off using Gula or developing an original evil kid stand-in for KH3.
Haha. I've come to enjoy the way the toy designs look (especially Donald and Goofy) but yeah the way these characters progress through these scenes is so random and improbable. Buzz is particularly confounding, his characterization doesn't provide an avenue for believable conflict or reconciliation so we're left just trying to make some basic sense of his dilemma. Maybe he will go off on his own at some point so Jessie can join the team?
I gotta agree on the combat: now that it isn't being subjected to quick cuts of different bits of spectacle, it seems like it confirms most of my worries about it. To be frank, it barely looks upgraded from DDD except to add more fireworks and I don't see the value to the variety: for one, all of the Keyblade transformations appear to do fundamentally similar things and even have suspiciously similar move sets (add range and AoE damage and cool splash effects to normal combos), and it just looks very busy without any real payoff. I'm not sure I like Sora's normal attack style either, it seems very loose and weightless, like he's liable to not land where you want him to land. Ariel looks like a cool summon, though I can't imagine why one would choose to use her over the arsenal of faster methods at the player's disposal to take out enemies. Both Ralph and Meow Wow are easy passes for me, as unless they have a specific function that hasn't been outlined both of them just seem to extend the combat needlessly.
Keyblade Transformations really are a bummer, I'm hoping the Drive Form mechanic is more inspired.
Also I just have to say I'm not a fan of the shimmery scalable wall design, it's so distracting and sinks the immersive quality of these beautifully rendered environments. I seriously hope it can be turned off; I'd rather take my chances looking like a digital dummy trying to run up bad walls then look around and see that graphical glitch at all times.
They're definitely holding back for Orchestra/E3, which I remain optimistic and enthusiastic for. Toy Story was always my least favorite world reveal tbh; I think it's a good movie but a bad choice for a video game level, and everything they appear to have done with it has just been about trying to spin it furiously into something it isn't in order to make it fit.
I do not think that Foreteller's insertion for this part is the best idea. And there is a possibility that Gula someone's reincarnation. And what's wrong with YX? As for me, he is clearly better than Xemnas.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Maybe.
It's not impossible, losing party members is actually kind of a staple if we think of Auron and Peter Pan; I'll actually take a step back and withold judgement on that.
It would also kinda make sense with the Toy Story movies, I do recall Buzz being a last minute show in a couple of those as well.
Credits when they're due, the toys transformations are probably the best looking ones.
The good old concern surrounding this game: how much flash, and how much substance? I am waiting on a couple of people who played the demo's opinion as well. I just want at the very least some satisfying simple ground combos.
And, while I certainly am not trying to throw accusations, perhaps this is some Cuphead scenario where... not the most proficient players were called, which could justify at least the enemies' successful hits on Sora.
Can't wait for the Orchestra. Even if nothing new comes up, I'm down for some mindless KH fun.
I mean, given the glaring flaws with characters and writing you and Sephiroth pointed out, it's at least understandable why you'd be okay with more Disney fun, that's done properly, so expectations are often repayed.
...huh. That's probably what many who just loves these trailers feel that I don't get.
That's useful insight.
I think KH1 was the least childish and possibly the least Disney-centric of all the KH games. Almost no time was dedicated to Disney characters doing Disney stuff, the closest the game got to kids' comedy was Donald and Terk's semi-love story, Sora and Goofy laying on top of Donald in Hook's ship, and some accidental fall here and there.
Everything else? Dark atmoshpere, dark tones, even dark colors more often than not, Heartless and planetary destruction everywhere.
Hollow Bastion and End of the World alone were probably darker than any other KH title.
Also, I'm not quite sure I see KH III following KH1 that closely at all.
Which I'm not surprised at all btw, I've long since accepted it's not going to be like KH1: different people are on the writing staff, and this game is much more connected to newer titles.
Like I always say, it's kind of ironic but opposite of what casual fans are doing you could just NOT play KH1 and KH II at all, and that would do close to no damage to your understanding of the story if you played BbS and DDD. KH III is their creature.
Although I saw KH2 for the first time, I had a more detailed acquaintance since KH1, but I do not know what it's all about but KH1 did not touch my soul as it was with KH2 and BBS. From the very beginning, I was sure that Sora would become a human again and save him. Could this be due to your nastolgia? I do not know when you first met KH1, but I heard that usually things that you see in your youth are perceived better than the things you see afterwards. I met KH1 at an adult age and after seeing a lot of gloomy works, so I turned first to characters, and KH1 has a problem with interesting characters (Maybe with the exception of Riku). As for KH3, it seems to me that there is noticeably more more humor, although probably this is a small piece and it is not worth judging it.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Only the villains?
KH II delegated every original character not named Sora to be more than 90% of the time behind the scenes and most of the Disney scenes where irrelevant to the actual plot.
Yes and No with the Disney portions in Kingdom Hearts II, for instance, Tron was an important part connected to the Kingdom Hearts II plot as not only was the world a part of the Hollow Bastion OS, it originally belonged to Ansem the Wise before he was banished by Terra-Xehanort.
In addition, there were other important parts such as Sora wishing to use this computer's files to find any information on the Organization, Kairi and Riku, or the King, to the MCP manufacturing digital heartless to roam the streets of Hollow Bastion and hacking into the Town's maintenance during the third and final visit to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden & when Tron shows what the town used to be like before it was destroyed, leading everybody to remember the true name of the town: Radiant Garden.
Was that R. Lee Ermey as Sarge? If so then I hope Square does a special tribute to him like they did with Wayne Allwine.
It would be a nice tribute to the late R. Lee Ermey although I don't know if Square will do a special tribute for Ermey given the majority of the Disney/Pixar characters aside from Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Maleficent and Pete play a small role in their respective worlds. The same could be said when Kingdom Hearts II came out and they didn't do a dedication to Pat Morita (the voice of The Emperor of China from Mulan) after he passed away.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Only the villains?
KH II delegated every original character not named Sora to be more than 90% of the time behind the scenes and most of the Disney scenes where irrelevant to the actual plot.
Not taking the time to really develop the characters and make people care more for them is no surprise when the characters are barely shown and/or involved at all with a myriad of plot devices put in place to keep them out of focus for most of the time.
And IF they are shown it is mostly only to deliver some cheesy one liners, show how they suffer or are otherwise incapacitated (for the "good guys") or how they blabber some cryptic sounding nonsense (for the villains) the audience will only fully understand when reading the in-game reports and the corresponding Ultimania.
An engaging, rich plot does not automatically rule out interesting characterisation and character interactions, on the contrary, a good plot should incorporate that instead of relying only on a barrage of "shocking" twists.
I deliberately not watched the parts including any story related cutscenes from III yet but when I read some of the analysis pieces given here I am certainly sceptical when it comes to the characters.
The formula introduced in DDD was better than the mess KH II did with leaving almost all stuff not concerning SDG behind the scenes, but that still doesn't mean the way DDD handled it was sufficient to really call it high quality story telling.
Well no, I think I only mentioned the villains cuz he did lol. You are correct, everyone got the shaft in KH2. Not even Sora got development imo. Or at least not really good development? He was off in that game but meh.
And yeah I definitely agree with you on what is a good plot, I think Kingdom Hearts is an anomaly to me where I really enjoy it but usually I prefer plots that have time for good development and character moments way more than this series does ha. Barrages of shocking twists usually gets an eye roll from me now lol.
See, so maybe I am not noticing it but the writing still seems better than DDD to me....but I felt Back Cover and 0.2 had some good dialogue writing at least. Scenario stuff was also good in both till their ends, and I mean the explanation for whats going on in the Toy Story world is a little cray, but it isn't that bad. And otherwise these scenes really are a lot of character moments that really seem to fit them to me? Like I, personally, do sorta see where they are going with Buzz, for instance. But maybe I am just not seeing it. I still haven't replayed DDD in the 2.8 collection so my memory may just be failing me lol.
Tho I thought DDD's writing was decent until the end bits....and Hunchback I guess wasn't what I was hoping either.
Maybe.
It's not impossible, losing party members is actually kind of a staple if we think of Auron and Peter Pan; I'll actually take a step back and withold judgement on that.
It would also kinda make sense with the Toy Story movies, I do recall Buzz being a last minute show in a couple of those as well.
Credits when they're due, the toys transformations are probably the best looking ones.
The good old concern surrounding this game: how much flash, and how much substance? I am waiting on a couple of people who played the demo's opinion as well. I just want at the very least some satisfying simple ground combos.
And, while I certainly am not trying to throw accusations, perhaps this is some Cuphead scenario where... not the most proficient players were called, which could justify at least the enemies' successful hits on Sora.
Can't wait for the Orchestra. Even if nothing new comes up, I'm down for some mindless KH fun.
I mean, given the glaring flaws with characters and writing you and Sephiroth pointed out, it's at least understandable why you'd be okay with more Disney fun, that's done properly, so expectations are often repayed.
...huh. That's probably what many who just loves these trailers feel that I don't get.
That's useful insight.
I think KH1 was the least childish and possibly the least Disney-centric of all the KH games. Almost no time was dedicated to Disney characters doing Disney stuff, the closest the game got to kids' comedy was Donald and Terk's semi-love story, Sora and Goofy laying on top of Donald in Hook's ship, and some accidental fall here and there.
Everything else? Dark atmoshpere, dark tones, even dark colors more often than not, Heartless and planetary destruction everywhere.
Hollow Bastion and End of the World alone were probably darker than any other KH title.
Also, I'm not quite sure I see KH III following KH1 that closely at all.
Which I'm not surprised at all btw, I've long since accepted it's not going to be like KH1: different people are on the writing staff, and this game is much more connected to newer titles.
Like I always say, it's kind of ironic but opposite of what casual fans are doing you could just NOT play KH1 and KH II at all, and that would do close to no damage to your understanding of the story if you played BbS and DDD. KH III is their creature.
I would be fine with Buzz leaving I guess, but I sorta think they addressed that enough for me? They made it obvious by his actions and the way he speaks to Woody that he is tagging along for his sake at the moment. So ditching him would kinda take something more to push him imo. Its not that he dislikes SDG, he just thinks they are delusional lol.
Yeah lol, I think that may be the point I have reached. I mean real talk, I have criticism of all the games and I want them to do better. But seeing all this Disney content get treated so well is something I have been dying for so I am maybe just so hyped on that I am not seeing the other stuff some are saying idk. I do think the series has done Disney justice on its own, but the difference is clear with Disney staff itself helping with these worlds.
But yeah I guess if you aren't feeling that at all, it makes sense why we have had different reactions lol. I sorta think at this point if the main plot isn't vomitted in a long cutscene at the very end and like the villains are given some moments and motives, and characters get the time to shine here and there, I will be pleased. Like I want to see Kairi and Riku and Mickey stuff now and again at least, also I want Donald and Goofy to have some mini-arc at least instead of just chilling out again. Even if its just something relationship wise with another character.
But I guess I am not holding my breath on very specific wants like that ha. But who knows, maybe they will exceed my expectation?
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Yes and No with the Disney portions in Kingdom Hearts II, for instance, Tron was an important part connected to the Kingdom Hearts II plot as not only was the world a part of the Hollow Bastion OS, it originally belonged to Ansem the Wise before his banished by Terra-Xehanort.
In addition, there were other important parts such as Sora wishing to use this computer's files to find any information on the Organization, Kairi and Riku, or the King, to the MCP manufacturing digital heartless to roam the streets of Hollow Bastion and hacking into the Town's maintenance during the third and final visit to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden & when Tron shows what the town used to be like before it was destroyed, leading everybody to remember the true name of the town: Radiant Garden.
Well, that's the reason I wrote "most" Disney scenes in my previous posts and not "all" Disney scenes.
Space Paranoids and partially Beast's Castle were the only Disney worlds to be truly integrated with the main plot in KH II beyond mere superficialities.
Well no, I think I only mentioned the villains cuz he did lol. You are correct, everyone got the shaft in KH2. Not even Sora got development imo. Or at least not really good development? He was off in that game but meh.
And yeah I definitely agree with you on what is a good plot, I think Kingdom Hearts is an anomaly to me where I really enjoy it but usually I prefer plots that have time for good development and character moments way more than this series does ha. Barrages of shocking twists usually gets an eye roll from me now lol.
See, so maybe I am not noticing it but the writing still seems better than DDD to me....but I felt Back Cover and 0.2 had some good dialogue writing at least. Scenario stuff was also good in both till their ends, and I mean the explanation for whats going on in the Toy Story world is a little cray, but it isn't that bad. And otherwise these scenes really are a lot of character moments that really seem to fit them to me? Like I, personally, do sorta see where they are going with Buzz, for instance. But maybe I am just not seeing it. I still haven't replayed DDD in the 2.8 collection so my memory may just be failing me lol.
Tho I thought DDD's writing was decent until the end bits....and Hunchback I guess wasn't what I was hoping either.
I'm not even speaking of character development specifically, just about characterisation and character interactions. Sora got plenty of the latter two in KH II, for him the deeper problem there doesn't exist.
I've started reading the KH II novels now and the insights and additional information you gain in these about original characters not named Sora is a gold medal compared to how crappy KH II the game treats them.
Don't get me wrong I deeply like and appreciate most of the original cast of the series and I'm also enjoying the main story which should obvious by me often participating in lore stuff, but that doesn't mean I consider the way the series writing handles both the characters and the plot is of particular high quality.
In 8 out of 10 cases I can think up a better scenario, interactions and relationships between characters for a given premise in less than 15 minutes.
Heck, there are tons of both theories and FanFics out there which do the actual story better than the games do, especially when one takes the actual canon and instead of changing it just expands it and fleshes it out more.
There are definitely improvements in KH III, but when one looks at the setup it runs the danger of repeating several of the errors made in DDD like i.e. a villain just popping up at some fixed checkpoints during a world to unleash a fusillade of cryptic statements which overstrain apparently Sora's mental capacity everytime it happens. It's not the explanation of the plan or the fact that Young Xehanort's plan in Toy Box is somewhat "weird" that's the problem, but how they choose to present it.
Back Cover had some good moments yes but overall it was just an unfinished mess which didn't have a lasting "reward" lore-wise for the audience except the few facts we got about Xehanort's Keyblade while the Foretellers felt like they were hit with the plot-forced idiot ball even worse than the BBS crew.
0.2 was pretty decent I agree until the final segments which unnecessarily shoehorned Aqua into the ending of KH 1 just to give Riku an additional "motivation" to help save her. (As if he needs that in the first place!)
Like said, I too think that DDD did some things better and improved, it was a step in the right direction but they should build more upon it when it comes to characters and character interaction.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
From a (writers standpoint) I found 0.2 to be very manipulative and forced. Not impressed by Back Cover either to be honest.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I kind of just realized that a lot of our impressions aren't really going to matter. I kind of suspect KH3 will come out, the fanbase will love it for like two weeks and then everyone will become hyper-critical of it at the exact same time listing the exact same reasons. Just like the rest of the series.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I kind of just realized that a lot of our impressions aren't really going to matter. I kind of suspect KH3 will come out, the fanbase will love it for like two weeks and then everyone will become hyper-critical of it at the exact same time listing the exact same reasons. Just like the rest of the series.
Hm, maybe? I mean, I know I won't do that lol because I never have. At least I don't think so...in spite of the criticisms I have with KH2 and DDD mentioned in this thread, I actually really enjoy both games to be honest.
So I'm sure KH3 will have some issues to me but I expect to enjoy it, and it looks really fun and full of love.
But I guess I am curious what your impressions are still lol.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I love that Buzz believes that Sora is an actual toy who thinks he's living his video game life. It's a wonderful callback to how Buzz thought he was an astronaut.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Although I saw KH2 for the first time, I had a more detailed acquaintance since KH1, but I do not know what it's all about but KH1 did not touch my soul as it was with KH2 and BBS. From the very beginning, I was sure that Sora would become a human again and save him. Could this be due to your nastolgia? I do not know when you first met KH1, but I heard that usually things that you see in your youth are perceived better than the things you see afterwards. I met KH1 at an adult age and after seeing a lot of gloomy works, so I turned first to characters, and KH1 has a problem with interesting characters (Maybe with the exception of Riku). As for KH3, it seems to me that there is noticeably more more humor, although probably this is a small piece and it is not worth judging it.
I was a kid with KH1, I was a kid with KH II. To some extent I was still kind of a kid with Days and BbS.
And I have very different opinions and criticism for all of these, so I don't think it's nostalgia. Of course I have a lot of fond memories of KH1, but 12 years of consistent KH II playthroughs and while I like it I will probably never "love" it.
And this is because there are also elements that simply are objective: it's not possible to state that KH1 is the title with the most Disney, when barely any world followed the movie, there were less characters in general and no real "funny interaction" with any of them.
Just a comparison between Beast talking to Sora who has just lost the Keyblade in KH1 vs Sora, Donald and Goofy doing the Hakuna Matata with Timon and Pumbaa for no apparent plot reason should illustrate easily enough how the former is definitely of a more serious tone and with less Disney fluff.
Sora's voice sounds bloody amazing. The perfect balance between KH2 and DDD. Buzz is either Tim Allen or the world's greatest impersonator. As for Woody...it'll grow on me.
Also, "Sora, Donald, Goofy". It returns.
Seriously. It was weird to hear Haley Joel's older voice come through so strongly in DDD. And when i heard "I'm back!" at the end of 0.2 it made me cringe cuz i missed kh2 sora's voice. It's perfect now.
Well I figured the very fact that there's two versions makes Riku gameplay obvious i think. I mean, there are so many gameplay elements frrom throughout the series, like how sora never learned shot lock until DDD, and we've had 2 games with divided stories already, so its pretty likely id think. so maybe we'll meet them as riku.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Credits when they're due, the toys transformations are probably the best looking ones.
I think I'm still the only person in the world who loves Sora's monster form but that's OK I'll just have the most unique Halloween costume at all the nerd parties.
The good old concern surrounding this game: how much flash, and how much substance? I am waiting on a couple of people who played the demo's opinion as well. I just want at the very least some satisfying simple ground combos.
And, while I certainly am not trying to throw accusations, perhaps this is some Cuphead scenario where... not the most proficient players were called, which could justify at least the enemies' successful hits on Sora.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to more gamers who play games that aren't Kingdom Hearts to tell me how wrong or right I am haha. I didn't even start watching KH YouTubers until this past year when a couple popped up as recommended videos for whatever reason, so I haven't formulated strong ties to any particular personality or perspective. The couple I have seen are pretty funny though, it's obvious there are things they aren't comfortable with in the game but they don't really know how to reconcile that with the afterglow of their entire experience so they just kind of talk around it or downplay it significantly haha.
Can't wait for the Orchestra. Even if nothing new comes up, I'm down for some mindless KH fun.
Speaking of which the Shimomura tracks were pretty good, none of them really struck me as A-game material but we didn't get to any of the really big set pieces so still a lot to look forward to.
I think KH1 was the least childish and possibly the least Disney-centric of all the KH games. Almost no time was dedicated to Disney characters doing Disney stuff, the closest the game got to kids' comedy was Donald and Terk's semi-love story, Sora and Goofy laying on top of Donald in Hook's ship, and some accidental fall here and there.
Everything else? Dark atmoshpere, dark tones, even dark colors more often than not, Heartless and planetary destruction everywhere.
Hollow Bastion and End of the World alone were probably darker than any other KH title.
I think the thing that sets KH1 apart is how purposeful it is with all of its dramatic assets; lighthearted moments were typically applied in anticipation of, or at the transition out of, a moment with weight to it. There was a clear tone to the story and it followed its beats carefully-- grounded from the outset by Donald and Goofy's, "No Frownie Faces" rule, as that entire scene sets the basis for how these characters will move forward with each other. The scene in which Sora expresses his wonder at learning how to fly after a moment of pensive silence, that instant really lands because it slots right into the expressive language the entire game had leaned into up to that moment: let the audience feel the weight of things, and the release from it will come to feel just as important and evocative.
The Disney plots benefited from this as well, and that's part of what's lacking from these new cutscenes. In KH1, for instance, the Disney worlds and the characters in them carried a relevance well beyond their metatextual or, indeed, mythological import. They all functioned as active learning experiences for Sora and, through him, the audience, as his heart was being trained to become worthy of wielding the Keyblade and that required him to explore what strength of heart really meant. The Disney worlds functioned as signposts on his journey to comprehending his own position in the universe through an expanded perspective on the universe itself, something which took him well beyond the confines of his peaceful island life and caused him to face challenges of character which grew him and grounded him. So in Deep Jungle, Tarzan doesn't just lead Sora along a straight path to the next plot point: he progresses Sora through an uncertain matrix of interactions and implications (buoyed by his feud with the talking duck) and by the end of it, Sora is basically transformed in his understanding of things. SDG don't just return to Olympus over and over in order to fight Hades and beat an obligatory Disney villain, they do it because their quest to become "true heroes" underscores a spectrum of theories the game puts forward about what real spiritual competence and self-awareness looks like, and gives the audience a chance to draw its own conclusions.
So far, these cutscenes don't indicate that there's any intentional method to the Disney element: these characters don't come into alignment to provide any sort of directive for Sora and clarify the journey he's on, they just go through the motions of appearing and work through the same theory of friendship as more of a key word than a thematic holdover which made DDD so intolerable. Sora is capable of making friends with anyone: that doesn't heighten our understanding of him or them, it just signals that they aren't bad. What we need is an established dynamic that pits us up against the meaning of each moment: when Tarzan mutters something in KH1, we always wonder what he's really trying to say, because we know the answer is important. When Woody slows to consider Sora's proposal, we already know what he's going to say, so there's nothing to be gained from the affirmation; when Buzz makes obviously self-aware overtures surrounding Sora's meta-fictitious reasoning, it's too obvious to impress. That's low-hanging fruit and there's really nothing to it. Sora won't come out of that exchange impacted and neither will the audience; it's lost to the aether.
What should be an instructive moment for our heroes after YX sucks all the suspense of disbelief out of the room turns into a directionless standstill as everybody is resigned to their role. Buzz is incapacitated from committing to a line of action ("I'm just going to continue to hang out with you while not really knowing if I want to do that") and Woody just drifts ("yeah this seems unlikely but at least they're kind of nice and not an asshole like you used to be Buzz"). There's no leadership coming from these Disney characters, which makes me wonder what the point of them is. It's like they don't even have an agenda, even though we've been told they want to find their friends: Woody's sleepy conviction when he asks Buzz to consider they should maybe try actually looking for the people who are missing is genuinely funny, he's basically like, "Now Buzz, I know we've tried everything except actually trying, so, you know...maybe Sora has a point. But it's not like this is urgent, I'm sure if I stare at my shoe some more Andy will come home either way. Also I miss him, in case it's not obvious I will state this."
I do not think that Foreteller's insertion for this part is the best idea.
I agree. Just following the presumed design theory to some of its more logical conclusions.
And what's wrong with YX? As for me, he is clearly better than Xemnas.
I do not agree. Xemnas is defined by his flawed reasoning, an imperfect being imitating perfection. Young Xehanort is defined by his blank stare and auto-tuned vocal simulation.
I kind of just realized that a lot of our impressions aren't really going to matter. I kind of suspect KH3 will come out, the fanbase will love it for like two weeks and then everyone will become hyper-critical of it at the exact same time listing the exact same reasons.
As usual, KHI is way ahead of the reductive curve on this front.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I like how they brought back "Sora, Donald, and Goofy" again. Get ready to hear it repeated constantly in KH3 XD.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I like how they brought back "Sora, Donald, and Goofy" again. Get ready to hear it repeated constantly in KH3 XD.
I'm really hoping it isn't as ridiculous as 2...but I didn't hate it when Woody said it tbh. If everyone does though...
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I like how they brought back "Sora, Donald, and Goofy" again. Get ready to hear it repeated constantly in KH3 XD.
Now that is the true Kingdom Hearts experience.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
I'm really hoping it isn't as ridiculous as 2...but I didn't hate it when Woody said it tbh. If everyone does though...
Trust me, it’s gonna happen, Zip. It’s gonna happen.
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Trust me, it’s gonna happen, Zip. It’s gonna happen.
I think you mixed up me and Sora2016. Lol. In your defense, we both use Monster Goofy avatars. Lol.
As for me, I’m ok with it when it’s characters that Sora has never met before.
It’s one of those things, if one character per world doesn’t say, “Sora, Donald, Goofy†at least once, did you really even visit that world? How will we ever remember their names if we aren’t reminded?
Re: Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Welp. Looks like they took all of the videos down. Glad I watched it while I could.
Re: 9UPDATE: Removed again) Watch 23 Minutes of Toy Box (With Cutscenes) from Gamespot!
Here's another one (although they seem to have removed Gamespot's logos and replaced it with their own, how tasteless)
[video=youtube;S8fhGkkFOQM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8fhGkkFOQM[/video]
Ah I honestly think its a huge upgrade. It's looking so great. But I guess I never had any nostalgia towards kh2 and that's directed at kh1, so there's that. xD
The only issue I have with this is that it's pretty much confirming my worry that the Disney worlds are still going to be a means of 'passing time' and I was hoping that would change for this one. ;_;
Also 'YEAAAAHHHHH, YEAAAHHHH, YEEAAHHAHHH' lol thats gonna replace Sora's attack screeches from DDD and bug me. xD
The only issue I have with this is that it's pretty much confirming my worry that the Disney worlds are still going to be a means of 'passing time' and I was hoping that would change for this one. ;_;
The developers have confirmed that all the Toy Story cutscenes shown so far is just 30% of the world. We're bound to have more canonical elements later down the Toy Box narrative.
Yeah that's also true. It seems like they've only shown the first quarter, so hopefully things get better.
Also I personally think that Toy Story is probably going to be the worst world, especially after seeing Tangled's NPC filled world which makes Toy Story look very plain....
Also I personally think that Toy Story is probably going to be the worst world, especially after seeing Tangled's NPC filled world which makes Toy Story look very plain....
Well, Woody did bring up a point, cause like he said to Sora it was just him Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Sarge, the Toy Soldiers and the Aliens being the ONLY toys left in the room created by the Organization after they woke up.
I feel like the whole "clone world" plot was an excuse to have Toy Story be viable as a world. Realistically speaking, Toy Story is a grounded movie based on realism save the Toys coming to life.
I feel like the whole "clone world" plot was an excuse to have Toy Story be viable as a world. Realistically speaking, Toy Story is a grounded movie based on realism save the Toys coming to life.
I would disagree. I think the same thing can be said for most of the worlds we’ve visited thus far, and even most of the worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. Tarzan is a grounded movie based on realism save the man raised by gorillas. Lilo and Stitch is a grounded movie based on realism save the presence of Aliens. Tangled is a grounded movie based on realism save her magic hair.
Even nixing that argument, I still think Toy Story makes sense as a world even without the clone world. Put SDG in the plot of TS2, have Buzz as the main party member, and SDG travel with him to Al’s Toy Barn and then to his apartment complex to rescue Woody. Finally, Woody joins your party for the race through the airport to rescue Jessie and the final battle with Stinky Pete in the luggage bay of the airplane.
I would disagree. I think the same thing can be said for most of the worlds we’ve visited thus far, and even most of the worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. Tarzan is a grounded movie based on realism save the man raised by gorillas. Lilo and Stitch is a grounded movie based on realism save the presence of Aliens. Tangled is a grounded movie based on realism save her magic hair.
Don't forget the Lion King could be considered a grounded movie based on realism save for Rafiki's shamanism, The Circle of Life and Simba talking to the Spirit of his father Mufasa in the clouds.
Even nixing that argument, I still think Toy Story makes sense as a world even without the clone world. Put SDG in the plot of TS2, have Buzz as the main party member, and SDG travel with him to Al’s Toy Barn and then to his apartment complex to rescue Woody. Finally, Woody joins your party for the race through the airport to rescue Jessie and the final battle with Stinky Pete in the luggage bay of the airplane.
I still prefer the new story that is told in KH3, even if it's not like the films and we don't battle Sid, Lotso, Stinky Pete and maybe Zurg, I like how it's expanding the universe of the Toy Story films and have it fit somewhere in the film's timeline without just Shoehorning in SDG in the plot of Toy Story, Monster's Inc. or ANY of the forthcoming Pixar movies that are set to be worlds in Kingdom Hearts. I mean Pixar did request Nomura to not have the worlds retell the plot of their movies.
My biggest concern with the clone world is that they may be using it as a way to keep Kingdom Hearts from interfering with the true Toy Story universe. Like what we’re in might be the KH version of the world and SDG will never actually visit the “real†one from the movies. It would just feel a bit silly to jump through those kind of hoops to preserve the film’s plot integrity. The only reason I could see this being a thing is that Buzz uses his laser to fight Heartless since it actually works in the copy world. But in the real world, it wouldn’t; so how would he fight?
I hope that we do get to cross over though and meet all the other toys. I also hope there will be more areas to explore besides unseen areas of Galaxy Toys. Perhaps on the way back in the real world, they have to go through Andy’s house to get back up to Andy’s room. They also might still incorporate a Pizza Planet truck segment on the gang’s way back to Andy’s. We have only seen 30% of the world after all.
I still prefer the new story that is told in KH3, even if it's not like the films and we don't battle Sid, Lotso, Stinky Pete and maybe Zurg, I like how it's expanding the universe of the Toy Story films and have it fit somewhere in the film's timeline without just Shoehorning in SDG in the plot of Toy Story, Monster's Inc. or ANY of the forthcoming Pixar movies that are set to be worlds in Kingdom Hearts. I mean Pixar did request Nomura to not have the worlds retell the plot of their movies.
I agree, I prefer the original story as well, I was just giving an example of how Toy Box could work without using the “clone world†storyline.
My biggest concern with the clone world is that they may be using it as a way to keep Kingdom Hearts from interfering with the true Toy Story universe. Like what we’re in might be the KH version of the world and SDG will never actually visit the “real†one from the movies. It would just feel a bit silly to jump through those kind of hoops to preserve the film’s plot integrity. The only reason I could see this being a thing is that Buzz uses his laser to fight Heartless since it actually works in the copy world. But in the real world, it wouldn’t; so how would he fight?
I’m personally not super concerned with this. I think, if Pixar wanted to “protect the integrity†of the Toy Story franchise by keeping Sora and company out of the true world, they would want the same from Monster’s Inc, yeah? And Monstropolis seems to take place in the actual world to me.
OathkeeperRoxas XIII
May 19, 2018 @ 12:00 amOffline