AngelCityOutlaw Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 https://www.polygon.com/2018/11/20/18104561/kingdom-hearts-3-gone-gold-release-date-new-trailer?fbclid=IwAR1e_Oo1M2JKcJUNjqF1OCGq1BYiJ5hFG68uHhi4TgW_NTzz4lcBzXUSzuM So KH3 is finally done. Something that's been on my mind about this game for the last year is exactly WHO the target audience of this game is at this point. I was 10 years old, when the first game came out. It's taken this long to get to third numbered entry in the series. Anyone who was an original KH fan, is now 25 - 35 years old and the new game features mostly worlds from Disney films we didn't grow up watching, and many out there would say are inferior to the company's work from the 80s - 2000. So, I know that I just don't see the appeal at age 26-going-on-27 of running around with Donald and Goofy smacking up the world of Frozen. I wanted to say "Oh, maybe they think that we'll play it with our kids now" but that can't be it given the 1.3 birthrate of Japan and every country in the west. Most of us are childless. So like...who do they think is going to buy this game that was announced when I was 20 - 21 years old and it's been nearly 20 years since the first one? There's also going to be no final fantasy worlds, so I couldn't even latch on to some nostalgia there. I think this is going to wind up being a testament to the fact that if you make a series aimed at children, you have to actually finish that series fairly quickly before those children lose interest. It'll be interesting to see sales numbers and demographics when this thing drops. I'm goin' to throw in my prediction now that it's not going to sell nearly as well as anticipated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipez Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Considering they re-released the previous entries, I'm thinking they also want to bring in new fans. Also, several of the new worlds are Pixar properties that are both nostalgic and have had new entries in their series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheersm8 Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Long story short, KH3 is for the fans of the series, both new and old alike. If you were one of the people who only played the numbered games (Aka KH1 and KH2) then it probably isn't for you. But if you have followed the series and played the games, then this is what you have been waiting for. Also, don't let that "running with Donald and Goofy in the world of Frozen." make you think any less of the series. The disney property worlds are used for a plot device at best and a change of scenery at worst. The disney world stories are filler which doesn't contribute to the darker and more serious plot which has spanned across all the previous games. Sure, Donald Duck, Goofy and Mickey Mouse is running around, but they are not running around dealing with slap stick, but does a pretty good job at tension relief when not in "serious" mode. Last but not least, most adults who decide to buy the game will do it for a few reasons: 1) They have been following the story and want to see the conclusion of this 16 year long story arc. 2) They are playing the games not for the story but for the fast hack n slash gameplay (or a mix of both point 1 and 2) 3) They have heard the praises of previous games (even 0.2 which is best described as a test demo for KH3 has been reported as the perfect demonstration of how 3 is going to be played) and decided to see for themselves, or just the notion of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse running around killing dark monsters in a serious plot sounds so strange that they just HAVE to see it for themselves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drayson Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 This will be something to share by old fans to younger ones how cool it was back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnStacy Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 I would be interested in checking that series out. So I guess I would be part of the group that would buy it. It sounds like a great series, I love the concept, and I've enjoyed the soundtrack. But until it releases on a Nintendo console, like the Switch, or PS emulation improves drastically, I'm not going to do that. Just because I have never had, and probably won't get a PS of any variety. But my sister got me a switch, so that's an option. Being 25, married, with a full time job and grad school but no kids gives me a little bit of free time but not enough to branch out to a new console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 The Final Battle Trailer is here: Cringe Trailers for Japanese games are almost always awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquareWave Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 On 11/27/2018 at 7:56 AM, Cheersm8 said: 2) They are playing the games not for the story but for the fast hack n slash gameplay (or a mix of both point 1 and 2) The 'Final Battle' trailer definitely caught my attention because the gameplay looks fun. I haven't played a KH game since the first one came out in the early 2000s, but this looks cool. But... is it just me or does the gameplay footage somehow look better than the cutscenes?? Especially in the second half of that trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 3 hours ago, SquareWave said: The 'Final Battle' trailer definitely caught my attention because the gameplay looks fun. I haven't played a KH game since the first one came out in the early 2000s, but this looks cool. But... is it just me or does the gameplay footage somehow look better than the cutscenes?? Especially in the second half of that trailer. I dunno, but it appears Donald died as he lived. Not fuckin' healing SquareWave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheersm8 Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 10 hours ago, SquareWave said: The 'Final Battle' trailer definitely caught my attention because the gameplay looks fun. I haven't played a KH game since the first one came out in the early 2000s, but this looks cool. But... is it just me or does the gameplay footage somehow look better than the cutscenes?? Especially in the second half of that trailer. I think it's because most of the latter scenes seem to be from later parts of the game (although, its Kingdom Hearts, so who freaking knows) so they were probably not touched up before they took the footage for the trailer (which most likely happened before they went golden). Maybe... They might also use some artificial lighting for the cutscenes to set a tone which the light render of that world couldn't give them, which makes them seem off. Sora in Scala ad Caelum really seem to just pop out. 7 hours ago, AngelCityOutlaw said: I dunno, but it appears Donald died as he lived. Not fuckin' healing Glad to see that he stayed in character to the very end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 So anybody playin' this thing or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chernabogue Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Finished the main story yesterday. It's fun but disappointing on many aspects. Not gonna write a full story here, the whole Internet already did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-wix Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 I'm only about 3-4 worlds deep, but as an old-school fan who was cautiously optimistic, I was pleasantly surprised. Some simple takeaways: 1.) The combat is this stunning mix of every previous game in the series and easily the highlight for me as a player. It's not extremely challenging, but its fun, engaging, and keeps you wanting more - it's basically pop music. 2.) Final Fantasy is basically MIA and the game is in full Disney mode - That being said, you can still feel the FF influence in the games mechanics and story, which is enough for me. 3.) The gummy ship mode is the best its ever been, If you enjoyed that part of the game at all, it's pretty nuts how much better it is. 4.) The story is exactly what you'd expect it to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 Who's it for? I have no idea, to be honest. Bought it, already owned the other games, figure it's about time to actually give them a shot (have beaten KH1 in the past, go me). In the meantime, my fiance is playing through KH3 (she knows the story better than I), and I'm having a blast making up what the story is about as she goes along. Something about everyone is Sora, everyone is Xehonort, lots of keyholes for Sora's gunblade to fire, and Donald is a zero healing asshole. Worked for me so far, so eh, that's the story now. It's weird, but it's still fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 To my surprise, but dismay at the source, someone actually did do a bit of an article kind of about what this thread was originally about https://kotaku.com/how-fans-lives-changed-during-the-long-wait-for-kingdo-1832361941 They're all pretty irrelevant except for this one: "Leo, who is 26 today, said that as an adult he was unable to afford the console he’d need to play Kingdom Hearts III, but has also grown disaffected with Disney. “Basically any time Disney buys up a new thing I just become more and more worried about the impending dystopian future where five companies control everything,” he said." It goes on "he’s become more aware of business practices of large corporations that don’t sit well with him, like Disney lobbying for extreme extensions of copyright law. “I don’t know, maybe it’s unreasonable, but a game that evangelizes Disney makes me feel really uncomfortable,” he said." Leo raises an interesting point: The game is basically a consumer product that evangelizes other consumer products. It's basically a consumerism orgy if you think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirby Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I played it, beat it, loved it. Sure I had some issues with it, and I hope they release a Final Mix DLC or something like they planning to do to fix some of the more glaring issues (like almost complete lack of post-game content), but it was still quite enjoyable. Also in regards to the original point of the thread, who is KH for? Folks who grew up with the series, folks who enjoy action RPGs, folks who want to explore Disney worlds... Just because something is aimed at kids doesn't mean only kids should enjoy it, nor does it mean adults shouldn't enjoy it. Media is media, regardless of intended audience, so questions such as "who is it for" are a bit pointless in my opinion. When I play a game or watch a movie or tv show, I never occupy myself with questions of "am I the intended audience" or "should I really be enjoying this?" I just see if it's for me and my personal tastes. If it is, great, if not oh well. Implying that KH should only be for kids or enjoyed with kids seems like a minor form of gatekeeping that is wholly unnecessary. And that's honestly the main reason I've refrained from posting in this thread until now. Anywho, it was a great game with some issues. Yoko Shimomura brought it with the soundtrack. Especially near the end of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirdkoopa Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I played it, enjoyed it, but also: On 2/5/2019 at 9:44 PM, Chernabogue said: Finished the main story yesterday. It's fun but disappointing on many aspects. Not gonna write a full story here, the whole Internet already did. yeah that at this point, I don't know who the series target audience is. I think it's just people that enjoy the hack and slash gameplay even if it's more mindless (which I can enjoy mindless) but in terms of attracting new people in, I can't tell if they're going to do that with the future of the series or they're going to latch onto the other 10 games, and in terms of old fans, the saga we were interested in seeing concluded is kinda over so we're just sticking around for the ride. Also Disney World's had urgency in KH1... They just lack that in every other game since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirby Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 At least they were more entwined in the overall plot than in KH2 lol Thirdkoopa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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