I'm a poor idiot, but I just wanted to say, great job on this video man. Also that Gel Blaster actually looks sick. I might be getting one for my nephew, and I will use your link if I do :)
There is something so magical about Kingdom Hearts. Especially the first one it gives me child like wonder still to this day. Also the sense of progression as Sora levels up is best in this game, you can barely do anything at the start of the game and by the end you can do so much.
Amen. KH2 and BBS actually really pissed me off because they make it impossibly hard JUST for sora to get the Glide ability.. and that was pretty much my entire reason for playing KH as a young boy. Being able to fly! I must have spent hours flying around in the Peter Pan world and just looking over every little detail. I don't regret it for a second, some of my best gaming memories. I really felt like I was exploring a new world and connecting with it. They just nailed it with KH1
@@Mizari27 I just started KH3 and the attractions are so annoying and distracting. Is there a way to just disable them entirely? I'd rather just level up Sora and learn to fight.. not hit a button and have it done for me by a Disneyland ride from 50 years ago. It's bizarre.
I didn't beat the first game until several months ago. I used to hate on it in my high school years, but I've decided to give the series another go and I love it. Sora is too pure for all of us.
That's how it went for me too. Friends wouldn't shut up about it in high school and soured me towards it, then played it a few years after graduating and now it's easily one of my top 5 favorite series.
“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature.” - Based Ansem
it makes me so happy to see so many people saying they just played this game for the first time, and actually went back to KH1 to try it out! This game has brought me so many hours, years of joy. It makes me really happy that a new generation can get to experience it too (And maybe we can go over lore when i'm in the old folks home) ♥ (Joking)
Destiny Islands is underrated. Stories need a place that the hero wants to return. As a kid I thought it was creepy seeing this perfect idyllic setting get overwhelmed by literal darkness.
Best franchise of all time. I don’t care how weird the story gets. THE CHARACTERS are the most loveable of any out there. The emotions portrayed through these polygons is second to none. KH2 ending is perfection.
@@Owely16 I can’t disagree with you! Riku’s character arch is great. Seeing our home boy on the other side. It’s bitter sweet but I love that about it. KH2 is just the ending that you want you know. 😃
i remember having the old nokia 3510i i think it was and i had kingdom hearts midi tones on there like simple and clean, halloween town and many others but i chose traverse town as my ringtone 👍 i've only played kingdom hearts on ps2 but never tried the others. i just visualise that sepiroth battle, sure i was in the lv.70s ish but did it.
@@gazster I recommend at least playing the second game. Honestly gives a great conclusion to the series. But that’s dope. Having that old phone play custom ringtones is hard core. That sephiroth fight is brutal. I needed to be high 80’s to beat that one, kudos!
My favorite game of all time. Played it when it first came out. Was literally my first game on the PS2 for Christmas. I was 11 then and I'm 31 now and I still love this game
Same for me. Favorite series of all time. My dad bought it for me for Christmas after I wouldn't shut up about it for most of the year lol. Miss those days. I'm 31 too.
KH1 is a masterpiece, I really love how much detail and secret interactions were put in this game. The secret chests and learning how to manuever certain things. The game also rewards you for exploration and learning how to use your tools. I even like the gummi ship, especially in Final Mix the gummi missions really teach you the system thoroughly. There's a lot of technical things about KH1 and when you master them, I think you can appreciate the game so much more. Learning how to fight special heartless helps you learn how to play the game for example. You have to think outside the box to win those battles. Mastering summons and magic I think will give you a different outlook as well, because magic is just insanely good in KH1. I don't think any other KH game has reached such a high with magic. Like the magic system in this game is insanely indepth. Also, the gummi ship requirements on PS4 were heavily changed so it's an easier plat. On PS3 you had to master the gummi ship to complete them. Some super secret things is in traverse town before the first guard armor, you can go back to Aerith and she gives you a reward. You can also go to the green room and hit the clock 9 times for a reward.
Here's even more great details. My friend found a tweet that said... "Very cool little KH1 detail I literally just noticed: Red Nocturnes float high in the air while Blue Rhapsodys float close to the ground because hot air rises and cold air falls." That's reason number 1001 why KH1 is a masterpiece.
Not knowing where to go and having to go back and forth 20 times in each world makes it not a masterpiece.. but very good start. Kh2 is the masterpiece
@@treystaton282 RUclips, don't hide my replies please. This just tells me you suck at the game. KH1 is better than kh2 because kh2 is nothing more than a hallway simulator and lacks the charm KH1 has.
@@Redxan600 Did I say KH1 was bad? No. Its a great game with care and small details. I've beaten all on critical or proud. I know they had lower budget, but it was a logistical nightmare. Going up and down deep jungle 7 times, atlantica with the dolphin and Ursula fights, and boring limited space in kh1. There wasnt a world that wasn't at least a tad frustrating. The camera alone made my wife scream. People who love the game agree with its frustrations and it is a great road map to kh2, the game majority of fans put as peak and a masterpiece. You got to see the underworld/Christmas town, The world's expanded from 1, the combat system is still top tier 18 years later and not as clunky as 1 trying to hit something, the story was flushed out, the extensive abilities, the map selection free roam, able to tell how far from leveling, the mp limiting cure for skill, actually bosses with personality and voice acting, Roxas prologue hitting hard over collecting fruit for a raft, interactions with environment, quick commands that weren't the Disney rides of 3, the ending I don't see many complaints with 2, and if you call it a hallway sim... i dont see what you see with the 3 rooms in each world kh1 But hey, it's our opinions, wish nothing bug the best
@@treystaton282 If you don't see many complaints for kh2, then I have to assume you are a newcomer. Back then, kh2 had lots of criticism. Some of them are a bit too much, but overall they were valid. The prolouge is way too long and doesn't tell us about Roxas and his character. It doesn't tell us how Roxas and Axel became friends nor gives us any reason why we should care. Most of the Disney worlds are filler along with their second visits with the exception of Beast's Castle, Land of Dragon, Olympus Coliseum, Port Royal, and Space Paranoids. The combat is also heavily flawed because the reaction commands are so bad that you don't basically earn them. You have to grind drive forms to gain the field abilities which I shouldn't have to do that if KH1 gives us those throughout the journey and for free. And you get punished if you used them too much. At least with KH3, it was implemented better because Rage form was more of a high risk/high reward mechanic. And honestly, the magic system was broken because you can abuse Reflect and the Magnet and Thundaga combo. The combat doesn't give you a lot of variety. And don't discredit KH1 bosses to put kh2 up on a pedestal. The bosses has a lot of charm and great voice acting as well. Most of the time in kh2, the cutscenes had a lot of awkward silence to pad out the scene. You seriously can't tell me that long five minute scene of Xemnas going down the stairs had a lot of charm. And KH1 environments had lots of charm other than kh2 with their text boxes. KH1 may not be perfect, but it's still a masterpiece. And kh2 is heavily flawed in both gameplay and story and most kh2 elitists will not admit that. If you wanna see some kh2 criticism, then I recommend seeing Scooternape on Reddit. That person brought up how much criticism kh2 had back then. They even pointed out the hypocrisy kh2 fans are and why they won't admit that kh2 is flawed. But anyways, KH1 is a masterpiece and this game along with KH3 are better than kh2, and tired of kh2 hogging the attention when the topic is not even about kh2.
Bittersweet for me, loved someone enjoying this game currently. It (the first two games) are very special to me as it was one of the rpg's my wife fell in love with and wanted to play with me. An sadly just lost my Angel a few months ago. So I loved seeing this and hearing Matt discuss this too Many happy tears.
Sending all my love your way. As someone who shares a love of games with my fiancé, I totally understand the emotions you’re feeling. I’m happy to hear this video brought some happiness even if it came with some tears. Stay strong! We will be doing Kingdom Hearts 2 within the next month or so. :)
@@retrorebound8887 Thank you Matty been a fan for years as it was us under your main channel which would donate frequently. Your parents should be proud of the young man you became. I look forward to resubbing on the main channel when it covers more then the Xbox. Thank you for being a amazing young man
I hope this doesn't sound corny, and I'm not a very religious person, but I mean this from my heart. I think she's still with you always, watching over you. She would want you to be happy (after you grieve, of course). I know its too soon, and please, take all the time in the world that you need. Let yourself heal at your own pace. There is no set time on wounds like that. Just know she's still there with you in some way. I know that, if I passed and left my fiancé.. I would definitely want them to know that I'm ok. I'm waiting for them. I'm going to see them again, and I just want them to be OK and happy. No judgement, anger, jealousy. All love. I would be watching over them any way I possibly could, and want them to flourish and thrive. You will see her again. I am not religious, but oddly enough, games like KH have caused me to believe that there is more than just black after death. There is so much more than we can possibly know. I'm so sorry for your loss stranger, and my heart goes out to you. I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive or ignorant. If you need an ear, or just someone to listen, I am always here.
You unlocked a memory of getting lost in HalloweenTown as a kid because I didn't know where the next story beat was. It was an amazing level, but not so fun after being trapped there for a week.
Oh man I love the gummy ship sections! I hated them as a kid but I grew to appreciate them. The entire gummi ship side of the game is way deeper than I initially thought and I just genuinely enjoy it.
The first KH really is the best at blending the Disney and Final Fantasy stuff. The Disney worlds and original worlds all feel like part of one whole, and the tone remains consistent throughout the whole thing- it doesn't start adventurous and then dip into stupidity for 20 hours in the Disney worlds then get weirdly serious right at the end like so many of the games afterwards. Another thing that helps with this consistency is that the Disney worlds and characters are just as important as the original worlds and characters and the Final Fantasy characters. Kairi is one of the Princesses of Heart alongside Disney princesses like Alice and Belle. The Disney villains here are GENUINE villains, it's not just Pete and Maleficent dicking around in the background over the course of the plot because power creep has now made Xehanort and the Nort Crew so insanely overpowered that someone like Captain Hook or Ursula is a pushover joke by comparison. And this consistency, the feeling of the Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, and Hollow Bastion all just being other worlds existing in parallel with Agrabah, Olympus, and Halloween Town, really gives that tight feeling of everything just... working. Then Nomura got kicked off FF Versus 13 and exiled all Final Fantasy characters from the series as a weird form of childish revenge, and let the Disney corporatism take over completely.
I actually genuinely liked the gummi ship stuff. Because it genuinely implies the absolute massive scale of the ten year war. By the end you're killing millions of heartless cause there's less worlds as you continue. You can see the stars going out around you in the first one. And I thought it was epic. You're flying through nebula, supernovas, and slowly but surely advancing the technology by uniting the people that were fighting independently into one super force. Since Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith storm the Hollow Bastion behind you. Sora's fighting in space genuinely changed the tide of the war. To the point where Radiant Garden built a defense system to prevent such mass casualty from ever happening again. Plus from an in Universe perspective I genuinely feel like Sora loves to fly. Since this was his actual dream to sail around and explore other worlds. Which is why I loved the Caribbean in III since Sora does actually finally do what he always wanted to. I like to think either Roger or Anita (but not both since what would be their motivation?) Survived the destruction of their world along with the Dalmatians thanks to the other and was the person advancing the living shit out of your weapons systems. To the point where she/he invented an ultimate weapon against them. Since why the fuck would Pongo and Perdita have every gummi invented at that point. The little details always made it feel so special to get behind the gummi ship. Since Sora genuinely felt excited to see it again. I have no doubt that the second trip to Hollow Bastion was one way. And the gummi ship did not survive intact. Emergency landing status. Since you can't access any former saves until you reach them. You leave on whatever Cid showed up in for the center of the damn universe. Like a straight boss. The story implied is epic. By the end you feel like Anakin Skywalker spinning your way into universal legends armed by Disney's genuine Avengers: Chip, Dale, Geppeto, Roger/Anita, Merlin, and Pinocchio. AVENGERS MASS MURDER HEARTLESS!
The thing that KH 1 did really well was how it integrated the worlds you visit into the story. Specifically the way that the Disney stories are derailed by both the heartless and Sora. The Little Mermaid story is ended before it can actually start, and Ariel switches from longing for land to longing for the multiverse. And yet in KH 2 it's as if nothing had actually changed, and that was sad.
I actually LOVE that you can get lost in KH1. One of my favorite parts of the game, especially with all the small worlds. Encourages exploring that rewards with small details that only exist in KH1. There is FAR too much handholding in all the games afterwards; makes transitions into cutscenes more surprising and better as well
super underrated comment, I felt the same way when going from KH1 to 2, the combat system is obviously developed more, but you lose out on that open world feel, where each zone in Kh2 is very linear, few hidden chests/ hard to get to areas... etc
It’s cool to see that someone enjoys that. I found playing kingdom hearts 1 extremely annoying because of this. Finished about 70% of the game and tapped out, I just couldn’t take it anymore 😂❤
I played every Kingdom Hearts game for the first time last summer and absolutely loved it. Started in June and ended 3 at the start of September and felt like I’d been on such a journey over the summer. Its a series that has such a ridiculous concept but it totally owns it and makes the most of it to tell such a genuine story. I think what really has made these games last is that they are genuinely good games. It didn’t half ass anything and is such a fun experience as both a game and a story
I really want to try this game. Never played it in its prime on account I was a GameCube kid. Now that I’m an adult and can buy whatever tf I want, I’m considering.
I was in my early twenties when this game came out and I have never been more wrong in my opinion of a game than I was this one. I thought it seemed so stupid and once I played it, I was in love. Absolutely a classic from Squaresoft here.
Damn dude that's awesome! I've never stumbled across someone who was in there 20s when the OG came out and gave it a shot. Do you still keep up with the series as a whole or just fond memories of the first one?
@@LuxuFoo I definitely do still keep up with the series, I love the first two games the most, but I think it's a great series. Yeah, I'm an 80s baby, so I grew up playing Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games on NES/SNES. When this game was coming out, I thought the premise was dumb (Disney meets Final Fantasy?! WTF?!) but my wife was really interested so the day it dropped, we went and picked up her pre-order copy, and after we put our son to bed, we smoked a little Mary Jane, and then she started up the game, I figured I'd watch for a little bit, maybe be her "strategy guide reader" for her... But before she was off Destiny Island I was completely enthralled and wanted to start my own file. I can still remember playing through the first game with my then-infant son in my lap sometimes and just listening to him burbling and giggling to himself seeing the crazy and colorful things happening in the game. To this day, even though her and I are long divorced, it's still a fond memory for both of us and something we still talk about. And of course, my son loves these games as well.
Kingdom hearts 1 was/is my favorite game of all time. It still gives me the magical feelings even just watching this. I remember being 7 years old playing this and absolutely in love with it. Best game ever ❤
Happy you’re finally covering KH! It’s my absolute favourite franchise with KH2 being my favourite game of all time. Excited to see what you end up thinking of it.
This dude knows what he is talking about. Unless you have fantastic memory, you will be constantly getting lost in Kingdom Hearts 1. It was super annoying playing it later as an adult. I don’t think many kids were able to beat this game without a strategy guide. Trekking back and forth through every world gets so annoying.
KH1 is my favorite in the series. The combat is so methodical and requires precision, controlling the menu with the right stick is divine, and the magic is far more intuitive than any other KH title.
I came back to it recently while streaming, and while I was no stranger to managing my magic (I was always partial to Gravity, but understood enough about the element systems to know I needed all of my magic) it really struck me how precise and methodical it is. You're not flying around with sixteen different Keyblades making 100 slashes a second while doing kickflips or 1080° spins; you're just a boy learning how to fight in the School of Hard Knocks while being guarded and guided by a wise doofus and a wisecracking loudmouth with a heart of gold. "Simple and Clean" was the perfect song for this game.
@@shinigamimiroku3723 Thanks. You really speak to my feelings on it too. I don’t feel like I have access to all of the magic in 2 and 3. If they’re not in my shortcuts, they aren’t happening. I like doing my thinking during the battle instead of having it prepped beforehand as if I know what I’ll need.
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels on youtube. I own most of the games you cover but haven't replayed them in years. Just can't find the time anymore sadly. Thanks for being awesome, cant wait for KH2 video!
went back and played it for the first time in a decade this time on proud and damn i forgot how much i love it. its now my favorite in the series if not equal to 2.
Also, since you asked, I actually do enjoy the gummi ship. In KH 1 and 2 at least. I take the time to build a ship of my own. I'm a lot older though, so it kinda reminds me of old arcade games like Asteroids and River Raid, but with the ability to build my own ship. I try to replicate Star Wars craft sometimes, in appearance at least. It's definitely not my favorite thing about the games by any means... But I'd rather spend a few hours messing with the gummi ship over going through Atlantica lol
I’m playing kingdom hearts 1.5 HD in 2024 and this game is a chore!!! They don’t tell u where anything is or what you’re supposed to be doing next or where to meet a specific character. Wonderland was hell!!! I hope KH2 is better bec I’m planning to play all the games in this series
Growing up… starting with the Power Rangers, then Sora, then Naruto, my passion and the fight for good was set for life. Keep up the good fight my KH brothers and sisters ✊
I loved the gummi ship in KH1 not because the gameplay was exciting in any way but because the next Disney world was hidden. I loved the feeling of going in the gummi ship and wondering what new fantastical Disney world was I going to next. And the gummi ship section was hype for me because it was like the process of opening a present. KH1 is the only one that did this and it sucked that they never did worlds like that again.
thank you for doing this stuff KH is by far my favorite video game of all time shedding light on all of these great old games is such a labor of love, kudos to you my friend
For as wild and nonsensical the stories become, I will forever be a fan and will continue to play every game on launch. I love this franchise and it holds a very special place in my heart
I got stuck in the jungle part in the wonderland section as a kid, so I don't have the same fond memories of this game like other people have. But I'm def going to play it soon and redeem myself and finally get the full story.
I'm sorry you didn't start with the 1st game before playing KH2. I also think KH2 was an improvement and personally my favorite of the franchise, but KH1 keeps a nostalgic place in my heart as it's one of the 1st games I've played with such a deep sense of exploration, wonder, and familiarity with all the Disney characters I grew up watching as a child. It was such an epic journey for my first playthrough.
In a somewhat hilarious turn of events, my algorithm suggested this video - and your channel--because I just started a very similar series called NOstalgia, and my next game is Kingdom Hearts 😂 ! Great minds think alike, eh? It's been fun so far after my first couple. Hoping to have some success here with it. I've never played any of the Kingdom Heart games, so this will be an interest episode. I just started Halloween Town (coming off Atlantica) and my notes say, "went from the shittiest town in the game, to the best. What a ride". LOL Great video, going to check more of your channel for inspiration!
I also loved the gummi ship routes, first time I play them. It gets annoying when you have to redo them again and again to get back to a hub world to restock on potions. If they just unlock fast travel to a world after flying to it once I'm happy. I do sometimes redo routes just for fun. I think it's a fun mini game. I dont like when your forced to do it if you have other goals in mind, like indeed potion shopping.
I’ll never forget when I got into Kingdom Hearts when 3 was only a month away. That whole month of just being fully invested in this world and then playing 3 was one of my favorite memories in gaming
Matt you should make an 'end-of-year' summary video or ranking of your favorite retro games played THIS YEAR. It'd be nice to see as it gives precedence for which retro games you played that still hold up in 2022.
I played Kingdom Hearts for the first time this year. I absolutely loved it and actually enjoyed the gummi ship sections (not my favourite thing but still thought it was a fun distraction) I don’t have any nostalgia for the series but it easily became one of my favourite JRPGs
Ayo! Now this is new. I've heard very few people saying kh2 is their least favorite game. But this is a first to me that someone said kh2 disappointed them. I like to know what made kh2 disappointing to you.
@@Redxan600 so most of my friends prefer KH1 so i'm not alone. another thing is if you were on KH Insider forums from the early 2000s...which at the time was the most popular forum for the game, most people on Kingdom Hearts Insider rated the game as a disappointment. There were many threads that flat out said the game sucked, but for me it was just a disappointment (still overall good game). A few reasons. 1 is KH2 turned even more into hack and slash with worse gameplay, and I would say the game was too easy even beating Proud first as a child still in elementary school. Kingdom Hearts 1 had a better story. Kingdom Hearts 2 was confusing and the ending felt like it didn't tie up Riku or Roxas storylines properly. The dialogue wasn't as good which was a big deal to me as a child, i'd have to replay to be more specific. If anything KH2 is more popular now than it was back when it came out and this is because a lot of people who's opinions come from playing KH2 as their first Kingdom Hearts game.
@@pino4860 Thank you for your opinion. Difficulty-wise, it's subjective for the gameplay. I remember having so much trouble beating Demyx and it took me many tries. I even had to stay up late at 2 in the morning just to beat Demyx. But at the time, my nephews, who were eight, beat Demyx with very little trouble. One of them beat him in his first try while the other beat him on his second or third try. And they were on Standard mode. I was on Beginner Mode. And I agree with you on the story. Roxas didn't play much of a vital role until at the end of the game. And like you said, it didn't wrap up Riku's story. He still had some Darkness lingering in his heart. And yes, the dialogue have some problems with those awkward pauses. And you're correct about the fact that many people played kh2 as their first KH game. And to me, that's somewhat of a problem because they be D-riding the game like there's no tomorrow and not look at the flaws within the gameplay like the Drive forms and reaction commands.
@redxan the difficulty isn't really subjective. It is heavily noted as much easier. The amount of bad cut scenes is obscene. The story was lacking from them going in too many directions with objectively bad world design(so many wonderful worlds turned into hallways). The world design deserves s second point, because dear god. There are two worlds then some hallways. No more interactivity. The combat was fun... against Sephiroth. Final mix had to add more things to actually challenge you. The magic system is for many people a bad change. I keep hearing that it's "endless" as if they didn't realise KH1 is even more "endless" by their logic. Drive forms are fun... But they lock mobility behind them without informing you that it is how you unlock them. The increased mobility is pointless as the world design is bad. The end is 15 minutes of unskippable quick time "cutscenes". Sure they are technically cutscenes, but I have no agency during them. Being cinematic was more important than fun. It isn't a bad game, but going from 1 to 2 even now makes me wish I was playing 1 again or it had a proper sequal Sidenote:I love Antlantica in KH1(and to lesser extent pride lands), and I wish they did more like it. And I only liked kh1 gummi ship missions, but I do wish they had streamlined it better.
I replayed the series a few months ago during summer and bro kingdom hearts 1 just was so nostalgic especially when I saw traverse town for the first time again it’s like seeing a faint memory again😭
KH3 is definitely the best gummi missions so far. I replay kh1 at least every few years and I always forget that I loved the gummi parts there too. Idk why it was a thing I remember hating as a teenager but now I genuinely like doing the gummi stuff, unless it's the level 3 missions in kh2, controllers being passed off to husband for that
This is easily my favorite franchise nostalgic wise. I played the first game a year before the 2nd game came out and beat it twice in that time. The nostalgia is still there, I still don't mind the destiny islands tutorial lol
The original KH is my favorite in the series! It’s not as beloved as II, but I always preferred the original for its simplicity. A major recommendation of mine for your channel is The Bouncer, Square Enix’s first PS2 game and my all-time favorite game. It’s unfortunately not very popular, but there is something really spectacular hidden within. Criminally underrated and very charming. You should check it out sometime!
When I was a kid I was looking forward for The Bouncer. Now I'm just happy I didn't buy it 😂 that game is not criminally underrated, it's just incredibly bad 🤢 But I can understand what you feel, nostalgia is a potent catalyst 😊
I didn't do customization of the Gummi ship my first time, but when I came back to it recently, I actually had a fun time building new ships and figuring out how to do the various challenges (although a couple of them are just an exercise in frustration).
I've always enjoyed the Gummi Ship segments. Not my favorite part of the games by any stretch, but I find it a decent time, and I always had fun making ridiculous ships that seem nonsensical. Like there was a time I had a tiny ship with the turret just floating off to the side and a ridiculous amount of health, seeing my ridiculous creation easily beat these levels was always satisfying
My friend and I had a ton of fun with the Gummi ships as kids. It is honestly a lot of fun if you really engage with the system and build your own ship, collect new parts and upgrade it as the game goes on, etc. Once you get some high level parts and you can build really powerful ships it gets pretty addicting.
I remember playing Kingdom Hearts as a kid with my mom when it first came out and she got this Walkthrough Guide that has a page that you ripped out to keep track of all the Treasure Chests, with stickers if I'm remembering correctly, that you collected through the game..!
Id say as a kid when you have no money for new games, the Gummi Ship was a lot of fun! You were able to make whatever ship you wanted with parts (pre-minecraft) and it added a good amount of gameplay. But admittedly, as a 31 year old I'm not into the gummi ship parts quite as much anymore. Also its pretty funny how you dislike DDD, I actually enjoy the worlds in it quite a bit haha. Great Video BTW! Love your content
DDD did something for me that no other KH game did... It expanded my favorite world in the series: Traverse Town. The post office, and all the extended town areas reignited my nostalgia for the series and made me hope for a huge, interconnected, open world, expanded KH game... Instead, KH3 DOWNSIZED TWILIGHT TOWN. My disappointment was immeasureable.
Me and you one day need to have a full conversation about this series. I have a lot of nostalgia for this game in particular, since I’ve been playing it since day 1. But you and me have similar yet different feelings about various parts of that first game (the worlds, bosses, and combat), although from very different perspectives. We definitely need to do so one day, would be a lot of fun.
to me, the biggest disapointments with kh2, which is a game i love, were the blander exploration in the maps but above all, how they removed the skill xp gains, that thing was so cool! you literaly felt rewarded for blocking and parrying.
That KH1 Booklet brought back so many memories. I cherished that thing as a kid. I think i tore out the page with Sora on the beach and hung it in my room for a few years. I wish I still had it!
One of things that kingdom hearts 1 stand out was that the main focus was that it put details in world exploration and interaction. many treasures, trinity marks, and collections you gather because you look into these Disney and original kingdom hearts worlds, and super satisfying to get tons of stuff.
I've always said despite the clunkiness of the movement in the first game, it is the only one which truly encouraged you to explore with the verticality of the worlds. They got so creative with the level design.
seeing how often you activated a really unhelpful sliding dash (to the extent it sometimes got you hurt with that long startup time) yet seemed to keep it on for a fair bit of the game tells me maybe you didn't explore the combat to the depth you could've. imo the final boss is not that long and not at all difficult even on proud if you have a decent combo string and aeroga (this is true for pretty much any other fight in the game as well). I can see getting lost in a handful of worlds (hallow bastion, atlantica, and monstro specifically) but otherwise the individual maps are pretty small and unique, and most worlds only actually have a handful of them, so once you know you probably just need to walk in a circle for a bit it gets easier to make the story progress. What's more, between atlantica, monstro, and halloween town, its fully possible to complete the story while only doing 2 out of 3 of those worlds' plots. If you already aren't interested in getting everything (such as synth materials for ultima weapon) there was no reason to even go to atlantica at all. traverse town doesn't actually require you to explore 90% of it either, the game is just really obtuse about what makes the plot advance during the first visit. perhaps i just know too much about the game to truly understand this criticism though. stop also is on of the most useful magic spells, as it works on most bosses and allows you to kill them before they activate any important attacks (dragon maleficient is really easy with stop strats), and gravity magic is one of the most effective ways to go about the final mix secret boss. a lot of casual players don't seem to realize just how good those two spells are because they are somewhat more utility based. wind is much the same, where aeroga actually deals damage when you make contact with an enemy, so just having it up is significantly increasing your dps passively while also upping your defense, causing you to waste less mp on cure spells. while many of kh2's spells are more straightforward at a glance, kh2fm's data fights require you to execute a significant amount of knowledge on the underlying utility of each individual spell and how that utility changes in different drive forms. compared to these two games, kh3 had no idea what it was doing with its magic and grand magic system imo. both kh3 and 3d had a severe balance problem where theres always 2 or 3 options that just are better than everything else simply due to being an easy, safe way to accumulate raw damage. there's no equivalent to the balloon spell in kh1 or kh2 because no one thing is always the most useful option in isolation.
19:00 The Gummi segments in Kingdom Hearts ARE my favorite part. I thought it actually mattered when I was a kid so I went overboard in learning how the different parts worked and how to collect them. All of my friends who hated building gummi ships would have me sit down for hours to grind and build them cool ships. I loved it! KH 2 was the BEST as far as gummi segments go. The customization was way better and the levels were actually sick as fuck. Boss battles??? Amazing. I would play the gummi levels in my dreams I was so addicted.
at 24 minuets. your i think the only person ive seen have areo not on a shortcut and you just run to it... hats offto you my man. living life on the edge.
Yeah I'm one who absolutely hates the mini games in kh especially the ones that you had to do in order to get a keyblade or item, but the Gummi ship part was actually pretty fun.
MAN YOU KNOW!? Ever since KH1 and getting better with every game, I probably am the one and only Person that really, really loves the Gummi Ship, that loves to build his own Ship and to play these repetitive Missions over and over.
I love both Kh1 and 2, but there’s enough love from me for Traverse town, and Hollow bastion to make me go like “I can go against common sense just this once”
Definitely my favourite video game franchise as well. Can’t wait to see where the series goes with its 4th mainline game. There’s definitely some huge final fantasy versus XIII elements coming into play here and I’m all for it. I really want to know who this yozora character is. He looks so much like Riku!
That game cover looked awsome back then..i regret not playing it as a child ..games are 100 times more magical through a childs eye..and the nostalgia that is attached to the game later on in life is a bitter sweet gift from the memories the games evoke..it lasts a lifetime.. i think.
I love the gummi ship parts of KH. 3 definitely had the best, I spent so much time customizing my ship and absolutely crushing my high score on schwarzgeist. I feel like most ppl give up when you have to invest a little into learning new mechanics, which is why so many ppl also skip chain of memories :( breaks my heart lmao
I’m the minority that finds the Gummi Ship in KH3 to be the best part. I loved the exploration and the battles! Finding the constellations was so much fun
Na I’m more interested in the main plot with the kingdom heart’s characters and the organization story line that stuff is why i personally play kingdom hearts that’s why 3 is my favorite it brought it all together in a satisfying way for me fighting all the organization members at the end at the keyblade graveyard so good
One of my favorite series of all time and Having Sora in Super Smash Bros Ultimate as a DLC fighter was a dream come true. Sora is my main Along with Cloud Shulk Mega Man Joker Hero and Sephiroth. Also having both Mario and Sora shaking hands at the end of his reveal trailer was the most epic moment in history.
The gummi ships was one of the favorite parts of the game for me. I would spend hours designing my ship out. How I feel about them now idk since I haven’t played the game since it launched.
I honestly don’t agree with idea that sora is dumber in the later games. If you go through the journey from sora’s perspective through the main series games, and pay attention to the timeline, the story that sora goes through from Kh 1 to Kh 3 plus remind is 2 years in their time. By kingdom hearts 3 he is 16 years old so his actions and his personality don’t really change much. I think a word that probably works better for him is naïve. Also, yeah not the biggest fan of the gummi ship sections in the first one but the second and third ones are my favorite.
Kh1 is retro now. Man I feel old. I love this series, and glad it did make it to other consoles. I'm literally in the middle of convincing a friend to try the series out for xbox, since that's all he plays on .
17:41 that's the thing about kingdom hearts story, its hard to explain, but not hard to understand. people meme about it, because they are looking from the outside, but when you play it and you follow its progression, things fall in place and you get it instantly. the problem is when people either dont play the games, or havent played for a long time, jump in and they will get lost because there's too many details. look at other game franchises like destiny or star wars and you will find just as much if not even more confusion if you just jump in without knowing anything.
18:50: Hi, I am someone who legitimately loves the Gummi Ship portions of all of these games. Even over the rest of the games themselves. Customizing the ships to complete challenges was truly satisfying to me. I will say: my biggest complaint about the Gummi Ships was in KH3. Even at the end of the game, you could not unlock enough to make as good a ship as the unlocked ship you get for completing all of the first galaxy's challenges. Meaning no matter how awesome I would build a ship, it would never be as good. Which sucked as it was realized immediately after the second galaxy. IDK if anyone else shared my experience with them, nor do I care. It was honestly the only part of these games I actually enjoyed. You called for my answer, there it is. Enjoy your day.
One of my favorite things about the original Kingdom Hearts is that the Disney worlds actually feel intertwined with the overarching quest. Things like Alice and Jasmine being kidnapped from their worlds and that actually mattering. Or little nuggets of lore like King Triton having knowledge of keyblade weilders and their history. Or places like Deep Jungle, Monstro, and Neverland that actually move the story forward and develop the characters' relationships with each other. I don't think any other game puts this much effort into integrating the Disney worlds.
Newer players to this series will never understand how exciting it was that KH1.5 and KH2.5 were being released to the US with the Final Mix variants. For over a decade we had to miss out on all the extra content and there was constant requests for them to release it to the US. At the time, the only way to play Final Mix for either game was to buy a PS2 directly from Japan, so it was a BIG deal when it finally came.
Fun fact: Olympus Colisseum, and Atlantica are skippable. I believe once you reach the second set of worlds, you need to complete Agrabah, Monstro, and either Atlantica or Halloween town to trigger the pirate ship to Neverland.
The first game is still my favourite in the series, has the best story/music/use of Disney characters imo. Disney characters fit into the overall story, and we didn't just go through the movie stories like the later games mostly did
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I have had 3 exes who love the gummi ships. And one friend. What do they all have in common? They're women.
I'm a poor idiot, but I just wanted to say, great job on this video man.
Also that Gel Blaster actually looks sick. I might be getting one for my nephew, and I will use your link if I do :)
My story so far is in the mail.. I can't wait lol so I come to torcher myself a little longer while I wait
There is something so magical about Kingdom Hearts. Especially the first one it gives me child like wonder still to this day. Also the sense of progression as Sora levels up is best in this game, you can barely do anything at the start of the game and by the end you can do so much.
not enough to summon Disney land
❤️
Amen. KH2 and BBS actually really pissed me off because they make it impossibly hard JUST for sora to get the Glide ability.. and that was pretty much my entire reason for playing KH as a young boy. Being able to fly! I must have spent hours flying around in the Peter Pan world and just looking over every little detail. I don't regret it for a second, some of my best gaming memories. I really felt like I was exploring a new world and connecting with it. They just nailed it with KH1
@@Mizari27 I just started KH3 and the attractions are so annoying and distracting. Is there a way to just disable them entirely? I'd rather just level up Sora and learn to fight.. not hit a button and have it done for me by a Disneyland ride from 50 years ago. It's bizarre.
I think if you check your Abilities menu you can probably unequip them?
I didn't beat the first game until several months ago. I used to hate on it in my high school years, but I've decided to give the series another go and I love it. Sora is too pure for all of us.
he's very plain yes :v
That's how it went for me too. Friends wouldn't shut up about it in high school and soured me towards it, then played it a few years after graduating and now it's easily one of my top 5 favorite series.
casual
“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature.” - Based Ansem
it makes me so happy to see so many people saying they just played this game for the first time, and actually went back to KH1 to try it out!
This game has brought me so many hours, years of joy. It makes me really happy that a new generation can get to experience it too (And maybe we can go over lore when i'm in the old folks home) ♥ (Joking)
Destiny Islands is underrated. Stories need a place that the hero wants to return. As a kid I thought it was creepy seeing this perfect idyllic setting get overwhelmed by literal darkness.
Agreed, as a child I was instantly connected to the story with the disappearance of Kairi as well as the infestation of heartless on Destiny Islands.
Same. Matty hating on destiny islands made me immediately turn off the video
We all had a kairi and a riku in our lives
Best franchise of all time. I don’t care how weird the story gets. THE CHARACTERS are the most loveable of any out there. The emotions portrayed through these polygons is second to none. KH2 ending is perfection.
I honestly love KH1s ending more but KH2s is well... a close second for me. Then again.... 358s hits the feels.
@@Owely16 I can’t disagree with you! Riku’s character arch is great. Seeing our home boy on the other side. It’s bitter sweet but I love that about it. KH2 is just the ending that you want you know. 😃
i remember having the old nokia 3510i i think it was and i had kingdom hearts midi tones on there like simple and clean, halloween town and many others but i chose traverse town as my ringtone 👍 i've only played kingdom hearts on ps2 but never tried the others. i just visualise that sepiroth battle, sure i was in the lv.70s ish but did it.
@@gazster I recommend at least playing the second game. Honestly gives a great conclusion to the series.
But that’s dope. Having that old phone play custom ringtones is hard core. That sephiroth fight is brutal. I needed to be high 80’s to beat that one, kudos!
I wouldn’t call it weird, just very dense it in its lore. Though it thats not a bad thing imo
My favorite game of all time. Played it when it first came out. Was literally my first game on the PS2 for Christmas. I was 11 then and I'm 31 now and I still love this game
Yea same! I remember so much of the cut scenes because on the original copy you couldn’t skip any scenes! Just replayed this past summer !
Same for me. Favorite series of all time. My dad bought it for me for Christmas after I wouldn't shut up about it for most of the year lol. Miss those days. I'm 31 too.
Time sure does fly by doesn't it 🥹
Haha same here. 31 now and played and absolutely loved this game when i got for Christmas when it first released.
This is my favorite gaming franchise
I’m so sorry
@@onthedre To experience emotion unlike anything else? No apology needed 😂
Best gaming franchise
@@onthedre? It's awesome
@@onthedre Why are you sorry??? KH is literal peak
I never expected this, Kingdom Heart really formed my life! Amazing franchise.
You said what I've been trying to. Amen.
Thank you Nomura, and everyone who worked on this masterpiece. It really did change my life.
KH1 is a masterpiece, I really love how much detail and secret interactions were put in this game. The secret chests and learning how to manuever certain things. The game also rewards you for exploration and learning how to use your tools. I even like the gummi ship, especially in Final Mix the gummi missions really teach you the system thoroughly. There's a lot of technical things about KH1 and when you master them, I think you can appreciate the game so much more. Learning how to fight special heartless helps you learn how to play the game for example. You have to think outside the box to win those battles.
Mastering summons and magic I think will give you a different outlook as well, because magic is just insanely good in KH1. I don't think any other KH game has reached such a high with magic. Like the magic system in this game is insanely indepth.
Also, the gummi ship requirements on PS4 were heavily changed so it's an easier plat. On PS3 you had to master the gummi ship to complete them.
Some super secret things is in traverse town before the first guard armor, you can go back to Aerith and she gives you a reward. You can also go to the green room and hit the clock 9 times for a reward.
Here's even more great details.
My friend found a tweet that said...
"Very cool little KH1 detail I literally just noticed: Red Nocturnes float high in the air while Blue Rhapsodys float close to the ground because hot air rises and cold air falls."
That's reason number 1001 why KH1 is a masterpiece.
Not knowing where to go and having to go back and forth 20 times in each world makes it not a masterpiece.. but very good start.
Kh2 is the masterpiece
@@treystaton282 RUclips, don't hide my replies please.
This just tells me you suck at the game. KH1 is better than kh2 because kh2 is nothing more than a hallway simulator and lacks the charm KH1 has.
@@Redxan600
Did I say KH1 was bad? No. Its a great game with care and small details. I've beaten all on critical or proud.
I know they had lower budget, but it was a logistical nightmare. Going up and down deep jungle 7 times, atlantica with the dolphin and Ursula fights, and boring limited space in kh1. There wasnt a world that wasn't at least a tad frustrating. The camera alone made my wife scream. People who love the game agree with its frustrations and it is a great road map to kh2, the game majority of fans put as peak and a masterpiece.
You got to see the underworld/Christmas town, The world's expanded from 1, the combat system is still top tier 18 years later and not as clunky as 1 trying to hit something, the story was flushed out, the extensive abilities, the map selection free roam, able to tell how far from leveling, the mp limiting cure for skill, actually bosses with personality and voice acting, Roxas prologue hitting hard over collecting fruit for a raft, interactions with environment, quick commands that weren't the Disney rides of 3, the ending
I don't see many complaints with 2, and if you call it a hallway sim... i dont see what you see with the 3 rooms in each world kh1
But hey, it's our opinions, wish nothing bug the best
@@treystaton282 If you don't see many complaints for kh2, then I have to assume you are a newcomer. Back then, kh2 had lots of criticism. Some of them are a bit too much, but overall they were valid.
The prolouge is way too long and doesn't tell us about Roxas and his character. It doesn't tell us how Roxas and Axel became friends nor gives us any reason why we should care. Most of the Disney worlds are filler along with their second visits with the exception of Beast's Castle, Land of Dragon, Olympus Coliseum, Port Royal, and Space Paranoids.
The combat is also heavily flawed because the reaction commands are so bad that you don't basically earn them. You have to grind drive forms to gain the field abilities which I shouldn't have to do that if KH1 gives us those throughout the journey and for free. And you get punished if you used them too much. At least with KH3, it was implemented better because Rage form was more of a high risk/high reward mechanic. And honestly, the magic system was broken because you can abuse Reflect and the Magnet and Thundaga combo. The combat doesn't give you a lot of variety.
And don't discredit KH1 bosses to put kh2 up on a pedestal. The bosses has a lot of charm and great voice acting as well. Most of the time in kh2, the cutscenes had a lot of awkward silence to pad out the scene. You seriously can't tell me that long five minute scene of Xemnas going down the stairs had a lot of charm. And KH1 environments had lots of charm other than kh2 with their text boxes.
KH1 may not be perfect, but it's still a masterpiece. And kh2 is heavily flawed in both gameplay and story and most kh2 elitists will not admit that. If you wanna see some kh2 criticism, then I recommend seeing Scooternape on Reddit. That person brought up how much criticism kh2 had back then. They even pointed out the hypocrisy kh2 fans are and why they won't admit that kh2 is flawed.
But anyways, KH1 is a masterpiece and this game along with KH3 are better than kh2, and tired of kh2 hogging the attention when the topic is not even about kh2.
Bittersweet for me, loved someone enjoying this game currently. It (the first two games) are very special to me as it was one of the rpg's my wife fell in love with and wanted to play with me. An sadly just lost my Angel a few months ago. So I loved seeing this and hearing Matt discuss this too Many happy tears.
God bless you bud
@@chumgruntley896 Thank you for the well wishes and humanity both are rare today sadly. God Bless
Sending all my love your way. As someone who shares a love of games with my fiancé, I totally understand the emotions you’re feeling. I’m happy to hear this video brought some happiness even if it came with some tears. Stay strong! We will be doing Kingdom Hearts 2 within the next month or so. :)
@@retrorebound8887 Thank you Matty been a fan for years as it was us under your main channel which would donate frequently. Your parents should be proud of the young man you became. I look forward to resubbing on the main channel when it covers more then the Xbox. Thank you for being a amazing young man
I hope this doesn't sound corny, and I'm not a very religious person, but I mean this from my heart. I think she's still with you always, watching over you. She would want you to be happy (after you grieve, of course). I know its too soon, and please, take all the time in the world that you need. Let yourself heal at your own pace. There is no set time on wounds like that. Just know she's still there with you in some way. I know that, if I passed and left my fiancé.. I would definitely want them to know that I'm ok. I'm waiting for them. I'm going to see them again, and I just want them to be OK and happy. No judgement, anger, jealousy. All love. I would be watching over them any way I possibly could, and want them to flourish and thrive. You will see her again. I am not religious, but oddly enough, games like KH have caused me to believe that there is more than just black after death. There is so much more than we can possibly know. I'm so sorry for your loss stranger, and my heart goes out to you. I hope this doesn't come off as insensitive or ignorant. If you need an ear, or just someone to listen, I am always here.
You unlocked a memory of getting lost in HalloweenTown as a kid because I didn't know where the next story beat was. It was an amazing level, but not so fun after being trapped there for a week.
Oh man I love the gummy ship sections! I hated them as a kid but I grew to appreciate them. The entire gummi ship side of the game is way deeper than I initially thought and I just genuinely enjoy it.
On the flip side I have to agree that the final boss fight was a bit of a slog and while epic because of scale it also hurts the fight a bit.
I loved the gummy ship sections too. By the end I have this massive behemoth of a ship. It’s been years since I played it but I loved building my ship
i loved it as a kid and then as an adult i grew to dislike them because they are kind of pointless😅
Yea I like them too. Matty buggin
Still hate them but I can appreciate it more
Oh my gosh the voice acting is amazing too, especially at the end, billy zane (Ansem) saying those iconic lines will be stuck in my memory forever.
I had no clue it was the great Billy Zane. Thank you!
When you walk awayyy you don’t hear me say pleaseee oh baby, don’t goooo
Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feeeeel tonight, It's Hard to let it go! 🎵🎶
Hoooold me, whatever lies beyond this moooorning, it's a little later on! 🎶🎶🎶
I have followed this franchise since I was a little kid, and I still get just as excited watching that opening cinematic!
The first KH really is the best at blending the Disney and Final Fantasy stuff. The Disney worlds and original worlds all feel like part of one whole, and the tone remains consistent throughout the whole thing- it doesn't start adventurous and then dip into stupidity for 20 hours in the Disney worlds then get weirdly serious right at the end like so many of the games afterwards. Another thing that helps with this consistency is that the Disney worlds and characters are just as important as the original worlds and characters and the Final Fantasy characters. Kairi is one of the Princesses of Heart alongside Disney princesses like Alice and Belle. The Disney villains here are GENUINE villains, it's not just Pete and Maleficent dicking around in the background over the course of the plot because power creep has now made Xehanort and the Nort Crew so insanely overpowered that someone like Captain Hook or Ursula is a pushover joke by comparison. And this consistency, the feeling of the Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, and Hollow Bastion all just being other worlds existing in parallel with Agrabah, Olympus, and Halloween Town, really gives that tight feeling of everything just... working.
Then Nomura got kicked off FF Versus 13 and exiled all Final Fantasy characters from the series as a weird form of childish revenge, and let the Disney corporatism take over completely.
Thats explains a lot
I actually genuinely liked the gummi ship stuff.
Because it genuinely implies the absolute massive scale of the ten year war.
By the end you're killing millions of heartless cause there's less worlds as you continue. You can see the stars going out around you in the first one. And I thought it was epic. You're flying through nebula, supernovas, and slowly but surely advancing the technology by uniting the people that were fighting independently into one super force. Since Leon, Yuffie, Cid and Aerith storm the Hollow Bastion behind you.
Sora's fighting in space genuinely changed the tide of the war. To the point where Radiant Garden built a defense system to prevent such mass casualty from ever happening again.
Plus from an in Universe perspective I genuinely feel like Sora loves to fly. Since this was his actual dream to sail around and explore other worlds. Which is why I loved the Caribbean in III since Sora does actually finally do what he always wanted to.
I like to think either Roger or Anita (but not both since what would be their motivation?) Survived the destruction of their world along with the Dalmatians thanks to the other and was the person advancing the living shit out of your weapons systems. To the point where she/he invented an ultimate weapon against them.
Since why the fuck would Pongo and Perdita have every gummi invented at that point.
The little details always made it feel so special to get behind the gummi ship. Since Sora genuinely felt excited to see it again. I have no doubt that the second trip to Hollow Bastion was one way. And the gummi ship did not survive intact. Emergency landing status. Since you can't access any former saves until you reach them. You leave on whatever Cid showed up in for the center of the damn universe. Like a straight boss. The story implied is epic. By the end you feel like Anakin Skywalker spinning your way into universal legends armed by Disney's genuine Avengers: Chip, Dale, Geppeto, Roger/Anita, Merlin, and Pinocchio. AVENGERS MASS MURDER HEARTLESS!
This would’ve been the perfect franchise if the story wasn’t so messy.
The thing that KH 1 did really well was how it integrated the worlds you visit into the story. Specifically the way that the Disney stories are derailed by both the heartless and Sora.
The Little Mermaid story is ended before it can actually start, and Ariel switches from longing for land to longing for the multiverse. And yet in KH 2 it's as if nothing had actually changed, and that was sad.
I actually LOVE that you can get lost in KH1. One of my favorite parts of the game, especially with all the small worlds. Encourages exploring that rewards with small details that only exist in KH1. There is FAR too much handholding in all the games afterwards; makes transitions into cutscenes more surprising and better as well
super underrated comment, I felt the same way when going from KH1 to 2, the combat system is obviously developed more, but you lose out on that open world feel, where each zone in Kh2 is very linear, few hidden chests/ hard to get to areas... etc
It’s cool to see that someone enjoys that. I found playing kingdom hearts 1 extremely annoying because of this. Finished about 70% of the game and tapped out, I just couldn’t take it anymore 😂❤
It made finally getting to that next cutscene that much more exciting
It still holds up to this day the feels and emotions are unmatched for me
I played every Kingdom Hearts game for the first time last summer and absolutely loved it. Started in June and ended 3 at the start of September and felt like I’d been on such a journey over the summer.
Its a series that has such a ridiculous concept but it totally owns it and makes the most of it to tell such a genuine story. I think what really has made these games last is that they are genuinely good games. It didn’t half ass anything and is such a fun experience as both a game and a story
I really want to try this game. Never played it in its prime on account I was a GameCube kid. Now that I’m an adult and can buy whatever tf I want, I’m considering.
I enjoy Gummi Ships, but only after ignoring them for 50% of the game and stacking large stores of gummi blocks to make a real ship.
I was in my early twenties when this game came out and I have never been more wrong in my opinion of a game than I was this one. I thought it seemed so stupid and once I played it, I was in love. Absolutely a classic from Squaresoft here.
Damn dude that's awesome! I've never stumbled across someone who was in there 20s when the OG came out and gave it a shot. Do you still keep up with the series as a whole or just fond memories of the first one?
@@LuxuFoo I definitely do still keep up with the series, I love the first two games the most, but I think it's a great series. Yeah, I'm an 80s baby, so I grew up playing Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games on NES/SNES.
When this game was coming out, I thought the premise was dumb (Disney meets Final Fantasy?! WTF?!) but my wife was really interested so the day it dropped, we went and picked up her pre-order copy, and after we put our son to bed, we smoked a little Mary Jane, and then she started up the game, I figured I'd watch for a little bit, maybe be her "strategy guide reader" for her... But before she was off Destiny Island I was completely enthralled and wanted to start my own file. I can still remember playing through the first game with my then-infant son in my lap sometimes and just listening to him burbling and giggling to himself seeing the crazy and colorful things happening in the game. To this day, even though her and I are long divorced, it's still a fond memory for both of us and something we still talk about. And of course, my son loves these games as well.
Kingdom hearts 1 was/is my favorite game of all time. It still gives me the magical feelings even just watching this. I remember being 7 years old playing this and absolutely in love with it. Best game ever ❤
Happy you’re finally covering KH! It’s my absolute favourite franchise with KH2 being my favourite game of all time. Excited to see what you end up thinking of it.
Man, I miss the guidebooks in games. They were a really cool feature I wish they’d do again. Such cool artwork!
This dude knows what he is talking about. Unless you have fantastic memory, you will be constantly getting lost in Kingdom Hearts 1. It was super annoying playing it later as an adult. I don’t think many kids were able to beat this game without a strategy guide. Trekking back and forth through every world gets so annoying.
KH1 is my favorite in the series. The combat is so methodical and requires precision, controlling the menu with the right stick is divine, and the magic is far more intuitive than any other KH title.
I came back to it recently while streaming, and while I was no stranger to managing my magic (I was always partial to Gravity, but understood enough about the element systems to know I needed all of my magic) it really struck me how precise and methodical it is. You're not flying around with sixteen different Keyblades making 100 slashes a second while doing kickflips or 1080° spins; you're just a boy learning how to fight in the School of Hard Knocks while being guarded and guided by a wise doofus and a wisecracking loudmouth with a heart of gold. "Simple and Clean" was the perfect song for this game.
@@shinigamimiroku3723 Thanks. You really speak to my feelings on it too. I don’t feel like I have access to all of the magic in 2 and 3. If they’re not in my shortcuts, they aren’t happening. I like doing my thinking during the battle instead of having it prepped beforehand as if I know what I’ll need.
It’s my least favorite by far
This has quickly become one of my favorite channels on youtube. I own most of the games you cover but haven't replayed them in years. Just can't find the time anymore sadly. Thanks for being awesome, cant wait for KH2 video!
went back and played it for the first time in a decade this time on proud and damn i forgot how much i love it. its now my favorite in the series if not equal to 2.
Also, since you asked, I actually do enjoy the gummi ship. In KH 1 and 2 at least. I take the time to build a ship of my own. I'm a lot older though, so it kinda reminds me of old arcade games like Asteroids and River Raid, but with the ability to build my own ship. I try to replicate Star Wars craft sometimes, in appearance at least.
It's definitely not my favorite thing about the games by any means... But I'd rather spend a few hours messing with the gummi ship over going through Atlantica lol
I’m playing kingdom hearts 1.5 HD in 2024 and this game is a chore!!! They don’t tell u where anything is or what you’re supposed to be doing next or where to meet a specific character. Wonderland was hell!!! I hope KH2 is better bec I’m planning to play all the games in this series
Same, I kinda like the beginning of KH1, but completing wonderland was a complete nightmare
Growing up… starting with the Power Rangers, then Sora, then Naruto, my passion and the fight for good was set for life.
Keep up the good fight my KH brothers and sisters ✊
I loved the gummi ship in KH1 not because the gameplay was exciting in any way but because the next Disney world was hidden. I loved the feeling of going in the gummi ship and wondering what new fantastical Disney world was I going to next. And the gummi ship section was hype for me because it was like the process of opening a present. KH1 is the only one that did this and it sucked that they never did worlds like that again.
There are a lot of things that kh1 did the best in the series
thank you for doing this stuff
KH is by far my favorite video game of all time
shedding light on all of these great old games is such a labor of love, kudos to you my friend
For as wild and nonsensical the stories become, I will forever be a fan and will continue to play every game on launch. I love this franchise and it holds a very special place in my heart
One of my favorite RUclipsrs covering one of my favorite game series. I see this as a win-win
I got stuck in the jungle part in the wonderland section as a kid, so I don't have the same fond memories of this game like other people have. But I'm def going to play it soon and redeem myself and finally get the full story.
this comment hasnt aged well. I regret this decision lol
I'm sorry you didn't start with the 1st game before playing KH2. I also think KH2 was an improvement and personally my favorite of the franchise, but KH1 keeps a nostalgic place in my heart as it's one of the 1st games I've played with such a deep sense of exploration, wonder, and familiarity with all the Disney characters I grew up watching as a child. It was such an epic journey for my first playthrough.
KH2 is simply awful. No one understands the ridiculous story.
Still my favorite in the series! This game gives me that feeling of a late 90's Square rpg that the rest of the series lacks.
In a somewhat hilarious turn of events, my algorithm suggested this video - and your channel--because I just started a very similar series called NOstalgia, and my next game is Kingdom Hearts 😂 ! Great minds think alike, eh? It's been fun so far after my first couple. Hoping to have some success here with it.
I've never played any of the Kingdom Heart games, so this will be an interest episode.
I just started Halloween Town (coming off Atlantica) and my notes say, "went from the shittiest town in the game, to the best. What a ride". LOL
Great video, going to check more of your channel for inspiration!
I also loved the gummi ship routes, first time I play them. It gets annoying when you have to redo them again and again to get back to a hub world to restock on potions. If they just unlock fast travel to a world after flying to it once I'm happy. I do sometimes redo routes just for fun. I think it's a fun mini game. I dont like when your forced to do it if you have other goals in mind, like indeed potion shopping.
the gummi ship segment was so funny to me -- I absolutely detested when I had to do the gummi ship quests just to get to the new planets.
I’ll never forget when I got into Kingdom Hearts when 3 was only a month away. That whole month of just being fully invested in this world and then playing 3 was one of my favorite memories in gaming
Matt you should make an 'end-of-year' summary video or ranking of your favorite retro games played THIS YEAR.
It'd be nice to see as it gives precedence for which retro games you played that still hold up in 2022.
I played Kingdom Hearts for the first time this year. I absolutely loved it and actually enjoyed the gummi ship sections (not my favourite thing but still thought it was a fun distraction) I don’t have any nostalgia for the series but it easily became one of my favourite JRPGs
I put Kingdom Hearts down for months when I was a kid because of Atlantica. Totally agree.
I played the games in the same order as you did and feel exactly the same about the storytelling being very questionable lately, great video!
Words cant describe how much these games mean to me. And I‘m not the only one ❤
Kingdom Hearts was my favorite game as a kid. Kingdom Hearts 2 disappointed me in so many ways…
Ayo! Now this is new. I've heard very few people saying kh2 is their least favorite game. But this is a first to me that someone said kh2 disappointed them. I like to know what made kh2 disappointing to you.
@@Redxan600 so most of my friends prefer KH1 so i'm not alone. another thing is if you were on KH Insider forums from the early 2000s...which at the time was the most popular forum for the game, most people on Kingdom Hearts Insider rated the game as a disappointment. There were many threads that flat out said the game sucked, but for me it was just a disappointment (still overall good game). A few reasons. 1 is KH2 turned even more into hack and slash with worse gameplay, and I would say the game was too easy even beating Proud first as a child still in elementary school. Kingdom Hearts 1 had a better story. Kingdom Hearts 2 was confusing and the ending felt like it didn't tie up Riku or Roxas storylines properly. The dialogue wasn't as good which was a big deal to me as a child, i'd have to replay to be more specific. If anything KH2 is more popular now than it was back when it came out and this is because a lot of people who's opinions come from playing KH2 as their first Kingdom Hearts game.
@@pino4860 Thank you for your opinion.
Difficulty-wise, it's subjective for the gameplay. I remember having so much trouble beating Demyx and it took me many tries. I even had to stay up late at 2 in the morning just to beat Demyx. But at the time, my nephews, who were eight, beat Demyx with very little trouble. One of them beat him in his first try while the other beat him on his second or third try. And they were on Standard mode. I was on Beginner Mode.
And I agree with you on the story. Roxas didn't play much of a vital role until at the end of the game. And like you said, it didn't wrap up Riku's story. He still had some Darkness lingering in his heart. And yes, the dialogue have some problems with those awkward pauses. And you're correct about the fact that many people played kh2 as their first KH game. And to me, that's somewhat of a problem because they be D-riding the game like there's no tomorrow and not look at the flaws within the gameplay like the Drive forms and reaction commands.
@redxan the difficulty isn't really subjective. It is heavily noted as much easier.
The amount of bad cut scenes is obscene.
The story was lacking from them going in too many directions with objectively bad world design(so many wonderful worlds turned into hallways).
The world design deserves s second point, because dear god. There are two worlds then some hallways. No more interactivity.
The combat was fun... against Sephiroth. Final mix had to add more things to actually challenge you.
The magic system is for many people a bad change. I keep hearing that it's "endless" as if they didn't realise KH1 is even more "endless" by their logic.
Drive forms are fun... But they lock mobility behind them without informing you that it is how you unlock them.
The increased mobility is pointless as the world design is bad.
The end is 15 minutes of unskippable quick time "cutscenes". Sure they are technically cutscenes, but I have no agency during them.
Being cinematic was more important than fun.
It isn't a bad game, but going from 1 to 2 even now makes me wish I was playing 1 again or it had a proper sequal
Sidenote:I love Antlantica in KH1(and to lesser extent pride lands), and I wish they did more like it. And I only liked kh1 gummi ship missions, but I do wish they had streamlined it better.
kh 2 better than 1
I was always rushing home to come and play this on the PS2 and it came out when I was in 3rd grade 😭 it’s made a great impact for me as a kid.
I replayed the series a few months ago during summer and bro kingdom hearts 1 just was so nostalgic especially when I saw traverse town for the first time again it’s like seeing a faint memory again😭
KH3 is definitely the best gummi missions so far. I replay kh1 at least every few years and I always forget that I loved the gummi parts there too. Idk why it was a thing I remember hating as a teenager but now I genuinely like doing the gummi stuff, unless it's the level 3 missions in kh2, controllers being passed off to husband for that
This is easily my favorite franchise nostalgic wise. I played the first game a year before the 2nd game came out and beat it twice in that time. The nostalgia is still there, I still don't mind the destiny islands tutorial lol
The original KH is my favorite in the series! It’s not as beloved as II, but I always preferred the original for its simplicity.
A major recommendation of mine for your channel is The Bouncer, Square Enix’s first PS2 game and my all-time favorite game. It’s unfortunately not very popular, but there is something really spectacular hidden within. Criminally underrated and very charming. You should check it out sometime!
When I was a kid I was looking forward for The Bouncer.
Now I'm just happy I didn't buy it 😂 that game is not criminally underrated, it's just incredibly bad 🤢
But I can understand what you feel, nostalgia is a potent catalyst 😊
I didn't do customization of the Gummi ship my first time, but when I came back to it recently, I actually had a fun time building new ships and figuring out how to do the various challenges (although a couple of them are just an exercise in frustration).
I've always enjoyed the Gummi Ship segments. Not my favorite part of the games by any stretch, but I find it a decent time, and I always had fun making ridiculous ships that seem nonsensical. Like there was a time I had a tiny ship with the turret just floating off to the side and a ridiculous amount of health, seeing my ridiculous creation easily beat these levels was always satisfying
I grew up with KH and till this day I’m still a fan 😂. I’m so glad I grew up with it along with Pokémon
My friend and I had a ton of fun with the Gummi ships as kids. It is honestly a lot of fun if you really engage with the system and build your own ship, collect new parts and upgrade it as the game goes on, etc. Once you get some high level parts and you can build really powerful ships it gets pretty addicting.
I remember playing Kingdom Hearts as a kid with my mom when it first came out and she got this Walkthrough Guide that has a page that you ripped out to keep track of all the Treasure Chests, with stickers if I'm remembering correctly, that you collected through the game..!
I replayed KH1 recently and I decided to actually give the gummy ship a fair chance, and I actually fell in love with it
Id say as a kid when you have no money for new games, the Gummi Ship was a lot of fun! You were able to make whatever ship you wanted with parts (pre-minecraft) and it added a good amount of gameplay. But admittedly, as a 31 year old I'm not into the gummi ship parts quite as much anymore. Also its pretty funny how you dislike DDD, I actually enjoy the worlds in it quite a bit haha. Great Video BTW! Love your content
DDD did something for me that no other KH game did... It expanded my favorite world in the series: Traverse Town. The post office, and all the extended town areas reignited my nostalgia for the series and made me hope for a huge, interconnected, open world, expanded KH game...
Instead, KH3 DOWNSIZED TWILIGHT TOWN. My disappointment was immeasureable.
What’s really crazy and coincidental, is that I just randomly started replaying this game about 3 days ago. And now this video pops up on my feed.
Me and you one day need to have a full conversation about this series. I have a lot of nostalgia for this game in particular, since I’ve been playing it since day 1. But you and me have similar yet different feelings about various parts of that first game (the worlds, bosses, and combat), although from very different perspectives. We definitely need to do so one day, would be a lot of fun.
to me, the biggest disapointments with kh2, which is a game i love, were the blander exploration in the maps but above all, how they removed the skill xp gains, that thing was so cool! you literaly felt rewarded for blocking and parrying.
That's just a Saturday for me
That KH1 Booklet brought back so many memories. I cherished that thing as a kid. I think i tore out the page with Sora on the beach and hung it in my room for a few years. I wish I still had it!
One of things that kingdom hearts 1 stand out was that the main focus was that it put details in world exploration and interaction. many treasures, trinity marks, and collections you gather because you look into these Disney and original kingdom hearts worlds, and super satisfying to get tons of stuff.
I've always said despite the clunkiness of the movement in the first game, it is the only one which truly encouraged you to explore with the verticality of the worlds. They got so creative with the level design.
kh1 is a gem, i got stuck on the last boss and haven’t finished it but watching this has motivated me to finish it
Same lol
Every time I play a kingdom hearts game I cry because the characters are so wholesome 🥺❤️
These games actually hold up really well. Especially on proud mode. It's a legit great game
seeing how often you activated a really unhelpful sliding dash (to the extent it sometimes got you hurt with that long startup time) yet seemed to keep it on for a fair bit of the game tells me maybe you didn't explore the combat to the depth you could've. imo the final boss is not that long and not at all difficult even on proud if you have a decent combo string and aeroga (this is true for pretty much any other fight in the game as well).
I can see getting lost in a handful of worlds (hallow bastion, atlantica, and monstro specifically) but otherwise the individual maps are pretty small and unique, and most worlds only actually have a handful of them, so once you know you probably just need to walk in a circle for a bit it gets easier to make the story progress. What's more, between atlantica, monstro, and halloween town, its fully possible to complete the story while only doing 2 out of 3 of those worlds' plots. If you already aren't interested in getting everything (such as synth materials for ultima weapon) there was no reason to even go to atlantica at all. traverse town doesn't actually require you to explore 90% of it either, the game is just really obtuse about what makes the plot advance during the first visit. perhaps i just know too much about the game to truly understand this criticism though.
stop also is on of the most useful magic spells, as it works on most bosses and allows you to kill them before they activate any important attacks (dragon maleficient is really easy with stop strats), and gravity magic is one of the most effective ways to go about the final mix secret boss. a lot of casual players don't seem to realize just how good those two spells are because they are somewhat more utility based. wind is much the same, where aeroga actually deals damage when you make contact with an enemy, so just having it up is significantly increasing your dps passively while also upping your defense, causing you to waste less mp on cure spells. while many of kh2's spells are more straightforward at a glance, kh2fm's data fights require you to execute a significant amount of knowledge on the underlying utility of each individual spell and how that utility changes in different drive forms. compared to these two games, kh3 had no idea what it was doing with its magic and grand magic system imo. both kh3 and 3d had a severe balance problem where theres always 2 or 3 options that just are better than everything else simply due to being an easy, safe way to accumulate raw damage. there's no equivalent to the balloon spell in kh1 or kh2 because no one thing is always the most useful option in isolation.
19:00 The Gummi segments in Kingdom Hearts ARE my favorite part. I thought it actually mattered when I was a kid so I went overboard in learning how the different parts worked and how to collect them. All of my friends who hated building gummi ships would have me sit down for hours to grind and build them cool ships. I loved it!
KH 2 was the BEST as far as gummi segments go. The customization was way better and the levels were actually sick as fuck. Boss battles??? Amazing. I would play the gummi levels in my dreams I was so addicted.
Still can't believe Twilight Town replaced Travere Town. Smh
at 24 minuets. your i think the only person ive seen have areo not on a shortcut and you just run to it... hats offto you my man. living life on the edge.
Yeah I'm one who absolutely hates the mini games in kh especially the ones that you had to do in order to get a keyblade or item, but the Gummi ship part was actually pretty fun.
MAN YOU KNOW!? Ever since KH1 and getting better with every game, I probably am the one and only Person that really, really loves the Gummi Ship, that loves to build his own Ship and to play these repetitive Missions over and over.
The gummi ship is the best kingdom hearts feature for me, I love building a spaceship and flying it
I love both Kh1 and 2, but there’s enough love from me for Traverse town, and Hollow bastion to make me go like “I can go against common sense just this once”
Definitely my favourite video game franchise as well. Can’t wait to see where the series goes with its 4th mainline game. There’s definitely some huge final fantasy versus XIII elements coming into play here and I’m all for it. I really want to know who this yozora character is. He looks so much like Riku!
I love all the stages at the last boss fight. It felt like a big deal. The scope of the fight feels grand and epic.
I love the KH3 Gummy ship, mine is OP asf
That game cover looked awsome back then..i regret not playing it as a child ..games are 100 times more magical through a childs eye..and the nostalgia that is attached to the game later on in life is a bitter sweet gift from the memories the games evoke..it lasts a lifetime.. i think.
I love the gummi ship parts of KH. 3 definitely had the best, I spent so much time customizing my ship and absolutely crushing my high score on schwarzgeist. I feel like most ppl give up when you have to invest a little into learning new mechanics, which is why so many ppl also skip chain of memories :( breaks my heart lmao
I’m the minority that finds the Gummi Ship in KH3 to be the best part. I loved the exploration and the battles! Finding the constellations was so much fun
That sponsor transition, woof. The gel gun thing was so jarring it completely took me out of whatever you were talking about...
Na I’m more interested in the main plot with the kingdom heart’s characters and the organization story line that stuff is why i personally play kingdom hearts that’s why 3 is my favorite it brought it all together in a satisfying way for me fighting all the organization members at the end at the keyblade graveyard so good
One of my favorite series of all time and Having Sora in Super Smash Bros Ultimate as a DLC fighter was a dream come true. Sora is my main Along with Cloud Shulk Mega Man Joker Hero and Sephiroth. Also having both Mario and Sora shaking hands at the end of his reveal trailer was the most epic moment in history.
Playing thru for my first time ever currently. Im almost half way through with number 1. Sooo excited to make it to 3. It looks beautiful
The gummi ships was one of the favorite parts of the game for me. I would spend hours designing my ship out.
How I feel about them now idk since I haven’t played the game since it launched.
I honestly don’t agree with idea that sora is dumber in the later games. If you go through the journey from sora’s perspective through the main series games, and pay attention to the timeline, the story that sora goes through from Kh 1 to Kh 3 plus remind is 2 years in their time. By kingdom hearts 3 he is 16 years old so his actions and his personality don’t really change much. I think a word that probably works better for him is naïve. Also, yeah not the biggest fan of the gummi ship sections in the first one but the second and third ones are my favorite.
Kh1 is retro now. Man I feel old. I love this series, and glad it did make it to other consoles. I'm literally in the middle of convincing a friend to try the series out for xbox, since that's all he plays on .
17:41 that's the thing about kingdom hearts story, its hard to explain, but not hard to understand. people meme about it, because they are looking from the outside, but when you play it and you follow its progression, things fall in place and you get it instantly.
the problem is when people either dont play the games, or havent played for a long time, jump in and they will get lost because there's too many details.
look at other game franchises like destiny or star wars and you will find just as much if not even more confusion if you just jump in without knowing anything.
18:50: Hi, I am someone who legitimately loves the Gummi Ship portions of all of these games.
Even over the rest of the games themselves.
Customizing the ships to complete challenges was truly satisfying to me.
I will say: my biggest complaint about the Gummi Ships was in KH3.
Even at the end of the game, you could not unlock enough to make as good a ship as the unlocked ship you get for completing all of the first galaxy's challenges.
Meaning no matter how awesome I would build a ship, it would never be as good. Which sucked as it was realized immediately after the second galaxy.
IDK if anyone else shared my experience with them, nor do I care.
It was honestly the only part of these games I actually enjoyed.
You called for my answer, there it is.
Enjoy your day.
One of my favorite things about the original Kingdom Hearts is that the Disney worlds actually feel intertwined with the overarching quest. Things like Alice and Jasmine being kidnapped from their worlds and that actually mattering. Or little nuggets of lore like King Triton having knowledge of keyblade weilders and their history. Or places like Deep Jungle, Monstro, and Neverland that actually move the story forward and develop the characters' relationships with each other. I don't think any other game puts this much effort into integrating the Disney worlds.
Newer players to this series will never understand how exciting it was that KH1.5 and KH2.5 were being released to the US with the Final Mix variants. For over a decade we had to miss out on all the extra content and there was constant requests for them to release it to the US.
At the time, the only way to play Final Mix for either game was to buy a PS2 directly from Japan, so it was a BIG deal when it finally came.
Fun fact: Olympus Colisseum, and Atlantica are skippable.
I believe once you reach the second set of worlds, you need to complete Agrabah, Monstro, and either Atlantica or Halloween town to trigger the pirate ship to Neverland.
The first game is still my favourite in the series, has the best story/music/use of Disney characters imo.
Disney characters fit into the overall story, and we didn't just go through the movie stories like the later games mostly did