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1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



What is this game?
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Why is it called that?
Since this game takes place over 358 days before KH 2.

What is this game about?
This game is about Roxas, Axel, and Xion. And it kinda features the rest of the organization, I guess.

I thought that one is a movie?
Well, KH 1.5 released the cutscenes in this game and made it into a movie. I'm going to play the original game so there would be actual gameplay.

This is my first Kingdom Hearts game. Will I understand anything?
Hell no! Kingdom Hearts is notorious for its confusing plots. That said, since even the ones who played all games still doesn't understand the plot, you're more than welcome to join the confusion.
But if you want to be more informed, here's some LPs made by others.
Kingdom Hearts 1 VLP by FutureFriend, ChorpSaway, killeremcee, a_raving_loon
Kingdom Hearts 1 VLP by FirstAidKite
Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix VLP by GameboyHero
Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix VLP by TheLoneStar
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories SSLP by Mistaya
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories VLP by FutureFriend, ChorpSaway, killeremcee, a_raving_loon
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories VLP by TheLoneStar
Kingdom Hearts 2 VLP by Kung-Fu Jesus
Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix VLP by TheLoneStar
Kingdom Hearst 2 Final Mix VLP by Gameboy Hero
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days VLP by Blackbelt Boltman
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix VLP by Blackbelt Boltman
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix VLP by TheLoneStar
Kingdom Hearts 1, Re:CoM, 2, BBS VLP with Days and Re:Coded cutscenes by GMArcturus
Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance VLP by TheLoneStar
Kingdom Hearts 3 VLP by TheLoneStar

I know about all the games! Can I post spoilers?
I'll allow any spoilers about the Kingdom Hearts franchise without black bars except for KH3. Please use spoiler tags for that one.

I repeat: SPOILERS FOR GAMES BESIDE KH3 ARE ALLOWED WITHOUT SPOILER TAGS IN THIS THREAD!

This is because of 3 reasons:
1. KH plots are confusing even though you might know everything, so it's not like spoiling would make that much of a difference.
2. It's hard to talk about KH without spoiling other games, especially this one since it takes place before, after, and during other games.
3. There's a movie version, so people who don't actually play this game can know the plot already.

I'll even allow gameplay spoilers. In fact, let's just get some spoilers for this game over with (DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED!):













Xion is a replica made by Vexen. She dies and is forgotten by the end of the game.
Roxas leaves the organization, fights Riku and is defeated, then put into Data Twilight Town.
Vexen, Lexaeus, Larxene, Marluxia, Zexion all die in Castle Oblivion, thus won't be there for most of this game.
Roxas won't actually get to dual-wield until the final fight against Riku.
Xion is the boss with multiple phases.
Neverland combat is poo poo.
gently caress Leechgrave, Ruler of the Sky, and Dustflier.

This is my first Kingdom Hearts game but I for some reason can't read the other LPs! What is going on? What is Organization XIII?
Essentially, there's a creature called Heartless. When someone's heart becomes a Heartless, their body becomes Nobodies (ignore how the naming doesn't really make sense). The Nobodies have no hearts (because their heart becomes the Heartless), thus they can't feel anything. They want to get hearts, so they try to summon Kingdom Hearts in hopes of getting them.
The protagonist of the previous games, Sora, became a Heartless. He eventually was turned back, but he still created a Nobody. His nobody is our protagonist in this game: Roxas.
There's a LOT more to the plot but that's the (very) basic premise you need to know for this game.

Are you going to do the challenges?
I'm going to TRY doing the challenges, but no guarantees that I'll have enough patience to finish them all. I will be doing all the missions completely, though.

Are you going to post videos?
I'm going to post videos for the cinematic cutscenes in the game (there aren't many in this game). I'll also post videos for some boss fights. The videos are kinda low in quality and might be prone to emulator shenanigans, though. And the resolution will be low because it's for the DS.

Table of Contents:

Rank: -
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Opening
Day 7: Number XIV
Day 8: The Icing on the Cake
Day 9: Heartless
Day 10: Incomplete
Day 11: Keyblade
Day 12: A Closed World
Day 13: Deeds to Be Done
Day 14: Friends
Day 15-17: Missions
Day 22: Left Behind
Day 23: Silent Companion
Day 24: Silence Broken
Day 25: Two Keys

Rank: Novice
Day 26: Terminated
Day 27-49: The Dark Margin
Day 50: Familiar Sound
Day 51: Missing
Day 52-54: Solitude
Day 71: Reunion
Day 72: Change
Day 73: The Promise
Day 74: Trio
Day 75-79: Inseparable (continued)
Day 94: Hearts
Day 95: Nobodies
Day 96: Xion's Keyblade
Day 97-100: Transfer (continued)

Rank: Rookie
Day 117: Secrets
Day 118: Lazy Day
Challenges A
Day 119-122: Work to Do (continued)
Day 149: Unlike Minds
Day 150: Fear
Day 151: Distress
Day 152: The Wrong Buttons
Day 153-156: Disjointed Days (continued)
Day 171: Love

Rank: Agent
Day 172: Sound of the Surf
Day 173: Lies
Challenges B
Day 174-176: Action, Reaction
Day 193: Memories
Day 194 - 197: Like It Should Be (continued)
Day 224: Anomaly

Rank: Expert
Day 225-227: Quietude
Day 255: Why the Sun Sets Red The Longest Day
Day 256: News
Challenges C
Day 257-258: Hollow
Day 276: Disorder
Day 277-280: Searching

Rank: Master
Day 296: Confessions
Day 297: Contact
Day 298: Fracture
Day 299: Sora
Challenges D
Day 300: Shutdown
Day 301-304: Vacant Place (continued)
Day 321: Waning Power
Day 322: The Program
Day 323-326: Fleeting
Day 352: Sunset
Day 353: Resolve
Day 354: Truth
Day 355: Unsaid, Unheard
Day 356: Place to Belong
Day 357: Tears
Day 358: Believe

Rank: Legend
Extra 1: Finishing Up Story Mode
Extra 2: Mission Mode
Extra 3: Finishing up Mission Mode
Challenges E
Challenges F
Extra 4: Looking at Gear Panels
Challenges G
Challenges H
Extra 5: Finishing up Challenge Mode
Extra 6: Limit Breaks
Extra 7: Odds and Ends

Secret Reports
Before Chain of Memories
Chain of Memories
After Chain of Memories
Xion Losing her Keyblade
Peaceful Days
A Sham
Sleeping Xion
Replica
Missing Xion
Power
The Final Missions
Leaving the Organization

Weapons Exhibitions
Roxas
Xigbar
Marluxia
Axel
Luxord
Vexen
Xaldin
Zexion
Larxene
Demyx
Xemnas
Lexaeus
Saix
The Rest

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Mar 26, 2019

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1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Welcome to Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days! The music that plays here is "Dearly Beloved", but I can't extract them. I also can't extract "Sanctuary", probably for obvious reasons.

We're going to do the Story Mode. The Mission Mode is for multiplayer and the Theater Mode is to view cutscenes.




Obviously, we're going to start a new game.



I'm going to do Proud mode because why not. The text for other difficulties reads:
Beginner Mode: An easy mode you can breeze right through. Action not your thing? No worries; start right here.
Standard Mode: The normal difficulty setting. Looking for just the right balance? Choose this.

Video: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Opening (Video until end of update)

The parts with "Sanctuary" (most of them) are muted because copyright issues because Square Enix. Watch the video if you want to see the cutscene in motion, but I'll post the screenshot versions too.



A blurry screen! I just can't find better shots than this. Also, this is Saix speaking here.





The camera pans over every organization member, with those who weren't in CoM with their hoods up.

Releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free...until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes,



And the point after this is when Sanctuary starts playing and Youtube starts muting.

Roxas...



Say Hello to Twilight Station Tower. It's going to be our main place for ice cream-related events.

Are you really sure that you don't have a heart?
I dunno... I can't...just look inside. But I figure...if there's something in there-inside us-then we'd feel it, wouldn't we?
True enough.



And we have a view of Twilight Town. I'm not showing Axel giving Roxas an ice cream since we'll have more than enough of that later.





Next we have scenes of each member with their shot and description and an art of their weapon. Since this is before Disney owned Star Wars, they can't just call Xemnas' weapon "laser swords".



It's nice when the shot and description shows at the same time. Also, does floating upside down all the time during his fight in KH2 counts as keeping his ears on the ground?





No, he has a regular tongue. Who makes these description, anyway?



I'm sensing a pattern here. I don't have much to say about him, except gently caress his KH2 fight.





Poor Lexaeus, he has so little screentime. How would an Axe Sword fare in the weapon triangle against lances? What the gently caress is an axe sword anyway?



Zexion doesn't even have a weapon until KH Re:CoM. At least he's the most memorable fight in that game, being the only one that you can't cheese easily (except Trick Master).





I'm not going to put two dots on the "i" every single time. Also, Saix just wants to rock like Demyx in that picture.



He was better before he got a keyblade. Next!



Demyx, you can't just break from tradition! You should have your description show up AFTER your shot, not during!





See, Demyx? Because of you, Luxord has to pick up the slack! I think it's a missed opportunity he doesn't show up in the card game, but at least he features prominently in the card world.



Marluxia is pissed that he's demoted from the "Final Boss" status with his right to multiple phases revoked.



Larxene is just happy to hurt you. And why is she the only girl in the organization? If SE doesn't want both Marluxia and Larxene to be women, they could just make someone else, like Xigbar, into a women. It's not hard!



Roxas, being our main character, gets special treatment.



I can give you purpose.



The letters spin around...



Wait a minute! Why is the Kingdom Key there? It should've been Oathkeeper and Oblivion! Does this means we don't get to dual wield keyblades here? (Yes)



This shot here is why every attempt to hide the identities with the coat should fail miserably.



We don't get to see the trio's faces...



...unless you count that mouth.

Man, I miss the old times. Still got it memorized?



Stranger danger! Stranger danger! :kingsley:



Note to everyone, don't trust strangers who invite you to eat ice cream on top of a tower.

The day we met, when you got your new name. You and I sat right here, just like this and watched the sun set.



Roxas' clothes changed, so I guess this is the continuation of the one from the beginning of the intro.

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Sep 16, 2018

MythosDragon
Jan 3, 2016

Hold up, a Kingdom Hearts SSLP, I am so very thankful. I've literally been asking for over a year in the request thread, I'll do my best to keep up with this. Let's get started on rekindling my interest in 3!

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

Boy oh boy, I'm getting PTSD flashbacks from that clock tower already. I did want to point out, I dunno if you were joking, but Xigbar's "ear to the ground" is in reference to him snooping around and eavesdropping. Though he really doesn't do it too much. And I think Xaldin's "silver tongue" was because of how he was able to manipulate The Beast.

(Also, I really appreciate those plug-ins man, thanks a ton.)

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

1234567890num posted:

gently caress Leechgrave,

I've been replaying, and Leechgrave is actually fairly doable. Round Guard/Block helps, and it's a boss where attacking the boss straight away just gets your rear end handed to you. Take out the Tentalclaws (sp) first, and it goes down for free damage. Takes about three passes with change depending on your setup.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

TheLoneStar posted:

Boy oh boy, I'm getting PTSD flashbacks from that clock tower already. I did want to point out, I dunno if you were joking, but Xigbar's "ear to the ground" is in reference to him snooping around and eavesdropping. Though he really doesn't do it too much. And I think Xaldin's "silver tongue" was because of how he was able to manipulate The Beast.

I think you see the clock tower even more in this game than in the movie. Probably. I didn't count. And yes, I'm joking about those two since I didn't have much to say about them.

berryjon posted:

I've been replaying, and Leechgrave is actually fairly doable. Round Guard/Block helps, and it's a boss where attacking the boss straight away just gets your rear end handed to you. Take out the Tentalclaws (sp) first, and it goes down for free damage. Takes about three passes with change depending on your setup.

It's not hard, just annoying. The boss itself is pretty similar to Re:CoM Ursula, but the Tentaclaws are spread out over the arena that it's annoying to go to each of them. Multiple times.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
You'd think a game about the Organization would give more focus to the members of the Organization. But I guess Axel didn't get enough screentime in the two other games that he prominently featured in. :argh:

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

I think you see the clock tower even more in this game than in the movie. Probably. I didn't count.
The problem with the movie is it breezes right over the Disney worlds. So pretty often you see the tower, a twenty second briefing of Disney world visits, and then right back to the tower for another five minute cutscene. Makes it feel like you never loving leave Twilight Town.

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

You'd think a game about the Organization would give more focus to the members of the Organization. But I guess Axel didn't get enough screentime in the two other games that he prominently featured in. :argh:
One of my biggest gripes with this game, honestly. Axel got more than enough screentime in CoM and II, but he has to hog the spotlight alongside Roxas here as well.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
The problem is the time frame. There's no real space to develop the CoM victims, and after Axel, it's Saix that gets the most screen time in the game.

After that, I think it's Luxord, for all the Wonderland missions. Demyx? Xigbar? Xenmas? Who are those guys?

The game has some real pacing problems, and it honestly suffers for it.

Ephraim225
Oct 28, 2010
Couple months back, I did a level 1 run of this game.

I don't know why.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

Video: Why the Sun Sets Red


We're skipping right to day 255? Okay then.



As I said, Twilight Station Tower. Be prepared to see this place a lot.

You're early.



No, you're just late.





Be prepared to see lots of ice cream too. Sea-salt flavor only, though. BBS ice cream hasn't been invented (by Nomura) yet.

What's that about?
It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization. Man, time flies.
So, you got the number memorized, do ya?

New Music: Roxas
Yeah. Have to hang onto something, right? It's not like I have memories from before the Organization. Don't you remember? I acted like a zombie.
Right, that first week you could barely form a sentence.



Pictured: One of Axel's many murder attempts against the rest of the Organization.

Oh, thanks!
*laughs*
Hey, Roxas. Bet you don't know why the sun sets red.



That doesn't look red to me. It's more orange than red. Try Daybreak Town. I heard it's redder there.

And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.
Like I asked! Know-it-all.

*time passes*





Music stops
Video stops here


The closest thing for me is when I was just seven days old, and I met her.



Starting at Day 7 is much more understandable. We can't just skip to Day 255 out of 358, after all!

New Music: Sacred Moon






Yes, all we just saw was Roxas sleeping then waking up. I guess they want to show us his room? That we never explored in KH2?



After that we got a tutorial. Thanks, game. I wouldn't know to use the D-pad to move and A button to talk, like most other DS games.



This is how the gameplay is going to be. The top screen is where most of the action is going to be, with Attack option being replaced with Talk for now. The bottom screen contains the map, area name, and the mission progress. Obviously we don't have a mission yet so that one's empty.





While we're on The Grey Area (that we never explored in KH2) we can talk to people. This is how we're going to get most of the dialogue from the ones who :airquote:died:airquote: in Castle Oblivion.



There's usually one person we need to talk to progress the game. In this case it's Axel.

Heya, Roxas.
......
Something I can help you with there, chatterbox?
......



They really weren't kidding when saying Roxas was like a zombie.

Ah, I remember now. We were supposed to convene in the Round Room today. Blegh, meetings...
Round...Room...?
Yup. Apparently the boss man's got some big news.



Okay.

Alrighty then. Follow me.

Let's go to the Round Room. Which we never explored in KH2. TWNTW in KH2 is kind of a giant corridor with just 2 brances (Luxord and Saix's arenas).

Music stops
Video: Meet Xion


Today is a momentous day.



As you can see, none of them have their hood up this time. Organization rules on the hood during meetings are inconsistent.







Some nice shots of the other members.



Number XIV.





Why did Roxas have someone accompany him while Xion doesn't? It's not fair!



Love how relaxed Xemnas looked in this shot.



Video stops here


I couldn't have told you who the people in black coats were, or what they wanted with me.

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 11:57 on Oct 21, 2018

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

I like how someone (probably Xemnas) gave each room in The Castle That Never Was some super fancy name, but just got lazy with "The Grey Area".

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

berryjon posted:

The problem is the time frame. There's no real space to develop the CoM victims, and after Axel, it's Saix that gets the most screen time in the game.

After that, I think it's Luxord, for all the Wonderland missions. Demyx? Xigbar? Xenmas? Who are those guys?

The game has some real pacing problems, and it honestly suffers for it.

At least Xaldin gets quite a lot of screentime. Even more than Luxord, I think.

TheLoneStar posted:

I like how someone (probably Xemnas) gave each room in The Castle That Never Was some super fancy name, but just got lazy with "The Grey Area".

Don't forget one more example. The room for the meetings? It's called "The Round Room" because it's...round.

There's more rooms that we never find out what their name is since we never explore them. If it follows Days' naming theme, it'll probably be something like "Bedroom XIII."

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


......
Think of these early missions as exercises. You still have much to learn before we put you to a real test.

Translation: You're going have a few mandatory tutorials.

......



Oh, boy... What, are you making me the kid's mentor now?
Surely you don't mind showing Roxas here the ropes? Roxas, come see me when you're ready to go.



......
Sheesh... Quit acting like a zombie, and let's get this show on the road.



And we get another tutorial. This one is showing that we can open the menu by pressing Start. Good to know.



This is the menu screen. Panels lets you equip armor/accessories/magics/keyblade/abilities. Holo-Missions lets you replay previous missions. Both of them are unavailable right now. Munny and Heart Points are used as currencies. The latter is far more important.

You can see Roxas' stats in the bottom. Most of the numbers speak for itself. Slots and links are related to panels, thus unavailable now. The sigils (Nobody symbol) are obtained by clearing challenges (more on that later) while crowns are obtained by clearing multiplayer missions.




The Journal section has the diary and enemy section. You can see the name of the equipped weapon (since you can't do that while equipping them) and all of the character's abilities. Since Roxas has the light element he starts out with 10% resistance to it.



The diary is basically just a plot recap while the enemy profiles are...well...exactly that. The enemy profile is empty so I won't bother showing it right now. I'll put the new ones we obtain at the end of each update.



The tutorials are if you for some reason forgot about the controls. It includes the tutorial about opening the menu in case you forgot how to open the menu. You have to open the menu to read it. Brilliant.



Config are just to configure things. These are pretty self explanatory. I'm pretty sure the top one if the vibration if you have the Rumble Pak. That one is for Shoulder Controls that will be available later.



The cursor position is just like in RPGs where it either stays at your last action of go back to the top one. Command list determines how you scroll through it. It's either holding X and using the D-pad or just by using the X button. I use the latter, but the former can be nice if you use lots of magic types.



You might think that it would be better to have allies heal Roxas since if he dies, it's Game Over. However, due to the Limit Break mechanic that isn't really recommended.







Xion's name hasn't been revealed at this point. Also, Zexion could just be saying that since Xion is part of his name.



Saix will be the one we talk to go to most missions.



Don't worry. I'll be sure he makes the grade.
C'mon, Roxas.
......



Number XIV, Xion.
Right. I knew that.
Xion.
Got it memorized, Roxas?
...Yeah.
You sure? How 'bout my name, then?
It's Axel.
And our boss's name?
Xemnas.
Very good, Roxas! No way you're gonna forget his name, right? Now let's get moving.

You know, unless his memory is wiped out.



New Music: Lazy Afternoons




Don't expect us to be able to use portals in actual gameplay.



Ahem. Missions are...uhh... They're, you know... Hrm.

Do you need a dictionary?

......
You know what? Talking is dumb. Let's just go ahead and get our hands dirty, shall we? Follow me.



Yep. This day is going to be filled with these kinds of tutorials.



Just go forward and jump. You don't even need to dash while jumping! (Mainly because we can't dash yet).



Thanks.
But don't go thinking you can just run and jump your way through every mission. You've gotta BE AWARE.
What...what do you mean?
You hafta look around. Sometimes what you're after is sitting right under your nose. Got it memorized?
Y...yeah, I think so.
All right, then, time for a road test. There's a treasure chest somewhere in thest passages. I want you to find it.
That's all I have to do?
I know, don't hurt yourself. Anyway, remember to look around.



Hey, look! An actually useful tutorial! What a surprise! I swear the other missions will have more to it.

Anyway, the point where we found Axel is the only exit out of the "room" since everywhere else has shutters blocking them. We go left.



The boxes drop HP and Munny orbs when destroyed. The barrier on the "door" will be addressed later. The number on the top left is how many Heart Points we collected this mission. And there's Axel as our second player this mission.

The road there leads to a dead end, so let's go the other way. No boxes are found in the other way.



There is a switch to open the corresponding shutter. It opens up a nice shortcut (that resets every mission). Only this switch is active this mission. Go a little further...



A barricade. It means you're not supposed to go this way.
You mean there's nothing down there?
Yeah, that's the gist of it. They're set up to keep us on task. That, or out of trouble. I mean, hello, look at it. Big menacing X? I'll take the beaten path, thanks.

I have no trouble believing that Axel would just go through the big, menacing X.



We know, game! Axel just told us! Sheesh, the tutorial in this game is just as bad as KH2! Just go through the path (all exits are sealed) and we'll found the treasure chest.



Sure is! Well done.
......
Um, what are you waiting for?
The mission was to find the chest. Aren't I done?
Uh, Roxas... There's this thing about chests. They have stuff in them.
So I should open the chest?
Yes, that is generally what we do.

Axel: There is also a thing about who places the chests but I try not to think about it too hard.



...What can I say at this point?



Here's a nice thing about this game: Items you found from treasure chests doesn't have to be equipped. You can use them as soon as you found them. So finding a potion when you ran out of healing item/magic an be a life saver.

We open the treasure chest.



:toot: Potions restore 30% of HP.



RTC?
Return To the Castle. Go ahead, lead the way back to the dark corridor that brought us here.



So you have to go back to the starting place manually every mission. It's more annoying than hard unless you're very low on health and have to get through a hard enemy/mob.



And that's where shortcuts that reset every mission become useful.





Uh-huh.
I'm sorry, speak up? Cooouldn't quite catch that.
I said...
Hmm?
I could have done that blindfolded.

That's true. There's only one branching path with the wrong one leading to a dead end very quickly.

Ha ha! I dunno if I want a blindfolded zombie on the loose.
All right, smart aleck, you did good. And no successful mission is complete without a little icing on the cake. C'mon.
But...don't we have to RTC?
Later. Don't you remember our hangout?

New Music: At Dusk, I Will Think of You...




Just for fun, I'm going to count the number of times we see sea-salt ice cream and twilight tower during this LP. I'm not going to count the ones in the intro since we don't know when that exactly take place. The ones in Day 255 will be counted later.

KH 358/2=179 Days of Falling Salty Diabetes
Twilight Station Tower: 1
Sea-Salt Ice Cream: 2


I'm going to say that both numbers might be well above 100 by the time we finish this LP.

...
You remember what this ice cream is called?
Umm...
It's sea-salt ice cream. C'mon, I already told you once. Get it memorized, man.



Ha ha, Roxas, you said the same exact thing the other day.
I did? I don't remember that.
Hey, what has it been, a week since you showed up?
Maybe.
"Maybe"? C'mon, you must remember that much.
......
Well, that's okay. Today's where it all really begins anyway.
Yeah?
Sure! Here you are, out in the field, working for the Organization... Today, you're one of us.
I guess it's a start.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


After each mission, we get our review. It just tells us what we got this mission. The moonstone is a synthesis material.

Music stops


New reports:

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Oct 7, 2018

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

Axel posted:

Very good, Roxas! No way you're gonna forget his name, right? Now let's get moving.

Man, you just know the writers were patting themselves on the back here, thinking they were oh-so-clever. Also, I don't care what anyone says, the Panel system is pure garbage and I can't imagine why anyone thought it'd be a good idea.

Onmi
Jul 12, 2013

If someone says it one more time I'm having Florina show up as a corpse. I'm not even kidding, I was pissed off with people doing that shit back in 2010, and I'm not dealing with it now in 2016.
Wait, if the organization can set up barriers to keep the team on track why don't they just do the missions while out there themselves?

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Onmi posted:

Wait, if the organization can set up barriers to keep the team on track why don't they just do the missions while out there themselves?

Because Xenmas is lazy. Seriously, half the things he does in this game boil down to:

Saix: "Blah, Blah, Blah, Decision please."
Xigbar: *smug*
Xenmas: "Darkness, Darkness. All According to Plan. Do nothing and it will sort itself out."
Saix: *facepalm*

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

berryjon posted:

Because Xenmas is lazy. Seriously, half the things he does in this game boil down to:

Saix: "Blah, Blah, Blah, Decision please."
Xigbar: *smug*
Xenmas: "Darkness, Darkness. All According to Plan. Do nothing and it will sort itself out."
Saix: *facepalm*

Completely agree with this. Spoiler: We won't get to partner up with him in this game.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


Come see me when you are ready.
Well, there you have it. Welcome to the fold, Roxas.







Do you know that we actually have 2 Keyblade wielders, Vexen? It's true!



Today we'll get tutorials that are actually useful!

Music: Lazy Afternoons




I am Marluxia, Number XI.
Okay. So what do I have to do today?
Today your job is to collect hearts.
Um, how do I do that?
Roxas, could you summon your Keyblade for me?
Well...sure, all right.



Lucky Number XIII... At last, a chosen wielder of the Keyblade amongst our ranks.

This is back when Keyblade wielders were still chosen and not trained or inherited (although this is the case for both Roxas and Xion).

New Music: Sinister Sundown


Whoa, what are those?
Hmph. Nothing to be feared.
So, Roxas, shall we put that power of yours to a little test?
Use your Keyblade...and defeat those Heartless.



When I said useful tutorials? This is not one of them.



This is how combat is usually going to be. The enemy data is on the top right of the screen. Notice that we don't have Scan yet. It shouldn't matter that much since...well...it's Shadows.



They pose absolutely no threat. I just stand around for a minute and none of them managed to hit Roxas.



This is also not one of the useful tutorials.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


But what are Heartless?
Dark creatures who roam about, searching for hearts. They come in two larger varieties. The onew you just defeated are known as Purebloods. Purebloods don't release any hearts when you defeat them. In other words, don't bother with them. Your mission is to collect hearts, after all. The other variety-

Music: Sinister Sundown


Forget about the Shadows.
Take these out, Roxas. They are your real targets.



The locking on system here is worse than BBS or Re:CoM since there's only one pair of shoulder buttons and one of them is reserved for shortcuts. You'll get used to it soon, though.

Anyway, those are called Yellow Operas. They can attack with Thunder and by charging at you (because electric charges, get it?).



I just barely missed the screenshot of their attack, but there are still some things to note here:
1. These ones can actually hit Roxas.
2. The heart points on the top left is filled after we defeat these Heartless.
3. There's a CHAIN! written below the amount. That will be explained later along with the ring around the target Yellow Opera.


Music: Lazy Afternoons


Why are they so special?
Did you notice? Hearts appeared when you defeated them.
Right...
Your job is to collect those hearts.



Hearts Points will be used more than Munny.

Is there any trick to it?
None. So long as the Heartless are felled by your weapon, the Keyblade, the hearts will be captured.

For gameplay purposes, though, you still get heart points even if you didn't use Roxas/Xion (or Sora/Mickey in multiplayer) to kill the heartless.

I see. And what happens to the hearts I collect?
They will gather as one, and create an almighty force known as Kingdom Hearts.
Which is...good, right?
Completing Kingdom Hearts is the Organization's primary objective. And to do that, we need all the hearts we can possibly find.
So that's what the Organization does? Collect hearts?



So what have you guys been doing all this time? Sitting around talking and waiting for Xemnas to make a decision?

Wait, then-
The rest of us can defeat Heartless, but we have no way of collecting the hearts they release. Eventually, the hearts will turn right back into Heartless.

In gameplay this is reflected by Emblem Heartless defeated by other members giving out a gray glow instead of the normal pink one. My question still stands, though.

You see, then, how special you are?
Hmm...
With power like yours-

Music: Sinister Sundown


Heh. Here come more of them. Each one is a gift, Roxas. Squeeze every last heart out of them!



So basically, if you defeat Heartless within a short time you will receive more Heart Points. The time is represented by the ring around the target. Longer chains give better bonuses.

What the tutorial doesn't say is that chains can only be started by defeating Emblem Heartless but can be prolonged by defeating Pureblood Heartless as well. Killing the Pureblood ones won't give any Heart Points, though.

I'm going to call it Hearts from now because calling them HP won't work for obvious reasons.




...I may have gotten a bit rusty :sweatdrop:. The blue number in the top is the bonus Hearts from the chain.

Some of you might have noticed that the yellow HP bar decreased from previous images. That is because I used a Limit Break. It will be explained later.


Music: Lazy Afternoons


I am amazed. That Keyblade... The things that could be done with that sort of power...

Planning to betray the Organization?

Umm...
I have high hopes for you, Roxas-as do we all. Defeat the Heartless, and help the Organization reach our noble goal.
Um, all right...
Shall we RTC, then?



I didn't show it, But Marluxia actually became our partner for the last 2 seconds of the mission.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


The 1.05 multiplier is the mission multiplier. It usually increases in later missions..

Oh, and the Yellow Operas drop Moonstones. That's how we got 3 of them.



I didn't know what a heart was, or how it even mattered. But at least I knew what my part was.

New reports:

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Jun 24, 2018

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


I shall be joining you on your mission today. Take care of what you need to and then check in with Saix. I am all ready to go.

You talk as if we can "do" anything beside talking to people. Which we are going to do now, but still...









Music: Lazy Afternoons


The ORganization may call upon you to meet other objectives-perform recon, for example. But regardless of the task you have been given, your primary orders still hold. You and that Keyblade of yours serve us best by collecting hearts.
So, even if I'm given another job, I should keep taking out Heartless while I do it?
Correct. Today, however, the two happily coincide.

Music: Sinister Sundown






Like the tutorial said: The white dots are the Heartless, so we just have to go there and defeat them.





There are only these two types of enemies. They mostly appear alone so it's not threatening, but you still can't heal so don't get hit like I did. The Dire Plant's only attack is shooting seeds at you one at a time.



The treasure is hidden in the corner that was/would be filled with trash. gently caress the scoring of that minigame. What were they thinking? That one was basically "Do you have 2 Negative Combo?"



This is the only Heartless that group together. It's not hard since there's Zexion to help you. But the thing about chains: The enemies killed by your partner won't prolong it. You still get the Hearts, but it won't be boosted by the chains.
Also, this is mentioned in the tutorial, but you prolong your chain by hitting the Heartless. It's just that the bonus time from hitting them is very small compared to the one from defeating them.




Music: Lazy Afternoons


Now we get to RTC, right?
Leave, already? I, for one, would apply myself a bit more.
But I-
Yes, yes, you did as you were asked. Mission accomplished...but...



It's hidden behind Zexion's portrait, but you can see the "hat" clearly on the right.

You don't have to eliminate them all. It's your choice. Just like I don't have to respect you for slinking back to the castle while there's still work to be done. And if that doesn't matter to you, just remember the Organization rewards those who make the extra effort.

And how would they know? I'm talking about when Roxas does solo mission since for this one it's obvious how. Do they go back to check if the mission is actually done? In addition to going there before the mission to seal off some exits? If so, why bother giving missions in the first place?

Music: Sinister Sundown


I'm going to do missions fully on our first visit whenever possible.



So it's back to killing Heartless, I guess. I never noticed that hitting enemies with Kingdom Key produces stars.



The heartless are now in a slightly harder-to-reach areas.



There's only one group of them, though. The rest are all alone.



This GIF shows some things:
1. Both colored hearts
2. The Thunder attack from the Yellow Opera
3. How the Hearts aren't affected by Chain if Zexion kills the Heartless
4. How your partner can gently caress you over. I could just change the AI in the Config but the other options are worse since Limit Break is a thing, but that comes later.




Fully completing a mission just gives a white flash (which I can't show for obvious reasons). There's no Mission Fully Complete written or anything.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


I trust you'll exhibit equal diligence in your missions going forward.

If you didn't bother killing more Heartless, you'll go straight here.



Yeah, umm...
Just what is Kingdom Hearts? Marluxia said it was some kind of...of force.

16 years with 7 full games (+online games and tech demo and rereleases) and no one still understand what it is. I know that it's part of the charm, but at least they should explain what it is.

Yes...?
And when I defeat the Heartless, those hearts pop out and become part of Kingdom Hearts, right? But like, what's the point?
Kingdom Hearts will complete us. That's the Organization's goal.
Complete us? Complete us how?

Zexion: How exactly we will use it is still a mystery. Vexen and I are researching it. Hope nobody kills us before we found it!

Roxas, you and I and all the Organization's members are what we call Nobodies.
Well, that's not very nice.
With a capital N. It's a name, for those of us who are missing a vital piece of who we are: our hearts.
I don't have a heart?

This question is just as ridiculous as "I can breathe?" but since Roxas is 10 days old I think we can forgive him. For now.

Correct. Like all of us, you entered the world without one. But you can help us get them. Kingdom Hearts is made of the very things we lack-a multitude of hearts. It has the power to complete us.

That's a step toward understanding what Kingdom Hearts is. Still very far, though.

Are you starting to see why you're so important?
Each of us has a vital role in the Organization.

For example: Lexaeus' job is to increase the average power and quietness level significantly while Larxene's is to increase the bitchiness level and Demyx's is to increase the average laziness level.

Yours is collecting hearts.

Oh, those aren't what you're talking about. Then what are your jobs? To cause trouble in random Disney Worlds?

Yeah, I get it.
Well, I just hope we can count on you to "get it" done.
......
Any more questions?
No... Sorry.
Then we should be getting back. Come on.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


Take a guess at what the next tutorial mission is going to be about.

If we didn't kill the new ones, we get...let's see...



Synthesis materials instead of potions. And one less fire. Sure, why not?

Music stops


Would it have made a difference? If I had a heart...would that make me a somebody?

New report:


It's interesting how the first two elements introduced are thunder and flower, the elements of the two traitors.

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

I also always wondered what the Organization even did before Roxas showed up. I suppose suppressing Heartless so they don't completely swallow a world is the best thing I can think of.

Paused
Oct 24, 2010
The last two partners died in CoM right? I usually recall that it was Pink Mullet, the Girl and SwordAxe guy but always draw a blank on the last two. Might be easier for me to remember when I finally get through one of the KH2 threads.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.

Paused posted:

The last two partners died in CoM right? I usually recall that it was Pink Mullet, the Girl and SwordAxe guy but always draw a blank on the last two. Might be easier for me to remember when I finally get through one of the KH2 threads.

Yeah, all our partners in the first section are the CoM crowd so they can be introduced before they get sent off to Oblivion in more ways than one. Also, it's Vexen (Mad Scientist with Shield), Lexaeus (Giant Axe), Zexion (Book), Marluxia (Scythe pretty-boy), and Larxene (Pyscho Bitch) who get offed.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

TheLoneStar posted:

I also always wondered what the Organization even did before Roxas showed up. I suppose suppressing Heartless so they don't completely swallow a world is the best thing I can think of.

Considering how many worlds are swallowed by the start of KH1, I don't think they did a very good job on that.

berryjon posted:

Yeah, all our partners in the first section are the CoM crowd so they can be introduced before they get sent off to Oblivion in more ways than one. Also, it's Vexen (Mad Scientist with Shield), Lexaeus (Giant Axe), Zexion (Book), Marluxia (Scythe pretty-boy), and Larxene (Pyscho Bitch) who get offed.

The funny thing is, all of their scenes combined (all of them within the first 2 hours of the game) is probably longer than loving Xemnas' screentime.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


Larxene...right. Um...



Hi Xigbar! :wave:

She already left. Meet her on-site.
Oh.... All right.
This time, we expect you to try out magic for a change, instead of relying solely on the Keyblade.
Magic? I know magic?
Only if you arm yourself with some before you leave for the mission. See me when you are ready.






Vexen! How did you just appear there? Please don't be creepy... :ohdear:

If we talk to Saix...

You will need magic for today's mission. Come see me once you have a magic installed.



Hoo boy. This is the most hated part of the game. The limited magic system. Let's procrastinate with Saix!

You still haven't installed any magic? Be quick about it.

Fine. Let's go to the panel screen.





This is where we equip for the missions. Everything is equipped here. Items, magics, keyblade, acceccories, armors, abilities, EVERYTHING. Even your level has to be equipped here. At least that means you can easily try a Level 1 challenge.
The slots show how much is used and how much is opened. We will get more slots opened throughout the game.




You can see what we have equppied on the abilities screen. I'm going to show it before I start every mission. The problems with this system:
1. Your magic is limited, just like your items. They replenish at the end of every mission, but it's still a case of "I won't use it. What if I need it later?" For example: In this mission I can use Fire 3 times since I equipped 3 of them here. The items will be gone forever when used, though. LIke normal.
2. You have to make everything you want fit within the available slots. For this one it's unimportant since we don't have enough to fill all of them up, but it is very annoying later. Do you want 2 Cures or Scan and Guard? Or do you want to bring Fires or Blizzards?
3. There are some panels you can get later that will multiply its contents. It comes later, but you have to somehow make it fit with all your other panels. It can get very annoying as you're forced to reequip the panels.

Also, there's something about a submenu in there.




Basically you can store it like a deck system so you don't have to do it every time. Just most of the time.



And with Fire equipped, let's begin learning about magic.

Music: Lazy Afternoons




Umm, hi.
Ugh, this is the worst. Whose idea was it to send me along on your stupid baby mission? Do I look like I run a nursery school?

At least you're the fourth in line for the baby missions, Larxene. And there's a theme to it, which you're nicely part of.

......
Let Demyx handle this stuff. It's not like he's good at anything else.

Well, he's good at initiating unfair minigames in the middle of his fight, so there's that. Not like he's going to use it when he's our ally.

......
What? WHAT? You got something to say?
No...
Pfft, you'd be nothing without the Keyblade.
...Oh ho! I just got an idea.



Love Roxas' reaction here. Also recent trailers for KH3 actually made me pay more attention to people's eye colors. Like Larxene's here.

You can do today's mission WITHOUT your Keyblade.
What? Why!?
Because I said so, that's why! Saix told you to practice magic today, didn't he? Well, sink or swim.



Remember when 4 days ago Roxas could barely utter a word? Now he can talk back to Larxene! He grew up so fast...:cry:

Well, you're not gonna learn if you keep whipping around that oversized key.
Yeah, but...

Music: Sinister Sundown


Go on, take it out-and you have to use magic!
I'll stand here and watch.
(Thanks...)





As you can see, we can't attack because Larxene doesn't allow us to. She's going to just stand there while Roxas gets beaten up. Let's get the chests first.



It's easy to find since there's just this small area available this mission. All of them contain Ethers, by the way. Ethers restore 1 of each magic, so it has more effect if you equip different types of magic. But then it would be a pain to scroll through them, so that's your choice, I guess. It's useful when you got into situations like this...



Oops! I used all my magic! And I can't attack! What do I do now!



(Sorry...)
Start over. And this time, do it right!

And then Larxene replenished out Fire supply. Good thing I don't have to reload my save! I don't want to use the Ether now.



Enjoy this GIF of Larxene unflinchingly tanking a bullet in the face.

All right, enough fooling around. Fire homes on the enemy and the flower dies in 1 hit with it, that's what I did.



Yeah. Expect those kind of stupid mistakes to happen. The controls in this game aren't exactly the best...



......
Ugh, at the speed you move, we'll be here all month... Go ahead. You can use your Keyblade this time.
Wait, what happened to learning magic?
Do you want to finish this awful mission or don't you? Just get to it.
(Well, since you asked so nicely...)
Oh, by the way, if you need to heal...do it yourself.
......





When I played this on a DS the L button is broken so I can't use the shortcut. So it's a pain scrolling and I only use 4 types of magic: Fire, Blizzard, Cure, Cura. Yes, Cure and Cura have different effects and not just a straight upgrade.



As I mentioned previously, you can use items you picked up on a mission without equipping it, though it only works on that same mission. And if you're wondering why I'm at different positions, it's because I'm being chased by 5 Heartless.



Normally you'd use potions when at low health but I used a Limit Break instead. No, it still hasn't been explained yet. The game is nice enough to let you use it before the tutorial. I'll show the Limit Break when we get to its tutorial mission.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


Oh, Larxene... If you came back from Castle Oblivion you would've known that there are missions WAY WORSE than this.

......
If you're our big-shot Keyblade wielder, then we're in deep doo-doo.
......
Ugh, can't you even hold up your end of a conversation?
......
You'd better pull it together, or we'll never finish Kingdom Hearts. Unless, of course, we put somebody else on Keyblade duty...

Insert witty remark about Larxene's betrayal here.

What? You have somebody else?
None of your beeswax. You just worry about defeating Heartless and collecting hearts for us. Maybe, one day, you'll be almost mediocre at it.

:mediocre:

......
Ugh, let's go-before you kill any more of my brain cells.



Like Marluxia, Larxene actually became our partner for the last 2 seconds of the mission.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


We finally get Scan! Now we can at least see enemy's HP bar.

Music stops


The more I learned, the less I seemed to know.

At least we have gameplay and banter to break up Roxas' monologues. It would suck if we are forced to listen/read them all at once, maybe with just a screen basically saying "The next day..."

...

What do you mean that's actually how it goes in the movie!?

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
I tend toward one or two attack magics, a dozen Cura's and spare space for Hi-Potions by the mid to end-game. It keeps me in good shape. And you can't set the magic shortcuts yet? Whaaaat?


1234567890num posted:

The funny thing is, all of their scenes combined (all of them within the first 2 hours of the game) is probably longer than loving Xemnas' screentime.

I refinished the game last night, and am now going through the Challenge/Solo missions for goodies, so this comment jumped out at me as the last time we see Xenmas in the game, he doesn't bother speaking, nor showing his face on the camera. He's just that lazy.

TheLoneStar
Feb 9, 2017

I honestly consider the small interactions between Roxas and the less-focused-on Nobodies better than anything with him and Axel/Xion. And I love Xigbar looking up there near the start, always makes me chuckle.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

berryjon posted:

I tend toward one or two attack magics, a dozen Cura's and spare space for Hi-Potions by the mid to end-game. It keeps me in good shape. And you can't set the magic shortcuts yet? Whaaaat?

Same, it's just that ai packed some cures if I need immediate healing. And I can make shortcuts, I just haven't. Qt least you can for Fire but not the others for obvious reasons.

TheLoneStar posted:

I honestly consider the small interactions between Roxas and the less-focused-on Nobodies better than anything with him and Axel/Xion. And I love Xigbar looking up there near the start, always makes me chuckle.

Agree. The mission with Larxene is great in that Larxene is so bitchy it wraps around to being funny. Love how she half-assed the second part of the mission. Our next mission is kind of like that too. It's a shame that most of the time Roxas will be paired with Xion. And that most of the banter (and gameplay) are reduced to pages of narration.

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Jun 27, 2018

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Considering you can have up to four players in multiplayer mode, I think the game really missed the mark when you realize there's only one mission where you get two partners and none where they pull out all the stops and give you a full team.

So being paired up with Xion for so much makes a lot of sense narratively, but it hinders the game in its own way.

Kemix
Dec 1, 2013

Because change
Really a shame we don’t get more time with the traitors Castle Oblivion team. These missions are probably some of the best banter we get all game. Ah well, we can probably lodge our keyblade up Larxine’s human rear end eventually in 3

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017

berryjon posted:

Considering you can have up to four players in multiplayer mode, I think the game really missed the mark when you realize there's only one mission where you get two partners and none where they pull out all the stops and give you a full team.

So being paired up with Xion for so much makes a lot of sense narratively, but it hinders the game in its own way.

True. I mean, you can at least partner up with Saix or Xemnas who usually just sit around in the castle doing nothing.

Kemix posted:

Really a shame we don’t get more time with the traitors Castle Oblivion team. These missions are probably some of the best banter we get all game. Ah well, we can probably lodge our keyblade up Larxine’s human rear end eventually in 3

The banter with the non-traitor Castle Oblivion team is also great. But my favorite is probably Xigbar (who thankfully is in quite a lot of missions).

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


Hi Vexen. Can you not be creepy? Please? :pray:

Uh, all right...
Report to Saix when you're ready.





So! New kind fo controls! I completely forgot about this so disregard my comment in a previous update about Rumble Pak. I think I'll stick with the default controls. Accessing shortcuts might be too hard with this one.



Using all the ethers because why not. Scan goes equipped and will stay that way (unless when I'm reorganizing).







You mispelled a word there, Demyx.



Let's go.

Music: Lazy Afternoons
Music: Sinister Sundown


Starting from now I'm going to post both the map and battle music at the start of the mission.



Reconna-what? What about fighting Heartless and collecting hearts?
Oh, there's far more to the ORganization than that, boy. Our work wouldn't go half as smoothly if we didn't gather the needed intelligence before hand.
Fortunately, you are in good hands. I will be by your side today to help stimulate that insensate mind of yours. First take a look around the immediate area, and report anything unusual you find. And don't go wandering too far until you've carefully examined the clues closest at hand.



Welcome to the tutorial for recon missions. It's what I think the best kind of missions, but they're very rare.



What I haven't mentioned until now is that EVERY TIME you begin a mission you get this information screen for 2 seconds. During it you can't attack/examine/use magic/item. It's annoying.



Anyway, in recon missions you just have to examine things. When you're near things you can examine Roxas will have a "?" on his head.

I think they sell jewelry here.
Anyone can see that.

The reason this is my favorite is because we get banter with whoever's with us. Sadly there's not many recon missions in this game.



This spot's paved with different tiles. It's like a road...
Fascinating... And?
Uhh...
We'll never get anywhere with you simply stating the obvious.

I think there's only a grand total of 5 other recon missions in this game. 2 with Xion, 2 with Xigbar, and 1 with Xaldin.



Wow, what do they sell here?
That's your job to find out, idiot.





There are a lot of shops.

Well, there are a lot of shops.
And?

It's a big town.

It's a pretty big town.
Is that all? You should have figured out that much when you got here.

Both choices converge here.



This could be the center of town.

This could be the center of town?
Could be? Are you asking me or telling me?

Business seems to be booming.

Business seems to be booming?
What, because you saw a couple of shops?

Both choices converge here (again).



Here's what I see: This whole town was built along a mountain. That's why the roads slope. Houses have been built along the terrace. And at the top is a station. The trains there are the town's primary system of transit.



Based on its location, we know the tracks are probably elevated.



Now, what about this path you pointed out?



You figured all that out just now?
But that's just it! I only stated what I saw. There was no "figuring" involved. That's the next step: analyzing the data you find. The clothing and jewelry shops tell us how these people live. This whole town is a blueprint of their lives.

Vexen deduces that "the track is elevated" and that "this place is downtown". He's so smart that he doesn't think of it as "figuring".

......
Distressing. Very distressing. Your mind wasn't made for this, was it? Well, you're not off the hook yet, boy. If I let you quit with these results, I'll be the laughingstock of the castle. Follow this path and investigate the remainder of the area. And stay on the path, if you please! Everything you need to know about this plaza lies along it-provided you are capable of connecting the dots.



The next places to examine are all along the path. One of them MUCH further than others.



Oh, right. There's enemies on the way. There's possessors who can...possess. They attack VERY slowly, though so it's no wonder they come out pre-possessed in KH2.



Shadows are also here. Both of them are Pureblood so we don't get any Hearts from them.



That's what happened when you get possessed. As I said, they attack very slowly. If you do get possessed, you can wait for your partner to free you (shown above) or just jump out of it.



An annoying thing about this game is that when there are enemies you can't examine anything (except treasure chests). It's annoying when you want to, for example, drink a potion that will make you smaller so you can go into a small hole.



An underground tunnel system? It's shuttered.
Note the number over the door. That's this gate's designation.
It says number four.
Precisely. Four, not one. Which means there are multiple gates.



It's locked.
You don't have to open every door we pass, you know. Try to remember that we run a covert operation. The town may be quiet, but it's not empty. If you allow yourself to be seen, YOU'LL become the target of investigation.

There's only 3 people in here. Not counting the ones in the mansion, there's only Hayner, Pence, and Olette. All the FF gang is nowhere to be found in this game.



Arches, staircases... Seems like an easy town to get lost in.
Easy to get lost? Your job is to be mentally mapping this place! Think of this as a landmark. Consider it a clue.



Why would we need to mentally map the place when there's an actual map of the place down there? (Because there's a status effect that will disable it).

Oh, and the checkmarks appear for areas we examined. So that's nice.




The entrance is shuttered. It looks like the road leads right into this building.
Then you should have already pieced together what the entrance is for.



All right, then, what have you learned?
Well, umm...let's see. The town has a lot of overpasses and underpasses. And the tram seems to circle the plaza. Oh, and there was that entrance that looked like it led underground, but it was shuttered.
Anything else?
Huh? Oh, umm... Err...
Never mind. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself. You're showing some improvement, at least, even if your natural talents do fall woefully short of my own.

Maybe it's because Roxas wasn't a scientist? At least he hasn't been creepy during the mission.

......
You're done, boy. Go ahead and RTC.
I could've figured it out if I had more time.
Oh? Is that so? Then take all the time you like. But don't hold yourself up to my standards. Little steps for little minds.



Of course we're going to continue investigating!



The entrance with the shutter leads into this area, and then the road stops. We know the road is for the tram... So this must be the tram yard.
At last, a modicum of intelligence. My teaching is paying off!

The nice thing about recon missions is that it gives insight to the design process of the worlds. Like this area that was/would be infested by bees.



The treasure is way up. It has a Blazing Shard.



This spot's out of the way and surrounded by buildings.
But why would they leave the space open? It's kept clean, which means what?

That the garbage minigame isn't available?

People pass through here a lot?
Precisely. Finally, a glimmer of insight?



But while I applaud your effort, you need to be able to see these things at first glance.
Oh...right.
Your goal should be to gather the maximum amount of data in the minimum amount of time. Spend too much time dallying, and you risk being seen. Sometimes the locals will be wary. You need to be warier.
I understand.
Today's mission was just an exercise. I am satisfied. Let's return.

Vexen likes us! :buddy:





Umm... How often do I have to do this?
Whenever the Organization needs to know more about a world, naturally. Each world is unique, with its own terrain, values, Heartless population-any number of variables that could be turned to our advantage in the missions ahead.

Wait, so Heartless population is normal? I thought it's because of Xehanort loving up things.

Wait, "every world"? You mean there's more than one?

Yes, Roxas. You've been to two already.

Yes, boy. You didn't think you'd be mulling about here forever, did you? You will visit many worlds for many reasons...but our ultimate goal remains the same.
Kingdom Hearts.
That's right. Now come along.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


If you didn't finish the mission completely, you get 1 Potion, 1 Dodge Roll, and 2 Fire Recipe.

Dodge roll is an ability that works the same as in other games. Fire recipe is a synthesis material for Fire. Yes, material as in you need to collect many of them.




The walls between worlds are steep, so we create our own ways: dark corridors which lead to every place imaginable.

New reports:

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!

1234567890num posted:

Wait, so Heartless population is normal? I thought it's because of Xehanort loving up things.

Well, keep in mind that it has been 10 years since Hollow Bastion got darkness-ed on, which led to the whole Heartless thing in the first place. Then again, Deep Jungle had no Heartless at all during that time until Clayton called to them.

I guess it varies?

DeathChicken
Jul 9, 2012

Nonsense. I have not yet begun to defile myself.

It's a good thing Axel will end up killing most of these dickheads. Also I don't think anyone has ever seen Vexen and David Bowie in the same place

Larryb
Oct 5, 2010

Hobgoblin2099 posted:

Well, keep in mind that it has been 10 years since Hollow Bastion got darkness-ed on, which led to the whole Heartless thing in the first place. Then again, Deep Jungle had no Heartless at all during that time until Clayton called to them.

I guess it varies?

Seems that way, some worlds seem to know what Heartless are while others appear to have never heard of them before. It's weird.

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
Twilight Town is the oddest case considering there are no Heartless here at all in KH2.

1234567890num
Oct 6, 2017



Music: Sacred Moon


Come see me when you're ready.









Like Scan, Dodge Roll is never going to be unequipped unless I have to reorganize the panels.



Music: Lazy Afternoons
Music: Sinister Sundown




So, um-
Do you know what a Limit Break is?
No...
It is the most powerful move at your disposal-one that only works when you are on your last legs.



No, that's not a perspective trick. It is a big Shadow.

A Heartless.
Time for some practical application.
Huh?





There. Now you're on your last legs.
Let's see you use your Limit Break and defeat that Heartless.





Yes. We start a mission with 1/4 of our max HP. Lexaeus is STRONG.



This Shadow can actually hit us and we will die in 2 hits (if we didn't heal).

And the mission is done already. That's the quickest mission so far.




You don't even have to actually use the limit break! 2 Fires can kill him. (I still haven't used the shortcut function).

What the tutorial doesn't tell you is that every time you used a Limit Break the yellow gauge will decrease, so you can't just spam it. Sometimes lowering your HP into the yellow bar can be too risky, so Limit Break is not always the best thing. Especially since you're NOT invincible during it. Still glad it exists, though.




Yeah?
Organization members are often asked to conduct solo missions. The only person you can count on out here is yourself.
So I've noticed. Nngh...
You and that Keyblade are invaluable to the Organization. With your job, however, comes risk. Each mission will pit you against more and more Heartless.
And I have to face them if we're gonna complete Kingdom Hearts, right?
Correct.
So what happens when Kingodm Hearts is finished? What good does that do us?
We will unite with it. You and I will gain hearts of our own.
I don't understand...
When the time comes, you will. In the meantime, there are deeds to be done, and only you can do them.

Lexaeus: I don't know how it works exactly. That's not my job to know. It's Vexen's and Zexion's. I hope nobody kills them.

Wait, I already used that joke.


So you need me.
Yes.
Are they good deeds?



Lexaeus almost straight up confirms that it's not good for most people, just the Organization.

Right...
... We should return.



Like Marluxia and Larxene, Lexaeus will join the party for the last 2 second of the mission. Unlike Marluxia and Larxene, Lexaeus won't be joining on any other mission.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


Skill Gear is a weapon. We'll see how it works it next update.

Music stops


Jeez, Roxas. Are you holding a grudge?

What is Kingdom Hearts? What happens when we gather enough hearts and finish it? I didn't know then...still don't... But I'll fight for my chance to be someone whole-fight against the darkness, for however long it takes.

New reports:


It said day 9, but it's actually day 9-13.



We still don't have Block.

berryjon
May 30, 2011

I have an invasion to go to.
Best way to lose all that health ever. :allears:

And I'm afraid I'm gonna have to call you a liar here. You'll unequip Dodge Roll when you get better versions that can be upgraded! ;)

Blueberry Pancakes
Aug 18, 2012

Jack in!! MegaMan, Execute!
I love how Lexaeus' thing in the Organization is just beating children half to death.

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Prowler
May 24, 2004

Wow, Roxas went from skeptical to Kingdom Hearts cult member in a matter of days.

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