Between Light and Darkness: Let's Play Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Between Light and Darkness: Let's Play Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

«‹›2 »

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

The Gummi ship missions is required for the PS trophies, though (if anyone cares about that). At least it only requires 1 S rank in each route on both the normal and EX missions. Since every route have 3 normal mission and 3 EX missions, whoever made the trophy seemed to feel pity for completionists. You don't actually have to play the rest of the missions nor collect all the treasures. _{Unlike the one who made the "get all gummi ship blueprint" for the KH1 gummi mission.}

Using Sweet Memories against Lingering Will doesn't actually made THAT much of a difference, since there are damage floors and ceilings for all enemies. It's just that they handicapped themselves with useless ability from the keyblade. I still wouldn't think of doing it, though. MP Hastega/Combo Boost is too good.

I never read the Ultimania books so I don't know about that. I actually kinda prefer to think that Marluxia's second and third forms are just SE filling their "climactic final boss forms" quota since we never saw those two forms in KH2. If they show up on KH3 then I'll be amazed.

# ? Jun 3, 2018 19:08

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 28, 2024 22:03

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

The Gummi ship missions is required for the PS trophies, though (if anyone cares about that). At least it only requires 1 S rank in each route on both the normal and EX missions. Since every route have 3 normal mission and 3 EX missions, whoever made the trophy seemed to feel pity for completionists. You don't actually have to play the rest of the missions nor collect all the treasures. _{Unlike the one who made the "get all gummi ship blueprint" for the KH1 gummi mission.}

Using Sweet Memories against Lingering Will doesn't actually made THAT much of a difference, since there are damage floors and ceilings for all enemies. It's just that they handicapped themselves with useless ability from the keyblade. I still wouldn't think of doing it, though. MP Hastega/Combo Boost is too good.

I never read the Ultimania books so I don't know about that. I actually kinda prefer to think that Marluxia's second and third forms are just SE filling their "climactic final boss forms" quota since we never saw those two forms in KH2. If they show up on KH3 then I'll be amazed.

Yeah, to be honest I never really bothered to do ALL the Gummi missions, the EX Missions especially. And this is actually coming from someone that really enjoys the Gummi missions in this game.

I mean it's still a handicap at the end of the day, using a Keyblade with literally zero attack power. And going back to check, it's also a no damage, Level 1 run as well. Here's the video if you're curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wjCxe1tYA0

Yeah, they were never released outside of Japan, so I can't really check myself. Honestly that's just what I heard, and it honestly makes sense so I believe it. And speaking of final boss forms, Master Xehanort better have 13 forms in Kingdom Hearts III or I'll be upset.

Also, new episode:

Part 23 - Twilight Town Revisit and Absent Silhouettes

I will never not be surprised at how casually both the data and real Twilight Trio take all the weird poo poo around them in stride. Like seriously, those kids give zero fucks about anything going on around them. Even knowing there's a weird alternate Twilight Town, or at least them having that theory, barely seems to phase them. Either way, Axel's finally kicked the bucket, and that's a good thing. The Absent Silhouettes are honestly pretty fun to me; getting to fight the Castle Oblivion Organization members without the lovely card mechanics was a pretty good idea. The gimmicks they use like Vexen's data meter or Larxene cloning herself like that were pretty clever in my opinion. Though Marluxia and his Doom counter can kiss my rear end. I really never liked mechanics like that; being able to lose a fight in literally any way aside from your HP reaching zero. It's also nice getting to fight Roxas, since that was something I never got to experience in my childhood. I remember being so annoyed how we never got that here in the States while Japan got it.

Also, does anyone know any official word on where The World That Never Was came from? I can't remember anyone in any games mentioning its origin, and I'm kinda curious about it.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 01:19

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

Oh boy, Absent Silhouettes! Some thoughts:
1. Lexaeus's RC is available when you block his axe (don't know what it's actually called) when he tried to send boulders to you. It stuns Lexaeus, so it's pretty useful.
2. Larxene's RC is available when you hit one of the clones into the air while the other clone is idle (not doing an attack). It's not actually that useful, since Larxene in her "single" phase has more vicious attacks, just less often.
3. I'm in pain by how you fight Vexen blindly and win anyway since my fight with Vexen took 10 minutes with Second Chance, Once More, Leaf Bracer, Firaga, Reflectga and Stitch.
4. Marluxia's RC is available after he does the whirldwind attack. If you got hit by it, you have no chance of getting the RC. One of them is hitting Marluxia for 1.5 bar of damage, and the other is getting 13 added to your Doom counter.
5. You can block Marluxia's air attack by aerial dodging right after he teleports in. He will immediately stop if you did so.
6. All the Org XIII members have "Desperation Moves" (DM) where they are invincible. It's signified by the screen getting darker.
7. For Marluxia's holes DM you can just run around/Dodge Roll/Reflect. I usually use Reflectga to avoid the last part, but you kinda have to get the hang of the timing to do so perfectly.
8. I'm pretty sure Roxas' RC only appears in the data fight. Don't quote me on that, though. I can give you some tips with the FM exclusive bosses if you want.
9. I actually like Roxas more than Sora or Ventus. At least he's not an idiot (or at least smarter than the others).
10. Hey, at least people can fight Roxas outside of Japan. Just not in KH2. You can fight him in... Re:Coded :v:

.
11. I'm pretty sure you're already past that point, but I think there are many shadows in the area before Roxas in TWNTW that disappear when you enter the castle. It's the perfect time to grind Wisdom Form, and you have a tiny window of time between getting Final Form and entering the castle.
12. If Nomura cares about the significance of the keyblade, he wouldn't have just make Kairi and later Axel just get one. And I don't think we get to see the prison area Kairi was in.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 11:08

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

Oh boy, Absent Silhouettes! Some thoughts:
1. Lexaeus's RC is available when you block his axe (don't know what it's actually called) when he tried to send boulders to you. It stuns Lexaeus, so it's pretty useful.
2. Larxene's RC is available when you hit one of the clones into the air while the other clone is idle (not doing an attack). It's not actually that useful, since Larxene in her "single" phase has more vicious attacks, just less often.
3. I'm in pain by how you fight Vexen blindly and win anyway since my fight with Vexen took 10 minutes with Second Chance, Once More, Leaf Bracer, Firaga, Reflectga and Stitch.
4. Marluxia's RC is available after he does the whirldwind attack. If you got hit by it, you have no chance of getting the RC. One of them is hitting Marluxia for 1.5 bar of damage, and the other is getting 13 added to your Doom counter.
5. You can block Marluxia's air attack by aerial dodging right after he teleports in. He will immediately stop if you did so.
6. All the Org XIII members have "Desperation Moves" (DM) where they are invincible. It's signified by the screen getting darker.
7. For Marluxia's holes DM you can just run around/Dodge Roll/Reflect. I usually use Reflectga to avoid the last part, but you kinda have to get the hang of the timing to do so perfectly.
8. I'm pretty sure Roxas' RC only appears in the data fight. Don't quote me on that, though. I can give you some tips with the FM exclusive bosses if you want.
9. I actually like Roxas more than Sora or Ventus. At least he's not an idiot (or at least smarter than the others).
10. Hey, at least people can fight Roxas outside of Japan. Just not in KH2. You can fight him in... Re:Coded .
11. I'm pretty sure you're already past that point, but I think there are many shadows in the area before Roxas in TWNTW that disappear when you enter the castle. It's the perfect time to grind Wisdom Form, and you have a tiny window of time between getting Final Form and entering the castle.
12. If Nomura cares about the significance of the keyblade, he wouldn't have just make Kairi and later Axel just get one. And I don't think we get to see the prison area Kairi was in.

1. Noted, I thought it was a stagger thing.
2. Same as above.
3. I mean I am playing on Beginner Mode, so that's about 99% of it. Of course going in blindly swinging is how I handle most fights in games I play aside from bosses like the Kingdom Hearts super bosses.
4. Yeah, that I know. It just sucks because as the fight goes on, he seems to do it less and less.
5. I actually did manage to sort of figure that out too, I even mention it later on during the Data Organization fights...but of course I don't manage to pull it off because I suck at timing.
6. Yeah, I hate poo poo like that. Only I should get a huge stream of invincibility, drat it.
7. Yeah, it's that last part that always got me.
8. According to the wiki, at least, it's available during the normal fight. And I appreciate it, but I already have the rest of the game recorded, optional bosses included.
9. I mean...he didn't get the grasp that the Organization was evil until he was with them for about a year.
10. Yeah, but no one cares about Re:Coded. I don't think I even realized it existed until several years after it came out, honestly.
11. I personally went to the Timeless River to train Wisdom Form. Lot of Heartless in the little minigame rooms, and they give out more experience I'm pretty sure, despite that world having a lower combat level.
12. The Keyblade has lost any and all "specialness" it had in the first game. Like honestly, Donald and Goofy getting their own Keyblades wouldn't make me bat an eye at this point.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 15:45

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

TheLoneStar posted:

1. Noted, I thought it was a stagger thing.
2. Same as above.
3. I mean I am playing on Beginner Mode, so that's about 99% of it. Of course going in blindly swinging is how I handle most fights in games I play aside from bosses like the Kingdom Hearts super bosses.
4. Yeah, that I know. It just sucks because as the fight goes on, he seems to do it less and less.
5. I actually did manage to sort of figure that out too, I even mention it later on during the Data Organization fights...but of course I don't manage to pull it off because I suck at timing.
6. Yeah, I hate poo poo like that. Only I should get a huge stream of invincibility, drat it.
7. Yeah, it's that last part that always got me.
8. According to the wiki, at least, it's available during the normal fight. And I appreciate it, but I already have the rest of the game recorded, optional bosses included.
9. I mean...he didn't get the grasp that the Organization was evil until he was with them for about a year.
10. Yeah, but no one cares about Re:Coded. I don't think I even realized it existed until several years after it came out, honestly.
11. I personally went to the Timeless River to train Wisdom Form. Lot of Heartless in the little minigame rooms, and they give out more experience I'm pretty sure, despite that world having a lower combat level.
12. The Keyblade has lost any and all "specialness" it had in the first game. Like honestly, Donald and Goofy getting their own Keyblades wouldn't make me bat an eye at this point.

4. I'm pretty sure in the data battle the amount restored is actually lowered everytime you did this, so if you have low doom count by the second half, you're kinda screwed.
6. At least for the Org XIII it's only for the DM. For Lingering Will it's most of the time.
8. I never got it during my normal fight either, so it means either I also kill him too quickly or the wiki is wrong.
9. You have a point. At least it's not "I can't see that Vanitas is evil" Ventus and "My promise is real even though everyone just shown that it's never actually made" Sora. Low bar, I know. Who do you think is the actual smartest character in KH?
10. But Re:Coded is the only game with changable difficulty mode, 2D platforming, shooting segment, and turn-based RPG! What more could you want? (I still rank it worse than Days in general).
11. Makes sense. Even though there are many and higher level, they are still shadows. It's faster for Wisdom Form, but not for actual Sora's level.
12. Agree. Technically, everyone can just grab a keyblade from the Keyblade Graveyard and use it.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 16:40

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

4. I'm pretty sure in the data battle the amount restored is actually lowered everytime you did this, so if you have low doom count by the second half, you're kinda screwed.
6. At least for the Org XIII it's only for the DM. For Lingering Will it's most of the time.
9. You have a point. At least it's not "I can't see that Vanitas is evil" Ventus and "My promise is real even though everyone just shown that it's never actually made" Sora. Low bar, I know. Who do you think is the actual smartest character in KH?
10. But Re:Coded is the only game with changable difficulty mode, 2D platforming, shooting segment, and turn-based RPG! What more could you want? (I still rank it worse than Days in general).
12. Agree. Technically, everyone can just grab a keyblade from the Keyblade Graveyard and use it.

4. Really? Never heard of that, but at least I didn't have to deal with that too much.
6. Yeah, makes it extra painful when he removes some of your commands. Especially if you can only use regular magic attacks since you'll probably need to keep curing yourself.
9. Yeah, Ventus is a real dumbass, and Sora is just being Best Boy with a heart of the finest gold. As for smartest character, it'd have to be Master Xehanort since apparently he planned out the entire series from Birth by Sleep onward on the fly.
10. Honestly, I never actually played Re:Coded, but purely from a story standpoint, I put it above Days, which I consider the lowest point in the entire franchise.
12. Yeah, and apparently if you just go to Yen Sid's tower and bat your eyelashes enough you can just be trained to use one in less than a day.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 17:18

Larryb: Oct 5, 2010

Hell, Kairi got hers by accidentally touching Aqua's Keyblade when she was a kid (though if that's all it takes then Leon and Jack Sparrow should now have the potential to use it as well). No idea how Axel got his though.

# ? Jun 4, 2018 18:12

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

Larryb posted:

Hell, Kairi got hers by accidentally touching Aqua's Keyblade when she was a kid (though if that's all it takes then Leon and Jack Sparrow should now have the potential to use it as well). No idea how Axel got his though.

Axel got it because he touched Roxas/Xion's keyblade, probably. Still stupid, though.

1234567890num posted:

I never got it during my normal fight either, so it means either I also kill him too quickly or the wiki is wrong.

I can now confirm: Roxas' RC actually is available during the original fight.

E:

TheLoneStar posted:

4. Really? Never heard of that, but at least I didn't have to deal with that too much.
6. Yeah, makes it extra painful when he removes some of your commands. Especially if you can only use regular magic attacks since you'll probably need to keep curing yourself.
9. Yeah, Ventus is a real dumbass, and Sora is just being Best Boy with a heart of the finest gold. As for smartest character, it'd have to be Master Xehanort since apparently he planned out the entire series from Birth by Sleep onward on the fly.
10. Honestly, I never actually played Re:Coded, but purely from a story standpoint, I put it above Days, which I consider the lowest point in the entire franchise.
12. Yeah, and apparently if you just go to Yen Sid's tower and bat your eyelashes enough you can just be trained to use one in less than a day.

9. Technically it's not "on the fly" since there's Young Xehanort who can time travel. How that figures into things though, I have no idea. Looking forward to you trying to make sense of the whole Xehanort thing in DDD!
10. From story standpoint, it's either "Ice Cream everyday until Xion dies" or "An adventure inside a journal with absolutely nothing gained". From a gameplay perspective though, I have to say that I enjoyed Days more. I completed the game in Proud mode while actually somewhat enjoying it. Re:Coded is just tedious with the whole bug-world thing.
12. Who are you referring to? Kairi or Axel?

Fun fact: Trump beats Duck on Google searches for "Donald"

1234567890num fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Jun 5, 2018

# ? Jun 5, 2018 16:43

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

Larryb posted:

Hell, Kairi got hers by accidentally touching Aqua's Keyblade when she was a kid (though if that's all it takes then Leon and Jack Sparrow should now have the potential to use it as well). No idea how Axel got his though.

1234567890num posted:

Axel got it because he touched Roxas/Xion's keyblade, probably. Still stupid, though.

I thought Kairi had some kind of potential in her due to her heart of pure light or something. And as far as we know, Axel just trained with Yen Sid to get his...I think.

1234567890num posted:

9. Technically it's not "on the fly" since there's Young Xehanort who can time travel. How that figures into things though, I have no idea. Looking forward to you trying to make sense of the whole Xehanort thing in DDD!
10. From story standpoint, it's either "Ice Cream everyday until Xion dies" or "An adventure inside a journal with absolutely nothing gained". From a gameplay perspective though, I have to say that I enjoyed Days more. I completed the game in Proud mode while actually somewhat enjoying it. Re:Coded is just tedious with the whole bug-world thing.
12. Who are you referring to? Kairi or Axel?

9. Well, either way he still planned poo poo a decade in advance. I'm not sure if the Master Xehanort of Birth by Sleep ever met Young Xehanort. And honestly the Xehanort part of Dream Drop Distance wasn't ever an issue for me, it was more the sleeping worlds that made me confused.
10. I mean, Xion was a completely worthless addition to the series, and a poorly written one at that. Days has no impact on the series, where at least Coded has Maleficent and Pete going after the Book of Prophecies.
12. Axel, since Kairi could already use one before going to see Yen Sid.

Also, new episode:

Part 24 - The World That Never Was

Really approaching endgame here. I forgot how little there was to see or do in the Castle That Never Was aside from fight bosses and watch cutscenes. It feels like there's barely anything in-between honestly. Two of the three boss fights were fine, at least. I was never fond of Luxord's though, I felt his time aspect was completely wasted and they didn't even try to do anything interesting with him. Like Xigbar and his space abilities were done far better, and even Sa�x's abilities make more sense and all he has is a "moon" attribute to attach to him. Even over a decade later I wish Kairi's Keyblade introduction was handled better. Riku just...has it because...reasons and hands it over to her. At least let her summon the darn thing herself, she doesn't have much else going for her in the series.

# ? Jun 5, 2018 21:19

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

TheLoneStar posted:

I thought Kairi had some kind of potential in her due to her heart of pure light or something. And as far as we know, Axel just trained with Yen Sid to get his...I think.
9. Well, either way he still planned poo poo a decade in advance. I'm not sure if the Master Xehanort of Birth by Sleep ever met Young Xehanort. And honestly the Xehanort part of Dream Drop Distance wasn't ever an issue for me, it was more the sleeping worlds that made me confused.
10. I mean, Xion was a completely worthless addition to the series, and a poorly written one at that. Days has no impact on the series, where at least Coded has Maleficent and Pete going after the Book of Prophecies.
12. Axel, since Kairi could already use one before going to see Yen Sid..

Yeah, sleeping worlds don't make sense either. It's basically just an excuse to have Dream Eaters.

Xion may or may not be important in KH3, who knows. Also, what is the Book of Prophecies? I don't think it's mentioned in the actual Re:Coded (the actual game, not the movie version).

If Kairi had potential because of the light in her heart, does it mean the other princesses have the potential too? I would love to see someone like Aurora actually do something productive. Aurora battling Maleficent makes for a nice mental images.

The Maleficent and Pete combo is so useless in this game, it's actually surprising that they're the main antagonist for Re:Coded. Of course, they drop back to useless in DDD. It's as if Nomura doesn't know what to do with them!

Of course Luxord can't have all the nice time powers, all of them are reserved for Young Xehanort. gently caress that last clock bit in his DDD battle.

# ? Jun 6, 2018 13:53

Larryb: Oct 5, 2010

1234567890num posted:

Yeah, sleeping worlds don't make sense either. It's basically just an excuse to have Dream Eaters.

Xion may or may not be important in KH3, who knows. Also, what is the Book of Prophecies? I don't think it's mentioned in the actual Re:Coded (the actual game, not the movie version).

Something from the mobile game that's also referenced in the Back Cover movie in the 2.8 collection. It's basically a book describing everything that will happen in the future. And yes, that particular scene was added to the movie version and was not in the actual game.

# ? Jun 6, 2018 16:25

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

Yeah, sleeping worlds don't make sense either. It's basically just an excuse to have Dream Eaters.

Xion may or may not be important in KH3, who knows. Also, what is the Book of Prophecies? I don't think it's mentioned in the actual Re:Coded (the actual game, not the movie version).

If Kairi had potential because of the light in her heart, does it mean the other princesses have the potential too? I would love to see someone like Aurora actually do something productive. Aurora battling Maleficent makes for a nice mental images.

The Maleficent and Pete combo is so useless in this game, it's actually surprising that they're the main antagonist for Re:Coded. Of course, they drop back to useless in DDD. It's as if Nomura doesn't know what to do with them!

Of course Luxord can't have all the nice time powers, all of them are reserved for Young Xehanort. gently caress that last clock bit in his DDD battle.

poo poo like the Traverse Town thing and how the sleeper worlds work in general have me confused, with The Grid world and the musketeer world confused me the most, but I'll get into that more when I actually do the playthrough.

Yeah, she'll inevitably play some role, though I expect her to mainly become her own person and live happily ever after. And like Larryb said, it tells the future and it seems like it will be Maleficent's main driving force in Kingdom Hearts III, and has actually lead to her appearance in Union χ...somehow.

I dunno, I'm not even sure if I'm right or not. I was just theorizing. And if the princesses get one, Jack Sparrow better get one as well; it's only fair.

Yeah, by Dream Drop Distance people barely even care about them anymore. I'm really hoping Maleficent is an actual threat in III, with an actual boss battle.

Poor Luxord, he always gets the short end of the stick...

# ? Jun 6, 2018 16:32

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

Part 25 - Optional Stuff

Boy, this video was a pain to do and edit, but it was worth it. Here I take care of all the optional bosses (Sephiroth, Data Organization XIII, Lingering Will) as well as the Hades Paradox Cup and Mushroom XIII. Honestly, a good chunk of this stuff wasn't too bad. Sephiroth was a lot easier than he was in Kingdom Hearts I, where even on Beginner I can't defeat him without abusing the Strike Raid method. He's a lot easier to handle here, due in part to the better combat mechanics, especially Reaction Commands and Drive Forms, which can double for free healing. The Data fights weren't as bad as I expected either. While I was playing on Beginner, I expected a lot more difficulty, but I was able to clear out a majority of them in one or two tries. It was really only Axel and Luxord that I had big issues with. And then the Lingering Will was a major pain, though thankfully it only took me about five or six tries to do him in. He was nowhere near as bad as the Mysterious Figure from Birth by Sleep, that's for drat sure. And finally the Mushroom XIII were almost all easy enough to deal with, but Number VIII gave me so much trouble that I don't see myself ever going through the Mushroom XIII again in further playthroughs of the game.

# ? Jun 8, 2018 00:34

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

Sorry for the long post.

Larryb posted:

Something from the mobile game that's also referenced in the Back Cover movie in the 2.8 collection. It's basically a book describing everything that will happen in the future. And yes, that particular scene was added to the movie version and was not in the actual game.

Oh. I didn't know since I never actually watched the movie version.

TheLoneStar posted:

poo poo like the Traverse Town thing and how the sleeper worlds work in general have me confused, with The Grid world and the musketeer world confused me the most, but I'll get into that more when I actually do the playthrough.

Yeah, she'll inevitably play some role, though I expect her to mainly become her own person and live happily ever after. And like Larryb said, it tells the future and it seems like it will be Maleficent's main driving force in Kingdom Hearts III, and has actually lead to her appearance in Union χ...somehow.

I dunno, I'm not even sure if I'm right or not. I was just theorizing. And if the princesses get one, Jack Sparrow better get one as well; it's only fair.

Yeah, by Dream Drop Distance people barely even care about them anymore. I'm really hoping Maleficent is an actual threat in III, with an actual boss battle.

Poor Luxord, he always gets the short end of the stick...

Same with the Sleeping Worlds. DDD is the point where KH lost me.

I guess we'll see when KH 3 comes (famous last words before it got delayed/cancelled). For both Xion and Maleficent. At least Maleficent got 2 boss fights in BBS, right? Even if she's absolutely non threatening here.

Jack Sparrow won't use it to fight. He'd sell it and then retrieve it back (by teleporting) after getting the money. Repeat the process for profit. When Sora met him, he's already filthy rich with his own treasure island.

I'm really impressed by how you do the Mushroom XIII. It took me like an average of around 6 tries? Maybe? The best weapons given by them are arguably better than Save The King/Queen +. Getting those weapons are EXTREMELY hard. You have to get S rank on odd ones for Donald and even ones for Goofy. For reference, the scores needed for the journal (and the XIII one) is for the rank B. The easiest one to get is II and IX. The II one is a bit random but isn't bad with Stitch/Final Form. The IX one is doable with the method you've shown. I had trouble with that one since you can't jump too high because of hitbox shenanigans.

I'm pretty sure Reflect/Reflera/Reflega doesn't care about the amount of damage. It just determines whether it's active or not with any amount of damage. The actual damage dealt is based on your magic (and the opponent's magic defense). It's definitely possible to go to Anti Form during the data org fights, but since you go to Final Form plenty of times, the chances of you going anti is 10*0%=0%. Final form decreases the chance of anti.

My thoughts:
1. I never played KH1 (stopped in Traverse Town. It's too slow for me), so I don't know if he's easier in KH 2 or not. I can say that Limit Form really helps, so it's definitely easier than the vanilla KH2. It hurts me to see you just standing there tanking Heartless Angel. Does it actually reduces it to 1 HP or it just flat-out kills you if you don't have Once More/Second Chance? I could never find out.
2. Roxas' fight is very hard during the second phase where all of his attacks gains laser. I died frequently due to waiting for the MP to recharge at just 1 HP. Just use limit form. Third hardest fight for me.
3. Larxene's fight is just Reflega+Stitch for massive damage. And Once More+Second Chance for survival. It's the fastest one on the Data Org speedrun for the reason you said.
4. Marluxia's fight is not bad if you actually learn his patterns. Of course, Reflega+Stitch makes it easier. Yes, the whirlwind attack appears rarely, but that's part of the challenge, right? :v:

5. Luxord's fight isn't that bad. Just don't do any minigames if you suck at them. For the final one, just stand in place if you fail. Luxord will leap harmlessly over you repeatedly. After you turn back, he'll do the last minigame again. Do it until you win (or not. Just leave it up to chance).
6. Demyx's fight is really easy, ignoring the clones part. You can still do the RC with them, you just have to hit the clones with finishers instead of normal hits to turn them into notes. If you don't kill him after the 99 clones in 30 seconds part, he will spend the rest of the fight sending 1 clones to be killed in 60 seconds. Fun fact: Demyx's spends most of Days skimping out on work while putting all of it on Roxas. And the place you most often get sent with him? Olympus Coliseum.
7. Axel's fight is over very quickly in Critical Mode. The fire floor is VERY lethal. The second hardest fight for me.
8. Saix's fight is just Reflega+Stitch. The quicker RC actually makes it easier for me. I agree with your thoughts on both Axel and Saix's characters. Didn't notice the laser on the background until you pointed it out. Nice catch!
9. Zexion's is the fight I actually used a limit on regularly. I used Donald's comet to get the book to low health before just hitting it with the RC when the limit ends. In Crit mode you really won't last long
10. Lexaeus' is just Reflega+Stitch. I actually did this damageless a few times.
11. Vexen's is just Reflega+Stitch+Firaga+Once More+Second Chance for around 2 minutes. When I first beat this boss, it's after 10 minutes without Reflega or Firaga. Not a fun fight. Bullshit desperation move and anti-sora mechanic.
12. Xaldin's is straightforward until the last part where he warps. I usually use Magnega to get him to use his jump attack (just following the guide, not sure how it works). I'm not a speedrunner, just a regular player. I just like knowing those kind of intricate mechanics, but can't be bothered enough to exploit them. Except for Lingering Will.
13. Xigbar is definitely the hardest for me. He just attacks so rapidly, and if you use Aerial Recovery/Retaliating Slash, he'll bypass Once More. I'd use Reflega+Stitch combo, but for some reason you can't summon in this fight, so you have to rely on good ol' Block. Unfortunately, you can't just combo Block just like how you can combo Reflega. At least Donald and Goofy are useful for once, Donald with Donald Cure and Leaf Bracer for survival and Goofy with Goofy Tornado which can actually reflect the bullets back to Xigbar and stuns him, just like your block.
14. Xemnas is meh after Xigbar. That final cutscene gets old really fast, though. Thankfully you can just go do whatever and Xemnas will be patiently waiting for you to kill him (until he's revived in DDD). You can actually prevent playing as Riku by having invincibility (limits, Reflega, Curaga+Leaf Bracer) while Xemnas is initiating that attack. I still don't understand where exactly we fight him both times.
15. "He's most vulnerable after finishing an attack" is technically true, in the sense of "He's only vulnerable after finishing an attack". Lingering Will will take more damage after every subsequent combo. Just like a combo boost, but instead of increasing after every attack, it's increasing after every combo. I never used the limit strategy since that would require Donald being alive and we all know that is unlikely to happen on Crit. The DM is actually pretty easy to block if you know how. His seal attack is either Attack or Magic+Items. If the Magic is sealed you won't be able to use Limit forms' attacks (not party limits). Your items are just unavailable for the first one because you probably used them all (???) If you hit Terra while on the effect of the attack seal, he'll drop MP orbs. If you hit him with the Magic+Item seal effect, he'll drop HP orbs which is good since it's your second source of healing (beside Drive). The crossbow for me is basically instant death. It's like Luxord's minigame, except even harder (and lethal). You did a very great job of showing his attacks, but there's one you missed: the bike+Magnega. It's extremely rare. I got it like twice out of my 30/40 attempts to beat him. You can rechallenge him for a synthesis item (Manifest Illusion) that you can just make yourself.

Congratulations on beating all the bonus bosses. Don't worry, I don't think anyone is expecting a speedrunner-like performance. I'm still wondering how many times have they done that to do it like that.

# ? Jun 8, 2018 20:35

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

I guess we'll see when KH 3 comes (famous last words before it got delayed/cancelled). For both Xion and Maleficent. At least Maleficent got 2 boss fights in BBS, right? Even if she's absolutely non threatening here.

Jack Sparrow won't use it to fight. He'd sell it and then retrieve it back (by teleporting) after getting the money. Repeat the process for profit. When Sora met him, he's already filthy rich with his own treasure island.

I'm really impressed by how you do the Mushroom XIII. It took me like an average of around 6 tries? Maybe? The best weapons given by them are arguably better than Save The King/Queen +. Getting those weapons are EXTREMELY hard. You have to get S rank on odd ones for Donald and even ones for Goofy. For reference, the scores needed for the journal (and the XIII one) is for the rank B. The easiest one to get is II and IX. The II one is a bit random but isn't bad with Stitch/Final Form. The IX one is doable with the method you've shown. I had trouble with that one since you can't jump too high because of hitbox shenanigans.

I'm pretty sure Reflect/Reflera/Reflega doesn't care about the amount of damage. It just determines whether it's active or not with any amount of damage. The actual damage dealt is based on your magic (and the opponent's magic defense). It's definitely possible to go to Anti Form during the data org fights, but since you go to Final Form plenty of times, the chances of you going anti is 10*0%=0%. Final form decreases the chance of anti.

My thoughts:
1. I never played KH1 (stopped in Traverse Town. It's too slow for me), so I don't know if he's easier in KH 2 or not. I can say that Limit Form really helps, so it's definitely easier than the vanilla KH2. It hurts me to see you just standing there tanking Heartless Angel. Does it actually reduces it to 1 HP or it just flat-out kills you if you don't have Once More/Second Chance? I could never find out.
2. Roxas' fight is very hard during the second phase where all of his attacks gains laser. I died frequently due to waiting for the MP to recharge at just 1 HP. Just use limit form. Third hardest fight for me.
5. Luxord's fight isn't that bad. Just don't do any minigames if you suck at them. For the final one, just stand in place if you fail. Luxord will leap harmlessly over you repeatedly. After you turn back, he'll do the last minigame again. Do it until you win (or not. Just leave it up to chance).
6. Demyx's fight is really easy, ignoring the clones part. You can still do the RC with them, you just have to hit the clones with finishers instead of normal hits to turn them into notes. If you don't kill him after the 99 clones in 30 seconds part, he will spend the rest of the fight sending 1 clones to be killed in 60 seconds. Fun fact: Demyx's spends most of Days skimping out on work while putting all of it on Roxas. And the place you most often get sent with him? Olympus Coliseum.
7. Axel's fight is over very quickly in Critical Mode. The fire floor is VERY lethal. The second hardest fight for me.
11. Vexen's is just Reflega+Stitch+Firaga+Once More+Second Chance for around 2 minutes. When I first beat this boss, it's after 10 minutes without Reflega or Firaga. Not a fun fight. Bullshit desperation move and anti-sora mechanic.
12. Xaldin's is straightforward until the last part where he warps. I usually use Magnega to get him to use his jump attack (just following the guide, not sure how it works). I'm not a speedrunner, just a regular player. I just like knowing those kind of intricate mechanics, but can't be bothered enough to exploit them. Except for Lingering Will.
13. Xigbar is definitely the hardest for me. He just attacks so rapidly, and if you use Aerial Recovery/Retaliating Slash, he'll bypass Once More. I'd use Reflega+Stitch combo, but for some reason you can't summon in this fight, so you have to rely on good ol' Block. Unfortunately, you can't just combo Block just like how you can combo Reflega. At least Donald and Goofy are useful for once, Donald with Donald Cure and Leaf Bracer for survival and Goofy with Goofy Tornado which can actually reflect the bullets back to Xigbar and stuns him, just like your block.
15. "He's most vulnerable after finishing an attack" is technically true, in the sense of "He's only vulnerable after finishing an attack". Lingering Will will take more damage after every subsequent combo. Just like a combo boost, but instead of increasing after every attack, it's increasing after every combo. I never used the limit strategy since that would require Donald being alive and we all know that is unlikely to happen on Crit. The DM is actually pretty easy to block if you know how. His seal attack is either Attack or Magic+Items. If the Magic is sealed you won't be able to use Limit forms' attacks (not party limits). Your items are just unavailable for the first one because you probably used them all (???) If you hit Terra while on the effect of the attack seal, he'll drop MP orbs. If you hit him with the Magic+Item seal effect, he'll drop HP orbs which is good since it's your second source of healing (beside Drive). The crossbow for me is basically instant death. It's like Luxord's minigame, except even harder (and lethal). You did a very great job of showing his attacks, but there's one you missed: the bike+Magnega. It's extremely rare. I got it like twice out of my 30/40 attempts to beat him. You can rechallenge him for a synthesis item (Manifest Illusion) that you can just make yourself.

Congratulations on beating all the bonus bosses. Don't worry, I don't think anyone is expecting a speedrunner-like performance. I'm still wondering how many times have they done that to do it like that.

Yeah, she got two. Oddly enough the person she hosed with the most (Terra) never bothers to fight her.

Yeah, that sounds about right. That's a total Jack move.

Well, I didn't get all of them on my first try. Like I, X, and XI took three-to-five tries each, and then of course VIII took me about a half hour to get through. And I had no idea about that with the B Rank. I just kind of assumed the score you needed to satisfy Jiminy was S Rank. Though honestly I'm not too worried about getting the best gear for Donald and Goofy. They're not useful enough where it makes much of a difference.

Wasn't aware of that with the Reflect spells, even checked the wiki and it seems you're right. I just thought it'd make sense that reflecting a bigger attack would mean the spell does more damage. And I guess I was just lucky with the forms, even with going Final Form so much, like in the Axel fight I still never went Anti once, on-screen or otherwise.

1. I...never even stopped to consider you can stop the Heartless Angel attack here. I don't know why I never bothered to try because I know for a fact you can stop it in the first game. And it will always take you down to 1 HP, regardless of what abilities you have equipped.
2. Yeah, I always hated those lasers; they were always the biggest pain for me when fighting him.
5. Really it's the end minigame I have the most issue with, which can't be avoided unless you do very specific actions against Luxord. And I am actually aware of that little glitch with Luxord. Unfortunately it still wasn't enough to avoid having to fight him half a dozen times.
6. Well poo poo, never knew that about the water clones. I guess using Fire spells is just faster in general, since that's what I tended to see speedrunners do against him. And yeah, I remember seeing parts of Days with Demyx at the coliseum. I guess it's why he was sent to get the Olympus Stone; he was the most familiar with the world out of anyone still in the Organization.
7. As much as I hate the fire floor bullshit, I at least applaud it for it being the biggest change in a Data fight in comparison to its original one.
11. I wish I had actually remembered to shortcut Firaga with him. I guess I was still able to make do well enough either way.
12. Yeah, I don't know about those kind of specific tricks either. I usually just go into fights swinging and hope for the best.
13. What about using Limits? At least then you don't have to worry about taking any kind of damage from all his bullets.
15. Yeah, I thought there was some kind of trick with how combos work against him. I remember seeing videos where a guy took off like, three healthbars with one combo and it was insane. It's honestly that "block certain commands" bullshit that really makes him hard for me. I can handle just about anything else he throws at me aside from that and his Desperation Move. And I've tried to get the hang of blocking it normally, but I'm just really bad at timing, especially when up against such a hard-hitting boss like that.

And thanks, man. It was hard, but worth it to get through them all. And I don't even want to think about how long it takes speedrunners to do just about anything. I could never be patient to pull off the stuff they do.

# ? Jun 9, 2018 00:04

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

Part 26 - Xemnas

And here we are, the finale of Kingdom Hearts II. I'm honestly not too fond of Xemnas' various phases, though honestly a big reason is because I'm too busy questioning everything like where he got a giant dragon machine and where/how he got No Heart. Can Nobodies just summon Keyblade Armor? I don't think even Nomura knows. The final phase was pretty nice though; just Sora and Riku against the main villain, with a couple of cinematics to spice things up. I gotta wonder how long Sora, Riku, and Kairi were back home before they got that next letter. I always liked to imagine it was maybe a day or two, just so they can't get a freaking break. I honestly still consider this game to be the best the franchise has to offer so far; while it has faults like certain worlds having terrible visits, and a rather terrible prologue, I think it manages to do enough better than the rest of the series to get the number one spot in my book. I'm hoping III will blow this game out of the water, though.

In about a week, I'll do another movie commentary; this time with Re:Coded.

# ? Jun 9, 2018 22:41

1234567890num: Oct 6, 2017

TheLoneStar posted:

Yeah, she got two. Oddly enough the person she hosed with the most (Terra) never bothers to fight her.

As much as I hate the fire floor bullshit, I at least applaud it for it being the biggest change in a Data fight in comparison to its original one.

What about using Limits? At least then you don't have to worry about taking any kind of damage from all his bullets.

Terra got Maleficent's d-link so they're friends. After all, friends hosed with each other, right? BBS is my first game and I went into it with no prior knowledge to KH so I was thoroughly confused with her and the "princesses of heart" thing.

You're kinda damning with faint praise here. I think the Data Org fights are made so you can actually know what each of their gimmicks are since some people might overlevel and kill them before they can show them off. Like you did in previous videos.

Technically true, but I guess I'm too stingy with potions

I kinda wrote most of the whole Xemnas final fight as Nomura just writing whatever he came up with. I mean a dragon fight out of nowhere? At least the armored one is still kinda believable(?)

If Mickey told Sora or Riku about Aqua earlier, she wouldn't still be trapped in the Realm of Darkness. Also, poor Riku, only being approached by Mickey in the end while Sora was approached by Donald, Goofy, and Kairi. And you're forgetting one trio: Sora, Donald, Goofy.

I like Sanctuary more than Simple and Clean for some reason. I agree that KH 2 is the best game. Days' gameplay is not that terrible, at least for me.Still bad though, especially the awful boss design. gently caress Leechgrave. And Ruler of the Sky. And especially Duskflier. Re:Coded is just too unfocused, BBS is unfair (looking at you, MF), KH1 is slow, Re:CoM is broken, and DDD is too complicated.

# ? Jun 10, 2018 17:16

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

1234567890num posted:

You're kinda damning with faint praise here. I think the Data Org fights are made so you can actually know what each of their gimmicks are since some people might overlevel and kill them before they can show them off. Like you did in previous videos.

I kinda wrote most of the whole Xemnas final fight as Nomura just writing whatever he came up with. I mean a dragon fight out of nowhere? At least the armored one is still kinda believable(?)

If Mickey told Sora or Riku about Aqua earlier, she wouldn't still be trapped in the Realm of Darkness. Also, poor Riku, only being approached by Mickey in the end while Sora was approached by Donald, Goofy, and Kairi. And you're forgetting one trio: Sora, Donald, Goofy.

I like Sanctuary more than Simple and Clean for some reason. I agree that KH 2 is the best game. Days' gameplay is not that terrible, at least for me.Still bad though, especially the awful boss design. gently caress Leechgrave. And Ruler of the Sky. And especially Duskflier. Re:Coded is just too unfocused, BBS is unfair (looking at you, MF), KH1 is slow, Re:CoM is broken, and DDD is too complicated.

I mean...I guess? I just assumed it was for the extra challenge. Either way it's odd that only one or two fights introduce brand new gimmicks while most just have a change in pattern.

Yeah, that makes sense, honestly. I mean at least with Xehanort's Heartless and his fleshy dick battleship it seems like something straight from a Final Fantasy game. The dragon and armor...not so much.

Eh, she's earned a long stay in the Realm of Darkness anyway so it's fine. And it just goes to show that Sora will always be cooler than Riku. And that's right, I did. Sora/Riku/Kairi and Sora/Donald/Goofy are pretty much the only good trios.

I don't think anything can excuse that panel bullshit in Days, along with the idiotic way that spells work where you can only use a certain spell X amount of times per mission. And yeah, the Mysterious Figure may be one of the hardest bosses I've ever faced in a game, honestly. I hope they don't pull that crap in III.

# ? Jun 10, 2018 17:38

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 28, 2024 22:03

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded Full Movie With Commentary

And so, we get to Re:coded. Easily the most bizarre game of the series thus far, and it ties with Days as the least important. Having never played the game itself, I can't say much about its gameplay, although it did look like fun when I watched a playthrough. In terms of the story itself, I think it's a step up above days, but it's just too weird to really get into. That, and everything that's in trouble is just Data stuff, so I can't particularly care if bad things happen. I'm eternally amused by Data-Sora's extreme willingness to listen to a voice in his head and do whatever it says. I'm not fond that worlds had to be revisited TWO TIMES in the game/movie, but at least in the latter case the revisits are glossed over. The entire Castle Oblivion segment and the constant use of "hurt" was killer on me.

I recently heard that Nomura was literally drunk when he came up with the original game, and that's honestly no surprise to me.

# ? Jun 18, 2018 13:21

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Between Light and Darkness: Let's Play Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

«‹›2 »