Topic: Kingdom Hearts: anyone else think this game sucks?

[theaveng]

I'm enjoying the story and seeing all the Disney characters, but I don't like the games:
-  The puzzles are tedious and often don't make much sense (unlike Zelda64 for example).  
-  Fighting the random monsters is fun...
-  But the boss fights are frustrating.  Half the time I can't see where the boss ran off to, and when I get close I don't use any kind of strategy... I just pound my button as fast as possible and hope I don't die.  I think the boss fights could have been better designed (again, like Zelda64).
-  The camera is the main reason the boss fights suck so much.  It is zoomed in too close to the character so that I can't see what's going on around myself, and Square stupidly didn't include a zoom out function so we players could get a wide view of the action.  

Anyway, I'm about 20 hours into the game and seriously considering quitting.  I'm anxious to see how the story ends, but the tedium of the game seems like too much of a hurdle.  The game has sat idle for 2 weeks now, and I have no desire to pick it up again.

Thoughts?  Opinions?

[RickPowers]

The camera is the game's main problem.  Unlike others, I really didn't have much problem with any of the puzzles, nor with the platforming.  SOME of the boss fights are easy, and thinking you can just mash the buttons is likely going to get you killed very quickly when you reach the later bosses.  

Finish the game.  It won't take you too much longer, and the ending is VERY good.

[KLO1313]

I agree on the fact that Kingdom Hearts is the game's main flaw.  As a whole, however, the game is very good, one of Square's best, in my opinion.  If you think the game is too easy or anything, go and try to fight Sephiroth.  He will kill you five times before you can say "aw, crap."

[TheResidentEvil]

Um, the story sucked--it was just pretty and tricked you into thinking it was good---but the gam3eplay was fun and the places were pretty sweet.

[Marcus Arillius]

I just bought the game two days ago, and I haven't played it but I have watched my younger brother play.  When he finally gave up the system, I opted to play Final Fantasy 5 instead.  I may play the game later, but for now, it seems to be one of those games where once you see someone play it, you don't need to play it yourself.

[BlkPaladin]

The game wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be, the camera angle being the bigest problem but it is still a great game.

[rodtod]

the graphics were ok, the music was superb, but yeah, the camera angles were awful. nevertheless, I look forward to the sequel.  

[Samuslover]

I for one loved this game. I agree about the camera but overall this is a great game. The ending was really good and it was fun to see all of the famous disney characters. I didn't think a disney game would be good but this was a great game. Also if you saw the speical ending you can't wait for the sequel. Also if you ever get the chance watch the special secret ending in kingdom hearts final mix. It leaves so many unanswered question about the sequel.

[Marcus Arillius]

I think I can sum it up:  Too much disney, not enough FF.

[SilverBack1138]

Like many other people, I found the camera to be the main letdown, otherwise, I love Kingdom Hearts.  I've been a Disney and Squaresoft fan for a long time and they did a great job merging the 2 universes together.  I really just loved this game.

[Pandareus]

2 hours into Kingdom Hearts (9 on the list) and I want to punch a wall. Some of the worst game design I've ever seen.

You start off on an island, and right away you are sent on a fetch quest: 3 mushrooms, 3 fish, 3 coconuts, etc. I spend... I waste a good 30 minutes of my life looking for the coconuts them all over the place, until I realize I have to hit the trees to make some fall. How am I supposed to know this? No one told me, and hitting the X button locks you in an annoying swinging animation that prevents you from moving, so it's not like I'm gonna mash the button all the time and discover it by accident. Plus, you can climb those tree and no coconuts are to be seen, so how could you know hitting the tree makes huge coconuts appear out of thin air? There's also this "race" you have to participate in, except that the platforming mechanics are just broken. They simply are. So that makes for even more frustration.

So I finally make it out of the island, land in some generic FF town, and I'm not told what to do but it's implied you have to join up with Donald Duck. The thing is, the town is fairly big, with a fair number of doors you can enter all over the place, and you have to enter them in a specific order to trigger just about half a dozen "ooh, just missed him by a hair" cutscenes. I scoured the whole place a dozen ****ing times for a whole hour just because I didn't think of revisiting a place I had already been to, but not at the "right" moment to trigger the cutscene.

And enemies are constantly spawning all over the place, all the time. Eventually, you realize that there's nothing to gain by fighting them, so you just have to flee. Except that, if you need to examine something, or open a chest, you can't as long as there are enemies around.

I feel like I've found the perfect game that "proves" the fallibility of game critics, their tendency to be unduly swayed by high production values, hype and great presentation, but I'd probably stared at blankly if I brought it up in a discussion because apparently, very few people picked up on the fact that this game is objectively, undeniably, terrible.

It's got some of the worst game design I've ever seen in a game, and keep in mind I'm playing Suda 51's Flower, Sun and Rain.

[Peachylala]

Pandareus post reminds why I never want Nomura's KH team to develop a Mushroom Kingdom Hearts.

[broodwars]

2 hours into Kingdom Hearts (9 on the list) and I want to punch a wall. Some of the worst game design I've ever seen.

You start off on an island, and right away you are sent on a fetch quest: 3 mushrooms, 3 fish, 3 coconuts, etc. I spend... I waste a good 30 minutes of my life looking for the coconuts them all over the place, until I realize I have to hit the trees to make some fall. How am I supposed to know this? No one told me, and hitting the X button locks you in an annoying swinging animation that prevents you from moving, so it's not like I'm gonna mash the button all the time and discover it by accident. Plus, you can climb those tree and no coconuts are to be seen, so how could you know hitting the tree makes huge coconuts appear out of thin air? There's also this "race" you have to participate in, except that the platforming mechanics are just broken. They simply are. So that makes for even more frustration.

So I finally make it out of the island, land in some generic FF town, and I'm not told what to do but it's implied you have to join up with Donald Duck. The thing is, the town is fairly big, with a fair number of doors you can enter all over the place, and you have to enter them in a specific order to trigger just about half a dozen "ooh, just missed him by a hair" cutscenes. I scoured the whole place a dozen ****ing times for a whole hour just because I didn't think of revisiting a place I had already been to, but not at the "right" moment to trigger the cutscene.

And enemies are constantly spawning all over the place, all the time. Eventually, you realize that there's nothing to gain by fighting them, so you just have to flee. Except that, if you need to examine something, or open a chest, you can't as long as there are enemies around.

I feel like I've found the perfect game that "proves" the fallibility of game critics, their tendency to be unduly swayed by high production values, hype and great presentation, but I'd probably stared at blankly if I brought it up in a discussion because apparently, very few people picked up on the fact that this game is objectively, undeniably, terrible.

It's got some of the worst game design I've ever seen in a game, and keep in mind I'm playing Suda 51's Flower, Sun and Rain.

Without going too far into your complaints, suffice it to say that Kingdom Hearts 2 flows a lot better and is just overall a better game (it does still have that wierd period of fetch-questing at the beginning, though).  I'm not a fan of the first Kingdom Hearts, which I feel is sadistically difficult because the teammate AI is horrible (especially Donald's).  Kingdom Hearts 2 also does away with most of the platforming and dramatically improves the camera.  I think, though, that if you can get past Agrabah you should be fine.  Agrabah is where I just had enough and had to put the game up for months.

[ShyGuy]

Kingdom Hearts 2 and flow? I don't know about flow at least for the first part of the game. Some new kid wandering around town for some pointless reason. Even more boring than the first hour of Twilight Princess!

[broodwars]

Kingdom Hearts 2 and flow? I don't know about flow at least for the first part of the game. Some new kid wandering around town for some pointless reason. Even more boring than the first hour of Twilight Princess!

I believe I quite pointedly mentioned that it also has an incredibly slow start, though I did enjoy the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2 a lot more than Kingdom Hearts 1.  Once you get past that part, though, you're just flying through the game.  Combat is very brief in the sequel, mostly because it's a lot easier and fond of contextual QTEs and you have your overpowered Drives and Disney partner combo attacks to annihilate the Heartless.  I still have a lot of problems with Kingdom Hearts 2, but unlike the first entry I'll probably actually replay 2 at some point in the future just because it's actually a good game.

Kingdom Hearts 1 you just have to slog through, as it does have redeeming features.  For me, I was sold on the concept with the very first cinema that depicted all these Disney villains from various movies and time periods conversing with one another, and all using very good impressions of their original voices.  As a huge Disney nut, I couldn't help being completely wowed by stuff like that.  The Final Fantasy element...well...it's horribly-integrated in both games, though better in the sequel.

[Pandareus]

Ha. Haha. Hahaha.

So when I last saved... it apparently didn't save at all. I'd have to do the whole blind search thing in the first town all over again, if I had any intention of continuing playing this game.

I hate myself, that's true, but not that much.

It might actually be the worst game I've ever played, and I absolutely mean it. I'm not one to call decent games "terrible", but this game is horrendous, there is no way around it.

[Pale]

Kingdom Hearts is a masterpiece of storytelling.  Yeah I said it.

Haters can go suck a lemon. =P

[that Baby guy]

He's right about the issues with design in the beginning, where the player can walk around with little idea of where to go or what to do.  I definitely agree those moments are painful, dull, and discourage a lot of players.

[Spak-Spang]

I am just here to defend to first hour of Twilight Princess....now that is a masterpiece of storytelling.  I enjoyed that game, and loved the forced wolf segments and more linear beginning.

[Peachylala]

Kingdom Hearts is a masterpiece of storytelling.  Yeah I said it.

Haters can go suck a lemon. =P

The lemon is very sour Pale.

Masterpiece in story-telling it is not. It has the typical cliches that Sqeenix used for it's anime based FF's (spiked haired hero, "darkness", evil white haired kid), and Kairi was just wasted potential. All she ended up being was a damsel in distress and nothing else.

[Pale]

I'm not gonna sit here and claim that the game isn't niche in it's storytelling.  However, for those that the niche hits, it is absolutely glorious.

I can't get enough Kingdom Hearts.  I even loved every minute of the GBA game.

[broodwars]

I'm not gonna sit here and claim that the game isn't niche in it's storytelling.  However, for those that the niche hits, it is absolutely glorious.

I can't get enough Kingdom Hearts.  I even loved every minute of the GBA game.

You should play the PS2 remake of Chain of Memories, then.  I absolutely hated the GBA version, but found the PS2 version oddly enjoyable.

As for Kairi, I always found it laughable that she ended up being a Disney Princess, which is just ridiculous.  She does get better in the second game, but not by much.

[Peachylala]

Kairi's wasted potential got worse in KH2. At the end she gets a keyblade and it kills Heartless/Nobodies in one hit.