Author: dannystewart99

Despite my concern for the current state of the video game industry, Kingdom Hearts can save the day

Can Sora save the industry from falling into darkness?

Video games are my positive addiction. Always have been, always will be. To me, they’re the greatest escape for my mind over any book, TV show, or film.

2023 was a banner year for video game releases. My Top 5 anticipated games from last year ended up being incredible, each in their own right. I recently completed Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and I absolutely loved every second of it.

But despite games being in a seemingly good state, it appears that they aren’t behind the scenes, and even in some cases, wide out in the open.

Game companies are growing and contracting at a rapid rate. Synergizing studio purchases lay ground for the closing of many other indie studios and mass layoffs. Square Enix and PlayStation are reporting disappointing numbers despite developing some of the decade’s most brilliant games. Live-service games, microtransactions, and advertisements are littering the entire gaming industry with unfortunately no signs of slowing down. Mobile “games” are supposedly becoming the go-to medium for developers.

Because of all the above circumstances and many more, I’ve started to lose faith in the game industry a bit. Like I said above, I loved all of the games that I played last year. However, my want to replay them and their overall impact felt like they’d been dampened by everything else going on in the video game industry.

But, through all the darkness, there is light.

The Kingdom Hearts series is once again the subject of one of my blogs because alongside the series’ main theme, it truly feels that the light in all the darkness is the development and continuation of this series.

I’ve touched on it previously, but this series has grown up alongside me; and although my perspective on life may have changed throughout the years, the series itself has remained a constant in all the chaos.

Although the series has deviated down paths that reflect the negative state of the industry, like microtransactions and mobile games, the core of the series has remained the same. Every time the series breaks through the darkness with any new news and updates, it feels like the entire gaming world tilts.

This may just feel like that for me because I love the games and I am an active member within the community, but the series has grown beyond what anyone thought it could be.

The first draft of this blog was another spout of negativity. The original working title was “The future of the video game industry is in danger” and while I still feel like this is true, it was Kingdom Hearts that came through to change my perspective on how I felt.

The bit of news that completely had me feeling excited about games again was the fact that the series was becoming available on Steam for the very first time.

While the series isn’t new to PC, it was only previously available on the Epic Games Store. If you’re into PC gaming or not, Steam is the more universally accepted way to host and play games on PC. The Epic Games store versions allowed mod creation to extend the lives of each title, but now, with even more modders and players through Steam, the series lives on in an even greater way.

I even hopped up to make a new YouTube video about the news and potential information leaks about Kingdom Hearts IV, Sora appearing in Fortnite, and the enhanced potential of a Kingdom Hearts Disney+ show.

Although the only title missing from Steam is Melody of Memory, there is potential that soon follows. It just seems like the Kingdom Hearts news train is chugging along speedily once again.

Nobody knows what the future looks like. I’m not sure if the Kingdom Hearts series will fall victim to the plagues of live-service and advertisements that are being pushed along with by the other large gaming companies and titles.

What I do know is that as long as this series is around, I will care about the state of video games. I will fight for what’s right for gamers. I hope that everyone’s hearts are connected to help bring back what made gaming so special in the first place.

We’re not supposed to be peddling short-term crap. We’re supposed to be connecting to the characters, stories, and experiences that video games are able to provide us more than books, TV shows, movies, and fucking advertisements ever could.

If this series, and many others, fall victim to the plagues, then gaming is truly dead.

~DS

Not everything is an “underrated masterpiece”

I know I’m coming off sounding like a grumpy buttface, but some things just suck

We’re living in the age of the internet.

It’s no secret. I’m writing this to be viewed on the internet by maybe like 10 people. But because the human race is more connected to one another than we’ve ever been previously, we sort of have an overload of information.

What I’m going to write about today is out of general irritation, but it’s just something I’ve noticed about our modern internet culture. Today, I’m going to write about “Underrated Masterpieces” and why not everything deserves that title.

Before we begin, this is how everybody looks and sounds when they defend a piece of media they love:

Everybody has a piece of media they’ll defend until the day they die, and that’s ok. But we’ve strayed so far away from the term “guilty pleasure” vs the “underrated masterpiece” term.

Whether it’s movies, video games, books, songs, etc. You’ll most likely find a YouTube video, podcast, or article online claiming that any piece of media that is fringe on the line of good or bad, or just plain bad, is an “underrated masterpiece.”

I am by no means judging the content creators or their opinions, but here are just a few I found in a quick search:

Now, again, I’m not judging the creators or their opinions. Part of the reason why there are so many of these videos is because people make really valid and well-thought out arguments.

Some are just like “it’s dumb fun,” “it’s enjoyable because it doesn’t take itself too seriously,” and so on. That I can, and do, respect.

I do think everyone has the right to defend what they enjoy in their capacity. I do it myself all the time, however, I won’t argue something that’s bad as something that’s an underrated masterpiece.

Like, the Star Wars sequels, The Eternals, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, they all suck. They just do (in my opinion) because we have a series of movies and books that all come before each of those that are 1000x better than they are in comparison and they feel like they ruin what came before.

There are some teeny, tiny things they do well, but for the most part, they suck. Cursed Child especially. But there’s always an echo chamber on the internet where people will find these defenses and go on home with their beliefs confirmed.

Anybody willing to make a 20-minute YouTube video or a 1000-word blog defending it, good for you. I’m really glad you have a passion for something that you’re willing to defend. But why can’t we just admit some things are just bad anymore?

I’m not against videos or blogs of this nature. Sometimes, they’re the sole reason something that deserves to get sequels or remasters eventually do. Take SuperButterBuns’ video on Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom:

This video got 2.1 million views and then a couple years later, the game was remastered:

These two things are definitely correlated. And Battle for Bikini Bottom is one where I agree it was an underrated masterpiece, but the example I wanted to show is how powerful the internet can be.

As I reference in my Harry Potter blog from last year, this same effect for a Cursed Child movie would be a very bad thing because it’s not good, unlike Battle for Bikini Bottom.

I know I’m coming off sounding like a grumpy buttface. But here’s my example: I’m a huge fan of the Speed Racer franchise. The original series from the ’60s, the live-action movie from 2008, and the Next Generation show from the early 2010s. I love them all.

The Mach 5 from Speed Racer is my dream car. Above the Batmobile or Kit from Knight Rider or some shit, I would definitely get a Mach 5 if I came into some fortune of money before any other fantasy vehicle.

There are articles and videos out there already defending the Wachowskis’ 2008 film. And yes, I would love another series revival or another live-action adaptation. However, I’ve always called this series my “guilty pleasure” because I can just admit that it’s bad.

At times unwatchable, I still enjoy it. But it’s not some underrated masterpiece. It’s just not, it’s just something I enjoy from my childhood that I wish was still around, but isn’t. And that’s ok.

But I’m not out here wondering why it doesn’t get a sequel or a new iteration. Everything under the Speed Racer IP has been absolutely panned by critics every single time they’ve released. A studio like Warner Bros. (which consistently tends to make the wrong decisions anyway), will not gamble on the Speed Racer IP because of several failed revivals in the last 20 years. Can’t we understand that?

I feel a majority of the “underrated masterpiece” videos are about games, shows, movies, etc. that I do actually think are underrated masterpieces. I find joy in reminiscing on things that I enjoyed at an earlier time in my life and it’s nice to know someone else experienced what I experienced.

But, not everything is good. Some things are just not good. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I feel like we’ve lost sight of what’s good and what’s not because we know someone out there will agree with us.

Me and thousands of other people that would watch and enjoy any new Speed Racer show should not dictate a company’s decision to make something. Y’know? I get why it doesn’t work any more.

There are also beautiful video essays explaining why things are bad. A good amount of those I would probably disagree with too if it was something I loved.

But I’ve just seen an influx of articles, videos, etc. calling things underrated masterpieces that I think we’ve gotten out of control on a lot of things. Because sometimes, when you have fans in charge of projects, you can get out of control with what people want vs. what should be done with a narrative/piece of media.

Star Wars and Marvel both have suffered severely in the last few years. There have been great projects in between a lot of bad ones. But just because someone is willing to make the argument on behalf of Eternals or The Rise of Skywalker, doesn’t mean more films, TV shows, video games, or whatever should be made like them to satisfy a small percentage of a fan base.

Some things are just bad. If you think they’re good, great! Again, I’m really glad you like something that much. However, if our studios and production companies start thinking in the echo chamber, we’re doomed to see “underrated masterpieces” AKA bad stuff for eternity.

~DS

P.S. I think Iron-Man 3 is an underrated masterpiece even though what they do to the Mandarin absolutely sucks and dampens the whole plot of the movie. Can we all admit that? Good, that’s the whole point of this, I guess. I’m not going to make a 20-minute video about it.