Tag: gaming

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

OTD in 2019: Kingdom Hearts III finally released and altered my past, present, and future

“January 29, 2019 will be a day that gamers and Kingdom Hearts fans will never forget.”

January 29, 2019.

I will never forget this day because every day leading up to that day for most of my life to that point was waiting for that day.

If you know me, read this blog, watch my YouTube channel, you’ll know full well that the Kingdom Hearts video game series has an incredible grip on my life. I was first introduced to the series at the ripe age of 5 and it had such an impact on me, that I still love the series and its entries to this day.

But as I said above, a majority of my life to the point of 1.29.19 had led to waiting for its arrival. That day was the long awaited release day for Kingdom Hearts III.

I was on my way to E3 2018 to play KH3‘s Demo Version when I found out the release date, and as I say then: “January 29, 2019 will be a day that gamers and Kingdom Hearts fans will never forget.”

For Kingdom Hearts pros, everybody knows that Kingdom Hearts III wasn’t always going to be the next KH game following Kingdom Hearts II‘s release in 2006. There were a handful of games in between that made us fall in love with the series, its story, and its characters even more. The game titled Kingdom Hearts III was actually the 9th installment of the series, including the mobile titles that aren’t included on the below graphic.

The Xehanort Saga that concluded with Kingdom Hearts III

I’ve told this story many times, but allow past me to recount what the wait for Kingdom Hearts III was like a few short weeks before the game’s release:

There was so much riding on Kingdom Hearts III going into its release. People who had waited since KHII combined with die-hards that followed along the releases, remasters, re-releases, and more all looking forward to one thing’s release caused a frenzy.

It was going to be the first KH game that featured Pixar worlds. It was concluding a nearly 20 year saga. It was going to be bigger than ever before. It was going to deal with the deaths of some characters.

Nobody knew what to expect until 1.29.19.

Elation.

Tears. Excitement. Happiness. All of the emotions were on display once it became available to play that night on my PS4.

What followed was an experience that will probably never be repeated.

Whether you’re a critic or a lover of KH3, there was certainly nothing like that first playthrough. Everything we experienced felt special because we had waited so long for it that it nearly felt surreal when we did.

You can even hear in my review of the game things I loved, thinks I liked, things I disliked, and things I wish it would’ve done differently. Overall, I loved KH3, but couldn’t call it the best KH to date following its vanilla release.

Time came and went and now it’s been 5 years since the game released. Following the Re:MIND DLC’s release for the game, which many believe gave the game everything that was lacking about the vanilla release (myself included), a lot has changed about how we perceive Kingdom Hearts.

Obviously, we’ve all grown older and wiser in this post-Kingdom Hearts III world. Even with Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV on the horizon, something just feels different about the series’ upcoming installments.

Part of what made Kingdom Hearts III‘s release so special was that waiting period. So much so, that I almost long for the waiting again. Even though I’m currently waiting for KH4, KHML, and anything else, the waiting even feels different.

Kingdom Hearts III was never going to be the final game in the series, it was just the end of the saga to do with Xehanort, the main antagonist to that point. The rest of the series will cover other antagonists and issues that have been foreshadowed across three mobile games and one rhythm action game, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.

No matter what waiting Square Enix forces me to do, I know the wait won’t even come close to rivaling what the wait for KHIII was like. It’s still my favorite series of all-time, but I don’t find myself scouring the corners of the internet trying to find any new scrap of info any more.

My want to write this blog rather than make a YouTube video about KHML or KH4 is way higher. The series has shifted to a lot of mobile games to give us story content and I’m not the biggest fan of that.

A few things about life have changed since KH3‘s release has happened as well. I graduated college. I’ve had internships and 3 jobs since then. COVID happened. I’ve made more friends. Have played a lot more video games since then. Avengers: Endgame and Game of Thrones also ended in 2019 after KH3‘s release.

Talk about two other franchises the public’s perception has changed on since those endings too: Marvel and Thrones.

Although, don’t get this retrospective wrong. I’m not saying I don’t still love the series anymore. I’m not saying I’ve grown out of the series that heavily features Disney properties. I’m not saying that I don’t have time any more.

I’m saying the opposite.

Because my life has changed so much since KH3‘s release, it’s making this waiting period for whatever comes next a lot easier. It’s like I know I’ll never anticipate something quite like I anticipated KH3 ever again, and that’s ok.

KH3 helped me be a more patient person. It helped me care more about the life that’s happening around me in the waiting period. It helped me love the series even more.

Here I am looking back on 5 years wondering how time went by so quickly. Well, it was waiting for KH3 that helped time move faster on the other side.

KH3 was the bridge between my childhood and the rest of my life. And while I still love the series and am heavily anticipating what comes next, the games will also be the stepping stones for everything else that’s happening around me.

I still think KH4 releases in 2025, but if it gets moved to 2026, what will my life look like then? Who knows. But I do know that 2026 will be here before we know it because January 2024 is already over. We’re closer to KHML than we thought and Square Enix is gearing up for the marketing for KH4, I can feel it.

With Final Fantasy XVI out of the way minus its next DLC releasing in the Summer, next comes Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, the next remake installment for the Final Fantasy VII remake series. I’m extremely hyped for that game and that will take up a good amount of my life come February 29.

Since the planet of Gaia will be open to Cloud and his party this time around, it will take up a good amount of time. More time than I probably realize as I will balance playing it in between a bunch of other life functions happening at lightspeed.

Once FF7 comes and goes, there’s only one game that will have Square’s marketing forces ready to roll: Kingdom Hearts IV.

So as we celebrate the 5 year anniversary of Kingdom Hearts III‘s release, I want to also celebrate the wait for it. Because my life was completely altered by the series itself, but KH3 specifically.

As we gear up for what comes next, it’s nice to look back upon what once was. I wouldn’t change anything about Kingdom Hearts III or the wait for it. It was a magical experience that we won’t see ever again. It helped me grow into who I am, far after the series’ first installment made such an impact on me.

Here’s to Kingdom Hearts IV and the time we spend waiting for it. Because who knows what we’ll be longing for when we’re celebrating the 5 year anniversary of KH4‘s release…

~DS