Tag: video games

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

Winter Is Here

Time to hit the backlog while trapped inside

(Feel free to play the below soundtrack piece while you read)

To loop, right click on the video and hit “Loop” because it might play through before you’re done reading

Chicago saw its first snowfall of the winter season on Sunday. With temperatures continuing to drop and the frigid wind chill from Lake Michigan set to make even your bones shiver, we’re nearing the comfy inside/scary outside season.

With winter brings along the feel good holidays and the new year. I can’t believe how fast it feels like time is moving. Come May of next year, I’ll be out of college for 5 years and then my damn 10 year high school reunion will come a year after that.

No need to get existential now, anyway. Like I said in my last blog, I am still just really happy with my life right now and I don’t need to remind myself that my 50th birthday will soon follow my 10-year reunion, and then retirement next and adult diapers, soon thereafter.

But what I did want to talk about is how when it’s cold out, it’s the perfect time to find good books, video games, TV series, or movies and attack the backlog of things you wanted to read, watch, or play and finally get after them.

Last winter, I played God of War: Ragnarok (which has all the winter vibes a video game can possibly have) and finished Better Call Saul, which may have even topped Breaking Bad as a television experience.

This winter, I’m already off to a great start with a fresh reread of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit behind me and a revisiting of the Fellowship of the Ring well underway.

For my gaming backlog this winter, I’d like to give Cyberpunk 2077 another try since its new DLC, the Phantom Liberty expansion, has been praised for revitalizing a game that was considered one of the worst release disasters in the history of video games back almost three years to this day in 2020.

Back when it was released, I was going through a pretty rough spot. Knowing how much I’ve grown since then only shows that Cyberpunk’s revitalization was possible. I’ve also since watched the anime, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, on Netflix and that was a gut wrenchingly awesome show that made me even more excited to dip back into that world.

Check out this clip and then the whole show

I will also get around to replaying Final Fantasy VII: Remake because its sequel, FFVII: Rebirth, is releasing in February (not this year like I was hoping, but close to it) and I want to be fresh on that.

But the reason this blog is titled “Winter is Here” and my inspiration for wanting to write about getting to my backlog is because I’ve just begun my first rewatch of Game of Thrones since it concluded in 2019.

Everybody knows just how poorly written and rushed the end of the show was. And even though House of the Dragon (the Thrones prequel telling the story of the Targaryen dynasty) is awesome so far one season in, there was nothing quite like Thrones Sunday for nearly a decade.

We waited on the edge of our seats through 13 final episodes between Seasons 7 and 8, waiting for the next great thing to happen like it did in the first 6 (Some would say 4) seasons.

But it never did. And all we have to remember it by is a lonely coffee cup:

I haven’t distanced myself from the series completely though since it has ended. Regardless of how the series ended, Ramin Djawadi never wavered as the composer for the series. The score remained magnificent until the end and one song is still one I listen to nearly every day.

The best part of “The Long Night” Battle of Winterfell episode

The above song “The Night King” is absolutely magnificent. It’s intense, sad, and chaotic all at the same time. It’s also about 8.5 minutes long which I’ve discovered is the perfect amount of time to shower. That’s why I listen to it almost every day.

There are certain beats throughout the song where I know when to go from brushing my teeth (yes, I brush my teeth in the shower) to shampooing to body washing to face scrubbing and rinsing off. It’s a quick shower and if you know what time it is when you jump in, you know you’re coming out 8.5 minutes later without feeling rushed.

I head into this rewatch with steadfast intent, with more than Djawadi’s soundtrack to look forward to. As it is Winter, I’m looking forward to revisiting some scenes and episodes that I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch in years.

The Battle of Blackwater, the Red Wedding, the Purple Wedding, Ygritte (the real Queen of the Show), Oberyn Martell before he was rescuing Baby Yoda or guiding Ellie, Jaime Lannister’s redemption arc before it sucks ass at the end.

All of it.

So, now that you know what I’m up to this winter, go enjoy yours. Get into that large backlog before new shows, movies, video games, books, and more take up all your precious time.

And if the Night King is as easily killable as he was in “The Long Night,” we have nothing to fear about this winter other than freezing our asses off.

My blog has ended.

(I’ll leave you with this since I can’t not say this whenever the show’s intro plays:)

~DS