Dream Drop Distance vs. Birth by Sleep

[Delsan]

I was going to put this in the spoiler section, but since this is about the games gameplay as well, I thought I'd put it here. So use spoiler tags for any story elements.

Okay. Both games revolutionized the series, whether it be their core gameplay or taking the series' story to new lengths. Both blew us away with how it introduced us with new worlds, and the way they introduced us to the command decks or flowmotion. And they are also portable. Even though BBS and 3D are completely different games, you can see how much they compare in moving the series forward. My question here is which game do you think did it best?

 

[Decrith]

I really love them both. BBS introducing the new command deck, and providing us with the backstory on why and how?
Then 3D provides us with answers on questions we've asked for years, it made me say "oh damn so thats why" "I knew it" "NO ******* way!"

So yea, I love both, but I'm voting 3D because of flowmotion.

 

[Key Wielder]

I'm with Decrith--I wish there was an option for both. xD BBS made the story a lot deeper and explained why Ansem SoD and Xemnas are the people they've become, and 3D connected the entire story together in ways that were both unexpected yet made sense and really tied together ten years' worth of games. I loved the gameplay in both, as well; Flowmotion is a great addition, but I don't feel that BBS was any worse for not having it, either.

...So, I'll pick the invisible door number three. I love them both too much to pick just one.

 

[kupo1121]

I'm gonna go with BbS. While 3D actually did move the story forward in time after Re:Coded, BbS introduced more things that seem core to the KH series at this point. BbS was first to introduce the command system, which seems to be here to stay, not to mention it introduced Xehanort's whole origin, along with 3 of the biggest people in the series. It also first mentioned the whole "Sora is the one who can save them" which is one of the main goals of KH3. While 3D introduced the Orgs. main goal, Flowmotion, DE's, and soon-to-be keyblade wielders I think in terms of what will affect the series more going forward, BbS will have a bigger impact.

 

[ddta1177]

That's really hard, but I'm going to say BBS because I liked exploring Enchanted Dominion, Castle of Dreams, and Dwarf Woodlands a lot and BBS had way more Disney Bosses. But 3D did have Symphony of Sorecery, and La Cite des Cloches, so it's close.

 

[Gexus]

It's a close call, but BBS is a more polished game, especially story wise so I'm going with that.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I really can't choose between them character and storywise, as they're both very dear to me.

Gameplay-wise DDD is surely more polished, which is however no surprise since it's newer than BBS and partly builds upon the basics BBS laid out.

 

[Hillboy]

I can't think of a game without flowmotion now

KH3D it is

 

[Vəntus]

Like Hillboy, I chose 3D because I can't see a KH now without Flowmotion. It's just glued to the core of Kingdom Hearts right now, it's a combat/motion system of its own, same with Command Decks.

 

[king_mickey rule]

This is like making a father choose one favorite out of his two kids. The question really is an evil one, damn you Delsan!

I like DDD and BBS equally for what they are. BBS serves as a good origin story, setting the tone for the future while DDD raises quite a few questions and tying things together, making it very intriguing.

The gameplay of both BBS and DDD are good. BBS introduced the awesome Deck Command system, making it hard to imagine a KH game without it, and DDD introduced Flow Motion, making it hard to imagine a KH game without it.

There, that's my answer.

 

[Reika]

I... don't know. ;_; They're both so great. Flowmotion is awesome and all, but the BBS environments are so pretty that I wouldn't want to rush past it all anyway. Meanwhile, much as I love the BBS story, I find the 3D cutscenes more interesting. And yet, though the 3D scenes were more enjoyable, I can't help but feel that 3D added unnecessary plot points to the KH story as a whole. The list goes on.
I just don't know. D: They both seem pretty equal to me. What BBS lacks, 3D makes for, and the reverse is also true.

 

[Blobbit]

I have to go with BbS. The game introduced the command deck, and without it, we wouldn't have been introduced to Xehanort, and TAV, some of the most important characters in the game. Sure 3D moved the plot forward and tied it together for KH3, I would have to say BbS was more important in terms of story. 3D introduced new gameplay such as flowmotion, but I feel like the command deck, command styles, shotlocks, and the keyblade glider outweighs flowmotion and dream eaters(since they're not going to be in future games).

 

[Luap]

I'm gonna have to say it's 3D, when it comes to either story or gameplay.

Story
BBS certainly has a great story and set the stage for a lot of new things. It answered questions, but it mostly presented new ones. In the end, we didn't have an idea at all of what was next. We knew more about every character, why things were the way they were....but no glimpse at what needs to be done. We went from, "Sora and Co. need to set things right for x-amount of people" to "Sora and Co. need to set things right for even more x-amount of people."

3D didn't really add more questions. It mainly answered, and tied everything from BCD (BBS/Coded/Days) and brought it all back to the series present time. There were new things introduced, like time travel, but those things were clearly explained. We aren't looking for KH3 to explain what took place during 3D. The game's story explained itself.

Now, on the topic of story, my main complaint right now is that through BCD and now 3D, a lot of things from KH2FM are still left unanswered. Like the connection between the Chambers of Repose and Waking, or who Xigbar overheard Xemnas talking to. Four games, one re:, and a final mix later, and we still have no idea on these plot points? Really? :I

Gameplay
I can see how a person might like BBS's story more than 3D's, but I have no idea how a person can think BBS's gameplay is superior. Sure- BBS introduced the Command Deck and all this more dynamic gameplay, but with stuff like flowmotion, 3D really perfected it.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I can't choose...

Porque no los dos?

There were new things introduced, like time travel, but those things were clearly explained.

Actually, time travel, or something akin to it, has been around since KH2. Remember how Sora goes to Timeless River and sees the past of Disney Castle? Though I'm going to assume it was more like visiting a sleeping world and viewing it's memories. But yeah xD

 

[Evello]

Birth by Sleep, hands down.

BbS was an overall better polished game. Not to mention it revolutionized the whole series with the command deck. While in other areas it wasn't quite as experimental as DDD, I felt that what it did experiment with turned out better (i.e. shotlocks, command board, mirage arena, etc.) than the iffy Drop system and such from DDD. Plus the story was fantastic. It told an extremely creative origin story with so many new ideas and good twists that I feel it turned out more important to the series' overall plot than KH1 or KH2. And it had some great tear-jerking moments. My only real complaint is that some of the voice acting was dodgy.

Also, it seems I'm the only one here who thinks that DDD's story is a badly-explained, unbelievable, convoluted, retconning mess which basically smashed my hopes for KH3. So that's obviously is a check against DDD too. On a more positive note, I did like Dream Eaters quite a bit, the worlds in DDD were great, the voice acting was a series best, and flowmotion is amazing. But not enough to make up for a horrid story and some lesser quibbles, like not being able to fuse commands.

 

[devilsTrinity]

3D.

Story and gameplay are better IMO. Loved BBS, but this definitely dethroned it.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Now, on the topic of story, my main complaint right now is that through BCD and now 3D, a lot of things from KH2FM are still left unanswered. Like the connection between the Chambers of Repose and Waking, or who Xigbar overheard Xemnas talking to. Four games, one re:, and a final mix later, and we still have no idea on these plot points? Really? :I

I know that may be annoying, but we were forewarned about that.

- Many fans brought up the "data concealed within Sora."
Nomura: That's what Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance deals with. The other mysteries will be something to deal with another time.

As we know by now, DDD focuses besides that way more on Riku than on the overall plot mysteries which Nomura seems to have postphoned to KH III.

 

[axel95]

I voted for DDD, but you could make a valid argument for either game. BBS added more to the story than any other game (besides KH1 of course!), while DDD tied that story together and set everything up for KH3. They have both changed the series gameplay, but I think BBS deserves more credit for this because the command deck is going to be the code gameplay element of the series for the foreseeable future. The one thing that both games excel at is how much there is to do! Getting every command/dream eater, mirage arena/flick rush, and command styles/links, and the portals. Graphics-wise, DDD is the best in the series, and that is what clinches it for me. But I can understand the arguments for both games.

 

[Vanitas666]

3D had an amazing ending and I loved the level design but other then that I thought that BBS was much better.

 

[Reagan Rayden]

I felt like 3D is just leading us to the point.