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We talk a lot about potential future & story developments, & there's an ongoing thread for hypothetical bosses, but what about the general gameplay? Does anyone have any ideas, concept, theories for the future of gameplay in this series? Lord knows I got a few to get things started.
Instant travel between worlds
The new generation of consoles brings near-instantaneous loading to the table, opening up possibilities for game design once thought impossible. Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart was the first game to really take the PS5's SSD drive out for a spin with levels where the whole environment changes in an instant.
The potential of what KH could do with this kind of tech is crazy. Imagine being in the Raya world, opening a dark portal, stepping through it, & you're immediately in Zootopia! There could be be puzzle solving applications, like 1 world having a massive ravine that can't be crossed so the player detours through another world until they find a portal that takes them to the other side of said ravine. The whole game could be turned into a massive Metroidvania!
& of course they could go nuts with bossfights, constantly changing the environment as these fights progress.
Mini-World Summons
This popped into my head last night & was what jump started this thread. Playing further on the above idea, what if summons evolve from simply summoning a single character to summoning a whole ass world? Case in point, the Casa Madrigal from Encanto. Instead of just getting, say, Luisa, Sora & all on field enemies are transported to the casita where different family members aid in fighting with their powers (Isabela going all Poison Ivy, Antonio summoning a tiger, etc.), the floors moving to send heartless into the walls, send them sliding down stairs, toss them into a furnace & so forth.
An upside to world summoning, is that Disney might actually be more ok with it compared to past summons, the player isn't bringing Encanto characters into a different Disney property, but rather temporarily entering Encanto's world. Guest party members will probably have to disappear for the duration, & perhaps the ability is locked out during Disney bosses, but hey, not like there's even gonna be any of those anymore! *laughs manically before bursting into tears*
As this concept is still new, I haven't really thought yet of what other world could get this sort of treatment. Monstro off the top of my head, based a lot around the Mirage Arena fight.
Lockshield & Keyblade Fusion
The companion to the keyblade from ancient times that had been forgotten over the ages until the game that features it, perhaps a gift from MoM who has 1 of his own. The lockshield resembles a flatten padlock with a keyhole on it front. Sort of like this but with the keyblade larger & centered:
The Lockshield offers enhanced blocking capabilities, such as parry/deflection with precise timing like in BotW. It offers defense based buffs to the player in contrast to the keyblade offensive buffs. The lockshield can change form much like the keyblade can & thus have different stats & abilities based on its form.
Because the keyblade & lockshield are intertwined, the lockshield's form is based on what keychain is attached to the keyblade. The 2 have to have matching forms. This is done for both lore & gameplay purposes. Lorewise because the lockshield is meant to be an extension of the keyblade & are connected. Gameplay wise because it might be a little too game breaking if the player could min-max combinations of the 2. Forcing matching pairs means requiring the player to consider pros & cons of each form. Example: The keychain from Halloween Town gives you Decive Pumpkin for the keyblade which has awesome attack stats & ability, but also a trick-or-treat bag themed lockshield with poor stats. On the flipside, the Avengers keychain gives ya a Captain America themed lockshield which is awesometastic but because Marvel got finicky about Sora getting Mjölnir the keyblade is some Falcon's wing shaped thing that kinda sucks. So do you go for the set with better offense or the set with better defense?
On top of that, the Lockshield has 1 final function, it's version of drive forms: Keyblade Fusion. See, I don't envision this thing in a game with a Sora/Donald/Goofy party but rather a Sora/Riku/Kairi party (or any 3 wielders really but let's go with these 3 for now). With a full fusion meter, the player can have either Riku or Kairi insert their keyblade into the lockshield's hole, at which point it disappears from their hands & Sora's keyblade becomes a cross hybrid of his & theirs, combining the stats of of both (see, this is where the minmaxing comes into play!). Like with drives & formchanges, Keyblade Fusion can only be used until the meter depletes, when it empties, the party member gets their keyblade back.
Riku & Kairi are not defenseless however during fusion. Riku falls back on his Souleater while Kairi uses Princess of Light powers. This is why I suggest this particular trio, other wielders don't really have fallback options.
Cosplay Power
A cross between Drive forms & D-Links, the player character takes on an appearance based on a Disney character & have attacks based on such as well. For example Sora dressing up like Aladdin & having a magic carpet to fly around on.
That said, I mostly envision this as a Kairi specific ability for if the day ever comes that she gets her own game/scenario (so, never). & the characters she would cosplay are the other PoL. It's basically that 1 scene in Ralph Breaks the Internet turned into a game long mechanic.
Snow White=Poison apple throwing with woodland critters assisting her.
Cinderella= Kicking with glass slippers.
Aurora=The 3 Fairies assist her.
Jasmine=Aformentioned magic carpet & pet tiger.
Alice=Grow giant size & stomp enemies.
Belle=Attack with books Zexion style.
Elsa=Ice magic, lots & lots of ice magic.
Anna=Well Disney Infinity gave her a grappling hook, that's something.
Rapunzel=Frying pan of deathly doom & long hair.
Raya= Whipsword.
Vanellope=Glitching & items pick-ups.
Merida=Bow
Moana=Water attacks
I'm aware that's 1 too many, blame Disney for insisting Anna had to be 1.
Instant travel between worlds
The new generation of consoles brings near-instantaneous loading to the table, opening up possibilities for game design once thought impossible. Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart was the first game to really take the PS5's SSD drive out for a spin with levels where the whole environment changes in an instant.
The potential of what KH could do with this kind of tech is crazy. Imagine being in the Raya world, opening a dark portal, stepping through it, & you're immediately in Zootopia! There could be be puzzle solving applications, like 1 world having a massive ravine that can't be crossed so the player detours through another world until they find a portal that takes them to the other side of said ravine. The whole game could be turned into a massive Metroidvania!
& of course they could go nuts with bossfights, constantly changing the environment as these fights progress.
Mini-World Summons
This popped into my head last night & was what jump started this thread. Playing further on the above idea, what if summons evolve from simply summoning a single character to summoning a whole ass world? Case in point, the Casa Madrigal from Encanto. Instead of just getting, say, Luisa, Sora & all on field enemies are transported to the casita where different family members aid in fighting with their powers (Isabela going all Poison Ivy, Antonio summoning a tiger, etc.), the floors moving to send heartless into the walls, send them sliding down stairs, toss them into a furnace & so forth.
An upside to world summoning, is that Disney might actually be more ok with it compared to past summons, the player isn't bringing Encanto characters into a different Disney property, but rather temporarily entering Encanto's world. Guest party members will probably have to disappear for the duration, & perhaps the ability is locked out during Disney bosses, but hey, not like there's even gonna be any of those anymore! *laughs manically before bursting into tears*
As this concept is still new, I haven't really thought yet of what other world could get this sort of treatment. Monstro off the top of my head, based a lot around the Mirage Arena fight.
Lockshield & Keyblade Fusion
The companion to the keyblade from ancient times that had been forgotten over the ages until the game that features it, perhaps a gift from MoM who has 1 of his own. The lockshield resembles a flatten padlock with a keyhole on it front. Sort of like this but with the keyblade larger & centered:
The Lockshield offers enhanced blocking capabilities, such as parry/deflection with precise timing like in BotW. It offers defense based buffs to the player in contrast to the keyblade offensive buffs. The lockshield can change form much like the keyblade can & thus have different stats & abilities based on its form.
Because the keyblade & lockshield are intertwined, the lockshield's form is based on what keychain is attached to the keyblade. The 2 have to have matching forms. This is done for both lore & gameplay purposes. Lorewise because the lockshield is meant to be an extension of the keyblade & are connected. Gameplay wise because it might be a little too game breaking if the player could min-max combinations of the 2. Forcing matching pairs means requiring the player to consider pros & cons of each form. Example: The keychain from Halloween Town gives you Decive Pumpkin for the keyblade which has awesome attack stats & ability, but also a trick-or-treat bag themed lockshield with poor stats. On the flipside, the Avengers keychain gives ya a Captain America themed lockshield which is awesometastic but because Marvel got finicky about Sora getting Mjölnir the keyblade is some Falcon's wing shaped thing that kinda sucks. So do you go for the set with better offense or the set with better defense?
On top of that, the Lockshield has 1 final function, it's version of drive forms: Keyblade Fusion. See, I don't envision this thing in a game with a Sora/Donald/Goofy party but rather a Sora/Riku/Kairi party (or any 3 wielders really but let's go with these 3 for now). With a full fusion meter, the player can have either Riku or Kairi insert their keyblade into the lockshield's hole, at which point it disappears from their hands & Sora's keyblade becomes a cross hybrid of his & theirs, combining the stats of of both (see, this is where the minmaxing comes into play!). Like with drives & formchanges, Keyblade Fusion can only be used until the meter depletes, when it empties, the party member gets their keyblade back.
Riku & Kairi are not defenseless however during fusion. Riku falls back on his Souleater while Kairi uses Princess of Light powers. This is why I suggest this particular trio, other wielders don't really have fallback options.
Cosplay Power
A cross between Drive forms & D-Links, the player character takes on an appearance based on a Disney character & have attacks based on such as well. For example Sora dressing up like Aladdin & having a magic carpet to fly around on.
That said, I mostly envision this as a Kairi specific ability for if the day ever comes that she gets her own game/scenario (so, never). & the characters she would cosplay are the other PoL. It's basically that 1 scene in Ralph Breaks the Internet turned into a game long mechanic.
Snow White=Poison apple throwing with woodland critters assisting her.
Cinderella= Kicking with glass slippers.
Aurora=The 3 Fairies assist her.
Jasmine=Aformentioned magic carpet & pet tiger.
Alice=Grow giant size & stomp enemies.
Belle=Attack with books Zexion style.
Elsa=Ice magic, lots & lots of ice magic.
Anna=Well Disney Infinity gave her a grappling hook, that's something.
Rapunzel=Frying pan of deathly doom & long hair.
Raya= Whipsword.
Vanellope=Glitching & items pick-ups.
Merida=Bow
Moana=Water attacks
I'm aware that's 1 too many, blame Disney for insisting Anna had to be 1.
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