I did think when they finally got to it, Aqua and Ven were handled very well. They both got some nice scenes, before, during and after their rescue. But then yes, all the Keyblade Graveyard rescues were in insane succession, to the point they put them both into the same section of the labyrinth lol. I agree their reunion scenes were great though. I have commented on it before, but I guess I personally do support the decision to end the saga with the main trio we started it with. As much as I love a lot of these other characters. I guess I also feel they aren't going away and will have their chances to shine again (like Aqua said before her one, single boss fight in this game lol).
Skipping to the end ha, I could see Sora talking about friendship making Chirithy leave due to impatience, like it wants its "friend" back. And as you said maybe it was content just watching from afar at first. But obviously that didn't last lol. This sounds like the kind of smaller detail Nomura COULD explain in the next game in a small scene, or something he just sorta brushes off.
Well, I guess
you can say that when it comes to Aqua and Ventus interacting with each other, but I found their interactions with Sora, Riku and Kairi to be somewhat lacking, which is the main point of why it would have made more sense to rescue them both earlier and have them intermingle with the active cast longer before the final battle. The whole Anti-Aqua subplot and constant dragging out of bringing those two back was unnecessary and is a clear example of bad pacing even if the following parts in the Keyblade Graveyard are worse examples.
As a general note though I do certainly not try to portray the involvement of these characters as completely bad (unlike Kairi, who really took the biggest hit), but it does feel somewhat underwhelming and lots of potential again not being used.
The most blatant examples are Riku and Terra not even exchanging a single word, for all the focus being given on Sora's determination to bring Roxas back they don't really speak with each other at all too and the whole Roxas/Ventus-issue is reduced to a single (silent) meme scene.
The missed opportunities there are manifold and not just limited to the three examples above.
On one hand I am not sure if it really is that important how Chirithy found its way to LoD and seek out Ventus so theorizing about it as head canons is somewhat easier and more relaxing, yet on the other I remember Nomura's priorities are sometimes screwed and he actually implemented a canon explanation for a cartoon mouse losing his shirt, pffft.
If Chirithy arriving at LoD and settling in with Ventus is sort of a starting point for a new arc centering the BBS crew though it could turn out to be somewhat important to know how Chirithy got there and why.
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didn't love how they made Riku all suave and hetero when reaching out to Namine during the ending. Riku's gay as hell
Well, that can be a point of interpretation as
there are gay guys who are especially considerate and suave towards their platonic female friends because they are not going after them, just as generic politeness and appreciation.
Not to mention that Riku may just be respecting Repliku's last wish.