How do I think about the plotline? Well, I know I've done this time and time again, but there's never a bad excuse to get it out every once in a while
I always think that certain plot lines in the series could have been improved, and there's always something that bugs me about every installment. I guess the best place is to start at... well, the beginning. I'll be going in release order, discussing the additions and whether or not they irked me and how they did or did not win me over.
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The first game is a visual masterpiece and one of the best looking games on the PS2. They kept the story short and simple, and each of the characters was properly fleshed out in a way that made them believable. Every rash decision they made can be talked up to many of the characters being inexperienced fighters searching for themselves in this first game, and I was never annoyed with the OG trio's characterization at any point throughout the story. Great scenes such as Maleficent being stabbed, Sora sacrificing himself, Riku showing Sora Kairi's body in Neverland, Riku shutting the door to darkness, and so many more are found here, and it truly sits in my heart as my favorite entry of the series.
Chain of Memories, in my opinion, is when this series really solidified itself as a heavy-hitting plot series. Sora's characterization is much more fleshed out here, Donald and Goofy have to constantly make tough decisions on how to help Sora and whether or not it's time to just let him figure it out himself, and the villains are MENACING! Scenes such as Axel executing Vexen, Larxene emotionally manipulating Sora about the locket, Marluxia's relationship with Namine, Replica Riku's swan song (er, battle), Lexaeus smacking Riku on the ceiling, AAH, THEY'RE SO GOOD! This is one of my favorite stories across all of the games, and I just wish that the PS2 version came out before the GBA title so that more people would have experienced it before II came out.
Kingdom Hearts II played a critical role in the series, as well as many of our childhoods, and was the title that truly began to take these games highly seriously (to most people, anyways; still claiming that CoM did that first). The opening prologue in the beginning was amazing, and the moment Sora came back a sense of fun returned to this series that filled all of us with joy. While I feel that the Disney worlds were practically worthless in this title, and I was upset that Maleficent and Pete were so haphazardly thrown into the main plot, I felt the scope of this game as far grander than the previous titles regardless, and the nobodies were a formidable threat that shook up the series' plot in just the right ways. Great scenes such as Roxas' acceptance, his talk with Axel at the clock tower, Goofy getting hit on the head, Donald and Goofy being hungry in Land of Dragons, the sacrifice of Axel, Roxas' mind battle with Sora, Riku's reunion with Sora and Kairi, and Demyx's final blowout make this game incredible.
358/2 Days is an objectively terrible gaming experience, but the plot itself has its moments. It is funnier and more human than the other titles before it, having great lines such as "Roxas, that's a stick." and featuring a very world-expanding plot line. The organization members themselves seem to have a bit more of a personality, though things like Saix's relationship with Axel seemed lazy and rushed in this story. The scenes such as Roxas' discovery of Castle Oblivion and Xion's fight with Riku will always stay in my heart as classic moments of the series, though.
Birth by Sleep is... a mixed bag. This game features a great cast of villains in Vanitas and Xehanort, the former a crazed psychopath hellbent on destroying one of the protagonists to fuse with him while the other is his pensive master with the power of the universe at his fingertips, and also features some great moments from a new keyblade master named Eraqus and a return of Yen Sid and Mickey Mouse. However, this game lacks in its protagonists, who are poorly written to say the least. Terra has a terrible voice actor who's given nothing to work with, Aqua has an okay voice actor with nothing to work with, and Ventus... well, he's voiced by Jesse McCartney, so all of his lines that should sound terrible sound great. Nevertheless, this is where the series got complicated: apparently Sora can dual-wield because he has two hearts in him, Kairi accidentally got her inheritance, and apparently Riku was less of a "chosen one" of the keyblade and more of an inheritor. The ending of this game was absolutely amazing, and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but the events leading up to the end of the game were lazy, cliche, and a big drag to listen to and watch.
Coded doesn't have much to do with anything, but it's light enough that I've found myself enjoying it quite a bit, if not just for the fun gameplay in between the practically useless main plot. I think Data-Sora is cute, and Donald and Goofy are funny and sincere throughout the main story, so I consider it a win in my book, even if an unnecessary win.
Dream Drop Distance straight-up sucks, and here's why. Sora is fucking annoying as shit and is written and voice-acted terribly (I know what they told HJO to do in this game, and it sounds stupid), Riku's plot has been stretched thin despite his character arc being finished already, and Xehanort's plan is a cool idea that is needlessly explained way too much. The time travel business is dumb and makes no sense; why are there so many rules? Why not just assume that Xehanort had powerful enough dark magic that he could time travel or something? I mean, if Pete can go back in time in II, literally anyone can probably go back in time in some way. On top of that, the Disney worlds are absolutely lifeless, the characters are suffering major creative blocks in their writing, and, other than the intriguing set-up for Kingdom Hearts III, this game is fucking worthless.
0.2 -A Fragmentary Passage- was widely anticipated for me, and in some ways it did pay off. The things they did with how Xemnas knew where to look for Ventus and the state of Terra was a much-needed addition to the story, and I guess Aqua and Mickey saving Riku works fine... I guess. Mickey finding his keyblade was cool, but Mickey losing his clothes was fucking stupid. See where I'm going with this? For every thing that works, there's something that... bugs me. However, let's discuss the ending. Kairi getting involved is great, Riku immediately taking initiative, holding Mickey accountable, and going in to save her was great and totally made sense for his character, and all of Sora's stuff at the end of the game was great and much-needed for reminding us why we're waiting for III in the first place.
Kingdom Hearts X, Unchained X, and Union X Cross are great games that have way too much padding. For ever 15 story quests that you care about there's like 100 Disney related quests that plant you in Agrabah for the 12 millionth time over and over and over again. The story quests are great, and the fact that your player is the lone survivor of the keyblade war is something that I absolutely love. The PTSD thing he has in Unchained where he dreams of the battle is well-needed as well, and I can't wait for where it goes next. I am worried, however, that all the shit on this padded as fuck PHONE GAME will somehow make it into Kingdom Hearts III, and the end results will work about as well as when Square expected you to play the GBA game to understand the prologue of II, except catastrophically more significant.
Finally, there's back cover, which sucks and I hate it. It's bland, dull, and hardly reveals anything that's actually of importance other than where Master Xehanort's keyblade came from, what that eye on the top means, and that there's apparently a box and a bunch of books to look forward to III oooooohhhhhhh. The graphics are pretty, though.
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So, where do I think it is going? I really enjoy the fact that this game appears to be a celebration and culmination of all of the other games: the heartless, nobodies, unversed, and dream eaters are all back in (mostly full) force, and great decisions, such as bringing back Marluxia and Vanitas, were made. The game looks like the plot is going to be fun again, the Disney worlds are on a whole new level of immersion that has never been achieved before. Everything feels like it's going to have weight and depth again; I'm so damn happy for how it's looking so far. Also, yesssssss to Young Eraqus & Xehanort.
