Welp, that's the E3 trailer all right. I can't believe they still haven't dubbed over the rest of the dialogue. Weaksauce.
Yeah, it kinda makes me worried if they're even gonna dub those; I hope so cuz otherwise that seems, just, just bad!
Technically not new, it's the TGS 2010 Japanese trailer from October, but now (fully) dubbed in English.
Gamespot Hands-On + gameplay vids
Impressions of the North American version.
From Jump Festa: a new Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep -Final Mix- Trailer
Focuses on the new gameplay additions and the myriad of uber-bosses added to the game.
Word of God states that Kingdom Hearts 3D will be shown in some aspect at a big Square-Enix press event (formerly known as the Fabula Nova Crystallis Conference) that's scheduled to start on January 18th.
Speaking of Kingdom Hearts: Drop Dream Distance, here's the trailer for it; I'm sorry but I had a fangasm when I first saw it!!!
Edit: Oh, yeah, apparently, the Hunchback of Notre Dame is a new world this game.
Oh hell yeah @ Notre Dame, plus both Riku vs "Ansem" again fills me with squee, as I enjoy those two fighting, though I enjoyed it more when it was Billy Zane's voice.
"Drop Dream Distance"... try saying that three times fast! *extended bout of sitcom canned laughter*
Well, at least they didn't break out the Latin for this. Soooo... a dream world? It'll be interesting if Yen Sid somehow utilizes the Mirage Arena from BBS for this. Addendum: R.I.P. Tony Jay... Frollo won't be quite as menacing, I fear.
EDIT: So, uh... BBS Final Mix was released in Japan and a new secret video hinting at yet another Kingdom Hearts title has been found and dispersed throughout the net. Just not on Youtube since Square-Enix started cracking down.
EDIT: For the curious.
Armor of the Master battle. Easier than Mysterious Figure?
NO HEART battle. 15 minutes of Dodge Roll spamming and remixed Darkness of the Unknown.
Someone's playthrough of Secret Episode. A taste of what's to come, I'm sure.
Opinions on Re:Coded? More fun than shooting Heartless in a Barrel Spider, or unnecessary back tread through familiar territory? Finished the game yesterday, on the whole I can safely say I enjoyed it. Despite a bare minimum of visitable worlds (none of them new, and half of them having already been retreaded to death in other KH titles), a wonky camera and a plot that lacks any real 'oomph', I actually liked this one over the previous DS title 358/2 Days... all due to the BBS battle mechanics that were spliced in.
Now, about that plot... revisiting worlds inside a digital representation of Jiminy's KH1/KH:CoM Journal using a digital Sora avatar that acts like the real one: seems like an excuse to redo Sora's first adventure, but in Abridged Mode. At least, it would be abridged if it weren't for the Data Bugs screwing up events within the datascape. So with some coaxing from Mickey in the outside world, Sora-mon gains a digi-keyblade and goes off to play pest exterminator. Game utilizes static character art during dialogue-heavy scenes (occasionally broken up by voiced FMV). For the most part it manages to get the story across okay.
Command Deck system is back (only now called Command Matrix), giving the game a bit of 'gotta collect them all' feel with all the leveling up and merging of commands. The Overclock system gives each Keyblade you equip (all retreads except for one) a bit of variety (instead of increasing attack power, each new blade confers a new grid of temporary power-ups in battle that can be accessed by filling up the Overclock gauge, not to mention a powerful limit attack when the gauge is at MAX. And the keyblades level up too, opening up new bonuses for Overclocking.
The Stat Matrix system is like 358/2 Days' Panel system and Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid: starting from the first CPU you have access to, you fill in blocks of empty circuit with chips you gain, consisting of Level Up +1, Strength +1, Magic +1, Cure +1, Fire Resistance +1 etc., and as you fill the circuits you'll bump into nodes that when activated (by placing a chip next to it) give you abilities like Dodge Roll and Block (the first two abilities you gain),and extra command/accessory slots. Eventually you'll also access different "Cheat Systems" that will allow you to alter game parameters: unlocked from the get-go is the ability to switch game difficulty (you start on Standard but you can switch to Beginner, Proud and Critical modes at any time). Besides increasing the game challenge, this cheat also alters what items drops you can gain from defeated enemies... and there are other cheats on the grid that can improve your odds of getting drops in the first place or increasing CP gain, but at a cost (Sora's max HP, less EXP). You can also employ "Dual Processing" to get the most out of your chips: as the grid grows, you'll notice more CPUs strewn about, with circuits running directly between them. Complete the circuit by filling it in with chips and every chip on that circuit will have its effect doubled (instead of 5 Level Ups, you'll gain 10).
Music's nothing to write home about, same tunes from previous titles but downgraded. Still sounds pretty good, for what it's worth.
Each world ends with Sora going through a digital keyhole, and employs vastly different gameplay to solve. They're really kind of like mini-games + a boss fight and for the most part are pretty easy to clear, except for some notable exceptions: pretty much the entirety of Olympus Colosseum's gameplay is done as a dungeon crawler, with a Mario RPG like battle system when you come across an enemy. In Hollow Bastion you lose the ability to fight, and will have to rely on Donald and Goofy to fight for you. They're AI, but you can bark orders at them to specify if you want them to attack, destroy blox or simply follow you. During the second half of Hollow Bastion, you'll have to trek through abridged versions of the first 4 worlds in order to repair the journal one final time and destroy the source of all the corruption. There's one more world left after that, and the game kinda treats it like an epilogue (though you still have an hour or two more of gameplay and one last boss to conquer before you're finally done.
Meta-content includes Quests, which are basically fetch quests: in each world there's one character who's looking for a particular item, find it and deliver it to get a reward. You an also attempt to gain the various trophies (in-game achievements, basically). You'll need 20 out of the available 30 in order to see the game's secret epilogue (*sigh* I still need to do this).
Damn it, didn't mean to type all this.
I might Gamefly it after a bit, we'll see. Not loving the return of the Command Deck (What a godsend those 0 cards were though) but the Stat Matrix thing seems real interesting, especially because it's a bit tailored after the Sphere Grid and I love the Sphere Grid.
What a godsend those 0 cards were though
That's not... The Command Deck is from BBS, it involves slotting Commands (i.e. special/magic attacks like Magnet and Strike Raid) into a small "deck" that you can cycle through in battle with the control pad/L button and activate with the Triangle/Y button. During battle, after using a command it reloads (i.e. it recharges) until it can be used again. While inspired by CoM's Card system, it's not anywhere near as infuriating.
Oh sorry for that misunderstanding but that makes it less annoying, yay! (Did not play BBS)
EDIT: And apparently Riku and Sora switch off in battle and outside of battle but it'll be forced and without warning, perhaps? Ermmm, mmmkay.
Sounds chaotic.
it's not anywhere near as infuriating.
Amen to that, I hope we never have to deal with a battle system like CoM! Anyway, I'm enjoying it pretty good and I'm at the part where I'm going through the shorten versions of the worlds; like I said in the whatcha playin' thread, despite what I've heard about the story being weak, I'm enjoying the story pretty well. However, I guess I can see where people are coming from when they say it's weak compared to the series as a whole.
^ The main issue is that it doesn't move the story forward. It sets up some events and helps to lead into KH3DS, but as far as most people are concerned "The Adventures of notSora in Make-Believe Land" might as well have been a dream sequence.
CoM's battle system takes some getting used to, but once you start putting together good sleights most fights end very quickly. The infuriating part is managing the (eventually) large deck of cards and dealing with having your uber card combos broken by a single 0 card.
Heh, I think I was just blessed to be able to beat Sora's story, Reverse/Rebirth was relatively easy in comparison, cuz I don't think I ever fully grasped the sleights cuz near the end of the game, I mostly spammed the firaga/blizagga cards to beat Vexen/Marluxia and Axel respectively.
More annoying is that Sora's best attack (Arcs Arcanum) was a low value card combo meaning it was easy for enemies to kill in the first place. Thanks Squenix.
That's why I always used it first thing in battle, you can eliminate a few Heartless before one of them inevitably breaks it. I'd then follow-up with MegaFlare and Tornado to mop up the rest. In the GBA version, Fire Raid/Blizzard raid were top tier sleights that cleared the rooms just as effectively, and long before you gained better combos. But in the remake, they weren't quite as devastating due to the larger-size arenas.
Bosses were more battles of attrition. It was usually a good idea to concentrate on breaking your opponents cards at every opportunity with a good selection of 0 cards, in order to dwindle their decks down and make it harder for them to perform sleights.
One thing I didn't mention in my little impromptu overview of Re:Coded was the Avatar Menu, and that's mostly because I pretty much ignored it. It's a mode you can access from outside the main game. In it you can create an avatar that you can customize (eyes, hair, tops, bottoms, shoes, etc.). At first you have a limited selection of attire to draw from, but you can gain more by invoking Tag Mode. You basically swap avatars with other players through local wireless, or receive pre-made ones from interacting with wireless hotspots. They arrive with a scratch card game where you can win attire, new Commands and other goodies and new floors for Avatar Sector where you can take your already-in-progress save file Sora and attempt to clear the floors to win that avatar's attire to add to your collection. You can continue to gain new floors, up to a max of one hundred. There are rare prizes to be won by attempting the entire tower in one go, which can be transferred into the story mode (and you may very well need to if you're trying to gain some of the Trophies). However, it's very easy to slip up and ruin your run. I'll save that for last, I'm still attempting to find the rest of the System Area backdoors in the main game (just found one with a whopping 13 floors with a level requirement of 80! Oh God, kill me now!) and fill in the command list.
That's why I always used it first thing in battle, you can eliminate a few Heartless before one of them inevitably breaks it. I'd then follow-up with MegaFlare and Tornado to mop up the rest.
What! There was a MegaFlare in Re:CoM; I must've forgot about that! Was it as powerful as MegaFlare in BbS and Re:c?
Bosses were more battles of attrition. It was usually a good idea to concentrate on breaking your opponents cards at every opportunity with a good selection of 0 cards, in order to dwindle their decks down and make it harder for them to perform sleights.
Zero cards never seemed to work well for me as they seem to break those too I think even with trying to time them well. I guess one of the reason I didn't like the cards system is because it clashed with my playstyle which is brawler more that mage or any thing. Even with Aqua, I mostly used melee attacks.
which can be transferred into the story mode (and you may very well need to if you're trying to gain some of the Trophies). However, it's very easy to slip up and ruin your run. I'll save that for last, I'm still attempting to find the rest of the System Area backdoors in the main game (just found one with a whopping 13 floors with a level requirement of 80! Oh God, kill me now!) and fill in the command list.
Dang, I may just watch the secret ending of Re:c on YouTube as it seems like too much work to unlock it by myself. I went the extra mile by beating Mirage Arena and Vanitas' Remnant and the gosh forsaken MF with all 3 characters in Birth by Sleep, the first I did in the series, and I'm not sure I want to do that ever again with a KH game.
What! There was a MegaFlare in Re:CoM; I must've forgot about that! Was it as powerful as MegaFlare in BbS and Re:c?
Yep. Unless you use it on Red Nocturnes/Wizards. Then it becomes wide-effect Curaga. 🙁
Zero cards never seemed to work well for me as they seem to break those too I think even with trying to time them well.
Zeros are meant to be defensive. You only use 'em to break high value cards or combos. But they're a double-edged sword, they can be broken by everything. So the best time to whip 'em out is when a boss does a special attack (Riku's Dark Aura, for example).
Ah gotcha. I might try that if I actually decide to replay all current KH games like I'm thinking about after I'm done with the games I have now.
System Areas in Re:Coded can be a nightmare. Besides the main worlds you can explore, there's the hidden "backdoors" you can discover that lead to mini-dungeons. Most are mandatory, but some are optional and tend to require higher levels of Scan in order to find. In each dungeon there are several floors to traverse. Each floor has a "Challenge" you can (more like must) attempt in order to increase your SP points (unique to System Areas, and can be gained from enemies and Prize Blox) total. Each time a challenge is issued you're given a choice to wager a percentage of your SP total (10, 30, or 50%). Failure to meet the Challenge will result in you losing your wager. While attempting the Challenge, you must also destroy the bugged Heartless hiding in the red rooms in order to clear the floor and gain access to the next level. Meeting the challenge will net you your points multiplied by whatever rate that particular floor gives (x1.5, x6, etc.).
Challenges can be simple objectives like Escape the floor in under 300 seconds and Defeat 4 Heartless while in MAX Overclock. Some of the optional System Area floors can be more sadistic: Do not take damage 4 times, Do not use Attack at all on this floor and, in one instance I'll chalk up to Square-Enix trolling, Play at night!. Yeah, that's right... you automatically fail if you get to this floor and your DS clock isn't anywhere between 6 P.M. and 4 A.M. And there's no backing out once you're there... better just bet the 10% and lessen the hit!
After you clear each System Area, you're given a list of rewards you can claim using your collected SP points (what's left, anyway). There's usually at least one Accessory that you can't get anywhere else and an assorted mix of new Finishers, Quest items, Commands and various chips for your Stat Matrix. You can also trade in your points for Exp or Munny. In most cases, you have to 50% every floor in each System Area in order to claim all the prizes in one go. If you don't, you can always trek back in and try again. The rare stuff can only be claimed once, though.
*sigh* And wouldn't you know it? That last System Area dungeon with the 13 floors that took me a combined total of 3 hours to scale? Uber boss on the 13th. Combos out the ying-yang. 8 bars of energy. 4 different "forms" and attack patterns that get progressively more sadistic as you go. And no chance to prep your Sora before engaging.
me = 🙁
Top prize for completing said System Area with top SP earnage: Ultima Weapon. *am cry*
Oh god, that "Play at night!" challenge pissed me off royally. And while I am liking the gameplay, this might be the lowest KH game I've ever played. The story is terrible. (Would have been much more interesting if Mickey was the main playable character.)
And while I am liking the gameplay, this might be the lowest KH game I've ever played. The story is terrible. (Would have been much more interesting if Mickey was the main playable character.)
Well, I guess that's what you get when we you port a cell phone game to a handheld.
Yeah, pretty much. Oh, and echoing Nel on making Mickster the MC. The game would need to be redesigned around him, sure... instead of reprising Sora's journey they could have had Mickey reliving his memories of the BBS-era and his journey in the Dark Realm to retrieve the Kingdom Key D. But it seems Nomura prefers to have him play supporting roles. :
Yeah, pretty much. Oh, and echoing Nel on making Mickster the MC. The game would need to be redesigned around him, sure... instead of reprising Sora's journey they could have had Mickey reliving his memories of the BBS-era and his journey in the Dark Realm to retrieve the Kingdom Key D. But it seems Nomura prefers to have him play supporting roles.
Or perhaps he knows the world cannot handle the awesomeness as playing as King Mickey! Er. you know in something other that multiplayer.
Or KHII boss battles.
Oh, right, I forgot about that one, silly me!
