And it'll clog your arteries!
So, another game goes into the list. It took a fair bit of doing, but Kingdom Hearts Final Mix is now a game that I've beaten. Ansem was quite a final boss, and even though I suspect I was over-leveled, it took a few tries and quite some time to put that set of battles away. It was just hard enough to keep me coming back for more.
Overall it was a helluva run. KHFM is just as fun as advertised, and I don't doubt it's old news to say that this game deserves a spot on the RPG enthusiast's shelf. The tone was wonderful, being very optimistic and cheerful without becoming saccharine, having just enough dark moments to remind you how high the stakes can really be. Going on a multidimensional tour of random Disney worlds to smack eldritch legions of stolen and corrupted hearts (with a giant damn key!) sounds friggin' stupid on paper, but it just works out so well. The latter third or so was the best part, full of freaky and memorable locations, challenging battles, and just crazy moments. It's a rare game that takes fairly predictable twists and turns and still actually can pull off some OMGWTFBBQ doing them. Hell an unexpected highlight was stumbling onto a bonus superboss and getting totally wrecked for my trouble; I won't spoil things completely, but I can't say I've gotten some laughs out of getting slaughtered by what amounts to a Square-style Sith Lord before. Welcome to Kingdom Hearts!
It's still not perfect (but perfect doesn't exist anyway). I do have some minor quibbles. The summon system just wasn't all that great; Square games typically used it as a once-per-battle supermove, with plenty of flash and occasionally game-changing effects. KHFM retains the once-per rule, but adds a few other restrictions that just doesn't let be all that fun. It's very telling that the only one really worth it is Tinker Bell which invokes an almost game-breaking health regeneration (almost, you'll want and need it in later boss fights). The coliseum fights are also a bit of a pain, mostly though a combination of no summons and no heath or mana pickups; that's a lot meaner that it sounds. The final gripe is that the designers traded depth for variety. The various worlds you visit have plenty of distinction and fun visuals, but they rarely feel like worlds. Neverland was especially bad, giving you unlimited flight...in an abbreviated series of claustrophobic halls and cabins, finally letting you loose on the deck for a boss fight and later hanging around Big Ben (by the way, you can only move something like 30-50 yards from the big clock before hitting an invisible wall).
Those are about it for the gripes, though, and there is plenty of good things to fanboy about. The battle system is overall simple but deep, and your AI partners will actually meaningfully contribute along the way. Traditional revival items and spells are forgone for a timed comeback mechanic, which both relieves the player from traditional AI babysitting and adds a fair bit of tension to tricky battles. That and listening to Donald Duck wig out and then fling arcane doom is hilarious. The guest star members do run the gamut, but Final Mix seems to have tweaked them to where none are actually useless. Beast is still far and away the best of the lot. Seriously, eh OHKO's Heartless and doesn't afraid of anything. They all seem to have a hidden extra luck mechanic as well; putting a world specific character in the battle lineup seems to make the drop rates skyrocket for some reason. One final thing, the production values are through the roof. This is a very fun game to look at and listen to. I'm running a relic of a CRT television which far from does justice to it, and I've still gotten lots of wow-inducing visuals and wonderful sound. Traverse Town's battle theme is just something special by the way. Oh, and Deep Jungle feels a lot less like a Disney world and more like somebody snuck in some World of Mana flavor with the visuals and especially the soundtrack. Yes I geek out at video game music, why do you ask?
In any case, all good things must come to an end, and it's time to decide what adventure to pop in next. We shall see.
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