Discover Top Posts Tagged with #org.xiii

Can someone explain me when did she became a nort ???? I don't get it

#larxene #kingdom hearts #kingdom Hearts 3 #com #org.xiii #larxenort

Musings on Kingdom Hearts

So me and a friend were talking about Kingdom Hearts. We're not big fans of it. We played KH1 and 2 and I played the DS one. After that the franchise just lost us. Every so often we'll get on Squeenix's case about how poorly they treat their characters but instead this time we lamented the fact that there was so much potential lost in KH. We really did want to enjoy it. Talking some more we figured out WHERE and WHY the potential was lost and what things we would have liked to have seen.

First off the problem I had with KH was not in the first one actually. Stand alone the first was a solid game. The plot was a bit wishy washy because of the constant usage of words like darkness, heart, purity. These words were used SO often and beaten into you at every turn that it was hard to grasp what was being referenced distinctly at times and instead of clarifying itself or meaning it just repeated the words over and over again. It was a great little novelty game with a cute gimmick with seeing fan favorites of both the Final Fantasy series and the disney series even if overall their parts were pretty meaningless.

What was starting to throw me off as the series progressed was that it made the nonsensical plot look worst as they tried to work on it on the fly. Each game seemed to try and fill in the holes broke open by the previous game that tried to slowly push out the disney influence and finally set itself up as it's own work and creation. These holes were made bigger with oversight on it's own characters. While it's easy to go ahead and call some of the character issues character "flaws" and adding depth...I can't see them this way. I see these as glaringly obvious indications that they forced a characters hand rather than naturally letting a character play out. I found this especially obvious in the Organization and in Sora.

With Sora first off we understand that he'll do what he needs to protect his friends and shows that hero's can monologue just as good as any villain. He literally went to ends of worlds to find Riku despite Riku's constant rejection of Sora. Upon rescuing Kairi he left her be to finally bring his trio of friends together. What is glossed over by all this chivalry and talk of friendship and purity is how ruthlessly he killed the Nobodies of the organization. Accordingly Nobodies are formed by the strong wills of people who were turned into Heartless. The stronger the will the more their soul retains their memory of their true form.

Because the game jams it down your throat that the epicenter of all emotions lie within the heart I feel it's safe to say that Nobodies are supposed to be emotionless as well. They can feign emotions based on what they remember but it's still up for debate whether or not they can actually feel them. I suppose this was how Sora was allowed to get off with being a murder and having no moral questioning or trauma over slaughtering the Organization. While the game wants to suggest emotion it seems to turn tail and never dive into it. They're just absolute evils, never redeeming themselves (whether it's cause they are not given the chance or otherwise) and so all the work they give of trying to suggest that perhaps these beings have emotions is for not. Sora is allowed to slaughter all of these people who are working for a man whose intentions were impure.

I found this interesting as a point of contrast with his character especially since he became a heartless at one point. The first game obviously suggested that he had impurities in his heart since he was able to even become a heartless and while I would have liked this to carry over into KH2 and go on to suggest a manifestation of his impurities since he regained his form which caused a sort of back lashing and would cause him to kill the Nobodies without hesitation. However we get this nifty ability to shift into a heartless on occasion but it never brings up anything more. While it's the reason Roxas was made again it was a plot device instead of a chance to really dig into some characters and really push something.

What I would have liked was to see how he was dealing with maybe his impurities and insecurities be magnified and how he could relate to the feeling of emptiness some of the nobodies talked about. Seeing Sora as a human for once instead of a brain dead happy buffon would have really emphasized my feelings of sympathy for him and would have pushed me to try harder to help him. Maybe he was seeking out Riku because he wanted some reassurance in his life that he was still who he was. Kairi could only reassure him so far with his 100% purity ratio and could never judge him like he would need to be judged.

I believe, even if not hat in depth, it would be possible to give Sora a bit more emotional and character conflict. They set up several opportunities where they could have brought up his Heartless issue but nothing. Just brain dead happy. All the time. He kills the Org. members like they weren't ever human at one point. He shows no hesitation and no remorse.

As for the Nobodies themselves they too had the same issues Sora's character has (although I would even go as far as to branch this out and say most Squeenix characters have this same issue of being traits rather than personalities. ) with missed chances and overlooking potential moments to really push character development further. I'd like to state here that while one may say "Oh what about time." or "You're missing the focus of the game!" these things are easily added into the myriad of moments where there is dialogue. A simple line could be added and still push forward what I would have liked to see. They talk enough as it is and with all the cinematic's a bit of extra time to sit and understand a character would not have harmed anyone.

Anyway.

The Nobodies, if emotionless would not have the desire or drive to do anything. I define things like desire and a drive, branches of intense emotions and wants. Emotionless people would have the drive to do nothing, be nothing. I find it's like being lobotomized. And even if they had the understanding from their past life to react certain ways in certain situations and feign emotions they, to me , would not be able to react with such intensity and malice. Nor would they be able to manipulate. The want and desire wouldn't be there. I'd like to reference the Incubators from Madoka. They are emotionless beings that work purely based in logic and facts. They are truly emotionless and they do not manipulate so much as they attempt to do what is for the greater good of the people. I would have liked to see this mentality in the members.

They were turned heartless with a great desire and that desire manifested into an emotionless shell that worked tirelessly to function in accordance with this will that it remembers. Each one functioned with another in the group cause logically it made sense that to get what they wanted they would have to work together. If they understood that Kingdom Hearts held the answers then I can understand using Sora to open it and all the other happenings. And in the right hands you can be made to feel for these beings. Especially with great dialogue. If one of them remembered...or asked a simple question about emotions....about what it felt like to cry or be able to get angry...you can feel that somewhere in that shell there was a person wanting to be what it once was.

Instead you get these characters that while they are made to seem like they had emotions, nothing actually came out of it. It was an unnecessary twist that played no role in the overall impact of the characters or game. They were flat things all across the board.

Or something I would have really liked would be to see that the Nobodies were embodiments of pure emotions. The strongest emotion that the will remembered as the body formed. The emotions were so strong that the Nobody formed acted on this. This would cause over dramatics and other semblance's of intense emotion. I think an audience could feel for such remnants of emotions, seeking out something to fill the voids in themselves because everything they feel is so intense. They have no reason...do not understand why they do things, why it must be done. They work purely based on the memories they have but have no control over how strongly they feel something.

While I could go more into other characters, I really didn't care enough about anyone else to give them an analytical eye. All of what I spoke of is easy to write into existing scenes and with proper character reactions the game could fundamentally remain at its core, the same game, just more passion behind who the characters are. They games rating wouldn't have to be raised despite darker subject matters. I see things like Pixar movies dealing wish such issues as abandonment, loneliness and everything else with low ratings. Like stated. All it takes is some skill.

Squeenix to me has always dropped the bomb on expanding its characters. It lists some traits and attaches them to a mildly attractive exterior and throws in plot devices to force character interactions and development. Elements are overlooked and added without being properly assimilated and you get gaps and holes in plots while leaving dead and dry characters to muddle about trying to grasp at straws.

These are my thoughts and by no means are not based purely in facts more than just opinions and ideals.