Now You're Playing With Power

[Kogen]

What is that image supposed to relate to? Naka's love for underweight boys?

[Team Mecha]

A total cash-grab by a 4th string development team with a filler plot that we already knew the general details of in the last game.

I don't know about that. I say they've proved they can be real impressive since last year...

The DS KH game wasn't developed by Jupiter, it was developed by H.A.N.D., whose big claim to fame is


Jupiter is if anything working on the PSP KH title (I.E. the next game that actually matters).

Including 14 different playable characters in a game and only making 1 available via story mode is the goddamned stupidest idea I've ever heard.

16 actually, Donald & Goofy were seen as playable in the latest trailer that's being shown in Japanse stores. Presumably there could be other secret characters. I would so totally main Mickey if he was playable (unless there was Aladdin or Genie as well).

[Zeta]

So it turns out that Kingdom Hearts DS has one of the most horrifying revelations of all time.

It's about Xion.

S/he is a hermaphrodite/intersexed being created as a mix between Sora and Kairi. Aaaaugh! Expect a lot of dickgirl porn. Well, not really dickgirl since it seems s/he's more of a vagina boy than a dickgirl. You have my permission to be horrified now.

[Crowbar]

I remember reading about Kingdom Hearts for the first time years ago and thinking it was actually going to be about Disney and Final Fantasy characters.

That would've been so nice.

[Zeta]

Silly, why would an RPG featuring Disney and Final Fantasy characters focus on THEM when they could create new androgynous superpowered beautiful people to focus on?!

[Brazillian Cara]

So it turns out that Kingdom Hearts DS has one of the most horrifying revelations of all time.

It's about Xion.

S/he is a hermaphrodite/intersexed being created as a mix between Sora and Kairi. Aaaaugh! Expect a lot of dickgirl porn. Well, not really dickgirl since it seems s/he's more of a vagina boy than a dickgirl. You have my permission to be horrified now.

Part of me wants to know how this is possible, and the other part is doing its best to stop it.

[Segaholic2]

It's about Xion.

S/he is a hermaphrodite/intersexed being created as a mix between Sora and Kairi. Aaaaugh! Expect a lot of dickgirl porn. Well, not really dickgirl since it seems s/he's more of a vagina boy than a dickgirl. You have my permission to be horrified now.

I don't understand a single word of this.

[Zeta]

Lucky you.

[Delphine]

S/he is a hermaphrodite/intersexed being created as a mix between Sora and Kairi. Aaaaugh! Expect a lot of dickgirl porn. Well, not really dickgirl since it seems s/he's more of a vagina boy than a dickgirl. You have my permission to be horrified now.

HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE. I don't like a series that recreates its own mythology with each game.

[Baba O'Riley]

S/he is a hermaphrodite/intersexed being created as a mix between Sora and Kairi. Aaaaugh! Expect a lot of dickgirl porn. Well, not really dickgirl since it seems s/he's more of a vagina boy than a dickgirl. You have my permission to be horrified now.

HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE. I don't like a series that recreates its own mythology with each game.

It feels like something shallow masquerading as something deep and intriguing.

It's like I'm watching Heroes all over again.

[Rob-Bert]

This makes me extraordinarily glad I quit the series partway through KHII.

[Wombatwarlord777]

How in the world does this stuff get passed Disney? I mean, I know Square had a lot of creative control with the previous KH games, but this is totally in left field.

I'm... extremely baffled right now...

[Delphine]

There's only something perverted about it if you're overly concerned with genitalia.

[Cuckooguy]

I'm really hoping that, now that many of Pixar's head honchos are not Disney head honchos, will try and get some quality control on the games. But, unfortunately, they probably see games as nothing more than just supplements like those merchandised books and figures or whatever. So sad. There are times when I wonder if they could make a dent in the video game market in the same way the bigger third party developers do (Capcom, Konami, etc.), but I guess it's just easier to hand out their IPs left and right. Free money for letting them use my popular characters, after all!

[Team Mecha]

Congrats Nomura, you've officially surpassed Song of the South for most uncomfortable Disney moment ever. I knew you had it in ya.

Although truthfully some of the blame for the series' misdirection goes to Disney as well, who have been ridiculously restrictive on the usage of their characters. Originally Square intended to make Mickey the protagonist, but Disney was so over protective of their main star they wouldn't permit anything beyond the very brief in the shadows cameo that he got. They also vetoed Nomura's plan for all of the princes show up at Hollow Bastion with Sora to save the princesses, because they didn't want their films crossing over or some shit (& yet House of Mouse existed). Square's kinda forced into the OG route just to any kind of cohesive story.

Still, Days goes way too far. How can you have Neverland with no appearance of Peter Pan whatsoever? & why couldn't they have had a few more Disney villains sprinkled through the endless waves of heartless bosses? Although on the other hand, Mickey, Donald & Goofy are playable in multiplayer, the 1st time Disney characters are actually playable in this series so it has that going for it.






So anyway, Yuji Naka interview. Very fascinating yes.

[K2J]

To what degree is this intersexuality in the Western release of the game? Did it get censored or toned down at all?

[Zeta]

because they didn't want their films crossing over or some shit (& yet House of Mouse existed)

So that's why you can't keep Disney characters as party members, even though that would have made the plot of the games more cohesive and not pushed the non-original characters into the background. : /

[Rob-Bert]

I keep thinking of that Disney Fantasy Online thing from many months ago and how it's rightfully what KH should've been.

[Delphine]

They also vetoed Nomura's plan for all of the princes show up at Hollow Bastion with Sora to save the princesses, because they didn't want their films crossing over or some shit (& yet House of Mouse existed).

Man, that would've been awesome. :/

[Team Mecha]

-- Where did the idea to use the Organization members for the multiplayer come from?

Nomura: We made a game where characters from various FF games got together to battle, Dissidia, but that was a project we were originally thinking of using for KH. However, deciding it would be a bad idea to make Disney characters fight each other, it never materialized for KH and ended up shifting to FF. Even this time we thought that it would be difficult to bring out Disney characters and have them fight each other in multiplayer, and wondering what to do, we arrived at the idea of using Organization XIII. These guys were still connected to Disney, but we thought it would be okay because they were original KH characters. Also, with all their attributes and weapons being different, it would be easy to show their individuality, so made a scenario where you could play as Organization XIII in multiplayer. After deciding that, when we were thinking about which time period we should place the scenario in, we thought if we cut out the one year that Roxas was in the Organization it would link well with the multiplayer idea.

-- I see, so from the multiplayer you expanded on the concept of the storyline and time period.

Nomura: That's right. Only, in the end Donald and Goofy, who are original Disney characters, ended up in multiplayer too (laughs). When we went to confirm with Disney that it was alright to include those guys, we were unexpectedly told it was OK. I guess it's okay so long as it's not a one-on-one battle.

Well now we can confirm the downfall of this franchise: Disney's overprotective to the point of making Square paranoid.

[Arcade]

Heh, I stooped caring about KH after the first game... too bad I didn't do the same with a lot of other things...

[Zeta]

Nomura says the original concept for Kingdom Hearts was Donald Duck with a chainsaw.

Best idea EVER.

[CM August]

The sad thing is I can't even tell if you're joking.

[G.Silver]

Right there.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3175105

[CM August]

Sweet Jesus.

The reaction to that was hilarious though.