When Did Kingdom Hearts DIE?

A brief video essay on why a franchise as beloved as Kingdom Hearts is just a shell of its former glory. Spoiler: it's not entirely Disney's fault.

[redgerran]

Update: I think it's clear that Kingdom Hearts is still doing well with lots of fans (myself included). The point of this video is that the hype of this series has decreased dramatically since the KH2 days, and I want to illustrate why.

[eduardofeijolle]

I think "Die" is a bit much. Just because a series falls of the mainstream (somewhat) doesn't mean it's failed. Quality isn't decided by popularity. And even "dead" series can make a comeback: Sonic was a joke in the industry, yet Frontiers was incredibly well received, by critics and fans. No man's sky had a similar redemption story.

In regards to comprehension, the HD collections go a long way and youtube summaries do exist, worst case scenario.

I can understand being worried over the future of the series but I think we haven't reached that point yet. Hell, with stuff like 358/2 and BBS, I think we overcame it.

Overall though, great video.

[friedchicken]

3 was a struggle to get through for me and i bought all the games. I think im done with the series it ended on such a disappointing note

[billx]

I think you nailed exactly why kh1 was such a magical experience. I pretty much grew up off of Disney and was heavily into final fantasy around when it came out. Just seeing cartoon characters and anime characters interact would have been enough to get my attention, but Disney AND final fantasy? Seeing someone like maleficent cast meteor was enough to blow my mind, but you go; yeah, she could probably do that.


I think one of the weaknesses the series has is when it isn't able to rely on an original story for a high percentage of the game. The worlds in the first game were heavily altered because of the crossover elements at play. So, you felt a direct connection to the story of the game as it's own thing.... Kh2 and many others ended up recycling movie plots which really harms the world building for the series.

I didn't want to go through the exact plot of Mulan for example. And this is an issue that plagues the games all the way up to 3.


The Xehanort shenanigans didn't help the main plot either because by the end of dream drop distance I was just tired of what was going on. THAT should have been the game to end that plot.

So despite you dismissing 358/2 days as a cash grab I think that game is one of the best ones aside from 1 and 2. It really was a pure KH game.

[MemoriesLP]

I agree overall with what you said, however I will show 3 main things I did not like.

1) You overexaggerate your reactions when reading a game's title... like you don't just say: "Birth by Sleep was released..." you say that in a way that you imply it is bad before saying anything, or that the thing is ridiculous... or whatever... it has a bad connotation to it, which is a cheap way to pretend there is something wrong there... your main argument was that they are on different consoles and that they were supposedly milking the franchise, so no need to say the title's name the way you said it.
For example, I don't like Queen and Foo Fighters (that is true)... so I could make a video and say: Fooo Fighters??? with a tone that already tells they are bad.
This can easily make a person angry already because it feels like you are mocking the thing they enjoy.

You said: "Birth By Sleep? On PSP? And it's a prequel?". Why would a prequel be bad? like seriously, what is the bad thing about it? It is part of your argument that it is complicated to follow and retcons, but then again, no need to say it that way.

2) I find FF XV and Big Hero to be good, but you said they are not. What you are trying to say is that KH 1 released at the peak of public reception for Disney and SE, while the other KHs didn't. FF XV sold extremely well, but was not well received on reviews. So instead of saying this "thing" here is bad or good, you could have said it was the public image of the games. That way, you don't need to explain shit, you don't need to tell me why XV is bad, and why Tangled is good - or even mention at all if they are good or not... you just need to say the public liked or disliked them in general.


3) This whole part of milking the franchise I don't like. I honestly believe Nomura loves every single game he makes. But regardless of that, milking has so bad connotations that is sounds like a cheap way to emphasize a problem, kinda like the way you did when you read the title's name in a mocking or negative way.

Notes:
1) I think XI was successful at the time of release, was it a complete failure? I didn't think it was.

[Roku]

Very good video and points, honestly it's kind of dropped off for me after KH3, still can't wrap my head around not including the Final Fantasy characters which was blended so well with Kingdom Hearts 2. Final Fantasy x Disney = Kingdom Hearts otherwise it's just mainly a Disney based game like KH3 felt like and with the main story only being rushed at the end was just a sad underwhelming experience.

[pamoon_]

I bought Dream Drop because of honestly Smash (played 1-3 before Sora was revealed).

And Dream Drop had the dumbest swapping system I’ve never seen.
If you run out of Drop-Me-Nots well too bad lol

[justinmercado]

The only coherent story is part 1. You need an encyclopedia & a doctorate degree in weeb-nomics to understand the rest of the games

[barch]

Kingdom hearts needs a reboot without noruma and simplied story

[thogameskanaal]

Ey, shaddup! Final Fantasy XII was a GOOD Final Fantasy game

[haridojamaru]

Let’s not forget that because of square Enix bad choice making ideas they are losing a lot of money so I don’t think kingdom hearts is gonna live

[akumaking]

Kingdom Hearts needs a streamlined story now

[CaityRaindrop]

I liked the "spin off games" which were really prequels and midquels so still important imo, just cause it isnt numbered doesnt mean its meaningless. Melody of memory, and the kh puzzle matching mobile games are what I consider spin offs (MoM isn't a kh game, in terms of mechanics, it's a rhythm game with kh paint. Same as how hyrule warriors isn't a zelda game, it's a dynasty warriors game with a zelda coat of paint).
I'm actually sad there'll prob be a massive wait cause the only real current "handheld" is the switch whereas back then we would get a handheld game to tide us over, give more kh experiences and evolve the story.
I'd love a small adventure with kairi as the playable char (I thought this could be Kairi's training expanded).

[Excusib-tymz]

Honestly it's going just strong as ever, Sora's in Smash, KH4 and missing link are coming soon and look great if it's to "die" then thats yet to come

[jakk]

I wanted to get 3d dreams drop for my 1st kingdom hearts game but couldn't find it

[LukeC-vwdc]

I'm like the one parson in my gen that know what kingdom hearts is, and for the ones that know they just think it a mickey mouse game for kids and not intoresting at all

[captianbacon]

Making each game unique would kill kingdom hearts. If they wanted to start a new arc after sora comes home and becomes a master and essentially soft reboot with a new protage and new stuff going forward mabey. But with whats building the nomuraverse is at a all time peak after remind and im so excited to see what crazy nonsense he ropes us into next.

[GihirahimOfTheShadow]

Great video...but you kind of lost me when you implied Disney had no good movies after Frozen. Zootopia, Moana, Encanto...not good? HUH?

Similarly, The Emperor's New Groove was the worst movie at the time of KH1's release? Not freaking Dinosaur?

[Phillyrider]

KH3 is the best selling game in the series. Sora in Smash broke youtube records. KH4 is already announced and shown. Where the hell is this "KH Is dead" nonsense coming from?

[prestigini]

I know it’s clickbait and it worked so I’m here to say my slight piece. Kh is definitely not dead. KH3 and it Sora being in smash cemented kingdom hearts if it wasn’t already