I'm so conflicted about this. 'cuz on the one hand, I didn't play DDD because no 3DS, and that new thing looks cool... But I bought 1.5, and 2.5, and now there's a friggin' 2.8? 

...will probably still get it.

I dig the song's remix, but really want a new song. Also I want more love for Sanctuary.

Yeah, 2.8 is a bit of an oddity.  1.5 and 2.5 offered players outside Japan the first opportunity to play the Final Mixes without importing, but the new version of DDD is just a facelift and a few new Dream Eaters (and even those are just reskins...including another Meow Wow).

And the new bits have their quirks as well.  Back Cover may be the single most important dose of lore we've ever gotten, but it's worth noting that it'll only be about an hour long.  As for 0.2, Nomura has said that when writing KHIII the story ended up being so long that he felt splitting it up would be beneficial, which is what led to both DDD and 0.2, and then there's Aqua being back and potentially new information and the new combat system...but, at its most basic, it's a KHIII demo.

It definitely feels weird to consider paying $60 for a slightly better looking 3DS game, a one-hour movie, and a demo.  Come to think of it, the existence of DLC is even more concerning in that light...well, maybe it's for the best that I don't have a PS4.

As for music, a new song would be great, but I'm not holding my breath.  And while I do enjoy Sanctuary, I've recently come to feel that Simple and Clean...works a little better.  I mean there's definitely going to be some awkwardness in coming up with new lyrics to fit a song originally written in another language, but lately Sanctuary has just felt a little more jarring than I remember.  Maybe I should take another listen...

I should really get into this series. I'd probably love it.

*discreetly loads up Power Point on Introduction to Kingdom Hearts*

If you'd like, I'd be happy to answer any questions and curiosities you might have!

Okay, what's up with Roxas? Why does he need to come back to us? Who is the guy he's usually shipped with, and is it a good ship?

Why does Sora seem happy-go-lucky all the time? Does he ever get like totally depressed and fed up with all of the drama? Is he gay for Riku?

Does Goofy ever get a musical number? Does Donald ever moo like a cow? On a scale of one to fish, which game gets a twelve cat collar rating?

Was there a game that crossed over with TWEWY or something similar, or did I just dream that up?

These are the important questions.

*cracks knuckles and slams the Power Point clicker button*

[Okay, what's up with Roxas? Why does he need to come back to us? Who is the guy he's usually shipped with, and is it a good ship?]

When a person in this series loses their Heart (the metaphysical concept, not the organ), the Heart is consumed by the darkness within it and becomes an instinct-driven creature known as a Heartless.  Their Body and Soul, however, are transported to the realm of worlds between the Realm of Light and the Realm of Darkness, and are “recycled” into a being known as a Nobody.  A Nobody retains the consciousness and memories of who they used to be, and if they have a particularly strong will, they will also retain their original physical appearance (or something very close to it).  Near the end of Kingdom Hearts, Sora released his own Heart in order to restore Kairi’s Heart, causing a Nobody to be produced.  This Nobody was found by a Nobody named Xemnas and recruited into Organization XIII, and was given the name “Roxas”—and anagram of the letters in Sora’s name plus the letter X.  Roxas of course looks a fair bit different and does not retain Sora’s consciousness and memories, for reasons that are revealed over the plot of several games.

Roxas “rejoins” with Sora at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II, completing Sora and restoring his full ability, and while it is force upon him at the time the two eventually have a metaphysical battle within the world of their shared mind and Roxas accepts that his union with Sora is best for all of them, and he finally finds peace.  Roxas is very popular, so many fans wish for him to be restored as a separate entity, though I personally believe this would undercut the peace he found, but that’s a blog entry for another day.

He is most usually shipped with Axel, another member of Organization XIII who is also very popular.  The two of them are best friends, which is odd for Nobodies—not having Hearts, they don’t have emotions, so being able to form a legitimate bond is quite notable.  While Roxas is being prepped to merge with Sora, Axel tries desperately to bring him back to the Organization and is noticeably upset when Roxas does not remember him, and he later defects to enact his own plans to attempt to separate Sora and Roxas again, and this devotion has prompted many fans to ship them, along with lines like “He was the only one I liked.  He made me feel like I had a Heart.”  As for if it’s a “good ship”…well, that’s a matter of preference.   Personally, I’m not entirely sure—the process of aging is a little vague when it comes to Nobodies, so I can’t tell exactly how much older Axel is than Roxas, and I’m a little hesitant as a result.

[Why does Sora seem happy-go-lucky all the time? Does he ever get like totally depressed and fed up with all of the drama? Is he gay for Riku?]

Hm, I’m not sure there’s one specific answer for this.  Part of Sora’s happy-go-luckiness is just his nature as an all-loving, accepting hero.  I tend to latch onto a scene near the beginning of the first game, when he’s lost Riku, Kairi, and his entire home, and meets up with Donald and Goofy for the first time: he’s understandably upset, but Donald tells him “no sad faces”, so he flashes a ridiculous smile to make them laugh.  Sora seems to have a desire to be happy for the sake of those around him, which is…admirable in a way, though I worry about how he might not give as much thought to his own feelings.

There are some instances where his sadness comes through.  There’s at least one scene in KHII where he stops to muse about how he’s always passing through and wonders if he’ll ever see home again, and in KH3D, where he is on his own for the vast majority of his adventure, he does seem a bit more melancholy at times.  With luck, this might get discussed more in-depth in upcoming titles.

Since the series is fairly wishy-washy on confirming romances and unfortunately straight, the matter of his relationship to Riku is sort of a matter of interpretation.  But yes Sora is in love with Riku.  Everyone is in love with Riku, you sign up for this when you start playing KHII or KH3D.

[Does Goofy ever get a musical number? Does Donald ever moo like a cow? On a scale of one to fish, which game gets a twelve cat collar rating?]

When Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit Atlantica in KHII, they all transform into sea creatures and take part in musical numbers.  That’s not a joke.  Atlantica as it appears in KHII is a rhythm mini-game world with the trio singing along to songs both original and taken from the Little Mermaid.  Watch this if you think I’m lying.

To my recollection, I do not remember Donald every mooing.

I’d say Kingdom Hearts Bait of Mackerel gets a solid 10 cat collar rating.

[Was there a game that crossed over with TWEWY or something similar, or did I just dream that up?]

Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance used characters from TWEWY in one world (visited twice), specifically Neku, Shiki, Joshua, Beat, and Rhyme.  So yes, it did happen, but since Dream is in the title I feel like the proper answer is Yes and Yes.

Thank you for clearing that up.

[Why does Sora seem happy-go-lucky all the time? Does he ever get like totally depressed and fed up with all of the drama? Is he gay for Riku?]

Since the series is fairly wishy-washy on confirming romances and unfortunately straight, the matter of his relationship to Riku is sort of a matter of interpretation.  But yes Sora is in love with Riku.  Everyone is in love with Riku, you sign up for this when you start playing KHII or KH3D.

Riku is best. Just... end of story. Except for Xion. Xion is supreme best.

Also, while the series (as I think back on it) really is pretty vague on romantic stuff, I'm fairly certain Sora and Kairi are the OTP of the series, especially since even their Nobodies ended up connecting as they did.

Considering the fan pairing of Riku and Xion... you could say that's a weird, backhanded, sorta kinda ship of Riku and Sora XD although Xion is made from memories of Kairi so that makes is a kinda sorta RikuxKairi ship... I think Riku is doomed to be alone since all the people he gets shipped with are either likely to be paired with someone else, or are other people in some form :V

I wish these games weren't spread out over a half dozen different systems. I love KH a ton, but I feel like I'll never be able to play through them all in the near future =(

Huh?  Who's Xion???