I borrowed this from the neighbor kid and I'm about 3 hours in... I'm at the Alice in Wonderland 'world'. So far, it's not as good as I expected it to be. I'm asking if it gets better cuz I find myself bored and frustrated to the point of just giving up on it and then the story progresses a little bit and I stick with it. I'm not knocking people who like it, but maybe it's not for me. Is the main appeal for this the whole disney thing? Cuz I'm not a big disney fan. I like some stuff like Disney/Pixar and that Nightmare before christmas movie... I also kinda like some of the classics, but I can't stand their core stable of characters like that mouse and that duck and that goofy thing. I'll tolerate that stuff though if the game gets better... like alot better.

I should also say that I'm not much of a Final Fantasy fan - I kinda liked the last one, but before that - not my thing.

The problems I have with this game so far are that the enemies just keep coming over and over and I gotta fight em every few seconds. If I run away, they follow me and if I come across a new group and I'm running and decide to stop and fight, I get overpowered by 2 or 3 groups of these things. It's annoying cuz I just want to get to the next bit of story or maybe explore or something. Then again - there doesn't seem like there's much to explore. Boring textures, bad graphics and cutscenes and ho-hum areas. Plus, the story doesn't seem very deep so far... like, the dialogue is simplistic and basic and there doesn't seem to be much going on. oh - and the part where you travel on that ship between worlds is totally lacking - truly half-assed.

The camera is another problem. I can't control it really - (except for being able to make the camera swing behind me with a shoulder button?) - and I find myself walking around in a circle really slow in order to get it to where I want it. Sure, there's the first person view, but that's not very useful when something's going on. It's also just kinda inconvenient. I can get past the camera too though if the reward is great enough.

Then there's the fight and menu system... I'm sure I can get used to it, but so far it just seems cumbersome. Repetitive tapping on the x button to dispatch the relentless swarm of enemies. Yawn. I guess there's upgrades... like, goofy gave me this tuck and roll move which I had to equip... and I haven't really found much use for it yet. Boss battles are just button bashing mayhem and goofy and donald are useless. The menu system where I have to select potions and stuff on the fly is kinda rough too. Anyway, I don't like it. Again, I could probably get used to it. Plus I'm sure part of it is that I don't know all the ins and outs yet.

So - so far, it's less than compelling, but it's interesting enough to have gotten me this far. I'm about to just give up though. I just don't feel like running around to find a bunch of dogs or pieces of 'evidence' or whatever... well, I'd be happy to do such stuff if I didn't have to fight enemies every 5 seconds. Or even if the fights were more interesting, that would at least be something. I know it's a really popular game that was highly regarded, so I'm wondering if I just haven't gone far enough. Or is it the same thing throughout the game? Should I stick with it? Is it worth it?

I'd just like to hear what you guys that dug it thought was so great about it... cuz maybe I'm missing something. You know - everyone has their own taste and not every game is for everybody. Maybe this is just a case of this not being the right game for me. Or maybe I'm just not far enough along - I don't know.

I forced myself to finish the game and IMO every problem you mention only gets worse:

- despite the addition of more skills to your repetoire, the combat only becomes more frequent and more tedious

- there will never be any strategy involved and you will be fighting the exact same enemies ad infinitum

- the level design is exceedingly dull despite the vibrant, for Disney fans at least, locations

- the camera becomes even more frustrating when you reach the final bosses

Beyond the nostalgia and pretty graphics, I did not enjoy the story or the basic game at all.

It not only gets better, but alot harder. You'll get more into it as you get farther and meet more characters, including the cast of A Nightmare Before Christmas.

It's a good game, give it a chance to impress

Trigger - If you are not a fan of Square RPGs, then you will most likely not like this game. It is a typical Square RPG in every sence (with a few original additions) which is why it is so popular.

Why did you bother borrowing it again? I would assume most people that play this game enjoy one or the other. I suggest you give it back to him since your preconceived notions of the game ruins your experience because you dislike most of the franchises in the game.

Enemies do not constantly spawn, it's only a set number then they stop. Unless you leave the area by loading into a different one and coming back then they will be back.

*keeps mouth shut*

I agree the Gummie Ship is the worst part of the game.

Apparently you don't understand what an action rpg is. I suggest you go play any The Legend of Zelda,Secret of Mana,Alundra,Dark Cloud, there's more I just don't feel like looking them up, to understand the concept of an action rpg.

Apparently it wasn't from the very beginning since you dislike most of the Final Fantasy series besides the latest one and Disney, considering they are a big part of the game. So again I ask, why did you bother borrowing it since you dislike most of the franchises that are in the game?

Thanks for talking me out of buying this game, I thought the GH would at least guarantee a try, but not after I read your impressions.

The gummy ship is by far not the worst part of the game. Understandably it is pretty poor in the beginning, but as you collect new parts and start to get into modifications on the ship it can be pretty cool. I had a great time designing new ships with weird shapes and weapons. Don't dismiss this portion of the game based upon its slow start, later there is some real fun to be had with it, just keep in mind it is a building toolkit, not starfox.

Being a Sqare-Enix fan, I didn't really like this game much either. It was just really tedious, and the only thing going for it was the characters. I tried really hard to like this game, but it just wasn't for me.

I love Disney stuff. Ever since I was a little kid. I also love Final Fantasy games. I've played FF7, 8, 9, and 10 and absolutely loved every one of them. But I hated Kingdom Hearts for all of the reasons listed above. Some people like it a lot though - I would say that if you've played it for 5 hrs or so and don't like it, chances are it's not going to get better for you.

-I disagree, the combos and new strings you learn help you take out any enemy you come across not to metion the skills and abilities you learn as you level up. I can easily say I love hitting a ten string keyblade combo in the air.

-Again I disagree there is strategy. Anyone can run into battle flinging the keyblade around and maybe win if they have enough health, but my fight with Sephiroth was a marathon battle because I had to evade his circular pattern and not rush him head on. The entire process took me about two months to learn his pattern, then it was a matter of using my strike raid, and heal at the right moments, along with my potions. The same can be said about the extra bosses you fight in Agraba, and Neverland. Those two fights take strategy and timing if you dont have both your dead.

-Yeah the level design was grand in a lot of spots namely Hollow Bastion, and End of the World. A few areas are bland but it is still pretty impressive. Wonderland and Tarzan's jungle do feel clostrophobic though.

-I hardly had any trouble with the camera, ut thats user opinion I guess.

But Trigger as far as what your experiencing I say stick with it. As I tell a lot of other people who decide to buy this game it boils down to character custimization. Your abilities will only grow if you want them to, and I think (only my opinion here) if you take the time really focus on how strong you want the group to be then you can enjoy fighting, but if the worlds are pissing you off it would be a good idea to walk away for now and start again later.

As far as the gummi ship goes...man I wish I could show you guys the stuff a friend of mine did. I know your gonna think Im full of it but he made a gummi ship that looks like a Wavebird, and when it transforms its the reciever

Well, it's a hugely popular game and everyone said it was good - so I thought I'd give it a try. Besides - he tries to loan me stuff all the time cuz he borrows things all the time. Most of it I never look at, but I popped this one in for shits and giggles. That's unfair to accuse me of having preconceived notions. I popped it in with a completely open mind. Just cuz someone doesn't like something you like - that doesn't mean something is wrong with them.

I understand what an action rpg is (on consoles). I've played the latest Legend of Zelda game from beginning to end. That was a decent game. I bought Dark Cloud for a friend and I get to borrow it when they are done. Again - don't try to insult me just cuz I don't like something you like.

Well, now I am not into the Final Fantasy games because the graphics were poor (except for the cutscenes) and the turn-based combat didn't really appeal to me. FFX reeled me in though with decent graphics and a somewhat interesting story. And I like some Disney stuff - just not their core characters... mouse and duck and goofy. Again, I borrowed it because I have an open mind and he wanted to loan it to me. I gave it hours of my time and was willing to give more even though I really hate the game so far. I started this thread to find out if it gets better in terms of the things I dislike about it. I kinda like some things about it - otherwise I wouldn't have played so long.

Typical Square RPGs had turn-based combat I thought. Except for ChronoTrigger? I dunno - this game isn't a typical square rpg in terms of what I don't like about Square rpgs - but it does have a whole new set of things I don't like. I figured that cuz I liked Final Fantasy 10, I might like this.
Guh... thanks for saving me 20 or 30 hours of my life.

Sorry Trigger didn't mean to come off so harsh but this part of your post got under my skin heh:

It's one thing to say you dislike the graphics and another when they are actually bad.

Again sorry for my harshness in the post.

that's cool...

I tried really hard to post my opinion while at the same time trying not to tick anyone off. I bit my tongue on alot of how I felt about it actually. As for the graphics - I guess I expect more from a Square/enix game. I mean, the game isn't that old, but alot of it looks like PS1 stuff. Plus, you gotta remember, I play alot of PC games, so I'm used to graphics that are on the front end of the curve using latest advancements. I mean - some of it looks nice - the character movements are good and they are animated well, but it just fell below my expectations for a Square Enix game. But - alot of people around here say graphics aren't important... they are kinda important to me, but not crucial.

I mean - I listed a bunch of things that I didn't like about it - if any one of those things went away, I'd probably finish the game.

Chrono Trigger was also turn-based combat.

Trigger I quit during the Alice in Wonderland and have always wanted to go back, but haven't because I experienced the same problems you did especially with the camera. I think I was mostly frustrated because I was too impatient to figure out where to go next. Maybe I'll try it again one of these days.

Well, I forced myself to finish the damn game. In some ways it gets a lot better, and in some ways it gets a lot worse.

I think you should at least go as far as Agrabah before giving up the game entirely. I noticed a definate improvement in the game after that point. The Alice world is spectacularly bad in terms of level design and objectives. It took me a long time to get past this world, but I'm glad that I did, as the game did improve.

The gummi ship is probably the worst aspect of the game, but after a certain point, you really don't have to fly the ship anymore, it gains the ability to 'warp' to any world you've previously visited. It's quite possible to never upgrade the ship, though I did after getting the complete set of gummi blocks -- just because I could.

The combat system is inherently flawed. It's so difficult to get to your spells that you simply can't use them very often. Even if you could, your sword will get so powerful after a few stages that the spells aren't even worth taking the time to cast. About the only one I used toward the end was Curaga. The final boss was very frustrating to me, just because I realized that it was just a matter of hitting the attack button over and over and over and over and over again until he was dead. Granted, a few bosses, especially Sepiroth and Ice Titan can give you a real run for your money, but many of the others are mindless.

If you think the control sucks now, wait until you learn to swim (Little Mermaid world) and fly (Neverland). That is the worst 3D control system I've ever used.

The camera is also bad, but you can control it. Try using the shoulder buttons, two of them swing the camera back and forth. Still, it is sometimes impossible to get the angle you want (looking in first person helps sometimes), and the camera will change perspective on you in the middle of jumps, causing you to miss your intended target. This almost never results in death, but is still frustrating.

As far as the "random" encounter creatures go, there are two tactics to get through them. First, you can stay and fight. If you kill them, they won't come back until you leave the area and return. Typically, you have to go through two 'fade to black' cutscenes to get the creatures to reappear. Believe it or not, when you're looking for experience, you will be frustrated by the lack of creatures to kill. I found a few 'loops' that helped a bunch. Back on topic, this is great if you need to explore an area. There is a finite number, and after a while you get powerful enough to dispatch them quite easily.

Otherwise, you can have a goal in mind of where you want to go, and just run past all the enemies. This is great when you have to go halfway across a world to get to a certain area. Just make sure that you slow down once you get to the room containing your final goal -- it's very easy to attract too much attention.

You do eventually get to replace Donald and Goofy, but only one, and only in the worlds where that character appears. For example, in Agrobah, Aladdin can join you, and in Halloween Town, Jack Skellington is available. The first 'selectable' character will be Tarzan. Also, don't load Donald and Goofy up with potions and items until you reach the boss fights. I've found them to be VERY wasteful with their inventory. I usually didn't even give them full inventories during boss fights, especially toward the end (equipping certain abilities allows you to gain MP fast enough to constantly heal).

so where's agrabah? is that the other world I can access right away that has 2 stars?

Agrabah is after Tarzan's world I think. I'd have to load up my save file to make sure though. It's the first world that you use a warp to get to I think.

so I guess it's quite a ways away... :/

Visit order:

Wonderland
Coliseum
Deep Jungle
Agrabah

Shouldn't take you to long to get to Agrabah I think.

This game is awesome! Keep playing it!

Why?

why?

I finally played my way through this game. I had started a while back when I first purchased it, but the jumping in Wonderland and the camera (and the fact that the controls for the camera are reversed from what I was expecting) turned me off enough that I stopped playing. Because I loved the idea of this game, I grabbed a FAQ and decided to play it out to the end.

In the end, it was worth it. At about 10 hours in, I finally got the hang of the awkward camera control and picked up a few "Treasure Magnet" abilities so collecting health and munny was a bit easier. I enjoyed the sights and levels (although the maze-like nature of some threw me off), and the combat. The collecting portion of the game was frustrating until I was able to get a few "Lucky Strikes" and figured out how to encounter the White Mushrooms faster.

In hindsight, it seems that Kingdom Hearts plays pretty much like an action version of the other Final Fantasies. I give it a 6.5 out of 10 or so.

I felt it was an "okay" game. I enjoyed a couple of the worlds (Agrabah and Halloween Town) Much of the game was either too easy (the ending) or too repetitive. I prefer Square's RPG over this and Dark Cloud 2/Zelda series over this.

I'll give this game an 8.6/10. It was not perfect, but it was a well designed and implemented game. I really enjoyed playing this game. I would write a review, but I have no time for such.

I really think you have to buy into the disney theme of this game to make it fun. I really enjoyed it but I think it may have been largely based on the fact that I thought it was cool to incorporate both disney and FF characters.