Finished replaying Kingdom Hearts Re:coded!
It's not clear when Data-Sora realised he was a digital replica of the real Sora, which bothers me a bit. You'd think that would be quite a big revelation. Sora takes a lot in his stride, but surely you would need at least a moment to sort through your thoughts after discovering that you and your friends and your home are actually just data inside a computer.
(Data-Riku seems to have been fully aware of the situation from the start, which is just as well, because Riku would definitely have been upset by having that revelation suddenly dropped on him. I suspect that, whereas Data-Sora is unshakeably sure that the people of the datascape matter, Data-Riku has trouble believing his own existence is of any real value. He still values Data-Sora, though. EXPLAIN THAT, RIKU.)
Here's the text of one of my favourite scenes in Re:coded:
( A rather lovely exchange between Sora and Riku, post-Hollow Bastion. )
I've been ungenerous to Re:coded, I think. The plot may be a bit nothingy and the camera may be infuriating, but it has some of my favourite character interaction in the entire series, and I really love its take on Castle Oblivion.
That said, I started Days after finishing my Re:coded playthrough (because apparently I'm replaying all my Kingdom Hearts games? I swear I don't just play videogames all day, even if my recent entries really make it sound like I do) and was startled by how strong my emotional reaction was right from the beginning. Re:coded is fun enough, but I'm not particularly invested in it, whereas I care intensely about Days.
(ROXAS'S ADORABLE DIARY. All games should have the protagonist keep an adorable diary. See also Uncharted 2, in which Nate's journal slowly fills up with both puzzle hints and incredibly silly doodles.)
A thought: where was Kairi in Re:coded? We never meet a Data-Kairi, and I think the real Kairi is mentioned a grand total of once. Poor Kairi; she does get a bit neglected. Riku plays a significant role in Chain of Memories and Re:coded and Dream Drop Distance, but Kairi seems to be almost entirely absent from the spin-off games, and she's unconscious for most of the original Kingdom Hearts. Maybe she'll finally get a larger role in Kingdom Hearts III? She's not one of my favourite Kingdom Hearts characters, but maybe that would change if we actually got to know her.
It's not clear when Data-Sora realised he was a digital replica of the real Sora, which bothers me a bit. You'd think that would be quite a big revelation. Sora takes a lot in his stride, but surely you would need at least a moment to sort through your thoughts after discovering that you and your friends and your home are actually just data inside a computer.
(Data-Riku seems to have been fully aware of the situation from the start, which is just as well, because Riku would definitely have been upset by having that revelation suddenly dropped on him. I suspect that, whereas Data-Sora is unshakeably sure that the people of the datascape matter, Data-Riku has trouble believing his own existence is of any real value. He still values Data-Sora, though. EXPLAIN THAT, RIKU.)
Here's the text of one of my favourite scenes in Re:coded:
I've been ungenerous to Re:coded, I think. The plot may be a bit nothingy and the camera may be infuriating, but it has some of my favourite character interaction in the entire series, and I really love its take on Castle Oblivion.
That said, I started Days after finishing my Re:coded playthrough (because apparently I'm replaying all my Kingdom Hearts games? I swear I don't just play videogames all day, even if my recent entries really make it sound like I do) and was startled by how strong my emotional reaction was right from the beginning. Re:coded is fun enough, but I'm not particularly invested in it, whereas I care intensely about Days.
(ROXAS'S ADORABLE DIARY. All games should have the protagonist keep an adorable diary. See also Uncharted 2, in which Nate's journal slowly fills up with both puzzle hints and incredibly silly doodles.)
A thought: where was Kairi in Re:coded? We never meet a Data-Kairi, and I think the real Kairi is mentioned a grand total of once. Poor Kairi; she does get a bit neglected. Riku plays a significant role in Chain of Memories and Re:coded and Dream Drop Distance, but Kairi seems to be almost entirely absent from the spin-off games, and she's unconscious for most of the original Kingdom Hearts. Maybe she'll finally get a larger role in Kingdom Hearts III? She's not one of my favourite Kingdom Hearts characters, but maybe that would change if we actually got to know her.