Say, Fellas, Did Somebody Mention The Door To Darkness?

[rionaleonhart]

Tem and I are still making our way through Kingdom Hearts II!

Why does Hollow Bastion have an emergency self-destruct program? What possible emergency could be improved by destroying the town?

We absolutely lost it at the scene where Goofy is tragically killed by a boulder and Mickey Mouse swears revenge. I love these stupid games.

Never really occurred to me before that Goofy and Yuffie rhyme. I don't know what to do with this information.

At one point, Sora, Donald and Goofy are in peril, but when we next see them they're on the gummi ship. We get a flashback to explain how they got back onto the ship. This explanation is as follows:

- Sora, Donald and Goofy are surrounded by enemies.
- Maleficent, in an effort to help, drops Sora and company into a pit of darkness.
- They end up in a black void.
- A hooded figure sets a box down in the void and disappears.
- Inside the box is an ice cream.
- When Donald Duck attempts to eat the ice cream, it starts glowing and floats into the air.
- The floating ice cream shoots a beam of light, projecting a giant keyhole into the sky.
- Sora unlocks the keyhole with his Keyblade.
- And now they're back on the spaceship, don't ask questions.

Tem is so unhappy to see Donald Duck with tentacles whenever we go back to Atlantica.

We reached the point at which Winnie-the-Pooh has an out-of-body experience and floats off into space. 'I've seen this GIF before,' Tem commented. 'I thought it might make more sense in context. I think seeing it in context has, in fact, reduced the level of context.'

For the benefit of anyone who has not played these games: I swear I'm not just making things up.

Comments

[trepkos]

You almost make me want to play this game - and I never played computer games since space invaders/asteroids.

[rionaleonhart]

Kingdom Hearts is certainly an experience! An extremely strange and confusing experience.

[shanaqui]

I had forgotten some of this, and I cannot quite understand how...

[rionaleonhart]

Every time I revisit this series, I feel I pick up on some absolute nonsense that I just never questioned the last time around. I'm particularly aware of how silly everything is now that I'm playing the games with someone who hasn't experienced them before.

[sonofgodzilla]

'I thought it might make more sense in context. I think seeing it in context has, in fact, reduced the level of context.'

GAH! Just fucking put this on the box of all future releases. Genius!!

[rionaleonhart]

It really does capture the Kingdom Hearts experience.

[marginaliana]

Tem is so unhappy to see Donald Duck with tentacles whenever we go back to Atlantica.

I'm upset to even know this exists.

[rionaleonhart]

Ducks can already go underwater! You don't have to turn Donald Duck half-squid if you want to put him underwater!

[wolfy_writing]

- When Donald Duck attempts to eat the ice cream, it starts glowing and floats into the air.
- The floating ice cream shoots a beam of light, projecting a giant keyhole into the sky.
- Sora unlocks the keyhole with his Keyblade.
- And now they're back on the spaceship, don't ask questions.

Have you not had ice cream before?

'I thought it might make more sense in context. I think seeing it in context has, in fact, reduced the level of context.'

Oh, I love those kinds of weirdness! Where it makes even less sense in context!

[rionaleonhart]

I've never had sea-salt flavour ice cream before, which I think is why I've never encountered this particular phenomenon.

[wolfy_writing]

Oh yeah, that explains it. It won't work if the ice cream flavoring comes from any kind of plant.

[necrophilia]

Tem is so unhappy to see Donald Duck with tentacles whenever we go back to Atlantica.

I honestly thought he was cute as a little duck-octopus hybrid.

[rionaleonhart]

I cannot love tentacled Donald Duck, but I'm glad he's found love somewhere.

[ryulynn]

Love seeing the Kingdom Hearts series playthrough updates!

I forgot most of this stuff happens so it's incredibly amusing to be like ah yes this game really does weird shit but we like it

I feel like I didn't like the Pooh stuff in KH2 either but look forward to seeing how you guys feel.

[rionaleonhart]

Honestly, when I think of the Hundred Acre Wood in Kingdom Hearts II, my mind always goes straight to Winnie-the-Pooh's soul leaving his body and floating into space, and for that I can forgive any number of silly minigames.

[lassarina]

god, I had blocked "Donald with tentacles" completely out of my memory AND NOW YOU'VE MADE IT RESURFACE.

[rionaleonhart]

Everyone has to remember tentacled Donald Duck occasionally. It builds character.

[cephy]

So I... shouldn't use this icon, then? ;)

"An experience" is probably the best and only way to describe those games.

[rionaleonhart]

wh-why do you have that icon

[cephy]

For this exact moment in time, apparently!

[thenicochan]

This icon made me so happy

[cephy]

:D :D :D

[vriddy]

* clapping with both hands and cackling *

[rionaleonhart]

It's such a treat to introduce other people to these games. I love watching their reactions as it escalates from 'okay, this is a little odd, but I'm following' to 'what is happening and what did I do to deserve it?'

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's funny that the fake out Goofy death lasts all of one fight. You think the game would keep his fate up in the air for longer but the event has basically no bearing on the overall plot whatsoever.

[i_wish_to_remain_nameless]

This was me sorry I was logged out.

[rionaleonhart]

I wonder whether Disney insisted that he had to come back before the next save point. Can't let people save and quit under the impression that Goofy dies tragically in Kingdom Hearts II!

[i_wish_to_remain_nameless]

I wonder that too, especially since they're able to do this sort of thing with a much greater degree of commitment with the Kingdom Hearts original characters.

[shamanicshaymin]

As goofy (no pun intended) as these games get, the sincerity of the Kingdom Hearts series is truly something we take for granted in the current media landscape of Marvel-style meta humor. Can you imagine how insufferable the games would be if everyone was like "OMG there's a talking duck" and comments on the absurdity of it whenever Donald Duck shows up? I'd much rather have scenes where Goofy dies and Mickey vows revenge taken in complete and utter seriousness than constant winking at the camera. It's corny, yes, but it's part of the charm. ;;

Your posts are making me miss the games and want to play them again. ♥

[rionaleonhart]

I hadn't thought about it, but this is a good point! Even if these games are ridiculous, they always take themselves completely seriously, and that heartfelt approach really helps them to have an emotional impact (although, of course, I'm not immune to getting choked up over things that don't take themselves seriously).