I realized we're getting closer and closer to WWE Wrestlemania 35 and that I haven't made a post about an alleged card yet. While we do have three matches confirmed for the show and a few already teased, there's still a lot to speculate about. Let's do it.
Again, there are three matches confirmed for the show. Buddy Murphy will defend the Cruiserweight Championship against the winner of a tournament on 205 Live. Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against the 2019 men's Royal Rumble winner.....maybe. Roman Reigns is good to go now and that match might be in jeopardy if the past has any indication. Ronda Rousey will defend the Raw Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair....and Becky Lynch because we all know that's where the story is going. Now, who else and what else is left to book?
Triple H VS Batista is a given following Batista's shock return. The match seemed to be in jeopardy once HHH got hurt at Crown Jewel but it looks like Hunter has made a full recovery. Shocking. This should be an interesting build. Batista yelling if he had HHH's attention now makes me believe they'll be playing off the dirt sheets reporting that WWE didn't want to give Batista a retirement match and that they were ignoring him. I'm down. Triple H is my favorite of all time, Batista is one of the best from the post Attitude Era. It's a rematch that hasn't happened in 14 years so there is so freshness. Match quality though....I'm hoping for a No Holds Barred match. It would save both men. It would also be dangerous for Batista who is probably filming Dune soon so....Anyway, this will be on the show.
AJ Styles VS Randy Orton is a dream match that has only happened once on a Smackdown back in 2017 and it was a great match then. With Orton beating Styles in the gauntlet match leading to Elimination Chamber, eliminating Styles in the Elimination Chamber and from a backstage segment on this past week's Smackdown, it looks like this is the plan. I'm down with it. This could be the best match on the card.
Drew McIntyre has looked strong all year long, despite not winning the Rumble. What do you do with a star that can't compete in either World Title match? You have them face a part timer! McIntyre/Angle happened already so that's most likely out right? That would only leave two men; John Cena and The Undertaker. Undertaker and WWE's relationship is a bit rocky it seems so John Cena is the most likely. Plus, it would play back to earlier in the year when the two had a promo together and also to the Royal Rumble, when Michael Cole claimed McIntyre was the reason Cena wouldn't be able to compete in the match. That line wasn't there for nothing y'all. McIntyre/Cena is a money match, a true ascension match for the Scotsman. If Cena isn't available, they could always do Reigns/McIntyre...
Here's one I don't want to see but something tells me this whole Miz/Shane McMahon story won't end amicably, which would mean the build for it is leading to a match at Wrestlemania right? I hope I'm wrong but Shane just somehow gets onto the Mania card since he came back in 2016 and I don't see that streak ending.
Let's get to the titles!
Kofi/Bryan - WWE Championship
Usos/Hardys - Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Andrade/Mysterio - United States Championship
Asuka/Lacey Evans - Smackdown Women's Championship
Boss N Hug Connection/Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville/The IIconics/Kairi Sane and Io Shirai - Women's Tag Team Championship
Balor and The Revival I haven't figured out yet. With Revival losing against DIY and then against Black/Ricochet, they might NOT even make it to Mania as champs. I will say a Triple Threat tag match between the three of them would be epic but impossible if Ciampa and Gargano are set to renew their feud two nights before.
Kofi/Bryan is pretty obvious since they pulled him out of the Fast Lane match. It seems the reported plan of Bryan/Owens at Mania was better suited for Fast Lane, where Bryan will be triumphant only to drop it to Kofi in one of the best WM moments of all time. Maybe. I just can't see WWE putting the title on Kofi, no matter how much sense or how happy I'd be if they did. That's going to take some seeing to believe. The Hardys came back to Smackdown out of nowhere and have never faced The Usos. The Usos are Smackdown Tag Champs. It writes itself. R Truth beat Mysterio and Andrade to retain his US Title. He pinned Mysterio though. I'm thinking Andrade, or excuse me, Zelina brings that up, gets a title match at Fast Lane and Andrade wins the title, setting up that match. Asuka and her Smackdown Women's Title have been overlooked with the whole Becky/Ronda/Charlotte feud so her title match will as well. With Ember out with an injury and Mandy Rose getting a shot at Fast Lane, it looks like Lacey Evans will be getting the nod. That is, if a Raw woman doesn't get a shot. Natalya/Asuka? There was a rumor going around that Sasha and Bayley would defend their tag titles against a Raw team, a Smackdown team and a NXT team at Mania. I'm just going to throw both Smackdown teams in because I can't decide between either. Kairi and Io against Boss N Hug screams barn burner so they have to be in. I would also be OK if Sasha and Bayley went against Trish Stratus and Lita. It would make sense with it being Mania and all.
So, here's my card.
Brock Lesnar VS Seth Rollins- Universal Championship
Daniel Bryan VS Kofi Kingston - WWE Championship
Ronda Rousey VS Charlotte Flair VS Becky Lynch - Raw Women's Championship
Asuka VS Lacey Evans - Smackdown Women's Championship
Andrade VS Rey Mysterio - United States Championship
The Usos VS The Hardys - Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Boss N Hug Connection/Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville/The IIconics/Kairi Sane and Io Shirai - Women's Tag Team Championship
Buddy Murphy VS Tony Nese - Cruiserweight Championship
Batista VS Triple H - No Holds Barred
Randy Orton VS AJ Styles
Drew McIntyre VS John Cena
The Miz VS Shane McMahon
Again, there's no IC or Raw Tag Titles on my list yet and doesn't feature Strowman, Corbin, Lashley, Elias, Ambrose, Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens, 2/3 of the New Day, Black, Ricochet, Nia, Tamina, the list goes on. Hey, that's why I'm just a fan and not creative.
What do you think? What's your card looking like?
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Elimination Chamber 2019 Predictions
I'm just going to say it right at the beginning of this post; Elimination Chamber 2019 is a two match PPV. As we already know two of the main events for Wrestlemania, this and Fast Lane are just there as filler. There are seven matches on the card but only two of them really matter heading into Wrestlemania. Let's discuss.
Buddy Murphy VS Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship? Sleeper match for sure but again, the Cruiserweights get shafted to the pre show. With only seven matches on the card, I don't see why these two couldn't get some time on the main card. Anyway, Buddy Murphy looks too good lately to lose to a former champion. Someone like Tony Nese or Noam Dar be the one to stop him. Murphy retains.
Baron Corbin VS Braun Strowman? Yawn. Drew McIntyre should be in Corbin's spot but I bet that's the match set for Fast Lane. Strowman will win. Maybe Angle VS McIntyre will get added to the EC card? As I was typing this up, they decided to add a No DQ option to the match. So yeah. Maybe instead of an Angle/McIntyre match, they'll just interfere in this match. Storwman still wins.
Lashley and Lio Rush VS Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship could be pretty good. I like all three guys involved and this might be fun. Balor, like many of the other stars on Raw, are just waiting until the Universal Title is back on a regular basis and if Seth Rollins can Slay the Beast then we'll be in for more Balor/Rollins magic in 2019. That would mean the All Mighty Bobby Lashley would have to go over here. Bobby Lashley retains thanks to shenanigans.
Ronda Rousey VS Ruby Riott for the Raw Women's Championship? Serious potential as well but the outcome is obvious. No way WWE is messing up the Rousey/Charlotte/Lynch storyline. Ruby will look good and definitely get her licks in but this match will end with Rousey tapping her out. Charlotte will be there so I'm sure they'll have some interaction afterwards.
The Usos VS Shane and Miz for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles? I want actual tag teams in the spotlight, not these random pairings. The Revival did their part and won the tag titles in a bonafide tag team classic (for main roster WWE), ending the reign of the makeshift team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode. Now Raw will flourish with an actual top team calling the shots. Now I love the story of Miz and Shane and the tag team title win was a nice feel good moment for them but we need actual tag teams going at it for the titles. Gallows and Anderson, Sanity, The Bar, etc. And after the Superstar Shakeup, who knows what title feuds will be there? Sadly, this experiment won't end here. Miz and Shane will retain. Boo.
All the filler is out the way so let's talk the REAL reason we'll be tuning in on Sunday; the two Elimination Chamber matches, one contested for the WWE Championship and the other for the brand new WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. This is separate from the lineage of the old WWF Women's Tag Titles so there will be first ever champs.
Six teams will compete inside the chamber. Nia Jax/Tamina, Carmella/Naomi, Liv Morgan/Sarah Logan and The IIconics Billie Kay/Peyton Royce will be in the four pods while Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville and Sasha Banks/Bayley, the only four ladies with Chamber match experience, will start the match. They've been doing a injury angle with Banks stemming from an actual injury apparently caused in her match with Rousey back at the Royal Rumble and she hasn't really competed since then. She's cleared for Sunday but will the chances of them winning go down because of it? If you're looking at power, Nia and Tamina have to be odds on favorites but if you look at the history of the Chamber, not many powerhouses win the chamber matches. Ryback and Roman Reigns are the only two that have in the 22 match history. Sasha and Bayley look to have the titles on lock but with Wrestlemania looming, don't we all think it would be better if they had their moment on the grandest stage of them all, just a half hour away from the Barclays Center, where they tore the roof off in 2015? The old adage for WWE is it's better for the face to chase the heel and if those heels are Tamina and Nia, the win would be much sweeter at Mania for The Boss N Hug Connection. I'm also not opposed to either The IIconics or Fire and Desire (Rose/Deville) winning the match but I just think Tamina and Nia would make the perfect foils for Bayley and Sasha. As much as I'd love to see Bayley and Sasha reach the mountaintop on Sunday, I think the moment would be sweeter in 7 weeks at Wrestlemania. I'm going with Nia Jax and Tamina to win and become the first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, with them defending against Carmella and Naomi at Fast Lane then Sasha/Bayley at Mania.
The WWE Title will be on the line inside the chamber when the NEW Daniel Bryan will defend the title against Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton and new entrant Kofi Kingston. Mustafa Ali is unable to compete due to a concussion, which is a darn shame. Daniel Bryan is looking to make history on Sunday. If Bryan can somehow retain, he'll not only become the fourth man in history to win multiple Chamber matches but he'll also become the first man ever to have successfully defended the WWE AND World Heavyweight Titles inside the Elimination Chamber. It's funny, Triple H, John Cena and Edge all have retained a championship (Edge and HHH the World Heavyweight while Cena the WWE) and have won a championship inside the Chamber (they all won the WWE Title inside the Chamber but HHH also won the World Title) but neither have defended two different World Titles inside it. Randy Orton will enter last after winning the gauntlet match on Smackdown. Speaking of that, is it finally time to pull the trigger on Kofi Kingston? He started in the gauntlet match and pinned WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, future Hall of Famer Jeff Hardy and future World Champion Samoa Joe. He almost beat AJ Styles as well. Kofi uttering it's been 11 years and he's not going to let this opportunity slip from him gave me goosebumps. What's the worse thing that could happen if they gave Kofi a three week reign as WWE Champion? He could win Sunday, drop it at Fast Lane. The feud between him and Bryan would be fresh for Smackdown and as many have pointed out, it would be Captain Planet Daniel Bryan VS the type of person Bryan hates in Kofi Kingston and if their 20 minutes together in the gauntlet match was a sign of the quality of matches, then we're in for a treat. Bryan's Mania opponent, should he make it there, is unclear but two guys who aren't in the Chamber come on mind; Rey Mysterio and Andrade. Andrade is a heel so that's probably not the match but Daniel Bryan VS Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship? That's a dream match. As much as I'd love Samoa Joe to win the title, Styles win it back for an amazing clash with Orton or for Kingston to valid his 11 year career, it looks like Captain Planet is going to retain here. I'm going with Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship by submission, eliminating Kofi Kingston last. Bryan will face one of his five challengers (or Ali) at Fast Lane and clash with Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania.
There you have it. Excited for Sunday?
Buddy Murphy VS Akira Tozawa for the Cruiserweight Championship? Sleeper match for sure but again, the Cruiserweights get shafted to the pre show. With only seven matches on the card, I don't see why these two couldn't get some time on the main card. Anyway, Buddy Murphy looks too good lately to lose to a former champion. Someone like Tony Nese or Noam Dar be the one to stop him. Murphy retains.
Baron Corbin VS Braun Strowman? Yawn. Drew McIntyre should be in Corbin's spot but I bet that's the match set for Fast Lane. Strowman will win. Maybe Angle VS McIntyre will get added to the EC card? As I was typing this up, they decided to add a No DQ option to the match. So yeah. Maybe instead of an Angle/McIntyre match, they'll just interfere in this match. Storwman still wins.
Lashley and Lio Rush VS Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship could be pretty good. I like all three guys involved and this might be fun. Balor, like many of the other stars on Raw, are just waiting until the Universal Title is back on a regular basis and if Seth Rollins can Slay the Beast then we'll be in for more Balor/Rollins magic in 2019. That would mean the All Mighty Bobby Lashley would have to go over here. Bobby Lashley retains thanks to shenanigans.
Ronda Rousey VS Ruby Riott for the Raw Women's Championship? Serious potential as well but the outcome is obvious. No way WWE is messing up the Rousey/Charlotte/Lynch storyline. Ruby will look good and definitely get her licks in but this match will end with Rousey tapping her out. Charlotte will be there so I'm sure they'll have some interaction afterwards.
The Usos VS Shane and Miz for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles? I want actual tag teams in the spotlight, not these random pairings. The Revival did their part and won the tag titles in a bonafide tag team classic (for main roster WWE), ending the reign of the makeshift team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode. Now Raw will flourish with an actual top team calling the shots. Now I love the story of Miz and Shane and the tag team title win was a nice feel good moment for them but we need actual tag teams going at it for the titles. Gallows and Anderson, Sanity, The Bar, etc. And after the Superstar Shakeup, who knows what title feuds will be there? Sadly, this experiment won't end here. Miz and Shane will retain. Boo.
All the filler is out the way so let's talk the REAL reason we'll be tuning in on Sunday; the two Elimination Chamber matches, one contested for the WWE Championship and the other for the brand new WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. This is separate from the lineage of the old WWF Women's Tag Titles so there will be first ever champs.
Six teams will compete inside the chamber. Nia Jax/Tamina, Carmella/Naomi, Liv Morgan/Sarah Logan and The IIconics Billie Kay/Peyton Royce will be in the four pods while Mandy Rose/Sonya Deville and Sasha Banks/Bayley, the only four ladies with Chamber match experience, will start the match. They've been doing a injury angle with Banks stemming from an actual injury apparently caused in her match with Rousey back at the Royal Rumble and she hasn't really competed since then. She's cleared for Sunday but will the chances of them winning go down because of it? If you're looking at power, Nia and Tamina have to be odds on favorites but if you look at the history of the Chamber, not many powerhouses win the chamber matches. Ryback and Roman Reigns are the only two that have in the 22 match history. Sasha and Bayley look to have the titles on lock but with Wrestlemania looming, don't we all think it would be better if they had their moment on the grandest stage of them all, just a half hour away from the Barclays Center, where they tore the roof off in 2015? The old adage for WWE is it's better for the face to chase the heel and if those heels are Tamina and Nia, the win would be much sweeter at Mania for The Boss N Hug Connection. I'm also not opposed to either The IIconics or Fire and Desire (Rose/Deville) winning the match but I just think Tamina and Nia would make the perfect foils for Bayley and Sasha. As much as I'd love to see Bayley and Sasha reach the mountaintop on Sunday, I think the moment would be sweeter in 7 weeks at Wrestlemania. I'm going with Nia Jax and Tamina to win and become the first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, with them defending against Carmella and Naomi at Fast Lane then Sasha/Bayley at Mania.
The WWE Title will be on the line inside the chamber when the NEW Daniel Bryan will defend the title against Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton and new entrant Kofi Kingston. Mustafa Ali is unable to compete due to a concussion, which is a darn shame. Daniel Bryan is looking to make history on Sunday. If Bryan can somehow retain, he'll not only become the fourth man in history to win multiple Chamber matches but he'll also become the first man ever to have successfully defended the WWE AND World Heavyweight Titles inside the Elimination Chamber. It's funny, Triple H, John Cena and Edge all have retained a championship (Edge and HHH the World Heavyweight while Cena the WWE) and have won a championship inside the Chamber (they all won the WWE Title inside the Chamber but HHH also won the World Title) but neither have defended two different World Titles inside it. Randy Orton will enter last after winning the gauntlet match on Smackdown. Speaking of that, is it finally time to pull the trigger on Kofi Kingston? He started in the gauntlet match and pinned WWE Champion Daniel Bryan, future Hall of Famer Jeff Hardy and future World Champion Samoa Joe. He almost beat AJ Styles as well. Kofi uttering it's been 11 years and he's not going to let this opportunity slip from him gave me goosebumps. What's the worse thing that could happen if they gave Kofi a three week reign as WWE Champion? He could win Sunday, drop it at Fast Lane. The feud between him and Bryan would be fresh for Smackdown and as many have pointed out, it would be Captain Planet Daniel Bryan VS the type of person Bryan hates in Kofi Kingston and if their 20 minutes together in the gauntlet match was a sign of the quality of matches, then we're in for a treat. Bryan's Mania opponent, should he make it there, is unclear but two guys who aren't in the Chamber come on mind; Rey Mysterio and Andrade. Andrade is a heel so that's probably not the match but Daniel Bryan VS Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship? That's a dream match. As much as I'd love Samoa Joe to win the title, Styles win it back for an amazing clash with Orton or for Kingston to valid his 11 year career, it looks like Captain Planet is going to retain here. I'm going with Daniel Bryan to retain the WWE Championship by submission, eliminating Kofi Kingston last. Bryan will face one of his five challengers (or Ali) at Fast Lane and clash with Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania.
There you have it. Excited for Sunday?
Monday, February 11, 2019
My Kingdom Hearts III Experience
Hello all. I've finally finished the main story of Kingdom Hearts III on February 10th, just 12 days after its initial release. There are A LOT of things I want to get off my chest as a fan of the series since 2002 but let me first say this; it's super surreal that I even got a chance to play this game. Just to think that Kingdom Hearts II was released in 2006. 2006! Edge had just won the title two months before its release! The wait had been grueling, with several delays and completely missing the PS3/360 era but I'm just glad I was able to finish this 'trilogy' of gaming. I'm appreciative to Square Enix and Disney for completing this. Now, let's get to the nitty gritty. Kingdom Hearts III was NOT worth the 13 year wait.
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM HEARTS III. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Let me finish. Do you really think anything that takes a decade to come out is going to meet every expectation that you have? I don't even think my expectations were that grand but it just seems that KH3 was lacking in areas that the other two titles or even the spin offs had. First off, it was a little on the short side. 27 hours is what my game clock said upon completion and I'm sure that could have been cut down had I not left the game running a few times while I was checking my phone or goofing off. Maybe the other games were just as short and I don't remember but I feel like like KH2 was much longer. That could be because KH2 not only had more worlds but had you go back to each world a second time, basically doubling the length. KH3's worlds are lacking. It was definitely nice to explore the Toy Story, Big Hero 6 and the surprising amazing Pirates of the Caribbean worlds. Tangled, Monsters Inc and Frozen were alright but 100 Acre Wood was a complete waste of time. A puzzle mini game that lasts barely 20 minutes? Pointless. And no offense to Hercules but did we REALLY need another Olympus world? How did Herc get featured in all three games? No Hades battle either? Come on guys! POTC was the best KH3 gets. They mixed KH with Assassin's Creed IV and it works SO WELL. Exploring all the little islands and finding treasure on each while blowing ships away? I would have played the world for 10 hours if I had to. It was that good. Big Hero 6 was so cool but it was over before it even started! I honestly feel like it was a one hour experience. Of all the worlds, this was the one I was looking forward to this the most and while it was definitely a fun experience, it was over TOO FAST. Another problem I had with the worlds were that they felt pointless compared to the end of the game. What was the reason for going through the worlds? To find other Keyblade wielders right? Do you even find anyone of them in the worlds? NO! This just makes Sora's journey dumb, especially when the real story of the game doesn't heat up until AFTER you finish the Disney worlds and get to the Keyblade Graveyard, where I think one of the biggest mistakes takes place.
You don't face any members of the True Organization XIII until you get to the Keyblade Graveyard and then you face certain members together with your friends and all the fights just feel boring. Mash X, heal, see a cutscene after beating one, repeat. You finally get to face the last three and it's the same thing. THEN, you finally face Xehanort and it's a pretty great fight, both the Armored and normal versions. You view the ending, the crazy mind bending epilogue and the secret movie and then you have more questions then answers for the future of the series. The epilogue features characters present in Kingdom Hearts χ , which is included with Kingdom Hearts 2.8. I lost track over the story to be perfectly honest but to those who have played every game, seen every movie and know all the characters by heart, I'm sure that cutscene got your minds racing. For me, I took a long hard look into the mirror and thought if I should continue to give a damn about this series.
Let's talk gameplay in KH3! It's super simple. Mash X, kill Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed. Heal occasionally. Only use guard and counter in the last fight because it was the most difficult. If in trouble, just use a super overpowered attraction move. Otherwise, you're good. This game is ridiculously easy. I read the IGN review before playing and they mentioned it was easy so I decided to play on Proud to give myself a challenge. I'm a much more experienced gamer than 9th grade Marcus so I said, what the hell? Kingdom Hearts III is still easy on Proud mode. The first time I died was when you played as Aqua and you fight Vanitas. That's basically near the end y'all. I never felt really challenged until I started doing the post game content. That's bad. If you add that to the fact that there are NO FINAL FANTASY CHARACTERS in the game, I came to realize something as I sat and watched the ENTIRE Let it Go musical scene in KH3, taken straight from the movie might I add; this is a Disney game. Obviously, all the KH games are Disney games but this FEELS like one. There is no Square feel in the game at all. Yeah, spiky hair on the characters is there but that's it. Even the villains feel like Disney villains. Speaking of that, Pete and Maleficent, big bads from the previous games, are shown in a few cutscenes but they never interact with the party. They watch the ENTIRE story from the sidelines and they even appear in the epilogue. That was severely disappointing. Even without any major Disney villains as bosses, the game still achieves a major Disney feel. While I think the story is made for fans of the entire series, the gameplay is made for children who want to experience their favorite Disney worlds. It worked as KH3 was the highest selling game in its series. Adding anticipation and of course the billion dollar princesses in Anna and Elsa will do that for you.
I don't want you to leave this post thinking I didn't like Kingdom Hearts III. I really enjoyed my time in this game. I just didn't like all the choices they did going about putting this game out. I'm extremely ecstatic that I was able to close out this trilogy but this game really has left me wanting more. Maybe a Final Mix version will fix this some of the grievances I have, like adding some more freaking optional bosses but we'll see. Overall, Kingdom Hearts III is a great Disney adventure. It is not, however, the same type of game we grew up on. Regardless, every fan of the series should experience this adventure.
Shenmue III, you're up next in August!
UPDATE: 2/12/19 - I wanted to do a brief update following all the post game content I did, which was forging Ultima Weapon, which involved doing several mini games, getting all the Lucky Emblems, and actually caring about the gummi ship battles. That took about 5 hours by itself even with Youtube videos and the like. The Arendelle sleding mini game was super tedious. Actually, the mini games in general were tedious. The only one I liked was the flan cannon mini game in The Caribbean. Shocker that the best world would have the best mini game as well. After finally crafting Ultima Weapon at 5am this morning, I picked up where I left off and finished the remaining Battle Gates, the thing I wanted to do most. With Ultima Wepaon in my grasp, no enemy stood a chance, The sole on foot optional boss, Dark Inferno, was an imposing figure but in the end, he's a freaking pushover. I thought there was going to be a lot of dodging and blocking but I found just mashing X, turning into Ultimate Form, healing when needed and having a Kupo coin on hand was enough. Seriously, I think I blocked a few times but then realized I didn't need it. Once I was hurt enough, I could just turn into Rage Mode and get two bars off of him. And again, this is on Proud Mode. Now that I've done all 14 Battle Gates, there's nothing left for me to do. Sure, I can do the gummi ship battle against Schwarzgiest but for what? I could also power level Sora to 99 as I finished up at level 56 earlier but there is no reason. Trophies are fine and good but I'm not a trophy hunter. I can now officially say I'm done with Kingdom Hearts III. I don't know if they plan to do DLC or not but honestly, trading it in for $30 at GameStop to any other major release this year sounds likely. Time to go back on the RE2 train.
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM HEARTS III. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Let me finish. Do you really think anything that takes a decade to come out is going to meet every expectation that you have? I don't even think my expectations were that grand but it just seems that KH3 was lacking in areas that the other two titles or even the spin offs had. First off, it was a little on the short side. 27 hours is what my game clock said upon completion and I'm sure that could have been cut down had I not left the game running a few times while I was checking my phone or goofing off. Maybe the other games were just as short and I don't remember but I feel like like KH2 was much longer. That could be because KH2 not only had more worlds but had you go back to each world a second time, basically doubling the length. KH3's worlds are lacking. It was definitely nice to explore the Toy Story, Big Hero 6 and the surprising amazing Pirates of the Caribbean worlds. Tangled, Monsters Inc and Frozen were alright but 100 Acre Wood was a complete waste of time. A puzzle mini game that lasts barely 20 minutes? Pointless. And no offense to Hercules but did we REALLY need another Olympus world? How did Herc get featured in all three games? No Hades battle either? Come on guys! POTC was the best KH3 gets. They mixed KH with Assassin's Creed IV and it works SO WELL. Exploring all the little islands and finding treasure on each while blowing ships away? I would have played the world for 10 hours if I had to. It was that good. Big Hero 6 was so cool but it was over before it even started! I honestly feel like it was a one hour experience. Of all the worlds, this was the one I was looking forward to this the most and while it was definitely a fun experience, it was over TOO FAST. Another problem I had with the worlds were that they felt pointless compared to the end of the game. What was the reason for going through the worlds? To find other Keyblade wielders right? Do you even find anyone of them in the worlds? NO! This just makes Sora's journey dumb, especially when the real story of the game doesn't heat up until AFTER you finish the Disney worlds and get to the Keyblade Graveyard, where I think one of the biggest mistakes takes place.
You don't face any members of the True Organization XIII until you get to the Keyblade Graveyard and then you face certain members together with your friends and all the fights just feel boring. Mash X, heal, see a cutscene after beating one, repeat. You finally get to face the last three and it's the same thing. THEN, you finally face Xehanort and it's a pretty great fight, both the Armored and normal versions. You view the ending, the crazy mind bending epilogue and the secret movie and then you have more questions then answers for the future of the series. The epilogue features characters present in Kingdom Hearts χ , which is included with Kingdom Hearts 2.8. I lost track over the story to be perfectly honest but to those who have played every game, seen every movie and know all the characters by heart, I'm sure that cutscene got your minds racing. For me, I took a long hard look into the mirror and thought if I should continue to give a damn about this series.
Let's talk gameplay in KH3! It's super simple. Mash X, kill Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed. Heal occasionally. Only use guard and counter in the last fight because it was the most difficult. If in trouble, just use a super overpowered attraction move. Otherwise, you're good. This game is ridiculously easy. I read the IGN review before playing and they mentioned it was easy so I decided to play on Proud to give myself a challenge. I'm a much more experienced gamer than 9th grade Marcus so I said, what the hell? Kingdom Hearts III is still easy on Proud mode. The first time I died was when you played as Aqua and you fight Vanitas. That's basically near the end y'all. I never felt really challenged until I started doing the post game content. That's bad. If you add that to the fact that there are NO FINAL FANTASY CHARACTERS in the game, I came to realize something as I sat and watched the ENTIRE Let it Go musical scene in KH3, taken straight from the movie might I add; this is a Disney game. Obviously, all the KH games are Disney games but this FEELS like one. There is no Square feel in the game at all. Yeah, spiky hair on the characters is there but that's it. Even the villains feel like Disney villains. Speaking of that, Pete and Maleficent, big bads from the previous games, are shown in a few cutscenes but they never interact with the party. They watch the ENTIRE story from the sidelines and they even appear in the epilogue. That was severely disappointing. Even without any major Disney villains as bosses, the game still achieves a major Disney feel. While I think the story is made for fans of the entire series, the gameplay is made for children who want to experience their favorite Disney worlds. It worked as KH3 was the highest selling game in its series. Adding anticipation and of course the billion dollar princesses in Anna and Elsa will do that for you.
I don't want you to leave this post thinking I didn't like Kingdom Hearts III. I really enjoyed my time in this game. I just didn't like all the choices they did going about putting this game out. I'm extremely ecstatic that I was able to close out this trilogy but this game really has left me wanting more. Maybe a Final Mix version will fix this some of the grievances I have, like adding some more freaking optional bosses but we'll see. Overall, Kingdom Hearts III is a great Disney adventure. It is not, however, the same type of game we grew up on. Regardless, every fan of the series should experience this adventure.
Shenmue III, you're up next in August!
UPDATE: 2/12/19 - I wanted to do a brief update following all the post game content I did, which was forging Ultima Weapon, which involved doing several mini games, getting all the Lucky Emblems, and actually caring about the gummi ship battles. That took about 5 hours by itself even with Youtube videos and the like. The Arendelle sleding mini game was super tedious. Actually, the mini games in general were tedious. The only one I liked was the flan cannon mini game in The Caribbean. Shocker that the best world would have the best mini game as well. After finally crafting Ultima Weapon at 5am this morning, I picked up where I left off and finished the remaining Battle Gates, the thing I wanted to do most. With Ultima Wepaon in my grasp, no enemy stood a chance, The sole on foot optional boss, Dark Inferno, was an imposing figure but in the end, he's a freaking pushover. I thought there was going to be a lot of dodging and blocking but I found just mashing X, turning into Ultimate Form, healing when needed and having a Kupo coin on hand was enough. Seriously, I think I blocked a few times but then realized I didn't need it. Once I was hurt enough, I could just turn into Rage Mode and get two bars off of him. And again, this is on Proud Mode. Now that I've done all 14 Battle Gates, there's nothing left for me to do. Sure, I can do the gummi ship battle against Schwarzgiest but for what? I could also power level Sora to 99 as I finished up at level 56 earlier but there is no reason. Trophies are fine and good but I'm not a trophy hunter. I can now officially say I'm done with Kingdom Hearts III. I don't know if they plan to do DLC or not but honestly, trading it in for $30 at GameStop to any other major release this year sounds likely. Time to go back on the RE2 train.
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