@@NovayonKH Others might correct me if I'm wrong, but most of us have played the games and are here for your opinions, so we don't mind. I'm not sure how many of us haven't played and are watching just to learn about the different keyblades
@@KuroFoxxo Upgraded starlight feels a bit too overdesigned for me. The keyblade from Dark Road looks like a better starlight to me. It's more detailed than base Starlight without being too much. And instead of the teeth just being shaped like a star, the star is formed by the negative space, which looks nicer, and makes it look more like a key.
I’m gonna be real, since upgrading keys was a thing in this game I rocked Kingdom Key for most of it in my primary slot. It looks great in cutscenes and I really like second form.
I would do the same, in fact once I beat KH3 I am gonna do a run where I use Kingdom Key, Oathkeeper, and Ultima keyblade. As a way to basically make it as canon as possible of Sora’s personal Keyblades.
@@rator1st Well, cid highwind himself is named after the highwind airships from the SNES games, and his ship in FF7 is named after him, and the gummi ship is named after the FF7 ship. So it’s all a big confusing circle.
Wouldn't it be more a reference to the Dragoons from across the Final Fantasy franchise? A lot of prominent Dragoons throughout the series share the last name of Highwind, and I recall some Dragoon-specific weapons are also named that.
Yeah, KHIII keyblades REALLY suffer from being so overdesigned they end up TOO goofy for KH. It's kind of wack to be doing the Keyblade Graveyard battles and see Sora pull out an anime squeaky toy in cutscenes. However, I do have a theory as to why: it was probably made the way it was so that players could instantly recognize which keyblade they were using. Since keyblade swapping and Form Changes are so important in this game, it makes sense the designers would try and make each one as distinct as possible, even from a glance, even if it meant Keyblades looked super wacky and over-the-top this go around. It definitely worked, I'm always sure of what keyblade I'm using, but I definitely think they can meld the idea here with more slightly-toned-down designs in KHIV
I think what really bugs me the most about Starlight is the missed opportunity to give it the unique visual upgrades it gets in Union X too. Would it have been more work to model alternate versions and possibly make it tougher to revert to previous states if you so choose? Yes. But as a Union X player, it was a bummer seeing that we were stuck with the base starlight that Union X encouraged you to evolve and ditch after finding more efficient alternatives, especially with how the game escalated to absurd levels even by 3's release.
I'd be fine if the Unchained/Starlight Keyblade was the only who had a visual upgrade, but nah can't even give that visual upgrade either, such a shame :/
I love how creative and accurate the designs of the Keyblades were. Like yea, the designs are over-the-top, but so is everything in KH3. That's what makes it fun to me in the first place.
Man it feels like they did Riku's and Mickey's keyblade dirty in this game. Keyblades that belong to a specific person have always been well designed and when they are changed they look better. Here that doesn't apply The Way to Dawn looked like it belonged to Riku, the dude uses darkness and controls it with his light. The braveheart is car keys. Nothing else needs to be said. Mickey traveled across worlds using a charm thats shaped like a star so star seeker worked in bbs and he starts getting used to darkness since hes around Aqua during 0.2 and Riku after kh1 so kingdom key D fits in even if it looked bad. Then he randomly changed his keyblade for no apparent reason with something that doesnt even come close to representing him
Braveheart is supposed to look very different to symbolize Riku's power being his own. Like, that's actually something KH3 does a lot; characters who have connections and powers tied to others becoming their own people. Way to Dawn still has elementals of Soul Eater in it's design, a sign of his connection to Ansem via Darkness. Even though Riku still uses Darkness, it's now presented (especially after DDD) as his own, not Ansem's. Braveheart is so different as to fully separate Riku's connection to Ansem, with something that's about as far away from Soul Eater's design as possible. I mean, you can still not like the design, I'm certainly not a fan. But saying "Way to Dawn looks like it belonged to Riku" is kinda going against what these keyblades and the change are meant to imply.
@@Kisaru1000 not to mention "Way to Dawn" literally tells you its not the be all end all for Riku, he shouldn't have a keyblade anymore that is him still "making his way to dawn".
I think they simplified rikus cause they wanted his starting keyblade to be a basic clean design like soras to build off of in future titles for keychains.
@@Kisaru1000 Also Riku's Braveheart has a Hidden Mickey/lucky emblem keychain just like the Kingdom Key, aka his first actual keyblade (given the kingdom key was supposed to be his and not Sora's). As you said, just another detail that shows how much he changed but also how he himself knows he's not a bad guy anymore and is part of the guardians too just like Sora is.
Star Cluster (Mickey's keyblade in KH3) is literally a mashup of the kingdom key and star seeker, if both of those represent him as you said then how can a blend of them not do it too? Besides, Star Seeker referenced Yen Sid more than the star bit Mickey used to travel with, especially since Star Seeker was actually Yen Sid's keyblade that he passed down to Mickey, so just like Riku Mickey got a keyblade of his own with Star Cluster (given Kingdom Key D was just a counterpart to the Kingdom Key) that references everything both those keyblade did but at the same time.
you know, i kind of agree with you when it comes to Starlight feeling a bit boring in it's design. of course, it wasnt originally designed for KH3, it was for Chi, Unchained and UX, but i think using one of the evolved forms or even having it be unique in that it evolves as you upgrade it wouldve made it better. it's evolved forms look so much better, especially it's final form
29:04 This was likely always the intended appearance for Oblivion but they just weren't able to make it transparent, or make the transparency look presentable at the time. The same spots in the "old" designs are pitch black because nothing is actually there.
Good points, it was much more demanding for empty parts like that on older hardware because it’s more polygons and edges and stuff to render. I prefer it looking the appropriate way, despite it looking ‘physically weaker’.
you talking about "if Ultima Weapon had lore like it were a Dark Souls weapon" made me wonder how it would go if it were like Final Fantasy proper and had to fight Ultima for it
The answer to your question why is oblivion in one hand while oath keeper is in the other is simple because Roxas has them the other way around. That's pretty much all there is to it.
Fun Fact: Lore of the Ultima Weapon? Every single FF Game has something or another about the Ultima Weapon itself. In some shape or form of pure power.
I recently got back into kingdom hearts, it was a pretty big part of my childhood and I just wanted to thank you for this channel. It's been wonderful!
gotta say i was really happy with the design of this games ultima weapon. when i finally unlocked i spent a solid 10 mins just looking at it. to make it better there is a proper "blade" in the design. absolutely love it.
This was good, but it lacked what we were all waiting for; Sorting the Keyblades into Hogwarts houses! Gryffindoor: Kingdom Key Heros Origin Ever After Ultima Weapon Oathkeeper Rawenclaw: Star Cluster Shooting Star Crystal Snow Starlight Midnight Blue Elemental Encoder Hufflepuff: Favourite Deputy Hunny Spout Grand Chef Classic Tone Dawn til Dusk Slytherin: Braveheart Happy Gear Nano Gear Wheel of Fate Oblivion Phantom Green
Novayon I’ve seen yo yos used as weapons quite a lot in anime and anime like games. That being said Sora’s are on the more fantastical side of things, I’d say they are my favorite transformation.
"Using yo-yos to hit people? *pfft* I've never seen it before." Sophia from Persona 5 Strikers would like to know your location. She's got something to show you.
missed the detail that the wing-shaped filigree around the blades of the Ultima Weapons in each game increase in number just like the blades. KH1 Ultima has one wing, KH2 has two crossed wings over the front, and KH3 has two wings in front and one in back.
Awesome video as always Novayon! It kind of makes me think "would he rate community submitted Keyblades in a video like this?" I have my Keyblade as a mod in this game and I'd love to hear what you would say about it.
I seen your kh2 keyblade dives you seem to enjoy doing that video ,in this 1 you were last enthusiastic we have a lot a different views on the style but glad you took the time to make these videos
I used honey spout and classic tone throughout most of the adventure. The guns and launcher are so fun and the classic tone has my favorite shot lock. The shot locks in each form add a ton to why I like certain blades, might have been worth going over them too
Your content is always detailed keep up the good work My favorite is Oblivion (cause of Double Form, Square knew what they were doing with both Oblivion and Oathkeeper)
So, coming back t o this video a year after its debut, I do have a couple of notes. Nothing super detailed/granular, especially since this is largely editorial/your opinions (which, as I said before, are well thought out, and just as well written/voiced). What I would've liked to see is a bit more on the background/video side of things. Since (almost every) keyblade has a unique set of abilities in KH3 that are part of its identity, I think this video would've really benefited from showing us the form changes in combat, as well as the shotlocks. Just have those as background footage, instead of still images. Plus that would give you some extra stuff to talk about! Anyways, I remain, as ever, a big fan of your channel and your content, and I hope you continue to succeed and grow! Cheers, all the best! : )
Elemental Encoder is my favorite of the DLC keyblades. Not only because you're using Mickey's new keyblade in a way (like Dawn Till Dusk), but also because I love the silvery colors. Hero's Origin is quite solid, with the lightning and Zeus part. KH3's Ultima Weapon looking like a counterpart to the x Blade with the similar "glittery" design part, but colored red is also great.
I’ve got a soft spot for the staff. I created a character centered around the “cure” spells and nature as her primary focus, and she originally had a staff for her weapon. I imagine it fights a lot like KH3’s Ever After. Just imagine more plant-based attacks such as using bark to block and vines as an attack😊
I may HATE Frozen as a movie, but they did manage to make it a keyblade I somehow like using. Also, I LOVE Classic Tone because my spirit animal is a psycho clown.
I don't know about the Big Hero 6 face sticker on the key chain, but I do know the face in the middle of the Guard is meant to be Hiro's first bot from the beginning of the movie when he went to illegal bot fighting.
Also I don't think they're microbots. He thought they were microbots at the beginning but then later claimed they count be. It's kinda vague because he could have meant because they were in the portal at the end of the movie but the microbots in the movie were also veeeerrrry different to the game. It makes sense that they couldn't do that for graphical limitations but they just don't look like them at all.
Dawn Till Dusk has one good thing about it and that's the little orb in the guard being a galaxy, it's a awesome looking, it's just, wasted on the rest of the keyblade.
I used Wheel of Fate for the majority of the game because of the forms having huge AoEs and a lot of fights being mob fights. I honestly didn't even make use of the 3 keyblade loadout feature at all. Happy Gear, Wheel of Fate, and Ultima got the most use with Crystal Snow getting a little bit of usage for a few things that were just easier with magic.
Huh. TIL the dlc keyblades were straight up product placement. I genuinely had no idea about the 7/11 thing, and I never made the connection with Midnight Blue's random shapes and the Playstation buttons.
Ever After has gotta be one of my favorite. I love how Mirage Staff is one of the few times Sora actually uses light. Others in 3 and some attacks, Double/Light Form, and Ultimate form (ability desc. say swords of light)
Kingdom Key is Kingdom Key. You can't change perfection. It is THE Kingdom Hearts keyblade and the first one anybody thinks of when you talk about the franchise. Bravehart, similar to Fenrir from KH2, yes is based on a more traditional pin and tumbler style key, but Braveheart specifically is based on what is call a dimple lock. Rather than the grooves of the key being on the edge of the key like traditional pin and tumbler types, dimple keys utilize the sides of the key with the intention of making them more difficult to pick. Only comments I'll make about the Disney keyblades is for the Nano Gear and the missing or incorrectness. You can see Go Go's disks on the handle near where the keychain connects. The part of the guard where the blade meets is based off the microbots from BH6, the face being the one Hiro put on a combined bot he made out of microbots to enter a tournament, nothing to do with his brother. The end of the blade is not made of microbots but rather KH3's darkubes. Pretty obvious they share that same visual. For Oblivion, I think most people assumed the inner area of the blade was hollow and had a chain running through it, just that rendering the keyblade was easier for KH1 and KH2 to leave the spaces black. As for the sharing of Double Form with Oathkeeper, the reason for one being called Double Form OBV and the other Double Form OKT is for the player to identify which of the two keyblades is going into Double Form. While I somewhat agree that inverting the two to each other would make sense, Roxas wields Oblivion is his right hand and Oathkeeper in the left, so making the Sora's the inverse when he holds both makes sense.
...Y'know, for what its worth, if the Monsters Inc world was still in scream phase something like "Scream Gear" or "Fear Machine" or whatever sounds like it would be a fun alternate keyblade for Vanitas.
Really feels like the form changes for the Toybox and Monstropolis Keyblades should be swapped. Favorite Deputy gets claws because of the claw machine and yoyos because yoyos are toys. Meanwhile Happy Gear gets a hammer and drill because it's a factory.
I do agree that Starlight was a missed opportunity. They should have gone with one of the upgraded versions of Starlight from KHUX or better yet Ephemers Starlight keyblade since he played a critical role in that Demon tide fight. They also should have created a unique KHUX themed formchange and shotlock for the Starlight keyblade. Something like a "Union Form". Having the formchange be like a magic circle with the 5 corresponding union factions.
What I dislike about Starlight, and kinda extends to the other keyblades, is that in KHUX where they debuted levelling up your keyblade, it changed how it looked. Starlight went from basic to gaudy and I was looking forward to how the keyblades in 3 would change, but we got nothing!
I will say that I personally really like all of the Keyblades in three, though I do have a top five it goes the Kingdom Key, Ultima Weapon, Oblivion, Oathkeeper, and Nano Gear. And I can appreciate your critiques even if I personally thing the goofier aspects of the Disney keyblades elevate most of their designs. :)
My thoughts on these keyblades: Kingdom Key: Decent, but Second Form is so damn powerful in the different variations. Braveheart: Cool and fits Riku's character arc in KH3. Everyone joked about it being car keys to this day. Star Cluster: A fine keyblade imo. Anti-Aqua uses it in her boss battle. Hero's Origin: So muck Greek energy in the design! I love it! It's form is a shield making you feel like a gladiator so, THIS IS SPARTA! Shooting Star: Beautiful looking with it's cosmic design. I love the gun and bazooka-esque forms since it gave me so much vibes to DMC and Bayonetta. Favorite Deputy: Solid keyblade but that's my silly opinion. The two forms felt so in the likes of Amy Rose and an actual rocketship. Quite fantastic altogether. Ever After: A very adorable design. It's staff form is so pretty and awesome. It almost felt like Sora became a White Mage from Final Fantasy; which makes sense since Square Enix developed the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Happy Gear: Intriguing with some mechanical design, it's two forms felt something of which when Sora goes full out Go Go Gadget, and the other form is just Yo-Yos; kinda a nice touch for a weapon and felt exactly like Ness' moveset from Super Smash Bros. Crystal Snow: Yeah... A keyblade that you earn after completing every KH fan's bane of existence right next to Atlantica. Specifically the new worst Disney world, Arendelle. The first form is meh, some sort of Agile Claws clone, but at least the other form was elegant making Sora like some ice skater. Anyway, remember Disney On Ice? That was a thing somehow related to this. Hunny Spout: Man, isn't this keyblade so cute and badass at the same time? Sure it's the Shooting Star's echo fighter, but the added effects of bees and honey perfectly matches Pooh's own gluttonous personality. Grand Chef: A sweet(no pun intended)keyblade based on Pixar's magnum opus. It's form is a frying pan, so please insert a Pokémon Brock Drying Pan joke here: Classic Tone: This time, you don't earn this one by collecting ingredients and doing your best in the cooking minigames. Instead you grind your butt off by completing every Classic Kingdom minigame after finding these LCD chips in each world. Same old forms as another keyblade, but has a vintage twist to it. Wheel of Fate: Another Final Fantasy reference and incredible design! Just, art at the mere finest. Really love this keyblade to the moon and back(no pun intended)! Maybe it matches the same vibe of venturing the ocean in a Pirate themed adventure, but we'll watch out for a spaghetti monster and give this keyblade a 7.5/10 Too Much Water review! Nano Gear: Good since it uses "NANOMACHINES, SON." as the forms used in combat. Still, a mediocre keyblade but memorable if used. Starlight: I liked this in Kingdom Hearts Union X better, dammit. Ultima Weapon: Oh my god, this is my shit! Such finesse while fighting; it's power level being a lot more stronger than any other keyblade. Truly magnificent with it's keyblade transformation, which gave Sora the same zebra stripes for his final form and Xemnas' ultimate form in KH2. Dawn Till Dusk: Novayon, the reason why this thing is in the colors of orange and green with red and white stripes is because of 7-Eleven promotion because of the convenience store being huge in Japan, so every video game needs to have collaborations with 7-Eleven due to it's major popularity over in the country of the rising sun. Midnight Blue: Perfect when battling a "GIANT ENEMY CRAB, ATTACK IT'S BACK FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE", lol. Phantom Green: I appreciate it not having a *THICC* design as the OG Xbox Controller's look and no Red Ring of Death included. Elemental Encoder: OP as f*ck. Nice appearance of an actual computer due to this keyblade staying as a PC exclusive.
I know this video is 2 years old at this point, but; I'm surprised you didnt make note that Ultimate Form's sword is made of the three blades in the core of Ultima Weapon.
I feel like the form changes are all what Sora wants them to be. The forms are all actively formed by sora, and in the cutscene is him transforming the parts of the blade into new weapons. And for Ultima weapon, it makes you wonder whether Sora has always known about the sword in the center. It's interesting how he throws away all of the extra bits and just has a sword. It's interesting to think about
There needs to be a Gummi themed keyblade from completing some sort of Gummi related achievement. They could totally allow us to build our own custom keyblades that way, similar to how the Gummi editor works.
Am I the only one that thought that Braveheart should’ve been an evolution of the Kingdom Key? And that Riku should’ve gotten the Kingdom Key during that scene in the graveyard where Sora gave up?
I was wondering for awhile in this video why advent red wasnt in here, but i realize now that this video was made before the switch version of the game came out. its not that different from the other star cluster re colour, but i do like the black and red colour scheme
In the carribien, the keyblades color looks faded. Keyblades like classic tone and hunny spout are the best examples. Keyblades also change while in rage form to match the dark purple-ish blue color sora is.
You should see starlight in kingdom hearts union [x]. It originates from that game, and thats the base keyblade. once you've leveled it up to max, it has a lot more details, and I wish square would've used that design instead.
I love just listening to these videos while I work. I’m gonna have to play kh3 again soon though lol. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends. :)
I think in regards to the chain on Oblivion, there was always supposed to be gaps around the chains, but they never implimented them for one reason or another (maybe it was just a limitation of the in-house engine used for 1 and 2).
I know a lot of people want Drive Forms to return in a future game, but I prefer the idea of Form Changes. Having your Keyblade transform into new weapons is such a cool idea, and sometime I've wanted in a game ever since I saw Lingering Will do it. I'm not saying they should work exaclty like they do in KH3, but KH has a habit of putting in mew mechanics and then throwing them away. I REALLY hope they go further with these instead of just tossing them.
They want drive forms to come back but the main reason they go rid of then was because casual players were complaining about not getting to the menu slot quick enough
@@nomoremandead3910 I feel like there's an obvious solution to that. Let the players reorganize the command menu to the order they want it it. For example: having Items be the second thing on the command menu instead of third. We can customize like 3 shortcuts, why not go all the way with it? It would also be useful to have quick access to spells that you don't quite want on your shortcut, but wish wasn't buried in the menu. There's also other reasons why people want Drives back. Maybe they like the meter management, the prospect of dual wielding keyblades, or just blind nostalgia. I personally like the transforming stuff of 3's formchanges a bit more, but I think it would be cool if there was like a hybridization of it. Like have KH3 style formchanges with the Drive meter style of 2 (Dual weliding would still be cool though.. Knowing KH, they'll probably just make something entirely new though. But I swear to god if they make the drive form equivalent have a random chance to toss you into Anti-Form again, imma punch someone at Square.
@@darienb1127 they added anti form if you rely too much on drive forms. In kh2 only drive form that had the lowest "tick" was limit form along with final form technically resetting the chances of anti back to zero. But I see what you mean Short cuts or letting the players organize it would be fine and maybe make leveling up the forms a bit easier instead of a nightmare
@@nomoremandead3910 Anti Form to me just feels like i'm being punished for using one of the main systems that the game advertised. Drive Forms are powerful, but you aren't invincible with them. Hell, Valor and Wisdom become pretty much useless after a certain point. Not to mention, the rate for Anti in boss fights is way higher than it needs to be. Imagine in every time you used Devil Trigger in DMC, you had a change to just lose all of your Devil Trigger meter and are forced to use one weapon for a minute straight. Why the hell would you use it?
My issue with Riku’s new key is it disregards both character design and thematic design. Every other character’s evolved keyblade takes elements from their past keyblade and grows off that, even Way to the dawn did it but his is just like “here’s my new car key” for some reason. I wish they actually evolved Way into something that reflected how he had grown instead of weirdly tossing it away in a way that doesn’t make sense
The thing is though, Mickey's keyblade didn't break, so he just upgraded his. Riku's Way to Dawn on the other hand actually did snap in two, so for him, it was less "upgrading" his keyblade and more straight up replacing it.
Hmm, just thought of this but there was a fighting game from square and namco (PS1) that had a character that uses yoyo's as a weapon, I doubt it but it might be a reference to her.
Great as always, even if I don't always feel the same about every key blade. I agree the biggest weakness with KH3's new Keyblades is that some of them are too busy/look like toys, even if others I think really excel. Some of the new models for old Keyblades are really fantastic though, particularly No Name's. I think my favorite is pretty easily the new Ultima. Least favorite I think is gonna be Favorite Deputy or one of the non-Ultima optional key blades, maybe the Classic Kingdom one.
I personally love Hunny Spout. I've always been a big fan of Winnie The Pooh. And I personally love a good contrast between more serious and more goofy keyblades. What I can't excuse is how much less I like the launcher for both keyblades with those transformations. The Blasters turn you into a pure ranged fighter like Wisdom Form, which is awesome. But if you're too close with the launchers you melee. And the attacks they give do very little damage for how slow they come out. I mostly had Hunny Spout equipped so I could get extra ingredients out in the worlds. But its formchanges were fun to use despite the short reach of the base blade. And it puts Sora in Guardian Form. Which I personally think he looks good in black and Yellow. Eyesore Master Form didn't do yellow Sora justice. And I feel Guardian Form makes up for that. On top of that, Guardian form features a 360 barrier for the guard. My main complaint is that keyblades absolutely do become obsolete. And with the new attacks for Sora's base combos making them actually usable; it makes the keyblade transformation attacks from anything that isn't Light, Dark, Double, or Ultimate Form seem like a downgrade in comparison. With perhaps the only exceptions in my mind being the stage one transformations for Hunny Spout and Shooting Star.
My only critique of Wheel of Fate is that I wish the hit effects of the blade aren’t the medallions like before, but instead crabs. That way the Keyblade could be seen as it’s made of crabs, like the ship in the world.
My favorites are Ever After, because it turns into a staff, then you can create magic clones of yourself Midnight Blue because Star Seeker is one of my favorite Keyblades Shooting Star because it turns into 2 guns and a rocket launcher, and that changes the flow of combat greatly Ultima Weapon cause the formchange turns it into a friggin sword which can then summon multiple swords for combat, like Noctis's Armiger and Oblivion mostly because it's associated with Riku, my favorite KH character
Also in terms of just looks, I always liked Way To The Dawn/Way To Dawn the best until!.. I seen KH3’s Ultima Weapon, just looks so sick. I also like the New Form way more than Final Form.
