Kingdom Hearts III - The Good & Bad (Full Gameplay Review) 

>that wraps up all the good things >there's still an hour left oh no

The one thing I dislike about the menu is that the walking in place animation is gone and is replaced with picture frames

I think the Org members only having 3 attacks is the exact reason why people wanted the fights fleshed out more. Not for difficulty, but to have endgame boss fights that are more than just glorified mob fights.

"Most people that play the game multiple times don't usually like to sit through the cutscenes each time." Dear GameFreak, TAKE NOTES

Frozen was easily my least favorite level. I get that Disney wanted to limit the places that you can visit in the game so that they can show more in the movies, but a level that was just entirely snow and mountains was so boring! And I still don't understand how Larxene basically just used some lightning to make a huge labyrinth of ice with no explanation at all? Biggest plot hole in the game

Personally, I'd love to see an extended Twilight Town. And I definitely missed Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden, and still don't really understand why they weren't playable in the game

The fact they didn't bring back the reaction command from kh2 is a crime I'd rather have that than the dumb shotlock

Game testers must've muted sound while testing

I gotta say there a "feeling" of mystique that hasnt been replicated since kh1. Nothing will ever beat that feeling of seeing "Dive to the Heart" for the first time, with the stained glass towers and the eerie choir music... it's just amazing. I think it's a case of "once you try to explain these things, they become boring".

One huge thing i completely dislike is the lack of Radiant garden and the Realm of Darkness... i was so looking forward to explore them just to be brutally disappointed by not having those worlds included.

I sat through all 1:14:58 of this and now my neck hurts from nodding in so much exponential agreement

To be honest, I hated the cooking games, because you needed two big loading screens each time you do them, taking up about 2 Minutes of time in which I could easily fight someone without food and secondly not knowing what I can cook without checking it there (after those loading screens). I only know what I did cookbin the journal, but this is what let me never go on and cook more until I wanted the Keyblade. I played FFXV as well and trust me, I loved the cooking there, so why make it this bothering in KH3

You missed the biggest travesty of the game: For the first nobody encounter generic elevator music plays instead of tension rising. Disgusting...

They should just hire you to beta test their game. Great video

Thank you for mentioning Scala as cut content. It so painfully obvious that there was supposed to be more to that world.

I’m just sad we don’t have any bosses like Roxas or Lingering Will that pushed most of your combat options to the limit. Critical mode may change that, but as of now you can easily steamroll every fight you get in

1:03:43 *358/2 Days neverland's boss flashback*

Tbh the platforming in KH1 was an issue entirely because of how unreliable the platforms were. You jump on a hippo's back and because you don't hit the exact pixel on it you roll off like a tennis ball? Yeah no, that ain't a lot of fun.

Yep, platinumed the game before realising that I was using level 1 magic

Your input is very much appreciated, Biz. One of the best figures in the community, especially with the emphasis on constructive suggestions and thorough contextualizing, rather than just mindless hate. I loved the hell out of KH3 and it's my second favorite in the series after KH2, but it can be even better and hopefully some of this feedback will get to the dev team one way or another.

I'm really just disappointed the Riku parts of the game were so minimal. I had a lot of fun with them and I'm hoping there might be an option to play as Riku for dlc

Havent played kh since 2008 and yet ive seen most of your guides. you have a passion and critical balance that i find inspiring. hope you get more subs!

I think its worth noting that Tai yasue said in an interview that they intentionally made the game easier so it could appeal to a wider audience. That doesnt excuse some of the game problem but does explain why some mechanics are the way they are. i.e situation command being free and powerful.

44:54-45:46 According to the Ultimania, in KH3 a new mechanic was introduced call stagger target. Each enemy in the game has a stagger target you need to reach to make them stagger and each attack has a stagger value to add to that. Sora's regular attack have 1, while flowmotion attacks and strong magic form/blitz form attacks has 2 and power form attacks have 3. The turtletoad unversed in Monstropolis has a stagger target of 10 and the bigger version has 15. They have moments where the sit and do nothing to give Sora an opportunity to hit their stagger target, though Sora's regular attack aren't likely to hit it before the turtletoad attacks again (bringing his stagger target back to 0). Combining flowmotion attacks and form attacks may cause the enemy/boss to stagger. Small enemies have tiny stagger target of 1. The reason why bosses super armor through a formchange combo is that even with formchanges it might take a bit to hit their stagger targets. Other times you might have landed few attacks before the formchange so it staggered with few attacks. BTW I'm comment 1000.

I have been waiting so long for this among many others who still haven't posted their reviews. Thanks for taking the time to make this Biz.

I love this video because it's clear that you're arguing about the game in good faith. You acknowledge that many of the smaller annoyances are nitpicks that add up, and would be overall positive fixes. The bad is certainly easier to talk about than the good, but in my opinion the good outweighs the bad. I love this game, and I agree with almost everything said in the video.

We needed to play as way more characters. ESPECIALLY in the Keyblade Graveyard

I'm pretty sure that Scala ad Caelum is supposed to be like Twilight Town in CoM. More like a tease that will be explored more in the next game. But who knows, maybe in a future DLC we will be able to explore a bit more.

it's funny how the good part lasted shorter than just the combat rant

I don't know if this is just me, but where my FF characters be at? Downside for me tbh.

I think the confirmation prompt is there because the load times are lengthy at times, so you might even step away from the console for a moment. DOOM 2016 had it like this as well. But it also had an option to not have the prompts (on PC at least), something that KH3 would also need.

I honestly never noticed how important a "snappy" flow of combat is for KH3 until I started grinding DMC 5. At first, I was like "eh, the floaty combat is okay" but once I transitioned from DMC 5 to finishing up KH3, I felt like I lost control and flow of the movement mechanics. I was accustomed to abruptly cancelling and shifting combos and weapons to lugging combos around aimlessly in KH3s drawn out combo attacks. IMO KH2 (for now) is the most iconic for KH gameplay mechanics.

Whilst I don't agree with only a few of the things said, I admire the constructive criticism offered in a calm collected manner without letting bias or anything of the sort cloud your judgement.

Interesting that you dont like confirming the load menu. Personally (I may be in the minority) I'd prefer it to become an industry standard. Sometimes I walk away to grab a drink or something and I dont want to walk back and be partway through a cutscene because I couldnt pause during the load. Or some games I try to read the loading tips/whatever filler they put on loadscreens and I dont have time to finish reading. I could see it being an easy configuration option for personal preference. Definitely think the cufflinks need reworked. For my money they should only be able to change magic situation commands and work as follows: (assuming you have fira and are using fire cufflink) if the situation command would normally be a magic that's not firaga, replace it with firaga. If it is firaga upgrade it to firaza. I think having it scale like that would be much more sensible

My biggest problem with the attractions is that they're just there. No explanation. Sora is supposedly at his weakest but somehow can just pull these new nuke spells out from nowhere?

Yes! Corona was the BEST world. I'd never seen Tangled before, but I fell in love with it through this game because of Rapunzel's character and design. It's criminal that she doesn't stay in your party because she is best girl, both Disney and KH3. And Ever After is a sweet ass Keyblade.

I have to say, as a longtime fan of the series and its core gameplay, the gummi ship was by far my favorite part of this game. KH1's was horrible. KH2's was much better, and I actually found myself enjoying it sometimes. But KH3? Good LORD, that was fun! Exploring vast, open outer spaces, finding treasure, and leveling up my gummi ship? Yes, PLEASE!

I just wanted to fight Elsa in KH. Is that too much to ask??? :( Another small/large complaint is the lack of Final Fantasy characters. Baffling no matter if you consider this small or large.

Please tweet at square. This is good feedback they NEED to hear

It's absolutely infuriating that people in the comments couldn't remember the Dolan meme

I actually really liked how the Organization fights were multiple bosses at once and how their attacks lined up with each other (Larxene and Marluxia's DM and the Three Xehanort's DM were awesome). I just wish their arsenal increased as you took them out because when you're down to the last member of a fight, they just repeat the same three moves. Allies were also kinda overpowered since they deal SO MUCH damage and they can even stagger bosses which kinda make some combos you get on them feel unearned... Xehanort was a very cool final boss, but he ALWAYS does the teleporting slash attack and almost never uses anything else. This really sucks because I've seen other attacks from him such as Grand Magic and actual combos but he NEVER uses them. His DM is one of my favorites, but I've seen people just use a link to avoid it completely which kinda pisses me off lol Also wish they didn't make Sora fight ALL 13 Seekers of Darkness. We have playable movesets for Riku and Aqua, Sora really didn't have to be shoved into every possible fight. Roxas not being playable to destroy Saix felt like a wasted opportunity but thats my imo

Really appreciate no ads till the end

35:00 WAIT YOU CAN TURN THE PIRATE SHIP!? WTH!!

The good and the bad in a 1.25hours? Sign me up The good part stops at 20 minutes Uh-ooh

50:43 So I decided to put Fire and Firaga right next to each other on the shortcut menu because of this busted strat you could do with the Mickey Clasp's Endless Magic ability and MP Combo Thrift. With both of these equipped, you can spam fire until it only costs 1 MP before switching to Firaga where it quickly turns into a 1 MP spam. So you can cast the game's most broken magic over 50 times.

Bizkit: "It boggles my mind how some people still like to complain about the soundtrack!" Me: People complain about the soundtrack? Time for a fucking revolution...

None of this happened to me in the game. Must be your disc. no but really, looking forward to this. Always like to hear your opinions

hey bizkit did you felt like base sora needed more combo finishers? and that they focused way too much on keyblade transformation attacks I felt like it should of been a balance like kh2 base sora and drive forms. I hope you see this man

18:30 "So that about wraps the good of the game." Holy shit, there is still an hour to go!

56:29 lol does he really say it that slowly?

75 minutes. you were right when you called it a mini movie on stream. popcorn time.

@42:11 I'm gonna pretend you didn't just pronounce it "magnigga" instead of "magKNEEguh" hahaha. Great review man!

Very solid review. 100% agree with pretty much everything. Very well put together Bizkit.

This is definitely the best analysis of the game I've seen, love how fair you are comparing it to the older games too. If they just put a little more work into the things you mentioned it'd make a huge difference in quality for sure, and would make it my favourite game by far. The fact that it's so close to being amazing but not quite getting some things right almost makes it more frustrating haha, but I'm glad they're learning at least and hope they'll keep improving for future updates and games. Keep spreading the word loudly so they'll listen!

dud , I been waiting for a speedrunners review since launch , but I am glad that you took the necessary time to make an in depth review

my mans been playing kindom hearts since youtube was first created

Best gameplay review yet. I can’t overstate how terrible that vulture boss in the Caribbean is on Proud mode level 1. Easily the most broken thing in that run

Didn't notice the randomness of Grand Magic, I thought it was less so in KH3 compared to 0.2. Guess I'll have to take another look. Great vid btw! Love KH3, and I look forward to seeing some patches to make it better

This was very well put together and addressed most of my concerns with the game as well, kudos

You know, usually I have issues with a lot of KHIII review-type vids because they fail to mention all the stuff the game does right while honing in on everything (and then some) that the game gets wrong. It doesn't really feel fair to the game. This video? Fantastic! Even if I had a great time with the game, I understand it's got tons of faults, and I felt like you were spot-on with a lot of the criticisms. I can't quite put my finger on it but the way you formatted the video just made it very easy to understand where a lot of the complaints were coming from, and I feel like you gave the game a fair shake so it didn't feel like a malicious takedown and instead a thorough critique coming from someone who wants the series to be the best it can be. Excellent stuff as always, Bizkit.

I feel like that magic finisher in the air is just so lame compared to explosion from kh2/second form

I really appreciate the insight on this video, especially looking back on it after the game being out for almost a year. As someone who wants to make a KH-styled game (albeit at a smaller scale) in the next decade, I believe having solid combat aspects and balance are the heart of any RPG. Definitely things I'll be keeping note of if that hypothetical game ever comes to be.

blizzard slide is actually neat

I still can't get over the fact that running over Aqua with a carnival ride is canon in some people's playthroughs.

Great video Biz, here's hoping the square fellas see this!

You should break down DMC combat. Your analysis on games is a joy to listen too

Nice job, on the analysis. Can only imagine how much time it took you to do this. By the way I think why you have to use full mp to use links is that it summons and heals you at the same time.

Finally someone with some constructive criticism that ain't bashing the game for the sake of being edgy.

This is what I’ve been waiting for!! Thank you so much Biz for the great analysis of a series we all love so much and want to succeed!

Great review and I agree with a lot of the criticisms. I wish you talked a bit more about the lack of post-game because that is my favorite aspect about 2FM, but I think a lot of people have talked about that already. Thanks for the video Biz 😁

I hate that all the giant chests are either maps or gummiphone games. Whatever happened to keychains and spell upgrades?

Honestly, pretty good review. I was a little worried at the seeming disparity in video length between good and bad, and knowing how you're a primarily KH2-centric speedrunner I was bracing for some hot takes but this was superbly executed! Even if I don't agree with ALL the criticisms here I can at least see where they're coming from and you actually offer solutions to boot instead of going "unga bunga different oonga bunga bad". But in particular your notes on keeping track of Synthesis item creation, Gummi Ship location markers and lock-on shenanigans really hit home with me even though I would expect those to be considered minor issues overlooked by most others. Personally, I kinda want a way to make completing the exploration of worlds for chests and Lucky Emblems, ESPECIALLY in Carribean and San Fransokyo to have just a little MORE guidance, especially on cleanup. The worlds in KH3 are bigger than ever before, and the collectibles seem to have SHRUNK with the series as it progresses. Options for knowing where to find goodies (_after the world is done, I cannot stress this enough_) would be greatly appreciated because I hate having to use a guide to find that one missing thing in games. This is ESPECIALLY problematic in the Frozen Slider minigame...

You forgot to mention how previous bosses made by Osaka team are properly made (Vanitas or Young Xehanort) Also the poor story pacing is worth noting

Absolutely perfect review, you literally voiced all of my thoughts plus a lot of stuff I hadn't noticed in a single, comprehensive video. Thanks a lot for this Biz. Now, I just want to touch upon a little thing I see no one mentioning: was I the only one bothered by the fact you can't hover in place anymore while using Glide (assuming you haven't input any direction)? It was a neat touch in Kingdom Hearts 2 and I was taking its return for granted, especially if you consider how sweet -and useful- it would be with the huge maps the game offers, but nope... *DENIED* Ok. [...] Thanks Osaka Team.

You nailed all my nitpicks with this game and more. I really hope the team sees this video and improves the game through patches and FM.

Excellent analysis. I really enjoyed your opinions.

Fantastic video from you as always, hopefully Square gets to see this.

Combat is way too floaty, kingdom hearts 1 had a nice balance of this. Kingdom hearts 2 has amazing gameplay but you can start to see the floaty-ness start to peak out and is fully on display in 3

Great review! I'm glad to see that you enjoyed the soundtrack more than I did, but i'm afraid that the lackluster Goatnort theme coupled with the final boss theme just being a remix of Rage Awakened and other songs kinda bummed me out. Also I know this isn't a story review but man, is this games pacing completely out of wack, like it just shoves everything to the last few hours.

Great video man! I'd love it if you did a "Bad Abilities" video for KH III, similar to your one for KH II FM. I noticed you removed a couple things in your lvl 1 Crit playthrough so I'm kind of curious if certain abilities are situational or just straight up useless.

I sincerely wish you were an executive consultant QA tester on all future KH games. A lot of the idea fixes to gameplay are actually things I thought about in my head, so seeing them pop up in others' minds who are voicing them is great. It's been a few months and while I doubt Re:Mind will handle a ton of issues, other than adding fun post-game content, I do highly believe that the next games forward are going to be special if they see all of the well-explained criticisms like your videos. Osaka did a great job, they explain numerous times how they want to keep improving in their KH games as well as listen to fan feedback, and honestly KH3 is around top two in the series for me personally. They just need to really prioritize well-thought-out game design over fluff that'll temporarily bring in new audiences.

During the crab section, i found it out of place that after collecting a lot more crabs than the limit i was forced to go back to the boat even tho i was nowhere near it. It just played a cutscene while i was looking around

Yes. Thanks for such a comprehensive review, Biz!

Despite its problem, I still think its a great game and it the most fun I had in a kh game in a long time. Its definately a worthy entry in the series.

Bro awesome video bro. I just got the game a few days ago and I am a long time KH fan. I've had all of them and beaten them. But this game is breathtaking.

"We waited 15 years for a kingdom hearts filler episode?"

The attack animations are so slow that even though you can cancel the ending animation you'll still be vulnerable. Try that on critical mode when you get one-shot for trying a combo.

I'm not sure what the big deal is about the kupo coin, as it's entirely optional and you're not forced to buy one. I don't remember if it's possible to find one as loot, but even then you should be able to just trash it from the inventory.

1 hour of BizKit047? awesome. 10th time watching this because I find this so entertaining and I also love how professionally Biz speaks, he speaks like a proper adult. Biz, I think people need to appreciate your content more because your videos are very informative when you speak about your opinion.

I think the wall knock back is probably working as intended. When you hit an enemy with a combo finisher, they are supposed to go flying back, which means you have to close the distance in order to keep doing damage. But if you hit them into a wall, then they have to end up between you and the wall and thus it is easier to get a follow up on them. There is a fight in Sekiro with an enemy who is one of the hardest bosses in the game, but if you can keep his back to a wall it removes the fantastic challenge from the fight, and I think Square wanted to avoid this kind of issue.

Thx Godness, Critical mode prevents magic abuse

Definitely tweeting this to square and the KH Twitter

on the topic of the soundtrack,i have a few grievances to share about the final boss. I feel like,overall,the themes for all phases were a bit unmemorable and they blur together in my memory.the version that played in the final phase,with the Destati leifmotif going into a new segment,then Rage Awakened,was a great composition to end the series with,but the impact and tension of it felt diminished by how similar it felt to the previous.Maybe they wanted to convey a feeling of building tension,but it didn't really strike a chord with me Also,while i don't mind its inclusion,i feel like Rage Awakened wasn't 100% the song to include in that medley.I was actually taken fairly off guard when it started playing,and i've seen a significant amount of people react similarly.The worst part about that,IMO,is the complete lack of Xehanort's actual leifmotif,only being present in certain cutscenes where Young Xehanort shows up.It's like they completely forgot these two are the same character at different ages.

Also true that Scala should've been longer, I mean with the soundtrack it has who wouldn't want to explore it longer. Of course you can just listen to it on RU-vid but I wanted to do awesome exploration with that song playing.

Great review! Love the constructive criticisms and solutions

Thanks so much for being so incredibly thorough AND presenting realistic alternatives for your gripes. This was really a fantastic video Biz, and it honestly felt like just the perfect length; I greatly enjoyed how you presented all of these ideas and equally covered all of the various aspects addressed in such an organized way. I think you did a really good job of taking other people's thoughts into account when addressing specific issues and combining them with your own experiences, and I'm glad you were able to think up a number of very reasonable modifications that could be made without this video turning into a huge dream wish-list for KH3 version 2.0. I believe this game has a solid framework to work with, and it was fun to hear all of your insights finally. I know you've been playing this game A LOT so its also reassuring that you've taken so much time to evaluate this all carefully, and I really respect the obvious time and effort you put into this. As for a few of the matters you discussed that maybe didn't quite get definitive solutions, perhaps I could add my thoughts on some of these concepts; -Maybe Airstep could have a focus cost that can be reduced over time via progression, scaled by distance traveled when used against enemies with a floor and capped usage amount. While I know you said you were against this idea, I think the cost would be mitigated and balanced by the addition of better short and mid range mobility options for Sora's base attacks, like Sliding Dash and Aerial Sweep, thereby allowing for multiple options in combat instead of restricting the player. You CAN still Airstep over short distances for rapid combos, but you don't HAVE to to string together combos. (Side note; we don’t need EVERY combo modifier from KH1/2, but a few in addition to Sliding Dash/Aerial Sweep would be VERY welcome in helping the flow of combat be more cohesive). -How about Team Attacks working in a similar manner to DDD Dream Eaters; party member attacks and fighting at the same time/near them boosts their “Limit” Gauge as you suggest, eventually unlocking their corresponding attack. When party members die their gauge gets drained; this presents some interesting strategic choices for party survivability in upgrading party member gear, modifying their AI and overall working dynamically with them to earn Team Attacks without making them outright like KH2 and/or having to tie them into magic. -Attractions maybe can be activated similarly to a full lock-on shotlock, pressing triangle/Y to place the green indicator on the last targeted enemy. This would work well with your idea to limit the player to one use per battle, while also presenting more engaging resource management alongside Airstep/Shotlock and making Refocusers viable as a natural balance to just loading up on Ethers for magic/Link spam. -I think it'd be VERY interesting if they split the situation command buildup into a magic gauge and a transformation gauge, while making both a tad harder to get. These situation commands are already fairly distinct anyway since you CAN get more than one at a time anyway, but this would allow for a greater degree of certainty in terms of what situation command would pop up. This change seems extremely unlikely and perhaps unnecessary, but its an interesting one to consider. -For magics, how about they take a bit of influence from 358/2 and have higher level magic have some kind of deterrent. Firaga can still be really powerful, but if they are going to let us equip and use the lower levels as well then give us a reason to. My initial thought would be something like this for higher level iterations: Fire magics become less homing Blizzard magic becomes slower Thunder magic has smaller area of effect Water magic has longer activation time Aero magic has shorter range of activation Cure magic restricts movement This changes work threefold; on one hand they present an additional inherent cost relative to the base level tiers (potential lack of effectiveness) in addition to higher MP cost in exchange for higher damage; they provide clear distinctions between usages for each of the different spells to allow for more strategic application of them alongside their lower level counterparts (Waterga now has a more distinct proximity advantage, for instance); and thirdly it builds in a new advantage for Grand Magic that would balance a damage debuff to them (and magic in general perhaps) by making them as reliable as the base level iterations while still dealing as much/slightly more damage than the -ga level spells, instead of just simply making them deal an ungodly amount of damage as an AOE nuke. This balanced debuff would also theoretically help the cufflink issue, making Firaza and Waterza naturally less op yet still useful. -Side note but another thing I’ve thought about; how about upgradable Grand Magic similar to the finishers of Second Form? The highest damage output attacks could be earned through further MP use and unlocked over the course of the game, and we could see some amazingly cool iterations of abilities like Raging Storm, Deep Freeze, Exo Spark, etc... This would further alleviate the effects of a magic/Grand Magic damage debuff; you still CAN deal crazy damage, but you’ll have to earn it. -My personal final big gripe has to be the command menu layout; why is the text so small? Why so much wasted space? Why is the layout ratio so different from KH1/2? Aesthetically it bothers me so incredibly much that I know its not fair to the designers, but the layout just looks un-KH like to me. It’s just one of those weird, subtle things to me that shouldn’t be a big deal I guess. I sincerely hope Square is being honest in their commitment to helping this game be the best that it can be, and overall I am optimistic. They were able to create a reasonably fun experience despite seemingly so many issues, and displayed marked improvement over their previous endeavors in the series; it makes me very interested to see what E3 and beyond have in store for us. Thanks so much again Biz!

Also, my own personal gripe: The fact that you only get allies like Aqua and them so sparsely and only get to play 2 other characters once or twice in specific battles.

"Oh man I'm so under-leveled -- what are we gonna do, Donald?" "ThIs lOOkS LiKe A gOod SpoT To fINd SoME INgrEdiAnts!" "Food buffs -- of course! Donald, you're a genius!"

Matpat/Game Theory had a really interesting video about why they think the Frozen is like it is. In short, the KH team got their info on frozen when the movie was still in the making and Elsa was supposed to be the antagonist. Nomura and co. had great ideas for the world that Disney decided to majorly axe to protect their own, Elsa's and Anna's images because of the movies insane popularity. For example Elsa's castle seemed more important than it ended up being (iirc somebody found a loading zone in there as well) and the ice dungeon looks like something Elsa would craft rather than Larxene. We also didn't get any kind of cutscene or anything on how Sora and co. got into the dungeon. Larxene raised some ice walls and suddenly we were in another dimension you needed a portal to get out of. So part of the theory was that if Elsa was the antagonist she'd try to trap Sora and add-ons to a dungeon.

Holy shit, over an hour?! I was expecting like 15 minutes like most of your videos. Well this is certainly a treat!