The story of Link's Awakening will resonate with every guy that has ever dreamed up a girlfriend he fell in love with, just to lose her upon waking up. Real Ryan Gosling hours.
I’m so glad you’re still using the sound effect for the visual cue idea from the TOTK video. It was a really smart and effective way of not only retaining my attention but emphasizing your points.
Agreed. That's the kind of small detail that makes the experience so much more user friendly, and if you pay attention, it's tiny little details like that, small sound or visual cues, that often marks really good video game design.
Genuinely, the opening of KH2 is perfect. 2/3rds of the way through, the player is thinking “I don’t caaaare about Roxas, just give me Sora back!” And right at the end, if the players are paying attention, you start to realize that the other characters are using Roxas. They’re killing Roxas to get Sora. They don’t caaaare about Roxas, they just want Sora back. And if you’re paying attention, you realize what the game made you do. They made you wish death on this child that just wanted his summer vacation, just like these characters that have convinced themselves they’re in the right. And now you have to be there, giving the same excuses that ring hollow from the cast.
I really liked how you tied up everything in the end, you have potential to be a videogame-essay-philosophic channel in the long run if you liked this format! There arent many channels using games to get to conclusions like you did, anyway, nice video!! keep it up
Getting excited at the sight of a new upload from a skitty plushy youtuber who's known for yelling about tears of the kingdom for 3+ hours straight was NOT on my 2024 bingo card but here we are
I'm hitting 37 and felt this every summer since I was in middle school, and that bittersweet fear doesn't go away. Link's Awakening was the first Zelda game I ever played back when I could barely read, and this KH was the first game I played after moving out on my own after graduating college. This is def one of those videos I'm going to re-rewatch, thank you
It's cool to see that you're getting into the 2D games as well. Link's Awakening definitely hosts one of the strongest stories from the entire Legend of Zelda series, and its world and level design is incredible to boot! Truly an eggcellent game.
@@ausgod538Nah. Watch Degenocity’s video on the beauty of revenge. Sometimes being a hater is FUN! Kendrick’s hatred of Drake is only eighth of the sheer contempt in which I hold Tears of the Kingdom, and I say that with a giant smile on my face.
I swear there are significantly more comments of upset shills on game criticism/rant videos than there are comments of upset haters on positive videos, they say we're miserable or "rage bait" is the new popular term when they're the ones "falling for it" every time, leaving the most comments and making it their mission to let everyone know how stupid the person that made the hate video is, equally as "miserable" as the people who hate a game, lol
The first few Kingdom hearts games were so unbelievably emotionally charged, it didn't matter that everything would get complicated, it didn't matter that sora had like 8 different variations, all that mattered is that sora, roxas, riku and everyone was so emotionally invested in their adventures and objectives that in the rare moments the characters show actual sadness, not even crying, it hit so hard. I, almost more than anyone, know how stupid kingdom hearts can be, specially dream drop distance, but... man, it just *feels.*
Knowing the games myself, this hasn't really changed still in any of the newer games. DDD is also extremely emotional, and not very complicated, with how it focuses even more than usual on sora and especially riku. Seeing Riku's motto evolve from protect the things that matter to protect the things that are precious to protecty precious person and how it follows in kh3 is such a gut punch
wow, this was delightful! i've always loved the opening to KH2 (roxas is one of my all time faves) and you did such a great job talking about some of the biggest emotional punches it had. you've also convinced me to get link's awakening as soon as possible, and just. great theme for a video just in general, excellent work. very excited to see what else you create next!!
You're quickly rising to be one of my favorite youtubers. Your prose and formatting are swell, and your opinions and taste are based. You express your views so thoroughly and exquisitely. I'd love to see your thoughts on the other Zelda games/ KH3. More importantly, just do what keeps inspiring you because you definitely know what you're doing.
On the note of Link, in-universe, caring about the distinction between his reality and the dream of Koholint - Something interesting about Link's Awakening that was one of the first things that drew me to the game, actually, was the manga adaptation. Obviously the Zelda mangas all diverge from game canon to varying extents, but the Link's Awakening manga follows the general gist of the game's plot, with its own touches, one of which is that, when he finds out about the true nature of the island and its inhabitants... Link just straight up Quits for a while. There's a good chapter and a half or so in which he decides he's not Going to wake the Wind Fish and end the dream, and with it, the existence of Koholint and everyone on it - He builds a raft and attempts to leave the island and go back to Hyrule with Marin, rowing his hands raw, only to find that at a point, they can't Get any further from the island. When he finds out about the dream in the manga, he struggles to come to grips with the nature of Koholint and the inevitability of its end, like the player does in the game. He does, ultimately, proceed with the plot and wake the Wind Fish, but that arc of him being so determined to not have to end it stood out to me, and is to this day the thing I remember most about that version of the story. He didn't want summer to end.
honestly this video is just what i needed right now, i had a very underwhelming summer (but also somehow very overwhelming at the same time???) and that little segment at the end makes me feel much better about it, thank you! i'm looking forward to your future content (i love your sense of humor) and good luck with school!!
This was a beautiful video kitty and I cherish you for making it. Kh2, specially the prologue, and link's awakening are two of the most impactful narratives I've ever experienced and I couldn't help but shed some tears (not of the kingdom) while I listened to you. Thanks for all your videos and posts be them insightful or just sh*tposts. I look forward to watching more of you work.
I’ve seen this many times since it has come out. I can’t stop thinking about the feelings of a Sunday night and the end of summer. I want to say thank you for creating such a beautiful piece of writing. I hope to see more like this
damn, I'm 30 and the end was very bittersweet. At this point I feel all the summers are shorter and shorter...but there is always something sweet to recapture in them
I recently replayed the KH2 Prologue, and it really is one of the greatest openings to a game. Its so focused on Roxas' loss and reality itself melting around him. One that he can't stop, because he isn't the protagonist if this story, Sora is. His role is done, and he can do nothing but fade away.
Idk what it is about this video but this really emotionally resonated with me in a way that, usually, only films, tv shows, games or other stories do. Very cool video essay and a really inspired choice of games to draw similarities between.
Link's Awakening was my favourite game for the best part of two decades (yes I am old) and still holds a very special place in my heart for the story it tells and how it does it, and KH2 is also a video game I have played. And I dunno, there's just something about a story where you crack an egg and then you're the same person but forever changed by the experience that really appeals to me.
My biggest memory of the Sunday scaries was in 2008-2009 when I was graduating high-school and I felt like I had run all out of childhood and adulthood was crashing down on me
genuinely this is the most respect I have ever had for the kingdom hearts franchise, thanks for explaining even this little bit in a way that made it feel reasonable as a work of art
this happened for me too!!!! for me it was playing majoras mask for the first time. the threat of the moon crashing and going to college started to merge after awhile
Woke up with end of summer melancholy the other day and knew I had to finally sit down and watch this. Pulled me back into reality and gave me a whole new perspective on how I feel about this season. The way you organize and express your thoughts is so fun and cathartic to listen to. Great to hear you talk about games you enjoy!
skittybitty i am a fan of all your videos and i just want to say the way you talk and emphasize everything so cohesively is amazing!! I acknowledge the amount of effort you put into your script (this sounds condescending I don't mean it like that) and you're a very talented creator!!
I've probably watched over a hundred essays and analysis over the past year, and I've never felt compelled enough to actually comment. What an excellently crafted video. This is a piece of art.
As someone who left college and began teaching summer feels almost even more painful to leave because of all the responsibilities. Anyways this video felt like what I needed to hear.
I think my favorite part of Link's Awakening is that it's the only Zelda game where Link actually feels like somewhat of an antagonist. Sure, the events of the game are all in his head and he has very sound reasons to want to wake up, but it's still heartbreaking to slowly trudge through the dungeons and inevitably kill everyone on the island-- allies and all. Even some of the bosses in the game aren't necessarily evil, they're fighting for their lives because they know if they don't, Link will wake up the windfish and they'll die anyways. It's really interesting how the game plays with extrinsic motivation, because multiple NPCs and bosses actively beg for you *not* to beat the game, and the only thing that keeps you going is the fact that it's a video game and you're curious to see what happens.
Loved your TotK video, but this one has ensured I’ll be sticking around for whatever you do from now on. I’d never thought to compare these games before, but it seems so obvious now with how well you connect them. This video really did release at the perfect time for me and I’m sure so many others, you spoke to a lot of what I’ve been feeling recently. Fantastic work!!
Thank you for pointing out that since it's a videogame, Link is exactly as fake as Marin and Tarin etc. If you can bring yourself to care about the people of Hyrule, then the people of Koholint are really no different.
This was extraordinarily well timed for me. It has been a couple years since I graduated, but I've been feeling very nostalgic for that experience. "You'll find yourself missing moments you didn't even enjoy while they were happening" is incredibly relatable. 15:54 is comforting beyond belief. I genuinely paused for a good bit after this vid just to reflect on that thought. Everyone I've spoken to has yet to have an answer for this weird feeling, so I'm thankful for this free therapy lol. Anyways. Fantastic vid! I've never played either of these games, but I'm excited to hear more about them, and more of your fantastic takes :)
😦 this video was wonderful omg.. I always tear up when I get remembered of Link’s Awakening but the similarities you drew between LA and Kingdom Hearts 2 blew my mind!! They really do capture the inevitability of the Sunday scaries quite well.. definitely one of my fav videos ever, just incredibly real and I’m still trying to process these feels LOL 💕✨
Link's awakening was my first Zelda game. On Gameboy, way back in 95. It's so nice to hear it examined and loved such a long time later. "You got Marin!!! Is this your big chance?" It's still so cute and so endearing.
Watched this with my gf, who’s also a big fan. We have a mismatched work schedule, so we get the sunday *and* the thursday scaries! Thanks for diving into this topic, and I’m glad it helped you deal with it.
I don't think I've ever seen another youtuber utilize the "look on screen when this sound plays". I primarily listen to yt at work, but I always want to to back and watch yours at home to see what I missed. It is a great system.
Whoa! Fossil Daddy is one of your patrons?? THEE FOSSIL DADDY?! He's a well known Paleontologist! If he likes you enough to financially support, so do I!
Excellent video and analysis! I really enjoyed, really thankful the algorithm recommended the TotK video to me and I gave it a watch when I did. Hope college classes go smoothly for you!
Thanks a lot for this video. To me, the end of this summer represents the most uncertain i have ever been about my near future. Coming into the 5th and final year of my 4+1 program, I see so many friends I grew up with moving on in their lives while I stay behind. We graduated together, but I return alone. I feel not only regrets about the past summer, but the past 4 years, wondering if i'm really satisfied with the way i've used that time, or if i continue to waste too much of it. Regardless, this video popped up at the perfect time as I lay sleepless the night before the first day back, so thanks for putting this feeling into words
I played KH2 for the first time this year and I was so sad when Roxas' prologue ended, and then I was disappointed when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to play as him anymore lmao
oh hey! I also was a mainly 3D zelda player who picked up 2D games this year (though I started with alttp instead of la) and I never realized how similar these two stories are, I wish I'd noticed it too. this video is wonderful and hilarious, keep it up :D
I never got to beat Link's Awakening when I was a kid, but if I did get to, I would have been crying like a baby. My summer has been pretty enjoyable, but it's been a bit different compared to my other ones. I don't get that bittersweet feeling you get when you enjoyed being able to do whatever you wanted to right up until high school started. The last time I felt that kind of happiness and dread was when my senior year came to a close, knowing how much fun I had with the friends I knew I'd never see again. College starts for me next month, and I know that I'll be sad that I can't just relax for months on end. For now though, I'm excited to begin my quarter again since I can finally go outside and have something meaningful to do with my life.
Summer just becomes another months at some point, it all just starts flying by. I’ve wasted a whole 6 months of not drawing, another 4 years of not playing guitar, time really does get quicker, better to just stop thinking about it. Time is a man made idea, mathematical side of it.
Kingdom Hearts 2 was my first game in thr series, so I became attached to Roxas before knowing Sora. It was very much heart breaking to learn that he was NOT the main character.
as a southern hemisphere dweller, im just starting to come into my summer, and this video inspired me to make the most of it. i think it might finally be time to organise that beach camping trip my friends and i have been talking about for years
uwah this is such a sweet and enjoyable video. as someone with very expired kingdom hearts knowledge and almost nothing on 2d zelda, you got across a unique experience, the very simplest "huh, these games have a similar emotional conflict", and conveyed the heart of it that you needed to. i really enjoyed how you handled the meta game genre aspects (roxas as something both in the way of the player's experience and a vessel the player naturally empathizes with + links awakening as a microcosm of fleeting summer) which contextualizes and sells so much about the experience that, as someone being told a synopsis in a video essay, is so hard to communicate. i just really enjoy this format of finding two games telling a similar emotional story, seeing how they compare, only to be left with the thesis of both. amazingly consistent stuff again, i'm glad you're sharing the passion and experience.
This video made me actually look forward to playing Kingdom Hearts 2 at some point instead of just feeling like I need to play it out of obligation. I think you tied the two games together pretty well! Very nicely done video.
Thank you for capturing these feelings into words. Something universal and vague that we all feel on some level, yet very specific and almost tangible when viewed through this lens. Appreciate all you do.
Videos like this get me to care about kingdom hearts for a time lol It's refreshing to hear about real emotional depth from these games and not just how off the wall they are. That feeling of melancholy is something anyone can relate to, and it's exceptionally powerful. This video manages to capture that power in words, and I think that's really special.
They aren't really all that off the wall. Most of that is just because it borrows concepts and how the story go in final fantasy games, and the fact that the KH series has many games all canon to each other, making it a lot of information to keep in mind at times. But they are actually decently well paced and digestible by going slow and one at the time as they were intended
Although Nomura (or whoever on the writing team at Square) has gone off the rails, he deserves major kudos for his involvement in FF7 and Kingdom Hearts 1/2. Some of the most iconic games/characters in gaming history. Edit: Tomodachi Life music?! Now that's a blast from the past!
I played Kindom Hearts 3.1415/2 days first, then Kingdom Hearts 2 second. I never played the other games so I was actually really frustrated and heartbroken when you were expected to give up Roxas's life because I had no attachment to Sora, or even knew who he was. I felt like the character I got to know was being forced to die simply because someone said it was important.
amazing video retrospective on the dreadful feeling of summer ending and two amazing games that exemplify that phenomenon! i personally have never played kingdom hearts but i would love to see a summary/analysis video one day :3
By the 4th dungeon there's a stone that states how the hero, Link, will die if he stays on koholint. It's not just waking up the Windfish because it's the right thing to do, but also a matter of life or death for the main protagonist. The stone is easy to miss though ig in some worlds death isn't on links mind when contemplating on continuing his journey. Though it's a grim thought that if he chooses to stay, he'll just die and might not understand why.
i’m pretty sure the one you’re talking about is “the wind fish sleeps long / the hero’s life gone” and you don’t see that until you have access to the hookshot
UNDERTALE. Undertale may not fit this metaphor of End of Summer games perfectly, but I want some place to share my experience. So Undertsle entered my life at a pretty fortunate spot, I was struggling through my second year of University and racked with self doubt. Undertale legitimately helped make my life better and I will be eternally thankful for it. But if you played Undertale you know that replaying Undertale isn't as easy as other games, as you resetting the game also resets everyones Happiness and successes back to their miserable life before. Naturally, I didn't care about that. I didn't want to let go. I played through it again, and again, and eventually had 60+ jours on an 8-10 hour game. I never wanted Summer to end, and I made the characters suffer for it. And I knew damn well what I was doing. Is this an unreasonable level of Attachment to a Videogame? Maybe. Eventually I decided it was enough. I played through Undertale one last time. And never touched it since. The savefile neatly tucked away on my PC, the game still installed despite not being played in over three years. I ended my summer, so that the game can rest. I have the memories, I have the love I still carry in my heart. But I can never go back.I don't want to go back. Summer must end eventually.
I had this experience with both Kingdom Hearts 2 and LoZ: Twilight Princess!! That was probably due to when I played them. But both of them Had the Twilight as a significant theme and mood!
I didn't even wait five seconds before seeing a new skitty video before clicking on it, and I didn't even see what it's about before giving you a like. That's how much I enjoyed those last couple videos.
Exactly the kind of video I needed to be at peace with where I am in my life and how I’ve grown through playing these games too. Great video and we will absolutely watch whatever crazy stuff you want to make in the future!!
This was a game I grew up on. I played the original game boy black and white one. I played the game so much I found that you could fuse the follower npc cucco with the ghost and get the flying ghost… you just have to skip dungeons and complete them in a different order.
Lovely video! Links awakening is such an interesting video game to me because people keep remaking it. Link always gets to return to the island in some form or another. It’s almost like the video game developers want to return to the island as well.
Man i did NOT know plush skitties could do video essays. 10/10 would give a moon stone again Also, unrelated, but you would love pokemon mystery dungeon, you can be a skitty in the switch one
