Unlocked Reminiscence, Part III: Parade of Perfected Permutations (Kingdom Hearts II) My memories of Kingdom Hearts II were never as fond as the ones I had for the original game or the GBA follow-up. Make no mistake, I remembered having a great deal of fun with the sequel, but at the time, it failed to … Continue reading
Unlocked Reminiscence, Part II: Origin of Obfuscated Thought (Chain of Memories) If you’ll recall, in the previous article I noted how relatively straightforward the narrative in Kingdom Hearts was. There was the occasional JRPG ludicrousness, but for the most part, it was an easy-to-understand story that anyone could follow. Well, enough of that nonsense, because … Continue reading
Unlocked Reminiscence, Part I: Beginnings in Retrospection (Kingdom Hearts) In my introductory article, I noted that the idea of smashing Disney and Final Fantasy together was a nutty proposition when Kingdom Hearts was first announced. These were two completely different worlds – western animation and Japanese role-playing games – being brought together seemingly on a … Continue reading
In 2002, I was 11, and like many kids my age, the films of the Disney Renaissance – The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty & the Beast, to name a few – were a major part of my childhood. Similarly, my gaming world was deeply influenced by Final Fantasy and other JRPGs being produced by … Continue reading
Simple stories get a bad rap these days. In an era of big blockbusters that constantly crossover with one another, telling increasingly complex stories, films that instead choose to focus on a straightforward, familiar narrative structure sometimes get ignored for not doing enough to shake things up. On some level, I understand the sentiment; it’s … Continue reading