Kingdom Hearts Features from this game that you miss

KH1 was the first in the franchise, and since then, a lot of progress has been made. We've gained reaction commands, flashier attacks, more button mashing and different forms. In return, we've dropped a lot from the past. Teching has been completely removed, and the areas are significantly less explorer-friendly. (Clambering across the roofs of Traverse Town was a nice feature.) The Dalmatians haven't been seen for a while, and items are given less importance in the plot, so while in KH1, we get Tarzan handing over a Keychain, in KH2 and onwards, we just obtain the new Keyblade. The lack of the triangle-mashing was definitely something I miss, and I'd argue that the magic system of KH1 was better than that of KH2 (but not BBS).

So what features do you miss from this game?

 

Magic by far. In kh1 I found magic a necessity but in kh2 the only thing you needed magic for was cure. And I did find that it wasn't much fun to not have a need for my platforming skillz.

 

Apart from the cure spell, Kurt Ziza and the mushrooms are the only enemies which forced me to use magic. I kinda miss the glide ability.
I agree that the levels should look more like Traverse Town : vast and full of hidden stuff. Proud/Extreme modes allow me to have some real challenges here and there, but the level design are really too straightforward. I know KH games are designed for kids, but when I was a kid games weren' t nearly as straightforward than that (I' m thinking Zelda and Metroid, not Mario). On the other hand FFXIII is a big straight line ... u.u

 

Wait, KH1 was basic level design, or KH2 and onwards was too basic?

 

Traverse Town was cool : there was plenty of intersections, things hidden on the roofs and we could interact with the background here and there.
From what I remember KH2 was pretty straightforward (just a two ways intersection here and there, as in Jungle Pride or Twilight Town).
BBS was barely better in that regard : they did put some intersections but most of them were dedicated to one of the three characters, and there was stickers to find but almost all of them were in plain sight. The only hidden things were the ice cream ingredients enemies, that was cool.

 

BBS had Disney Town, which was a step in the right direction, but still inferior to Traverse Town, and in fact, most KH1 worlds.

What made the ice-cream enemies so good? They just occasionally appeared on the fairly linear map, didn't they?

 

I definitely do NOT miss the battle engine of this game.

But I'm supposed to be saying things I do miss... so yeah. Being given slight justification for getting a Keyblade design was kinda nice... but it doesn't have to be for every single one. The whole reason you get any Keyblade is 'you've connected with this person/world, and your bonds and memories have given you strength', so only one little in-story explanation is needed, and then after that just having the design be obviously related to a character or place is enough.

...a-and I want Gummi Space to be made of milkshake and brownies again. 0_0;;

(I do indeed believe this thread will turn into an 'everything after KH1 was crap and they shouldn't have EVER made a sequel no matter how much we actually wanted one'-type discussion. Not surprising, because this kind of thing happens in every single fandom I've ever been in.)

 

BBS did magic considerably better. It actually became viable to use all those really cool abilities that were always inferior to a simple Cure.

 

KHI, to me, made trying to cast magic a real, real slog. I dunno what exactly it was - likely the design of the command menu.

BBS limited your abilities but made it somehow easier to cycle through them quickly while running and trying to evade attack. :P

...Also, cute blond breakdancing shota. Discovering Break Time literally made my day.

 

Ugh, that command menu. Don't remind me. The shortcuts were the only way I used magic. (And probably why I never used abilities.)

 

They did. That' s not pure genius, but at least it gave me something to write down and look for later.

 

3 things:

Tech Points, was aways good to have some sorta reward if you were being careful;
Aero Barrier, not so broken like Reflect, which makes it just balance the gameplay rather than giving you Demi-God status;
Magic gimmicks in each world, especially White Mushroom, i loved that little guy D;

Ditto.
Shame Hook didn't appreciate it :<

 

White Mushrooms made me happy.
By the way, your avatar is amazing.

 

i ALWAYS used dodge roll to move around. i never walked. XD
so in kh2 when i figured out that i couldn't do so, i sulked.

 

Wasn't quick run more effective in that regard? Ok, maybe not until level two, but that still gives you about half the game.


I really miss the exploration sense that KH1 gave you. Wonderland is probably my favorite world to this day. Just a few weeks ago me and a friend found a new secret in there. Though for what few platforming puzzles there were in the later games, I liked the fact that they were mostly late game and relied on you having movement abilities (Disney Town and Cavern of Remembrance). In KH1 there is very little you can't get to without using high-jump and glide (heck I once beat the game without even unlocking high jump) so once you did have those abilities almost all platforming became a joke.

Magic in KH1 wasn't perfect but I actually do think it is one of the better systems I've seen, especially having the lower portions of the bar recharge faster than the top. KH2 magic I felt was really broken, outside of specific strategies (like using fire on Demyx's clones) I felt like the magic bar was always used the same way. Reflect on bosses or Magnet on normal enemies until you are low on MP, Cure to finish the bar off. BBS though I think has one of the best combat systems to date, my only real complaint there is that it gets really flashy by end game, especially with ice-cream bypassing the build up to strong forms.

 

I agree on the BBS system because don't you get tired of bosses being able to do moves that will kill you instantly and they look cool but all you can do is swing your keyblade twice.........

 

That's what i miss the most. KH2 worlds are ridiculously linear, personally i hate how Radiant Garden (as well as Agrabah, Land of Dragons, Atlantica!) was treated, it appears as a big Town/City (whatever it is) and you can't even explore half of it. Traverse Town and Deep Jungle are two of the most unique worlds that i miss from the first game because you could explore quite a lot there. I also miss that little animation scene when you progress from one area to another, like Sora opening the doors at Traverse Town or keep running before the screen goes black. I know it is of minor importance and doesn't affect the game but i prefer this to a stand still Sora before the next part of the world opens.

Plus, most of the game is ridiculously easy, something which was not the case with KH and most of the boss battles rely on the reaction commands and as many other said, magic had no real purpose of existence aside from showing off the graphics engine (the fire line of spells is beautifully done). And since i'm on the topic of spells, i miss the gravity one, it was funny to see Heartless being squashed to earth.

And i know this might sound weird but the first KH had a sense of epic and real magic that seemed lost in the later games for whatever reason.

 

Don't you need High-jump in order to complete Monstro?

 

The challenge. KH was by far the toughest one to beat in the series. Now the games have very little challenge to them, I mean there great for those who haven't played a KH game. Sigh I digress, but also I miss some of the enemies in the game from Monstro.