Things that you would...

Improve in general about the Kingdom Hearts series?

Personally, I would either get better traveling companions or better AI for Donald and Goofy. Their AI is terrible with the fact that they always heal the wrong person in a lot of the cases.

Note: Due to Spam issues, you can say your thoughts on someone else's improvements, but this topic is for IDEAS to improve the series. Please post your ideas on improvements and keep on topic.

 

I would probably enjoy the series more if you could actually control more than 2-3 characters throughout the entirety of a single games story mode....Freely. They don't have make it Impossibly unique for every character, or even have that may characters. Just 3 or more freely changeable characters without having to hack them will be fine with me. It also doesn't matter if they do it only a few games. Just... more than 2 characters with story at a time...

It wouldn't even matter if some characters were together and had the same story. Freely change, that is what I want.
DDD pretty much, but with more characters.

 

Less plot elements and a better focused story. In recent years the story has been all over the place with time travel, digital reality, and dreams and whatnot. Simpler is better, and with each game the series gets more complex. It's like they don't even know what they want it to be about anymore, they're doing too much stuff. Keep it simple and stay focused.

also, as someone said above: planning.

 

I agree with Below, the series needs to refocus the plotline. It's gotten so batshit in the last few years, and I think that's one of the largest fan complaints for the series. I could take it all the way up to Re:Coded, but now that we've got time travel it's just... pushing me over the edge a little. I still need to catch up on what's going on from Dream Drop Distance, but you can reach a balance between "painfully simple and predictable" and "I have no clue what is going on."

I remember people complaining that Kingdom Hearts II was getting too complicated when it first came out, but it was still digestible. Once you understood the Nobodies it was rather simple.

Compared to Xemnas & Organization XIII, also, I don't love Master Xehanort as a villain. He has some intriguing concepts but the Nobodies brought in ethical questions--though they sadly went unexplored.

I liked Kingdom Hearts as a story of light, dark, and in-between, with the mixed concepts of dreams and worlds.

They also really need to stop wasting potential with characters. Kairi alone is a paragon of this, but I feel that the Aqua/Ven/Terra relationships could have been greatly expanded upon. So much of it was just implied or internal that I know Nomura thought a lot about them... it just didn't translate very well to the end player. Sora has great potential for development after Dream Drop Distance's ending, I'd like to see where they take that.

Gameplay improvements I'd always like to see but all of the titles have, in some way, tried something new with the gameplay that I'm not concerned about it. Personally I really loved Birth by Sleep's system, I'd love to see that merged with some of the Kingdom Hearts II style (Reaction Commands, mostly).

( this is more than one thing )

 

Puzzle solving.

In KHI, there are puzzles everywhere, some of them are needed to be solved in order to proceed to the next area. But in CoM onwards, it feels like a cakewalk to go to the next area. Well, for me that is.

 

Actually, reading the posts, there's more things I'd like to change:

Women's personalities, I like Kari, but she's not NEARLY as strong as a protagonist as Sora and Riku. And if that's changed in the last two games which I haven't played admittedly, then I take it back. Same with Aqua, she just seemed like in Birth by Sleep the weakest most unoriginal storyline. I couldn't play through it especially when I hit Neverland. I actually want to have an interesting, well-rounded protagonist female in the game for once who is even with the boys in character and fighting.

Another part I'd really change is the Disney storylines. I loved KHII, but I found myself skipping all the cutscenes the second time through with the Disney storylines. I don't honestly play Kingdom Hearts for a remake of the Disney movies, the original KH had actual storylines that went well with the stories, they talked about hearts and how heartless were affecting people. A much better storyline than the ones made later on.

 

In my opinion, I'd say Aqua was much stronger than Terra and Ventus if anything. I mean she technically kicked both of their butts. She beat Terranort in the final episode and before that she beat Venitas. And to add on to that she was the only keyblade master. But you're right about Kairi. That scene where she kills two heartless in KH2 always irked me. I'm just saying once it comes time for KH3 she's going to have to fight, and she has to fight well too. Especially since Aqua is going to be in the same game...

 

The thing about Aqua at least for me is that it seemed like her storyline was weak, maybe it's just me. But nothing really significant happened in the foreground in her that made her story memorable. Maybe it was the fact she was fighting a losing battle to keep her friends, but it just annoyed me how she was shoved in the background and don't get me on Kari's treatment. Though she does really need to get some improvements. The fact that Axel can walk over and grab her by the wrist and drag her through a portal ten feet away with little resistance is the saddest thing I've ever seen.

Anywho...... On topic...

I would like to see less Disney to the games. Like I said, I haven't played the last two games, but from what I've seen, there's a ton of Disney characters with little Final Fantasy. This might have changed, I did hear rumors of The World Ends With You being in there, but other than several elements of Final Fantasy, why can't there be a world of just Final Fantasy? And Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden doesn't count, an actual side storyline that's based off the final fantasy games that doesn't involve the main plot in most cases that is still vital to the game.

Oh yeah, and no more musical sing alongs.

Please.

 

Well, I have two issues. One, I never really liked the way the controls work. I'd like to see a better interface.

The other would have to be story/plot. It's a fun game and everything, but there's no cliffhangers. There's no suspense. I can usually guess what is going to happen next. Like if there was more depth to it, it'd be alright.

But yea, interface and plot for me.

 

After seeing everyone's post, I too am uncertain as to 1 thing I could pick. I tried to bring game play into the picture last time cause I knew almost everyone would say something about story line (and I was right), but another thing I would want improved is the execution of Sora's character. In the first game: A little naive, bit he had a strong heart, and was willing to learn things. Kh2: Was surprised by almost everything, but at least he was still focused on his goal. DDD: Skippped around virtually unconcerned about the danger he would have to face. On the surface, he seemed the same, but if you looked deeper some of his best traits were gone. On the bright side, they used the story line to develop the characters struggles; So my hope is that in the next game he will not just grow cause the story implied that he did, but because he has had a visibly noticeable maturity about him while at the same time being the goofy sora that we all know and love.

 

...

 

There are just too many things.

As it turns out, this is a bit too general of an answer.

Therefore, I will expand on it, but be warned, a lot of it is nit-picky.

Things I would/would've change/changed in the series if I somehow WAS Tetsuya Nomura (from the beginning of the series till now):

• Keep things simple (story and gameplay wise), and if you can't, explain them in the game
  • Dream Drop Distance, especially for me, was one of the worst offenders of the "What the hell am I watching?" thing in the entire series. Sure, many other things in the series has confused me, but nothing drew me out of the experience and utterly confused me in reflection in the game than the closing parts of the game. I am a fan of Inception, yes, but when Ansem starts talking about "Dreams within dreams" I start giggling so much that whatever tension there was in the scene is ruined for me. The fact that Master Xehanort possesses HIMSELF prior to the battle with Riku, instead of just saying "As we already established, Young Xehanort can manipulate time, so he just un-froze himself", is just ridiculous (that, and, it's COMPLETELY UNEXPLAINED AS SUCH IN THE GAME.) Here's a source if you don't believe me: http://sqex.info/2012/05/kh3d-director-interview-in-famitsu-weekly/
  • Another thing that is never address in game, but is addressed in an interview, is the question posed here: http://kh-vids.net/threads/dream-eaters-post-ddd-spoilers-for-ddd-ending.138539/
    • in that thread we discuss what happens to Dream Eaters after worlds awaken (not explained at all by Nomura, even though the fates of Heartless/Unversed/Nobody's were in the past), and why Sora/Riku kept their new clothes (explained in an interview here: http://kh13.com/forum/topic/34430-s...ania-nomura-interviews-completely-translated/)
• Be consistent
  • Level design: I understand that places change over course of time, but unless Agrabah decided to completely rearrange it's ENTIRE layout in under the course of a year, something isn't right.
  • GUI/HUD: This is more in the case of the 1.5 ReMix. Every game in the series, barring KH1 and the original Chain of Memories, have had a consistent method of showing enemy HP; a large green bar with tabs indicating another layer of health. Even 358/2 Days and re:Coded managed it. Further, every game in the series, with the exception of the first (not including CoM/re:CoM/re:Coded?) have also been consistent with the placement of ally HP/MP/Link bars, and how they're shaped; usually a single hoop, broken in 2 pieces indicating HP and whatever else; it saves space on the screen while showing what you need to know about your allies. KH1 on the other hand, not so much. Also, when getting new keyblades, the preview effect (saying you got X while showing a picture and description of what it is [established in KH2, used in KH2/BBS/partly in re:CoM/DDD]) wasn't added.
  • Effects/Magic (much lesser extent): Xemnas' warping effect in Kh1:Fm should've been made consistent with his Kh2 and DDD iterations.
• Be Balanced/Interesting
  • Spells in some games were OP, others UP, and no amount of Final Mixes or re-releases fixed them. There are people called playtesters.
  • Small nitpick: Xigbar in 358/2's multiplayer was pretty much useless.
  • On the subject of Days, the missions were so repetitive, the combat so overly simplistic, and the countless reskins of Heartless, that if it is EVER going to be made into a HD game one day, it would need a serious facelift in many more respects than one. re:Coded might've been forgetful in the story department, but it's easier to write new cutscenes than it is to fix a broken combat system.
  • Roxas "controls" Samurai Nobodies, but nothing ever shows that in-game. A decent, non-movie remake could illistrate this, but Days needs a lot of changes anyway.

I love this series, I really do. But if things make even LESS sense in the future of the series (KH3 onward), then I might as well leave it now before this paragraph becomes a book. Nearly all of these things could've been done with some foresight and/or a decent playtesting team.

libregkd, hopefully this is won't be "close to being considered spam." But here's my honest thoughts and yes, like I said, there is a LOT of stuff.

 

Needs more puzzles like kh1 and instead of having a tutorial and explaining the controls, how about we just have to find them out all on our own? If I recall I think kh1 did that alittle bit.

Would be cool if you can have more than three party characters and you can recruit people like cloud, Mickey, or Leon in the party.

Oh and KH needs more secret items and better synthesis items

 

...

 

I honestly wouldn't mind the sing alongs nearly as much if it wasn't the whole plotline with the world. Aquatica, (I think that's what it's named, yes I haven't played in ages.) went from the hardest Disney world to a sing along with no real explanation except: Well... The heartless hasn't showed up here. Lets sing!!!

It seriously got annoying. Make it at the least a side quest or something. Make it rewarding other than just having it be the only thing in the whole world.

 

Asked Stark to change it so it's not so limited, thanks again.

On topic: The storyline has gotten quite convoluted over time. Note: I haven't played the last two games, but I always liked a differentiation between light and dark which is never explained in the series. Why is it considered so dark? Why were the Nobodies considered evil? I thought actually the protagonists were more evil in KHII than the Organization because the Nobodies just wanted the goal of having emotions and being human again. This is never explained at all so far in the games I've played. That and Sora's unquestioning following of Mickey and Yen Sid when it comes to the Nobodies.

I actually think a good idea was a storyline where light and dark, note: Not good and evil. Would actually be in a balance with each other and work together without prejudice towards the other. Sorta like a council of keyblade bearers.

But again, please don't give me full spoilers since I didn't play DDD or Re: Coded. Thank you, you can say whether or not this is expanded.

 

About adding more FF:

I really don't see why this is necessary. If you want more Final Fantasy characters and Final Fantasy based worlds, go play a Final Fantasy game. That's all there is too it.
The only reason Final Fantasy characters are in Kingdom Hearts is to be a wink to the fans, they don't serve any integral purpose, and they aren't meant to. As libregkd said, they could easily be replaced.

What people are asking for when they say things like they want more Final Fantasy in Kingdom Hearts or they want Disney removed, is that they basically want Kingdom Hearts to be a Final Fantasy game. Without Disney or with more Final Fantasy it's not Kingdom Hearts at all anymore, it might as well be another Final Fantasy.


Why would I want to change something I'm a fan of so drastically?

 

I didn't mean fully drastically, and if you look at KHII as an example: Why not watch a movie of Disney when the plotlines are the same as the movie? Is it because it's interactive? How?

Anywho... I want it a combo, I just thought it'd be more interesting. Anyone can post their opinion about what they wish to improve, it doesn't mean it has to happen. And guys, you're welcome to post your opinions on what others post, but remember: This is a thread about improving the series, not criticizing other people's thoughts on their opinions on how it can improve. Please don't spam.

I think it'd be interesting to have more than two side characters. Maybe three or four. If you're going to have everyone meet in three, why not make them at least characters that are sidekicks in the world?