Kingdom Hearts handheld games

[VenomousCarnage]

So I'm a big fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. Anyone who is familiar with the series knows that they are taking thier sweet time with coming out with Kingdom Hearts 3.

Problem is I havn't played any of the handheld games. I'm not gonna waste money on a playstation paperweight (PSP) for one game and I don't really have plans to buy a brand new gimmicky 3DS to play 358/2 days, re:coded and Dream Drop Distance.

Is there a chain of stores that rent handhelds out there?
Are the games that good?
If I had to choose to get/rent BBS or the DS games what would be better?


Oh and a random query....

What about if I saw an Emu and said "See you later?"

[hakujinbakasama]

I'm not a fan of this series for moral personal reason. I do believe that part of the issue is with Square just being damn lazy to make anything. I don't off hand even remember if it is on the slate for next year even.

Like I said, they've been really really lazy with making games.... and making them well too.

[Deleted]

BBS is way better than 358/2 days and re:coded combined imo.

[VenomousCarnage]

I'm not a fan of this series for moral personal reason. I do believe that part of the issue is with Square just being damn lazy to make anything. I don't off hand even remember if it is on the slate for next year even.

Like I said, they've been really really lazy with making games.... and making them well too.

It does irk me that they keep making these mini-games for inferior systems.
It's a sneaky ploy to try and get me to buy crappy systems as I see it.

If not they should come out with Re: games for real systems (PS3, 360 or even Wii) like they did with Re:Chain of Memories. Otherwise they are just avoiding making a all-around quality game (not just story) by putting it on a limiting system.

Great game but terrible sneaky, greedy marketing and bad production schedule (KH3? hellooooo?)

[Wollie]

you cant emulate a PsP very well yet, i have one with BBS on my computer....and the rings you need to hit for the tutortial wont show up. DS Can be emulated, but there are a ton of bugs, i remember playing 358/2 on ds emulator when it first came out in japanese and it seemed to play fine for the most part.

and BBS is alot better then 358/2, all 358/2 is roxas's story, Which you dont learn anything important from it that you cant learn in KH2. BBS is huge on the history of the game seeing as its ~10 years before KH1. (Soras in it as a 5 yr old). And one of the main villians of BBS is Xenahort, where the villian of KH1 was xenahorts heartless and KH2 was xenahorts nobody, So BBS seems to fit better then any of the other handheld games. And id reccomend buying a PsP, if you get one of the ealier models, you can do illegal things to it and never have to buy a game in your psp's life. (Least till vita)

I actually recently learned you can emulate Ps2 and Gamecube on the computer, so iv just got finished replaying KH1 and KH2:FM =P

In short, if you want to play BBS, which is better then 358/2, your gonna need an actual PSP. If you want to play 358/2, you COULD emulate it, but there could be bugs.

[Zonas]

Only good handheld was CoM but since they made a PS2 version of it you don't have to count it.

I keep getting the idea that 3 won't ever come, and I'm coming to the point where I'm not sure I want it to...

Disney now sucks, Final fantasy... well it's getting there... I don't see what there is to work with. And 2, though it was strange in many ways, did end on a good note with very little left out in terms of story. So really there is no need for a third, and as I've seen, franchises don't crossover between system generations very well.

[VenomousCarnage]

In short, if you want to play BBS, which is better then 358/2, your gonna need an actual PSP. If you want to play 358/2, you COULD emulate it, but there could be bugs.

That's too bad because there is no way I am going to waste money on a PSP, even if I find someone to mod it. PSP has 0 interesting games for me besides BBS. It's all crappier versions, remakes and spin-offs of much better games available on real systems. I rarely see people who actually have them and even less who actually use them for more then collecting dust.

---------- Post added 2011-09-18 at 09:11 PM ----------

Only good handheld was CoM but since they made a PS2 version of it you don't have to count it.

I keep getting the idea that 3 won't ever come, and I'm coming to the point where I'm not sure I want it to...

Disney now sucks, Final fantasy... well it's getting there... I don't see what there is to work with. And 2, though it was strange in many ways, did end on a good note with very little left out in terms of story. So really there is no need for a third, and as I've seen, franchises don't crossover between system generations very well.

That shares a lot of my opinion but I heard that BBS opened up a whole can of worms in terms of story.

Right now the system games alone do pretty well by themselves in terms of story with only some minor seemingly unimportant details left a mystery.

The problem is that when KH3 comes out in 40 years it will likely be full of BS plot holes filled in by these games, probably more so then the shift between KH1 and KH2.

I won't enjoy being left out of the loop because I don't own 10 gimmicky and useless systems.

[Wollie]

you wont be left out, BBS was mostly giving you a back story on xenahort, who you've already killed twice in KH1 and 2. 358/2 was all about roxas, which they introduced a new character specifically for it who got killed off. I havnt played coded but iv red about it and its a side mission where sora goes to fix a computer or something, and dream drop distance is supposed to be a sequel to coded, which i believe are both before KH1 and 2 (Dont quote me on that one, im not positive)

As long as they creators arnt retarded, BBS, 358, coded and dream drop should all be apart from KH1, CoM, and Kh2, Heck, even CoM wasnt required, Just kinda made you wonder in KH2 why its called org 13 and theres only 6 members lol

I think all the handheld games are to fix holes in the normal series. In the first one you kill ansem, who you later find out is xenahort and besides telling you xehanort was ansems apprentice, You know nothing about him. Which is where BBS comes in. (FYI the xehanort you see in KH2, isnt his original body)

Roxas only really had a little bit of time in KH2 and you learn very little about him (Axels his best friend, he was in org 13, he turned on em, hes sora's nobody) so 358 explains roxas completly since the 358 bascially stands for the ammount of days he was alive lol

[Cingen]

Honestly, I was VERY disapointed in 358/2 days and re:coded. 358/2 days had a very nice story, but the gameplay sucked. re:coded plain sucked imo xD Birth by sleep however... I simply loved that game. Dream Drop Distance looks very promissing though.

BBS gives you a very unique look on the future games, and hints at what the plot from KH3 / Dream Drop Distance may be... You know at the end of KH2 when Sora gets that letter? Birth By Sleep gives VERY strong indications of what it might say.

[VenomousCarnage]

Honestly, I was VERY disapointed in 358/2 days and re:coded. 358/2 days had a very nice story, but the gameplay sucked. re:coded plain sucked imo xD Birth by sleep however... I simply loved that game. Dream Drop Distance looks very promissing though.

BBS gives you a very unique look on the future games, and hints at what the plot from KH3 / Dream Drop Distance may be... You know at the end of KH2 when Sora gets that letter? Birth By Sleep gives VERY strong indications of what it might say.

I'm pretty sure the letter has been confirmed somewhere to be a letter from Mickey and Yen Sid asking Sora and Riku to take the mark of the masters exam Dream Drop Distance has been hinted/summarized as Sora and Riku taking their exam.

[Cingen]

I'm pretty sure the letter has been confirmed somewhere to be a letter from Mickey and Yen Sid asking Sora and Riku to take the mark of the masters exam Dream Drop Distance has been hinted/summarized as Sora and Riku taking their exam.

Actually, in the "secret ending" of birth by sleep you find out the letter asks Sora to go save those who are at the foundations of it all, and guess wich 3 characters that may be.. :P

[Zarasthura]

Handheld games? sorry bro I only see KH 1 and KH 2

Square really needs to stop doing spinoffs and get to the point with main games

[Soeroah]

Handheld games? sorry bro I only see KH 1 and KH 2

Square really needs to stop doing spinoffs and get to the point with main games

They are only spin-off games if they don't contribute to the story. Anyone who won't play the handheld games is going to be hopelessly confused when they pick up KH3. That's the reason why they need to port them to the PS3.




Birth by Sleep was pretty good quality, it felt more like a PS2 game than Re:Coded or 358/2 Days. Dream Drop Distance is shaping up to be graphically better than the PS2 games and with less processing problems than BBS, so it's almost like playing a PS2 game on the 3DS.

The handheld games exist to set up Kingdom Hearts three, BBS/358/coded exist to set up KH3D, which directly leads into KH3. Plus, Square is making the original Kingdom Hearts team make Final Fantasy Versus XIII before they can get to work on KH3. It's more a choice of releasing a new Kingdom Hearts game every 18 months or so, or not releasing any games from KH2 to KH3. While I sympathise with the people who can't afford/don't want to buy extra systems for the handhelds, I much prefer getting some games semi-regularly to having a near decade drought.

[OrcsRLame]

Guys, relax. Kingdom Hearts 3 is coming, just don't expect it before 2015, at the earliest. It's not that Square is taking their sweet time with it, it's just that they decided to work on FFV13.

You see, there are two development teams at Square. One is the main final fantasy team. They have never had anything to do with KH. The other is the Kingdom Hearts team. They have been making FFV13 since they finished KH2. They will likely start work on KH3 as soon as they're done with FFV13, which will likely be late 2012 or early 2013. I gotta say though, FFV13 looks pretty badass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkZvdT3QS4k

That's what they've been working on all this time. Honestly, I think the wait will be worth it.

[Zarasthura]

I find it funny that I hear there are rumors going around that they JUST NOW started working on Versus 13. after what, 5 years of hype videos?

[Kwickslash]

It takes a hell of a lot of messing around and it's extremely difficult to find a ROM that works, it's also Illegal and not worth it.

Personally, being a massive fan of the KH series, I feel it's stupid that they have released it over so many different consoles, especially considering all of the titles are considered Cannon. The only two consoles I have owned (apart from a Gameboy Color and SNES) have been a PS2 and an Xbox 360. I had couldn't understand what the hell was going on during KH2 because parts of CoM were moved over to it. I wonder if there is any hope for KH3 being on Xbox 360...

A fan can only dream.

[jishdefish]

Spoilers are hidden in white (highlight to read). Cyan is speculation based on what I've read/played/watched.

I highly recommend KH:BBS, but 358/2 Days is completely skip-able (all it really adds to KHII is where Sora's [and Roxas's] ability to wield two keyblades originates [Xion/forgotten memories of Xion] without really delving into Vexen's extraordinary knack for being able to produce duplicates of both keyblades and wielders). The reason I believe KH:BBS isn't something you can just skip is because it introduces Aqua (who is set up looking like a likely character for KHIII) and delves into Xehanort's back-story (he might be back for KHIII as well, as Nomura has stated that the game will be the end of the Xehanort plot arch, and that when someone's heartless and nobody are both banished to darkness they could possibly reform as a whole again).

I haven't played Re: Coded, and of course KH3D isn't out yet, so I can't comment on those.

Edit: I can't quite get that unreadable, but I hope its enough. :P I'm not sure what color is the off-white the forum uses as its background.

[Soeroah]

-Kwickslash

I'm bothered at the constant console-hopping, as well. The games are important and all fans should have the chance to play them, at least. I have a feeling that if Birth by Sleep Volume 2 IS made, it will be on the Vita, which spreads the series out over six consoles/handhelds. Although if the UMD-to-Vita thing is being made you'd only need three to play all the games (if you can get Re:Chain of Memories, which apparently doesn't exist in Australia).

I doubt KH3 will be on the 360, because that console doesn't sell so well in Japan. However, Final Fantasy 13 was on the 360 if I'm not mistaken, so perhaps they are branching out. It would be on the PS3 as well, of course, and it would be annoying for a 360 owner to get only the final game of a saga.


-jishdefish

Without getting into too much spoilers, Re:Coded was a very subjective game. I loved it, a lot of fans hated it. The secret movie is the only truly important thing in the game, as it leads directly into KH3D. It was probably the most spin-off style game in the series, but that movie is still important to the storyline. However, said movie had part of it included in the KH3D trailer, so players can be quickly brought up to speed. It also tells us EXACTLY what Mickey's letter said (he narrated it).

KH3D should be awesome. As I said earlier, it's shaping up to be AT LEAST console quality (last gen but whatever). In the new footage Traverse Town looks more detailed than it did on the PS2.

[Kickbuttmario]

I played FF 1, 2 and 358/2 days. I understand (somewhat) the story of what happened in chain of memories. I never played Birth By Sleep and Re;Coded so can't judge them two. However, 358/2 days was just a horrible game. It just wasn't good. It felt broken and cheap. Sure the story was nice but it wasn't enough to be called a kingdom hearts game.

From what I understand, Dream Drop Distance finally continues the story after KH 2 so its nice to see that but there hasn't been any word that KH3 has even started development at this point. So don't know what to expect.

[Brightamethyst]

Handheld games? sorry bro I only see KH 1 and KH 2

Square really needs to stop doing spinoffs and get to the point with main games

While generally I agree with that statement, I have to admit that the side stories have been pretty interesting and of surprisingly good quality for the most part.

Chains of Memories sucked but 358/2 wasn't bad and Birth by Sleep was awesome. (haven't played re:coded)