Constant retconning is not good story telling (Spoilerific)

[kotsux 6]

Spoiler

Constantly retconning is not good story telling. There's inevitably going to be the camp that says "it's not retconning, the character's just misunderstood what the truth is". It is such a common tactic within bad manga writing to leave loose threads where story can be shoe-horned in later (See Marluxia and Larxene's backstory, the reason that Lea and Isa joined Ansem's team, and both Kingdom hearts 1&2 Secret Videos), but I'll stay away from those. 

And then there is the Time Travel. Let's just pretend this was planned since KH2.

Instead I will focus on the little things. Heartless who now eat clothes only once. Riku took the only keyblade of light from Sora (KH1 doesn't lore count, duh...). Donald and Goofy have been to Yen Sid's, Seen Keyblades, and met Ventus/Roxas all before KH1. Every character in Kingdom Hearts has met every character in Kingdom Hearts, but they only don't talk about it because they are all forgetful secretive jerks. Seven lights to fight Thirteen darkness', but ALL SEVEN are taken out by one darkness so fast it'll make your headspin (Please do not mistake this for lazy emotion manipulation, it's a real dire moment /sarcasm). Riku's the Keyblade master and Yen Sid can turn the tide single-handedly, but not a single force of light can win a fight without Sora (Proven by the fact that Sora takes on a fully powered, X-blade wielding, dream world ancient Keyblade Master). Luke Skywalker shows up and says "Hey Bud, I know you have made 1000 different contingency plans and have been working towards this end for your entire life without faltering once, but the director wrote into the prologue of this game that we are friends playing a chess match and I won. So won't you inexplicably and immediately see the error of your ways and hand over that supposed ultimate power that can be defeated by this half-trained child?"

So here's my point: My favorite part of Kingdom Hearts is the lore and digging into the story, but what is the point of digging for details when the rules constantly change. If I cannot have faith that this will all make sense according to the rules of the world, then a large part of the enjoyment is gone. I think that a good story drags you through a range of emotions.  How can I be sad about a character dying when they can come back with 30 seconds of explanation? How can I feel proud that we beat the villain when a the main character has proven that he can't be defeated? These easy solutions just make me callous and apathetic "Oh, he's gone? *Yawn* He'll be back soon enough (Unless he's a final fantasy character.)" 

 

[Smithee 327]

 

Likewise, how can I not be burned out when the villain keeps acting like a Complete Monster and having things asspulled/retconned in his favor, then gets off with a slap on the wrist because "good intentions all along"?

Mr. Nomura, you have my thumbs-up in terms of art... But in terms of writing, you definitely need to pass the torch.

Edited February 6, 2019 by Alan Smithee

[Tyranto Rex 277]

I mean they have obviously been making it up as they have been going along.  It's fun at times but dang a masterpiece it is not.

[littleTSUBAME 483]

Kingdom Hearts is like a badly written fanfiction at times and yet, that's kind of what I enjoy about it, weirdly enough. Anything could happen, because there's just no logic to it at all. Not expecting everyone to love it, though, and it definitely deserves criticism.

And I do agree that it takes away from some of the more serious moments, since basically anything can (and probably WILL) just be retconned anyway.

The best situation would be if they could somehow find a balance between keeping it weird and random, but still establishing some basic rules that they stick to.

[Allwil13 754]

I agree that the story is sloppy at times, and the retconning of certain events and elements can be annoying, but I never let it bother me too much. For me, it's been clear since Kingdom Hearts 2 that we were never meant to take the series too seriously. After all, it's Disney characters interacting with Final Fantasy characters; it's pretty hard to take that seriously. I've always gotten the impression that Nomura and the series' writers are more focused on giving us a great experience with a story that's a fun ride, and for me they've succeeded in every entry (some much more than others).

Now, this being said, the series does have its issues (such as certain sections of the storytelling as previously mentioned) and the gameplay in certain entries has been lacking. However, the series is still solid and a classic, at least in my mind. 

But hey, I'm an optimist. I've always preferred to focus on the positive rather than the negative. And I'm also super biased because I've been with this series literally since its birth.

[2 quid is good 2,209]

Completely agree man. I'm just at such a loss...

Look, I know what this series is, it's Donald Duck saying "Look, it's Sephiroth!"

But this series is also something that compels you to either believe in it, or go with it for the ridiculousness.

if you felt that Mickey moment in KH2 where he takes off his cloak is badass, then you're a believer. And whatever else the writing does it hadn't ever cheapened raw emotion.

 

Until now. Everything about that ending felt cheap, and rushed through, just so Nomura could get to his latest shiny toy - UX - and his dearly beloved - Versus - and I do not accept this at all.

[Fates Chance XIII 307]

3 hours ago, Allwil13 said:

I agree that the story is sloppy at times, and the retconning of certain events and elements can be annoying, but I never let it bother me too much. For me, it's been clear since Kingdom Hearts 2 that we were never meant to take the series too seriously. After all, it's Disney characters interacting with Final Fantasy characters; it's pretty hard to take that seriously. I've always gotten the impression that Nomura and the series' writers are more focused on giving us a great experience with a story that's a fun ride, and for me they've succeeded in every entry (some much more than others).

Now, this being said, the series does have its issues (such as certain sections of the storytelling as previously mentioned) and the gameplay in certain entries has been lacking. However, the series is still solid and a classic, at least in my mind. 

But hey, I'm an optimist. I've always preferred to focus on the positive rather than the negative. And I'm also super biased because I've been with this series literally since its birth.

Its especially funny when the CHARACTERS acknowledge how weird and hard to understand everything is!! Haha!

[SweetYetSalty 330]

I'm just along for the ride. To be honest I never thought Kingdom Hearts was a well told story. I love it for the characters really. They were the main reason I got hyped for this game. Now that doesn't mean I accept bad storytelling, as I'll call out something if it doesn't fit. But I am use to KH changing it's plots around. Nothing they have done so far has offended me in terms of these retconnings. I'm just playing to see the characters and their cheesy and corny power of friendship

[SomecallmeSonGoku 22]

Spoiler

I liked it when xehanort wanted the keyblade war to see what would happen just out of curiosity and not say something on the lines of "I actually have GOOD intentions!"

 

[drew0594 19]

It has always been like this, at this point we either accept it and have fun with what is given to us or we just stop caring about the story because Nomura's problem is that he puts too much focus on shocking value. He likes to connect every little detail together and this is what prevents him from ever telling a good story. That rules don't exist was made clear with the whole "Uhm, Ansem wasn't really Ansem but he called himself Ansem" thing in KH2 and it all went downhill from there. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that the letter that Pluto has at the end of KH1 will play a major role in the next saga because Reconnect: Kingdom Hearts.