Reyn

Alright, fair enough, that's your opinion. And Square does listen to the fanbase. Why do you think they put in the effort to put choreographed fight scenes into Re:Coded's movie when it was just a movie? Because Square listened to the fanbase that whined about there being no action in 358's movie. Why do you think we're moving back to the Battle Menu from 1 and 2 instead of the Command Decks from 3D and BBS? Because Square listened to the fanbase who all loved 2 and want 3 to play as such. I won't deny, Crowd Control definitely is an issue, but it's not hard to deal with on Proud and below, that's why we have the Command Styles AND Shotlocks to deal with, and on those difficulties, it's easier to utilize them often because resources are better. I admit that the Heartless and Devil Waves AI could be better, but i feel you're knocking the Darkside AI too much though. They had good patterns that you had to be wary of and weren't too hard to tackle. The only dumb part of the fight was the Balls reigning from the sky, but otherwise it was fair and challenging to counter Darkside's attacks. A) Exactly, i agree, BBS was balanced horribly. It's fun, but not the kind of fun i enjoyed from say, 2 or 0.2. And i admit, you have a point, due to the options of 3, it'll be harder to balance. But, they've definitely shown that they're balanced it fundamentally with the new system, so they're on the right track. 0.2 is a demo after all. I feel you're being a bit too harsh in comparing Proud mode 0.2 to the likes of MF of all things. Terranort, yes, i can kind of agree with, but Devil Waves definitely give you more time and opportunity to attack then Terranort ever did. There's more to the fight than Countering and Attacking, and besides, you forget that there's other ways to do more than "chip damage" to him with the Reaction Command spells and Shotlocks, as well as the finisher for the Command Styles, which there are two of mind you. It's a far improvement from the, "Literally Only Guard and Counter" strategy that Terranort required, you're not giving it enough credit. I admit, it's DM was not designed well, it's not fair that it's literally undodgable. But you're making a mountain out of a molehill, that's literally the Only attack in the fight that's impossible to block or dodge entirely. You can always Time Barrier to properly block the Tornado Slamming into you, the Heartless spray is easily avoided by jumping and weaving and bobbing from the ground, and the normal variation of the heartless spewing from the Tornado slamming into you is not that hard to time your Barrier too is you pay attention to their trajectory on where they're going to land. As for the Health, i admit, it's unorthodox for a Final Boss to have the health of a Secret Boss, but the fight goes by pretty fast for a boss with that much health (about 5-7 minutes on average i find). You do enough damage to compensate, as unlike Devil Waves 1 and 2, you have MORE time to attack between it's attacks and deal a great amount of Damage with Mickey by your side to whittle it down quicker. By the time you can do the Wayfinder Reaction Command, you'll typically have 5 bars of damage done, and the command usually lets you whittle down another bar and a half to 2 bars, and that's only 2/3 minutes into the fight. Final Devil Wave DOES have Safe Openings, it has ONE undodgable attack and FIVE Evadable ones, and it lets you dish out enough damage to compensate so the fight doesn't take 20 minutes, but 7, especially when you HAVE a Party Member to help add additional damage on top of that. It has it's flaws, definitely, but it's more balanced than you acknowledge. B) I admit, Osaka has had a bad track record, but, you're missing one important fact. FFXV is officially done now, and Nomura stated that after the game was done (which is where the OG team that developed 1 and 2 went to), the OG team would come back to help develop KH3. And Osaka has shown with this game that while, yes, they still have issues and haven't ironed them out properly yet, they're definitely going in a WAY better direction than the likes of BBS has shown now, because they've managed to properly balance the game on a fundamental level, it's a big improvement. And with the OG teams helping out on development, we're more likely now than ever to get a game balanced on a level comparable to 1 and 2. C) The thing about that argument is, on Proud Mode, it's not hard to deal with those enemies (Fire and Water core) if you know what you're doing. You just wait for one of them to fire their Water/Fire at you and jump into the air and guard (so the enemies on the ground don't attack you after), then you stun said enemies with their opposite element (say, Freezing the Fire Enemies, and using Fire to dispel the Water barrier, then Thunder to get them to flicker and be stunned) and wail at them. And in the process of attacking their weakpoint for effective this, you'll gain the Reaction Command Spells in the process, which are great at Crowd Control due to their power and AOE effect and end them, as well as having a strong tool to use on surrounding enemies. Using this in conjunction with Shotlocks helps to dispel the crowd immensely and make you feel satisfying for destroying them because you played strategically, and they give you Orbs upon defeat to reward you and help you continue the onslaught. If you know how to properly use the mechanics to your advantage, it's not hard to deal with it because they still give you a good amount of tools to get the job done and done well. It's like the same reason you mentioned for people loving KH2FM Lvl 1 run, except instead of just the Bosses, you gotta know the patterns of the enemies and their weaknesses to counter them properly, but when you do, the game rewards you for doing so, and this is still prevalent on Proud, even if it's not as strong as it is in say, Standard. But that's part of the challenge, you still don't do chip damage to them with the tools you have if you use them properly. Critical Mode suffers because they strip you of it all, but Proud definitely does not. And i will concede that, yes, Osaka team proved with 3D and BBS that they can't properly buff you given the difficulty. But, like i stated before, the Original Team that worked on 1 and 2 DO know how to properly buff you with the difficulty, and Osaka team has shown with this they have improved in balancing, so i think we can rest a bit easier and have a little more faith in them with these things considered. D) Proud i feel doesn't lack the fun at all, again, it's about making good use of the mechanics and knowing how the enemies fight. Critical i agree on you with though, it got ridiculously frustrating at times with how they strip everything away. However, I feel you are going too far in comparing this game to be on the level of the ridiculous balancing that was Birth By Sleep, BBS had broken evasion moves, Overpowered attacks, and the bosses had erratic attacks and NO revenge value at all and NO safe opportunities to hit them outside of a Command Move. 0.2 DOES NOT have those things save for a few instances, the majority of it is balanced MUCH better than that. 0.2 has a fair timing for Cartwheel and Barrier as well as cool down, you have strong attacks but not ones that you can spam like in BBS to null any thought of a challenge in the slightest, and the bosses have set patterns you can read and adjust to and do have revenge value. I feel that's going a bit far, but i admit, Critical Mode definitely was not balanced to prove itself to not be as extreme as BBS's level of balance. The rest of the game however, IS balanced to be NOT extreme. And the problem with your arguments, is that you don't focus on the fact that a majority of the game is balanced well with the mechanics allowing you to deal with the enemies properly and without much hassle. It does have it's flaws, and those flaws become most glaring in Critical Mode, which is flawed in itself without considering AI. Yes, Osaka has been consistently bad in the past, but if you play smart, you'll notice that most of those problems are able to be dealt with with the tools you DO have at your disposal. As for the environments, i'm surprised you never noticed you could use said vines to your advantage in the battles. If you use spells on the vines or just keep building them up by attacking them rapidly, you'll build up the gauge for a Reaction Command Spell or Spellweaver, which you can easily carry over to give yourself an advantage in the Heartless fights you know are coming considering the typical level designs of a KH game (ergo, an open empty space). And in my experience, the automovements have helped me more often than not (like, i've had times where i was in the air falling from a height with a projectile chasing me, and the Impact Roll Aqua does actually has invincibility and has gotten me out of danger, not to mention you can still cancel the roll on landing by Cartwheeling regardless), but i can see the issue with it. How are the level designs clunky though, im genuinely curious on your thoughts about that. As for the laggy attacks, i admit, that is a problem, but you have to remember, this game is about Aqua not Sora. Aqua is supposed to play different from Sora, we know she's more graceful and laggy with how she fights compared to KH2 Sora, and has more focus on Magic for that reason, she's a different character altogether. Sora, we know how he fights because of 2 and from what we've seen of 3, we know he's going to fight very much close to the same as he does in 2. He falls faster and doesn't have as laggy attacks, the same KH2 guard, it's a given that he'll have his iconic Glide/Superglide which is way less laggy and more smooth than Aqua's pre-established Air Slide, and his quicker finishers. The point of 0.2 is that it's a mix of BBS and 0.2 combo system wise because the game focuses on Aqua and her playstyle, not Sora. It was established with BBS that she has laggy attacks because she fights more gracefully and doesn't hit as hard, her Air Slides were laggy, Spellweaver was laggy too. And because Sora is known to be more powerful and quick and fluid altogether, 3 will reflect that in his playstyle. If there's one thing KH has shown itself to be consistent at, it's at differentiating the playstyles of the characters, so, given what 0.2 has shown is, and what we've seen of 3, Sora should play more like his 2 incarnation, which reflects the fluidity of the battle system very well. You have to keep that in mind as well, it's not only about the combo system and about the enemy AI and placement, but about the playstyle between characters as well, and they balanced 0.2 with that in mind for nostalgic and consistency purposes.

I won't deny that, yes, on Critical Mode, the devil waves battles suck and you're forced to camp. It's the other fights that are actually fun even with this difficulty. The point of creating a mode like this, is for those kinds of people who like masochistic gameplay like this and love to do No Damage Runs. You see alot of people who put themselves through ridiculous challenges or just ridiculously hard difficulty in games these days, like "I wanna be the guy", "Kaizo Mario games", "Prince of Persia", "Dark Souls", etc. I know a good amount of people who do stuff like Level 1 runs, No Heal Runs, Kingdom Key level 1 runs, etc. for KH, which i can imagine are torturous. But you'd be surprised what a good amount of people consider a "fun" challenge, it's subjective. That being said, i won't deny that for the general populace, yeah, people wouldn't find this fun. But, the length of the game is probably a major reason why they added a ridiculously hard mode like this. See, Square loves to add replay value to it's games, and, given the length of 0.2, there's only so many times people would play challenging but fair Proud Mode without getting bored. Even 100%ing the game with all the objectives don't take long. So, since it's a short game, and because this is the only acceptable time they could get away with this with the fanbase because the game is so short (Square would be nuts to make a 40 hour game with these restrictions, it's just not good business practice and would drive people away if they did, not to mention immense backlash), they made this mode ridiculously hard to give us a "challenge" to struggle and struggle to perservere through and play the game longer. And honestly, like i said, from a balancing perspective and because this mode is so ridiculous, it's not that hard to see that Proud Mode is probably the way they're going to go for future installments with difficulty. Proud Mode was actually pretty challenging (more challenging than the Proud Modes of others KH games), was fair but difficult even with the devil waves bosses because they gave you all these tools to help you, and it's made even more obvious by the fact that when you pay attention, you see that Critical Mode's AI for the enemies play the same way as Proud Modes, they either didn't or couldn't go higher with the enemy difficulty, which is why they resulted in placing restrictions rather than bumping up the AI. As for your counter arguments for my reasoning. A) Not neccessarily. BBS and 3D, unlike 0.2, were unbelievably unbalanced with their critical modes, which is why they were actually do-able if you knew how to play the game the way they were designed. BBS (at least for the story, not going to go into the stupid Secret Bosses) had Infinite Invincibility frames for Aqua and Ven, gave a really high focus on Magic attack and power and moves that displayed magic power and invincibility (like the Thunder Surges, Mega Flare) , which both Aqua and Ven excelled in (Ven didn't excel but, he had a balance of strength and magic so he did well with it), Shotlocks were based off the magic stack and made you entirely invincible. If you can properly utilize those broken tools, it's not hard to get through the story with them. As for Terra, he takes more skill and patience since he doesn't have all those luxuries (minus shotlocks) but even his final boss is just a matter of timing your Blocks and Countering really. It's not as bad as you make it out to be, i've played through the game myself on Critical. And before you say anything, the Devs definitely knew in this case about the unbalanced mechanics of the game. If they hadn't, they wouldn't have made bosses like Vanitas Remnant or Mysterious Figure where you specifically take advantage of the ridiculous power of Magic based attacks and infinite invincibility frames. As for 3D, yes, i will concede that it's Critical Mode was unfair at times, enemies were really strong and the bosses were annoying. But, there's a reason it was also unlockable. With the dream eaters you carry over from NG+, and a small bit of grinding, you can get the abilities you need to survive (Second Chance, Once More, Leaf Bracer, etc.) as well as the strongest commands the game has to offer right off the bat (Firaga Burst, Mega Flare, Ars Arcanum, etc.) You're far far from limited, you can have a strong team AND great moves offensively and defensively at such an early point in the game, that it's not too hard to get through the game. Now, without those abilities, yeah, it'd be impossible since you get them so late in the game normally. But the game devs. knew that and knew what you could have with NG+, so it's not too hard to get through 3D's critical mode if you know what you're doing, which you should if you've already beaten the game once prior. Here in 0.2, the game is more balanced on a fundamental level, Enemies have patterns you can get used to and have revenge value and don't attack erratically/randomly, you can't abuse the mechanics of the game like you could before (Like Shotlocks can only be filled through orbs, not through giving or taking hits so you can't always use and spam it), Barrier has less active frames and requires better timing, you only have a handful of items in the entirety of the game since no moogles to buy it from, and Command Styles take longer to activate. But the tools it does give you are effective and will get you through the game fine (in Proud and below) if you are careful when needed and are skilled. The Developers had to have known that because this game was more balanced and there isn't much B.S. mechanics to take advantage of compared to 3D or BBS, Proud Mode was the highest difficulty they could've done normally in the game AI and Balance wise because of so few yet effective and fair tools they give you (meaning they can't give us a boss like mysterious figure again without giving us something ridiculous like a broken Cartwheel or access to moves like Thunder Surge). Because of this, they had to make Critical Mode have restrictions to give us any higher form of a challenge. But for balance purposes, i'm sure you'll agree with me in saying that Proud Mode was definitely balanced, a challenge that was hard but fair, a "fun" challenge. The developers had to have known they finally struck a good balance, so why would they jeopardize that now in a full game in future titles (aka, a game that's longer than 4 hours) now that they've learned from the mistakes of BBS and 3D. You are right, they were full games, but Osaka team was still getting their footing in making KH games after taking over from the original teams at the time, this is now, when they've gotten feedback and know for a fact those games weren't made for fair challenge. They only put in a ridiculous mode like this because: 1. The game is short and they wanted to add replayability by making a hard mode people can struggle with for hours. 2. There are alot of People that love the kind of Level 1 run challenges and the like, more than you think. And in this game, you start off at level 50 and never learn abilities. Even by late game at that level you still do a good amount of damage if you know how to play right, and you already are given the neccessary abilities regardless of what you do (in the other difficulties) instead of through leveling up like you normally would (ergo, you cant normally do a run in 0.2 without Once More for example). So, that kind of challenge is really nulled for players who love that because the game starts you off at such a high level and gives you those abilities. Not to mention many people still love to do No Damage Runs of the bosses in KH games, and this games restrictions force you to try to do such runs. So this Critical Mode is probably supposed to make up for that to those insane people that love this ridiculous kind of challenge. 3. It's a short game, so, this is the only time they can get away with this kind of mode without backlash from the community/fanbase for doing so. It's all the more reason im sure that 3 won't have any of this difficulty in Critical, because if 0.2 is a demo for 3, and we know 0.2 has these fair tools and is more balanced to be akin to 1 and 2's gameplay, they won't be giving us many B.S. tools to get through the game and take advantage of, you will be able to get these abilities as well as increase your stats through other means (Equipment, Keychains, possibly Power/Defense/AP boosts should those return, which i figure they will given the game is using 1 and 2 gameplay), it's a 40 hour game that'll already have a lot of replayability with the kind of content amount that can be put into it as well as how much longer the worlds are supposed to be, and again, backlash. 3 is gonna have all the stuff that 0.2 didn't have, the stuff 0.2 was lacking is the entire reason a difficulty like this was put into the game, because it was the only KH game ever that's presented itself in a way that allowed for and "required" it. B) As for Damage Output, the thing about 0.2 is, as you noticed with Aqua's fighting style, her attacks don't seem to have much weight behind them and seem more graceful and she's more floaty compared to how we know Sora plays, right? From the gameplay we've seen of 3 and how we know Sora plays like in 2, it's safe to assume Sora will probably pack more of a punch with his attacks and be faster/heavier like he's been in the past. And again, unlike 0.2, 3 will be a full game that has the options that 1 and 2 gave to us, those being: Equipment (not just Keychains, actual armor like 2 had to offer), Keychains, Stat Boosts (both 1 and 2 had access to this, so it's very likely that they should come back as well), and leveling up of course. It's also worth noting that for leveling, while 0.2 lacked, 3 will DEFINITELY have EXP Boost as an ability in game as every single KH game since 2 has had it save for 0.2, so leveling shouldn't be hard at all and is another way to increase damage output. As for our options, we've seen what 3 and 0.2 have to offer in battle so far. Sora has flowmotion again, Disney Summons, Style Changes similar to Aqua's with Keyblade Transformations, Drive Forms (remember that Nomura confirmed this), as well as access to more spells than just Fire, Blizzard, Thunder and Cure (remember Aerora), and Items and Normal Keyblade Strikes as well. We're far from limited in 3. They're not just going to completely remove those mechanics, sure, they might nerf them and make them less usable, but we still have a plethora of moves to use in 3 compared ot what 0.2 gives us, it wont' be nearly as difficult should they choose to do that, and KH2FM's level 1 run has those options to give you compared to here, which 0.2 definitely lacks. C) Actually, that's where you're wrong, those abiltiies are useful for that reason that they help if enemies bring you down to 1 HP. Stops you from dying. Not to mention, alot of enemies, even in 0.2's Proud Mode did that, and it was still doable because you had access to those support abilities, compared to Critical Mode. And as for the "bonus deal", remember that in every KH game except 3D and 0.2, they DID give you a Bonus for starting off on Critical mode to buff you up and help you out. 2 had the 50 AP and new abilities thing at the start of teh game, BBS had the extra Command Deck slots at the start of the game. It's not hard to guess that they'll probably do something similar to 2 in the game, give you more abilities to make up for the challenge that'll come your way and combat it. And again, Sora has more options to draw from than Aqua ever did in 3. D) You'd be surprised. Again, i know alot of people who impose these kinds of insane restrictions on themselves, and like i said before, alot of people love (for some reason) to put themselves through insane challenges and games like, "I wanna be the guy", "Dark Souls, "Prince of Persia", etc. This was probably made for those people who love doing No Damage Runs. Also, you're wrong about no one being able to be beat level 1 run Critical Mode in 0.2, you start off at level 50. Even if leveling does help, that's still a pretty hefty amount of stats you're given even from the start of the game, and it's not hard to get through it if you can get through the game normally. I got through normal Critical Mode at level 55, so staying at level 50 shouldn't be too different. That's probably another reason they added this Critical Mode, because you can't do a normal Level 1 run due to the length of the game, the abilities are already given to you, and what level you start at. Besides, even in a KH2FM Level 1 Run, you lose access to a good amount of the same things too, you don't get the luxuries of Second Chance, Once More, and Leaf Bracer like here. You do get Items, and Orbs (though those don't really matter in a boss fight) and other Abiliites, so i admit that 0.2 doesn't do a good job of giving you other opportunities to use your abilities and restricts you more than i think is fair, but it's still similar in that Level 1 does restrict you a good amount. 0.2 just goes the extra mile because of it's limited abilities and short length, it's for replayability as well as to offer that insane challenge to those who are willing to put themselves through it. I will concede that, while in retrospect i did enjoy Critical Mode, when playing it i got frustrated at the devil waves fights and secret boss rush, I liked the idea of limiting Items and no Second Chance, but taking away the orbs i thought was bad and made it even worse given how plentiful they usually are in normal game. And, Osaka team DOES grasp what makes a good difficult mode NOW. Look at Proud Mode, Proud Mode had the EXACT same AI as Critical, but it gave us all those tools, so it was challenging AND fun. This Critical Mode, with all it's restrictions, makes it obvious that it's NOT supposed to be compared to other Critical Modes that precede it, for the reasons i stated above. Proud Mode found a perfect balance, which is why Critical Mode gave us the restrictions. They could've just as easily just made Proud Mode into Critical Mode in this game because they knew they found a good balance, and have made Beginner Mode even easier than it already is, because, i'm sure you'll agree, Proud Mode in this game was more challenging than Proud Mode of the past KH games. But they wanted to be trollsy and have a bit of fun and made this Critical Mode for those ridiculous people, and to have us play the game longer. In retrospect, it makes sense for THIS kind of game. But in a full game, after Osaka's learned from their mistakes, i really doubt they'll do this when they know we can just do a Normal Level 1 run again of the game for a good challenge, especially when the game is that long and is a game that Square is staking their money on heavily to sell well. If people started out on this kind of difficulty, so many people would be annoyed and outraged and that would hurt Square's sales as they'll vent to others about it and probably turn away potential buyers. It'd be bad business practice for them to do that, and that's just one of the reasons im sure that Osaka's found their balance in Proud, and that KH3's Critical Mode will be more akin to 0.2's Proud Mode.

Ok, i was totally wrong guys. It actually could be Luxu. So, with what this tells us, there's two possibilities. One, this could be what the Prophecy of the result of the battle between the XIII darknesses and VII lights in KH3, and this is how "Darkness prevails and Light (Kingdom Hearts) expires". KH being the light that destroys the world and finally is destroyed, but im thinking this is pretty unlikely. The otheeeer more likely choice is, this scene is placed directly after the end of the Keyblade War and all the Keyblade wielders (and presumably the foretellers themselves) are dead. KH was summoned by their clash and is enveloping everything as it sinks into Darkness, remaking the world along with it, and that hooded man is Luxu, doing what his master told him to and is watching the world end with that SAME box and the Keyblade that will become Xehanorts. (I swear, 0.2 has so many references to Chi Back Cover, im glad i watched that before 0.2, since it wouldn't have made as much sense without it).

For all we know, the Box is just like Xehanort's Keyblade, it couldve been also passed down. Given that it's confirmed we'll find out what's in the box in 3, it'll probably be around, so i'd think it's safe to say that it's passed down.

Ive played 0.2 myself, and Critical Mode, so i see where you're coming from. I was frustrated with it too. But, after finishing it and realizing the restrictions Critical Mode has, and after playing Proud Mode, i realized something. Proud Mode i felt was very akin to KH2's Critical Mode, hard and but fair, you gotta play smart but it isn't impossible by any means. Enemies could kill you pretty easily if you're not careful and mindful of your HP. Even the secret boss took adapting to its patterns and was brutal, but it was more on Lingering Will's hard but fair difficulty and not MF's ridiculous and badly designed fight based around BBS's unbalanced mechanics. Critical Mode, however, had the same AI difficulty of Proud Mode, but had these crazy restrictions that Proud Mode didn't have on it, that we've NEVER seen in a KH game before. It had: No HP/MP/Focus Orbs are dropped at all. You can only use 3 items in any boss fight, after that they become Greyed out and restricted. Leaf Bracer, Combo Master and *Second Chance* are not equipped, only Once More is left. So, this mode is NOT intended for people who haven't played the game yet at all. If i hadn't played Proud Mode prior and got adjusted to the game there, it would have been so hard to adapt to this game with this kind of difficulty. It's only made for people who have played it on Proud and know the patterns and what to expect, that's the REAL reason it was locked. It's basically an insanity mode, like a Super Bonus Challenge Mode you'd see in other games. It's not *supposed* to be comparable to other critical modes, the ridiculous restrictions made that obvious to me. And the reason they did is, is because this is the only game they could possibly get away with something like this. It's such a short game, and Proud Mode is already an example of what we'd expect a Normal Critical Mode to be. So, they added this in to cater to the insane players that do things like Level 1 runs, or Kingdom Key level 1 runs. It's not supposed to be like a normal critical mode, thats what Proud Mode was for. I'm sure KH3 WILL NOT make a Critical Mode like this (at least, not a version of it that's not self imposed), for multiple reasons. A) It'd be utterly ridiculous to make a game longer than KH2 (aka a 40 hour game like they say it'll be) that you gotta be forced to play on Critical with those kinds of restrictions, it was already really hard in a 3 hour game, let alone 40. B) KH3 is confirmed to have the Abilities/AP system, so, they can't do something like not give you Second Chance and Once More through leveling in this game because it's part of the system. C) If people really wanted, they can do this kind of self imposed Challenge in 3 regardless, there's no need to force you to play that way. 0.2 was different since you couldn't learn abilities or gain them. In 3, since it'll be set up like 1 and 2, you can just disable Leaf Bracer, Second Chance and Combo Master, and limit yourself to 3 items and play the game that way yourself at your leisure. You can do that own challenge yourself, Square would be crazy to make a mode that physically removes those abilities from the game, in critical mode anyways. D) I get the feeling, given the reaction from Critical Mode in this game, that 3 will have a NEW Difficulty based on 0.2's critical mode. I can see it being named "Insanity Mode" or something of the like, which is clarified to be ridiculous, with the Items and Abilities restrictions. Normal Critical Mode is probably going to be akin to 0.2's Proud Mode, as it definitely had the balance and difficulty for it, and was very enjoyable. They found a good balance finally, and im sure they won't null it so easily. Critical Mode was locked for a legitimate reason, it's not supposed to be something that you can play it the first time on Critical and be fine (like KH2FM's was, it was hard but not something that would completely turn away a player like this critical mode if you don't know what it *truly is* going into it). It's just a bonus hard mode that's not supposed to be comparable to other Critical Modes. Im sure it's not gonna be the direction Square is aiming for normal difficulty standards, unless it's a bonus new mode that's labeled as such in future games.

It can't be Luxu though.

Yeah, alternate username i've been wanting to make official. I personally like it alot.

Welp, i think it's finally time for me to give up the title of the amazing ham we all know and love as Reyn. I would like to return my name to BlazingArachnid99 please. I'll be back in a week.

Lucas Lucas bulldozed through a Koopa while cloaked in Electric PSI energy as he made his way through the Mushroom Kingdom. Man, this place is pretty nice looking. That castle looks pretty too. He thought as he noticed Peach's castle way off in the distance. No idea what's with those weird brown mushroomy things that have faces though. Those creatures with Red and Blue spotted Mushrooms for heads sure are friendly though. He pulled out his stick in case he had to come across more Goombahs and the like. "I still wanna get back home though, not neccessarily interested in another journey if i'm honest." The boy continued to walk towards the Castle in the distance. Bowser The Great Big Koopa King folded his arms, annoyed at the current situation, as he was looking around in the vast meadow of Gaur Plains. "Hmph. Those hands got another thing comin' if they think they can boss me around. I look out for Number 1, ME!" He roared out towards the sky. He looked over his shoulder and saw a Krabble coming towards him, about to pounce on him. He quickly took the initiative and ran towards the Krabble, doing a drop kick to send the poor creature flying miles away. "BWAHAHA! Like that weird beetle thing could topple the almighty King. Now, where do i go?" He looked around as he saw a Pink Butterfly flying around. That thing...It's color...Reminds me of Princess Peach. He followed it with his eyes, unable to turn away. Can't...Stop...Looking...at this thing! He thought, entranced by it and unable to focus on anything else and leaving himself wide open. Reyn Reyn was walking around the Jungles of Rumble Falls for awhile, still pondering where to go while looking at the C on his paper that he was given. "Hmph. If that Hand thinks i'm gonna take orders from him to fight people for no reason, he's got another thing coming. I've had enough of Gods already, i just want to go back home. What does C even mean anyway?" He looked around seeing if he could see anyone. "SHULK, OI! YOU HERE MATE? RIKI, DUNBAN, SHARLA, ANYONE?" He then saw a man clad in a Green tunic up ahead. "OI! YOU THERE! Any idea why we're here and why these crazy hand things wanna make us fight?"

Lucas finally saw Alitt alone, after waiting for so long and trying to work up the courage to go up and talk to her. This is it! Now's my chance. Lucas walked over to Alitt who was sitting alone on the rock. "Uh, Hi again. So, what're you doing sitting here by yourself? Alot of the others seemed very talkative with you after that thing attacked."

Name: Reyn Game/Series of origin: Xenoblade Appearance: Short (spoiler free!) bio: Shulk's best friend and inhabitant of Colony 9. When the Mechon attacked, he journeyed off with his friend to avenge the fallen, but his journey was interrupted by a certain pair of Hands. Weapons : Gunlance Fighting style: He fights with brute force, brawn over brains. He pummels and attacks the enemy with all his might until they fall, using a variety of Artes to achieve his means with his ranged Lance. Name: Bowser Koopa Game/Series of origin: Super Mario Bros Appearance: Short (spoiler free!) bio: The Koopa King who spends his time kidnapping Princess Peach and getting defeated by Mario. Having suffered his most recent defeat at the hands of Luigi and Mario in his most serious villain role yet, he was recovering at his castle after this latest humiliation before he was warped elsewhere... Fighting style: Similar to Reyn, fights with brute force only hand to hand with his Lethal Claws and Spiky Back, although has his Firebreath to keep distance when needed, and can use relatively weak Bob-ombs to stall his opponent and keep them away when needed. He excels at close combat, but he's bad at manuevering around due to his speed. Victory/Battle Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDT-L0qV-JU Name: Lucas Game/Series of origin: Mother 3 Appearance : Short (spoiler free!) bio: A sensitive boy from Nowhere, who fought against the Pigmask army and mechanization/industrialization of his home, fighting to stop a warped dictatorship with his Dog, Two Friends, and Psychic Powers. He achieved his mission and changed his world, when he was taken... Weapons : A Stick Fighting style: Fights at a distance usually with his psychic powers, and is great at playing the support role of healing and buffing. He can fight at close range when he needs to and augment himself to do so, but he prefers to keep his distance. Victory/Battle Theme: Battlefield~

(Our team is Team C&M btw.Also, of course Mes gets a crit. Being Glass Cannons still pulled them through anyway, lol. GG.)

Brandon noticed the other way the name could be taken due to his poor hit ratio in recent memory, but he decided not to say anything as Fiora seemed satisfied with the name and happy, so he swallowed his pride. "Uh...Yeah! That sounds like a great name, good job Fiora! I'm all for it!" He said enthusiastically.

Brandon stood watching the battle on the sidelines, wincing at the beating Mes and Henry were taking. "Man...This guy is strong. I hope we don't run into him TOO soon..." He turned to Fiora again. "So, what should our name be? How about, Star Crossed Lovers? Or, what about, the Keyblade Duo! Or better yet, the Lucky Unlucky Saviors~" He said enthusiastically, oblivious that they were all horrible names.

Lucas, being unable to react fast enough after leaving himself open, took the hit. "AGH!" He got slashed across the stomach and hit away in front of a tree. "Ugh...Ok...You're asking for it!" He slowly rose up, putting pressure with his hand on the slash for a moment, and quickly fired off two more rounds of Thunder at the Shadow Sneak, and turned to the others as he did it. "Hey guys, it'd be nice if you could help me fight off this guy please! I mean, i'd love to take it down myself, but we're a team, aren't we?" He added slyly.

(You mean Brandon, right?) Brandon nodded with his mouth full of food like it usually was at the food table. "Definitely! I'm more excited than i've ever been in a loooooooooong time!" He stood up when he was done and ran outside. "I'M READY TO FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" As soon as they were given the choice to choose teams, Brandon immediately stood next to Fiora so fast it was as if he teleported there. "So Fiora...How about we pair up? I mean, this way we don't have to fight, and i mean...You have all the good luck and i have all the bad luck, so i guess this way it evens out, right?"

(...NB YOU LITTLE S**T. NO, HOW DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE YOU. WE WERE HAVING A MOMENT. NO ONE WAS IN THE WAY. I FINALLY HAD THE FREETIME FOR US TO FREAKING DO SOMETHING LIKE FINALLY HAVE A KISS TO CEMENT THE DAMN SHIP, AND YOU DO THIS?!?!?! I FEEL...I FEEL...I FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL- *explodes* In all seriousness though, I wish I could've posted earlier and continued that, but oh well. The ship will have to wait for after the next world, lol.) Brandon slowly sat up from his bed, and massaged his head as he rose. "Ugh...My head hurts..." He looked around realizing he was in his room. "Huh? I swear the last thing I remember was being in Fiora's room talking to her after we finally had some free time, and then the day just ended out of nowhere in the middle of our chat. I guess I must've passed out...How'd I get back here anyway?" He decided to just shrug it off and got dressed, slowly walking down the stairs into the kitchen, stretching out his arms and yawning loudly as he grabbed some food in the dining area, and he struggled trying to find a seat bleary eyed. He finally sat down and said, "Morning guys, yesterday was freaking crazy. How are you all doing?"

(Welp, I missed a lot, time to jump in~)Lucas was too distracted fantasizing about Alitt for 10 minutes straight when he finally saw Max fly by through the window. "HOLY CARP!" He summoned his keyblade and jumped out the window, only to see everyone else fighting a Shadow Sneak and saw Joel questioning what was going on. "Heh, you're not the only one lost Joel." He said sheepishly. He then looked over to the heartless again and raised his keyblade. Maybe i can do something! He fired off two rounds of Thunder at the Shadow Sneak and ran up to it, doing a rising strike into the air and slashing back down again, albeit leaving himself wide open after falling back down to theground.

Brandon slowly opened the door and came into the room, looking around and how neat everything and such. "I like your room, definitely way tidier than mine, heh." He sat down on the bed and laid down, exhaling loudly. "Nice to finally be able to relax after all the craziness we've been through, right?"

(Still waiting for Axel to reply with Fiora)

Meanwhile Lucas began wolfing down his Alpaca Special. "Ya know, even though this looks disgusting, this is pretty good actually! Also, where's that Lady that was with Pacha going?" He said, as he saw Kuzco in disguise heading off to the back of the restaurant.

All this discussion has made me question something. Since Nobodies grow hearts, and when they are destroyed by a keyblade (as well as the heartless respectively being destroyed too), the original body and heart reunite. But, What happens to the NEW Heart the Nobody grew in it's time away from it's original Heart? Does it just merge with the person's original Heart as a culmination of the experiences and memories they had during their time as a Nobody? I don't think Nomura ever cleared this up.

What exactly is Sakura Storm anyway?

Lucas called over to the chef. "I'LL HAVE THE ALPACA SPECIAL PLEASE, WITH EXTRA SAUCE ON THE SIDE!"He then looked out the window again to listen in on what Zion was telling Alitt and the others. He wasn't sure if it was just the way he felt towards her, but he didn't think she was really bad. He wanted to make up for how he messed up the first time talking to her, and wanted to give her a chance before they outcasted her if it was neccessary.