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Man... I had totally forgot about this place after almost 8-9 years since I last logged in. I remember it use to be booming with all kinds of posts years ago. I guess it died down a bunch since then. 1.) Introduction and Explanation Anywho, for those who don't know me. I'm the crazy guy that attempted, Raged hard, raged some more, almost lost my sanity, completed, and proved to everyone on gamefaqs over 8-9ish years ago that it's 100% possible, and legit to be able to complete BOTH (Well... Now 3 is added as well, so more than 2)(NAMELY 2.5, and reasons will be listed next) Kingdom Hearts games at Level 1 Proud Mode for KH1.5(which, if you DIDN'T know, because of the way the mechanics work, Proud mode is actually the harder difficulty for a Level 1 run in KH1.5 instead of Critical because you ALWAYS do chip damage in Proud. Critical is actually a little easier because Sora can do more damage in that difficulty) and Critical Mode(2.5 + 3), but not just complete them at Level 1; (that's been done by a handful of people. However, everybody that has completed the Lvl 1 run always labels their run "complete" Yet, they all stopped at SILVER Crown.) But, I decided, and wanted to take it all a step further, and be the standout of them all. As well as debunking the most ridiculous, yet shockingly widespread belief beyond the masses: the before thought "Impossible" Holy Grail of Kingdom Heart challenges: Completing Level 1 critical mode... AS WELL as obtaining 100% completion in the Jiminy Journal, including completion of EVERY Mushroom XIII challenges, and actually having the GOLD Crown! Which was considered literally impossible. (Yeah, I know. Insane, isn't it?) 2.) The False Rumor And The Mission To Prove The World Wrong To actually 100% the Jiminy Journal, and Obtain Gold Crown in 2.5 which involves the Mushroom XIII challenges. Everybody, and their momma back then swore, and pushed the notion of "You can't complete atleast 1 or 2 of the mushroom challenges (most notably, Agrabah mushroom, Twilight Town, and Port Royal mushroom, respectively) without leveling up, it's totally impossible" As well as the old fable of "It's impossible to get Ultima Weapon in 1.5 at Level 1 because you don't get lucky strike abilities to grind synthesis materials without leveling" etc. Nah, it's all do-able. A huge pain in the ass? Yes. Definitely. But, achievable. 3.) Hype Yourself Up/Believe In Your Ability Like myself before attempting, I'm sure most people would just shake their head, and say to themselves "nope. Never. Cant do it" I was that guy. Then one day, I told myself "Hey... they put the option to void any EXP gain.. I'm gonna try it.. Let's see what happens, and how it goes at level 1. I mean, it can't be IMPOSSIBLE; They obviously added it as a feature for a reason." 4.) The Beginning of Doubt Of course, I begin. I start treading along, beginning my journey into my first attempt into a Kingdom Hearts game without leveling up. Everything goes smoothly, up until you start getting demolished left, and right every second, and the bosses annihilate you in a single hit. Making you re-evaluate, and question your ability, and if you can do it. 5.) Opening Your Perception/Total Realization The KH series, AND the series' difficulty as a whole; drastically, and dramatically changed for me once my eyes opened, and I seen the blatant "slap you in the face" obvious, and stopped trying to play Kingdom Hearts like an Action/Adventure RPG like a normal/casual playthrough would basically literally be. Instead, gaining the Square Enix perspective, and knowing their past; made me realize that it's supposed to actually be played like, (and get ready for a mind blown moment) a friggin' Turn Based RPG... Honestly, I think once you guys get this realization, and mindset in your head like I did while you're playing through; every one of you, and I mean EVERYONE of you guys, no matter how "gud" you ARE or AREN'T at the Kingdom Hearts games in a casual, normal playthrough. You can be absolute dirt at the (falsely assumed random, seemingly "unpredictable", ever-constant flow of combat) but start trying to take a slightly different approach/('s) towards the way you actually play games like this, and even open up your mind, and perceive, and acknowledge the gameplay in a different way altogether than what you, and probably, most people normally would have absolutely no idea or even fathom that there's more to, and many more ways to go into a Kingdom Hearts game than the basic, "normal" DmC-esque style combat that we all experience/('d) and most of us, are even conditioned to. 6.) Breaking Old Habits/Adopting New Ones However, once you change the perception/habits you have of the game already, and change the rules ever so slightly, and subtly to merely change towards a playstyle that of the old-school, traditional turn based views, and start planning strategies, and changing your playstyle around a "turn-based rpg mindset" instead of our pre-conditioned, already accustomed, and comfortable free flow combat that most of us are already "comfortable" with or use to. 7.) Acknowledge Game Mechanics/Learn Everything Any of you guys without a doubt in my mind would be able to Level 1 the game as it then becomes almost trivially easy once you decide to perceive KH in just a slightly different way (Turn Based instead of Free Combat) and start to play in an entirely different way accordingly (Having a turn based view/play style really helps not only by helping you learn to better/more accurately time your attacks, guards, dodge rolls, reflects, and etc. But, also makes you a lot more aware, and attentive as you're going to be learning to take it slow, and not rush battles, but to stay on your toes, closely watch for any, even if very subtle visual clues: motions with an enemy's hands, AND their body language. As well as listening for any audio clues or catch phrases; these are everything you are looking for to expect, and anticipate the next move of your opponent. Get a hit in when you can, and defend all the counter attacks that will be delivered back afterwards. Learn the timing to perfect guard; it's going to be the key to your survival, and the timing of each attack you learn never changes. So you don't have to ever expect or assume that a certain attack is ever going to be slower/faster than when previously used. You finally learn the timing for perfect guarding an attack, and you'll always be able to perfect guard it, as it will never be change the rate of speed. 8.) Truth of Developer's 100% Intended Game Design And The Public's Blindness So yes. After stating this, and the way certain mechanics work. Know it or not, even believe it or not. Even though it does EVERYTHING to make you "think" it's an action RPG. Which is semi-true, and fully the case to the masses. It was fully meant, and intended as a Turn Based RPG, and I'm going to open your eyes, and convince you. 9.) How The Kingdom Hearts Series Hides It's True Intended Design, and Disguises Itself As An Action RPG Any casual player gets the action RPG style in a normal playthrough. Just as every first time, 2nd time, etc. player always does. Nothing about the gameplay comes off as "turn based". And is more than often considered the polar opposite of a Turn Based game. Which, was presented this way to appeal to a wider audience such as younger aged, Disney lovers who didn't grow up with RPGs, or just jumped into the game world. As leveling makes it where you literally never have to learn or even use guard, reflect or parry the counters you receive if you really never even wanted to. As taking damage is hardly worrisome, or trivial, and easily tended to with a Cure, and Potions. You can even just carelessly attack, and attack anytime you want. Even if it isn't the best time, and you take a hit. You can still beat the game, and everything in it regardless. - No Turn Based Elements seen/felt whatsoever 10.) Awakening Into Reality/Acknowledging The Hidden Truth: Turn-Based Gameplay In comparison, Level 1: Any hit you take can 1 shot you. If you get caught in a combo attack, you WILL die. There's no possible way to constantly spam attacks, and tank hits. You gotta learn how to properly utilize things that you probably hardly, if ever even used: Guard, Reflect, Dodge Roll, Aerial Recovery, etc. and to learn timing. All this coupled along with the Revenge Counter mechanic (Which, I will explain in more detail below) is how it becomes a Turn Based game; as there is only a certain amount of attacks you can deliver before the enemy counters. - Turn Based RPG 11.) Notice The Signs/Process Everything/Uncover The Veil The first mentioned; is the game probably 90% or more of the masses experience, and perceive. People just don't see the alternative, and it's funny because I just seen a thread on another forum where the OP literally posted "I absolutely love Kingdom Hearts, because it's not just another cliche Turn Based RPG. I despise them." That was almost laughable, and cringe to read, and goes to show just how many people can overlook major things that are hidden in plain sight. However, if one is to attempt a Level 1 run, and play Kingdom Hearts the true way the developers intended; fact is, it's nothing more than a regular Square-Enix FF style "TURN BASED RPG" with complete movement, and control of character at all times. 12.) The Main Mechanics And Physics: The Enemy's "Revenge Counter" Seriously, when you get down into the physics, mechanics, and all the equations that go into every single boss fight, you begin to see it. Just ONE example is this: You're in the middle of a fight, let's say with Data Roxas; just for an example. Soon as the battle begins, and you gain control of Sora, you need to cast a reflect to counter Roxas' Keyblade Spin. After the successful reflect you are granted a small window where you're allowed to attack, and land up to (and let's just say for instance in this example, maybe 3-4 hits) 3-4 hits on Roxas before he is scripted to automatically counter attack. These counter attacks are termed "Revenge Counter" or just simply "RC" abbreviated. if you ever see the term in guides or posts, or in future research, but didn't know what it meant. 13.1) Explaining "Revenge Counters" And "Revenge Values"/Looping Bosses And Minimizing Danger Ah, Revenge Counter. The key to winning, and main mechanic of a level 1 run tbh. Every enemy has always been scripted to counter attack after a few hits, and this was so everybody at level 100 with Sora couldn't just endlessly wail on an opponent non-stop, and make it even easier than what it already was to begin with. Now, once you actually learn about, and study the revenge counter mechanic, and how each enemy works; you actually can use it 100% in your favor in completing, hell, I'd even go so far as to say even almost cheesing a Lvl 1 crit run. As in, learn to read the small signals before attacks. Nothing is unpredictable. There's ALWAYS a signal/warning. Learn how many hits you can throw before they counter attack Sora. 13.2) Deeper Breakdown Of "Revenge" Mechanics/Examples Of "Baiting" Attacks These hits, the attacks, the number, whatever you're most comfortable calling it; for future reference or research of your own are termed "Revenge Values" or simply "RV" if abbreviated. After you learn how many hits you can land (the number of hits it takes to bait an RC is the opponent's RV) learn the timing to guard the counter attack/(s) after, and retaliating in the enemy's small, brief recovery window. All you do is, count your hits, after you land that 4th hit (or whatever number of hits the current boss' Revenge Counter activates) you need to automatically hit guard so you can negate his RC, and guard his other 2-3 hits he dishes out before leaving another open window to land another 3-4 hits on him. It's literally rinse, and repeat: Attack 3-4 times to force or "bait" the enemy to counter attack-> Guard incoming revenge counter attacks from the enemy -> Throw another 3-4 strikes to hit his Revenge Value again to force another auto-counter. And it's just repeat steps over again. Essentially, what you're trying to do is put an enemy into a neverending loop that you can fully predict. You will see evidence of this in every fight in every video I'm going to post below. You pay attention, and you'll notice that I'll always hit an X amount of times (factor of X is the actual RV. Determined differently with each enemy. Could be 6 hits, like Marluxia's RV. Could be only 4 hits like Roxas' RV) but I ALWAYS land no more, and (hopefully) no less than the exact number of attacks needed to bait them into a RC, and guard it. 14.) Always Land The Exact Revenge Values. No More Any attempt to, or if you accidentally deliver an extra attack that is higher than the actual RV, you might as well retry; because you're not going to be guarding that counter, get caught in a combo you can't escape, and face the 1 hit death. Just follow those simple steps, and it then repeats the pattern if you're doing it correctly, and won't be unpredictable. What you're really trying to do is just try to keep everything in a never-ending loop so any unpredictability, and danger is eliminated. 15.) Explanation of "I-Frames" and How To Use Them For An Advantage Also, another biggie is learning I-Frames. Or, "Invincibility Frames" meaning the tiny few frames where Sora is invincible for instance: when you use a Drive Form, there are a few brief seconds of frames where you will not take any damage in the middle of using a form. Or using a skill like Donald's Duck Flare, and using it to your advantage, as you will see me do a bunch against Lingering Will at Level 1 to avoid being skill/attack/item locked, whip locked, and to stay safe during his DM or "Desperation Move" (Every boss has a DM which is expressed by the screen going dark, and the boss does their "finisher" per se.) 16.) The Biggest Slept On/Underestimated Skills In The Game: Reflect/ra/ga And Guard To probably over 90% of the KH community that sleeps on, and probably have never once used the spell Reflect-Reflectga. You have no idea just how busted, how necessary it is, and how brokenly powerful that spell is. Especially in a Level 1 run. It's pretty much an absolute MUST in it to do any real damage at that level. Not only that, but if you're not a master or not use to timing your guard precisely yet, Reflect/ga is an alternative that is safe, and don't need to be facing any particular direction to guard anything. Only downside to spamming reflect constantly instead of mixing up guards, and reflects is that if you don't rely on using guard, and spam reflect instead; you're going to be struggling to keep, and have MP when you want/need it. 17.) Short Summary/Review Of Everything So Far/Convinced Yet? Convinced yet? Literally. Turn-Based RPG. Except think of each of your 3-4 chain attacks as a "turn" and you know that as soon as you land your 4th keyblade hit, your turn is over, and it's automatically going to be the opponent's "turn", and since you're expecting this, and know this, you block perfectly in time with his counter attacks, and learn their pattern. The key is to try to just keep it in a constant, simple, loop-ish kinda fight. Making sure to force the counter attack yourself so you know precisely when to guard; rather than having to randomly guess/pray when their next attack is going to be, and if you're going to be able to read it quick enough. 18.) Opening Up Your Mindset/Perception/Planning Strategies Toward The Hidden Turn-Based Gameplay Is Key This was the biggest, and most obvious "eye-opening" realization that helped me tremendously once I started looking at it as a Turn Based game. Respectfully like most of Square Enix's works prior. Which, I believe if most people started having that mindset of playing it like it's turn-based, just about everyone that truly wanted to would be able to complete the level 1 challenge a lot easier than ever initially thought. Literally every boss has their own respectful number of attacks they can receive before being scripted to auto-counter attack. Don't matter who you're facing. Don't care if it's a regular ol' Heartless, and Nobody, or if it's the friggin' One-Winged Angel, Sephiroth or the "Seemingly impossible, even at Level 100" Lingering Will himself... They all can be read, and baited into an auto-counter. All of them. 19.) Outro/Final Messages/My Video Proof If anyone is interested in watching a few of my Level 1 Crit 2.5 Organization fights for entertainment or maybe to study for your own future level 1 run, I'm going to be posting links to them below. I just wish like hell that I had a good camera back then... I'm so sorry, and apologize from the bottom of my soul about the quality, but... It's literally all I had. My crap phone camera, and setting it up to point directly at my TV while I'm actually playing live in the moment, as you can probably tell by the noise of all the button mashing but, at that time, all I was worried about was having proof so all the board back then stopped saying that I was a liar, and showing that I actually did it... Recorded most of the highlight battles anyway Level 1 Crit Run .vs Sephiroth - https://youtu.be/GtBcldOxgIg Level 1 Crit Run .vs Marluxia - https://youtu.be/mDz2O8CZxFo Level 1 Crit Run .vs Larxene (THIS BITCH RIGHT HERE...) - https://youtu.be/nf684D52Mwc Level 1 Crit Run .vs Axel (w/ Restrictions) - https://youtu.be/vztQYNIeT4U Level 1 Crit Run .vs Lexaeus (No Damage) - https://youtu.be/ad58PWJmt80 Level 1 Crit Run .vs Roxas (w/ Restrictions) - https://youtu.be/TTaMJpxxxJM Level 1 Crit Run .vs Lingering Will + Silver Crown (Evidence of me using I-Frames to my advantage, and how you can utilize it) - https://youtu.be/dTm215sIhmI Obtaining Crown From All Data Battles Lvl 1 - https://youtu.be/IydQ7qub5-w Obtaining The Elusive and "Impossible" Gold Crown Lvl 1 Proof - https://youtu.be/YdbUuJd5JM8 Then the creme de la creme. 100% Jiminy Journal At Level 1 Proof - https://youtu.be/I0d1_Ec_UdY Bonus: My proof of getting Ultima Weapon on Level 1 PROUD Mode (Ultra Difficult) in KH 1.5 (Was hilariously, also considered impossible at first) - https://youtu.be/ye2ZsgQWI_Y 20.) Final Words Of Encouragement/Faith In You All Hope others may find help, and for others, even courage to attempt this challenge. If anyone is interested in trying it, and maybe have questions, I'd be more than happy to help out in any way that I possibly can, and any feedback, comments, questions, and anything is welcome, and wanted. Thanks guys! Like I said earlier, don't ever doubt yourself in anything. If myself, of all people can beat every KH game at Level 1; then I KNOW for a FACT anybody at all can. I promise you. As for the brave souls that will be attempting this seemingly impossible task anytime in the upcoming future, I leave you all with 1 final, and important message: "May Your Heart, Be Your Guiding Key"

I started writing this story 10 years ago. Obviously, it isn't the same story it started out as. In fact, this is possibly the tenth revision to what I originally had in mind. I'll go further into what I had in mind once we reach the end of the story. I have already written the first few chapters of this version and hope to post them each within the next few days. I'll also draw art for the series as we go along. The first ones I'm fully working on that will be posted once all current chapters 1 through 3 are uploaded. When I started writing it, there were plenty of tropes and ideas that were frequently used by other writers that you might be familiar with. I decided to keep them just so I could do my own take on them, since the basic concept of this story is that it is the Final Fantasy side of the original. What that means isn't that they go to FF worlds, though. (Changed my mind! ) I'm open to any critiques or thoughts. I want to improve as a writer, because the two main characters of the fic are rather important to me and my own future. So no pressure there. I also will try keeping this as close in rating to what the actual games stick to, so there won't be hardcore blood and foul language. And some music tracks to keep in mind! Dearly Beloved, well it's not Kingdom Hearts without this song. The version used as the main theme for this story is the HD version of the original. https://www.youtube.com/embed/RNHzt6pVlrE Theme Song: Hikari/Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru (because it also isn't KH without Utada!) Well, hopefully this doesn't suck and that you enjoy it. -------- Kingdom Hearts The Other Story Chapter 1: The Starting Point The small world of Traverse Town was a world of sanctuary. A town for those who had lost their home. It's old fashioned buildings and eternal night sky was strange, but the timeless feel of the world made it a good safe house for its lost inhabitants. It was very quiet tonight and was that way most nights, there was one problem with it. And that was the Heartless. Beings seemingly without hearts, creatures of the darkness and pure evil as were clear by their very existence and intentions. The citizens of Traverse Town did their best to avoid them, and usually stayed in their homes unless they had to go out. Thankfully, they only came out during certain periods of time and when that happened, everyone in the town knew and took the appropriate steps to avoid trouble. Only a few of the townsfolk were brave enough to fight any of them whenever an attack took place. In the Third District of Traverse Town, several individuals were doing just that. Breaking the quiet of the night with their fighting, but doing so only for the protection of the citizens who dwelled there. A small black creature with yellow eyes, designated as a Shadow, tried to scurry away as a blast of fire struck it and it disintegrated. A young woman, probably no older than 15, with black hair and a dark blue school uniform of some kind, approached the spot where it had been only seconds ago. “Got another Shadow over here!” she said to her companions. Clutched to her chest a white doll with a big red nose and a pom-pom coming out of its head. She had been using it to channel her magic through. “Good,” said a brown haired teenager with dark blue eyes. He too wore a dark blue school uniform and was wielding a weapon known as a gunblade, which came in two varieties. One was a gun attached to the blade that, when the trigger was pulled, sent vibrations through the blade that could increase the deadliness of the attack. The kind he had a mechanism that switches between a gun and a sword mode. He swung the weapon in its sword mode at two Heartless that jumped at him. These were only slightly bigger than the shadows, were of a dark brown color and had armored helmeted heads that still exposed their blank black faces and yellow eyes. There was a large insignia on its chest and it had dark claws on its hands. “Got two Soldiers for me.” He said as he sliced one in half, followed quickly by the other. “Ha! I got three Large Bodies!” their other friend said; as he quickly kicked one into an exposed electrical plug. He had blond hair that he had spiked up in the front, with mostly blue and red clothing on. He didn’t have a weapon like his friends, he fought entirely with his fists and feet. “They should really fix this place up, don’t ya think?” “I agree, Zell.” The gunblade wielding teenager said, slicing through a down more Heartless. As another came at him however, the gunblade quickly changed into a gun that he shot the Heartless with. “What’s our count, Lulu?” The young woman shot off more blasts of fire. “I’d say about forty each.” She said. “Which would be about one hundred and twelve in total? Looks like we’re all cleared, Omega.” “Good, then we should wrap up soon.” Omega said, blocking a Heartless’ claws from striking him. “Just a few more to go, I think.” He said as he stabbed through it. It took them a few more moments to clear up the rest of the Heartless, but by the time they were done, the whole of the District, as well as the second had been cleared. “Whew, that was a long one.” Omega said, wiping his arm across his forehead and placing his gunblade in its holster. “I think we did pretty well, though.” Zell said as he punched the air above his head. “The citizens of this town don’t have to worry while I’m here!” “What about when you sleep?” Lulu asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “SO, let’s go report back and grab something to eat!” Zell said, completely ignoring his friends comment. “What are you guys up for? I’m paying this time.” “That Ratatouille place looked good.” Omega commented. “Something within my price range, please!” Zell replied, though he was laughing a little. Indeed, as they left they were laughing, acting as though everything was normal. And this was their idea of normal, so it didn’t seem out of place for them at all. It was an hour after they had finished their report, and now they were sitting in the small diner in First District. “Did you guys see the look on Rusty’s face in the debriefing?” Zell asked, chuckling lightly. “It was priceless!” “Yeah, being told that three punks did better fighting Heartless in one night than you have in nine years tends to do that.” Lulu said, trying to remain stoic. She started laughing as well after a few seconds. “And yes, it really was.” “And it came from Instructor Trepe, too.” Omega commented. “So it had to sting.” All three of them had been sitting there, laughing away and driving several of the other people who came by insane. But they didn’t care, they hadn’t been able to go out at all for a while, and so it felt good to just hang out and not worry about Heartless or anything related to them. “This was a pretty good place.” Omega noted. “We’ll have to come again at some point?” “I completely agree with that.” Zell said, raising his glass as if to toast his friend before taking another swig from it. “I agree.” Lulu said as well. “As long as Zell pays again.” She quickly added, causing Zell to spit out his drink at the suggestion. A waiter walked up to them. “Is that all for this evening?” Zell nodded and the waiter handed him a bill. “Yikes, that really was expensive.” Zell said, grimacing a little. “Sure you have enough munny, Zell? I can pay for half, if you want.” “Nah, I’m good, bud.” Zell said, pulling out some munny and handing it to the waiter. “You guys ready to turn in?” “No, not really.” Omega said, getting up. “But we probably should.” “Good to know.” Zell said, getting up as well. Lulu simply nodded as she got up. “HEY! STOP THAT THING!” someone called out. The three of them looked just in time to see something rush past them. It looked blue, but they couldn’t make out what it was. “What is that, a dog?” Omega asked. “Don’t know.” Zell said. The man who yelled out ran up to them, looking very angry. “Why didn’t you stop that that monster?!” “Why would we? Didn’t look like it was doing anything wrong.” Omega said. “Wasn’t doing anything wrong, it was stealing food from my store!” the man said. “What was it?” Lulu interjected. “I don’t know, but what about my food?!” The man said, obviously seething with anger. He began to move to where whatever it was had run to, only to be stopped when Omega grabbed him by the arm. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Omega said. “The Heartless might not be completely gone. A few stragglers could be lurking around that corner, for instance.” The man’s face automatically filled with fear, and he retreated back in the direction that he had come from “Your people skills are as impressive as usual.” Lulu said as she walked past Omega. “Well, I’m not going to let some idiot go and get themselves killed.” Omega replied, as he followed after her. “It’s already hard enough keeping the Heartless at bay as it is without people like him giving them more to add to their numbers.” Zell chuckled as he walked past. “Admit it.” Zell said, now walking alongside Omega. “You just didn’t want whatever that thing was to starve.” “Not really.” Omega said in a neutral kind of tone, but gave Zell a friendly offhand punch to the arm. He suddenly stopped though. He wasn’t sure, but it felt like someone was watching him, perhaps that creature that had run off. He turned around to look, but there was no one there. Thinking that it was probably just his imagination, he quickly hurried off after his friends. It was always night in Traverse Town, so it was often difficult for many to get used to it, especially when it comes to the time. Omega was used to it though, having lived here for so long. It was actually very early in the morning, and Omega and the others were walking around the First District. They were supposed to be meeting their Instructor, who had said to meet her at the entrance to the Second District. Omega, Lulu and Zell were part of the SeeD Program, a type of mercenary group, although it was originally a program more akin to Special Forces. After the Heartless started attacking nine years ago, the world that SeeD was originally set in was lost, and it was retooled into an Anti-Heartless mercenary group by an important world, although what world that was, it was a Level 9 secret, and since Cadets like Omega and his friends were only Level 1 holders, they were not in on it. Today, SeeD consisted of over two hundred members, with almost twenty worlds that they were stationed at. Quistis Trepe was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties, but carried herself as though she was older than that. She was not the strictest Instructor, and because of this, she was also among the most popular. She was wearing her regular clothes today, instead of her uniform. Her blond hair was still done up in the style she usually had it in, with it tied up in back, while two long fringes at her sides that framed her face. “Alright, you three.” She said as they approached. “Today will be a major Field Exam. One that has been carefully decided ever since the previous night” Omega, Lulu and Zell stood at attention and did not state anything. It would be disrespectful to interrupt with something that did not have relevance to the subject. “Your performance yesterday was incredible, and we decided that you were ready for the Exam.” Instructor Trepe continued. “We have just received word that one of our training worlds, Codenamed “Specter” to be precise, has come under attack by a large force of Heartless.” This information came as no real surprise. After all, “Specter” was a world that was filled with Darkness, which made it a perfect place to start off SeeD training. Omega and his friends had once gone there and had found it to be a slightly unpleasant place. “Since most of the more experienced members are off world, they need back up. A team from each of our training worlds will be sent to Specter to help stop the Heartless.” She said. “You three are to depart Traverse Town and head to Specter to help with the defense. This is an important mission; we cannot allow Specter to fall to the Heartless. Do you all understand?” “Yes ma’am!” “Good. You have three hours to departure.” Instructor Trepe said. She looked all three of them in the face, and gave them a kind smile. “Good luck. Dismissed!” Omega, Lulu and Zell saluted, which the Instructor did as well before leaving. The three of them waited until she was out of sight before they started talking. “Great, we finally get a real mission!” Zell said, grinning broadly. “Told you guys that they would!” “Yeah, it would appear you were right.” Lulu said. “But I’m not sure going back to Specter is a good thing.” “Of course it isn’t.” Zell said. “It’s a horrible place yeah, but soon, we’ll be real SeeD members, and get real missions, that don’t involve Specter at all!” “Yeah, all we need to do is finish this mission.” Omega said. “We can’t afford to screw up. Who knows when we’ll be eligible for the next Exam?” Lulu looked thoughtful for a moment before looking up at the other two. “You’re right. I say we go and prepare for the mission before we leave.” She said. She took a quick glance at the two of them. “I’ll handle the preparations; I’ll meet you two at Cid’s later.” And with that, she walked off. Omega and Zell. Zell turned to him. “I’m going to go over to Cid’s right now, and get the ship ready. What are you going to do?” “Well, I’m sure Lulu will be doing the supplying, I’m not sure. I guess I can always go info surfing.” Omega commented casually, but at the same time he started looking around. “Think she’ll have any idea of what’s happening in Specter?” Zell asked, doing the same. “Hard to say, but since she’s Level 4, she could.” Omega replied. “Though, some information is better than nothing. Walking into a battlefield without knowing anything will just get us killed.” “Okay, but you be careful.” Zell said having made sure no one was listening to them. “She’ll get in really big trouble if the higher ups find out she’s been giving us top secret info that we aren’t allowed.” “I know.” Omega replied. “I’ll see you later.” “See ya.” Omega stood outside the door, hoping that he wouldn’t be here long. The place always gave him the creeps. The door opened after a few minutes. “Okay, come back next week just in case.” A young woman’s voice said, as another SeeD cadet walked out the door. A young woman in a white suit, with shoulder length black hair, appeared as well. “Remember, no strenuous activities until you recover.” “Hello Aki” Omega said, stepping forward. The doctor looked at him. “Oh, hey Omega, come on in.” Omega did so. “How’s life as a doctor going?” “Oh fine, just fine.” Aki said. She had a worried expression on her face, which slightly worried Omega. “ “I see.” “So, how can I help you today, my friend?” Aki said, sitting down. “I’m just here to tell you that we’re going to be heading off in a few hours.” Omega replied. “To Specter.” “Oh, so you guys are the ones going?” Aki said, sitting up in her seat. Omega nodded. “Yeah. I wasn’t given much info on it, though.” “I know, we haven’t either.” Aki said. “Dr. Kadowaki was sent off earlier without much of a briefing as to why.” “Why weren’t you called in too?” Omega asked. “Don’t know, but I’m worried. Dr. Kadowaki always keeps me filled on what is going on when she can. So this must be something very serious.” “Yeah, I know.” Omega agreed. “But you’ve got to know something, like what happened?” “All I know is that there was some kind of incident.” Aki said. “Apparently, a couple of cadets stumbled upon something. Something that put them both in serious intensive care, and had something to do with the first wave of the Heartless attack! And whatever it was has been classified a Level 10 secret.” Omega looked at Aki in shock. Level 10 was the highest level of security that SeeD had. Only a select few were even at Level 10 clearance, and if that was the case, Omega knew he wasn’t going to be getting anything more from this. He just stood there silently, folding his arms in thought. “I’m sorry, but that’s all I know.” Aki said. “It’s okay. Thanks anyway.” Omega replied, heading for the door. “No problem.” Aki said. “Hey!” Omega turned to look at her. “Good luck.” “Thanks.” Omega said, and he left afterwards. He wasn’t sure what to think about what he had just heard. Whatever happened in Specter was definitely worse than Instructor Trepe had let on, but he still had no idea what had caused it. And it looked like he wasn’t going to, if it was a Level 10 secret. It was right as he was at the door to the First District that he heard it. They need your help…. Omega stopped when he heard that and looked around. “Hello? Anyone there?!” Nothing. Omega was confused, but shrugged a little. It had probably been his imagination. He went through the door and headed towards Cid’s shop when he heard it again. But you are not ready… “What?” Omega said, coming to a stop again. He didn’t know why he had said that, or why he was hearing these voices. All he knew was that it wasn’t making him feel comfortable. Trying to shake off his unease, he didn’t realize that he wasn’t alone anymore. “Are you alright?” Omega turned to look at who had spoken and saw a girl wearing a blue jacket and black jeans staring at him in concern. He knew her, her name was Iris and she was a SeeD cadet, just like he was. She had put red highlights in her brown hair since the last time he had seen her, however, which he thought made her look very pretty. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” Omega lied. “No need to worry about me. I’m just peachy over here.” He continued, trying to sound as cheerful as possible, though Iris just chuckled. Though he never really got a chance to hang out with her because they were on separate teams, every time he did, a kind of fluttering feeling appeared in his stomach that he wasn’t sure he like. Or disliked, for that matter. “Alright then.” Iris replied, smiling slightly. “It’s been awhile, Omega.” The feeling intensified, but he ignored it. “It really has, Iris.” Omega said, giving her a small smile as well. “How has it been?” “Oh, you know the usual stuff.” Iris replied. “Just the patrolling of the town and all its districts, killing any Heartless that pops up. You?” “Pretty much the same.” Omega said. “Though, on some nice occasions I get to meet up with old friends that I haven’t talked to in awhile.” His blue eyes met her green eyes for a moment before they both started laughing. “Yeah, I miss it too.” Iris said and for a moment Omega thought he saw a brief blush appear on her face. “Hey, how about after this mission we hang out more?” That fluttering feeling started to grow again and his heart started pounding with it. “Sounds cool, though I’m guessing it might still be a while.” Omega replied, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong with him. “Probably, but I’m sure we can make it work.” Iris said as she started walking past him. “See you soon, alright?” “You definitely will!” Omega said, smiling again. She returned it and walked away, that fluttering feeling becoming almost unbearable now until see left. He felt happy though, and he hoped that nothing would get him down. But then he heard it again…. You must be ready………Or darkness will conquer everything. Before Omega could say or do anything, the world went pitch black, and it felt like he was falling. To be continued....

Oh boy, another review! It's been so long since I've had the drive to do one of these. Well, except Donkey Kong Country of course because I obviously meant every word of that. For realsies. Anyways: I'm a huge fan of Tekken, if I haven't made that clear before, and I'm all abuzz with anticipation now that Tekken 7 is coming out soon. Still working on getting that PS4 though. Because of that, I went back across Tekken content gone past and I decided to check out this little gem right here. I hadn't seen it beforehand and had only heard about it in passing and saw images of it online, so I was fairly optimistic... boy, was that wasted effort. Much like this movie as well. I honestly don't know what I was thinking at the time. Much like other video game series, adapting Tekken from the consoles to the big screen has always resulted in mixed results. A total of four films have been released, and I had already seen two others beforehand, the first being the 2009 live action film and the 2011 "Blood Vengeance" tie-in to the second Tag game, and both were pretty much stinkers too (although the latter is still probably the best of the bunch by not by much). The only film that I haven't seen being the sequel to that live action one, but uh, not breaking my neck over seeing that. Back to this film: this was released in 1997 right before the release of Tekken 3 in order to promote the game, and possibly to cash in the success of the Street Fighter II movie released earlier under the simple name "TEKKEN" (later "Tekken: The Motion Picture for its English dub release by ADV and spoiler warning, the dub is cheesy and lame so I'm not going to go into detail about it. Imagine that, a 90s anime english dub being bad, what are the odds). It adapts the main story of the first game, but also shoves in a bunch of elements from the second game haphazardly. For those who don't know, the basic story of the first Tekken game centers around the King of Iron Fist Tournament sponsored by the Mishima Zaibatsu where fighters compete in matches for a chance to defeat the Zaibatsu's leader Heihachi Mishima and earn a large sum of prize money. One of these fighters is Heihachi's son Kazuya who aims to take revenge on Heihachi for throwing him off a cliff at the age of give in order to test his strength. Sounds like it has potential to be a kickass thrill ride, right? Well sorry, but you get this instead. Okay, without further ado: FIGHT!

Sorry not sorry Weed

Apparently to promote the new Butch Hartman series "Bunsen is a Beast", Nick whipped up a short featuring three of Hartman's previous works Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom and TUFF Puppy. Well... that could have been a little longer. But you know, as a big fan of Hartman's work, I was still really glad to see all those characters in one setting. (I think I've made it clear I'm a big fan of Danny Phantom. Also yes, I'm implying I liked TUFF Puppy... leave me alone, it was fun.) I looked into some info on Bunsen Is A Beast too (which if you don't know is about a monster who goes to school with human kids, har har, shenanigans) and it seems like a fun series, but I haven't watched a full episode yet. I wonder how it stacks up to his other series. Although to be fair, I think anything has a leg up on modern FOP, cough cough, just sayin'...

... I can get behind this.

... so uh... This is a thing.

... Oh. That's five kinds of awkward.

I couldn't help but post this because it's too hilarious to keep to myself.

Straight from Brazilian Comic Con alongside the new Guardians 2 trailer is the newest reboot to Universal's Mummy franchise: This isn't just a Mummy reboot by the way. This is also the first planned movie by Universal to create their own shared cinematic universe. That's right, mere weeks after I posted about the Skull Island trailer, we now have Universal throwing their hats into the shared film franchise game. They apparently have plans to tackle all of their classic movie monsters and already have actors lined up to play some of them: Frankenstein's Monster (played by Javier Bardem), Bride of Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Jekyll, who is also in this film, played by Russel Crow), Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Invisible Man (played by Johnny Depp), and of course, The Mummy. First off: Tom Cruise is in this. That's a good sign. That doesn't automatically mean the movie will be good but it at least guarantees that Cruise will be good in it because he's pretty good in mostly everything he is. Also, we have Sophia Boutella as the titular Mummy, who previously played Gazelle in Kingsman. In that movie, she had blades for legs, and here, she's the titular ancient, four-eyed, sexy hellbringer of death... I have the weirdest boner right now. Ahem, anyway: I don't know much about The Mummy or any of the other dozens of Mummy films, so I can't comment that much further on the trailer, but I am really glad that Universal is giving the classic movie monsters a second life by giving them a shared movie universe. Nowadays, these types of monsters are mostly kiddie fodder and are treated more as jokes rather than serious horror icons. They still are icons in their own right of course, but you have to remember the last time that the Mummy had a movie in the 50s i.e. the same era it originally debuted was a comedy movie where it chased Abbot and Costello... yeeeeah... and let's not even delve in the cheesy 90s film with Brendan Fraser. All I'm saying is that giving them a second more dark and serious iteration isn't going to hurt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NFyqL7sipo Well..I never thought I would see this..even this existed for a long time ago.<_< How should I start...err..Its Overwatch...but its not ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Funny thing is, this game is actually booming in Steam rapidly but Youtube...heh well, you know Youtube nowadays,eh? Its being worshiped like a National Treasure over there. (I lied, its worse ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) Now its in Beta and it really plays like Overwatch. I have no hate against it cause its looking like the Original Version of it, even though they took "some" Aspects of it put it their game. For an Example: You have a exam in school. Your Body is ready but your neighbor in class comes in unprepared for it and doens´t know crap. So he looks on your paper writes like 90% of the same answers but changing some stuff up to let it look different. To be honest,the game is acutally fun and the Character designs looks pretty solid. Even have some faves. But,I wanna know what you guys think of it?

Hell yeah. I can't wait to start breaking the law. Side note: this is the only way any news story trying to exploit the "issues" of these types of games would hold any water.

Hi guys (^_^) i watched a video to Dearly beloved and I read this quote: Distant hearts, when rejoined as one... may find the light within. I can't find from where this quote comes, so does somebody know it or maybe even have a link to it? I really like this quote but I don't remember seeing it in the game Thanks:)

I don't know if there's already a similar game on this part of the forums, but hey, this is now the most relevant one, so there. Now, for those who don't know: a monkey's paw refers to the object from the short story of the same name. In the story, the person who get the monkey's paw is allowed three wishes, but he soon realizes he have to pay a price for these wishes as punishment for messing with fate. i.e. asking for money to pay a bill only for that money to come from an insurance payment after somebody close to him dies. To play this game is simple: First, I'll make a wish for something, and the next player will grant the wish but give me some kind of bad twist to it, while still granting the wish as I laid it out. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun screwing each other over. Here's an example: Wish: I wish for Kingdom Hearts III to be released soon. Result: It releases the next day, but it plays like Sonic '06. Now you try. I'll start you off with another wish: I wish that I had my own private island.

Never thought I'd make a thread like this before, but hey, why not? I don't really talk about cartoons all that often on the forums anyway. Anyways: I started watching the new PPG cartoon this week. I've seen the three mini-shorts, the first episode that aired on CN on Monday, and the one 15 minute segment that aired yesterday. I say that because I know there was a pilot leaked online for an episode called "Man Up" which I have not seen and won't see until it officially airs this Friday. As for what I've seen so far: I actually really enjoyed it. Is it exactly like the old cartoon? Yes and no. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not. I mean, the former should be pretty obvious to be honest. This is a reboot after all, and wasn't/isn't marketed directly towards hardcore fans of the original cartoon. It's for casual and/or potential new fans of the series as well, but at the same time still shares the same aesthetics and core structure that the original possessed. The humor I will admit is mostly different and is catered towards a more modern audience, but that's okay because I still found it be clever, properly set up, and overall humorous, while still carrying the same spirit that the humor of the original. The main three girls are all pretty much the same too, only slightly modified in certain behaviors due to now being slightly older and being in elementary school instead of just kindergarten, which is understandable. You seeing a pattern yet? Overall, the show is different, but in a good way. Unlike something akin to Teen Titans Go!, the show acknowledges that it has an older fanbase as well as people who have never seen the original and appeals to both while at the same time giving respect to where it came from. And yes, it is in fact a million times better than TTG ... not that being better than TTG is a hart feat to accomplish, but still. One last side note that only really pertains to itself: the show has managed to do something that feels unnecessarily complicated to pull off, especially for a reboot, and that's incorporating a modern setting and doing it well, and by modern setting, I of course mean incorporating smart phones and computers and the like. I know there's a mentality present where incorporating modern elements such as those leaves a bad impression and just makes the show seem tacky or pandering, and I understand it, but believe it or not, it can be done right, and PPG'16 does it right. It doesn't emphasize the fact that the girls each have smart phones, the hotline phone is a smart phone now, or that Bubbles used a YouTube-esque site to start a beauty vlog at one point, it's just there. Which is fine because tech is just there in our lives as well and we don't call attention to it all the same. Again, this is a modern cartoon for a modern audience, and regardless about how you feel about it, we live in a society where technology is prominently used in everyday life. There's nothing being taken away from the core aspects of the show, it's just set in an appropriate time setting and reflects the trends of the time without using it as a crutch to appeal to its audience by having the girls constantly talking selfies or using "duck lips". I've pretty much got my points across. So if you have any thoughts about the new cartoon, please leave your thoughts below.

I'm sure most of you are aware by now, but TeamFourStar finally got their YouTube channel back, and have uploaded a video regarding the issue as well as the issues plauging YouTube as a whole, following the #WTFU format.

I haven't been following the Nostalgia Critic's content lately, for personal reasons, but considering what's been going down with YouTube for what seems like eons now, this takes precedent as it involves a very serious topic. I may not be a content creator, but even if I was one, I wouldn't want to deal with this malarkey either. I know there's a lot of buzz and responses about this already, but I just wanted this forum/site to get the message straight from the horse's mouth. In short: YouTube be stoopid. In terms of fair use, that is... okay, maybe in other ways too, but mostly fair use. So let's do something about it. Anything, really.

Lee His body slumped against the side of a building, Lee slowly opened his eyes, his thick eyebrows arching over his forehead. "Agh... my head..." He said to himself, rubbing the back of his head as he stood up and took in his surroundings.From what he remembered, the last place he was in was his home of the Hidden Leaf Village. Now, as he turned a corner, he found himself in an ominous town-looking setting, filled with buildings stairs and street lamps. Everything was painted a dull gray color, and coupled with the flashing lights and big spaces, it looked almost futuristic. "This place... I have no idea where I am... is this some kind of strange, new village?" Lee asked himself, looking around and noticing the other people scattered around the vicinity. They were almost alien to Lee, as if they were from different worlds...

Synopsis: Across this broad horizon that stretches out to infinity and beyond… lies the key to not only the reunion of dreams… but also the termination of hope. In the vast spaces of this universe exist different worlds, worlds once linked together but now severed apart, where the greatest of heroes live in harmony with their people, unaware of the existence of the others that neighbor them far away. However, among these people arise threats to their peace: villains and wrong-doers from separate worlds who discover the reality of their existence with one another, and come together for a plot to conquer all that is righteous and achieve domination over every single world and rule as almighty tyrants… It started when one of the stars shining in the night sky blinked out, to which more followed suit… But even so, a variety of heroes are thrust from their respective homes and thrown into the eventual chaos brought upon by these villains, to which the heroes respond to a call to action to bring down the marauders and restore peace. Maybe then, the stars will return to the sky. Rules: Characters must strictly be from an original anime property. Exceptions are given only to anime based on manga or light novel series. Other properties such as anime adapted from video games or “anime-esque” properties such as web series are not allowed. Play as your characters in-character. Characters will be “nerfed” in order to be presented as equals in terms of battle power to each other, though the villains will be stronger for obvious reasons. Characters, hero or villain, may not kill each other. Though some series may be rated differently, posts are only acceptable at PG-13 level, including mild language, violence, and sexual content. Keep your posts at a medium length, meaning not too short and not too long i.e. “wall of text”. No “God Modding” or controlling other people’s characters; if caught doing either, it may result in being banned from the RP. No conversing/fighting with other members in the RP thread. Take it to PM or the sign-ups thread, which will also serve as a discussion thread. If you have an question or concern regarding the RP, PM me or Shulk, the co-mod, for assistance. Players must not dwell too long from posting or else they may not continue participating and be kicked. All other KH13 rules apply. Let’s head off the save the stars! Character Sheet: *Two characters max, one hero and one villain; you must have at least one hero but your second choice as a villain or another hero is optional* Name: Origin: (Anime they are from) Good/Evil: Appearance: (Image recommended) Biography: (Try to keep it short) Personality: Abilities: (Limited to three i.e. power of flight, power of using energy, etc.) *Type “Stars” at the end of the sheet so I know you have read everything* My Sheets: Name: Rock Lee Origin: Naruto Shippuden Good/Evil: Good Appearance: Biography: As a child, Rock Lee was ungifted at using ninjutsu and genjutsu, two abilities considered essential to become a ninja. His only talent came from taijutsu, basic hand-to-hand combat, and after becoming a student under the tutelage of Might Gai, it became his greatest ability. It was then that he decided he would prove he could be a splendid ninja without using ninjutsu or genjutsu. He would grow more powerful, joining a team under his master Gai and gaining two teammates in Neji Hyuga and Tenten, and would become a great supporter for the ninja who would become the village's hero, Naruto Uzumaki. Personality: Energetic, enthusastic, simple-minded, determined, and very respectful. Abilities: Strong Fist Taijutsu (form of fighting style that involves delivering hard strikes) Enhanced Speed (is very fast in general and can become faster when taking off weights) Eight Gates (a ninja ability that increases his power by tremendous levels while also endangering his life) Name: Sasuke Uchiha Origin: Naruto Shippuden Good/Evil: Evil Appearance: Biography: Sasuke Uchiha lived in the Hidden Leaf Village as the son of the Uchiha Clan's head, Fugaku. However, his brother Itachi committed mass genocide and slaughtered his family and all the other Uchiha except for Sasuke. It was then that Sasuke dedicated his life to avenging his clan and destroying Itachi, growing an obsession for power. As a genin, he was paired with Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno on a team lead by Kakahi Hatake. Thanks to the influence of Orochimaru and a reunion with Itachi, Sasuke's drive become so strong that he left the Leaf Village, fought off a pursuing Naruto, and agreed to become Orochimaru's accomplice in exchange for more power. Personality: Quite, stoic, apathetic, indifferent, and at times, merciless. Abilities: Ninjutsu (molds chakra in order to perform techniques such as the Chidori and the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu) Sharingan (special eyes that allows him to cast genjutsu and copy other opponents techniques) Curse Mark (special mark on neck that allows him to grow into a monstrous form and use more powerful versions of his techniques) Name: Raditz Origin: DragonBall Z Good/Evil: Evil Appearance: Biography: Born as a Saiyan and the first son of Bardock and Gine, Raditz survived the destruction of Planet Vegeta along with Nappa and Prince Vegeta. He would later visit Planet Earth in order to convince his long lost brother Kakarot, renamed Goku, join his fellow brethren in conquering and selling planets. Goku refuses, so Raditz kidnaps his son Gohan. Goku, with the aid of Piccolo, pursues and subdues Raditz. His soul was then sent to the Other World. Personality: Overconfident, cruel, prideful, but secretly a coward when the fear of death is put into him. Abilities: Flight: The ability to fly, as most people from his world are able to do. Ki: The manipulation of ki energy to perform energy attacks such as the Double Sunday and Saturday Crush. Saiyan Genetics: As a Saiyan, he has enhanced and almost inhuman levels of strength, speed, and the ability to grow stronger when near death, a trait known as a "Zenkai".

Seriously, could no one at DC Google the words "blade wolf" to see if anyone had used that idea already?

Remember kids: Stay away from Tier 15. That tier is only for the big kids.