NOCLIP Pocket E86 - Literal Science - Kingdom Hearts

Podcast go, Sora go, go!

Welcome back to NOCLIP Epilogue! Today we’re going back to one of our first ten episodes and talking about Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG with a dash of platforming on the side, as exploring the different worlds is a big part of both the goal of the game’s design and the appeal. That being said, the real notable thing about Kingdom Hearts, particularly at the time of its release, is its association with Disney. The game incorporate characters, locations, music and other themes and references to many Disney films throughout its levels and its plot. For a lot of people, this is probably why they got into the games in the first place, and I really can’t blame them. The source material is treated reverently, and at least here in the first game, incorporated into the plot in a way that feels real, necessary and additive. Waiting to see what movie each level is going to take you into is a real selling point for the game and because of their incorporation of characters and music, it really makes the sense of being in a movie you love even more palpable. Aside from this, it’s a game released in 2002. There are some limitations due to original hardware, design trends and other problems of the time, but if you can look past that, it was an extremely unique game and of the sequentially numbered entries in the series (358/2 does not count as numbered, lol) still the one that delivers on its premise the strongest. We’re going to be talking about what can make going back to the game a struggle for some and a joy for others, the game’s dedication to its concepts and unique ideas, and we do everything in the end of the world.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We’ve piled up a few epilogue episodes (thanks to an unlucky roll during Mystery May, one more than we had originally intended) so far this year, so I hope you find it a worthwhile exercise. Let us know in the comments if you’ve been enjoying them or not and if you have suggestions of other games we should revisit! Kingdom Hearts is obviously a huge series and the reason we decided to handle this one now is because our next main episode is going to be on its sequel, which will complete the trilogy of episodes for us, so we hope you’re looking forward to it. Until next time, remember you can leave a comment or join us over on our discord to leave game suggestions or talk about the games we’ve been discussing. Next time, we’re going to be talking about the Secret of Monkey Island, since we’ve been suffering point and click withdrawals recently, so be sure to check us out then!