Bro really pitched a chainsaw weapon for a disney IP, Legend!

@coreyhansen9711

Ай бұрын

and he did it in an elevator... literally won the classic "elevator pitch"

@Official_MikeyT

6 күн бұрын

KH4 needs a Keyblade transformation that gives Sora that exact OG weapon.

Honestly if it wasn’t for Kingdom Hearts I never would have played Final Fantasy. I remember seeing character like Squall, Yuffie, and Cloud wondering who they were and luckily the games journal has the name of their respective games in each entry. My favorite reaction was seeing Sephiroth I still vividly remember it. I go into the fight wonder who the heck is this guy with the long flowing silver hair the wing and OMG HOW LONG IS THAT SWORD!!!! The next thing I know I’m dead in two hits from it those were good times.

@Giffsen

2 ай бұрын

Oof

@j.2512

Ай бұрын

but if you were a bit older and already a FF fan by the time KH came out and you saw that it would have given you cringe.

@Santana_Art

7 күн бұрын

Same. Of course kh is cringey but I was 9 and I liked cool commercials, Disney and electronic dance music

@rafaellopez6432

5 күн бұрын

Same with me was a younger so kingdom hearts 2 was my first and got me hooked on final fantasy

It’s only a matter of time before Disney finally gives Nomura a Disney Legend Award. He deserves it for all he has done

@alemirdikson

2 ай бұрын

Although I agree with the sentiment, I fear that Disney probably doesn't. They seem to have been kinda dismissive about the property for much of its existence. It seems, to me at least, that they view Kingdom Hearts as some small, inconsequential spinoff, fully separate from the Disney canon. I could be wrong, and I'd love to be, but that's the vibe I get.

@ricardorodrigues2656

2 ай бұрын

With the way things are going for disney lately, they desperately need a hit after releasing so much crap. KH is still a very successful franchise that the public loves so they might want to capitalise on that. But then again, its disney, bad decisions are their standart practise now.

@UniqueHandles

Ай бұрын

@@alemirdiksonIf that were the case, KH3 wouldn’t have been so heavily advertised. I hope you aren’t forgetting that it was one of the most anticipated video games _of all time_

@francescomena8181

Ай бұрын

@@UniqueHandles it was heavily advertised, yes, but by Square Enix, not by Disney itself. In general Disney as a company tries very little to acknowledge the series.

@Haydawg06

Ай бұрын

@@francescomena8181 Kingdom Hearts had advertisements on Disney Channel fairly often IIRC

1:36:12 Honestly my favorite piece of foreshadowing for the Kairi reveal was one you didn't even mention, when Sora seals the keyhole in Deep Jungle, and Tarzan tries to say that our friends are in our hearts Jane: Oh, now I've got it. Hee-hoo, hoo-hoo-hah means heart. Friends in our hearts... Tarzan: Heart... Sora: Oh, so that's what it meant. Tarzan: Friends, same heart. When you watch it in context, it's clear they're talking about a more abstract idea of being connected to friends by our hearts. But if you choose to interpret it literally, he's saying that our friends are in our hearts, which Kairi literally is in Sora's heart! killed me that i didn't notice this until my like sixth time through

@danielwarren3138

Ай бұрын

I've noticed it now lol

@King-ze2kt

22 күн бұрын

I've always liked to think that Tarzan straight up saw that Kairi was in his heart and tried to tell him.

@ARS_Time_Bomb

13 күн бұрын

I didn't notice it until you said it 😭

Best kh 1 retrospective I’ve seen on KZread

@roxas1802

Ай бұрын

This one and Tetramorre

Kudos to you for diving into the background of the development team and the motivations for making KH. Especially liked the little known fact about Kairi being based on Utada. Also, props for using the PS2 version for footage. I haven’t seen these graphics in ages

This, quite literally, the most perfect form of content to have dropped mid work day on a slow Friday. Thanks for being a real one Andrew.

1:28:11 There's actually a bunch of lines you can read from the FF kids on Destiny Island if you refuse to spar with them, and a few of those are about Riku. Wakka in particular really hypes him up during day 1. But there's a line from Tidus that I really wish wasn't so easy to miss: he straight up asks Sora if him and Riku are really friends, because he thinks it's hard to tell if they are or not sometimes. That means there's been trouble between the two for a while already. I think it's likely Riku's grown a bit of an ego from being the oldest and strongest of the kids on Destiny Island, and that he really doesn't know how to handle Sora being able to keep up with him or even surpass him in any way.

@KorianBossMonster

2 ай бұрын

I....never knew this... God I NEED to play Kh1 again just for that voice line lmao

@viruschris3160

Ай бұрын

How do you trigger it?

@ludward

Ай бұрын

@@viruschris3160 Just talk to them, and when they ask you if you want to fight them, refuse and then do it again to cycle through their lines. Everyone's got 3 to 4 lines of text during both days. Kairi also has a few lines of text if you tell her you don't need her help finding stuff, though you have to do the Riku race first when on day 2. Riku himself doesn't get any extra lines if you refuse to fight/race him multiple times, surprisingly enough.

@viruschris3160

Ай бұрын

@@ludward interesting never did that. No wonder it was so missable.

@BCZ21

Ай бұрын

Definitely never knew that

This game and it's sequel's holds a special place in my heart.

Thank you for talking about adjusting Donald and Goofys battle tactics in the menu. Im so so sick of the "dOnAlD nEVeR hEalS mE" memes when the option to adjust what they do in battle has always been right there

@DigiBrad

15 күн бұрын

I got back around to loving the memes knowing I never really had a terrible time with it.

Only 30 minutes in but wow this is so deeply researched. When you said there would be a detour, I didn't expect this. Great stuff!

@Rkader11

Ай бұрын

Best type of content these days

Maaaaaaan that was a GREAT Christmas. My mom did her thing! I got vice city, my younger brother got Kingdom Hearts, and my youngest brother Pro Skater 4 for his bday a week before Christmas. We were in heaven 😂😂🙏🏾

@AndrewBluett

Ай бұрын

I got my first PlayStation 2 that Christmas with The Simpsons Road Rage, Digimon Rumble Arena, and Spongebob Squarepants: Super Sponge. KH wasn't until 2007 for me, but it feels so long ago that it may as well have been 2002 lol

@ReadtoFilth

Ай бұрын

@@AndrewBluettDigimon rumble arena is the bomb! I will destroy anyone using Gatomon and patamon !

@j.2512

Ай бұрын

the middle child was the gay kid

@eazybuxafew

Ай бұрын

@@j.2512 far from it. “I” only got vice city because I was the oldest. None of us really claimed the games as our own, we all played together. But I played KH more than anyone else.

@j.2512

Ай бұрын

@@eazybuxafew so you were the gay kid

KH was my childhood too! It was so formative for me. I loved its unabashed sweetness. I was disappointed by how complicated the story became in KH2 when it came out. I've come to accept it all for the whole that it was, but I think the relative simplicity of the original story and its core characters was better. It's contrary to a lot of people and I get why, 2 is also iconic and it plays way better, it's only really the immense amount of new lore that threw me off. Looking back at it all, I'm not sure I'm the happiest with where the story has gone since KH, but I'll always have the warm feelings that it gave me and I still enjoy revisiting the other entries as well.

I've been a KH fan for as long as the series has been a thing and watched TONS of KH1 reviews and retrospectives and I gotta say this may be one of the best I've watched, I absolutely love how much you discuss the history of the game developer insight and reasons for the choices they made for characters, worlds, designs and gameplay. Everybody knows the "Disney and Square employee met in an elevator and thus Kingdom Hearts was born" but I had never heard this story how they were far into development without actually having Disney's full blessing until the meeting with Eisner. I also absolutely love how Nomura was so bold and passionate about his ideas, no fear in presenting what he wanted to do, love that man. You got a subscriber for life, definitely watching all your other videos in the future.

Hi Andrew, fellow Andrew here! I've been following your channel since you started putting out your Final Fantasy retrospectives. I hold you responsible for getting me back in to the FF series and loving every second of it. I'm so grateful to have this retrospective done for the game that absolutely changed my life during my formative years. Embarrassingly, I would imagine myself as Sora falling from the sky and searching for Kairi in my bedroom! This video has reminded me about those times and I appreciate your feedback and retrospective on the Kingdom Hearts 1 game and I look forward to the rest of the series being done! So thanks!

Your thoughts on how the emotional impact of characters and stories driving home the best stories, to me, rang so true. I've found that treating characters as "real" as they can be has left me more and more in tune with writing and analysis than any cold read ever could. I feel more for the story because I empathize with fiction as I would a real person. It's why I can say I like melodrama. I like over the top moments that, when written out sound silly, but in the moment it hits different. I feel empathy is a dirty word anymore, but to me, empathy is the crux to what allows people to enjoy the world, and stories told therein.

Kingdom Hearts is how I even got into Final Fantasy. This game is something special, it's insane what it accomplished in 2001/2002

@devinpledger2251

Ай бұрын

Ya it was like elden ring but back in the day first real time action rpg I played and love.

I finally got to experience kingdom hearts for the first time and i gotta say it couldn't be better time to do it. At this day and age when everything seem to be going off the rails, entertainment seem to divide more than entertain its great to experience something as genuine as Kingdom Hearts. Great vid my guy, you earned a big sub with this one.

Amazing and underrated retrospective of Kingdom Hearts, its honestly a miracle that this game even released to shelves with how many statistical improbabilities were in its path, Tetsuya Nomura and his team had some ridiculous drive to get this game out. Forever my favorite video game franchise ever created. ❤

Just wanted to say how much I loved this video essay adjacent retrospective of one of my favorite games! A lot of these types of things in the past few years devolve into plot summary with a tiny bit of opinions mixed in, while this has a healthy balance of summary, thoughts, history, and analysis. Super excited for eventual KH2 and FF9-10 reviews if they happen!

@AndrewBluett

Ай бұрын

Thank you! I, too, have grown tired of long-form videos which are largely structured around a complete recap of the story. I find them to be uninterested and restrictive by being beholden to the flow of the narrative, even when there are events which are hardly worth even a passing mention. I don't, for example, need to note how the story in each Disney world unfolds because the specific minutiae largely doesn't matter there when examining the whole. No shade to those who do like that type of video, but I try to avoid it.

@fireant353

Ай бұрын

Seconding this sentiment

@Rakka5

Ай бұрын

" devolve into plot summary with a tiny bit of opinions mixed in" HOLY SHIT THIS SO MUCH.

1:23:41 I NEVER knew you could turn those bubbles solid! Mind blown (also amazing video, as always!)

@dduuddeechil

Ай бұрын

I play this and KH2 every couple years and just found this out lmao

No Retrospective Series has Made it to KH3, and this will probably be the one that will finally do it.

@peterelpanda2

2 ай бұрын

KingK says hello

@Animus_Altia

2 ай бұрын

SuperButterBuns' For Beginners series would also like to say hi.

@BIuesunshrike

2 ай бұрын

@@Animus_Altiadude i like butter buns and all but like she doesn’t often go super in depth with it it’s not a negative but just a fact

@Animus_Altia

2 ай бұрын

@@BIuesunshrike Eh, I personally put them somewhere between a review and retrospective.

@salty_lake

Ай бұрын

Nobody really wants to see anything about 3

this video mustve been a massive undertaking to put together. Thank you for your hard effort. KH1 will always be my favorite main entry in the series, and I too wept for the first time playing a video game during the final cutscene. This game was legit lifechanging for a young me. What a special project and a miracle that it even exists, at all!

This was a fantastic retrospective. Excited for the next one!

So glad the algorithm pitched this to me. Love your channel so far

This is, of every video game franchise EVER, my favorite. It genuinely means so much to me and it's been that way since I first played it as a child in 2010. So excited to start watching this, I've loved all of your previous videos and I know this one will be just as fantastic.

Babe wake up, Andrew Bluett just dropped another BANGER

And you my friend have earned a subscription for an expertly crafted video and detailed analysis on the game that has helped shaped me into who I am today. Can’t wait to see what comes next.

To this day, no game opening has ever made me feel the way the Kingdom Hearts opening did 22 years ago.

Bless KZread’s algorithm gods that led me to this video. I’ve never watched a more informative introspective of one of my all time favorite games.

Ive been recommended your videos in my feed but I haven't seen you cover a game I know that well. But now that you have and having watched this video you have handily earned my sub!! I'm ready for my 890th KH retrospective marathon!!!

that was fantastic. thank you andrew!

It’s amazing no matter how much times content creators overdue KH reviews I’m always gonna watch them 😂

Always a pleasure to have you show up in the sub feed Drubie! Another fantastic video under your belt!

Please continue these retrospectives for the rest of the Kingdom Hearts games! I'd really love to see that!

Lets freaking go Andrew! Stoked to watch this one

Watched the video then went to sleep. I woke up two hours later with a panic attack. Few minutes later after I calmed down a bit. I started sobbing while thinking of the heartless people of our world. And over how some people would go through a monumental effort to reunite with their beloved ones just to shortly part ways. Thank you Andrew. I, too, played the game when I was 12.

Solid retrospective! Nice to see you upload again.

one of the best videos I've ever seen, can't wait to see more of this series! good job

Loved this video man, bout to marathon your whole channel

This has been in my watch later for a while but I finally found time to sit down and watch through it all and I have to say, this is probably the best retrospective on this game I've personally seen. Cannot wait for more!

Phenomenal work! Thank you for taking the time to make such a detailed video and taking me through my childhood again. I remember getting this for my 10th birthday in October 2002 and have been in love with the series ever since.

This was the best retrospective I’ve ever seen for this game. Subscribed and excited to see more from you

Donald screaming sora come back sora always gets me

The way that I knew that Kingdom hearts was going to be something special is that the TV show X play, with Adam sessler and Morgan Webb, had both hosts actually agree for once that the game was enjoyable. Usually Adam historically did not like role-playing games, and this game was unique and interesting enough to him.

Awesome video. I appreciate the quality content you bring to JRPG retrospectives table. Looking forward to the next one!

Amazing job You deserve sooo many views for how well researched and presented this was all done. Amazing job.

This video was so good thank you.

Awesome watch man! Can't wait for the next one!

Amazing video man!!

Definitely subbed to see the rest of the series! Can't wait

Great video! Can't wait for your KH 2 retrospective!

Amazing video!

Great video! Enjoyed the whole layout, info, and thoughts!

I haven't finished watching yet- but commenting to say that I'm loving this so far!! It seems really well researched and I really appreciate your putting the citations in the video for us to reference. Thanks for the hard work!!

Well thought out, insightful and interesting. I am exciting for the follow ups.

Great video!

This was so well researched, while also considering themes and intended messaging AND the actual experience of the game. First time I’ve ever seen an essay this good on my favorite game.

Woah!! Thanks a lot for this video! I had collected and read the majority of Ansem's reports, but the way you summarized them really helped me understand the lore. How fascinating! 👀 nice retrospective

The journey that KH1 had to get from conception to my home in 2003 is truly remarkable. Im so grateful everything worked in its favor and the world got to experience this amazing series

Thanks for everything you do. We really appreciate your hard work on these videos. I mean that was just amazing. Thank you so much!

This was a fast sub. Amazing work.

Dearly Beloved is still on repeat in my brain all these years later

Excellent work as usual!

Oh shoot I've been waiting for this one! Gotta make some time tonight to relax to watch it!

i really love your style of analysis and critique. the way you use the story beats to flow in and out of aspects of the game is really enrapturing! the history lesson the proceeds the analysis is always a highlight too, i considered myself pretty knowledgeable about kingdom hearts but i learnt a bunch of new stuff about its development today

Great job! Subscribed!

Another great video. Keep up the awesome work!

My friend sent me the link to this and I’m so thankful he did, I can’t wait to see more!

This was a fantastic video! Even as a longtime KH fan who grew up with the series, there was some development info I hadn’t heard or seen before. Hoping you’ll do more games from the series!

Truly an excellent video. I like the in depth look you gave into how the idea of kingdom hearts got off the ground, and how it was developed as everyone in square soft and disney started warming to the idea and were figuring out how to make this work. I look forward to you making more videos on the other kingdom hearts games

Amazing video I loved how you cited each reference in the video, unlike other KZreadrs

My favourite series of all time. You did a great job! I was there to see kh1 release and have had to wait this long while for the third! And you were able to fit so much in this video :)

Holy...one of my favorite essayists put out a KH video TWO WEEKS ago and I'm just now seeing it? How does that even happen but also I am feasting now thank you.

THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD RETROSPECTIVE UGHHHHHH SO IN DEPTH

Dang, 22 years huh? Thanks for the video, I have such nostalgia for this series.

One of the best KH vids I have seen, well done!

Damn dude. This was superrrr thorough💯

This wasn't what i expected when it comes "Retrospective". I thought you cover the whole KH games,but not this whole history behind the production,development,the whole game alongside the mechanic,and the reception of the games. This is really interesting take for a retrospective video.

Of all the retrospectives I was expecting, I must admit... Disney's Secret of Mana was not on my bingo card at first. But I'm very glad you did it... I needed an excuse to order some pizza while I watch.

Talking about learning something new on every playthrough, Bambi is incredible for both wave clearing and for synthesis collection. I always thought Bambi was practically useless when I was younger, but I also subbed to the Unga bunga beat things with big metal stick philosophy. If Bambi is on the field you will basically never run out of MP and he semi-stuns enemies he lands on leading to cleaner uses of fire blizzard and thunder. You can whipe whole hordes of heartless with an endless thundaga chain. When he's out, he also has a chance of forcing enemies to drop unique synthesis materials on death, making the grinding process far easier.

@AndrewBluett

Ай бұрын

I did not know he made synthesis items drop more easily. That would've my my synthesis grind in Final Mix so much more bearable.

@failurextreme7084

Ай бұрын

@@AndrewBluett right? I learned it through watching a 100% speed run.

I was 12 when this game came out, seen almost all the movies and played enough FF to were I knew who the characters were, best experience…I can’t imagine being one of them kids who thought Cloud was just some random guy when he walks into the Coliseum lol, I lost my shit when I first got to that part

Can’t wait for your KH2 video!

Wonderful video. Liked and subscribed.

I am so glad you’re doing content on Kingdom Hearts. I’ve been playing the final fantasies along your retrospectives on them, and while i enjoy Final Fantasy overall it’s never connected with me on the same level as KH. it’s really something special.

Need part 2 now please. I subscribed! 😅

This is a great video

You sir are an amazing storyteller! I got goosbumps during the Eisner section.

I didn't have a console of my own growing up but me and my friends in grade school were OBSESSED with Kingdom Hearts. We read through the guidebook at recess and pretend to be the characters. I went over to my friend's house to play it. I used to watch tons of Kingdom Hearts AMVs. Eventually I got to play it fully in my own (I think I was like 13 at that point). It's been a staple part of my childhood, both KH 1 & 2. It's a comfort game. It's got a charm to it that's just undeniable. The soundtrack is so good. I was so hooked on Simple and Clean and Sanctuary. Dearly Beloved is my morning alarm. It's just so serene, it's a great way to wake up. Riku ended up being my favorite character 💙

Just glimpse at these cutscenes punch me in my chest so hard. My eyes never fail to tear up. This game and its sequel is a cornerstone of my heart and who I am as a person. Not my personality but my morals and how high I regard my friends and family above myself and it’s because of Sora.

Damn this was amazing

Man this is amazing

Very well made video

A Simple and Clean retrospective, Andrew Bluett’s reviews are quickly becoming my Sanctuary.

This is an awesome and detailed analysis of the first game. I hope you eventually do all the games. You have me as a sub. Can't wait to catch up on your other videos. Great job, never give up, and keep up the passion dude!

absolutely amazing retrospective!! I would love to see you talk about kh2 or really any other kh game

@AndrewBluett

22 күн бұрын

Come back in March

@barsabe

19 күн бұрын

​@@AndrewBluettyou mean march 2025 I assume, lol

The end of the world felt like a fever dream. I was brawling at the ending as well. Still got goosebumps when u showed this scene again. really memorable game for sure. Can’t wait for the retrospective of the second one🎉

Just found your channel through this video and I'm very impressed! Great script, "reading", sound, and video editing! I hope you'll do the other KH games as well. Now to watch all your FF videos... 🤩

@gohan9845

13 күн бұрын

Can you do a video on ff versus 13 ?

Oh my God! You Bluett again!

This was my game. I grew up with kingdom hearts and 2 was the game I was hyped up for most in my life.