All right, let’s cut straight to the artery of this thing. The official title is Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep: -A fragmentary passage-, but I’m never going to call it that in full because 1) it’s clumsy at best, 2) it has Birth By Sleep in the title, which makes me wretch, and 3) the game’s timeline is all over the place, so “0.2” is only somewhat fitting. I mean yeah, its 0.2 plus the compilation’s 2.8 equals 3, but it’s not as if KHIII made it on time. And even with the two PS4 compilations -- The Story so Far notwithstanding -- there’s still nothing pertaining to Unchained/Union X save for Back Cover. Which is…inadequate, to say the least.
This is a lot of talk about meaningless garbage to start off a post that focuses on 0.2’s gameplay. So I guess I’ll go ahead and get focused. And also, decide to alternate between calling it 0.2 and what it really is, AKA Kingdom Hearts III: Ground Zeroes. And also also, embed another wrestler’s theme. Because if it’s worth doing twice…
It was either this, or Drax’s Batista’s theme.
I have severe doubts that my brother will get through the two KH compilations we have before KHIII drops. As of writing, we’re barely two weeks away from the fated moment. It took him more than six months of off-and-on sessions just to get back where he was over a decade ago. Except he squeezed in Chain of Memories along the way, and described it as “a fucking mess”. And he did watch the Days movie (such as it is), albeit in the background while he did other stuff on the computer. I can’t even blame him for it.
But if I had to guess, Birth by Sleep is what’s brought him to his knees. I can imagine why -- and pretty much have to, since I haven’t exactly grilled him on the details of his “experience”. But I did ask him how he felt about the Command Deck system. His answer, in an uncharacteristically low and venomous tone, was “I hate it.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d have to endure the same system in Dream Drop Distance. Partially because I want him to suffer through the entire KH experience, as I did.
In its current state, KH as a whole has gameplay that’s dumb fun. There are visceral, surface-level thrills to be had thanks to the presentation of it all, coupled with the audacity of the concept. Lots of flashy attacks. Lots of crazy skills. Lots of special effects -- sights and sounds galore. Lots of nutty mechanics. KHIII isn’t going to drop the ball on that front, given how (assuming it hasn’t been pulled from earlier builds) you can summon a spinning teacup ride to ravage the forces of darkness. Baller.
But I sympathize with my brother’s plight. As a hardcore fighting game expert, he needs titles with mechanical complexity and learning curves more than he needs oxygen. Frame data, hitstun, advantage on block, instant air dashes, mix-ups, buffering, the works; he’ll turn up his nose at pretty much anything that tries to “appeal to a wider audience” or beginners in general. So it’s not entirely surprising that he’s willing to turn his back on BBS. It’s another installment in a franchise world-famous for its button-mashing. As long as you have a working X button, you can win. You will win. Eventually.
The Command Deck system of BBS and 3D are fine for what they are. It’s worth remembering that the versions we two brothers have been playing are tuned-up versions of portable games; there had to be concessions along the way, because I’d imagine it’s easier to have those myriad effects appear comfortably on a TV screen than a square the size of a puppy’s head. To say nothing of processing power. Again, KH has shown up on more handhelds at this point than consoles, so we’re talking about a franchise where “concessions” are the norm. Arguably that includes the PS2 entries, because we’re objectively talking about some dated technology.
Though on that note? I’m wary of saying this, but I have to admit retroactively that (until the third chapter drops) KHII has some of the best combat in the series. I have issues with it. There are parts from other games that I prefer and praise. But overall, I get what it tried to sell more than the others. I could go into why, but I feel like I’d do a better job of explaining it by starting on 0.2. So let’s get to it.
Pared down to basics, 0.2 skews heavily towards KHII’s style of combat (and by extension, KHI). You run around 3D areas, wailing on the myriad Heartless with physical attacks and magic. Defensively, you’ve got a barrier on block and a counterattack you can use out of it -- sort of like a parry, though the timing is pretty generous on it. In terms of mobility? Air dashes and double-jumps are in, along with a cartwheel that’s functionally the same as the classic Dodge Roll. Those are the basics, and you’ll need a combination of them to survive against the foes you encounter along the way.
But it’s a new day in KH world, meaning that there are some new mechanics in play. Well, as new as a quasi-demo of a game from 2017 can get, but you get the idea. Reaction Commands are no more; in their place, you have Situation Commands. Attacking builds up a short meter as you go, and when you fill it, you gain temporary access to a special technique mapped to Triangle (and selectable via the D-pad as well). Use it, and you’ll either cast a souped-up version of your standard magic, or power up with a Command Style from BBS.
Also, the Shot-Lock ability is back, allowing you to specifically target and blast enemies (safely, at that) in exchange for meter. But I’m more intrigued by Situation Commands.
The big wrinkle for Situation Commands is that it’s an extension of your play style, and it does make you think about how you’re playing to maximize damage output. If you’re casting a lot of Blizzard spells, your SC will turn into Blizzaja for a massive explosion of winter weather. Not bad -- but since 0.2 adds extra emphasis on hitting enemy weaknesses, it makes you pay attention. Should you unload with ice, or give them a taste of thunder? On top of that, are you going to prioritize physical attacks and get Spellweaver for enhanced combo strings, a lengthy finisher, and extended time to enjoy the damage boost? Or will you just opt for the big hit against multiple enemies at once?
On a surface level, Situation Commands might be the missing link here. The magic system is back to how it was in KHII, meaning that once you blow through your MP, you have to wait a while for it to return. I’m still residually salty about that, but the tradeoff is that if you’ve been slinging spells all over the place -- which is actually more fun than ever, because you inherently have Wisdom Form’s mobility while casting built in -- you’ll get SCs that throw out screen-clearing magic that can potentially end the fight, and thus negate the need to, well, need magic for battle. To put it a different way, a good SC can fill the dead air while waiting for your MP to return. I’m all for it.
It is tougher to talk about 0.2 than other games, because it’s a snapshot -- simultaneously a test and a preview of what KHIII will offer. That means that there’s stuff inherently missing from it. How will the skills and abilities you unlock along the way factor in? Will the enemies evolve along the way to ensure a smooth, satisfying difficulty curve? Will the fun remain from start to finish? There are many unknowns about the upcoming third chapter; still, I can say that I had fun with 0.2, and I would rather play it again (from the beginning or from my cleared file) than fire up 3D.
But there are niggling concerns. I didn’t mention this back when I did the gameplay post on 3D, even though I should have. So here’s my thesis statement: KH needs a second, dedicated attack button. Not Triangle for Reaction Commands, Not Triangle for Situation Commands. Not Reality Shifts, Flowmotion, Shot-Locks, D-Links, Limits, or any of that stuff. All I want -- something that would inherently improve KHIII, and retroactively improve 0.2 -- is a second attack button. A light attack, and a heavy attack. That’s the standard for countless action/adventure games, east and west. Or if not that, give me Attack A and Attack B (punch/kick, physical/weapon, whatever). Bayonetta had it, and I don’t see anyone raising hell about it.
It would be SO helpful for breaking up the monotony of physical attacks, and dispel the stigma of “mash X to win” for the franchise. And imagine the breadth of additional options it would give you. KHIII is going to have Keyblade-switching as a core mechanic, so imagine having different weapons assigned to different buttons and getting different movesets from each. That would be rad. Also more like Bayonetta, but whatever. In terms of this franchise, it was something vaguely understood at one point. Square used to carry double-duty, as it gave you your defensive/mobility options when done raw (Guard, Quick Run), but in mid-combo? Now you’ve got a launcher. Now you’ve got an alternate finisher. Now you’ve got filler for your air combos. As mash-happy as that game could get, it was still something appreciable.
That’s missing from 0.2, and it’s disappointing. Somewhat, at least. Aqua by default has some of the series’ distance-specific attacks, letting you close the gap more efficiently without having to worry. It frees up space/AP for future abilities in KHIII, though it does take some of the guesswork out of combat. On the other hand, you can still get knocked around by enemies if you aren’t careful, so you’ll need power, speed, defense, and magic on point if you want to survive. Again, it’s hard to know how things will pan out in the third chapter, but here? It’s MUCH easier to tell when one attack ends and another begins. Going mash-happy won’t turn you into an incomprehensible mass of swipes and particle effects; Aqua’s animations are easier to read, but no less effective. They’re simple, they’re direct, and they don’t overstay their welcome. Presumably, that means you can get the hell out of the way when you need to.
If KHIII builds on 0.2, then we might actually be in good shape -- at least from a gameplay perspective. While I won’t say that this is the first time the franchise has featured more advanced mechanics and frame data running under the hood, 0.2 at least makes attempts to evolve the combat in some nuanced ways. You don’t really need them in order to take out your 3,689th Shadow (which by extension means that the enemies need to become more complex and engaging), but you can take advantage of move properties to put together true combos. Canceling out of animations and linking attacks together means that someone on the dev team came to work one day.
Just look at the difference between a basic player…
…And a would-be empress.
Also, the Phantom Aqua fight(s) is just aces. But I’ll get to why another day.
Now here’s the thing. I’m normally not one to dwell on things like graphics and specs and all of that. Raw hardware power and top-shelf visuals don’t guarantee a game’s quality. Given stuff like Destiny and Battlefield -- or hell, just the modern Final Fantasy titles -- it seems like sometimes the opposite is more likely to apply. If we absolutely must have a focus on looks and other superficial aspects, then I’d prefer it if the quality came from a strong art style. Good direction. Solid execution. A creative vision.
With all that in mind, 0.2 owes a lot of its quality to its graphics. The game is absolutely gorgeous, and fills in another missing link for the franchise. I’m fully convinced that KH as a whole needs power and money behind it to get the best results. We’re talking about a property half-built on Disney, and the fact that so many games have made flat, lifeless worlds out of one of the world’s biggest repositories of artistry is a marvel more wondrous than the Pyramids of Giza. 0.2 is a snapshot of what’s to come, which is good. But, frankly, I think it has a slight edge over KHIII at this point.
Oh, sure, there’s no doubt that when all’s said and done, the third chapter’s going to be the better-looking game, objectively. Side-by-side comparisons have already started coming in, highlighting just how close Squeenix is to perfectly replicating the works of Disney and Pixar. But maybe that’s not the best avenue to take. If it does, then it’s missing out on an opportunity 0.2, in contrast, capitalizes on: using its visuals, and its vision, to enhance the story.
As much as I loathe BBS, I will begrudgingly admit it does one thing I absolutely love: introduce the Dark World. It’s a black-hearted dimension of chaos and corruption, overrun with nightmare creatures that (at the time of BBS) had for the most part never seen the light of the other, more vulnerable worlds. Come 0.2, Aqua’s not only been stuck there for a decade, but also has to watch in silent horror as realms of light are broken and dragged into the depths alongside her. Cinderella’s world, Snow White’s world, Aurora’s World, and eventually, Sora’s world; the places she’s visited, homes to the friends she met along her ill-fated journey are lost. Devoid of life, distorted into senseless bastardizations, and left as breeding grounds for mindless, ever-hungry Heartless. It’s the only fate that remains to those that can’t escape the darkness.
As Aqua, you’re forced to bear witness to it all. A castle of dreams that refuses to heed the confines of time, nestled alongside a town ripped apart by earthquakes and consumed by glass overgrowth. A labyrinth of mirrors, linked to desecrated mines and walls built solely out of untouchable, crystalline fractals. A woeful forest overrun with writhing, throbbing vines, keen to play host to towering menaces that watch in silence as a fresh, tantalizing heart navigates the endless brambles. The visuals and design alike work together to create a mood -- a tone, an air, a feeling that by and large has been absent from KH. And that addition makes 0.2 stronger for it.
Then you look at KHIII, and it’s just directly copying scenes from Tangled, only inserting Sora and crew whenever there’s open space.
To be fair, though --
Damn it, why is it always one step forward and two steps back with this franchise?
To be fair, though, it’s not as if KHIII is just going to recreate scenes from the movies. Even if it does, routinely, at some point it’s going to have to feature original content to close out what can charitably be called an overarching story. My argument is that while KHIII is bound to be technically impressive -- as many Squeenix games are -- 0.2 is already emotionally impressive. It satisfies me on a deeper level than just giving me what I’ve already seen before; it gives me something new. Something exciting. Something harrowing. Something I didn’t even know I wanted.
It’s exceedingly easy to write off 0.2. Anyone who does is justified in it, considering that it might as well just be called Stopgap Solution to Maintain Brand Awareness. But you know what? Snippet that it may be, 0.2 might actually be one of my favorite KH installments -- certainly, one of my favorites in literal years -- because it’s distinctly not like your standard KH. The DNA is there in the gameplay, for sure, but the ultimate paradox here is that by being a smaller game, it manages to feel much bigger than what it really is: a reason to buy another compilation. And/or let The Nomura Crew run wild yet again.
Thank all the gods that Nomura’s not a Stand user. Not like we'd be able to tell until it was too late.
If it sounds like I’m veering away from the gameplay I’m ostensibly supposed to be focusing this post on, then it’s because I am. It’s solid. Not without problems, but not without merit. Sure, I could prattle on about how the vertical element of the worlds is back once more. I could talk about how Flowmotion has been almost completely axed, save for skating on ice you make with Blizzard shots (which to be fair is a nifty addition). But I don’t care anymore, and neither do you.
I’m wary of saying this because there’s still some dumb garbage in it, but I guess I have no choice. Especially relative to other titles in the franchise. So I guess I’ll go ahead and go full ham and make my claim.
*deep breath*
I think 0.2 actually has a good…ish…story. Yeah. Let’s go with good-ish for now. And I’ll explain why next time. See you then.
Also you can put cat ears on Aqua in this game, if you’re into that.
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