The Top Five Kingdom Hearts Introduction Cinematics September 12, 2012

With the release of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS I realized that there are now a bunch of Kingdom Hearts games across multiple platforms.  In classic Square style, each game opens with its own introduction movie, using a song by UTADA, and serves to set the scene for the game. With all the games out now I wanted to do a list of what were the top introduction movies in the Kingdom Hearts series.

5. Kingdom Hearts: 365/2

As UTADA’s “Sanctuary” played, we were treated to a nostalgic trip of clips of the greatest moments from each member of the infamous Organization XIII from all of the previous Kingdom Hearts games.  I have to admit it was great seeing a role call for all of the members of Organization XIII, along with their profiles on the DS second screen.  By choosing to use clips of them from the cinematics they appeared in from previous games like Kingdom Hearts 2 or Chain of Memories, it played into our nostalgic memories from the previous games. The problem was it came off a bit as needed exposition, which is not usually what the introduction is used for.

4. Kingdom Hearts

As this is the first introduction from the very first game, this one should be considered the benchmark for all the others.  For many this was the first time they heard UTADA’s “Simple and Clean” before, and it would become a mainstay of the series.  They chose to use the techno remix for the opening here, but I think it was a great decision as it matched up great with the visuals.

3. Kingdom Hearts 2

This introduction did more than just set the scene for the game it also established the game’s past. As you hear UTADA’s single “Sanctuary”, a departure from the more often used “Simple and Clean” you’re treated to brief flashes of scenes that happened in the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories. If you had played these games you were treated to an amazing moment of nostalgia, if you hadn’t you could just sit back and absorb all the tidbits that made up the history of Kingdom Hearts as you spent the game discovering what you were seeing and what they meant to the game’s story.

2. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

This introduction just blew me away. They made the choice to use a techno remix version of “Simple and Clean” for this introduction and I think it worked really well. The song sounded great mixed with the stylistic visuals which fed us tidbits about just what we were in for in this game and that no amount of gameplay would be held back from us just because the game was on a handheld.

1. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Ed: Apologies for the video quality on this one.

I don’t know if I should just come out and say that this made number one just because it used 3D or it’s use of the 3DS second screen to do the credits. I don’t know if it made number one because of the choice to use the orchestral version of “Simple and Clean” to set the scene for the game, but with all the flashes of what was to come with the game, the allusions to Fantasia this came off as the ultimate culmination of all the experience Square Enix had made with these introduction movies over the past ten years and that is why it’s number 1.

The Games That May Never See Sequels (And Need To) Part 2 September 10, 2012

With the games that I’ve been replaying this summer, I’ve been reliving a lot of classic memories over the years, and also been forced to play them with the full knowledge that in many cases the development houses that made them no longer exist, and that a chance for seeing any more games in the series is very slim.

I thought it would be a good opporutnity to talk about some games that really need sequels, but for several reasons probably will never get one. This is the second part of this series and you’re welcome to read the first part here.

Indigo Prophecy (Faherenheit)

In the heart of New York City during one of the coldest winters in the city’s history, a man brutally murders another man in an almost ritualistic fashion in a diner bathroom. He didn’t mean to do it, it was almost as if he was possessed. After recovering from the experience he discovers he’s stronger and faster than he should be, and he keeps getting visions of the future. Now, with the police on his trail he must figure out who or what made him commit that murder, and why.

The game has three possible endings, but even with all the options left to the player, the characters and the story stays pretty consistant througout the game. It wouldn’t be that difficult for the developers to build the game around one of the game’s possible endings or to create a new story in the game’s universe.

Why We Won’t See a Sequel

With Quantic Dream, sequels are always a very slim chance. Game Director David Cage felt that the game’s story was complete by the end of the game and focus shifted to an entirely new project. All their attention went to completing Heavy Rain after the release of Indigo Prophecy, and now after that game was completed focus has shifted to the current game they’re developing, a whole new title called Beyond.

Heavenly Sword

An ancient clan kept control of a mystical sword that they believed fell from heaven for generations. It had been prophecized that the dark times would end with the birth of a male child on a certain day. On the day the child was to be born, a female was born instead, and it was considered to be a prophecy of doom for their entire clan. In the end it’s that girl who grows up to become a powerful warrior and with the use of the forbidden sword she saves her people at the cost of her own life.

The game ended on a pretty powerful cliffhanger. The world is saved but the heroine is dead. However she had been dead before, in fact most of the game was simply her telling her story to plead to go back to life and fight.  It would be interesting to see if she would come back and what kind of world would she find herself in.

Why We Won’t See a Sequel

Heavenly Sword was a commercial disappointment since pretty much it’s launch.  Ninja Theory had done a lot to hype out the game as the PS3 gamer’s placeholder game until God of War would get released on the system.  However, players were devastated at the game’s simplistic gameplay and short length, and Uncharted (released at the same time) became the definitive third-party PS3 exclusive property. To this day trophy support was never even added and Ninja Theory shifted focus to two different games with no mention of any revival of the series.  The most likely possibility is a sequel could get released as a CGI or animated movie.  There were some musings about that shortly after the game released since they already had the motion capture facility and access to actors but there hasn’t been any news on that in years.

Mirror’s Edge

It looks absolutely beautiful on the outside but this is a future where the government monitors all communication between people. In this world the only free exchange of information that isn’t monitored is by personal courier. However, in this world these couriers need to be fast, agile, and smart, able to run across rooftops and take full advantage of the archetecture the government has provided them. The couriers able to do this are called the runners. Now, the best runner is framed for a murder she did not commit, and all signs point to a traitor in their organization helping the police to shut them down for good. How long can they keep running?

The game had a fantastic emotional ending when the lead is able to save the life of her sister, but as the bad guy said at the end of the game, this is just the beginning and an all out war was unstoppable. Since the first rule of any war is to disrupt your enemy’s communications, if the next step is war what would an all out war look like in such a clean and sterile looking world?

Why We Won’t See a Sequel

This was a game that suffered greatly from the fact that it was released in Fall 2008. It was a new IP releasing at a time when some of the biggest console exclusives were getting their first sequels, and it had to compete directly with them. It launched at the same time that games like Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 were launching, with premium limited collector’s edition releases to boot, to say nothing of the expensive releases for Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. The game just got no traction to it until it got a price drop several months after release.

About all we’ve seen from the property since was a mobile game, which was a launch title for the iPad. However, the iPad took a while to establish itself after launch and the positive reviews of that game faded from memory over time as it took an unreasonably long wait to see an iPhone release, which had a much bigger install base.

Since then the internet has been waiting on pins and needles to report on any news from EA or DICE about Mirrors Edge 2, but no game has been officially confirmed yet. The latest rumor was the developers had created a short prototype to convince the publisher to work on the sequel but it was rejected. No idea how truthful that rumor was though and there hasn’t been any word about the game in months.

Heavy Rain

A man’s son is abducted from him while he is still reeling over the accidental death of his other son. Over the course of the game, he tries to recover his son safely from whoever kidnapped him by any means necessary. Meanwhile, three others are also trying to find the man’s son and the kidnapper who has killed so many other children in the same manner. Time is running out and can the man’s son be saved before he meets the same fate as the kidnapper’s other victims?

Why We Won’t See a Sequel

This game was really a product of its own design. At any point in the game, any of the main characters or secondary characters could be killed, and success or failure was completely dependant on several factors. The game had over a dozen possible endings. How can you make a sequel to a game where the story can end in so many different ways?

Enslaved

The world is bleak. Machines scavenge the destroyed world and everyone living in it must remain in hiding in order to prevent being killed or enslaved by the machines. You play as a wild man who was captured alongside many others. One of the others, a resourceful computer expert named Trip is able to free herself at the same time you are and while you’re unconscious affixes a headband she modified in order to force you to protect her until you can get her to safety.

At the end of the game many have perished but you finally learn the machine’s true intent just before shutting them down for good. But what is going to happen to all the characters now and are the machines really gone?

Why We Won’t See a Sequel

This game was sadly yet another disappointment. It met with decent reviews at one of the worst possible times imaginable and without a major marketing blitz the game simply collected dust on retail shelves until it saw an almost immediate price drop by most retailers. After releasing the DLC campaign which only served as a side story and didn’t answer any questions about what happened after the end of the game, Ninja Theory has now shifted focus to producing the new Devil May Cry game.