Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 1 - Episode 13 - Worlds Apart

At long last, we have arrived at the first finale of our Kingdom Hearts Primer.



It's a shame that Gamer's Little Playground had to change the music in the end for copyright reasons, because that finale had me bawling as a child.

There's not much more that I can add to our commentary on this episode. A lot went on, but not many details need to be elaborated on in these notes.

Next up will be Chain of Memories. Gamer's Little Playground didn't have a video for it at the time, so we used one from another YouTuber named "AtRiley". I hope you enjoyed this first part of the series.

If you have any questions about Kingdom Hearts 1, feel free to leave them in the comments of either the video or this post. Please note that questions for later games should be saved for when we do the primers on them.

Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 1 - Episode 12 - Sacrifices

And now, the most famous scene in the entire franchise:

But enough about that, let's talk about Kairi.

Hitman 2016 - Episode 14 - Rubber Ducky, You're the One!

And today, we finish what we started with our Elusive Target.



Finding the target in an Elusive Contract isn't always easy. Because players don't have the benefit of seeing the target with Instinct, they need to rely on the details given in the briefing in order to search for them. Or, if they're like me, just kinda fumble around until they randomly stumble into them.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 11: Rivals

Welcome back to the main plot.



I know we've spoken about the big twist well before it came into play here, but I still think it's a really great moment. The big reveal that Sora was *never* supposed to be the hero. His status as a keyblade bearer, and his numerous successes, can be attributed to a happy accident.

Hitman 2016 - Episode 13 - The Elusive Woman

Today, we give one of the Elusive Targets a shot.



On occasion, re-watching these videos in order to do the post-commentary is a lot like watching someone play Dark Souls. I can see all the mistakes being made with so much more clarity than I'd even have been able to in the moment. Things that look like they are possible in the moment can be seen, once your one level removed from the action, as the needlessly difficult/impossible tasks that they are.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 10: Big Ben Uchiha

And now, back to plot!



Sora and Riku serve as very good foils for each other. Both are essentially after the same thing. All they want to do is rescue Kairi and go off on awesome adventurers with cool people.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 9: Dimension The Dice!

Today, we arrive at the best world in the game:

This is another one of those episodes where he just kinda have some fun with it, because not much plot is going on.

But it does have some cool moments, like the touture chamber and manor boss fights. The former of which is probably my favorite boss in the game.

Hitman (2016) - Episode 12 - They Never Get Passed 27

Happy 27th birthday to Jordan Cross, may it be his last....



So the reason I opted not to use lethal poison in this episode is an interesting one. In order to get Silent Assassin, the following conditions need to be fulfilled:

Kingdom Heart Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 8: Riku Was Right

This time, we go Under the Sea in Atlantica.



I don't have much to say about this level, surprisingly enough.

There some interesting parallels between Ariel's desire to explore other worlds and the same desire that started Sora, Riku, and Kairi's original journey. Even better, the writers saw fit to highlight it and bring it into focus. So while nothing here directly advances the overall plot, it does tie into it on a thematic level.

Shame Kingdom Hearts 2 really pissed all that away...

Hitman (2016) - Episode 11 - Room Service Revenge

Welcome to Bangkok,



Hotel missions have always had their place in the Hitman games. As far as I can remember, every single Hitman game has had a mission in a hotel. And it's not hard to see why something so innocuous would become a bit of a staple in IO Interactive's repertoire.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 7: Riku Uchiha

Ready to enter the bowels and intestines of a giant whale....



...Yeah, me neither.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 6: Filthy Anime References

This time, we get down in dirty in the deserts of Agrabah.



Not much for me to add on top of what he say here. Agrabah is an important world because that's where we learn about the princesses of heart, and of the villains' ultimate goal of "opening the door."

It also helps cement Riku's character as the rival who turned evil.

But we'll to those points in another episode.

Hitman (2016) - Episode 10 - A Matter of Principal

And our time in Marrakesh comes to an end...



It's been strange playing Hitman for an audience, but not in the way that you'd think. After spending so much time playing games for YouTube, both with Sam on Interactive Friction, and solo with my Blood Money LP, I've gotten much more used to talking into a microphone knowing others will one day hear and edited version of it.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 5: Plain Jane

Today, we monkey around in the Deep Jungle.



If you've been following the stories of each individual worlds in Kingdom Hearts 1, you'll notice that none of them thus far have been straight copies of the movies. While each of them do use the same characters and set-pieces from those movies, they are remixing them in a way that re-contextualizes them to make more sense in the context of Kingdom Hearts.

Hitman (2016) - Episode 9 - Lights, Camera, Moose!?

Welcome to Marrakesh, where we stop a government coup just because someone would lose money if it went through.



Marrakesh is roughly the same size of Sapienza, but it never gives off that the impression that it's as big. There's a good reason for that.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 4: Sora Shrugged

We go to Olympus Colosseum, and I somehow make an Ayn Rand joke...



To fill out what was left out of this series, after we finish up in this world, we return later to participate in more tournaments and eventually kick the crap out of Hades. Later, Sephiroth appears, but that's not canon. We don't come back here, so I might as well get it out of the way for completion's sake.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 3: Fools in Wonderland

In this episode, we grow small to visit Wonderland.



Just to make our respect for her clear, we want to point out once more that the voice actress, Kathryn Beaumont, is still voicing the same character that she's been voicing since 1951.

Also, get used to me saying "I actually really like this boss fight," because I end up saying it a lot over the course of this series. Each one of these boss fights has it's own gimmick that separates them from the others. As a result, each one of them feels fresh and interesting, even if you've played the game multiple times (like I have).

To appropriate an overused phrase, "It's like Dark Souls".

newdarkcloud talks about YouTube's Content ID

I want to talk about content ID. Starting from 2:25 and ending at 3:17 of this episode of Hitman (2016), I hide in a coffin in a morgue, attached to a church. During this time, an angelic song plays in the background.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman (2016) - Episode 8 - A Virus Names Foxdie

Our time in Sapienza comes to an end...



The episodic nature of this game is pretty unique. Until this game came out, the only time the episodic model was seen was in the likes of Telltale's adventure games and others like them. Developers didn't try to use that model in other products. Alan Wake had "episodes", but it was still one full retail game on release.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 2: Are Gunblades Cool?

Our recounting of the Kingdom Hearts series continues as we destroy the Destiny Islands and beat up Final Fantasy characters.



In this episode, we compare Sora and Riku to Naruto and Sasuke. This is a more apt comparison then we expected it to be in the episode, and we actually end up making that comparison again several times in the primer for Kingdom Hearts 1.

newdarkcloud plays Hitman (2016) - Episode 7 - Pizza Pasta!

After our fabulous performance in Paris, we head to Italy for some much a needed vacation... and murder.



After this episode, I looked up the use of the Modern Lethal Syringe, just in case I had missed a good, or at least an interesting, use for it.

Kingdom Hearts Primer: Kingdom Hearts 1: Episode 1: The Unchosen One

Welcome ladies and gentleman. Interactive Friction returns once more. Sam and I have a new idea for a series, and today we're excited to share it with you.

So here's the setup: After Sam, Taylor, and I recorded the Hyperdimension Neptunia episode, the topic of Kingdom Hearts came up. Sam told me at this point, that although he played Kingdom Hearts, he didn't understand much of the plot to it.

As someone who is a huge fan of the franchise, I know a lot about the lore of Kingdom Hearts. In the middle of answering some of Sam's questions about the franchise, we realized the could make a whole series about this, so we did.

But then we came at an impasse, for neither one of us wanted to play Kingdom Hearts for the channel. That's when the idea of taking someone else's hard work and using it for our purposes. Fortunately, Miguel, javihavi, and Knowledge from Gamer's Little Playground gave us permission to use their work, so it's technically not stealing. (In all seriousness though, thank you generous souls who let us use your work.)

And so we set off on our journey across the Disney worlds. However, this is intended to be a series explaining the plot and lore behind Kingdom Hearts. So if you guys have any questions about Kingdom Hearts, or want anything clarified, feel free to ask. 

Please note though, that we will eventually be going through every single game in the franchise. That means that if your question is regarding a subject introduced in a future game, I will hold off on answering them until we cover those games.

With that said, enjoy. :)