Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 2 - Episode 4 - Rivals With Destiny

We question our life choices while Roxas investigates the seven wonders of... oh thank god.



Not much to say here as most of this episode consists of filler, nonsense, or retreading old ground.

Still, we made some bad jokes in the meantime. That's almost worth it. :)

Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 2 - Episode 3 - The Belt That Strangles Nomura's Head

Today, we watch teenage children beat the stuffing out of each other in a legally sanctioned blood sport.



We erroneously say it's been two years since the events of Kingdom Hearts 1. This is a lie, it has actually been 1 year in Kingdom Hearts time.

Aside from that, we spend most of this episode talking about the Struggle, and trying to get Sam up to speed on the many Ansem's of Kingdom Hearts. To recap:

• There's the original Ansem: Ansem the Wise. This man was the person who ruled Hallow Bastion with benevolence.
• He took an apprentice, who would betray him and take his name, becoming the heartless known as "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness" that Sora fought in Kingdom Hearts 1.
• When "Ansem, Seeker of Darkness" became a heartless, he left behind a nobody, who would take the name Xemnas.

Confused yet? Don't worry, that's normal.

Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 2 - Episode 2 - Eyes Can't Lie

I don't have the budget to render an introductory paragraph.



One of the fun things about doing this Primer series with Sam is that even when I'm telling the complete truth about what's going on or the reasoning behind some character's actions, the answers can often be so outlandish that he still won't believe me.

This primer series is definitely intended to help people understand what's going on in Kingdom Hearts. That said, it's also been great for me because doing it with Sam has been a great way to uncover a lot of the common hangups, expected and unexpected, that make it difficult to parse through.

I still firmly believe that the overall plot is pretty basic, but a terrible job was done in presenting that plot. The confusion comes more from presentation and mistranslation than anything else.

Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 2 - Episode 1 - Blood Sport

This is the big one, ladies and gentleman. For most of you out there, this is where Kingdom Hearts jumped the shark. Fortunately for you, Sam and I are here to explain the plot, make some bad jokes, and occasionally let a good joke or two slip into the mix.



It's really tough to go through this tutorial/intro segment of Kingdom Hearts 2. As I said in the primer, for the story Square Enix wanted to tell with this game, it was necessary to introduce Roxas in a low-impact, mundane way, and do it early. That said, this is, was, and has always been a really rough segment of game to go through.

Not because it's particularly difficult. It's the tutorial, and generally pretty easy. However, it's 3 hours long and unless you know what's going on in the lore through outside sources, not much here will make any degree of sense to you.

It's disorienting, and I understand that it's intended to be. But for people who just wanted to play as Sora again, the anger they must have felt makes sense.

A shame really, because Roxas is easily one of my favorite characters in the series once we get into who he is and what motivates him.

Kingdom Hearts Primer - Kingdom Hearts 2 - Trailer

It's that time again. Once again, Sam and I are delving back into Kingdom Hearts to help solve the mysteries within.



This is going to be the big one, taking up most of the run-time for the Primer series. At the same time, now that a lot of the big ideas and concepts are out there for discussion, this is where Sam and I can also truly begin to start hacking away at what most confuses most people about Kingdom Hearts.

I hope you guys enjoy what you are about to experience. :)