Kingdom Hearts 2 Retrospective

We arrive at the big one. Kingdom Hearts II is not my favorite game of the series, but it is a majority favorite (as far as you can tell on the internet. I remember the buildup to this game vividly. I was an active member of the KHInsiders forums. I spent much of my time theorizing with other fans there (along with the occasional RP. Stories for another time). Whether it was about the mysterious Blonde-Haired Kid that popped up for a hot second at the end of Chain of Memories (and the original game's secret ending), the Blindfolded Unknown, or the mysterious Twilight Town world that also appeared for a hot second in COM. IT was one of the most exciting release cycles I ever experienced. And the game did not disappoint.

X-Plaining the X-Men

I took this from their website, hope they don't mind.

Hey y'all. I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite podcasts (even though I'm like 20 episodes behind): Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men. The title kind of tells you everything you need to know. A couple nerds named Jay and Miles have been going through X-Men history, starting from the beginning, and explaining it.

I was first introduced to them while I was searching for a good podcast to supplement the... irregular output of The Uncanny X-Cast (Another great show, but that is for another time). The show, at the time called Rachel & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, was not that interesting to me. This was late 2014. I listened to two or three episodes and deleted the show from my app. Fast forward to the summer of 2017. I had just lost my job and needed something to help me get through the bad times. So, I increased my podcast consumption. By a lot. Like, quadruple the amount. In this time, I rediscovered the show, now going by Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men, and gave it another try. To say I loved it would be an understatement. I listened to about 120 episodes in six to eight weeks. I fell back in love with the X-Men. Jay and Miles were knowledgeable, witty, and charming. If they didn't know something, they do the research. They put up visual guides, among other content, on their website. The community is welcoming and one of the best I have found on the internet. I learn, I laugh, I even get emotional sometimes.

I highly recommend everyone gives this show at least a few episodes. If it's not your thing, maybe you just aren't in the right headspace or it isn't for you. That is alright. Even if you don't listen to the show, that's your prerogative, but I absolutely implore you to read one of the most emotional articles I have ever read. Something that touched my heart and opened to my eyes to a whole new way of viewing not just Speed Racer, but media in general. I will probably get more into how that change has occurred and effected my life at some point, but for now I am wholly content to praise Jay, Miles, and everything they've created.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Retrospective

Alright. I have had time to think about my Kingdom Hearts post and I think I need to format it differently. So, we’re going to try something new for this one. I am going to split everything into four categories: Story, Characters, Gameplay, and Music/Misc. Please let me know if you like it or hate. Or even if you’re indifferent. Without further ado: 

So, we have arrived at the most underrated game and the first “spin off.” Although if anyone has played this game or Kingdom Hearts II, you will know that this game is not a spin off so much as a smaller story that occurs between the two PS2 games. It is also where I truly fell in love with Kingdom Hearts. The game has its issues (mostly story related), but I love it. Let’s take a look, shall we? 

Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer

The first trailer is out and... it's fine. The Spider-Man aspects of this trailer are by far the least interesting aspects to me. Yes there are some cool looking set pieces and Mysterio looks like he does cool things, but I just want more Peter and MJ awkwardly flirting. I think that kind of thing is what made Homecoming so good. The action in that film is fine, but nothing special.Vulture is fantastic when he is being MJ's dad, but otherwise is kind of a generic superhero villain. My favorite part was the trip to D.C. It had just enough Spider-Man combined with the character interactions I really enjoyed.

If this post seems negative, I don't mean it to be. I am actually looking forward to this film almost as much as Captain Marvel, which I am HYPED to see. I really liked Homecoming so hopefully this one is just as fun.

Kingdom Hearts Retrospective

The iconic cover

Where to start? How ‘bout conception? Legend has it a Disney executive and Shinji Hashimoto got into an elevator when Squaresoft and Disney Japan used to share a building and, on the ride, came up with the idea. It was pitched to their companies and eventually Tetsuya Nomura was appointed Director of the game. Nomura had been at Squaresoft for nearly a decade having done everything from debugging to character designs for the company. Especially notable were his character designs for Final Fantasy VII, VIII, and X. This was his first time directing a game though. Along with general directing duties, Nomura also handled character designs (noticeable in the abundance of belts and zippers), story, and concept design. He has done every cover for the games as well. 

Welcome!

Hello. Welcome to Defender of the Multiverse. My name is Alex. I’m a nursing student that is passionate about many things like video games, comics books, books, movies, and TV. I also enjoy writing. So that’s what I'm  here to do. I'll be writing about all of those things because I enjoy them. Sometimes it will be reviews, but it will also be look backs at things I either enjoy or didn’t enjoy and explaining why. Beyond that, anything I find interesting that I want to write about, I will. Who knows what is going to happen. That’s all part of the adventure! 

I am going to start with a series of articles covering my favorite video game franchise, Kingdom Hearts. This series will be a retrospective of each individual title leading up to the release of Kingdom Hearts 3. I'll write something about that game as I play it. In between the Kingdom Hearts posts, I'll write about whatever is on my mind or share cool articles and videos. Following all this Kingdom Hearts coverage, I will shift into a two posts a week minimum. I have some ideas for regular series of articles as well as one off features, but mostly I plan to write about whatever is on my mind that day. 

This will be one of my two articles today. Look forward to a retrospective of Kingdom Hearts later today. I hope y’all love it and are willing to join me for more posts in the future. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, feel free to share in the comments or on Twitter. I am always looking to improve and hope that anyone that reads this will be willing to be honest with me. 

Now, let’s get this party started.