306: Mickey's Epic
- Thread starter John Funk
- Start date
Mickey is, beyond a doubt, a freaking badass in Kingdom Hearts II. Made me love [regular] Mickey all the more.
I remember back in the first Kingdom Hearts, I made it a personal quest to finish the game in order to "save" King Mickey. Only to find out he was as fine as could be, with his very own keyblade.
Completely LOVE this article.
I remember back in the first Kingdom Hearts, I made it a personal quest to finish the game in order to "save" King Mickey. Only to find out he was as fine as could be, with his very own keyblade.
Completely LOVE this article.
i agree, one of the reason why i loved the KH games was because of the disney characters in it, it was great to see all the characters i grew up with in this new way (made me like disney even more 
). being able to play as mickey and him having a larger role in KHII was great, i just hope they make a KHIII and dont dissapoint (am also hoping for something that lets us play ps2 games on ps3 slims incase my original one packs up) a guy can dream right?
). being able to play as mickey and him having a larger role in KHII was great, i just hope they make a KHIII and dont dissapoint (am also hoping for something that lets us play ps2 games on ps3 slims incase my original one packs up) a guy can dream right? 
Having only played through the Kingdom Hearts series this last month, this article really rang true.
Micky Mouse = God Emperor of Disney-Kind.
Kingdom hearts 2 spoilers
I died for the first time in the game against Xemnas' Mecha Space Dragon/Jet.
You know, when he's in full armor and sitting on his throne with the 12 foot sword and using all the powers of the rest of Organization XIII?
Micky showed up for the first time right then. Truly one of the most badass moments in my gaming life, and delivered by Micky Mouse no less. He just spanked that boss and put me back on my feet.
I then went into Final Form and caused Oblivion ^_^
Good times...
So yes, I was thinking about this myself. What was the point of Epic Micky, when Kingdom Hearts had already made Micky a memeic badass?
Maybe its because Kingdom Hearts 3 is NEVER going to come out.
Not the way Square Enix is going anyway...
Micky Mouse = God Emperor of Disney-Kind.
Kingdom hearts 2 spoilers
I died for the first time in the game against Xemnas' Mecha Space Dragon/Jet.
You know, when he's in full armor and sitting on his throne with the 12 foot sword and using all the powers of the rest of Organization XIII?
Micky showed up for the first time right then. Truly one of the most badass moments in my gaming life, and delivered by Micky Mouse no less. He just spanked that boss and put me back on my feet.
I then went into Final Form and caused Oblivion ^_^
Good times...
So yes, I was thinking about this myself. What was the point of Epic Micky, when Kingdom Hearts had already made Micky a memeic badass?
Maybe its because Kingdom Hearts 3 is NEVER going to come out.
Not the way Square Enix is going anyway...
I thoroughly enjoyed this article
King Mikey is one of my favourite game characters, he is just awsome. Kingdom Hearts really made my childhood, I sat and watched my brother play for hours before working up the courage to ask for a go It makes having this figurine of him (in organisation XIII cloak and hood of course) that little bit more special .
Thank you!
King Mikey is one of my favourite game characters, he is just awsome. Kingdom Hearts really made my childhood, I sat and watched my brother play for hours before working up the courage to ask for a go
It makes having this figurine of him (in organisation XIII cloak and hood of course) that little bit more special .Thank you!
I grew up with the Disney brand and I still have some of the old Disney games of the 90s on my Gameboy/SNES so you can imagine what modern Disney is to me with the likes of Hannah Montana et al.
However allowing Squeenix to use their homegrown characters was one of the best business decisions Disney have made in recent years, at least for us.
These cartoon characters are now on the periphery of the Disney business model, apart from pulling kids and parents to Disneyland they serve no other function. They're merely symbols of the childhoods of generations gone past. However no matter what generation you're from their influence is ubiquituous. Squeenix used these symbols to draw in new crowds into JRPGs, and Disney's symbols received the treatment they deserved, each character stays true to its original self. When I play KH, the feeling that they've screwed it up, the feeling you have with so many remakes, sequels and remasterings, is not there. That's why I love this series, for all its failings, it does a few things absolutely perfectly.
However allowing Squeenix to use their homegrown characters was one of the best business decisions Disney have made in recent years, at least for us.
These cartoon characters are now on the periphery of the Disney business model, apart from pulling kids and parents to Disneyland they serve no other function. They're merely symbols of the childhoods of generations gone past. However no matter what generation you're from their influence is ubiquituous. Squeenix used these symbols to draw in new crowds into JRPGs, and Disney's symbols received the treatment they deserved, each character stays true to its original self. When I play KH, the feeling that they've screwed it up, the feeling you have with so many remakes, sequels and remasterings, is not there. That's why I love this series, for all its failings, it does a few things absolutely perfectly.
I think King Mickey was first seen as a badass in the DS game.... I forget the name. Anyways, the arc of Rikku (awesome character) used King Mickey as his sole ally, and portrayed him as a wise king.
. I would die if KH3 never came out.
DON'T say that! It's bad vodooo......Canadish said:
. I would die if KH3 never came out.The problem with KH, coming from a former big fan if it, is its original characters don't hold a freaking candle to Disney's.
Malificent is about 153x more menacing than all of Organization 13 put together.
Also Nomura is a horrible storyteller. I'm not joking when I say the KH story feels like a bad crossover fanfic bursting at the seems with Mary Sues.
I heard originally Donald was going to be the main character. I weep over that not happening.
Malificent is about 153x more menacing than all of Organization 13 put together.
Also Nomura is a horrible storyteller. I'm not joking when I say the KH story feels like a bad crossover fanfic bursting at the seems with Mary Sues.
I heard originally Donald was going to be the main character. I weep over that not happening.
I whole heartedly agree with this. Mickey has never been portrayed so great as he was in Kingdom Hearts II, and though the efforts made by Epic Mickey were valiant, they were insufficient and failed to reach what Mickey was in Kingdom Hearts II. He was someone who ruled, he had power and was the student of a great master of magic. He was an aid to Sora, even if he was busy, which he most often was, and not to mention that Mickey, most of all was a chosen keyblade wielder, and throughout the first game, you only meet three of them; Yourself, Riku and Mickey.
All this together makes Mickey seem even greater but, at the same time, brings annoyance, as there is nay a word of the Third game that takes place after Kingdom Hearts II, which ended so cheekily with a question mark over it's ending title screen.
Calumon: I like Mickey. He helped me a lot when I was stuck in the game, but those Nobodies are hard! >.<
All this together makes Mickey seem even greater but, at the same time, brings annoyance, as there is nay a word of the Third game that takes place after Kingdom Hearts II, which ended so cheekily with a question mark over it's ending title screen.
Calumon: I like Mickey. He helped me a lot when I was stuck in the game, but those Nobodies are hard! >.<
Donald was my favorite character growing up. Or, actually, I think it was a tie between him and Bugs Bunny. But in any case, Donald is THE BUSINESS. It's a shame that he's often forced to take a back seat to Mickey in Disney stories where both characters are involved. Mickey's usually picked to be the straight man or main protagonist while Donald is his foil and a prominent co-star or supporting character.Carlos Alexandre said:
Though I think you're right about Mickey being more badass in Kingdom Hearts, Epic Mickey does do one thing right: It makes Mickey flawed. He's too naive for his own good, he can be a bit selfish, and he sees conflicts in black and white (which they addressed in one of the Kingdom Hearts games I think).
These flaws are really all Disney needs to make Mickey interesting again.
And Oswald.
These flaws are really all Disney needs to make Mickey interesting again.
And Oswald.
The only thing I didn't like about KH2 was the mission structure. I loved wandering in the Disney worlds even from movies I never really liked. The mission structure in KH2 was essentially go here...cutscene...kill 10 guys...cutscene repeat. It was as if Square Enix had taken more of the direction and mood from Disney. Whereas the first game had a few cringe-inducingly sweet moments the second was just too structured.
I think there's a couple issues with Kingdom Hearts being a "revival", though I confess I've never played Kingdom Hearts myself. I was in high school when it came out so the very notion of combining Final Fantasy (ignoring all the NES and SNES variants) with Disney (which I was in high gear to hate) was appalling. Part of me still wants to throw up a little bit at the sheer popularity of what is the penultimate figure head of "selling out".
I think the major issue here, however, is that the game attracted a large fan base not because of Disney, or at least not primarily, but because of the Final Fantasy element. If it was exclusively a Disney based RPG without a single sign of Cloud or Sephiroth, I guarantee you that it wouldn't have become nearly so popular. People were drawn into seeing their favorite Final Fantasy characters meet Disney characters, not the other way around.
In addition, just because Mickey is "a certifiable bad ass" doesn't mean his character has meaning. I still have trouble taking the later Harry Potter books seriously when they continue throwing childish and idiotic terms like "Muggle" around, attempting to say it with a straight face. I imagine there's a significant number of people with the same issue. The aesthetic I've gotten with Kingdom Hearts is that they're trying to take family entertainment aimed in particular towards children and make it "grown up", and no matter how "successful" you are at such a thing it will still have that aspect of it that is nothing short of silly.
Epic Mickey, on the other hand, didn't try to make Mickey become grown-up. There were mature themes, yes, but the characters were always mischievous in a child-like manner. Mickey was a bit of a rascal and his long-lost brother reacted as a jealous sibling might. It captured emotions that a child can understand and an adult can reflect nostalgically on.
In other words, Epic Mickey sought to give meaning to the character by taking what was already there rather than trying to pretend Mickey could be something he wasn't (in the case of Kingdom Hearts, a certifiable bad ass). Considering how many people that don't even care for Disney had wanted to play the game because of this, because it was a new and fresh interpretation of a character they thought they knew while staying true to the years of history, I think it grabbed an audience it wouldn't have before.
Whereas Kingdom Hearts only truly grabbed Final Fantasy fans first, and what few Disney die-hards continue to exist after.
I think the major issue here, however, is that the game attracted a large fan base not because of Disney, or at least not primarily, but because of the Final Fantasy element. If it was exclusively a Disney based RPG without a single sign of Cloud or Sephiroth, I guarantee you that it wouldn't have become nearly so popular. People were drawn into seeing their favorite Final Fantasy characters meet Disney characters, not the other way around.
In addition, just because Mickey is "a certifiable bad ass" doesn't mean his character has meaning. I still have trouble taking the later Harry Potter books seriously when they continue throwing childish and idiotic terms like "Muggle" around, attempting to say it with a straight face. I imagine there's a significant number of people with the same issue. The aesthetic I've gotten with Kingdom Hearts is that they're trying to take family entertainment aimed in particular towards children and make it "grown up", and no matter how "successful" you are at such a thing it will still have that aspect of it that is nothing short of silly.
Epic Mickey, on the other hand, didn't try to make Mickey become grown-up. There were mature themes, yes, but the characters were always mischievous in a child-like manner. Mickey was a bit of a rascal and his long-lost brother reacted as a jealous sibling might. It captured emotions that a child can understand and an adult can reflect nostalgically on.
In other words, Epic Mickey sought to give meaning to the character by taking what was already there rather than trying to pretend Mickey could be something he wasn't (in the case of Kingdom Hearts, a certifiable bad ass). Considering how many people that don't even care for Disney had wanted to play the game because of this, because it was a new and fresh interpretation of a character they thought they knew while staying true to the years of history, I think it grabbed an audience it wouldn't have before.
Whereas Kingdom Hearts only truly grabbed Final Fantasy fans first, and what few Disney die-hards continue to exist after.
NOTE: My internet as been wonky as all hell, randomly disconnecting me and connecting me as I tried to do thing like type in the Captcha or agree to the new forum rules about the health bar, so, if this end's up being a double post (or multi post at this point), I apologize, and I'll fix it as best as possible when I see it.
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The thing is, at certain points in the game, Sora matches, and even surpasses, Mickey. In Ultimate Form, with his ability to Telekinetically control one blade while wielding another, his power pretty much matches Mickey. And in Ultimate Form, that Twilight-like blending of light and dark, he's pretty much the most powerful person in the game. Consider this; Xemnas is easier to defeat in Hard mode while Sora is level 71 if you are in Final Form than if you are playing on normal mode with Sora at level 99... and you're not in Final Form. That's how overpowered Final Form is. Riku is similar in the GBA game, except using only darkness (and then destroying everything).
That also makes sense in the KH universe; Kairi is light, Riku is Dark, and Sora is Twilight. Mickey uses pretty much exclusively light, and so his power tops out far before Sora's, who wields everything, or Riku, who is naturally a light being, but has submerged himself in the dark.
On the other hand, Mickey's power is always there. He's always at 100% power, with nothing holding him back. Neither Sora nor Riku can do that; to use their full power, they need to harness outside energy and force themselves into alternate states.
Oh, and yes, Kingdom Hearts was pretty much the first time I ever cared about Mickey Mouse, because he's an asolute badass in those games. Though, funnily enough, i didn't know he would save you until my second playthrough, on Normal (I plyaed it on Hard first because a few friends had told me that the game was a lot easier then the first one. The Normal run was just to mess around in for fun). I had kept myself underpowered for the hell of it, and did fairly bad on the boss in Mulan's level, so I said "Screw it. I'll just let myself die and start the battle over." And then Mickey showed up. I was startled at that.
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The thing is, at certain points in the game, Sora matches, and even surpasses, Mickey. In Ultimate Form, with his ability to Telekinetically control one blade while wielding another, his power pretty much matches Mickey. And in Ultimate Form, that Twilight-like blending of light and dark, he's pretty much the most powerful person in the game. Consider this; Xemnas is easier to defeat in Hard mode while Sora is level 71 if you are in Final Form than if you are playing on normal mode with Sora at level 99... and you're not in Final Form. That's how overpowered Final Form is. Riku is similar in the GBA game, except using only darkness (and then destroying everything).
That also makes sense in the KH universe; Kairi is light, Riku is Dark, and Sora is Twilight. Mickey uses pretty much exclusively light, and so his power tops out far before Sora's, who wields everything, or Riku, who is naturally a light being, but has submerged himself in the dark.
On the other hand, Mickey's power is always there. He's always at 100% power, with nothing holding him back. Neither Sora nor Riku can do that; to use their full power, they need to harness outside energy and force themselves into alternate states.
Oh, and yes, Kingdom Hearts was pretty much the first time I ever cared about Mickey Mouse, because he's an asolute badass in those games. Though, funnily enough, i didn't know he would save you until my second playthrough, on Normal (I plyaed it on Hard first because a few friends had told me that the game was a lot easier then the first one. The Normal run was just to mess around in for fun). I had kept myself underpowered for the hell of it, and did fairly bad on the boss in Mulan's level, so I said "Screw it. I'll just let myself die and start the battle over." And then Mickey showed up. I was startled at that.
Okay, I feel stupid. I had no idea Mickey could come and save you if you died in Kingdom Hearts II. Honestly, I didn't. I think I only lost one time in that game (not counting You-Know-Who), and I guess that option didn't pop up for me.
I was excited when Mickey showed up at the end of Kingdom Hearts. That was one of the most memorable scenes in the game for me.
I was excited when Mickey showed up at the end of Kingdom Hearts. That was one of the most memorable scenes in the game for me.
I loved Kingdom Hearts and I never realised Mickey could save you like that. I want to go play them both again now
I really liked this article. I own every Kingdom Hearts game release thus far and Mickey has always been the character I wanted to have his own game in the series.
Mickey in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep was an apprentice to Yensid to become a Keybade master who took a stone that made him teleport all over the universe randomly and had his classic feel to him. Flash forward to Kingdom Hearts 2 and he's become a Keyblade wielding badass with over a decade of experience under his belt. But then Kingdom Hearts: RE:Coded brings Mickey back to his kingdom and he's essentially a mentor to the digial Sora, kinda like Obi Wan. Mickey is one of the more fascinating characters in Kingdom Hearts because we no almost nothing about him.
As for Epic Mickey my complaint is that all the dark and gritty stuff that made me interested when it was first announced got either removed or watered down. I went in hoping to gain a new respect for Mickey but instead came out wondering why it didn't shock an awe me. Not saying the game sucks but I felt a little ripped off because of what happened to the finished product.
Mickey is one of those characters that isn't hard to revive for Disney but they need to do it right and in my opinion a good way to do it via video games is to make a Kingdom Hearts game with Mickey as the main playable character with Riku as a support character based before and during the events of Kingdom Hearts 2. If they flesh him out right and make him more relevent to the story of the series it may earn Mickey more respect amoung the legion of gamers who like Kingdom Hearts and it's spread from them.
Mickey in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep was an apprentice to Yensid to become a Keybade master who took a stone that made him teleport all over the universe randomly and had his classic feel to him. Flash forward to Kingdom Hearts 2 and he's become a Keyblade wielding badass with over a decade of experience under his belt. But then Kingdom Hearts: RE:Coded brings Mickey back to his kingdom and he's essentially a mentor to the digial Sora, kinda like Obi Wan. Mickey is one of the more fascinating characters in Kingdom Hearts because we no almost nothing about him.
As for Epic Mickey my complaint is that all the dark and gritty stuff that made me interested when it was first announced got either removed or watered down. I went in hoping to gain a new respect for Mickey but instead came out wondering why it didn't shock an awe me. Not saying the game sucks but I felt a little ripped off because of what happened to the finished product.
Mickey is one of those characters that isn't hard to revive for Disney but they need to do it right and in my opinion a good way to do it via video games is to make a Kingdom Hearts game with Mickey as the main playable character with Riku as a support character based before and during the events of Kingdom Hearts 2. If they flesh him out right and make him more relevent to the story of the series it may earn Mickey more respect amoung the legion of gamers who like Kingdom Hearts and it's spread from them.
I'm sorry, but I just can't take Kingdom Hearts seriously. I try to always keep an open mind, and weird stuff is usually better anyway, but I looked at those vids linked in the article and it looked like those Something Awful flash video where they animate fanfiction to mock it.
Which is strange, since the incarnation of Mickey Mouse I grew up with was a gritty one in which he was friends with the sheriff and solved crimes. (THEY SOLVE CRIMES.) I'm pretty sure Mickey Mouse holding a gun was a normal sight for me. But the way it's done in KH, it's just... too hard of a juxtaposition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/doomsday-arcade/1364-Episode-23].
Then again maybe I'm dumb and actually playing the game will ease me onto those scenes. Who knows?
Which is strange, since the incarnation of Mickey Mouse I grew up with was a gritty one in which he was friends with the sheriff and solved crimes. (THEY SOLVE CRIMES.) I'm pretty sure Mickey Mouse holding a gun was a normal sight for me. But the way it's done in KH, it's just... too hard of a juxtaposition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/doomsday-arcade/1364-Episode-23].
Then again maybe I'm dumb and actually playing the game will ease me onto those scenes. Who knows?
I always loved the dissonance between the established childishness of the Disney characters, settings, and themes and the darker tones that the Final Fantasy characters themselves lent and allowed - the epic Hollow Bastion siege remains one of my favorite segments: the battle with Demyx in all it's glory; Goofy's "death", as mentioned by Funk; being assisted by Final Fantasy 7's Vincent, Tifa, and Cloud; the 1000 Heartless battle; and encountering both Maleficent, Disney villain turned overarching series antagonist, and the one and only Sephiroth. I've not held any reverence for Disney properties and only enjoy a handful of Final Fantasy games, but Kingdom Hearts makes both stand out and truly shine in a way Epic Mickey simply could not have.