Kingdom Hearts 2 launched for PS2 in 2006, so fans have been waiting 13 years for Kingdom Hearts 3, which came out this week. It appears that the developers couldn’t resist getting in a little joke at the expense of everyone who’s been wading through spinoff after spinoff since then.
Last night I started Kingdom Hearts 3. After watching the twenty minutes of recap videos, then the opening cut scene, then another cut scene, then another cut scene, I was ready to go. We cut to a black screen. The words “Kingdom Hearts” slowly faded in. And then this screen appeared:
I laughed out loud. Weird naming conventions are part of Kingdom Hearts’s charm. Other than the main numbered releases, there’s a Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, a Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5, and a Kingdom Hearts χ (pronounced “key”). There’s even a game called Kingdom Hearts 2.8, and another one called Kingdom Hearts 0.2. To add in a 2.9 at first feels infuriating, then makes you laugh.
Because I used to be an arsehole that liked to ruin people’s fun, I had been saying that I was not sure if Kingdom Hearts 3 would ever come out for years, as a way to rib on my friends who were desperately waiting for it.
Now, it felt like the game was also in on the joke. Rest assured, once you get past the first world, you’ll see a splash screen for Kingdom Hearts 3, but it was hilarious to find that the game was going to make everyone wait just a little bit longer.
Other players had a similar reaction to me:
THE SCREEN SAID “KINGDOM HEARTS 2.9” #KingdomHearts3 pic.twitter.com/z9xRYHpKUH
— Aaron ♔ ⚯͛ △⃒⃘ (@CallMeByAaron) January 29, 2019
My favorite part of Kingdom Hearts 3 is when you think the logo is going to appear and instead it says in big letters on screen
KINGDOM HEARTS 2.9
just to toy with your emotions and some of you will think this is a shitpost because that’s how far we’ve fallen into the abyss
— Nextran (The Nobody of Tanner) (@TannerLPer) January 30, 2019
They really just hit me with a 2.9….I’m pissed????@KINGDOMHEARTS @SquareEnix
— Chris Warren III (@ScorealldayCW25) January 29, 2019
Someday, soon, I’ll be able to play Kingdom Hearts 3. Just not as soon as I first thought.
Comments
2 responses to “Kingdom Hearts 3 Starts Off With A Great Self-Aware Joke”
I liked how it starts off with Sora sneaking into an enemy camp to save Donald and Goofy who have been kidnapped. When you find them, Goofy asks you to “Say the magic words.” to which Sora replies “Kept you waiting huh?”.
I knew the title was referring to the 2.9 joke.
It also filled me with equal parts rage and amusement.