KH Ruined FF characters

[Jasmine You]

I ain't sure where this is supposed to go so I'll just post it here, seems appropriate to me but what the hell do I know.
Anyways, Kingdom Hearts has included some of the most beloved Final Fantasy characters in it's story BUT I think that some of the Final fantasy characters were destroyed by Kingdom Hearts.
Whether it be by appearance, personality or ability it self.
Leon was included in I, I think the way that they placed him in the game destroyed a bit of his own character. The way he's really supposed to act is a bit far from the way they showed him in Kingdom Hearts. And to really say this, I think they gave him a bit too much color on his skin xD
Aerith, she was actually alright. I just wished they kept her original outside. I don't like the one they gave her in this one that much.
Yuffie, Her outfit, once again I wished they kept the same one, but I suppose that's alright; but when it came to battling her she just didn't seem like the Yuffie we met in VII or the one we met in AC. Not to mention that they just blew entire performance, they made her throw shuriken at you the entire battle. I hope the developers knew that she could do way more than just that.
Cloud, In I his outfit just throws me off, where did he get that thing from? And the cape makes him look like Vincent ._.;; More then just that, when you fight him....he's nothing like the Cloud we saw in VII or in AC. He has this one move where he actually spreads a wing and flies around...where did he even get that from!? ._.;; His attitude is still the same, so I'm glad for that.
Cid, thank Gaia he didn't change much. Just without the whole "cursing for no reason thing" but this is a kids game. It would have been awesome tho, you can't look at me with a straight face and say that it wouldn't be awesome to have the old "Curse for no reason" Cid in Kingdom Hearts xDD
Sephiroth, His personality in II didn't change much and for that I am glad; but I think that his ability was bummed down a lot in II
Tifa, thank god they kept her same outfit for that I am happy and her personality is the same yay for that BUT when you fight against her her moves....they don't seem like the type Tifa would really do and her "Final Heaven" is just not final heavensy =/ Yeah you remember that punch she threw that was sorrounded by some blue lights? Yeah, that's the "Final Heaven"
Auron, He doesn't seem like the Auron that was in X. And really I don't Auron would even think to do harm even if it cost him his own life and such which was what Hades was making him do. =/
In my opinions they just changed the Final Fantasy characters too much. But that's just me <3 Aerith and Yuffie seemed to be the only ones that matched their original selfs..

Any thoughts?

~Tifa~

 

[The_Oathkeeper]

I ain't sure where this is supposed to go so I'll just post it here, seems appropriate to me but what the hell do I know.
Anyways, Kingdom Hearts has included some of the most beloved Final Fantasy characters in it's story BUT I think that some of the Final fantasy characters were destroyed by Kingdom Hearts.
Whether it be by appearance, personality or ability it self.

I didn't think they were handled that poorly. Of course they could've been handled better, but all things considered, I think Nomura did a reasonably good job considering how different the KH universe is from the FF universe. Yeah, some of the characterization was a bit weak, but remember, they were, for the most part, pretty minor characters. In a lot of cases they were just cameos without any significant effect on the plot at all.

Leon was included in I, I think the way that they placed him in the game destroyed a bit of his own character. The way he's really supposed to act is a bit far from the way they showed him in Kingdom Hearts. And to really say this, I think they gave him a bit too much color on his skin xD

But Leon is also portrayed as being older in KH1, so naturally, he'd be a fair bit more mature than his FFVIII counterpart. Leon still retained Squall's stoic, no-nonsense attitude toward most situations, and even in FFVIII, Squall was portrayed as a natural born leader. The only difference is that Leon seems to take more after Post-FFVIII Squall. Remember, his character developed a great deal during the game itself. By the end of FFVIII, Squall was no longer his antisocial jerkass self. Actually, since Leon in KH1 is supposed to be about 24 or so (I think), his behavior is pretty accurate, if you ask me. He kept Squall's core personality traits (stoic, quiet, strong leader, etc.), but Nomura seemed to keep in mind his character development from FFVIII. He was basically just Squall with the added maturity of NOT being an unstable teenager.

Aerith, she was actually alright. I just wished they kept her original outside. I don't like the one they gave her in this one that much.

Aerith was fine in KH1, but in KH2, she was...yeah. I blame her voice actor, as well as the fact that pretty much every Radiant Garden FF cameo took a backseat to Cloud during KH2, with the possible exception of Leon. Still, I actually think Aerith is one of the worse FF cameos. Neither of them really captured the spirit she had during FF7. Too melancholy. In the FF7 Compilation, she only really acted like that AFTER she died, which I'm guessing shouldn't be taken into consideration in Kingdom Hearts...given that she's...still alive. And, if, by "outside", you mean "outfit"...eh. Yeah, I guess you've got a point, but it's close enough, at least. They're both pink dresses. *shrug* But I digress.

Yuffie, Her outfit, once again I wished they kept the same one, but I suppose that's alright; but when it came to battling her she just didn't seem like the Yuffie we met in VII or the one we met in AC. Not to mention that they just blew entire performance, they made her throw shuriken at you the entire battle. I hope the developers knew that she could do way more than just that.

Isn't Yuffie's KH2 outfit the same outfit she wore in Advent Children? Anyway, at least in KH1, Yuffie throws shuriken and...either little, tiny shuriken or throwing knives. She also has a Cure Spell, and, in KH2, teleportation as well as a special attack. That's actually more than we saw her do in Advent Children, where her entire contribution to the Bahamut SIN fight was throwing a shuriken at it twice, and flipping around like the crazy ninja she is (which she also does in Kingdom Hearts). FFVII doesn't really have any depictions of her fighting in the storyline, given that she was an optional character and all. She only actually does battle in gameplay, but I really don't think she could've done much else. Shurikens are her primary weapon, remember, so I'm not really sure what else you want her to do.

Cloud, In I his outfit just throws me off, where did he get that thing from? And the cape makes him look like Vincent ._.;; More then just that, when you fight him....he's nothing like the Cloud we saw in VII or in AC. He has this one move where he actually spreads a wing and flies around...where did he even get that from!? ._.;; His attitude is still the same, so I'm glad for that.

I guess you've got a point. I think the outfit could simply be justified by the fact that it is, in fact, a different Cloud in a different universe. He's obviously not going to be wearing his SOLDIER uniform. They were probably trying to make him look more like a part of the Kingdom Hearts universe, which is presented a lot less realistically than the FFVII universe was. I mean, his KH outfit is a lot more...extravagant. In any case, though, I think the cape/claw were both added to his outfit because Nomura originally wanted to add Vincent into the game, too. He eventually decided against it, and simply gave Cloud some of Vincent's traits.

But I have to say, I don't really see what's so drastically different about the way he fights. You've got Braver, Cross Slash, Omnislash, and an original attack in the form of Sonic Blade (which still looks pretty much like something Cloud would use. All it is is a particularly strong thrust with his blade). He's still a swordsman, and he still uses that over-the-top style we see in Advent Children and most of the FFVII Compilation. In fact, most of his techniques are taken directly from FFVII itself. Sure, Omnislash (which, by the way, is the technique where he gets the wing and flies around) was changed a bit, but really, it just looks like Omnislash V.5 from AC except less useless in that Cloud can actually move around freely during it. It even has the final attack where he flies up into the air and comes crashing down on his opponent. As for the wing itself...meh. Yeah, he never had it in the FFVII Compilation, but again, you have to remember that this isn't actually the Cloud we see in FFVII. It's an entirely different character who just happens to share the same name, appearance, personality, weapon, and fighting style. A few cosmetic changes are to be expected, and even then, it was only supposed to further contrast Cloud with Sephiroth, who had a wing on his opposite shoulder.

Cid, thank Gaia he didn't change much. Just without the whole "cursing for no reason thing" but this is a kids game. It would have been awesome tho, you can't look at me with a straight face and say that it wouldn't be awesome to have the old "Curse for no reason" Cid in Kingdom Hearts xDD

Yeah, Cid wasn't too bad. I think another character would've been better suited for the role so they wouldn't have to worry about the swearing, and I have to say, he looks a lot less badass with a toothpick instead of a cigarette...Still, it could've been worse. They even included his fascination with space travel. My only gripe is that he doesn't fight. It would've been awesome to see him in battle. Even Aerith helped out in the Hollow Bastion fight. That would've been the perfect opportunity to show Cid in action. But yeah, he was okay.

Sephiroth, His personality in II didn't change much and for that I am glad; but I think that his ability was bummed down a lot in II

Let's see...master swordsman, superhuman strength and speed, various supernatural attacks...I'm not really sure what was toned down. Unless you mean the fact that he lost to Sora, but in that case, I'd have to remind you that Sora destroyed multiple skyscrapers with a single swing of his blade, deflected hundreds of lasers coming at him from all directions, and sent a 30-foot dragon flying into the air simply by jabbing it in the stomach. There's absolutely no shame in losing to Sora.

Tifa, thank god they kept her same outfit for that I am happy and her personality is the same yay for that BUT when you fight against her her moves....they don't seem like the type Tifa would really do and her "Final Heaven" is just not final heavensy =/ Yeah you remember that punch she threw that was sorrounded by some blue lights? Yeah, that's the "Final Heaven"

I'm inclined to agree with you here. In battle, Tifa was a huge disappointment. Her attacks almost felt lazy. Like the developers just weren't trying to make them look cool at all. Final Heaven just...didn't look like Final Heaven in the slightest. If they tried to pass it off as a random attack, I guess that would've been fine, but...it just wasn't Final Heaven. It was a different attack entirely. In fact, I think "Final Heaven" and that basic one-two punch combo are pretty much her only attacks.

Auron, He doesn't seem like the Auron that was in X. And really I don't Auron would even think to do harm even if it cost him his own life and such which was what Hades was making him do. =/

Hades was controlling Auron against his will. In fact, most of your time in your second visit to the Underworld will be spent retrieving the object that Hades uses to control Auron. It's not as though Auron agreed to kill Hercules; his free will was literally in someone else's hand. That's like blaming Kain for attacking Cecil or blaming Cloud for raising his sword to strike Aerith in the Forgotten City. It was just beyond his control. Aside from that, I felt Auron acted pretty closely to his original self, though he was somewhat less badass, perhaps to make him more kid-friendly.

In my opinions they just changed the Final Fantasy characters too much. But that's just me <3 Aerith and Yuffie seemed to be the only ones that matched their original selfs..

Any thoughts?

~Tifa~

My final thoughts are pretty much that, yes, the Final Fantasy characters could've been done much better, but on that note, they could've been done a lot worse, too. Would I have liked to have seen Cloud in his SOLDIER uniform or a younger Squall blowing Sora off with a stoic "...Whatever"? Sure. But what we got really wasn't that bad at all, for the most part. They were in-character as far as personality was concerned, and the changes to their attires weren't...that bad. Again; could've been worse. I certainly see your point, though. There was a lot that should've been done with the FF cameos that just wasn't. I'm just saying, they weren't horrible.

Come to think of it, I'm surprised you didn't mention Seifer, Setzer, or Vivi...They were easily the worst of the bunch.

 

[Jasmine You]

Thank you for your post it was greatly appreciated <3
And come to think about it I forgot about them, but I suppose it's not too late to mention them.
Seifer, he didn't have a lot of change as the way I'm seeing him his stance is the same and his clothing didn't change much but there was something that did bother me, and it was in fat in his clothing. His shirt was too short it frigging shows his belly button, I don't think Seifer would dress like that really. In VIII he does wear a shirt like that but it's not that short. Kinda makes him look like more of a id, yeah sure he IS a kid, but he doesn't want to be a kid the hat thingy also bothered me. His attitude seemed to be the same "I'm better then you and that's the end of it" thing he had going in VIII.
Setzer, his personality wasn't changed that much he still had that "You 'no" thing going on but....there's nothing much I really have to say about him =/
Vivi, I liked the outfit they gave him it didn't eeally change much but....the few times that he did talk it just wasn't Vivi. It didn't really speak to mse saying this is Vivi the same shy boy that ran around with Zadaine. Also, why the hell would Vivi even try to struggle? I know in the tournament thing, he wasn't him self but the fact that even before he did try just doesn't seem somehting Vivi would do. He's a black mage after all =/

~Tifa~

 

[The_Oathkeeper]

Thank you for your post it was greatly appreciated <3

No problem. I'm always up for a discussion.

And come to think about it I forgot about them, but I suppose it's not too late to mention them.
Seifer, he didn't have a lot of change as the way I'm seeing him his stance is the same and his clothing didn't change much but there was something that did bother me, and it was in fat in his clothing. His shirt was too short it frigging shows his belly button, I don't think Seifer would dress like that really. In VIII he does wear a shirt like that but it's not that short. Kinda makes him look like more of a id, yeah sure he IS a kid, but he doesn't want to be a kid the hat thingy also bothered me. His attitude seemed to be the same "I'm better then you and that's the end of it" thing he had going in VIII.

It's not so much his clothing or general attitude that really bothered me. His attire is so similar to that of his FFVIII counterpart that a few minor differences really don't matter at all. It was mainly the fact that they turned him into pretty much the lamest thing in the history of the universe: a white boy who thinks he's a gangsta'. Don't get me wrong, I know Seifer was never the most mature dude out there. With insults like "chicken-wuss", Seifer was never what you might call a particularly witty young gent. But, come on, even he had SOME standards. In KH2, though, he was reduced to a wannabe tough guy who thought he was hardcore because he went around harassing children with a foam bat. Sure, Square did a pretty good job of replicating his smug, self-righteous attitude, but they made him such a...such a lamer!

Setzer, his personality wasn't changed that much he still had that "You 'no" thing going on but....there's nothing much I really have to say about him =/

Setzer's personality was SORT OF kept in-tact. He even had the "My life is a chip in your pile. Time to ante up" line. However, what makes him a horrible adaptation isn't necessarily most of his dialogue, just his actions. In FF6, Setzer was a gambling, daring airship captain who would throw his life on the line just for the thrills that came with it. In KH2? Setzer is, yet again, a man who thinks he's hardcore because he can beat up children with a foam bad; worse yet, he's probably in his late 20's. At least Seifer has the excuse of being an angst-y teenager. I also think it was quite a fair bit out of character for him to try and get Roxas to throw the match. Setzer was many things, but he certainly wasn't a coward.

Vivi, I liked the outfit they gave him it didn't eeally change much but....the few times that he did talk it just wasn't Vivi. It didn't really speak to mse saying this is Vivi the same shy boy that ran around with Zadaine. Also, why the hell would Vivi even try to struggle? I know in the tournament thing, he wasn't him self but the fact that even before he did try just doesn't seem somehting Vivi would do. He's a black mage after all =/

~Tifa~

The zippers were annoying as hell. That's all I'll say about his outfit; if it weren't for the ridiculously excessive use of zippers, it'd have been fine. I guess the shyness itself was there, it just wasn't Vivi-esque shyness. The problem with Vivi was that they tried to take someone whose entire origin story is supernatural (he was artificially created to be a machine of destruction and whatnot) and place him into an otherwise "mundane" or "ordinary" setting. Really, what is Vivi- who was a Black Mage in the original game- if he can't even use Black Magic? In other words, they tried to take an abnormal character and make him normal, which just took away all the charm his character from FFIX had. And, like you said, they even added insult to injury by having him Struggle. Vivi does not belong in close-range physical combat. I honestly don't know how Nomura managed to mess that one up. I mean, is it seriously too much to ask to have Vivi use Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard? Couldn't he have questioned the meaning of life at least once?

 

[Jasmine You]

You know, now that I think about it, I think I would have accepted Vivi more of he was a forced part of the villain party. Like how it was done in KHI with Riku, he was brought to believe that Sora no longer cared for him and such and that made him turn his back on Sora.
I think it would have been better if something similar was done to Vivi. At least then I think there would be place for him to use his Black Mgaick, not some foam bat. Hm...but when it came to the match the bat was altered using magick and maybe it was Vivi's own magick because I don't think the Nobadoes had the power to do that. Even if it was Vivi's own magick being controlled by the Nobodies it just didn't seem like somehting that would fit Vivi.

Coming back to Aerith, I did give some thought to what you said and I do thik now that they seemed to completly driven her away from her original self. Her attitude, she is still alive in this universe SO her attitude should be the same, cheerful and outgoing, right? Then I wonder when do they show her as being such a calm person? Aerith is not the type to stand behind others to protect her, she would give her life to poects others so maybe it would have been a bit bteter if they showed her taking a stand against the enemy, even if it was a small one.

~Tifa~

 

[The_Oathkeeper]

You know, now that I think about it, I think I would have accepted Vivi more of he was a forced part of the villain party. Like how it was done in KHI with Riku, he was brought to believe that Sora no longer cared for him and such and that made him turn his back on Sora.
I think it would have been better if something similar was done to Vivi. At least then I think there would be place for him to use his Black Mgaick, not some foam bat. Hm...but when it came to the match the bat was altered using magick and maybe it was Vivi's own magick because I don't think the Nobadoes had the power to do that. Even if it was Vivi's own magick being controlled by the Nobodies it just didn't seem like somehting that would fit Vivi.

Not even that would be entirely necessary, though it's certainly a good idea in itself. They literally put Vivi in the absolute worst role possible. He couldn't use magic and wasn't in a position to ask questions about the nature of life, both of which were pretty much the two reasons why he was such a lovable character. Of course I realize that the character would have to be simplified for sake of keeping him restricted to a cameo role, but still, they could've given him some sort of development. He really didn't belong in Twilight Town. Seifer, Fuujin, and Raijin were very...self-explanatory characters, even in the original FFVIII. They didn't require much screen time for you to get to know them. They also seemed to fit into the modern, "summer vacation" setting of Twilight Town, while Vivi would've been much better suited to Radiant Garden, where he also would've gotten a lot more screen time as well as access to his magic.

Coming back to Aerith, I did give some thought to what you said and I do thik now that they seemed to completly driven her away from her original self. Her attitude, she is still alive in this universe SO her attitude should be the same, cheerful and outgoing, right? Then I wonder when do they show her as being such a calm person? Aerith is not the type to stand behind others to protect her, she would give her life to poects others so maybe it would have been a bit bteter if they showed her taking a stand against the enemy, even if it was a small one.

~Tifa~

I think she kept her selflessness and courage, for the most part, even if she didn't really get much of a chance to show it. It's just that she was, as you said, so...monotone. Again, this might just be due to her horrible voice actor in KH2, but even her dialogue and mannerisms don't really match up with the Aerith we see in FFVII. She's too static and...almost dull, really, while in FFVII, she's very cheerful and spirited. In other words, she was incredibly expressive and had a fun-loving side, even though she knew when it was time to be serious and stand her ground. Yeah, she was pretty monotone in Advent Children, but that was after she matured in the Lifestream. Nothing like that ever happened in the Kingdom Hearts universe, so yeah, she should've remained her old cheerful self.

 

[Asiancat]

I hardly care, tbh. They at least HAD FF characters, and that's good enough for me.

Although they could fix up Cloud, by taking away that cape. x.x.

 

[GFX Guilder]

I know my post won't be as long as the other posts in this thread, but whatever. These are the KH version of the characters, not the actual FF versions that you play as, so that is why they are different.

 

[Koffin]

I don't think they did much harm but as far as doing good for the FF characters i was pretty dissapointed and weren't the gullwings just kind of tossed in there too?

 

[Asiancat]

I know my post won't be as long as the other posts in this thread, but whatever. These are the KH version of the characters, not the actual FF versions that you play as, so that is why they are different.

That kind of ruins the whole point of having FF characters, really.

 

[Jasmine You]

I don't think they did much harm but as far as doing good for the FF characters i was pretty dissapointed and weren't the gullwings just kind of tossed in there too?

The Gullwings were tossed in there as frigging Fairies!! That just ruined Paine for me. Think about it, would Paine really fly around as a frigging little Fairy? I think not. That doesn't seem to speak to her character that well. Maybe their roles weren't that bad but the thing that I think ruined them the most was the whole fairy thing. =/

~Tifa~

 

[GFX Guilder]

There are 2 reasons Nomura put the FF characters in there.

1.basically they are there for supporting characters

2.Nomura wanted to show off the characters he designed(except Vivi)

 

[Gabranth]

That kind of ruins the whole point of having FF characters, really.

Not really. At first, it was to attract the public to this game. It would probably sell well even if Final Fantasy characters were withdrawn; Disney is more than enough to make its name. Since Final Fantasy was popular at its time, there's no reason not to add them as cameos. It gives more depth to the storyline, and to increase its enjoyability.

Another example is Super Smash Brothers; Mario is a big name in the gaming industry, but lately newer characters starring as cameos...Solid Snake....have been introduced. Soul Calibur IV contains Star Wars characters which have absolutely nothing in common with the storyline of the SC series.

 

[Bambi]

I didn't really mind the alterations of the characters, especially as they are nothing to do with the FF games, I quite liked them actually, although I wasn't amused about Aurons lack of specs AND those bloody gullwings, they irritated me enough in X-2 never mind making them as equally annoying in KHII

Still, the characters as said only really had cameo appearances anyway, I fail to se how they would ruin the FF characters in the slightest. They have absolutely no bearing on the characters/games anyway

 

[Asiancat]

Not really. At first, it was to attract the public to this game. It would probably sell well even if Final Fantasy characters were withdrawn; Disney is more than enough to make its name. Since Final Fantasy was popular at its time, there's no reason not to add them as cameos. It gives more depth to the storyline, and to increase its enjoyability.

Another example is Super Smash Brothers; Mario is a big name in the gaming industry, but lately newer characters starring as cameos...Solid Snake....have been introduced. Soul Calibur IV contains Star Wars characters which have absolutely nothing in common with the storyline of the SC series.

You make a good point, but changing the personality, clothes, ect., just isn't cool imo.

 

[Dark-Angel]

Thats one long ass first post xD

I think they could have portayed Squall better and why exactly did they call him Leon in the first place. I still dont get that
yuffie didn't seem as Yuffie-y as she was in the orginal ff7 games
Aerith and cloud seemed fine. i thought his new cloak was kinda cool, but i do wish we'd seen more of Sephiroth in KH1

KH2- I liked all the charcters as they were there was a bit of an imporvement with the characters me thinks

 

[GFX Guilder]

I think they could have portayed Squall better and why exactly did they call him Leon in the first place. I still dont get that

I am trying to remember the reason by memory so i could be wrong a little bit. Basically when Squall lived in Radiant Garden, that was his name. Then when the heartless started taking over, he fled to Traverse Town. He was ashamed of what he did so he wanted to be called Leon to start a new life in a sense.

 

[Moogles]

I know my post won't be as long as the other posts in this thread, but whatever. These are the KH version of the characters, not the actual FF versions that you play as, so that is why they are different.

There you have it. That's all that needs said, really. I view the FF characters who appear in KH to be completely different from the FF characters who appear in FF games.

KH didn't destroy the characters. They were simply portrayed differently.

 

[Contra Fates]

I have to agree with the subject of this thread. While I understand the reasons behind the differences of the characters, it doesn't mean that I enjoyed it.

At first, when Kingdom Hearts was announced, I was really excited about seeing Final Fantasy characters brought back, as well as hearing their voices. But, then again, I was also a lot younger at the time, and was pretty giddy about anything related to Final Fantasy. But, later on, as I became a bit more critical of the games I played, I noticed a lot of things about Kingdom Hearts that I didn't enjoy...and most of it had to do with the Final Fantasy cameos.

I agree with most of what Tifa Rokkuhato said about the characters in the opening post. I think that Squall and Aerith were the biggest character-casualties, though. Squall as 'Leon' seemed a bit silly to me. While The_Oathkeeper raised a good point about Squall being older and having had time to mature...having him paired with Yuffie made very little sense. Again, I realize that Square wanted cameos from popular or well-liked characters, but why not have Squall partnered with another FF8 character, or paired with Rinoa? Cloud and Aerith have their scenes together, so it's arguable that they could have kept like-FF characters paired together.

As for Aerith, her voice in Kingdom Hearts II infuriates me. In general, I really hate all of the respawns of Aerith. I adored Aerith in FF7, but I disliked her in every other game she's appeared in afterward. Her character in FFVII was likable, funny, and realistic. She had a good personality, and was a believable character. Every version of her after that has been far too pure and holy. I just feel that Square milked her tragic end for all it was worth, and created an 'Angel Aerith' in her wake, who seems like nothing more than a sweet-sounding drone reading off psalms.

So, yes, I agree that Kingdom Hearts did ruin the characters, but, then again...most of the characters that appeared in the KH games were not my favorites. Had Quistis, Zidane, Kuja, Kefka, Rufus, Irvine, Laguna, and a few others appeared in the series, I may have been more of a happy camper. Either way, I just don't feel that 'It's Kingdom Hearts not Final Fantasy' isn't a justifiable answer for those borrowed characters having to have been tampered with.

 

[Rockojoe2]

i didnt see how they ruined the ff characters D: some people who never played ff before went to get ff games after playing kingdom hearts