Sounds About Light

S1E1 – A Music Video About Going Through Puberty (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 1)

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 13:55:00 -0000

If you've ever wondered what the heck is going on with Kingdom Hearts, you've come to the right place! In our first episode, we're talking about the beginning of Sora's journey in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix: the Destiny Islands and Traverse Town! Topics include PS2 belts-per-second specs, Kairi's iconic laugh, making convenient excuses on Nomura's behalf, and Sora straight up watching a man die.

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E2 – Clayton Gets Crucified (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 2)

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 13:55:00 -0000

Disney adults, rejoice! After we get through our list of apologies for all the stuff we got wrong in the first episode, we're heading to Disney World! Oops, wait, sorry, this says Disney worlds, haha! Fortunately, neither of us have to play through the fairly miserable Wonderland and Deep Jungle, so we just get to enjoy the iconic tones of Brian Blessed and a guy who sounds kind of like Danny DeVito. Also, Donald gets a new girlfriend! Daisy will kill him!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E3 – Sidecar That Runs on Grimaces (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 3)

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 13:55:00 -0000

The Nasty Boyz are at it again! This time, we're being irreverent about Traverse Town again, Agrabah, Traverse Town again, and Monstro, discussing sword lore and door lore. How cool must a sword be to kill a Heartless? What makes a sword cool? When is a door not a door? And why was Pinocchio playing with a big pile of poop in that new movie? I don't know, but if I were one of the Nasty Boyz I might say that's a metaphor for Disney these days! Haha!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E4 – Be Your Own House (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 4)

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 13:55:00 -0000

This week, we visit the lands of earworms - Atlantica and Halloween Town! We're approaching the endgame already, somehow, but first we've got some more Ansem reports and a funny little bear in a red shirt to meet. Also, Sam's finally activated his brain to produce the first proper Crackpot Corner!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E5 – Show Me Your Crushing Power (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 5)

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 13:55:00 -0000

We're approaching the end of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, but we've got one Disney world left! Once we've stopped Riku from literally murdering Wendy from Peter Pan, we finally arrive at the extremely ominous castle of Hollow Bastion. There are villains to defeat and princesses to save, but most importantly we have a grandma's fairy tale to ponder! Is it actually worth thinking about this much? Only Nomura knows!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E6 – Pluto's Bad Adventure (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 6)

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 13:55:00 -0000

I hope you like LORE, because this episode's ARPM (Ansem Reports Per Minute) is off the charts! We've kicked Ansem out of Hollow Bastion, and our reward is an armful of Ansem reports from Aerith. After that, we've got a world tour of secret bosses, each of whom rewards us with an Ansem report. There's more Ansem reports in this game than Ansem himselves! I'm sure that will never change, ha ha ha. Can you imagine? Anyway, next week we'll wrap up our discussion of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, and then we're off to Castle Oblivion!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E7 – Zero Big Boats in the Keyblade War (Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Part 7)

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 14:55:00 -0000

We've finished our first game! Before we start on Chain of Memories, where the true Kingdom Hearts famously begins, we've got friend of the show Gigalithic of Zero to Zero joining us for a wrap-up chat about Kingdom Hearts Final Mix! We also talked about the pilot animatic we said we'd watch like four weeks ago. Oops! We had a great time experiencing the first game, and we know it had LORE, but did it have THEMES? The answer may surprise you!

Sam | Drew | Gigalithic | Twitter

S1E8 – Chip and Dale and Mike (Re:Chain of Memories Part 1)

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 14:55:00 -0000

The true Kingdom Hearts begins here! We're starting a new game, Re:Chain of Memories. Depending on who you ask, it's either very good or not very good. Does the dialogue sound like things humans would say? Not necessarily... but does it matter when most of the characters aren't humans? Hmm! Really makes you think. Fortunately, neither of us is playing the game. No cards for us, thanks!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E9 – The Metaphor of Fingerless Gloves (Re:Chain of Memories Part 2)

Fri, 02 Dec 2022 14:55:00 -0000

Great news for Vexen haters: this is the episode where Vexen dies! Join us in celebrating the demise of the bad face man, and also probably talking about the rest of Sora's story in CoM for way too long. We have learned the secret of Naminé, and the secret of Marluxia, but the secret of Axel still evades us. Maybe in another couple of games we'll find out what the h*** that guy was up to!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S1E10 – Bod Man Dark (Re:Chain of Memories Part 3)

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 14:55:00 -0000

Darkness darkness darkness, stench stench stench! Rank, dark, putrid darkness! ...Oops, sorry, I forgot I'm not in Castle Oblivion anymore and I can use other words besides those! What I was trying to say was that we finished Re:Chain of Memories with Riku's story this week. Against all odds, this game found a way to say the word "darkness" more often, but don't let that fool you - Riku's story is good! Grab some stinky darkness popcorn and brace your ears, because this episode also contains our first official Donald Duck impressions!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S2E1 – Gallagher's Watermelon Festival (KH2 Final Mix Part 1)

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 14:55:00 -0000

The true Kingdom Hearts begins here! We're starting Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix, and we've got a new boy to try to understand. Who is Roxas? Is it just a funny coincidence that his name is an anagram of Sora with an X in it? Why is there so much sea-salt ice cream? Believe it or not, you will walk away from this episode with answers to all three of those questions!

Sam | Drew | Twitter

S2E2 – DiZzy Knows Best (KH2 Final Mix Part 2)

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 14:55:00 -0000

Sad news for Roxas fans today: we've finished the Kingdom Hearts 2 prologue. 😔 We will miss our skateboarding, letter delivering, struggle winning boy Roxas, but not for very long, because we'll be back in January to watch 358/2 Days! For now, let's enjoy the rest of our summer vacation, hold our gems high, and mostly talk about how DiZ is racist.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E3 – The Ice Cream on the Desk (358/2 Days Part 1)

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 14:55:00 -0000

Hey, we said we'd be back in January, and here we are! We weren't lying! Last time we finished the prologue of KH2, and now we're jumping back in time to see what Roxas was up to for the past 358 days (/2). If you like hearing us say "ice cream", "clock tower", and a dozen dorky names with X's in them, you're going to love these next few episodes!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E4 – When a Heart Leaves a Body, Stuff Happens (358/2 Days Part 2)

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 14:55:00 -0000

We're halfway through 358/2 Days and the plot is beginning to thicken! Just who is Xion and where did she come from? What are Saïx and Axel up to? Would Demyx be able to cry if you took his sitar away? Is Sora enjoying his nap?! Also, Drew offers up a crackpot corner that expands Sam's brain instantly!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E5 – A Mirror Like a Broken Sponge (358/2 Days Part 3)

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 14:55:00 -0000

We've had it too easy for too long. This is the part where 358/2 Days starts to get messy! Xion(?) is having weird glitchy memories(??) or maybe Roxas is(???) or something else is happening. We think we kind of get it, maybe. Plus, the biggest mystery of all is introduced: what is Axel wearing under his coat? Cool pants, or an adult diaper? There are no other possibilities!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E6 – Got It Recorded? (358/2 Days Part 4)

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 14:55:00 -0000

Uh oh, it's time to be sad! We're wrapping up our discussion of 358/2 Days, and a lot of things happen, very few of them good. On the bright side, next week we get to go back to Kingdom Hearts 2! Donald and Goofy are there!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E7 – The Sounds About Light "Well," (KH2 Final Mix Part 3)

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 14:55:00 -0000

Ah, it's great to be back! We've finished our sad times with Roxas and, appropriately, are moving on as if none of it ever happened. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are back, baby! It's Kingdom Hearts 2 again! We've got old places to go and new people to meet. We've got Secret Ansem Reports to read! It's like putting on an old pair of giant clown shoes!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E8 – Donald Duck With His Hot and Blue Guitar! (KH2 Final Mix Part 4)

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 14:55:00 -0000

We sure did have a great time seeing Sora and friends again last week, but now it's time to get into the silly stuff. We're visiting Beast's Castle and the Land of Dragons this week, one of which is kind of an okay world! Pull up a chair and grab some popcorn and watch Sora get beat up twice in one week!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E9 – An Extremely Geefy Wife (KH2 Final Mix Part 5)

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 13:55:00 -0000

This week is our saddest episode yet, as we witness the endless humiliation of Pete. Why does this guy work for Maleficent? Why doesn't he use his literal time travel portal to his own benefit? Some men are just born to hench, it seems. Meanwhile, Hades comes up with his most nefarious plan yet: opening his own arena to compete with the Coliseum. Sora, you can't let him get away with this!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E10 – Leave a Gem, Take a Gem, Die (KH2 Final Mix Part 6)

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 13:55:00 -0000

This week, we visited an action-packed THREE worlds, because the episode wouldn't have been an episode with just the first two. We've got Port Royal, Agrabah, and Halloween Town on our plate today, and it's a good thing that dessert is there waiting for us at the end of this incredibly bland meal! We barely talked about the first two. We were mostly busy talking about Donald Duck's Treasure Madness.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E11 – Turtle Week (KH2 Final Mix Part 7)

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We're coming up on some big plot moments, but we've got three more Disney worlds to get out of the way first! Fortunately, these ones are pretty fun if entirely inconsequential! This week we visit the Pride Lands, 100 Acre Wood, and Atlantica. Goofy turns into two different turtles, and that's something! Ursula is up to her old tricks again, like being alive, so Sora better practice his sniper skills!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E12 – Jim the Wise vs. Ansem the Nasty Idiot (KH2 Final Mix Part 8)

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 15:14:50 -0000

The rumors are true! Kingdom Hearts 2 has a story! This week, we head back to Twilight Town in search of Kairi, and Hollow Bastion in search of Computer. We meet Tron from Tron, our brains hurt at the thought of Ansem doing corporate espionage at ENCOM, and Mickey Mouse says his big meme at us. What an episode! This game should be like this more often!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E13 – The Chamber of Email (KH2 Final Mix Part 9)

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Last week, we got one big Mickey meme and this week we've got another! That's right, we've finally arrived at "they'll pay for this", and if you don't know what that is then I won't spoil the surprise. It's another great week of KH2, and this time we're talking about the Battle of 1,000 Heartless! If that sounds like an exhausting number of heartless to fight, don't worry - we also get a relaxing break where Xemnas walks down some stairs for a while.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E14 – You Are Fleetwood Jperiod (KH2 Final Mix Part 10)

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 13:55:00 -0000

The past few weeks of Kingdom Hearts 2 have been really good, so it's time to ease off the gas pedal for some relatively boring Disney worlds! That's just how this game has to work, it turns out. We're revisiting Beast's Castle, Land of Dragons, Olympus Coliseum, and we even threw in Agrabah because there was so little going on otherwise. Will next week be better? Maybe. Will the week after that be better? Yes. Ohhhh yes.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E15 – How Soon Can We Kill Sora? (KH2 Final Mix Part 11)

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We're fast approaching the end of Kingdom Hearts 2, and for some reason that means we've got three more kind of not very good Disney worlds to slog through! They're not terrible, at least. We've got confusing Luxord antics in Port Royal, Jack Skellington learns the meaning of Christmas again(?), and Simba gets bullied into success. Cool, cool, cool, great, great, great. The true Kingdom Hearts begins next week!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E16 – Beans for the Computer (KH2 Final Mix Part 12)

Fri, 05 May 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We've made it through the boring Disney world revisits, and our reward is a very good Disney world revisit! We're saying goodbye to our friend Tron, who we love very much. He may have his silly limits, but this is one computer we'd never let starve. After that, we're off to Twilight Town, and after that, we're off to Twilight Town! We've also got some final emotional sendoffs for Axel and Roxas. Too bad we're already all cried out from Tron!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E17 – That Makes Sense (KH2 Final Mix Part 13)

Fri, 12 May 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Disclaimer: you are going to hear us talk for about an hour and a half about Kingdom Hearts 2 and how this is the last time we're ever going to talk about Kingdom Hearts 2. Well, we're wrong. This week, we're talking about the first half of Sora's time in The World That Never Was! It turns out we really underestimated just how much stuff would happen in the last hour or so of the game, so please enjoy our second-to-last discussion of Kingdom Hearts 2! Xemnas is barely even in it!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S2E18 – What's Going On? Kingdom Hearts (KH2 Final Mix Part 13.5)

Fri, 19 May 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Okay, this time for real, we actually finished Kingdom Hearts 2! We've got a lot of Xemnas to deal with, across five or six phases of boss battle. We've got some smiles, some grimaces, some laughs, some tears, and there's even a Tron part! This game really has it all. What a journey! A lot of it was even good!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E1 – My Son Is Also Named Xehanort (Birth by Sleep Part 1)

Fri, 26 May 2023 13:55:00 -0000

The true Kingdom Hearts begins here! We're jumping back in time to meet some new (old) friends in Birth by Sleep! This game has three playable characters and we'll be starting with Ventus, a certified Sweet Little Boy who looks exactly like Roxas for some reason. We'll also be meeting Eraqus and Xehanort, who -- wait, we already met a Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 2? Hm. Well, it's probably just a coincidence. It's a very common name these days!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E2 – Me Likey Little Mickey (Birth by Sleep Part 2)

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 13:55:00 -0000

These games haven't been about friendship enough, so this week we're entering the Ventus Loneliness Arc! He and his friends got in a single confusing fight, so now he has to rethink his entire life. Maybe he'll find some new friends in Radiant Garden or Olympus Coliseum? Definitely not in Disney Town. There's only one guy there who's looking for friends, and we can all agree he'd be better off dead. (For his own sake!)

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E3 – The Keeeeyblade (Birth by Sleep Part 3)

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 13:55:00 -0000

The true Kingdom Hearts begins here, as we approach the end of our time with Ventus. If you know Birth by Sleep, you've been waiting for it: it's the first mention of the infamous χ-blade! It's a real ordeal to talk about in an audio format, so we're sorry if it's an ordeal to listen to! Besides that, Ventus is meeting an experiment eventually known as Stitch, and (some of) the Lost Boys. Also Donald and Goofy are here! What a game!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E4 – Leave the Popsicle With Me (Birth by Sleep Part 4)

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 13:55:00 -0000

I hope you're sleepy for birth (????) because it's time to wrap up Ventus's story already! We'll miss this sweet little mouse disguised as a boy, but we've got two more friends to get to know over the next few weeks. For now, let's enjoy this thrilling conclusion featuring some extreme sicko Xehanort Reports, a Braig cameo, and the story of from whence Vanitas was riven.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E5 – Creatures So Base (Birth by Sleep Part 5)

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Oh, gosh. Well, it looks like it's time to meet our favorite little quiet boy man, Terra. He may not have passed his Mark of Mastery exam, but what he lacks in control over his inner darkness, he makes up for in lack of control over his inner darkness! The Disney villains are gonna have a field day with this guy. Somebody, please, for the love of Mickey, help this Keyblade himbo.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E6 – An Impetuous Little Man (Birth by Sleep Part 6)

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Terra's story is flying by like a Keyblade hoverbike chasing a race car-shaped Unversed on a racetrack! We've got a few Disney worlds to get through this week, but what we're really here for is our funny guy Braig. Have you ever wondered what happened to his eye, or what else happened to his eye? You'll find out about one of them this week!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E7 – Extreme Extreme Reiki (Birth by Sleep Part 7)

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Two boys down! That's what happens in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, thanks to Xehanort's machinations. In our third and final Terra Time, we're taking a quick trip to Neverland to fight the final boss, and then everything gets very bad for Terra very fast. What happened between him and Eraqus after Ventus got hucked? What was he up to at the top of that mountain with Xehanort? Nothing good, it turns out! Hopefully Aqua will have a better time than the others!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E8 – Love Kisses Again (Birth by Sleep Part 8)

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We're entering the endgame of Birth by Sleep, which in this case means we're entering the beginninggame of Aqua's story! As is tradition, it starts with a whole lot of Disney nothing! She's going on a tour of the worlds, learning about love or something? She just likes to watch people kiss. At least there's some good action to keep us entertained... or there would have been if the Fairy Godmother hadn't intervened to teach Aqua that murder is bad! Ugh!!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E9 – Prostrate Yourself for Minnie Mouse (Birth by Sleep Part 9)

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We've been wondering what Aqua's character is, and the game has kindly provided us with some answers! It turns out, first and foremost, she's a bootlicker! Oh, okay! Let's watch in horror as Aqua takes a tour of four Disney worlds and intensely respects anyone and everyone who orders her around in them. Is this really what her game is about? Xehanort, can you please give her something else to do?

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E10 – Huh! Heh Hah! Huh! Heh Hah! (Birth by Sleep Part 10)

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 13:55:00 -0000

It took her entire route, but Aqua's story is finally getting interesting! This week, we're wrapping up Aqua Time with a trip to the Keyblade Graveyard, then starting Aqua Time 2 with a trip to Radiant Garden and uhhhh maybe somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere good! Next week, we're finishing Birth by Sleep for real for real with Aqua Time 3, also known as A Fragmentary Passage, not to be confused with the Kingdom Hearts game called A Fragmentary Passage! Great!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S3E11 – Sora Porter Bridges (Birth by Sleep Part 11)

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Okay, this time for real - we have finished Birth by Sleep! In our final installment, we're discussing the secret ending Blank Points and the playable secret episode A Fragmentary Passage (not to be confused with etc. etc.) We've got some Cool Terra to enjoy, some sad-hopeful Aqua, and basically no Ventus. There's even a special cameo from Roxas, Axel, and some girl we don't remember! Also we completely forgot to talk about the secret bosses. We'll do it next episode! Re:coded, here we come! Let's get weird!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E1 – Lingering Whale (Re:coded Part 1)

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Beep boop! Time for a weird game! We're watching Re:coded, AKA Kingdom Hearts Somehow Goes Even More Off the Rails! This is a game mainly about Jiminy Cricket reading poetry in his eDiary. Who's writing the poetry? Well, that's a great question, and Chip and Dale are going to help us find the answer by... uh... Look, I don't have time to explain it all here, okay? This is the game where they go into the Data World. We'll (try to) make sense of it on the podcast!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E2 – Learn to Code, Fool (Re:coded Part 2)

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We're halfway through Re:coded and it's time to go on a friendship adventure! Can a data boy learn to love? Can a steamboat captain learn to hack? Kingdom Hearts says yes! We're talking about Olympus Coliseum and Agrabah this week, but really we're talking about Hollow Bastion and all the funny things that happen there. Also, Maleficent is here and she's being an evil grandma! This game was good the whole time!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E3 – Jiminy's Journal's Avatar Data-Riku Says This Game Makes Sense (Re:coded Part 3)

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:55:00 -0000

On this week's installment of Re:coded, we're finding out whether it's really safe inside Riku as Sora enters the datascape within the datascape to debug his friend! This means a montage of backtracking, a lot of apologies, and a lot of apologies about apologies. Afterwards, the team will be getting to the bottom of the mystery of the journal. Well, one of them, anyway! Turns out there's a lot going on in this game, including a massive lore teaser from Maleficent who has no idea that she has no idea what's going on.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E4 – The Sora Bullying Tour (Re:coded Part 4)

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Re:coded is ending strong(?) with a trip to Data-Castle Oblivion, where we'll be seeing, and Sora will be forgetting, a whole lot of familiar faces! Will a new Black Coat Guy successfully goad him into beating up the data illusions of his friends for no reason, or will Sora obviously not do that? That would be a pretty weird note to end on, so the game helpfully throws twenty straight minutes of "next time on Kingdom Hearts" at us! Next time: Dream Drop Distance!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E5 – The Sack Is Back (Dream Drop Distance Part 1)

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:55:00 -0000

We're entering the 2.8 Era with Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance! If you thought things were weird and confusing before, this is where it really gets weird and confusing. The true Kingdom Hearts begins here, one could say. We're trapped in a dream with the TWEWY gang. How important are they to the lore? Hopefully not at all! Sorry if we sound lost; we're not players!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E6 – Spontaneous Waifu Generation (Dream Drop Distance Part 2)

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 13:55:00 -0000

Alright, let's get these out of the way! We're visiting the first proper Disney worlds of Dream Drop Distance: France and Computer! They're not good, but that doesn't mean we won't talk about them for two hours! If anyone without a 3DS was worried that they're missing out on some great Kingdom Hearts worlds, well, you're probably fine when it comes to these two. Also: we finally get to the bottom of Tron's stupid new name!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E7 – I'm Being a Prankster, and I'm in Paradise (Dream Drop Distance Part 3)

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 13:55:00 -0000

This week, we're getting an exciting new perspective on Pinocchio and a fairly underwhelming familiar one! I never thought I'd be disappointed to leave Monstro so quickly, but here we are! We're also entering the Spellican Arc of Dream Drop Distance with a return to TWEWY Twaverse Twown, and a B-plot about Minnie Mouse being held hostage. All in all, a pretty good week of Kingdom Hearts!

We'll be taking a break for a little while but we should be back in December! As the king of the universe always says: "see ya real soon!"

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost | Discord

S4E8 – d'Arktagnan (Dream Drop Distance Part 4)

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 14:55:00 -0000

Merlin sent us away to a pocket dimension for two months to work on our Donald Duck voices, and we're back to talk about the last two Disney worlds of Dream Drop Distance: Country of the Musketeers and Symphony of Sorcery! Two unusual choices for Kingdom Hearts, and therefore two very good ones! Let's all put our heads together and see if we can continue to understand this game as it starts throwing alternate realities (maybe) and time travel (definitely) at us.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E9 – Thank the Dream Dropper (Dream Drop Distance Part 5)

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:51:38 -0000

This episode is... nuts! We're approaching the end of Dream Drop Distance, and the mysterious villains who have been popping up throughout the game to be vague at Sora and Riku are finally going to start being specific at them instead. Sam's been working out at the Ultimania to prepare for this one, so let's put our brains together and drop into the Xehanort Experience Record!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S4E10 – Just Xehanort Things (Dream Drop Distance Part 6)

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 14:55:00 -0000

In the finale of Dream Drop Distance, we finally get to see an old guy wiggle his fingers again, and the game is good. Also I guess some stuff happens with Riku and Sora and character arcs or whatever. Look at his fingers go! Yahoo! After that, we're discussing our general thoughts on this weird, messy game and why it's good, then we learn about Minions. Next time, we'll be starting Kingdom Hearts χ, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ, Kingdom Hearts Union χ, and Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover! It'll make sense, I promise!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S5E1 – A Game About Dennis (Unchained χ Part 1)

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 14:55:00 -0000

The chronological Kingdom Hearts begins here! We're going back in time to the Age of Fairy Tales in Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ plus Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover! What does that mean? Short answer: mobile games. We're meeting a whole new cast of characters, including the guy from our podcast art, a bunch of animal-masked dweebs, and Dennis. There will be intrigue, there will be keyblades, and there will be minimal Disney worlds!

Huge shoutout to damo279 for his KHUX cutscene compilations, which enabled the proliferation of worms in Sam's brain that led to this podcast's existence. Please check out his channel and the fandub we're watching!

Also, one more shoutout to ProZD whose Vine "Naming the main character your name in a video game" we will be referencing for the duration of KHUX.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S5E2 – Hi, Chirithy. Hi, Chirithy. (Unchained χ Part 2)

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 14:55:00 -0000

This week in Daybreak Town, our boy Dennis is feeling lonely. It turns out it's hard to make a lot of friends when you're not allowed(?) to talk to 80% of the people around you! Fortunately, he meets a nice(?) boy named Ephemer who breaks the rules(?) and they become fast friends. Is everything as it seems? Or is everything not as it seems? Also, make sure you pay attention we've got some plot-critical bangle shenanigans this week.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S5E3 – The Dark Anniversary (Unchained χ Part 3)

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 14:55:00 -0000

As we enter the second half of the first half of KHUX, we meet a new friend, Skuld, who is bringing back belts in a big way! We'll need her emotional support, because things are not great in Daybreak Town. The Foretellers are fighting, Chirithies are turning purple, and we're finding more and more that Kingdom Hearts is not afraid to kill kids as long as they're offscreen and we don't know them. We've got a new piece of light jewelry, but will it be plot-important enough to undo the darkness done by the power bangle, or was Chirithy just being bad at birthday presents?

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S5E4 – Aced's House of Bricks (Unchained χ Part 4)

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 14:55:00 -0000

Thinking about the Power Bangles too much made us both sick for a few weeks, which is a shame because now we're back to talk about the end of Unchained χ and apparently the Power Bangles are more important than ever! What is this game?! To make matters worse, the end of the world is happening. Oh, come on! Well, that's it for KHUX. We'll be back next time to start the sequel, KHUX!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S5E5 – Capital-D Darkness (Union χ Part 1)

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 14:55:00 -0000

The true KHUX begins here! After last week's tragedy, we could all use a bit of levity in our lives, so actually there wasn't a tragedy last week. Problem solved! This week, we'll be meeting some new friends, not meeting some new friends, and meeting some not new friends. Classic Kingdom Hearts stuff, in other words.

This episode introduces a lot of questions and mysteries, but you'll have to wait patiently for answers, because after this we'll be taking a few weeks off, then following release order with the very short A Fragmentary Passage, and the much longer Kingdom Hearts 3!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E1 – Large Adult Darksides (A Fragmentary Passage)

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 13:55:00 -0000

We're back from our break and entering the Unreal Era with [checks notes] Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-, not to be confused with A Fragmentary Passage from Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep! -A fragmentary passage- picks up right where A Fragmentary Passage left off, with Aqua having bad times in the Realm of Darkness. Will Mickey Mouse help her times become good, or will he, instead, not? This is the one with the shirt.

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E2 – The Detesters of Woody (KH3 Part 1)

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 13:55:00 -0000

The third Kingdom Hearts begins here! We've finally made it to the most recent game in the series besides Dark Road and Melody of Memory and also the rest of KHUX that came out after this! Our journey begins in Olympus Coliseum, a world whose name should probably be changed at this point. There's no Coliseum in Olympus this time around, and maybe that's why it's actually pretty great for a change! After that, we're checking in with Rickey and Miku in the Realm of Darkness. Will they manage to find and rescue Aqua? We're only 45 minutes into a 12 hour cutscene compilation, so probably not!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E3 – Somehow, Xehanort Has Returned (KH3 Part 2)

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:55:00 -0000

In this bistro-centric episode, we're returning to Twilight Town, the chillest town in the Realm Between, and catching up with the Other Sea Salt Trio: Hayner, Pence, and Olette! So much has happened with these three in the past [???] days or weeks or months, and Sora can truly relate to them now that he has a phone. Scrooge is also here, and he's got an Unnamed Rat in his employ! This looks like a good spot to try to say "ingredients" in Donald Duck voice!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E4 – You've Got an Enemy in Me (KH3 Part 3)

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 13:55:00 -0000

It's a great week for Kingdom Hearts 3! We're heading to one of the best worlds in the series: Toy Box! We're missing a lot of the Toy Story toys, for reasons that will be explained/stupid, but that's okay. We've got everything we could possibly want: Woody roasting Xehanort, Rex being a gamer, Sora piloting a mech, and the army guys being slightly too real. Also, a commercial for the game that Nomura wishes he could make if he wasn't busy doing this!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E5 – Flynn Onceler (KH3 Part 4)

Wed, 01 May 2024 13:55:00 -0000

Welcome to Kingdom Hearts Untangled, our Tangled recap recap podcast where we recap a recap of Tangled! All things considered, it's still a pretty fun world despite very literally being "Sora, Donald, and Goofy watch a Disney movie." Even one of the least interesting villains in the series can't drag this one down!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E6 – No Scare... Care! (KH3 Part 5)

Wed, 22 May 2024 13:55:00 -0000

We're back from a short internet-problems break to talk about Monstropolis, a world in which Sora and friends walk forward through a series of hallways! Fortunately, the hallways are occupied by our favorite scary guys from our favorite scary company to keep us scary company. All things considered, it's pretty good, and someone gets comically hucked through a door!

Uh oh! This episode starts with Sam talking about a leak in the ceiling, and it turns out that leak might be a much bigger problem than was apparent at the time. If you don't hear from us for a while, it's because we're on a ceiling-and-walls-problems break. Rest assured, the podcast will continue as soon as possible! Key on blading, as Yen Sid always says!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E7 – You Can Only Do Ice? (KH3 Part 6)

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:55:00 -0000

Frozen is a movie about a girl with ice powers losing control and freezing her kingdom in the summer. This is why it's funny that we're talking about Arendelle in July! We did it on purpose! A lot of people say this is an all-time low for the series. It's not very good, but it still has its moments in between trips up and down the mountain. They fixed Elsa's hair, at least!

Sam | Drew | Twitter | Cohost

S6E8 – How About Thirty Crabs? (KH3 Part 7)

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 13:55:00 -0000