Aspect Analysis – Kingdom Hearts III and The Wasted Potential of AquasteemCreated with Sketch.

in #gaming5 years ago

As is typical for these articles, I will be spoiling many aspects of Kingdom Hearts III as well as previous games in the series in relation to the character of Aqua. You have been warned.

In a sense, this should have been obvious it was going to happen, as the main series will inevitably focus on Sora, but at the same time, the side games have had some of the best characters and stories of the franchise. Specifically, I refer to both Birth by Sleep, the best game in the series, and A Fragmentary Passage. Both being so fantastic mostly for having the best gameplay in the series, the most focused stories, as well as featuring Aqua in the main role.

Having played both those games, it's a bit frustrating to see what became of Aqua in Kingdom Hearts III. Aqua was first seen in Birth By Sleep where she was given the task of trying to keep Terra from falling to Darkness, as well as doing what she could to save Ventus later on. In the end, while she never quite succeeded at either task, she was able to get Ventus to safety and sealed him away, and she did manage to prevent Terra from falling into the World of Darkness at the expense of herself.

Throughout Birth by Sleep she came across as probably the strongest of all the three, and this trend continues on into A Fragmentary Passage. She has been trapped in the world of darkness for years, fighting against the heartless who roam there. With the help of Mickey, she manages to save Riku and stave off the darkness from overtaking her own heart. While still left alone in this world, she found the strength too stand strong and vowed to protect all those who wander into the World of Darkness until the day she has finally been rescued herself.

Throughout all her trials, Aqua may never have been presented as perfect, and in the beginning, it was clear she wasn't quite able to get to the outcome she desired. And this all built to the end of Fragmentary Passage where she gained the strength to stand on her own against the very darkness itself, knowing that even if she was here alone there were others out there who cared for her and gave her the strength to persist. It really was the best character arc in the entire franchise.

And then Kingdom Hearts III comes around and some dick hole shoves her into a lake and darkness overcomes her heart. Then Sora just kind of shows up and save her heart from Darkness. Then when you go to wake up Ven, who only Aqua was able to reach, Venitus shows up and takes her out with a cheap shot, only to have her saved once again by Ven. Then when you come across the body of Terra being possessed by Xehonort you would think that finally, Aqua would get to shine, but nope. Her and Ven get their ass kicked by him, and then it's basically just Sora and Terra who manage to shove the darkness out of Terra's heart and lets him take control back again.

Are you starting to see the problem here? Aqua, who has by far been the best written and most interesting character of the franchise so far, suddenly gets pushed to near impotence. It's frustrating when things like this happen in games and anime where the people you want to see succeed and flourish most get shoved to the side in favor of a less interesting lead. For everything you see Aqua go through in Birth by Sleep and A Fragmentary Passage you would think they would have something big in store for her coming into Kingdom Hearts III, but you are just kind of left with a dud of a payoff.

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