The latest Kingdom Hearts 4 gameplay footage has reignited the debate that the combat in recent games feels “fluid”, an argument that all fans are more than tired of.
While the long-awaited second trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 didn't reveal a Disney world to us like we all hoped it might (although it did tease one) and once again focused on Quadratum, it still gave us a great new look at the game. Most importantly, it finally showed us some actual in-game combat, instead of the first trailer's clearly pre-rendered concept gameplay.
The footage we have of Kingdom Hearts 4 shows that it will play very similar to KH3, albeit with a brand new build system that looks to bring the best of Keyblade Transformations and Reaction Commands. While fans have seemed mostly very happy with the refined combat, others have taken to calling it “fluid” and giving the community horrible flashbacks.
The Kingdom Hearts 4 game is called “Floaty”, just like the rest of the Osaka-developed games
As fans have proven, however, Floaty is just a mindset
If you've been a Kingdom Hearts fan long enough, then you no doubt know why the term “floating” is so divisive in the community. Ever since Osaka Team took over development of the series after Kingdom Hearts 2 (which many correctly consider the pinnacle of the series), combat has changed significantly, with more emphasis on air combos, special moves, and less grounded attacks.
This, combined with Sora taking longer to return to the ground and attacks generally having more completion delay, has resulted in floaty being a word often used to describe all of the recent Kingdom Hearts games. While Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance are very hard to defend, most people think that Kingdom Hearts 3, while a bit fluid, is nowhere near as bad and actually has a great combat system.
Most people have accepted that this fighting style is exactly how Kingdom Hearts plays now, but the images of KH4 that we got have somehow reignited the debate. The quote retweets on Twitter user Okami13_'s post about the game are full of complaints about the battle system, with many again saying how fluid it looks.
Some have fairly reasonable points about how most enemies are ground-based while Sora thrives in the air, while others draw conclusions about some of Sora's moves. Kingdom Hearts fans are right back in defense of the battle, with many sharing top clips of Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay that prove it's really only as fluid as you make it, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
But while I understand that floaty is used to describe modern Kingdom Hearts combat, it's way too early to tell how floaty Kingdom Hearts 4 will be based on a minute of footage. Either way, maybe it's just time to accept that Kingdom Hearts 2's combat style isn't something the series will repeat, and that there's just as much joy to be had in the more free-form and cinematic style.
Don't worry, Square Enix hasn't forgotten about Kingdom Hearts
I can't take it, I just get another top score.
