The recent gameplay footage of Kingdom Hearts 4 has reignited the debate about the combat in the latest games feeling “floaty”, an argument that every fan is more than tired of.
Even though the long-awaited second trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 didn’t reveal a Disney world to us like we all hoped it might (even if it did tease one) and focused once again 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 that we have of Kingdom Hearts 4 shows that it’s going to play very similarly 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 about the refined combat, others have started calling it “floaty” and giving the community horrible flashbacks.
Kingdom Hearts 4 Gameplay Is Being Called “Floaty”, Just Like The Rest Of The Osaka-Developed Games
As Fans Have Proven, Though, Floaty Is Just A Mindset
If you’ve been a Kingdom Hearts fan for long enough, then you no doubt know why the term “floaty” 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 peak of the series), the combat has changed significantly, with more emphasis placed 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 end lag, has resulted in floaty being a word that’s commonly used to describe all of the recent Kingdom Hearts games. While Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance are very hard to defend, most think that Kingdom Hearts 3, while a little floaty, is nowhere near as bad and actually has a great combat system.
Most have accepted that this combat style is just how Kingdom Hearts plays now, but the footage of KH4 that we got has somehow reignited the debate all over again. The quote retweets on Twitter user Okami13_’s post about the gameplay is full of complaints about the combat system, with many once again saying how floaty it looks.
Some have fairly reasonable points about how most enemies are ground-based while Sora thrives in the air, while others are jumping to conclusions about some of Sora’s moves. Kingdom Hearts fans are right back to defending the combat, with many sharing peak clips of Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay that prove it’s really only as floaty as you make it, and that that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Really, though, while I do understand floaty being used to describe modern Kingdom Hearts combat, it’s far too early to tell just how floaty Kingdom Hearts 4 is going to be based on a minute of footage. Whatever the case, it might just be time to accept that Kingdom Hearts 2’s combat style isn’t something the series is going to repeat, and that there’s just as much joy in the more freeform and cinematic style.
Don’t Worry, Square Enix Hasn’t Forgotten About Kingdom Hearts
I’m not coping, I’m just getting a new high score.
