Aura Purchases...

[Che Musashi]

Mikami called Kingdom Hearts an Aura purchase and it is just that. With its inane Gummi ship missions, below average camera, and pounding x alot combat. Kingdom Hearts delivered on one promise, Square wanted you to buy it and you did.

That was all that was promised, this melding of these two worlds FF and Disney would change games and entertain you. You HAVE to play it. Then they send you off the damn Alice in Wonderland world and you're wondering why you are playing it.

Personally I was stoked for it, I wanted it really bad, this game was going to dominate my PS2. Then I got it as a gift and I didn't even bother. The fun and excitement of ME getting it was gone. Someone stole my Aura Dora!

Just like Metal Gear Solid 2 and maybe soon 3, we are all lemmings for Aura purchases. For our next GTA, Metal Gear, whatever. We have to be there, we can't wait to rip the celophane off and fire it up. Screw the directions, we'll read them later!

Now I'm older and wiser and I still haven't got IN to Kingdom Hearts. Its just not what I was expecting. The reason for this topic is, why do we get so duped into getting Aura purchases? Or anything else you can gleam from my rant.

Edit: apparently the critics liked it enough!

[Fuddle]

i also bought kingdom hearts as soon as possible, but i couldnt be bothered to play it past Tarzan/Hercules world.
it looked so cool, and i still love the music (which i listen to lots on mp3), wish i could skip all the 'game' and just watch all the fmv.
(infact, this game kindof put me off rpg's for a while, havent even thought of getting one since then)

this 'aura purchase' thing, i guess it just goes to show that everyone is affected by hype no matter what you think (although i beleive KH got fairly good reveiws)

[Magnakai]

It does get better past the godawful Tarzan world bit, most notably with the

Winnie The Pooh and Peter Pan

bits. Those were cool.
However, it's not THAT great. I'd say that there are definitely better games to waste your time on.

[stroppa]

Kingdom Hearts is quality, I love that game. It took over my life for about 4 days and then I was sad it was finished. So I went back into it to collect all the dalmation puppies to get the secret ending and I got some closure.

[112]

is this topic not a bit like the retro thread one? about feeling guilty about not liking a game more?

Anyways, one such aura purchase would be Biohazard 0. Dunno why, it jus failed to impress me.Maybe its the crappy enemies, or maybe its the fact that i was expecting so much from it. Either way i was let down.

112

[Concept]

I think Che has raised an interesting point, that is more expansive than just bitching about Kingdom Hearts. The 'feel' of a purchase, which is defined by immediately gratifying elements that appeal to us...

You know, in the import gaming folder, the terms "Final Fantasy VII" and "remake", automatically made people salivate and decide if an improved re-release were to happen, then they would purchase it. In other words, the pre-conceptions inside our head define the 'aura', the sense of purchase which imprints itself on us before we buy. Heck, it's what helps us define our individual lists of games to get. When we first hear about a game, the basic ingrediants that we can attach with on an immediate level, help us form our impressions of whether to keep an eye out for it. You know, how well these USPs of a title are pushed forward are usually responsible for an urge or lack of urge in the player pre-release. Feeling and impulse to purchase based on our interpretation of a title depends on the information available to us, I believe.

And of course, how well or effectively such information is presented, affects our own response. In Kingdom Heart's case, Square obviously pushed forward the main selling points of two key brands to capture the hearts of gamers eager to see how two distinctive art styles would fuse together.

In my opinion, whether the game was any good is perhaps beside the point. Square's marketing of encouraging interest towards the selling points of Kingdom Hearts did have the desired effect within certain sectors of the gaming populus.

[womblingfree]

Final Fantasy meets Disney sounds about as enticing as Metal Gear in Smurfland.

I always pre-order the latest MG, FF or Resi games and personally have enjoyed them all.

The only Aura purchas I hated was Devil May Cry 2. How they made it so bad I will never know. Truly the worst sequel of this generation.

[Faded]

Funnily enough I felt no need whatsoever to purchase kingdom hearts. It just didn't interest me much at all.

Then I borrowed Stroppa's copy and had the joy of being blown away by what is probably my joint favourite PS2 game. (With vf4evo, my one true love )


Then again I think Devil May Cry 2 is a highly enjoyable action game so what do I know?

[Che Musashi]

Concept has it right on. I don't feel guilty about not liking Kingdom Hearts this is more on the whole, I Must Buy Kingdom Hearts now feeling.

I was really targeting that game specifically I just used it as an example because I liked the fact that Mikami-san was right on about it. Its an average game with a ton of hype that many felt obliged to purchase.

I think MGS2 falls into that catagory. Kojima never told me I'd have to be an Albino Transvestite for the second half of the game. Still I can appreciate MGS2 for what it is, an interactive movie. I just wish they sold it like that.

[Faded]

I see what you're getting at, but I don't think I've ever really experienced the same. (I probably have but my brain is drawing a blank right now)

Most of the big game's people seem to think they NEED to buy I rarely bother to pick up cause I personally don't feel all that interested in them. Far too many to list off the top of my head, the first ones that come to mind are metroid prime and wind waker. (AH HAH Zelda OoT, that's pretty much the last time I bought a game purely because I thought i should).

It just seems that in recent years I've finally developed a pretty keen sense for which games I'm going to enjoy. (or im just totally jaded) And those are pretty much the only games I look forward to with rabid fanboy tendancies.

Though I must admit I'm getting just every so slightly tingly in anticipation of the PAL release of KOTOR tomorrow.