I love when people with actual media literacy treat this series with the love it deserves

I adore the part of the GBA version where Sora completely forgets Kairi for the first time. With a perfect smile on his face he talks about how he hopes to go home.

"Me, Riku..."

..."And Namine."

People need to notice how this game is where Sora and Riku start outright killing their villains in CoM, who actively hold them against there will and experiment on them in their castle base.

The joy i feel when the Chain Of Memories understanders come out into the light to show the parts of this game that are very compelling

Oh, I hope to god this becomes a regular series!

I always thought Namine was basically there as another victim. Namine was there and helping them, not because she was kidnapped, but because she thought she didnt have anywhere else she could be. They were manipulating her and gaslighting her, just as much as Sora. That's why at the end, she defects and helps Sora. She breaks free of the manipulation and abuse. Then, like Riku, she owns up to her mistake and tries to correct it.
I've always seen her as a way to show that you can escape if you're in an abusive relationship. As well as that you can reach out to others for help to escape that abuse, like she did.

When you engage with a story in earnest, accepting it and trying to understand it as it is, you derive meaning from it. Though the message is what the author may have intended, our meaning is that message filtered and muddled by our own experience in receiving it.

I unironically actually love the idea that he can smell darkness.  I'd love if that came back

Man, looking back, Riku finding himself in a place of "sleep" between Light and Darkness at the start of his route turned out to be HUGE foreshadowing for future worldbuilding and his character arc. That's really cool.

By the way! That line about Naminé not actually being able to erase memories? If you pair it up with the memory both Sora and Riku Replica has of the Meteor Shower, it immediately becomes suspicious.

When this Meteor Shower memory is shared you probably assume that it’s a fake memory conjured up by Naminé. But if she doesn’t actually create new memories, that must mean it actually happened.

But we know that Sora didn’t receive Kairi’s good luck charm until the events of KH1. We also know that Kairi was brought to Destiny Islands during a Meteor Shower….

So, what is this good luck charm that was exchanged during the actual memory? And was Kairi even there?

The Crown Necklace Theory posits that this memory actually took place between Sora and Riku, and that this was the time that Riku gave Sora the Crown Necklace as a good luck charm. It would be very in character for a young Riku, since being strong enough to protect his friends is very important to him.

The crown necklace originally belonging to Riku also makes sense because Kingdom Key, originally supposed to belong to Riku, and forged from the light in Riku’s heart bears the crown symbol!

'To Find is to Lose and to Lose is to Find' is a pretty nasty example of a thought-terminating cliche in the context of this game, now that you mention it.

29:08 I’m not a Japanese speaker by any stretch of the imagination, but I have seen a LOT of discussion about Riku’s use of the word “smell” in CoM. The best conclusion I’ve been able to come to, is the fact that in the original Japanese script, he always uses the word “nioi”, which does translate most directly in English to “smell” (although, interestingly enough, it also usually refers to pleasant or neutral smells, rather than negative ones). But it can sometimes be used refer to a “vibe” or “aura”, but it’s not done very often. And considering how often Riku makes gestures that refer to his nose in the game (pinching it, tapping it, obvious sniffing motions), I think that it was definitely intended to be done as like a playful combination of the two.

But I have also seen discussions where people mention watching Japanese speaking streamers play the game, and that they’ve also said it’s a weird word choice.

Something that doesn't get talked about much is how each Organization member Sora meets has the element of his basic magic abilities.

Axel - Fire
Vexen - Ice
Larxene-Thunder

And then we have Marluxia who uses the same motif Cure uses, flowers. But instead of it giving life like Cure it causes Death.

When it comes to Namine's situation, I believe there is more to it than first glances suggest. Yes, she was threatened with eternal loneliness, and wanting to make connections is what she desires. She yearns to not be left alone nor forgotten.

But she's also constantly surrounded by Organization members. And they are often very touchy feely with her. Bear in mind, physical contact isn't as big in Japan as it is in the West; they're more conservative on that. Yet Marluxia and Larxene keep getting in Namine's personal space. And she flinches from it. The game may never talk about or show them doing anything more to her, but all that suggests that maybe something physical was done. Now they're simply in the psychological phase of making Namine do as they want by using her desires against her.

Namine was trapped in an abusive situation. The evidence above suggests she was kept physically in line first, which made her more susceptible to the psychological and emotional abuse that came after. She's more than just shy. She is starved for genuine affection and warmth. It's why Sora coming is so tempting for her to escape her situation, even while still trapped within the Organization's cage. In the end, though, she could never go through with it. She is a good person who, when finally given the chance, was able to begin making things right by telling Sora who was really most important to him.

Namine is also very kind. She didn't want anyone fighting - especially Sora and Repliku. But when Repliku kept forcing it, Namine was forced to stop him, which led to Repliku collapsing as her powers overwhelmed him. However, like many people from abusive homes, Namine doesn't think of herself as good or kind, or worthy of it. But Sora still keeps showing it to her, saying he cares about her whether or not his memories are real.

Thus, Namine is able to begin developing her backbone, standing up to Marluxia when he demands she start all over again. She cannot physically overcome him, but she will not let herself be manipulated by his threats and promises any longer.

And that leads to the end, when Namine gives Sora a choice. Not to enforce what she wants nor to do anything to fix Sora without his consent. She gives him a choice on what he wants to remember. The memories created at Castle Oblivion and the real memories he made there... or to lose all that to regain what she took. Sora is forced to forget something vital either way, but Namine respects him enough to let him decide for himself which he would be happier with. Of course, he chooses his real memories from before, even if it means forgetting Namine. Namine is sad to have to be forgotten and left alone, but she wants to do what will make Sora happy.

She even makes the same offer to Riku, which ties into his story. She can seal away the darkness, but it means losing all the memories he's made since. Or she can leave him be. And Riku chooses to keep the darkness and memories, showing how he is not rejecting his mistakes and lessons, moving forward to becoming better rather than hiding away from it all. Namine was even happy that he rejected her offer, but it still shows how she, who was never allowed any freedom of choice, keeps giving people the choice on what they want.

29:30 when you were describing how Riku's story has a connotation with with "smell" & how something was lost in the translation...
That something lost was the Japanese script referring to "Aura" as in...
"As I gazed upon Takehiro's form his usual demeanor was nowhere to be found, instead that cheerful smile had given way to a palpable silently disguised rage. I swear an evil or at least malevolent aura was physically present & swirling around his body as though it were a dragon since disturbed from its longest rest."

Sometime it's so easy to a lot of people to mock Kingdom Heart story but this kind of video show there is so much interesting thing in this series.

It's funny that as a kid. It had been years between me playing the first game on my friend's console and playing CoM on my GBA. I ended up believing everything the organization was saying and believing Namine was there all along, and I had just forgotten her.

Really hoping that we get one of these for kh2. I've enjoyed this and the previous one quite a lot. Nice to see people treat these games with sincerity rather than writing them off as cringe because they're afraid to be mocked for taking something seriously, feels like that's become a trend for the last several years.

CoM was my first KH game, and I actually loved it, it's truly got the best story in the series imo. I'm glad to see someone else appreciate the story and themes without writing it off as an echo of the first game.

After watching the video: oh. That's why I like the story so much. Cuz it resonated. Got it.

14:00 TO BE FAIR, he had no reason to not believe him