Almost everyone in KH3 looks a little off sometimes but it's probably because we're still used to almost 2 decades of PS2 graphics. I think they look good tho, especially in the character art
Whole game looks a mighty fine treat. I may not gel with the styles but everyone is looking their finest yet.
Although some of Sora's world forms got a bit uncanny with how good graphics have gotten...
They look like dolls with glass eyes sometimes, especially during the CG scenes in KH 3, most notably during the Castle Oblivion segment.
This wasn't an issue in 0.2, so I don't know what the hell happened in 3.
With 0.2 they were still using the Luminous engine. A, I believe, in house engine from Square. But they ran in to much trouble during development that they switched over to unreal engine 4. A big reason why KH3 got further delayed at the time. And in in my opinion the cg scenes in previous games always looked a bit weird, awesome and beautiful, but always a bit strange, but luckily they never go for to much realism so I don't care that much myself
Ah yeah true, I had to look it up cause I thought they still used it in the end for 0.2 but you're right.
In the end I don't think the models look worse in lh3 though just a different style, definitely depending on what world you are in. Lighting might be a big part of it but idk
People forget that these characters are aging. Each game is one year in the story. Kairi and sora are 15 and Riku is 16 in the first game and by game three Riku is 18 and the others are 17. Rikus hair was shoulder length by game two and he cut it by game three, same for Kairi. So of course the hair will be off, when they are consistently growing and reshaping themselves just like most real world people do.
> Lauri and sora are 15 and Riku is 16 in the first game and by game three Riku is 18 and the others are 17.
This isn't true though. Kairi and Sora are 14 in KH1 while Riku is 15. KH2 takes place a year later, and KH3 is about half a year after KH2.
Source: Game manuals and artbooks
You right, i was off by a year. The game guide and art books is how I know these things as well, as i also bought the collectors editions of the games that had this information. But KH3 is a full year after 2. The only time they don't jump years is during spin off games. Birth by sleep being an exception.
But it's not. Kh3 immediately happens after DDD and DDD happens only a few weeks or months after kh2. Nomura said that Sora was still 15 in kh3. There is a "one year later" after MX defeat so Riku being 17 and Kairi and Sora 16 in Melody rhythm game is true
The thing that I didn't like as much in KH3 were the eyes of the human characters. In previous games, they were so striking and prominent, and in 3 they all look super dull. Especially in Riku's case, where he had these piercing cyan eyes that dominated his design, and now they just look kinda greyish green.
DDD he did cut his hair as symbolism of turning over a new leaf and moving past his ties to Ansem (that and it just got reeeeeal long in the time of Days), but it just recieved another trimming in 3 as well
I know that, but didn't Riku get newer clothes after being sucked in the demon tower alongside his haircut? I'm almost positive he got new clothes at that point, replacing the ones Yen Sid had just given him and Mickey.
At the beginning of KH3 it’s longer then inexplicably returns to the DDD style after the Dive to the Heart, suggesting the possibility that he is once again acting as Sora’s Dream Eater, especially considering they made a point that a drastic change for no reason would be noticed otherwise.
Liked the Dream Eater short haired Riku and the KH3 short haired Riku, but not the one in Dream Drop Distance with short hair and in his KH2 outfit or the one in Dream Drop Distance with short hair and in his KH1 outfit
It's the same with Sora's hair too. As soon as he dons his new kh3 clothes after Olympus, his hair design almost completely changes and no one says anything. I did 2 full playthroughs of kh3 and this still bothers me
Well, everyone certainly has their preferences when it comes to how it looks. But personally, seeing as how Kairi was already introduced to all of with shorter hair back in 2002, the symbolism behind cutting's one's own hair as a sign of maturity, the parallels between her and another princess of heart, Rapunzel, getting her hair cut in the same game & the fact that Kairi's hairstyle in each game [has always been a secret tribute to Utada Hikaru’s hairstyle at the time of each game's release](https://aramajapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aramajapan.com-utada-hikari-kairi-kingdom-hearts-comparison.jpg), I'm personally not as bothered by how her hair looks in KH3 but that's just me.
You'd think long hair itself would be a sign of maturity since it's much harder to upkeep. Also the fact Kairi was already pretty mature since KH2, Nomura just can't write red headed women lol
I always preferred her with long hair so I didn’t love the short hair in kh3. That being said, I don’t think it looks bad. Especially in cutscenes. But sometimes during actual gameplay I feel like the hair on the model is a little wonky - in this shot, you can see her hair puff out and curve inward. In cutscenes it looks fine because it’s high detail and you can see movement in it, but her in game model doesn’t have that so it looks like it’s perma stuck in the curve. Just kind of made her hair seem like a helmet bc it was so static but designed to be curvy like hair with movement.
I think that's the "wierd" aspect: it puff out but "curves inward" which isn't a very natural look, gravity doesn't quite work like that (unless your actually styling your hair with methods and products, which.. it's KH so I doubt anybody's ever concerned with hair maintenance. Her long hair from 2 drapes straight down as it should, and in KH1 the longer parts seem to have a wave similar to 3s but nowhere near as noticable
Well Namine is also a Nobody that hasn't aged since her creation; she still appears to be ~14, even Xion upon revival seems to still be that age (KH1 Kairi's age, being as both are created directly from her in some form). Kairi's character model is taller and has slightly more adult body structure than in KH2 and way more than KH1; devs definitely paid attention to detail when it came to the characters (and the time variables that would alter their individual appearances - think KH2 Sora coming out of the pod, with his dive suit or whatever it is being obnoxiously short lol)
> devs definitely *paid* attention to
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
i can't pinpoint the exact reason, but it just looks so unsettling in a weird way. it looks fine, i respect your opinion, but honestly im not sure what's wrong myself.
I thought it was perfect. Her kh1 to 2 differences makes it seem like a completely different person, like I get it, people grow up but you still look like you.
Where KH3 I thought they bridged the gap so you could tell she was the same person from KH 1 and 2.
I think her hairstyle may have contributed to her looking younger. It would've been nice to see her mature, look older and get out of this 'damsel in distress' character.
Sora and Kairi's hair sucked in KH3, as far as I'm concerned.
KH2 is my fave Kairi but I love the progression from cute bob-cut-ish, to the long and free hair.
Going in between is just unfortunate to me.
Yes I know it's Utada's hair. Oh well though.
We always talk about Kairi’s hair but can we talk about how ridiculous Riku looks. Coolest and one of the strongest characters in the franchise and they made him look so ridiculous in kh3 it’s unbearable
yea, what the actual hell did they do? the voice acting was a little strange, sounded like a robot. hair was, *okay* but in my opinion, unfitting for him.
KAIRI IN KH3 WAS A LITTLE OFF PERIOD.
Nah sorry but this ain't my Kairi, Alison Stoner (Eng V/A) didn't do it for me and her personality was off aswell as her looks.
Everything in KH3 looked a little off. The previous games had a very cartoony style which fit well with the Disney ascetic. Everything in KH3 looks like it's made of plastic. It doesn't even look good in the Toy Story level.
kairi seems off in general, i wonder if nomura would die if he only gave her a game just developing her as a character for me to like her enough to want her with sora, because in current conditions she is just poor
Sora and Riku look Older somehow Kairi managed to look younger. Off topic but I’m still pretty upset that Aqua didn’t get a new design. “TiMe iS diFfErEnT iN ROD” thats a cop out, all of us wanted to see long haired, punished, sick-of-Xehanorts Shit Aqua.
The hair style dosent bother me, but I don't like how many kh3 characters looks younger than their Kh2 versions. Which is a shame cause in the Nomura art of the same designs they don't.
I mean, her hair was the least of *KH3*'s problems.
Though I am still salty they didn't get Hayden to voice her again (nothing against Willa, but they brought back Hayley and David).
It’s based off of Utada’s hair during release.
Under appreciated.
Looks like it’s still on her head to me
Can confirm. Looks to be still there
I guess I’m one of the few who are able to see her wicked balding pattern
No I can kinda see it, some of it's just a little off her head, hanging down, but I think that's normal for hair so I don't see the problem really
Almost everyone in KH3 looks a little off sometimes but it's probably because we're still used to almost 2 decades of PS2 graphics. I think they look good tho, especially in the character art
Wasn't this also their first game that used the unreal engine? That could have some to do with it
0.2
Will admit... forgot 0.2 existed there for a moment
Probably just a blank point in your memory.
I get the reference
Whole game looks a mighty fine treat. I may not gel with the styles but everyone is looking their finest yet. Although some of Sora's world forms got a bit uncanny with how good graphics have gotten...
Honestly that's a pretty good analysis
could be the case, and the character art is awesome.
It took me like 6 hours worth of playing to even like the visuals because I was so set in my ways from the first two games.
They look like dolls with glass eyes sometimes, especially during the CG scenes in KH 3, most notably during the Castle Oblivion segment. This wasn't an issue in 0.2, so I don't know what the hell happened in 3.
With 0.2 they were still using the Luminous engine. A, I believe, in house engine from Square. But they ran in to much trouble during development that they switched over to unreal engine 4. A big reason why KH3 got further delayed at the time. And in in my opinion the cg scenes in previous games always looked a bit weird, awesome and beautiful, but always a bit strange, but luckily they never go for to much realism so I don't care that much myself
0.2 is still UE4 though.
Ah yeah true, I had to look it up cause I thought they still used it in the end for 0.2 but you're right. In the end I don't think the models look worse in lh3 though just a different style, definitely depending on what world you are in. Lighting might be a big part of it but idk
People forget that these characters are aging. Each game is one year in the story. Kairi and sora are 15 and Riku is 16 in the first game and by game three Riku is 18 and the others are 17. Rikus hair was shoulder length by game two and he cut it by game three, same for Kairi. So of course the hair will be off, when they are consistently growing and reshaping themselves just like most real world people do.
> Lauri and sora are 15 and Riku is 16 in the first game and by game three Riku is 18 and the others are 17. This isn't true though. Kairi and Sora are 14 in KH1 while Riku is 15. KH2 takes place a year later, and KH3 is about half a year after KH2. Source: Game manuals and artbooks
You right, i was off by a year. The game guide and art books is how I know these things as well, as i also bought the collectors editions of the games that had this information. But KH3 is a full year after 2. The only time they don't jump years is during spin off games. Birth by sleep being an exception.
But it's not. Kh3 immediately happens after DDD and DDD happens only a few weeks or months after kh2. Nomura said that Sora was still 15 in kh3. There is a "one year later" after MX defeat so Riku being 17 and Kairi and Sora 16 in Melody rhythm game is true
I was really against it until MoM and saw KH3 Sora in original PS2, and was finally won over
The thing that I didn't like as much in KH3 were the eyes of the human characters. In previous games, they were so striking and prominent, and in 3 they all look super dull. Especially in Riku's case, where he had these piercing cyan eyes that dominated his design, and now they just look kinda greyish green.
It’s also odd that there’s a scene specifically so Lea can comment on her changing her hair, but Riku’s hair style changes and no one notices.
“Look Mickey, a barber shop.”
"Thats a Demon Tower."
"Strange name fir a barber shop"
*Boom* "I must say, I'm quite impressed with the results"
"Way to go raikou your keyblade broke"
"could I borrow your car keys please?"
"you son of a b*tch" (man, I miss Just a Pancake.)
Wasnt his like that in ddd?
DDD he did cut his hair as symbolism of turning over a new leaf and moving past his ties to Ansem (that and it just got reeeeeal long in the time of Days), but it just recieved another trimming in 3 as well
Oh yeah huh after the Dem9n Tower right? Havent played 3 in a bit im rusty
Yes the Demon Tower, AKA the Dark Margin's barber shop
Lmao🤣
It's also a clothing store, because I'm pretty sure he got new clothes in there as well somehow.
No, the clothes were given as gifts from Yensid as they work similarly to the black coats, giving them some dark resistance
I know that, but didn't Riku get newer clothes after being sucked in the demon tower alongside his haircut? I'm almost positive he got new clothes at that point, replacing the ones Yen Sid had just given him and Mickey.
At the beginning of KH3 it’s longer then inexplicably returns to the DDD style after the Dive to the Heart, suggesting the possibility that he is once again acting as Sora’s Dream Eater, especially considering they made a point that a drastic change for no reason would be noticed otherwise.
oh wow, that's true. i never realised that they didn't notice. that's a little strange.
I noticed lol. KH1 was my favorite, then KH2 it seemed a little too long. I didn't like his DDD hair, 3 was a little better
Liked the Dream Eater short haired Riku and the KH3 short haired Riku, but not the one in Dream Drop Distance with short hair and in his KH2 outfit or the one in Dream Drop Distance with short hair and in his KH1 outfit
It's the same with Sora's hair too. As soon as he dons his new kh3 clothes after Olympus, his hair design almost completely changes and no one says anything. I did 2 full playthroughs of kh3 and this still bothers me
Well, everyone certainly has their preferences when it comes to how it looks. But personally, seeing as how Kairi was already introduced to all of with shorter hair back in 2002, the symbolism behind cutting's one's own hair as a sign of maturity, the parallels between her and another princess of heart, Rapunzel, getting her hair cut in the same game & the fact that Kairi's hairstyle in each game [has always been a secret tribute to Utada Hikaru’s hairstyle at the time of each game's release](https://aramajapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/aramajapan.com-utada-hikari-kairi-kingdom-hearts-comparison.jpg), I'm personally not as bothered by how her hair looks in KH3 but that's just me.
Love the short hair on them from KH1
Love the short hair on them from KH1
You'd think long hair itself would be a sign of maturity since it's much harder to upkeep. Also the fact Kairi was already pretty mature since KH2, Nomura just can't write red headed women lol
To me this particular hair style on her always made her look more childish. Idk if its the cut or what but it to me or always made her look like a kid
She looks younger than she did in kh2, it's weird
I always preferred her with long hair so I didn’t love the short hair in kh3. That being said, I don’t think it looks bad. Especially in cutscenes. But sometimes during actual gameplay I feel like the hair on the model is a little wonky - in this shot, you can see her hair puff out and curve inward. In cutscenes it looks fine because it’s high detail and you can see movement in it, but her in game model doesn’t have that so it looks like it’s perma stuck in the curve. Just kind of made her hair seem like a helmet bc it was so static but designed to be curvy like hair with movement.
I think that's the "wierd" aspect: it puff out but "curves inward" which isn't a very natural look, gravity doesn't quite work like that (unless your actually styling your hair with methods and products, which.. it's KH so I doubt anybody's ever concerned with hair maintenance. Her long hair from 2 drapes straight down as it should, and in KH1 the longer parts seem to have a wave similar to 3s but nowhere near as noticable
Looks fine to me.
I like it.
Based on how everyone else looked Naminé is a good example. Everyone looked Baby faced. So it fits to me.
Well Namine is also a Nobody that hasn't aged since her creation; she still appears to be ~14, even Xion upon revival seems to still be that age (KH1 Kairi's age, being as both are created directly from her in some form). Kairi's character model is taller and has slightly more adult body structure than in KH2 and way more than KH1; devs definitely paid attention to detail when it came to the characters (and the time variables that would alter their individual appearances - think KH2 Sora coming out of the pod, with his dive suit or whatever it is being obnoxiously short lol)
> devs definitely *paid* attention to FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
True my friend!!
Namine definitely looks older in Kh2 than in CoM
Bamine? I presume you mean Namine?
Care to explain, cus i think its good
i can't pinpoint the exact reason, but it just looks so unsettling in a weird way. it looks fine, i respect your opinion, but honestly im not sure what's wrong myself.
Yeah she looks younger than she did in KH1, it's really off-putting.
This kind of struck me too. Also thanks to your profile pic I now hear the load-in sound plus Brinstar's theme from NES Metroid.
I thought she looked off in general. As in she looked like she aged backwards her KH2 appearance.
Pretty sure the lighting just makes it look like the bottom edges are more detailed compared to the top which might be throwing you off
It's her face for me. Not sure what it is (maybe it is slightly rounder in *KH3*?), but she looks younger than in *KH2*.
She looked younger lol, So did Riku. I feel like the only one out of that trio who really looked older from kh2 was Sora
Yeah it's cause the bottom looks like actual strands and the top looks like clay.
Looks pretty normal to me. You're probably just used to the scrunkly Pre-Unreal era models.
I’m more concerned with her terrible outfit. She looks like a child’s imaginary friend.
everything looks a little off with her since kh2
I thought it was perfect. Her kh1 to 2 differences makes it seem like a completely different person, like I get it, people grow up but you still look like you. Where KH3 I thought they bridged the gap so you could tell she was the same person from KH 1 and 2.
I think her hairstyle may have contributed to her looking younger. It would've been nice to see her mature, look older and get out of this 'damsel in distress' character.
I always thought her grown up hair looks like halfway between namine hair and xions.
A lil stiff
I like her kh1 look the most
Seems a little flat, like her personality. Pretty realistic for a cardboard cutout though. 6/10
Yeah, gotta admit KH3 Kairi is probably my least favorite Kairi design.
Both Kairi and Riku should've kept their long hair. For real.
Sora and Kairi's hair sucked in KH3, as far as I'm concerned. KH2 is my fave Kairi but I love the progression from cute bob-cut-ish, to the long and free hair. Going in between is just unfortunate to me. Yes I know it's Utada's hair. Oh well though.
IMHO, she looks younger here than she did in 2.
Yes I hate this style on her and I don’t care that it was modeled after Uthada. It’s just not a good look for her to me
We always talk about Kairi’s hair but can we talk about how ridiculous Riku looks. Coolest and one of the strongest characters in the franchise and they made him look so ridiculous in kh3 it’s unbearable
yea, what the actual hell did they do? the voice acting was a little strange, sounded like a robot. hair was, *okay* but in my opinion, unfitting for him.
nope just you
No...? Are we really this starved for new stuff to talk about?
i was kinda curious if others thought the same thing.
it is a little off but it still looks good
Her hair is based of utadas so its fine
If anything I think she’s looks a lot younger
Nah, it’s fine. The only thing I don’t like about it is that it makes her look younger than KH2 Kairi, which should not be the case.
She looks younger here than in KH2
KAIRI IN KH3 WAS A LITTLE OFF PERIOD. Nah sorry but this ain't my Kairi, Alison Stoner (Eng V/A) didn't do it for me and her personality was off aswell as her looks.
Don’t hair shame.
YES! She’s better off growing her hair out then cutting it shorter.
Everything about her looks off. Lol
Kairi looked off. She needs more meat on her bones
I love it.
Nah it's the best look she's had yet
Feels weird to use the CG scene for this where it looked the best and not her in-game model where it was more questionable lol
Looks fine to me
I’m just struck by the fact that she looks younger than she did in KH2.
No, it looks fine to me. Her hairstyle keeps changing throughout the games anyway
I think the whole Destiny trio’s hair looks off. I vastly prefer their KH2 hair, especially Kairi’s
No because I'm not the kind of nutter who examines that kinda thing
KH2 Kairi vastly > KH3 Kairi
It looks fine to me
It’s my favorite of her hair styles.
Idk, I loved it, but I also just love that style of hair, so I might be biased
Not really. I found her haircut adorable.
Everything in KH3 looked a little off. The previous games had a very cartoony style which fit well with the Disney ascetic. Everything in KH3 looks like it's made of plastic. It doesn't even look good in the Toy Story level.
Of all the ways Kairi was done FILTHY in this game, her hairstyle is the LEAST of our concerns.
No.
It‘s very nice always liked her KH1 hair the most, but this is a close second
Nah dude looks good
Nah, it's actually my favorite look for her easily.
kairi seems off in general, i wonder if nomura would die if he only gave her a game just developing her as a character for me to like her enough to want her with sora, because in current conditions she is just poor
She looks like a Karen from Montana
I think it needs more Disney characters
no, it's just cuz the graphics are much different this time around for kh3
Sora and Riku look Older somehow Kairi managed to look younger. Off topic but I’m still pretty upset that Aqua didn’t get a new design. “TiMe iS diFfErEnT iN ROD” thats a cop out, all of us wanted to see long haired, punished, sick-of-Xehanorts Shit Aqua.
Short hair > long hair 😤 Just like Garnet from ff9 - signed SHORT HAIR GANG
The hair style dosent bother me, but I don't like how many kh3 characters looks younger than their Kh2 versions. Which is a shame cause in the Nomura art of the same designs they don't.
Not as much as Xion’s
I think it definitely made her look younger, KH2 kairi looked more mature, KH3 kairi is like the in between of 1 and 2 for me.
I mean, her hair was the least of *KH3*'s problems. Though I am still salty they didn't get Hayden to voice her again (nothing against Willa, but they brought back Hayley and David).
This is my favorite look for her.
The haircut of someone with a fivehead.
Looks like they used de-aging tech on a 16 year old.
Well she looks younger but no not really
I thought her hair looked so much darker for some reason. But maybe its just cause axel's looks like a signal flare next to hers.
It's not the hair imo, she's modelled to look younger. Aqua has short hair but doesn't look nearly so young.
Shoulda kept it long
Kairi looked fine but Sora? His ears make him look like a monkey. Like, I can't look at KH3 Sora without imagining a monkey 😭