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How do you feel about Aqua from Kingdom Hearts?
- Thread starter SolVanderlyn
- Start date
She's got very little in the way of personality and Willa Holland sounds like she's asleep most of the time.
It's a shame those seeker mines are so damn fun, otherwise I'd be your second dislike ha ha.
I like her gameplay. She is freaking awesome to play as. My second favorite playable character behind only Riku (Darkness, baby!!)
But as an actual character... she's as lame as all the other protagonists. They can all disappear, imo, and KH would go on without a hitch.
But as an actual character... she's as lame as all the other protagonists. They can all disappear, imo, and KH would go on without a hitch.
I love her but she definitely got more than Norted in KH3. I think she lost every fight she was in until the climax? She should have had a more meaningful role in the plot.
I would happily play as her instead of Sora any day (assuming I still get Donald and Goofy as partners).
I would happily play as her instead of Sora any day (assuming I still get Donald and Goofy as partners).
She's one of my favorites. I wish she had more of a role. She's pretty much the only actual heroine the series really has.
A plank of wood. Her competencies compared to Kairi are just about the only thing you can give her.
like the entirety of BBS, she wasn't really needed nor was she that interesting but compared to the other two playable idiots she shined.
it was also cool to see a playable badass woman
then KH3 happened and she was done super dirty
it was also cool to see a playable badass woman
then KH3 happened and she was done super dirty
iirc it was getting tossed into the sea of darkness that corrupted her on top of her failing mental state from being stuck in there for like 11 years
...I really don't like 3's version of any of the keyblade weilders lol
Im at the point in my life where i enjoy solid characters with personalitys that create solid chemistry and fun dynamics and realise that no original character in kingdom hearts handles that. So to me aquas a plank of wood, a noble, righteous, and moral plank of wood but still that.
Like if you told me i had to write a fun filler story of kingdom hearts character just hanging out at a mall or the beach based on their personalitys it would be them sitting eating ice cream and laughing at donald dropping his and getting angry or some shit. And thats it, none of the characters have any god dam character traits.
Like if you told me i had to write a fun filler story of kingdom hearts character just hanging out at a mall or the beach based on their personalitys it would be them sitting eating ice cream and laughing at donald dropping his and getting angry or some shit. And thats it, none of the characters have any god dam character traits.
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I find her fascinating since the majority of the fandom sees her as a huge badass who's the most competent one of the BBS trio, while she spends the game clueless about mostly everything that happens, has very little development as a character and the only reason she's the only Master out of the three is because Xehanort sabotaged the tes. Also, you know, her throwing herself into the darkness to save Terra, which was meant to be a selfless sacrifice, but it ends up just being her dooming her comatose friend in order to save another friend who just tried to kill her. And people say TERRA'S the dumb one. I think a lot of it is the excitement of having a female protagonsit, so we tend to forgive or not notice these things.
But, really, I like her as much as any of the BBS guys, which is not much, but not to the point of hating any of them. I think they're all kinda bland individually, and rely too much in the "Sora, Riku and girl" templates the series uses.
But, really, I like her as much as any of the BBS guys, which is not much, but not to the point of hating any of them. I think they're all kinda bland individually, and rely too much in the "Sora, Riku and girl" templates the series uses.
She's kind of a shit character, but her character design is awesome, and to me that's 99% of the appeal of a Kingdom Hearts character.
I mean in that case they should make it more clear because the cutscene just before that shows her fine
In BBS, she's an incredibly bland character that really just...exists throughout the story until the end (take a shot every take she looks sad and says 'Terra...Ven...'). She's mostly saved by her being the most useful female character in the series as well as having a great design and being the most fun to play as in BBS. .2 is when she actually gets interesting and then they do nothing with that in KH3.
She's good. In BbS, nearly everyone did the dumbest stuff, but bonding with her in 2.8 definitely made her a better character overall.
That ends with her feeling better than ever tho? Blank points has her all cheered up from ansem tall as well.
I think it's more that it pulled her back from absolute depression because she was at her lowest through a good chunk of 0.2. Either way though she got tossed into a dark ocean with no protection
I have no strong feelings either way about her
I'm realizing after a post in the other KH thread that I basically have no feelings about any of the characters to be perfectly honest
I'm realizing after a post in the other KH thread that I basically have no feelings about any of the characters to be perfectly honest
Aqua's fun to play as and she's got a great design. And I kinda enjoy that she's become the breakout character from the BBS trio. Although Nomura's certainly trying to make Ventus more relevant and popular.
I mean between Aqua, Xion, Kairi and Namine well....Xion is the only one that can give Aqua actual competition on being a decent character.
Kairi's character suffers immensely from being Sora's love interest and Namine doesn't do much besides exposition.
Larxene is clearly best girl though.
I would really love a Sora-Aqua-Xion team up game.
They need to mix the groups more for better dynamics.
I mean between Aqua, Xion, Kairi and Namine well....Xion is the only one that can give Aqua actual competition on being a decent character.
Kairi's character suffers immensely from being Sora's love interest and Namine doesn't do much besides exposition.
Larxene is clearly best girl though.
I would really love a Sora-Aqua-Xion team up game.
They need to mix the groups more for better dynamics.
I think she's the best character in the series, the nurturing personality and her courage in BBS is partially why I think that game is the best entry in the series. I like that there is a bit of conflict between them in BBS, how her desire to good and also follow the rules, her natural talents, sometimes creates distance between her and her friends. Like she's not perfect. Kingdom Hearts 3 did her dirt though. Oh yeah, and the dub voice for her is... not very good.
I like her character to a degree, but I feel they wasted her potential. They wanted to turn her into a tragic character, and they succeeded in a way, but I still feel they did her dirty in KH3. I actually rolled my eyes during the "You've seen me weak too many times" moment, which was hyped (if a bit nonsensical: fighting Vanitas alone instead as a group was pure hubris), until she jobbed at the very end, and needed a male to save her. She can be a bit emotionless at times, which I guess is due to her "calm and collected" persona (or a bad dub choice, but I would not blame the VA for what I think is poor direction), but it works against her in the long run.
It's a bit annoying, really, because not only do I have the conviction that the series has become bad fanfiction at this point (with plotholes, retcons, too many "power of friendship" moments and not respecting the "show, don't tell" rule numerous times), but I am getting the feeling they treat female characters as afternotes.
It's a bit annoying, really, because not only do I have the conviction that the series has become bad fanfiction at this point (with plotholes, retcons, too many "power of friendship" moments and not respecting the "show, don't tell" rule numerous times), but I am getting the feeling they treat female characters as afternotes.
Terra is so much dumber than Riku. I actually don't find the Terra/Riku relation to be that convincing on more than a surface level.
Personally, the BbS trio read like a distortion of the main Kingdom trio.
Aqua is much more akin to Riku, especially if you take his KH2 arc into account. She is constantly doing what she thinks is best for others even when it's clearly taking an emotional toll on her. She's drenched in light, but the Fairy Godmother warns her that a light that bright comes at the cost of an equally dark shadow. She promptly ignores this and stumbles her way through doing the right thing at the cost of removing herself, ultimately paying the price of her removal from the story entirely until KH3.
Terra is the Sora. Dumb, but earnest. Wants to do whatever is needed to protect everyone but has to rely on others for his strength. Except, instead of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy he gets Xehanort, Malificent, and Braig. He does control darkness, and it costs Eraqus's life, but did it to protect Ven at the cost of his own body, just as Sora did for Kairi. And yet, like Sora, a part of him still remains after losing it and continues to grow because of how powerful and raw those emotions are.
Then there's Ventus as Kairi, the amnesiac kid who is new to the group but quickly warms his way into the hearts of the two closest to him. He wants to prove himself and seems to be a being of pure light, albeit one created artificially. He is in way over his head and his introduction causes the two others to ultimately leave their natural home. He tries to fight, and does some things, but ultimately ends up in a coma while someone who looks like him gets substantially more character development and resonance to the story, despite being constantly hinted at as important to the lore.
To answer the OP directly:
I really like Aqua, but like the rest of the BbS crew, she feels like she's a character in an allegory rather than someone making independent decisions whose actions create the plot around them. Their dialogue all feels stunted outside of Ven, but I think that's solely due to McCartney being used to the series and not having to change too much, although his inflections are distinct. He's genuinely great.
I don't have much experience with Aqua's VA, but I know Terra's distractingly as Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars and I know that's not what his actual range is. You even see it with characters from the series. I used to think Kairi had a lot of spunk, but that was 100% due to Hayden Panetierre somehow taking a pile of nothing and weaving it into existence. And that's not a knock on Stoner, who does phenomenal work as Xion, probably my favorite KH character, but there is depth contained within Xion compared to the puddle christened "Kairi".
All this is to say that when I think of Aqua, I think of her failing into the darkness as she awkwardly tells Ven not to worry. It's not her fault in the least, but the delivery with what's happening on screen was that jarring when playing it. She's super fun to play as, though. Easily the best of the characters, even if I spammed mines on my critical run.