Alright! So I know for sure that I'm definitely getting Final Fantasy XIII and Fable III for Christmas! In fact, I know for a fact that Dad snagged it yesterday - mainly because I begged and pleaded for him to, haha. There was a sale at Gamestop yesterday (it was Black Friday and all, of course) where Final Fantasy XIII was 50% off (making it $20 instead of the usual $40) and Fable III was $20 dollars off (making it $40 instead of $60!). So yeah, it was a steal of a deal! Hah! Now I just hope that I'll get Birth by Sleep and Days - then Christmas will be amazing!

(Kiri, you're so cold-hearted, there's more to Christmas besides presents!)
I know, I know, but I'm a broke gamer, don't judge me!
This is the only time besides my birthday where I get to have new video games!

Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, I wonder if I'm alone in this, but... whenever I hear the trademark Song 'ping' at the end of all their commercials now, I immediately think of Kingdom Hearts. It's because, in the commercials for the second game, they used that same sound at the beginning of the commercial - I believe it was the original sound for Square Enix... or something. It's probably just me, but that's something that's been bugging me a lot lately! Just to check if it was true, I went and rewatched the KH II commercial on YouTube, and yeah, it's the same sound! But damn, watching that commercial brings back fond memories... I remember all the KH II news was talked about all over Disney Channel (pre-Hannah Montana, when it was actually good?) and I squealed like a pathetic fangirl when I heard Jesse McCartney was going to be Roxas's voice, because I was such a big fan of him when I was younger! Ah, how old was I? I wish I knew! Maybe fourteen or so? Not sure. Ah, the memories...

I went back and started a new save file to replay KH I and II yesterday. Man, I love the first game, but KH II was so much easier and funner to play. Hell, but I do owe a lot to KH I - I remember watching the commercial for the first game and thinking, "...I need to buy a PS2 to play this game!" Haha, yeah, the only reason I bought a PS2 was for this game! I had a PS1 at the time, and I didn't really play much on it - I played small titles like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro and all that. Some people grew up on Mario - before KH 1, it was Crash and Spyro for me. Then I got KH I, and I realized ... games can have a plot! Games can tell a story! Games can be just as deep as any story! How old was I? I remember don't remember... Maybe eleven or twelve or so? I'm seventeen now, so... Well, I'm not doing the math, I'll figure it out later...

But yeah, I was in love with the game, but I remember it being so difficult for me on my first playthrough! Haha, I struggled really hard to beat that damn game - I remember it took me a month just to beat the first boss in Traverse Town... what was it, Guard Armor, I think it was called? Haha, yeah, that whole game was a heart-wrenching experience for me as a kid. I mean, I had grew up with all these other games with minimal plot, and suddenly I was... controlling this kid who had just lost everything - his island, his -cough-girlfriend, his best friend... haha, actually, I don't think I felt too much sympathy for Sora as a kid, I was all about Riku back then! (I still am... some things never change!) But either way, the only reason I think I beat it at all was because of the story. I wanted to see what happened next! Sometimes I'd lay awake in bed and thinking, "Will Riku ever go back to the good side?! When does Sora get to go home?!" I got slapped in the face with the ending and still didn't manage to find peace - Riku gets locked in the world of darkness for crying out loud. How was my eleven or twelve or thirteen year old self (I don't remember my age back then!) supposed to get sleep with an ending like that, Nomura?!

I totally skipped over Chain of Memories, I don't know why, I don't think I knew about it - and went right to KH II. I think I looked up the plot to Chain of Memories before I started playing it, though? Like, I knew what happened but I didn't know what happened... (That doesn't make an sense, yeah I know...) But I breezed right on through KH II. Xemnas battle took me forever, yeah, and so did Demyx's and Xaldin's for some reason, but besides that, I rarely had to stop and actually think about what I was doing. It was more fun than KH I, I think because of the reaction commands. God, yes, I love reaction commands! I love swinging around on those Hook Bat things and timing pressing triangle just right so Sora can deal a crapton of damage... But, only one complaint: it needed more Riku! I mean, I don't think the story was as strong as KH I's - it left so many plot holes in its wake that Nomura is still patching them up with game after game today. 

But I'm excited to finally get my hands on Birth by Sleep and Days! I want to know what Xion's deal is - who the hell is she, why does she get to number XIV, and what happens to her, anyway? I want to know the backstory behind Ven and Aqua and Terra - why does Ven look so much like Roxas, what does "Birth by Sleep" mean anyway, and why does Vanitas look like... (Fuck, I thought I forgot about that spoiler! Get out of head, get out of my head right now!)

Seriously though, I can't wait! In the meantime, have some nostalgia...