May Roundtable: Pop Music in Video Games

May Roundtable: Pop Music in Video Games

Video games and pop music. Who’d have thunk it? Marketing departments, probably. But marketing or no marketing, we have some thoughts on the ways video games are using pop music, and, most importantly, why any game that hasn’t asked Carly Rae Jepsen to do the soundtrack has made a grave misstep. (more…)

The Top Ten Worst Lucky Emblems in Kingdom Hearts 3

The Top Ten Worst Lucky Emblems in Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts III was one of the most anticipated games of 2019, and with good reason. The 17-year-old series’ conclusion was advertised as a sprawling, high-def romp through beautifully rendered worlds full of your favorite Disney characters. Also, we were finally (allegedly) going to see how the hell this clusterjam of a series resolved into something halfway sensical. (more…)

February Roundtable: Shipping, Romance, and Boats

February Roundtable: Shipping, Romance, and Boats

It’s February! The most romantic of months, if you are invested in holidays and not a stone-cold cynic like I am. I’m kidding, I love romance and mush, especially when it’s in games and therefore not forced upon me by greeting card companies and Target’s candy aisle.

Here at Sidequest, some of us love the mushy, lovey-dovey stuff, some of us don’t, and some of us want to talk about boats. Naturally, this month’s topic of discussion is shipping, so let’s get into it!

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Kingdom Hearts III: 64 Hours to Take Kairi’s Heart

Kingdom Hearts III: 64 Hours to Take Kairi’s Heart

We are in Pittsburgh, in January of 2018. I am employed in a job I desperately hate, and neck deep in a zine project I desperately love. We are gathered at Valhalla, my friend Xander’s aptly named house, and shouting our way through a five-person collaborative playthrough of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep while steadily crunching through packages of the worst Oreo flavors ever invented (Pop Rocks: badgood; Apple Pie: just bad; Nutella: strictly fine). As the night comes to an end, we make a pact: when Kingdom Hearts III comes out, we will gather—from wherever we are when that goddamn game comes out, in three more years, probably—and we will not stop until we have finished it. (more…)

Kingdom Hearts’ Women Problem is Its Plot Problem

Kingdom Hearts’ Women Problem is Its Plot Problem

[Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep follow.]

When I was big into fanfiction, I was never much for crossovers. Some crossovers were good, sure, giving real thought into how two different canons would merge, meld, or meet and how the characters of those worlds would interact.

Too often, though, crossovers ended up being an excuse for the author to put all their favorite characters in the same room to do nothing but chat (or possibly, defeat one of the canon’s Big Bads.) Because they rarely did more than talk, it was even harder to get a sense for the actual character or give them any sort of function in the story. (more…)