...Call me imperceptive, but I still don't know why it's over 2. Sorry Square, I guess your awesome symbolism just flies right over my head.

Anyway, I don't hate Axel quite so much anymore. He made me remember why I liked him so much to begin with, back when I was playing KH2. That's not to say I regained those affectionate feelings. I still think his character is ridiculously overrated. But when you're playing a game rife with ill-developed characters, I guess he's the best you can probably hope for.

...Saix will forever be my favorite. Because he's Kirk Thornton. And he has A BERSERKER RAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

I was really disappointed by the fight with him, though. It was just so much better in Kingdom Hearts 2. I still remember watching his berserker meter fill, desperately trying to grab his claymore away from him, because it was the only way you could damage him, and running like hell when I failed, frantically dodging his blows as he roared at me like a maniac. There was so much to think about--so much tension and adrenaline pumped into a single battle.

And in Days? You air-dodged and hit him with your keyblade. And that's how all the battles were. Granted, some enemies weren't that straight forward. Some you had to figure out. But once you did that, it was pretty much just more air-dodging and hitting with your keyblade. I mean, KH2 wasn't the most complex game in the world either, but damn, was it a hell of a lot better. I miss those goddamn action commands! I miss doing shit when I fought enemies! I miss getting turned into a dice when I was battling Luxord, even though I wanted to cry every time it happened! I miss knocking back Xigbar's bullets. I miss having to do that with regular enemies. I miss that feeling of "Ah, I've done this before" when I'd fight bosses that borrowed similar fighting styles of more modest enemies. I miss being able to keep upgrading my keyblade, and not having to constantly sacrifice awesome combo strings for sheer power. I miss the Limit Forms. I miss everything about that game.

In short, if you want to play 358/2 Days, just play KH2. You'll feel a lot better for it.

And on another note, the one plot point that I was really interested in, they never followed up on. When will we get to know Axel's past? How is he connected with Saix? See, these are things I want to know, Square. Make a story about that, instead of some plot you pulled out of thin air.

Jeez.