The Unlockables: The Story of Video Games – Details, episodes & analysis

At long last, our Guiding Keys journey brings us to the game that was the catalyst for this journey in the first place. Kingdom Hearts 3. You know the drill by now. A brief introduction featuring general information, first thoughts, gameplay and development history is followed by a dive into the story. The shadow of Xehanort looms large.

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⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠

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The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

The annual State of the Industry episode is here! Kelvin and Rob from the Gaming Duo stop by to talk about the Big 3, leaks, trailers, layoffs and everything in-between with a positive spin!

The Gaming Duo Links

Links and Social Media!

⁠⁠Linktree to All Socials⁠⁠

⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠

⁠⁠Unlockables Twitter⁠⁠

⁠⁠Unlockables Instagram⁠

The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

We've wrapped up our playthrough of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and its time to connect the lingering plot threads. In this episode we go over the Blank Points secret ending, Xehanort's reports, and one final scene that takes place after the credits that ties the whole series together. Linktree to All Socials⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 2023 Corporate Game Awards! Before we celebrate the games, lets celebrate the cold, calculating, ruthless quest for industry efficiency and maximum shareholder value!

⁠⁠Linktree to All Socials⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

Part 3 of Birth by Sleep is here! Aqua achieves her lifetime goal of becoming a Keyblade Master, but this creates turmoil as she struggles to fulfill her duties as a master and balance her relationship with her friends. Can Aqua pull her friends together to overcome the schemes of Xehanort? ⁠⁠Linktree to All Socials⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Podcast Twitter⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Podcast Instagram⁠⁠⁠ The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

With Terra's fate unknown, we turn now to the story of Ventus for more answers. Who is the mysterious Vanitas? What is the true nature of the X-blade and what is Xehanort's ultimate plan? The lore becomes deeper on this episode of Guiding Keys! ⁠Linktree to All Socials⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Eric's Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Podcast Twitter⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Podcast Instagram⁠⁠ The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

We've learned a lot through the first four Kingdom Hearts games, but everything you think you know is about to change with Birth By Sleep. In part one we'll focus on the first of the game's three protagonists, Terra, whose struggles with the darkness and flaws cause tragedy. We are also introduced to the overarching antagonist of the Dark Seeker Saga, Master Xehanort, whose careful plotting behind the scenes has influenced the events in the previous games. Linktree to All Socials⁠ ⁠Eric's Twitter⁠ ⁠Podcast Twitter⁠ ⁠Podcast Instagram⁠ The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

We spend so much time talking about games, but as the industry has grown, the practice of making them has become unsustainable. Long development cycles with crunch that chew people up and spit them out have become the norm, while most studios seem like the are one underperforming game away from failure. I had some thoughts about the human cost of making games and I wanted to get them on paper.

Linktree to All Socials

Eric's Twitter

Podcast Twitter

Podcast Instagram

The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

From Game of the Year and critical acclaim in 2016, to the most negatively reviewed game on Steam in 2023. Overwatch's journey as a game is a fascinating story, inextricably linked with the turmoil at Activision Blizzard and growing trends in the industry overall. Eric rambles about his extensive time with Overwatch 1 and identifies a few key points where he thinks it all started to go wrong. Linktree to All Socials Eric's Twitter Podcast Twitter Podcast Instagram The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!

With a remake of Super Mario RPG due out in a few short months I decided to revisit the original for the first time in over 15 years to see what made Mario's swan song on the Super Nintendo something special. Linktree to All Socials Eric's Twitter Podcast Twitter Podcast Instagram The Unlockables is a video game podcast about people's stories and memories around the video games they play, as well as the story of video games themselves! Each week a guest or guests join Eric on the show to talk about the games that meant the most to them growing up, the games they love now, and memories they have with friends, family, loved ones, or even themselves about playing videogames. There are also some solo episodes sprinkled in with random topics related to anything and everything video games!