Episode 3 is the one you've been asking for.
Why Kingdom Hearts? Why this franchise, of all things, to dedicate this much time and intellectual energy to?
The honest answer is that I don't know if I chose Kingdom Hearts or if Kingdom Hearts chose me. What I do know is that it found me when I needed it. I started at 2 because I saw an advert, hit two hours in without even reaching the opening credits yet, and that was it. The hooks were in.
In this episode I talk about why Riku's journey specifically was something I needed to see as a teenager — and why that matters. Because Kingdom Hearts is a Disney franchise that has absolutely no business delivering the kind of harsh, honest life lessons that it does. And yet it does. Consistently. Across every game in the series.
I go game by game through what landed for me, what I think each entry is actually trying to teach, and why those lessons need to be accessible to the people who need them most.
And I talk about why Noctis's arc in Final Fantasy 15 is the opposite of Riku's — and why that contrast is exactly what makes it so fascinating. Which is also why it's almost certainly going to be a You Should Play entry on LoreBySpec.
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