Kingdom Hearts 4 gameplay reignites the floaty combat debate

Recent gameplay footage of Kingdom Hearts 4 has reignited the debate about combat feeling “floaty” in the latest games, an argument every fan is tired of.

Although the long-awaited second trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 did not reveal to us the Disney world as we all hoped (if it teased one) and once again focused on Quadratum, it still gave us a great new look at the game. Most importantly, it finally showed us some actual in-game combat instead of the obviously pre-rendered concept gameplay of the first trailer.

The footage we have of Kingdom Hearts 4 shows that it's going to play very similarly to KH3, although the brand new build system appears to bring keyblade transformations and reaction commands. While fans seem mostly happy about the enhanced combat, others are calling it “floaty” and giving the community terrible flashbacks.

Kingdom Hearts 4 gameplay is said to be “floaty”, like the rest of the Osaka-developed games

As fans have proven, though, floaty is just a mindset

If you've been a long-time Kingdom Hearts fan, you surely know why the word “floaty” is so divisive in the community. Since Osaka's team took over development of the series after Kingdom Hearts 2 (which many rightly consider the pinnacle of the series), combat has changed significantly with a greater emphasis on air combos, special moves and low ground attacks.

This, combined with Sora taking a long time to return to the ground and usually a very late last attack, has made floaty a term used to describe all recent Kingdom Hearts games. While Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance are pretty hard to defend, most think that Kingdom Hearts 3, while a little floaty, isn't bad at all and actually has a great combat system.

Many have agreed that this fighting style is how Kingdom Hearts plays now, but the footage we got of KH4 somehow reignited the debate. A quote from Twitter user Okami13_'s post about the gameplay has been filled with complaints about the combat system, with many retweeting how floaty it looks.

Some have practical points about how most enemies are ground-based while Sora thrives in the air, while others jump to conclusions about Sora's moves. Kingdom Hearts fans are back to defend the combat, sharing several peak clips of Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay that prove it really is as floaty as you make it out to be, and that's not a bad thing.

Honestly, though, I understand floaty being used to describe modern Kingdom Hearts combat, it's too early to tell how floaty Kingdom Hearts 4 will be based on one minute of footage. Regardless, it might just be time to admit that Kingdom Hearts 2's combat style isn't something the series will repeat, and that there's just as much fun in a more freeform and cinematic style.