#Riku at this point is very much still processing (badly) Sora having the keyblade. I think he thinks he’s using Maleficent to find Kairi

[phoenix-downer]

After Ever After Part 3

~2140 words. Post-Canon. Family AU, SoKai Parents AU. 

Summary: Sora and Kairi have their family and their happily ever after, but tensions arise when their children are older and want to know about their parents’ pasts.

Links to Part 1 and Part 2. This is the final part of the story.

“And then,” Kairi said, her voice low as Emi leaned in, “the guardian made it to the castle where the princess was being kept!” 

Kairi had taken over the story from where Sora had left off, and she and Emi were still seated at the table as Emi listened intently to every word. 

“So Daddy finally found you?”

“Uh-huh. Now, this next part’s a little scary and a little sad, too. Do you think you can handle it?”

Emi nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Tell me if you get scared, okay?”

Emi nodded again, and Kairi cleared her throat and resumed her tale. 

“The guardian fought monster after monster through the castle’s winding hallways and mysterious rooms till at long last, he found a room with a great big keyhole. And there in front of the Keyhole was the princess. But really, it was just the princess’s body, not her heart. Their friend who had been possessed by the darkness—”

“That’s Uncle Riku, right?”

Kairi nodded. “Yes. Uncle Riku fought Daddy, but Daddy won. I still didn’t wake up though, and he realized something. My heart was inside of him. It had been all along.” 

“What did he do?”

Kairi’s hand went to the necklace around her neck. “He had to release my heart to save me. And so, he did something very, very brave. He plunged a Keyblade into his own heart so I could wake up.”

Emi was very quiet for a moment as she processed what this all meant.

“What happened to Daddy?” she said at last. “Did it hurt him? Was he okay?”

Kairi glanced up and noticed she had a couple more members in her audience. At some point Haruto and Miyu had come downstairs and were completely engrossed in her story. 

“That’s why what he did was so brave,” Kairi said, smiling even as her eyes watered a little. “It hurt him very much, but he did it for me anyway.” 

“Dad really did that?” Haruto asked, his voice low. “He really sacrificed himself for you?”

Kairi nodded. “He did. He did it with a smile on his face, too.” She wiped her eyes and smiled. “Like the brave, reckless, wonderful man that he is.” 

Miyu joined them at the table. “Mom, we had no idea, he never told us—”

“I know,” Kairi said as she placed her hand over Miyu’s. “That was on purpose.”

“Why didn’t he want us to know?” Haruto asked as he sat down too. “He did this amazing thing for you and didn’t even tell his own kids about it?”

“Here’s the thing about your father. He’s a very sensitive soul, and he has what I like to call a big fat tender heart.”

Emi giggled, and Miyu and Haruto nodded.

“Now, I always tell him that he shouldn’t ever change that part of him because I love that big fat tender heart of his just the way it is. But because it’s so big and tender, it gets hurt really easily. It also means he can love people very deeply, but the deeper the love, the more likely he is to get hurt.” 

“Oh, I get it,” Miyu said. “He loves you deeply, so that means… you can hurt him easily?”

Kairi nodded. “I don’t hurt him on purpose, but it happens. And you know who else sometimes hurts him?”

Miyu and Haruto exchanged guilty glances while Emi said, “Who?”

“Sometimes, you all say things that hurt his feelings, even if he pretends he’s fine. Like yesterday, Miyu, Haruto, you hurt his feelings pretty badly. I know you didn’t mean to, but you did.”

They hung their heads, and Kairi sighed. “Just talk to him and apologize. He’ll understand.”

Miyu and Haruto nodded, but then Haruto spoke up again.

“But that still doesn’t explain why he didn’t tell us about his sacrifice.”

“He didn’t tell you about his sacrifice because it was such a deep expression of his love for me. And that leaves him feeling very, very vulnerable. If anyone were to ever mock him for his love, he would withdraw from that person very quickly to protect himself. And he never ever wants to withdraw from any of you.” 

“But why would we ever mock him for that?” Miyu said, her voice breaking. “Over being so brave and selfless?” 

“You all are lucky. The people in our lives now are good people. There are people in the worlds, however, who would mock others precisely because they are brave and selfless. And they have mocked your father before.” 

“Who?” Haruto demanded. “I’m gonna find them and punch them in the face!” 

Kairi had to smile at the fire in Haruto’s eyes. He really was his mother’s son, and she wished Sora could see how ready he was to defend his dad’s honor. 

“I appreciate the enthusiasm there Haruto, but your father has taken care of the people who attacked his honor and tried to hurt us. Would you like to know how?”

“Yes!” all three of the kids said at once. But then Emi frowned and added, “But what about Daddy? Was he okay after he put the Keyblade in his heart to save you?”

“Oh, right, I didn’t finish that part!” Kairi said. “After he plunged the Keyblade into his heart and released my heart, he became a Heartless—”

“No!” Haruto said, his eyes wide as he gripped the table. “A Heartless?!”

“—but not for long. You see, even as a Heartless, he remembered enough of himself to find me. And no matter what happens to him, I can always see his heart’s true form.”

“Because you’re a princess,” Emi said, and Kairi nodded. 

“Because I’m a princess. And more importantly, because I love him too. I didn’t know that I did at the time, but the bond our hearts shared allowed me to call him back to me. I was hugging him to protect him from the other Heartless, I called his name, and BOOM! just like that, with a flash of light, he was holding me in his arms, thanking me.”

Miyu, Haruto, and Emi all cheered, and Kairi couldn’t help but smile too. She wanted to tell them all about her and Sora’s journeys, about what it had taken for them to be together for good.

For without that journey, their family wouldn’t be possible. Sora was like the glue that held them all together, connecting their hearts with the power of his heart, and it was high time their children knew everything he’d done.  

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When Sora got home, his family was all seated in the living room, cuddled up with blankets and pillows and a stuffed animal or two. The kids were all deeply engrossed in whatever story Kairi was telling them, so he leaned against the doorway and listened in.

“Even though my heart was in seven pieces, your father refused to give up on me. He plunged his heart into the abyss for the chance to save me. He rewound time and raced against the clock in the hopes he would locate the seven pieces of my heart in time. He took on our friends’ pain and re-lived all his pain, the pain of losing me again and watching me die, in the hopes that I might live. And though he succeeded and found me, it cost him his very life in the end.”

“And it was worth it,” he said softly, and everyone looked at him. “It was absolutely worth it.”

Emi was the first to scramble to her feet and run over to him. “Daddy!” she cried as he swept her up into his arms. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said as she put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

“You’re the most wonderful person in all the worlds,” she told him very matter-of-factly.

“Is that so?” He couldn’t help the smile on his face, even if he wanted to. 

She nodded. “Mommy said so.”

“Well, she might be a little biased—”

“She’s never wrong, so no.”

“Not gonna argue with you on that one,” he said with a chuckle, then gave Emi a kiss on the cheek and put her down. 

Haruto was next. “Dad?” he asked, fidgeting a whole bunch because it was hard for him to keep still.

“Yeah?” 

“Sorry for saying I’m glad I look more like Mom. I mean, I am glad I look like her, but I’m proud to be your son.” 

Sora felt a lump starting to build in his throat. “And I’m proud you’re my son.” 

He held his arms out, and for once Haruto didn’t roll his eyes and back away. He just threw his arms around Sora, and Sora hugged him back and tried really hard not to cry. He couldn’t remember the last time Haruto had hugged him, especially so unashamedly, and yeah, of course he was gonna be moved by his son showing him affection. 

He ruffled Haruto’s hair afterwards, and Haruto grinned. 

“By the way, it’s pretty awesome how you kicked Xehanort’s ass, he deserved it for what he did to you and Mom.” 

“Haruto, language—” Kairi warned, but Sora couldn’t bring himself to scold his son. 

“I know, right? Wish you could’ve seen it.”

Haruto bounced off to talk to Kairi about something, and it was finally Miyu’s turn. She fiddled with her hair for a few moments before she finally said, “I hope you know that you’ve ruined boys for me forever. No one’s gonna even come close to loving me the way you love Mom.” 

“That’s not true,” Sora said. “I’m sure you’ll find someone who will.”

“Yeah, but you’ve actually proven how much you love her. That doesn’t happen every day.” 

“It doesn’t, but it also shouldn’t happen. There’s nothing glorious about dying, trust me. All the glory is in living and being with the people you love.” 

“Speaking from personal experience?”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward silence between them for a few moments, then she spoke up again.

“Dad, I’m sorry for being so mean to you lately. I get why you were reluctant to tell me about the Keyblade. I still want one, of course, but I want to make sure I’m ready before I get it.”

“Yeah. It’s a huge responsibility and a burden you need help to bear. But I have no doubt you’ll be able to wield one someday.”

His fears and worries and misgivings could all be sorted out later. Right now, Miyu needed to know she had his unconditional love and support. 

“Thanks,” she said, then another awkward silence followed.

“Miyu,” he finally said, “I’m sorry for embarrassing you yesterday. I just—I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you, and it’s hard for me to tone it down because I’m so happy you’re my daughter. But I will because—”

She shook her head. “No, don’t. As Mom says, your big fat tender heart is one of the best things about you, and even if other people tease me about it, I won’t care anymore. Because you’re the best dad I could ask for.”

Sora couldn’t help it, his eyes really were watering now.

“Ugh, Dad, please don’t cry—”

“Then come here and give me a hug,” he said as he held his arms out to her too. She did, and as he put his arms around her, he felt the rest of the hurt in his heart mend.

After one more round of hugs and several more stories, the kids went their separate ways so they could do their own thing till dinner, leaving him and Kairi alone in the living room.

“We finally told them,” she said as he joined her on the couch. 

He draped the blanket over the two of them so that they could cuddle. “We finally told them.”

He brought her into his embrace and held her tight. How good it felt to hold her in his arms, to be reminded of the fact that this was real, this was their life now and it had been for years. 

He kissed her head. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Thank you for helping me be brave.”

“Thank you for being brave.” 

Everything they’d been through, every drop of blood and bead of sweat and bitter tear, made what they had now all that much more precious. Sora wouldn’t trade it for the worlds, and he knew Kairi wouldn’t either.

They were united as one, together on the same team, and they always would be. There were a few more members on the team now, but at its core, at its heart was the love between them. And because of that love, their team was stronger than ever and their family was thriving.

And that, more than anything, was their happily ever after.  

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A/N: Thank you for reading this story! I really enjoyed writing it and sharing it with you all. I might return to this AU someday, depending on what further ideas I might have, but for now, I hope you enjoyed the ending!

[nadziejastar]

It's funny that Organization Rehash was somehow more treacherous than the first one when part of the idea behind Xehanort putting his heart into all of them was to get around that problem

I know! The way the Seekers of Darkness were handled pissed me off so much! Most of them were ruined. The whole point of Xemnas completing Kingdom Hearts was to put Xehanort’s heart and mind into all the original members so that they had no free will. They would literally become another Xehanort. Being a Nobody was not enough to Nort someone. KH3 got around this in the most lazy way possible by saying that they all just joined the True Organization by choice. How lucky for Xehanort, right? This is a relevant post I’ve done about this subject. I’m actually surprised I haven’t seen more people complaining about this egregious plot hole. I brought it up before on a different forum and some fans would just make the dumbest excuses, I swear. “Saïx only had a small piece of Xehanort’s heart in him!” (LOL.)

Ok, so what difference did it even make then? Why did it even matter that he, along with Xigbar, had yellow eyes and pointy ears all along? Weren’t they supposed to be different from the other members? Also, what’s the point of vessels being “raw material” for the X-Blade? Why was Xehanort conducting mind control experiments? Why go to such lengths to show Axel grieving about how much his best friend had changed, if Xehanort’s heart had literally no significant influence on him? God, even Xemnas was treated more respectfully than Saïx was because of this. I actually liked his dialogue at the end about how being human must take incredible strength. It was one of the most memorable lines in the game for me.

How did Xion ever become a Seeker of Darkness? Her switching sides was laughably easy. Roxas and Xion’s dialogue was just so atrocious. I was embarrassed while watching all the scenes with them. Also, if Saïx was supposed to be the one who brought back Roxas and Xion, why are we supposed to take pleasure in his boss fight again? It was treated like Roxas and Xion were getting revenge and it was supposed to be enjoyable to clobber him. Then Roxas and Xion felt pity for him afterwards. And Roxas even acknowledged that he knew Saïx helped to bring him back before their fight. How did he even know that? Well, because his dialogue was written so that the audience could know. Since all of this was shoehorned in at the last minute, Saïx’s redemption happened off-screen. So Roxas had to fill us in on why he was there. It was all so forced, just like the Subject X info dump. 

The game totally wanted to have its cake and eat it, too. They wanted Saïx to betray Xehanort so he could be Lea’s innocent ice cream-loving childhood friend in the epilogue (which was his intended role in the ending all along). But they still wanted to treat him like a villain for Roxas and Xion to clobber. The problem is that both of those things clash very badly. They’re not compatible with each other in the slightest. You can’t do both. His redemption didn’t feel convincing at all because of this. And his scene at the clock tower just made it seem like he had no excuse for his actions from the previous games. Why the hell is he all friendly NOW when he was previously trying to kill Axel? 

I did see a lot of complaints about how all the villains got “redeemed” at the end. They spent the whole game being evil, then they act all nice to Sora after they’re beaten? Why? Well, it was extremely obvious to me that they were supposed to be possessed.

Their actions would have made perfect sense if Xehanort had simply been controlling them the whole time. Then of course they’d be grateful to Sora for releasing them. A big pillar of darkness gets expelled from them after they’re defeated, then they act totally different. Gee, I wonder why? Larxene actually acted confused after she was beaten. She did NOT act like she was in control of herself prior to this.

Furthermore, once she became aware of herself, she was horrified. She looked like she felt violated. Like she had something done to her without her knowledge or consent. I don’t think for a second that Larxene signed up to be a Seeker of Darkness.

I also found it interesting that she spoke as if she weren’t already that geezer’s heart tank. Once Xehanort’s heart is implanted, it’s supposed to gradually take over the person’s heart. Maybe Sora just needed to defeat members like Larxene, Marluxia, and Luxord. They’d go back to normal afterwards because they were not Norted for that long. They had yellow eyes, but their ears weren’t even pointy.

I also think they became vessels by being turned into Nobodies again, so it made sense that they faded away after their battle. They’d be recompleted. But Terra and Isa were supposed to be different. They needed to have the power of waking used on them because their hearts were lost like a decade ago. And neither of them were Norted as Nobodies, either. Saïx shouldn’t have faded away after his battle.

Marluxia also did not act like he was aware of himself beforehand.

He also said his heart was remembering how to feel. I’m sure he was supposed to have a different backstory than what he has now to explain this.

He was all grateful to Sora after being defeated. This makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever unless he was being totally controlled.

Luxord and Sora were acting like old pals after their battle. Luxord never seemed like a bad guy, anyways. He gave Sora a wild card and then said he’d like to play a game with him. I think Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord were done a tremendous disservice by making it so that they were self-aware for the whole game. But Isa by far came out the worst because of this. He was utterly decimated beyond repair. His whole character revolved around being possessed. That was THE most important thing about him. It was the ONLY thing that could excuse his actions and allow Lea and Isa to go back to being inseparable right after the final battle. Since he was possessed, they didn’t hold back making him as nasty as possible. Now it’s biting them in the ass.

Braig joined Xehanort to wield a Keyblade. And he actually doesn’t fade away after his defeat like the others. I don’t think that was a coincidence. It’s probably because he became Norted as a human. He wasn’t a Nobody during his boss battle. 

I’m also 100% sure it wasn’t a coincidence that he just happened to “pretend” to commit suicide after his defeat. That was no doubt the original end planned for Braig ever since Days and BBS. He was always haunted by the things he did. I think he was especially haunted by what he did to Isa, which was why he always had such a bone to pick with Saïx. If he was a Nobody, then his suicide wouldn’t have even mattered because he’d just be recompleted afterwards, anyways. Sora and Riku’s reaction only made sense if he was fully human when he fell off that ledge.

I will never ever forgive KH3 for its treatment of Isa (and Lea, since Isa was a HUGE part of his character). I’m still heartbroken and angry over it. Isa was treated like a plot device—he only mattered because he brought Lea’s REAL best friends Roxas and Xion back. He wasn’t treated like he mattered as an individual character. He didn’t get a real backstory that showed his pain, how he became Norted or his close relationship with Lea. All this did was make me hate Roxas and Xion in KH3, even though I really liked them in 358/2 Days. It was just so unfair that they got ALL the spotlight at Isa’s expense.

It was always, always implied that Axel had a VERY sad backstory. He was NEVER EVER comic relief. Not at all. He was the most serious character. His canon backstory was a joke for how poorly it explains his behavior in Days and KH2. He was actually an apprentice all along? And suddenly the only thing that mattered to him was two kids that the story went out if its way to show never even came CLOSE to understanding him? 

Not his REAL best friend who became an organization member alongside him and who would understand his suffering? It was heavily implied they were both lab rats. I couldn’t believe Lea even blamed Isa for getting Norted. And apparently all Saïx had to do was admit he was jealous and things are instantly patched up between them? God, it was such a slap in the face as a fan. I felt personally insulted by Isa’s “redemption”.

Now, it was obvious that they tried to limit the amount of physical contact Lea showed Saïx after his defeat. And they also tried to limit the amount of genuine emotion they were allowed to show at all times. This happened on the clock tower, too. Lea wasn’t allowed to cry for his friend. And even when Saïx admitted he was jealous, he HAD to follow it up with something snarky. He wasn’t allowed to bond with Lea in a genuine manner. I noticed all of this right away. It made me laugh to see how stilted their interactions were.

Apparently Saïx was putting on an “act” the whole time because he was afraid to show his true feelings, I guess? They’re just gonna write off all of his past deeds that way, instead of him being ya know…Norted? Wow. And to top it all off, they tried to make Lea and Isa’s whole relationship revolve around some stupid random girl, which pissed me off so freaking much. It definitely came across like KH3 was extremely paranoid that they might seem gay. So they did everything possible to make their relationship lack genuine emotion and intimacy, destroying it in the process. The handling of their subplot went against all the most important themes of the series. It was utterly pathetic.

And yet Lea was still holding Saïx in his arms. And it was still pretty intimate from a physical perspective. In fact, Lea shows more intimacy with Saïx in this one single scene than Axel had with Roxas in all of their moments put together. Guess that’s why they had to throw in all the other stuff. To “balance out” more tender moments like this. 

The way Lea smiled at him is how I always imagined he would look once he finally rescued Isa. They said “See you” (”Mata na” in Japanese) to each other in a pretty intense and personal way. Especially in the Japanese version. Saïx said it so softly he almost whispered it to Lea. This was obviously something pertaining to their original backstory. 

Roxas said “Mata na” to Axel when he was going back to Sora in KH2FM. This made Axel cry. “Mata na” had a LOOOOT more meaning to Axel than it did to Roxas. You see, Roxas was saying it in a casual way, like most would say it. See you later. It was as simple as that. But I think “Mata na” was Lea and Isa’s way of saying they’d see each other again in the next life. Just more evidence that Axel was really crying because he wanted to see Isa and was remembering their promise. Roxas really couldn’t fill the void of Isa. That was the impression I got from that scene.

People probably would have been very accepting of Lea having strong feelings for Isa. But I think Square/Disney were terrified people would be grossed out if Axel had those same feelings for Saïx. KH3 just sent very conflicting messages due to this identity crisis. Lea was holding his arms out like he could still feel him there after he faded away. It looked VERY similar to when Xion faded away in Roxas’s arms. This demonstrated that Lea had extremely powerful feelings for Isa. The thing is, this was never properly SHOWN in the story. There was all of this implied intimacy between them, but it wasn’t able to be explored in-depth after BBSV2 got axed. And so, KH3 wasn’t allowed to show them being too close because there wasn’t enough time to properly differentiate Isa from Saïx. 

And this ruined their relationship. We saw almost nothing to understand why Lea would feel so attached to Saïx or why Isa changed so much since they were kids. All we saw was Saïx being evil and a very short scene of them as kids in BBS trying to sneak into the castle. The audience has little reason to care about this relationship or empathize with Lea’s affections for Isa. They didn’t get enough development. There was no way that Saïx was written as Axel’s best friend if THIS was how the resolution was going to be handled. Their story was incomplete. The way it was handled in KH3 was a complete and utter joke. 

[thechocobros]

My little (not so little) Kingdom Hearts III’s review :)

(possible spoilers under the cut)

Somebody asked for my personal opinion about the game, so, here I am! I’ll try to be as objective as possible, even if you probably know already my deep affection for this saga and for its creators XD

Let’s start with the positive things, the things that really impressed me the most about KH3, which are: the graphic (even the in-game one), the gameplay, the huge amount of enjoyable exploration. And then I’ll start voting the rest, by giving my opinion. 

 - Graphic: 10/10. I was able to see the pores on Sora’s face and on Terra’s hands. I was able to zoom on the smallest details with my Gummiphone and still find some amazing details in the landscape. Literally EVERYTHING was so well done i had to stop more than once to admire what i was playing. It was stunning. Let’s not even talk about the Disney cutscenes, because those were a masterpiece and i have no words to describe them. 

- Gameplay: 10/10. Listen, i never played a game where there were so MANY options for the gameplay. I beated the 13 darknesses by using attractions, limits, different forms, combined moves, special abilities, combos, different keyblades ... There were so many minigames, ideas, i fought on Baymax, i fought as a captain of a ship, i cooked, I did treasure hunts, took pictures, the gummiship style too ... every fricking world offered so many different gameplays options i even freaked out because i wasn’t able to learn them all. It was so FUN!

- Exploration; 10/10. Let’s be real, every world (except Twilight Town lol) was as huge as all the Disney worlds of the previous KH games together. Really, i was lost. It was even too much. It will take me a lifetime to explore all the worlds in all its beautiful details xD for ex in the POTC’s world we are able to access to at least 6 different islands + Port Royal + underwater + the battles setting + we command an entire sailing ship. Also, have you try to collect all the lucky emblems? Because I think they all are in some areas i still don’t know they exist. It was AMAZING. 

- Music: 8/10. I love “Face my fears” so much, i like “Don’t think twice” a lot, Utada is always a queen. As for Yoko, she never dissapoints me either, even though this time she didn’t came out with “new” brilliant melodies like she did in the other games. She mostly arranged differently songs and themes we already were familiar with, which is nostalgic and happily welcomed anyway. + Bonus Points to Somnus song mixed together with Hikari. Wow. 

- Plot twists/Surprise/content/plot elements: 8.5/10. Every Kingdom Hearts game needs a huge amount of “WHAt-THE-moments” and KH3 makes no exception. The final battles and the endings were a concentrated of twists and turns, starting from Yen Sid, to Ephemer, from Sora dying (like twice, during this game? the last one almost got me tho), to Kairi dying, from Xigbar’s real identity to Yozora officially inserted in KH’s main plot etc etc. It was a rollercoaster. And I loved it. Funny enough, the only “secret” that didn’t feel like a “secret” was the “secret” that Nomura defined the “biggest secret” XD ... aka Roxas xD I mean, they talked about making a replica for Roxas all the game long, so when Roxas actually appeared and claimed that Vexen made a replica for him, i was like ... yeah, thanks, that’s not a brand new information xD Talking about Vexen, him and the rest of the Organization had some really nice surprising elements, their story was worthy. 

- The narrative/structure/pace: 6.5/10. Ok, here’s the thing. Even if the actual story content was interesting and pretty good, there were problems in the pace and we all hardcore fans noticed it. Why was that? Because they changed some things they shouldn’t have changed in order to give more space to Disney worlds. 

For ex, I’m talking about the fact that we started our adventure in ... the Olympus world. I have nothing against that world of course. But in KH1 we started in Destiny Islands/Traverse Town. In KH2 we started in Twilight Town. In KHBBS we started in the Land of the Departure. In KH3 we should have respected traditions and start from an original world. Why? Because original worlds are strictly connected to the original characters’ development + main plot. By making Sora starting in a Disney world, they cut out an extremely important part in the KH3 story’s development, aka the very own basis. And  no, Twilight Town arrived 3 hours later, and was half as big as the other Disney worlds, so it doesn’t really stand the competion. 

  So, by putting so many Disney worlds and cutting out the original worlds, they confused the storyline’s pace. The actual story’s progression was reduced to some cutscenes between a world and another which is ... not a really good idea. We needed at least one or two more playable original worlds somewhere there in between, like KH2 had Radiant Garden and KH1 had Traverse Town, so that the story could have been developed  and the characters would have been able to meet and interact properly.

  In fact, the biggest problem is that the entire main plot is rushed in the last hours of the game. 35 hours of funny happy Disney gameplay. 5 hours of actual plot. It’s not balanced. The player didn’t feel the rising pressure for the final battle of light against darkness. No matter how epic the Keyblade War actually was, of course it felt a bit rushed, because it popped out all of a sudden and wasn’t smoothly inserted from the beginning of the game. 

  I can actually justify this choice though: KH3′s purpose was to give a conclusion to Xehanort’s saga. Which means they didn’t plan to develop the story or the characters more than what they already had in the previous games. They just wanted to show a proper “conclusion”. Not “development”. 

  It’s not the choice i would have taken in terms of storytelling, but it’s an option so i’m not really angry about it. It worked anyway because almost all the characters really had a solid background plot. .... almost. Which sadly leads to the sore point of the game. Here we go.

- Characters development: 7/10. Kingdom Hearts has a large quantity of very developed characters. Kingdom Hearts’ original characters are the ones who entered in out hearts years ago and we love them for a reason. They’re all well characterized, with specific strengths and weaknesses. Which means that no matter how weird the pace of KH3 could have been, the characters have been so well written in the previous games that they were able to tollerate everything in terms or story telling. Sora, Riku, Aqua, Roxas, Axel, Ventus, Xion, Terra, Naminè .... they all had a major role in KH’s plot on their shoulders and unique facets. But one character was strongly penalized by this the rhythm of KH3: Kairi. 

  Unlike most of the other characters that belong to the famous trios, Kairi could never count on a strong background, nor a good characterization. 

  Even though i liked her in KH1 (where she at least interacted with both Sora and Riku multiple times and had a part in the main plot, even if she was comatose for 80% of the time), it’s not a secret that she got benched immediately after that. KH2 didn’t make her justice with all that being kidnapped, and in the next games she completely dissapeared even. She was never involved in the story ever again. What am i referring to?

  In Birth By Sleep, only Sora and Riku met all the members of the wayfinder trio and played an actual part in their lives. Kairi barely meet Aqua once, and never played an active part in her life anyway. I mean, Aqua never needed Kairi for anything, never. On the contrary, both Sora and Riku were vital for all the members of the wayfinder trio, back then and later on.

  In Chain of Memories, Coded, 358/2 days ... Kairi was replaced with two other girls that quickly became more interesting than Kairi herself, aka Naminé and Xion. In those stories Kairi is barely mentioned and almost never appears. But Sora and Riku ... oh, Sora and Riku! They’re the PROTAGONISTS. They always interact, they always appear, they always do stuff. 

  Let’s not even talk about Dream Drop Distance, where it’s JUST Sora and RIku. 

  What’s my point? The Destiny trio isn’t a trio, it’s a duo. Kairi is ALWAYS put in a corner, she never has a part in the story. 

  I’m not talking about ships, i don’t care about ships, I don’t ship Soriku nor Sokai, it’s not about this. The problem is Kairi’s character development, which did not exist. Not only a development, but even a purpose was missing. 

  So, since i kinda liked her in KH1 and the potential was there, i thought that KH3 would have set things right for her. I had high hopes especially because of Axel, I was like, “WOW here it is a great potential for a good, healthy, platonic relationship, finally Kairi found someone to be paired with and do stuff. We will finally see her being weak, finding her power again, maybe she will be a playable character, maybe she will interact with BOTH Sora and RIku too, making jokes, express her preferences etc etc” yeah and what we got? Kairi is reduced to a mere man pain object again. She almost forgot about Axel once that Sora appeared. She got kidnapped here and there all along. Again. She kinda forced Sora to eat that fruit and never asked for his opinion, while Riku was having an existential drama going on just some steps away. But i don’t think she cares for Riku anyway since she never had any kind of bond time with him and isn’t interested in his problems. She fought once (badly), revealing that her training was somehow useless (she had to be saved by Sora and the others). She gets killed (pretty stupidly too) and Sora had to sacrifice to bring her back. And what made me angry the most: Sora’s heart gets lost in the process of saving her but it’s NOT Kairi the one going after him in the secret ending. IT’S RIKU. LIKE WHAAAT?? Riku?? She can’t even take her girly keyblade and go after the boy she is supposed to love and that died for her?? Riku has to do it? Really? It’s ridiculous. ... 

  Furthermore, she wasn’t a playable character. The only characters that we were able to play were Sora, Riku and .... Aqua! Pretty funny. (I think they are Nomura’s favorites, i don’t know.)

  Kairi’s only part in KH3 was changing outfit and “being Sora’s light” somehow but ... that was so much out of the blue and most likely an isolated moment. It could have been a nice coronation for a developed love story but the problem is that no development was there before.

  So, going back to my point.

  Even if i would have chosen another way to tell the story, the rushed pace of KH3 worked for everyone anyway, except for Kairi. Kairi needed a different treatment.

  But at this point i don’t think she will ever get it, probably Nomura doesn’t like her too much since he decided to make another DreamDropDistance game settled in Insommia next time xD so i give up on her. I’ll focus on the other beautiful female characters of this game.

  Anyway, even if i talked a lot about why Kairi was another flop, i want to point out how interesting some characters got instead. I’m talking about Xigbar (great plot twist), Saix, Demyx, Vexen (Vexen had so much importance, i mean, i didn’t expect him to be the one moving kh3’s plot), Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene and Repliriku! They used to be marginal characters and now they turned out to be protagonists, it’s amazing.

- FF characters: 7/10. I really loved Verum Rex’s surprise, it’s a clever idea to recycle the Versus characters and concepts Nomura couldn’t bring to life. Now that Nomura turned them into original characters, he has the copyright over them again thanks to Disney and he can use them as much as he wants, bringing the “ff characters cameos in kh” on a brand new level. Starting from the next game, we will have semi-FFcharacters included in the main plot, not just having a cameo here and there, which is amazing!

  But. This doesn’t mean i didn’t miss actual FF characters in Kh3. Cloud, Leon&Co left a hole in kh’s tradition.

Let’s sum it up my notes: 

Graphic: 10/10 +

Gameplay: 10/10 +

Exploration: 10/10 +

Music: 8/10 +

Plot twists/Surprise/Content/Plot elements: 8.5/10. +

The narrative/structure/pace: 6.5/10. +

Characters development: 7/10. +

FF characters: 7/10. +

Total = 8,3

AND ... THAT’S IT FOR NOW I GUESS? xD

[dukeofriven]

Wither Tinkerbell? Part 3: This Episode Was Badly Written (KH Liveblog)

PART 1, PART 3

Let’s look at Sora’s three options one more time: A) He can depart for Hollow Bastion, and in doing so leave Tinkerbell in captivity. B) He can surrender the Keyblade, at which point Hook won’t kill him. (Will he let Tink go? Unclear) C) Sora can walk the plank and die.

It’s at this point my brain broke. Sora is an agonizing cipher of a character - so opaque at times that he basically produces a homunculus later simply to store a personality in and save him the trouble of having one. (For those of you just joining us, I am playing-through (well, watching other people play through because I can’t afford these games) Kingdom Hearts largely for the first time. I have played the Destiny Island portion of KH 1, and the prologue of Kingdom Hearts 2 - everything with Roxas up to Sora coming back to life. THAT’S IT. No spoilers, please. #RoxasForProtagonist2019). Fifteen hours in, here’s what I know about Sora: He likes Kairi. He wants to hatesnog Riku He is super good at hitting dudes with sticks. He wants to help everybody instantly This sometimes causes tension with Donald Duck He wants to see other places And that’s it. I don’t have much of a sense of Sora’s interiority as a person. I can’t even tell if he has interiority. (You cannot tell me in good conscious that this boy:

Has anything going on in there that isn’t this song playing on a loop.

Playing on a loop, over and over and over. That’s why he so rarely interacts with conversations in this game: poor little kid, he’s got a bad case of audio processing disorder and most of the time he’s zoning out to the soothing sound of Tijuana Brass.) That lack of self quickly becomes a problem whenever Sora has to make something resembling a decision because there’s very little there in which to anchor motive. I mentioned Finn the Human earlier:  Finn would rescue Tinkerbell in a heartbeat because his motivation to be the good guy is very clear. Self sacrifice would make sense for him too if the cards were arranged properly: “jump off this plank or I’ll kill Jake!” the villain cries, and Finn chucks himself off screaming “anything for you buddy” - but Finn won’t embrace death so quickly for just anything. Finn would have already called Hook a buttface and launched himself at his face long before Hook finished monologuing. Sora, to all appearances, decides to let his quest to save Kairi go and die rather than... let Tinkerbell stay imprisoned in a lamp? There’s so many problems with this scene I am 2500 words in and feel like I still haven’t captured how bizarre it is. There’s the lack of peril: Tinkerbell doesn’t seem to be in any immediate danger, making Sora’s willingness to just up and die seem a serious overreaction. There’s a lack of intimacy: Sora’s near-ignorance of Tinkerbell doesn’t seem commensurate with the Christ-like willingness to perish on her behalf. There’s the Problem of Kairi: he sure drops her needs like a hot potato the moment some other random person is put in any state of inconvenience. There’s the problem of scale: four heartless and one dude with a sword stopped seeming like a threat before we’d beaten Traverse Town, why is it suddenly this big of an issue? Then there’s the problem of time: the whole scenario, from the moment Hook reveals that Tinkerbell is kidnapped to the moment Peter rescues her from Smee takes about 1 minute and 28 seconds with no interruptions. The player doesn’t even get to attempt to rescue Tink - we are shown she is kidnapped, Sora makes the baffling decision to die rather than punch Hook in the face, then Peter rescues Sora through the power of positive thinking and saves Tink by just grabbing her (this last part no more than 20 seconds). Then the game lets you fight the four heartless who were standing there anyways. You might be wondering “Why are you spending so much time on this moment that ultimately doesn’t mean much”? Because that’s sort of my point - Kingdom Hearts, a badly written game, is full of moments like this: tension call-de-sacs that are resolved quickly, without impact, and without player or even protagonist agency. Unless its ‘hitting things with his stick” Sora does very little in this game. He shows up to events, is told what he ought to do by other people, and then does them, sometimes with a pretence of agreement but never one that feels like he’s going to go his own way. It’s a little like Final Fantasy XII: Sora might be the viewpoint character, but he keeps finding himself in a story that isn’t really about him. He feel superfluous as a person - if you equipped a sexy lamp with a keyblade and the power to fight heartless, how much of the game would proceed unchanged? What impact does Sora have on his own story? The moments that Sora genuinely makes choices stand out precisely because of their rarity. Many of the choices he does make are guided almost entirely by non[diegetic need: he agrees to team up with Donald and Goofy because that’s the conceit of Kingdom Hearts and also he needs that gummy ship to do the gummy ship sequences: even now, though repeatedly called ‘friends’ by the script, the trio don’t seem to have much to do with one another. That’s why this scene baffles me: Sora gets a very rare multiple choice question and he picks the worst answer possible for no clear reason, motive, or purpose. Sora chooses to die so that Tinkerbell can... can what, exactly? Hook doesn’t threaten her beyond saying that she’ll stay imprisoned. Hook says Sora can either give up the Keyblade or die, and Sora chooses to die without a fight, despite having taken down far larger and more obviously threatening villains at this point. He just folds. And then Pan rescues him and Tink in seconds, and the whole scene goes by so fast it is breathtaking. Why am I spending so much time thinking about this scene? Because its obvious that nobody who worked on the game did. It’s a nothing moment - so forgettable you likely have no memory of it to begin with. And yet: SORA CHOSE TO DIE. This game is poorly written. And Tinkerbell deserves a better than to be Imprisoned Woman #380 in this game.

[nadziejastar]

How do you think losing their hearts at young ages would have effected the development of Zexion, Saix, and Axel?

Day 173: The Gamble

Author: Luxord

I find myself envying the children. Perhaps some fundamental difference exists between those who become Nobodies as adults and otherwise.The longer you have lived, the more you are positioned to lose with such a gamble. But a child can look forward, unafraid even in the face of immeasurable odds. I doubt they even see life as a gamble the way we do.

Those 3 are definitely the most sympathetic members due to their age. They grew up in a cult. I think they are all emotionally stuck at the age they became Nobodies. I hope you don’t mind if I cover this in separate parts. Each of the characters deserves their own post.

Zexion

Deep inside that castle in the world that never was, Zexion was heading for a small room. From ahead of him, a lone man’s footsteps rang out as he dashed noisily down the stairs.

“Zexion! Zexion!”

The man–Vexen, was calling out to Zexion.

“What is the matter? Please don’t be so noisy,” Zexion answered coldly.

Zexion didn’t really like this man, who was at times loud and exaggerated.Liking and hating are emotions we lost when we became nobodies, but memories from our time as humans remain. Yes, since I was a human I’ve hated this man. But, because of his research, there is also reason for respect.

To understand the effect losing his heart had, we need to know what Ienzo was like as a human. He lost his emotions, but what kind of emotions were they? Why did he hate Vexen ever since he was a human child? My guess? When Ienzo ran off it didn’t seem like it was the first time. A lab isn’t where most kids want to spend all their time. He probably was bored and wanted to play. He wasn’t even afraid of the Unversed. That’s how desperate he was for stimulation. But Even would always retrieve him, and they’d focus on research stuff.

Ienzo never spoke, or smiled as in any of the flashbacks we saw of him as a kid. Even could probably see that Ienzo was gifted and would make a great scientist one day. So he tutored him and groomed him in his research. Even loved Ienzo, but I don’t think he realized that a child has certain needs, like socializing and playing. He didn’t let Ienzo play and didn’t understand how badly he wanted to. Ienzo didn’t speak up because he was an adopted kid. He wasn’t comfortable asserting himself.

The next day, Roxas was in Twilight Town again, this time with Zexion. Before Roxas joined them, Zexion had been the youngest member of the Organization. Now he was closely observing the newbie’s behavior.

Without that Keyblade, our plan will never succeed.

When Zexion thought back on their erstwhile research, the “plan” seemed to him like a contradiction in terms—trying to reclaim what they had lost through their own actions. He didn’t believe they had done anything wrong by studying and producing the Heartless. It just so happened that in that process, they had forfeited their own hearts.

Ienzo was an orphan, so he already had been through trauma. Then Ansem the Wise was banished and he lost his heart when he was about 7 or 8. He said he didn’t think they did anything wrong by producing the Heartless. While Xaldin said they became Nobodies to escape emotion, Zexion talked like losing their hearts was just an unintended consequence of creating the Heartless. He didn’t even understand why they were trying to get their hearts back. Seems like he was kept in the dark. He was so young when he lost his heart that he didn’t actually have much life experience having one.

“You mean…I don’t have a heart?” Roxas questioned, mystified.

He doesn’t even know what a heart is. I ought to understand a little bit more about it. After all, I used to have one, and I was studying it, too. I remember the surge of emotions so well from the time when I had a heart, but I can no longer feel them. Now all we have are the memories and the quest to regain those things.

“Correct,” Zexion told Roxas. “None of us do. Which is why we seek them. We will merge with the multitude of hearts that is Kingdom Hearts. And you will help us amass them. Each member has a distinct role in achieving the Organization’s objective. Yours is to gather hearts by defeating the Heartless with that Keyblade of yours.”

He still remembered what it was like to have a heart. But he didn’t seem to miss it that much. I think it’s likely that Ienzo was so unhappy as a kid that he genuinely didn’t care about having emotions. Especially since he probably lived in terror of Xehanort/Braig every day. I’m sure he had some idea that shady stuff was going on in the castle. He probably saw and heard many things. But he wasn’t told the truth about any of it.

Despite his secretiveness, Zexion was the only one Lexaeus said he trusted in his report. I think its because he was so young when he became a Nobody, he didn’t really have an agenda or ulterior motives of his own. He’s only concerned with self-preservation, which is following orders and staying in Xemans’ good graces. Saïx wanted him eliminated because he was competition for being the perfect lap dog. Both of them were too young to join willingly and are similarly terrified and submissive to Xemnas. 

“What…what is he?! No one’s ever taken in the darkness the way that he can! It’s absurd…!” Collapsing to all fours, Zexion pounded his fists on the floor.

Axel had never seen such an emotional display from him. Well, this was the first and last time.

Finally, Zexion looked up and noticed the Replica. “Wh—? Riku?!” He shrank back in fear.

He was absolutely terrified in Castle Oblivion. I bet he lived in fear every single day.

“Naminé’s betrayed you. Sora eliminated Larxene. The question is which one of us will be next to fall,” Axel commented.

Scowling, Zexion did not turn to face him. “…It might be you.”

“Me? I doubt that.”

Zexion had never trusted Axel one bit. In fact, he had never trusted anyone besides the original members of the Organization—those he had once known in the laboratory. But he found two especially untrustworthy: Saïx, who had somehow wormed his way into Lord Xemnas’s confidence, and his close acquaintance Axel.

Zexion never trusted Axel and Saïx. He was very wary of anyone who wasn’t an apprentice. It shows how he had a cultlike mindset when he was in the Organization. But when he’s recompleted, notice how different he acts. Ienzo never spoke in BBS. He never smiled. So it’s not like his change in demeanor was just because he had a heart. He was very upbeat and acted like he genuinely wanted to help Lea find Isa. Aeleus is way more quiet, because he probably had a lot more personal guilt over his actions. Ienzo was talkative to the point Lea found it annoying. Lea was probably weirded out by how unusual he was acting, honestly. Ienzo never seemed the slightest bit bothered by the fact that Axel took out Zexion. Nor did he act like he cared about any previous rivalry between him and Saïx. 

Wouldn’t surprise me if Ienzo actually felt a strong sense of affinity for Lea and Isa. They were the only other kids in the Organization, so naturally he’d notice them. He probably never hated them. If anything, he probably longed to be friends with them since he was so lonely. He was always too afraid of Xemnas to trust them, though. But after recompletion, Xemnas/Xehanort weren’t around anymore, so his REAL personality came out. Like Lea, he was robbed of a childhood and is stuck in a state of arrested development. I think Ienzo is socially still at the level of a kid. He seemed kinda naive honestly. Like he didn’t understand why Lea would be uncomfortable around him. I think he would have been genuinely happy to be friends with Lea and Isa. I think he’d be desperate to have ANY friends close to him in age. I don’t see Lea being friends with any of the apprentices. But if he had to pick one, it would be Ienzo.

[nadziejastar]

Why All 7 Guardians of Light Were Meant to Use the Power of Waking

Joshua: “In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end. To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnants of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. Here, I thought they might have a chance–that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Maybe I could give them another chance.”

So, I feel like neither the Realm of Sleep nor the power of waking got properly utilized in the story. I don’t know exactly why, but there definitely were a ton of deviations from the story’s original vision. Maybe it had to do with making the game more accessible to new players. Or perhaps the higher-ups thought constant heart-diving would divert from the action too much, and casual fans wouldn’t appreciate that. Or maybe it was due to the cancellation of BBSV2. Whatever the case, the power of waking got erased from the story almost entirely by Kingdom Hearts 3. It was never even properly explained how the Realm of Sleep differs from the Realm of Darkness.

The whole concept of the Sleeping Worlds is based on ancient shamanism. A shaman is kind of like a death “midwife” or “ambassador”. Your soul is your connection to the divine. It is your source of guidance–and when you lose it, you're really in trouble. You’re stuck in the limbo of the astral realms. A shaman is an explorer within these realities for the purpose of bringing back information and for the purpose of healing. They find lost souls on the other side and attempt to help those souls cross over. When Riku became a Dream Eater for Sora, he basically became a full-fledged shaman. 

Joshua was serving the exact same role for Neku and the others. When a person enters the Realm of Sleep, it is after the fragmentation of their soul. It’s a defense mechanism against unbearable trauma. That’s why the characters from The World Ends With You were so important to include in KH3D’s story. They all died in the real world and the Sleeping Traverse Town was a safe haven in another dimension, where they exist in a dream. The Realm of Sleep is a place of total darkness and safety. There’s no conscious awareness whatsoever, in order to shield the ego from pain. 

One of the major ceremonies a shaman performs is called a “shamanic journey”. A shaman goes into an altered state of consciousness and travels outside of the space-time continuum into the hidden realms that many term “non-ordinary”. Non-ordinary reality is a parallel universe to ours. Some call it the “Dreamtime”. There is no time in non-ordinary reality. Linear time only exists in the 3rd dimension of physical reality. According to shamanism, there are four “Worlds":  

Upper World – The non-ordinary reality of the super-conscious. This is where the Spirit or Higher Self resides. It would be Heaven, essentially.

Middle World – The ordinary reality of the conscious. This is the world we currently exist in. The Realm of Light, basically.

Lower World – The non-ordinary reality of the sub-conscious. This would be the Realm of Darkness, where the individual sub-conscious and the collective sub-conscious merge. Shamans mainly work here.

Under World – There also exists an Under World. This is a state of unconscious that is NOT typically traveled to on shamanic journeys.

So what happens to people who wind up in the unconscious? Well, in the hidden realities there are compassionate spirits who offer their guidance and also their healing help on behalf of all life on earth. These would be the Dream Eaters in KH lore. And that’s basically their job. To escort souls to other, higher realms when they are finally ready. It’s actually not the job of humans to venture to such realms. What the the 7 Guardians of Light are attempting to do by reviving sleeping people is actually a pretty extraordinary endeavor for humans from the Middle World.

Yen Sid: “If we are ever to strike down Xehanort, we need the individuals King Mickey spoke of in his letter. We must lead them out of sorrow and slumber, and back to our world. To do so, seven Sleeping Keyholes must be found and unlocked, and a great power retrieved.”

Acquiring shamanic power involves a “death initiation” ritual. The experience is supposed to bring them in touch with their own death and rebirth, ushering in a new stage of life. During an initiatory experience, a shaman often takes a person to the brink of madness, insanity, and deviance. The purpose of totally losing it is just that: to lose the ego’s hold over us. To loosen our consciousness---that limited, boxed-in perception of what life is all about and which imprisons us within it. It’s these moments of ego death that provide an experience of reality that is larger, deeper, and infinitely more exquisite and beautiful. 

This initiation is typically not blissful, fun, nor healing. The shamanic experience is usually filled with terrifying and nightmarish visions or visits from spirits. If a person is called to take on the responsibility of a shaman they usually fall very ill or even to the brink of death. It is considered to be an initiation by the spirits. The experienced shaman keeps the shaman-in-training on the correct path during this process, although the person may believe they have totally lost it. That’s what Yen Sid was attempting to do for Sora and Riku. Yen Sid is using the ancient ways, since he’s a traditionalist. This is how Riku acquires the power of waking. He becomes a true Master.

Speaking of the KH BbS secret cutscene, Ansem the Wise says that he hid his research results in Sora. This complies with what happens in KH Re:coded when Namine says DiZ (Ansem the Wise) has hid something inside Sora. Is that mystery remaining unsolved?

Nomura: Yes. Namine added data to the Jiminy Journal in order to convey that the “pain” of those connected to Sora must be healed, but at the point in time Ansem hid the research results inside Sora, he didn’t know that. Accordingly, Ansem’s research results will become the key to healing the “pain” in the future of the story.

But Sora doesn’t become a true Master. So there had to be a way for a non-Master to use this power. Ansem’s research was said to be the “key” to healing the future pain of the story. Nomura mentioned this many times, so it was clearly supposed to be very important. He said it was supposed to explain the way to bring back lost hearts. Yet that isn’t what it was revealed to be in KH3. At all.

"Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the ‘tyranny of light’ to restore equilibrium.

In an effort to undermine Xehanort’s plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the “Key to Return Hearts,” while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders.”

—Kingdom Hearts III press release (2013)

An initial press release even mentions something called the “Key to Return Hearts”. Where did that idea go? My conclusion is that Ansem’s research data got badly retconned and the importance of the power of waking was drastically minimized from what it was originally intended to be. Yen Sid implied that Terra, Aqua, and Ven were all in the Realm of Sleep. This power would be necessary to arouse them from their slumber. But the power of waking really wasn’t even used on most of them in KH3, leading to a very confusing story for many people, myself included. 

The importance of the power of waking even influenced the Disney world choices. Hercules rescued Meg from the Underworld due to his love for her. Rapunzel brings back Eugene with her light. Elsa’s love for Anna saves her from being frozen solid. Baymax is restored due to his bond with Hiro, etc. These characters are all using the power of waking. These Disney worlds were supposed to have an enormous relevance to the main story. It’s honestly mind-boggling that they still wound up feeling like filler, despite how thematically tied they are to the main plot.

I think the decision to minimize and alter the usage of the power of waking is the very reason everyone seemed to get “jobbed” in KH3. This was a major complaint I’ve seen everywhere. Everyone is constantly getting their ass kicked. My theory: There are countless scenes of characters getting knocked unconscious because that was when they were originally supposed to be using the power of waking. These “dive-into-the-heart” scenes would have been used for character development, and strengthening the relationships between the characters. 

At the end of 0.2 Aqua descended into an all-black realm. I think originally, that was the moment she went to the Realm of Sleep. That’s what the totally black background seems to represent in general. Unconsciousness. She can’t take the trauma of almost being saved, then watching that chance slip out of her grasp. 

When Sora finally arrives to save her, the scenes are almost identical. Sora would then have to use the power of waking on her. Since Ven’s heart is inside of him, he would be able to do this, not realizing exactly how he did it, though.

I even think King Mickey was going to use the power of waking on Riku at some point in the story. The blackness looks identical to the Realm of Sleep. Perhaps Riku’s trauma is due to the darkness inside of him being part-Terra all along. This realization would make Riku feel pretty terrible and guilty for rejecting it.

Then I think Riku would have to use it on Mickey, after he is defeated by Aqua. Mickey’s trauma would be the tremendous guilt he has over feeling like he abandoned his friends in the darkness for so long. Then Riku would be the one to be his light, just as Mickey was for him in Castle Oblivion. This would have allowed for much deeper development to their relationship, which has been a major focus since CoM.

We already know that Ven has been in the Realm of Sleep since the end of BBS. And again, the all-black background is there. Somebody would need to dive into his inner self and finally awaken him.

That’s exactly what I think Aqua was going to attempt. Sora still doesn’t know how this power works, so he can’t just give Ven back his sleeping heart. Aqua has a close heart connection with Ven, so she tries to awaken him. Then Vanitas arrives. There’s a force-field around Ven’s chamber, so it would take a while to break through. Aqua’s unconscious and helpless, since she’s in the astral realms. Ven’s heart awakens just in time to save her. The scene is similar to the one in BBS, when Ven is frozen solid and Aqua is about to be killed.

Terra would have headed straight to the Realm of Sleep if Aqua didn’t save him the first time. I’m sure that by KH3, he was back there again---especially after becoming one of the 13 Seekers of Darkness. That’s just too traumatic.

When I first saw the scene where Sora freed Terra’s heart, it immediately aroused my suspicions. It was way too quick and easy. I think Ven was originally going to be the one to use the power of waking on Terra. I don’t think anyone else was going to be unconscious during that scene. I think many scenes were rearranged in the final version of the story.

That’s why when Terra wakes up, he immediately rushes straight to Ven. Not because he doesn’t care about Aqua; because Ven was just inside of his heart with him and now he’s the only one unconscious upon Terra’s revival. And that’s why he is crying when he tells Ven that he found him, just like he promised. He used the power of waking on him and found him in the deepest abyss. Their friendship would come full-circle after Terra told Ven he knew he’d be there when he really needed him. Ven would be the one to save his friend, not Sora.

These scenes of everyone out cold are SO similar to the end of KH3D, where Riku is out cold after he dove inside of Sora’s heart. Everyone is huddled around him, worried. Donald is out cold, too. Maybe he was supposed to use the power of waking on Yen Sid or something? Or maybe he went to the Realm of Sleep, after the trauma of using Zetta Flare.

I have absolutely no doubt that after getting kidnapped, mutilated, tortured, and possessed by Xehanort, Isa would have been in the Realm of Sleep along with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He’s been there ever since. So Lea would have to use the power of waking on his waifu Isa. To me, it seemed like Isa was created for that very purpose. To give Lea an extremely personal reason to be a Guardian of Light---to give him someone special to use the power of waking on, in order to make his story more emotionally gratifying. Kairi would try to protect him while he’s out cold, searching for his friend in the astral realms, and this would strengthen their friendship, too. 

If they had stuck with mind control plot, Isa wouldn’t have been a Nobody at the point he’s revived. When he was re-completed, his heart was still captured by Xehanort, so his body was just an empty shell. They didn’t need to make him a Nobody to use him as a vessel. So, instead of disappearing into darkness, he and Lea would probably just share a moment where Isa wakes up in Lea’s arms, somewhat similar to KH3. However, I think we missed out on a pretty great scene of Isa opening his eyes for the first time, showing they are green again. But my point is, all the scenes of everyone unconscious were supposed to be at the very end of the final battle---after Saix and Terranort are defeated, but before the Xehanorts are defeated.

The press release for KINGDOM HEARTS III unveiled by Square Enix discusses the search for the “Key to Return Hearts.” Is there anything you can tell us about that?

Nomura : There are two possible meanings of the “key.” One of which is the “hardware” key, which opens doors - this is what keys are in general (laughs), and the other is the “light” key, that opens something else. In this case, it is currently unknown as to which type of key Sora must find. This is the main storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS III - Sora must go on an adventure to find the “key” without knowing what or where it is. But as you know, we can’t really say anything else on the subject (laughs).

This is the response Nomura gave in 2013, after that initial press release came out. Sometime after this interview, the story was changed quite a bit. There was absolutely no mention of a “Key to Return Hearts” in the final version of the story, and Ansem’s research data had a negligible impact on the story. In the original version of KH3′s plot, Sora clearly didn’t “get” whatever message Ansem’s research was meant to show him. He isn’t sure what kind of ”key” he is supposed to be looking for, and would spend the whole game looking for it. Is it a Keyblade or...something else?

That’s quite different than what actually happens in the final game, where nobody acts like they have the slightest clue what they’re trying to accomplish. Nomura clearly hinted that the key was a “light” key. The light would open the door to “something else” and this would be the key that would show how to restore lost hearts and heal the “pain” of the characters.

It only makes sense that ALL the Guardians of Light would use this power in the story. It’s literally the power of light. That’s their entire purpose as guardians. This is what the Reiki weapons that Saix had were all about. As a Guardian of Light, you can use your OWN inner light, your aura, for healing purposes. To bring back a person from their sleep and to heal their pain. You don’t need to be some kind of official master. It’s not about a title. It’s about your heart’s connection with the person. Anyone can become someone else’s Dream Eater.

Sora uses this power on everyone during the final battle. I think that everyone getting wiped out was always a part of the story. But Sora saves them, proving that you DON’T need to be a true master to use the power of waking. Then Kairi saves Sora. Kairi is NOT a Keyblade Master. I think Kairi was supposed to be the real hero who saves Sora with her pure light after he uses (or abuses) the power of waking on everyone else. While looking to rescue her, she actually rescues him. That would be a total reversal of her position as a damsel in distress. That’s what makes the most sense to me.

A gold aura signifies divine protection and enlightenment. When you radiate this color aura, it means that you have achieved something that not a lot of people can. The color of enlightenment. It says that the person is being guided by their highest good, and they radiate and glow with the gold energy. Those with a gold aura are able to radiate energy to heal others. 

Mr. Nomura, since you are the one that is writing the scenario this time, how is the progress coming along?

Nomura: Since we are arriving near the conclusion of Xehanort in KINGDOM HEARTS III, the outline of the story has been solidified but not necessarily the direction where the KINGDOM HEARTS series is continuing to head. We are still trying to decide where to go from several choices.

Even when this interview was given in 2015, they didn’t know quite where the story was heading in the future. But the basic plot for KH3 was thought of loooooong before 2015. All of the changes to the plot and the butchering of character arcs came later. I’m not convinced that the time travel shenanigans in The Keyblade Graveyard were originally a part of the story. I think that was probably thought up later as a way to introduce us to the concept of time paradoxes and such. 

Then the story could “seamlessly” switch over to the time-travelling Foreteller arc stuff and its original characters. Like our good friend “Subject X”. Lea and Isa’s story was butchered altered to accommodate Skuld existing in the current timeline. She wasn’t always supposed to be there, so she needed to take Isa’s place in the story. I suspect it’s the same with Kairi getting killed and Sora disappearing. It’s all just a way to focus on the Foretellers after the Xehanort arc got butchered. Just a hunch.