#kh4 spoilers

[lightandfellowship]

Reasons why I want Young Xehanort to show up in Quadratum in KH4: he and Strelitzia can bond over their strange, shared experiences. And Strelitzia can finally meet Player in spirit by befriending their adopted grandson.

[phoenix-downer]

KH4 First Trailer

This is the first KH4-related translation post I've done (nearly two years late ;lakjsdf my how the time flies), and hopefully there will be many more to come. I'll be focusing on the dialogue and text in the trailer and not so much on the camera angles, character expressions, etc. this time around just because I want to keep the focus on the translations.

Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:

JP: Official Japanese Dialogue

EN: Official English Dialogue

TR: My Translation (usually more literal and thus more stilted than the official English version. I’m not using natural-sounding English in order to stick as close to the Japanese versions of the lines as possible for the purpose of analysis)

Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.

One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.

With that in mind, let’s continue.

JP 自分が望む結末ではなかったと絶望するのならー

EN If this isn't the ending you desired—if it brings you despair—

TR If (this) wasn't the ending you hoped for—if (you) feel despair—

Notes: Sigurd is apparently the character saying these next few lines.

The word for "ending" here, ketsumatsu, is an interesting word choice. It is often used in the context of stories (though it also has other uses), which fits really well with how KH4 will play around with the concept of reality vs. unreality. So on a meta level it's like, "If you didn't like how KH3 ended, if you didn't like how Sora ended up, then help him escape Quadratum."

Also, the word the official English version translates as "desired," nozomu, can mean "desire, want, wish for, hope for," and it's an antonym of zetsubō, the word translated "despair." So there's this nice poetic contrast going on between hope and despair in this bit in the Japanese version.

JP 他の世界に退場すればいい

EN then leave this world for another

TR —(then you) should leave for another world.

Notes: This particular word for "leave," taijō, can be used for leaving venues, stadiums, parking lots, rooms, sports games, etc. It can also be used for actors exiting the stage. Take a look at definition #1, which translated states, "Leaving venues, stadiums etc." and #2, which translated states, "Actors etc. leaving the stage" (Source):

I thought that was really interesting, because using a word with these specific connotations makes me wonder if this is more of that meta commentary, this time about how we should direct Sora the character to leave Quadratum if we so desire. Sure, the general sense of "leave" or "exit" is the main meaning here, but I always get so intrigued by word choice and all the connotations a word has.

Also, the phrasing isn't exactly the same, but there is a euphemism in Japanese for the place your soul goes when you die, takai, that uses the same kanji as hoka no sekai that we see in "another world" here, it just uses the onyomi pronunciation instead of the kunyomi pronunciation for "another" hoka/tai and has no no particle.

Googling hoka no sekai brought up a lot of images about parallel worlds and the isekai genre, so that's probably the most accurate connotation given Sora's world traveling adventures thus far, but I still thought that was an interesting tidbit, even if it's a complete reach on my end. Like sure Sora can go to other worlds, but he's still dead, so he's still going to more places where he's dead and can't go home where he'd be fully alive.

JP 選択肢は無限にあるはずだー

EN Your options are endless.

TR (Your) options/choices should be endless/limitless—

Notes: I really like how the English version contrasts "ending" with "endless." You don't like the ending Sora got in KH3? Your options for taking him to other worlds are "endless." The Japanese version has this interesting tidbit too where the speaker conveys an expectation. He says hazu, which means "expected," "should be," "must be." So he expects Sora's options are endless, but it has a slightly different nuance than if he'd just said they are endless.

JP 心は魂に宿り　魂は運命によって在るべき場所へ導かれる

EN The heart resides within the soul which in turn is guided by fate to its rightful place

TR (The) heart dwells in (the) soul, (and the) soul is guided by fate to its rightful place (lit. the place it should be).

Notes: There's not really any difference between the official English version and my translation. It's just interesting to break it down. For whatever reason the "rightful place" of the soul has the verb of existence for inanimate objects (aru) instead of the one for animate objects (iru). Not sure if that's a set phrase or if the soul in this context would be considered an inanimate object (time to go down a rabbithole about animacy in Japanese).

This bit also kinda reminded me of how Xehanort talked in KH3 when he was recounting the cycle of light and darkness. The language has a very "mythological"/storytelling feel to me, which makes sense given whoever is saying these lines is talking about fate, destiny, the nature of the universe, etc. And then the floating text in the darkness also reminds me of the Dive into the Heart sequences with the disembodied voice as well, so it could also be a reference to that.

JP 選択は再び委ねられる

EN The choice is yours once more.

TR (The) choice is left (to you) once more./(The) choice is entrusted (to you) once more.

Notes: Once again, this bit of text seems very meta. It feels like it's addressed to the fans, given how we're the ones who will be controlling Sora in KH4. And of course the image shows his chess piece with his crown symbol on it, so the implication is that Sora's heart will be the one guiding him once more, and his heart will be guided by fate.

JP あなたはこの世界に来て7日間　ずっと眠っていたの

EN You've been asleep since you arrived in this world seven days ago.

TR You came to this world seven days ago (and you)'ve been sleeping (the) whole time.

Notes: I don't love my translation because nanokakan more literally means "a period of seven days," but yeah I think I get the gist across.

Strelitzia refers to Sora as anata here when the norm is to refer to other people by their names in Japanese, even when addressing them directly, so either she doesn't know his name yet or she's being very polite, almost distant. She also ends her declaration with no, likely to indicate she's offering more of an explanation (it also makes her sound pretty cute and feminine).

Also, as I'm going through this trailer again, I'm reminded that Sora doesn't talk at all. He has the battle grunts during his fight against the Darkside, but he doesn't have any dialogue. I just thought that was interesting, because Xehanort commented on Sora not having a voice in Melody of Memory as well. Somehow that also told Xehanort where Sora's heart is located (foreshadowing for this game I suppose). I wonder if Sora will be similarly voiceless at first in KH4 or if he just is for this trailer for dramatic effect because Nomura knows everyone wants to hear him speak.

And then of course I have to mention the significance of Sora being asleep in Quadratum for seven days. Seven has a lot of significance in the KH universe, given how there are seven guardians of light. Seven is also the length of a week, and it's a number that has connotations of wholeness and completion in certain cultures.

JP ここは クァッドラトゥムー

EN This is Quadratum—

TR (This is) Quadratum—

Notes: Not really anything to note here other than the gorgeous graphics, how Sora doesn't look at all like his usual cheerful self (no smile to be found), and the colors in Quadratum seem very warm/brown/earth tones/"real" and not super bright and colorful like in the "main" KH universe.

JP 生者の世界ではあるけれどー

EN It's a world full of life—

TR (It's) a world of living people/the living but—

Notes: Seija is translated as "full of life" in the official English version, but it more literally means "living people" or "the living." So Strelitzia is pointing out that all around them are living people and yet, for her and Sora, it's still a world of death because she and Sora should be dead.

JP 私たちにとっては“死の世界”ってことになるみたい

EN but for you and I, it's similar to an "afterworld," I suppose.

TR —for us, (it) seems like it's "a world of death."

Notes: This is where I wish the English version was closer to the Japanese version. "World of death" or "world of the dead" would've been a closer translation, and I'm not sure why it wasn't used (perhaps to avoid mentioning the dreaded "d" word). I do like the pun-like quality of "afterworld," combining "afterlife" and the oft-used-in-the-KH-universe "world," and since the translators have access to information I don't about the game's lore, I can't say whether crucial lore has been lost in translation, but I wanted to point out the difference here.

Also, the grammar pattern Strelitzia uses here, koto ni naru, indicates something that's outside of her and Sora's control. This being an afterlife of sorts for the two of them was decided by factors beyond their control, in other words. She also uses mitai to indicate her speculation/observation.

JP だがー

EN However—

TR However—

Notes: This is back to Sigurd speaking, and very ominously so.

JP 一度退場すれば元の世界に戻れると思うなー

EN if you do leave this world behind, don't expect to return to the one from which you came—

TR —once (you) leave, don't think (you) can go back to (your) original world—

Notes: This ends on a rather ominous note. Again the word taijō is used here for "leave" much like earlier in the trailer. I remember this dialogue when I first watched this trailer because it was such a wham line. What do you mean Sora can't go home? He can go to other worlds but he can't go home? What will it take to bring him home then? Something pretty drastic from the sounds of it.

Also, I like the formal wording of the official English version. Sigurd sounds like he's from a different time.

Then of course this next bit cuts to Donald and Goofy, searching for ways to find Sora presumably:

JP どこにいるんだろう？

EN I wonder where he is.

TR (I) wonder where (he) is.

Notes: Nothing really to talk about, just that the "I" and "he" is implied in Japanese (Japanese tends to drop pronouns in places they would be required in English because there's enough info provided by context, verb conjugations, etc. to figure out who the speaker is talking about).

JP 手がかり見つかるといいね

EN I don't know, but I sure hope he can help.

TR I hope (we) can find (a) clue.

Notes: A bit of a difference here, Goofy is focused more on finding a clue in Japanese whereas in English he's hoping "he" (Hades, presumably) can help.

JP おい

EN Hey!

TR Hey!

Notes: Hades' Japanese VA has a very distinctive voice, and so right from this word you know it's him a;lsdkjf and he's as snarky and blunt as ever lol.

JP どこへ行くんだ

EN Just where do you think you're going?

TR (Just) where (do you think you)'re going?

Notes: I love the sass and snark of the English translation, and it captures the vibes of the Japanese version well (Hades uses ~nda at the end of the sentence to indicate he wants more information out of them). They found Hades, but now they'll actually have to deal with Hades...

And that's what I have for now! I am curious about what promo material will be released next and what new tidbits we'll have to speculate on. Fingers crossed we get more info around the anniversary this year!

The Japanese trailer is here.

The English trailer is here.

[endlessskymaster]

In the next KH game, Sora has no idea that Riku is on his way to Quadratum to save him 😢

[snowwpines]

the heart resides within the soul, which in turn is guided by fate to its rightful place.

the choice is yours once more.

[roxtron]

soo now that I'm getting back into KH I'm thinking about the KH4 trailer again, and specifically these two.

It's just so interesting to me that they wouldn't reveal their identities. Like, most people assume it's Luxu and MoM, so if it was, what's the harm in stating the obvious? While it could be those two, I have to wonder if their identities were hidden for a different reason, a connection between those two and Yozora. What if he's one of the two cloaked figures? I dunno if I'm the first person to say this, probably not, but with the way Yozora talked about his past in Re:Mind I feel like they have to be connected in some way. I feel like either Luxu or MoM was manipulating him to do whatever 'trials' he went through. That, and being told to "Save Sora" is a really interesting instruction for him to be given if it was connected to MoM. While there's no solid confirmation Sora and MoM are either connected or one in the same, there's definitely been quite a bit of evidence pointing towards it. Whether they're the same person or not, him taking an interest in Sora is still pretty.. well, interesting to think about, lol. I guess I don't have as much to say as I thought I would, considering the little scraps we've been given there's not a lot to go off of.. but I feel like it's pretty likely Yozora is working with them, whether he'll end up an ally or an enemy is still a bit confusing, but I feel like when we see him again he'll probably be with one of those two. It'll also be interesting to see which, if any other characters, make a return. At first it seemed like unique circumstances, but with the official art of Xehanort showing what seems to be a connection to Quadratum, and if I remember correctly, interviews saying he may still be in the series even after the events of KH3, it leads me to question exactly what circumstances allow someone to end up here. Some people have questioned if Vanitas or other characters could come back, and honestly that'd be really cool, it'd be nice if Vanitas got more screentime/character development in the games, especially considering what's written about him in the books. I dunno! I initially wanted to just mention Yozora's potential connection but I guess it turned more into rambling in general about the possibilities for KH4 lol

[keykidpilipili]

Okay but it would be extremely funny if Riku and Kairi went committing nature taboos to try and get into Quadratum.

Like Axel's Guide to Getting Evicted by the Universe

[storm-driver]

yknow what would be a twist.

yknow how we're all speculating that Sora has Vanitas with him in Quadratum

what if Roxas was the one who had Vanitas.

what if that's why he can dual-wield in kh3.

[sir-cookieton]

Earlier I was watching the Dark Road scene where Xehanort gets the coat off MoM, and I just had a thought-

What if, standing next to the Master here in the KH4 trailer, isn’t Luxu (like I’ve been assuming, not sure about everyone else) but Xehanort? Since at the end of KH3 Xehanort ‘died’ it would make sense that he’d end up in Quadratum, right? Not to mention, I’m pretty sure Luxu will still be in the same ‘reality’ that we’ve been in the entire time with the foretellers. Also, I’m almost certain we’re not done with Xehanort. We’re probably done with him in the antagonist sense, but as a character? We have a lot more to see of him.

(I apologise these are very incoherent thoughts that someone could probably disprove in like 30 seconds but I just wanted to put this out here before I forgot)

[ryanthel0ser]

I was doing mostly fine, going insane over Kingdom Hearts but like my normal amount of insane right, like my average amount of fixation insane that causes me to yap and scream and laugh yadda yadda

but the moment I see Shibuya and "Dylan Sprouse" I have a full on mental break

[flovey-dovey]

KH4 spoilers below the cut. You have been warned. Beware.

They all go to Disneyland afterwards.

[kirbythemenace]

This is a kh4 leak, I'm Square Enix

Oh.

Part 3 shitpost

[lightandfellowship]

Please Consider Him (my attempt at a Quadratum Vidar).

Design notes under the read more:

There were multiple elements of Vidar's original design that I wanted to maintain for his Quadratum look: his blue/yellow/black/beige color scheme, his black turtleneck, his asymmetrical top, and his partially uncovered arms. I felt these elements were essential to properly capturing Vidar's vibe, and changing or removing them would make him feel...well, less like Vidar.

For his top, I knew I wanted to simulate the asymmetrical jacket, where one side was longer than the other, and also give him something with a collar since his jacket kinda has a collar, so I thought a half-untucked button-down would do the job nicely. I didn't really want to give Vidar a typical coat or anything long-sleeved, even though that would be a natural route to take given his original jacket, because again, like I said, I wanted some part of his arms to be uncovered. So I made his button-down have rolled up sleeves that are secured in place by a button. I copied the beige lining design from his original jacket, of course, along with the square design on his shoulders, only facing out instead of in so that his collar doesn't overlap it.

I originally considered turning Vidar's sash chain into a pocket chain, since that seems like the most obvious way to translate it into a more modern accessory, but I decided not to for two reasons. One, Baldr's design already features a pocket chain, and I didn't want to pull from other characters' designs. And two, I thought it might conflict with the untucked shirt, making that area of the design too busy. So I decided to turn it into a necklace instead. I also gave Vidar matching earrings, but I mostly just did that for style, not for any specific design reason.

I was really torn about what to do with Vidar's yellow sash. Some options I considered were a yellow buckled belt or a yellow jacket tied around his waist, but I felt like these fashion choices would be too loud for Vidar's personality (idk, that amount of yellow looks fine for Vidar's more traditional clothing, but modern fashion in bright yellow just doesn't feel right for him). I eventually settled on turning the sash into a cloth bracelet. It maintains the knotted cloth look while also being more understated, just a small pop of color on his wrist. I paired it with a beaded bracelet that matches his necklace, and a plain black bracelet on the opposite wrist to resemble his original right glove design. I also noticed that Vidar has some white cloth wrappings underneath his left glove, and even though they're probably not meant to be bandages, I took inspiration from that regardless and gave him a little bandaid on his elbow.

I decided to translate the black obi underneath his yellow sash into a black buckled belt. His original left glove also has studding on the top edge, so I gave this belt some studs as well. I think it helps it to stand out from the black pants better, since they're so similar in hue/value. (Tangent--apologies for not adding belt loops to his pants, I couldn't get it to look right. So his belt is just kinda suspended there without anything securing it in place. Oh well.) I also let him keep the fingerless gloves from his original design but just made them shorter so that they'd be more practical to everyday living. And also so that there's more room for his bracelets.

His pants are basically the same, I just made them a little less poofy, for that jeans-tucked-into-boots look (even though these pants probably aren't jeans). And I wasn't really sure what to do with his boots (shoe design is an enigma to me), so I just took the belts from his gloves and put them on his boots to make them look a bit more interesting.

So yeah! That was my thought process for this design.

[minijenn]

Motherfucker really came out here wielding a goddamn Keyblade huh?

[endlessskymaster]

When Sora arrived in Quadratum, he'd been asleep for 7 days, and in Sora and Strelitzia's reality, an entire year had passed.

[snowwpines]

WHAT THE SCALLOP!

[cultureosmosisenjoyer]

Okay so I was watching the kh3 post credit scene of the foretellers (as those starved of kh4 news do) and something occurred to me. As we see, the fore foretellers just appear in present without an explanation. We never see them after our player fights them during the war until this point, so we aren’t sure if they survived the war or worlds destruction or whatever else that’ll retroactively happen in 3 games from now. Regardless, they somehow got to the present and are alive.

They’ll definitely give us the rundown for how this happen when we get back to them, but the answer may of already been given to us by union cross. It may also explain why Ava didn’t show up for the foreteller reunion.

M.o.M provided the means for all 5 of them to time travel.

Now as we know, you need three things to M.o.M method of zero consequence time travel.

1. You need to just be a heart.

2. You need a medium at the destination.

3. You need someone with memories at the destination.

Now let’s start backwards because the last one’s the easiest to answer: Luxu know all of them very well, so we have one requirement met.

But what about the medium? We know it as to be something related to the one time traveling in some way. For M.o.M it’s his blade and for Brain it’s pretty much confirmed to be his hat. So what would it be for the foretellers, and something more glaring is that we don’t see any objects in the scene that could be considered a medium for ANY of the foretellers. So if this is the case, what’s going on?

Well the mediums are there, we just never get to see them because every medium of the foretellers in the box. That’s why Luxu was ordered to hide it, so the foretellers would be able to time travel when the time was right. He’s guarding the method to bring his companions back. It would also explain why Luxu was confused when told what was in it, because an item from each foreteller would seem really random to hide for someone who doesn’t know how time travel works.

But with this idea, we hit a snag: Ava. I doubt the master would just leave or robe or mask or whatever item is actually in the box out, so why didn’t she appear? Well we have a few options, the first starting with the first requirement needed: Being just a heart. With the foretellers being offscreen during the finally keyblade war, we have no idea what actually became of them to meet this requirement. Maybe they’re deaths occurred in such a way where the heart outlasted the body, therefore meeting it. However that’s really lame and Luxu implies in someway he has an idea of what happened to her. Not that she died, but that she had the option to be there, but wasn’t. And the idea I presented doesn’t really do that unless we start really speculating. But the keyblade war is important for this discussion, as it does a certain thing that explains why Luxu had to “keep it hidden” instead of just being told to guard the box it: It’s starts a period of time where once Luxu and the box are together, the foretellers are summoned.

(Now at this point, I’ll be running on an assumption of “Xehanorts version of time travel allows for overlapping selves, while M.o.Ms makes it impossible simply because we have not seen it done with M.o.M method at any point k lets move on.)

When the Foretellers meet there unseen 1st requirement of being a bodiless heart, they now can time travel to any time and place that has the memories and the medium in the same place (for Brain we know Sigurd knew of Brain, and he was carrying his hat. Therefore assuming you appear in the area where both are present seems reasonable. For the Master; since he knows way more than we do I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew a way around that unlike Brain), which would be Luxu and the box. So the moment Luxu dug up wherever he put the box after the keyblade war, the foretellers would appear.

Now this still doesn’t explain Ava. Why wasn’t she present? Well, I think I already have an answer to that: She met the requirements at an earlier point in time. Now how is this possible? Did she have another Medium and person with her memories? No and yes. I believe that the box was the medium again, but who would act as the memories if it wasn’t Luxu? Well who’s the only other person we’ve seen with the box after the keyblade war? Brain. And we’ve been explicitly shown in union cross that him and Ava were friends, they’ve known each other for some time. It would give more reason as to why those two were given an established relationship to begin with, so Brain would be the memory requirements for only herself to time travel.

Speaking of Brain, there are dozens of things that cutscene could imply if this is the case. Maybe the darkness that Luxu fought explained how time travel work that it learned from M.o.M, which let Luxu put the pieces together and that’s why he gave Brain the mission of hiding the box: So he wouldn’t accidentally summon the foretellers to a ruined time.

If this was the case, then Ava appears shortly after Brain takes the box, or it’ll happen when Brain digs up the box in missing link (maybe she survived the war and end of union cross, met up with Luxu, he told her how to time travel, did it and appeared during missing link, and all those “Ava is kairis grandma” theories were right all along). Regardless of when, it would tell us why she isn’t in the present with the other four foretellers.

And those are all my thoughts. If what I said is actually in the box then there’s definitely more in it because it would be a pretty underwhelming reveal with just those. Also another idea that popped into mind is that since most of our known examples of who’s considered the memories part of the requirement are people who know successful time traveler’s on a personal level (fairy’s with maleficent, Luxu with M.o.M), it may be that the actual person who counted as the memories for Brain was actually the player character regaining the memories of their past life or when they washed up and not sigurd just knowing Brain was gonna be there, just food for thought.

Anyway thanks for listening to my kh talk, give me kh4 already Nomura.