Kingdom Hearts III Pre-Release Spoiler Discussion Thread

[Perkilator]

He's not been silent at all, they just answered questions an hour ago. Which thread are you looking at?

Nothing in particular. What’s he posted recently?

 

[*TwilightNight*]

Spoiler Show

Well, I think it's a great opening if you're a fan of SoKai and enjoy the idea of every character who isn't Sora getting cheated of a meaningful part to play. Otherwise, it does nothing other OPs haven't done better for previous games. Its transitions are also not great: it has too many competing motifs between the chessboard, the trios, and the SoraxKairi elements such that none are really effective in communicating an emotional story. The chessboard represents a conflict which is premised as being centered around the trios at the start of the OP, but then Sora is the only protagonist ever depicted as an actor in the events that follow, with Kairi appearing intermittently for reasons that aren't really clear in context with the rest of the material. Although it's my favorite part, there's no reason the other trio characters are shown facing the light, because they don't take part in anything that happens after that. The last shot of Sora's chess piece indicates that it's the last one standing, even though it was shown just moments before with Kairi's, which undermines the romantic throughline. And then it's all implied to retroactively represent some sort of "connection" between Young Xehanort and Sora that leaves us with nothing to make sense of the story as it played out over the course of the OP. And the group shot ultimately feels tagged on, like a second thought, when that should have been the centerpiece of the whole montage. It doesn't build, or crescendo, it just flags along through a continual regression of the ensemble iconography of the series. Sora meeting Kairi alone on DI after defeating Xemnas alone in the obligatory fight sequence should honestly make any fan of the series cringe.

Here's one way to fix it:
Make some actual use of the "3D chess" trope. Integrate the homeworld settings and place every character with their respective trio intentionally on the board, and utilize that space imaginatively. YX's moves reflect the direct progression of his antagonism throughout the series with the full range of villains: Xigbar, Larxene, whoever's relevant to KH3. Depict the struggles on the part of the protagonists as interlinked and give them the full weight they deserve. Sora falling through the board and Kairi's connection with him as his light was good, but follow that up with him re-entering the board alongside Riku and moving through a symbolic rendition of their arc in DDD. Sora's "blast of light" should have returned all of the heroes to the board, and the final shot of it (from YX's perspective) would have been all of the "light" pieces surrounded by his Darknesses. The camera pans up to reveal Namine, sitting across from him with her sketchbook in hand. She's been taking notes, and she prepares to make her move. The very last image is of the drawing she made of everyone, which transitions into the last group shot in the actual OP before the logo comes in. Ta-dah.

Beautiful.

You explained exactly what's wrong with the OP and why I found it underwhelming. And easily added Naminè in, though it implies she's siding with Xehanort. Or connected to him too. Ambiguous enough.

Funny how she gets her own teeny pic in the Character Archives in Dengeki and they're using her art for merch, but don't bother to show her in trailers and the OP 😒.

Naminè to Nomura:

 

[UltimaXOmega]

The Tangled Keyblade's ability is Leaf Bracer.

 

[Leaferian]

Oh hey, it does. The Hercules keyblade has Defender, and Kingdom Key has Treasure Magnet. Also, I just noticed that for some reason, the Shooting Star keyblade has a different item icon in the equip list than the other three.

 

[Hirokey123]

Where are you seeing this? I don't see a new video posted on reddit or twitter showing that.

I want to agree, but he’s already dead confirmed that Aqua isn’t a Nort, so he’s definitely picking and choosing here lol

Spoiler Show

I don't think he did honestly, he said Aqua never is "norted" but like the fact they bothered to put that into quotes along with the general tone of the post makes me think he was doing double speak. Like maybe Aqua gets infected with a piece of Xehanort but she never actually becomes him and never joins him, managing to resist it, and the Aqua we see being fought isn't real but is actually a battle in her heart against like the manifestation of the Nort piece that was placed in her.

 

[starcharms]

Spoiler Show

Well, I think it's a great opening if you're a fan of SoKai and enjoy the idea of every character who isn't Sora getting cheated of a meaningful part to play. Otherwise, it does nothing other OPs haven't done better for previous games. Its transitions are also not great: it has too many competing motifs between the chessboard, the trios, and the SoraxKairi elements such that none are really effective in communicating an emotional story. The chessboard represents a conflict which is premised as being centered around the trios at the start of the OP, but then Sora is the only protagonist ever depicted as an actor in the events that follow, with Kairi appearing intermittently for reasons that aren't really clear in context with the rest of the material. Although it's my favorite part, there's no reason the other trio characters are shown facing the light, because they don't take part in anything that happens after that. The last shot of Sora's chess piece indicates that it's the last one standing, even though it was shown just moments before with Kairi's, which undermines the romantic throughline. And then it's all implied to retroactively represent some sort of "connection" between Young Xehanort and Sora that leaves us with nothing to make sense of the story as it played out over the course of the OP. And the group shot ultimately feels tagged on, like a second thought, when that should have been the centerpiece of the whole montage. It doesn't build, or crescendo, it just flags along through a continual regression of the ensemble iconography of the series. Sora meeting Kairi alone on DI after defeating Xemnas alone in the obligatory fight sequence should honestly make any fan of the series cringe.

Here's one way to fix it:
Make some actual use of the "3D chess" trope. Integrate the homeworld settings and place every character with their respective trio intentionally on the board, and utilize that space imaginatively. YX's moves reflect the direct progression of his antagonism throughout the series with the full range of villains: Xigbar, Larxene, whoever's relevant to KH3. Depict the struggles on the part of the protagonists as interlinked and give them the full weight they deserve. Sora falling through the board and Kairi's connection with him as his light was good, but follow that up with him re-entering the board alongside Riku and moving through a symbolic rendition of their arc in DDD. Sora's "blast of light" should have returned all of the heroes to the board, and the final shot of it (from YX's perspective) would have been all of the "light" pieces surrounded by his Darknesses. The camera pans up to reveal Namine, sitting across from him with her sketchbook in hand. She's been taking notes, and she prepares to make her move. The very last image is of the drawing she made of everyone, which transitions into the last group shot in the actual OP before the logo comes in. Ta-dah.

Thank you! I made an account just to come on here and complain about the opening, lmao, and you encapsulated it perfectly.

Spoiler Show

The chess pieces and the song had so much potential, but the actual opening is so...underwhelming. It doesn't sync with the music even half as well as it did in the trailer, and despite how gorgeous the models are, it's really just...not that special compared to the other openings (but then again, can anything beat KH2?). I know that being a recap isn't its sole purpose, but doing things like ignoring DDD and other games, portraying past events incorrectly (like you said, Sora fighting Xemnas and returning to DI alone), and having nothing to reference CoM but a Marluxia fight...yikes.

My main concern is Namine. Her being completely absent from the opening without even a reference makes me really nervous; I feel like she's either going to be irrelevant or so big of a spoiler that they want us to forget she exists (hopefully the latter). But I love your idea and really wish they could have at least incorporated her sketchbook in somehow! I was also a little put off at the lack of Riku. Not that he doesn't have enough screentime already, but he is like, the second main character. Vanitas was MIA too.
I am glad to see more Kairi, even if it does feel a little like "hey, look! they're standing next to each other multiple times! we're making up for the development of a relationship we've failed to portray believably for the past 16 years!" bleh, I just hope she has some agency in the game and her entire arc doesn't revolve around Sora.

I'm honestly glad I caved and watched the opening early so I have time to go through the five stages of grief due to the lack of Namine before KH3 actually comes out. Was so looking forward to seeing her in the new graphics!!!

 

[Leaferian]

Where are you seeing this? I don't see a new video posted on reddit or twitter showing that.

On the reddit, in the thread titled "Other Stuff". The video starts at the end of the opening cutscene for Toy Story, and the guy is briefly in the menu and switches out Hero's Origin (Hercules Keyblade) for Ever After (Tangled). You can also see he has an "Ability Ring+" equipped in his accessory slot.

 

[Hirokey123]

On the reddit, in the thread titled "Other Stuff". The video starts at the end of the opening cutscene for Toy Story, and the guy is briefly in the menu and switches out Hero's Origin (Hercules Keyblade) for Ever After (Tangled). You can also see he has an "Ability Ring+" equipped in his accessory slot.

Thank you!

Hrm looking over that menu I'm getting DDD Flashbacks with those stats and icons and as much as I love DDD they are...not good flashbacks. I hope there isn't a lot of min maxing in this game, it's find for the handhelds but for a console I just want a simpler quicker experience.

 

[alexis.anagram]

@ *TwilightNight*

Yeah, having watched it now multiple times, I do think it's perhaps the weakest Visual Works opening in the series. Even BBS, which feels fairly pedestrian and at times disjointed, had the benefit of introducing new characters and plotlines. This one doesn't even succeed at the one thing it would have been good for in adhering to its own set up: bringing all of the existing main characters together in a gratifying fashion. It doesn't succeed as a recap given that it focuses entirely on Sora's actions. It doesn't succeed as a shipper AMV given the degree to which Kairi's contribution is contained and how she's promptly disappeared at the end. It's not expansive or breathtaking the way that KH2 and 0.2's openings (the best in the series imo) are, and it doesn't display the level of imagination, intrigue and thematic coherency that KH1's opening did.

@ starcharms

Welcome to the forums! I think that Namine will have a role to play in the game, but the fact remains that the opening doesn't do justice to a lot of the aspects of the series which it should have been a celebration of: it feels more like the opening to a middle installment such as DDD or Re:Coded where there was going to be a focus on some specific character arcs that would tie into the bigger picture. It definitely doesn't seem like a proper representation of the breadth of what KH3 should have to offer.

Personally, I don't like the chess motif (in any context in the series) and the fact that this opening doesn't use a sleeping/waking theme like KH1 and 2 is a big mark against it right from the get-go. But even then, the chess symbolism seems to be obligatory and shallow when there are ways to actually fold it into the broader structure of the game. I mean, if we look at KH3 as a whole, it doesn't really have any resonance with the world selection that we know of, Disney or otherwise, or with the gameplay, or with the way any of the characters think or behave, or with anything other than a cheesy hackneyed way of inferring that Xehanort is a "master tactician" who has been "making plans" and "manipulating events" because he's smart and smart people play chess.

I mean FFS they could have at least used cards, those were already established as a relevant part of the fantasy scenarios in CoM and X[chi].

 

[CaliCubano]

Hey all, been reading this board since the leaks came out. Can someone PM me the subreddit this info is coming from?

 

[starcharms]

@alexis.anagram
Thanks!! I totally agree though. I think most of us expected way more from the opening to the conclusion of a saga that's been running for nearly 17 years now. Funny how the opening to 0.2 which was only a few hours long was like 5x better lol. Now that you mention it, I miss the sleep/wake motif too. Is it really KH without a closeup of comatose Sora falling endlessly?

Cards would have been cool, though! I think at this point they'd be better off nixing the chess thing altogether and instead spending that time giving an actual decent recap. Watching it again it looks like they spent the first half on BBS, KH1, and Days then just said screw the rest of the games. oof

In other news the leaker is back at it and has arrived in Arendelle. I'm so jealous of this guy :c

 

[notnow123487]

He just posted a three and a half minute video running through twilight town. I am not watching that it’s way too much for me. I can handle a ten second gameplay clip that shows nothing, but this is too much.

This has been fun, but it’s starting to push the envelope for me as we near endgame. I’m afraid important stuff is going to slip out. Why is this happening over a month early.

 

[Seighart]

Awesome. So we have to take pictures of the hidden mickey's. That's awesome! Twilight Town looks great.

 

[UltimaXOmega]

It's half as big as KHII. Wtf. At least Water Magic looks nice.

 

[Chaser]

It's half as big as KHII. Wtf. At least Water Magic looks nice.

I beg of you, please do not play Kingdom Hearts III because you will do nothing but be upset the whole time you play and no one should put themselves through 40+ hours of crushing disappointment.

 

[notnow123487]

Most of their time has been spent doing side stuff so take the 24 hours with a grain of salt:

[FONT=&quot]Pointing out our time has really been spending it hunting for the collectibles. Worlds aren’t too long but there’s so much stuff to do. It’s probably short if you rush through the story but again I can’t really say. We’re taking our time. We’ve got a whole month. Relax and enjoy[/FONT]

 

[Chaser]

Most of their time has been spent doing side stuff so take the 24 hours with a grain of salt:

It was the same way with KH1 and 2. You could get lost in them your first time playing through, getting side tracked with side content and looking at the beauty of the world, but when it came to the actual world story it was quite short.

Nevertheless, with Twilight Town being actually bigger and with how much content we know has been stuffed into worlds like Olympus and Toy Box, I imagine my play time will be something similar.

 

[notnow123487]

It was the same way with KH1 and 2. You could get lost in them your first time playing through, getting side tracked with side content and looking at the beauty of the world, but when it came to the actual world story it was quite short.

Nevertheless, with Twilight Town being actually bigger and with how much content we know has been stuffed into worlds like Olympus and Toy Box, I imagine my play time will be something similar.

I agree mine will be as well, especially the first time through. Just want everyone to keep their expectations in check. People earlier were using the 24 hours as evidence that their must be more worlds when that clearly doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

[UltimaXOmega]

Not seeing it being bigger. It's the same as KHII with the train areas cut off.

 

[notnow123487]

I just watched the first fifteen seconds and oh man the lines on every single wall in the game is terrible! That’s definitely going to get beaten to death in reviews. That’s going to be the first thing to be fixed with a hotfix to turn it off.