News ► KINGDOM HEARTS Dark Road introduces new characters!

[Sephiroth0812]

Terra is the next in the set to be revealed. They didn't have the prototype ready when Aqua and Ven were shown off.

Xion's Bring Arts figure is releasing in August.

The more you know.
Speaking of it WTF is wrong with the Square Enix EU store. They allow me to place a pre-order for Ventus, Roxas and Xion KH III Bring Arts, but not Aqua?
On Riku's figure they have an "sold out" moniker but Aqua isn't even in the store, only the 0.2 Play Arts Kai version.

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

 

[Deleted member 252753]

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

You would expect to pay less for a replica, right? (Sorry)

 

[Sign]

The more you know.
Speaking of it WTF is wrong with the Square Enix EU store. They allow me to place a pre-order for Ventus, Roxas and Xion KH III Bring Arts, but not Aqua?
On Riku's figure they have an "sold out" moniker but Aqua isn't even in the store, only the 0.2 Play Arts Kai version.

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

Production costs would be my guess. It must certainly be easier to produce figures in the generic black coat as opposed to those with a unique design with lots of colors and pieces.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I'm not sure what it is about these designs, but the first thing that jumped into my mind when I saw them was, "Jeez, Kingdom Hearts has really strayed far from that simple, innocent story about a boy journeying outside his island home."
My biggest concern is, just by looking at them and their outfits, they seem to be more style over substance. They look like a lot of those stock over-drawn characters you see in second-rate anime series. I'm trying real hard not to judge a book by its cover, but if the way the Union X characters have been developed is any indication, I don't have much faith that these new guys are going to be very interesting. And that's an enormous problem.
For all its many faults, people stuck through the long-winded Xehanort saga because the batch of characters that needed to be saved were all well-loved, and they all had stories that fleshed them out well enough that you wanted to see more of them. I haven't heard anybody express the same level of affection for Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain as for Roxas, Xion, and Axel, or Sora, Riku, and Kairi, or even Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. That signals to me how big a failure Union X is, and it makes me worried that Dark Road will fail in the same way. Looking at these character designs doesn't ameliorate those fears. You can name them any fancy old mythological names you want, but the symbolic meaning behind those names doesn't actually imbue them with any relatable personality. And considering how over-stylized they look and how...well...bland their designs look, I worry the next batch of people to be saved in this upcoming saga are not people that most players will actually be invested in saving. We need better than this. Right now, probably the only characters for whom I, at least, have any deep interest in seeing again is Yozora and those connected to him. The Union X cast just doesn't do it for me. And I worry these guys won't either, not unless Nomura can REALLY throw me off and present an amazing story for them.

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

 

[2 quid is good]

"The more intricate a character design, the worse a character they are"

- Excerpt from the Three Laws of Nomura

 

[Foxycian]

Is Vor going to be another Ephemer/Ephemera Brain/Blaine situation where people call her ver instead?

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Production costs would be my guess. It must certainly be easier to produce figures in the generic black coat as opposed to those with a unique design with lots of colors and pieces.

That's a viable point.
Actually, checking again Roxas is also cheaper in price than Ven.
Xion costs 71 Euros, Roxas 75 and Ven a whopping 85. Sora is ironically the cheapest with 68, lol. They're all of the same figure series with roughly the same amount of accessories, why so much difference in pricing?

EU store also says Xion comes on 26th June and Roxas on 3rd July, not August. Ven is far off however in October.

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

The main issue with the whole Ux-cast is that they are largely unknown by the wider fanbase due to their main appearances being in a gacha game whose actual important story updates come out slower than a turtle manages to move.

Ava and especially the MoM have some more exposure and thus popularity due to their prominence in Back Cover. The other Foretellers and Strelitzia are more known through social media and fandom wank in general rather than their actual roles in the series' canon.
Ephemer and Skuld are semi-popular but nowhere near major characters from the main series, same goes for Blaine. Lauriam and Ven are so pale and underused in Ux that their popularity still stems mostly from their appearances in the mains series.

 

[the red monster]

I'm not sure what it is about these designs, but the first thing that jumped into my mind when I saw them was, "Jeez, Kingdom Hearts has really strayed far from that simple, innocent story about a boy journeying outside his island home."
My biggest concern is, just by looking at them and their outfits, they seem to be more style over substance. They look like a lot of those stock over-drawn characters you see in second-rate anime series. I'm trying real hard not to judge a book by its cover, but if the way the Union X characters have been developed is any indication, I don't have much faith that these new guys are going to be very interesting. And that's an enormous problem.
For all its many faults, people stuck through the long-winded Xehanort saga because the batch of characters that needed to be saved were all well-loved, and they all had stories that fleshed them out well enough that you wanted to see more of them. I haven't heard anybody express the same level of affection for Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain as for Roxas, Xion, and Axel, or Sora, Riku, and Kairi, or even Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. That signals to me how big a failure Union X is, and it makes me worried that Dark Road will fail in the same way. Looking at these character designs doesn't ameliorate those fears. You can name them any fancy old mythological names you want, but the symbolic meaning behind those names doesn't actually imbue them with any relatable personality. And considering how over-stylized they look and how...well...bland their designs look, I worry the next batch of people to be saved in this upcoming saga are not people that most players will actually be invested in saving. We need better than this. Right now, probably the only characters for whom I, at least, have any deep interest in seeing again is Yozora and those connected to him. The Union X cast just doesn't do it for me. And I worry these guys won't either, not unless Nomura can REALLY throw me off and present an amazing story for them.

Union X cast failed because they're on a mobile game.
Yozora, MoM and the foretellers are more talked about because we actually see them in-engine with voice acting.
if union X will ever get remaked to consoles, the cast would probably get more attention.

 

[KeybladeLordSora]

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

Well, here's the big factor.

MoM and the Zoopals actually ended up on a console. With voices and bodies that can move a lot more than UX chibi models. People got to know their mannerisms and stuff a bit more, especially the MoM. Luxu's basically been popular since 2006, and Yozora's got the big mystery vibe Xemnas had in 2003 along with being a big callback/revival of Versus XIII.

Everyone else except Ven and Ephemer don't have that. They're stuck as non-voiced chibi models that can't move that much in a mobile game that has the biggest dissonance in the series outside of Arendelle in KH3.

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?

 

[Zettaflare]

Assuming those four are fellow apprentices I wonder if any of them are still alive in present time?

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
View attachment 12688

It would be best if she didn't have the e in the name.

The main issue with the whole Ux-cast is that they are largely unknown by the wider fanbase due to their main appearances being in a gacha game whose actual important story updates come out slower than a turtle manages to move.

Ava and especially the MoM have some more exposure and thus popularity due to their prominence in Back Cover. The other Foretellers and Strelitzia are more known through social media and fandom wank in general rather than their actual roles in the series' canon.
Ephemer and Skuld are semi-popular but nowhere near major characters from the main series, same goes for Blaine. Lauriam and Ven are so pale and underused in Ux that their popularity still stems mostly from their appearances in the mains series.

Well, here's the big factor.

MoM and the Zoopals actually ended up on a console. With voices and bodies that can move a lot more than UX chibi models. People got to know their mannerisms and stuff a bit more, especially the MoM. And Luxu's basically been popular since 2006.

Everyone else except Ven and Ephemer don't have that. They're stuck as non-voiced chibi models that can't move that much in a mobile game that has the biggest dissonance in the series outside of Arendelle in KH3.

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?

Makes sense. I don't really count Luxu, and Lauriam for obvious reasons, that's not even fair lol.

 

[ultima-demi]

Meh. I'll care more if they were introduced in a console title. People would also care more about the union x cast if they were introduced in a console title, right now most of the fanbase probably don't even know they exist.

If they were they get a lot of exposure in a console game, I can easily see them getting more popular, even if it's only from a design standpoint.

 

[Sign]

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
View attachment 12688

Uhhh, look up vore in the urban dictionary.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
View attachment 12688

...So, the name is really Vör but English doesn't have the letter ö in its alphabet. Vör is pronounced "vehr"

But uh...like Sign said, look up vore in the Urban Dictionary...

 

[Rydgea]

TFW you're actively trying to be excited for the series, and it's not working.

EDIT: You know what, I can at least appreciate a well-drawn generic anime character doodle. werk

 

[Eonstar890]

Tbh with how the initial reveal of DR went this could very well be the Hayner Pence Ollette of Scala.

Just some background characters to flesh out the world that ultimately don’t have any significant impact.

Hope for the best, prep for the worst.

 

[kirabook]

Excuse me Nomura, where is baby Yen Sid?
This is what I mean by DIsney and the main plot of KH being too separated. You could remedy that, Nomura!

 

[Zettaflare]

Excuse me Nomura, where is baby Yen Sid?
This is what I mean by DIsney and the main plot of KH being too separated. You could remedy that, Nomura!

Guess that depends on if Disney would even allow a younger Yen Sid. If he does show up I think he would still be an old man

 

[Deleted member 246005]

I'm hoping the big bad is named Baldur. The norse theme behind the names makes me laugh. Vor is my favorite for some reason.

I was hoping Eraqus would have a fraternal twin sister named Xine. Oh well there's always fanfiction.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?

Money. The whole X sub-series started as a browser game back in 2013. Dark Road is bringing this back full circle.

There's a reason why this is on mobile and not on consoles. We might not understand why right now, and we may not even agree with the idea as fans, but it's evident that Unchained/Union Cross was popular enough to have a sequel for it as this.

At the very least, this is a well-designed cast. I have a feeling that one of these guys will meet Terra, Ventus and Aqua in The Realm of Darkness whilst that trio is search for Sora. This is a new saga, might as well start connecting the dots between titles.