Game Informer Discusses Contents of Kingdom Hearts 2.8 with Tetsuya Nomura

[LightUpTheSky452]

Well, nothing yet indicates Sora being there. This takes place right after the DDD Secret Ending. At that point in time, Sora was back in the Realm of Sleep and we saw Riku bring Kairi into the room where Yen Sid and Mickey were talking. Plus they're the only ones in the picture.

Yeah... so that's why I'm thinking that Sora isn't in this, then. But then I wonder how/why the original summary for 0.2 talked about Sora and Mickey being the pair the conversation was about.

Either SE changed their mind (perhaps realizing that Sora is supposed to be in the RoS at that time), or maybe Sora will "secretly" be in the game?

I'm not putting too much munny on that last thought, personally, but then again... this is "the entire multi-verse resolves around Sora" series. So you never know, I guess. LOL.

 

[Chaser]

Yeah... so that's why I'm thinking that Sora isn't in this, then. But then I wonder how/why the original summary for 0.2 talked about Sora and Mickey being the pair the conversation was about.

Either SE changed their mind (perhaps realizing that Sora is supposed to be in the RoS at that time), or maybe Sora will "secretly" be in the game?

I'm not putting too much munny on that last thought, personally, but then again... this is "the entire multi-verse resolves around Sora" series. So you never know, I guess. LOL.

The original summaries don't mention Sora being there.

1)· KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –A completely new playable episode that links to the story of KINGDOM HEARTS III, taking place after the storyline of KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep played from the perspective of Aqua.

2) KINGDOM HEARTS 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –
[...]Immediately after KH3D, as Sora prepares for the final battle, the King confesses a lot of things that were kept secret. It is the subsequent story of one person named Aqua left behind in the Realm of Darkness that is finally told.

I get there might have been confusion with the second one but it only says Sora is preparing for the final battle, not actual confirmation that he was there and everything we've seen since then only confirms this.

 

[WaveK89]

I'm fine with nothing being added to Dream Drop Distance. I enjoyed the adventure, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it more in HD with PS4-geared controls.

Unchained trailer made me smile. I really like how they incorporated an actual person to give players a feeling they're an actual a part of the game. Still waiting for release information, but I'll be a good boy and wait to see what JF'16 holds.

0.2 just has me shaking in my seat. I must experience the Aqua experience!

 

[BlackOsprey]

Sora, missing out on a huge and probably vital exposition dump? Unthinkable... seriously, I can't say that I'm surprised.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

Yeah, that "as Sora prepares for the final battle, the King confesses a lot of things that were kept secret" part did confuse me, I think. But now that you point it out, I can tell that the two statements aren't meant to be linked and that Sora was never confirmed to be present at all

 

[Launchpad]

Honestly, it doesn't do much for me to have Sora know anything about Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He's selfless, yeah, but he's not going to be interesting at all unless he's given a more personal reason to want to fight Xehanort himself.

 

[Chaser]

I just want to say that while it is a little frustrating that Sora isn't learning about this, since E3 2013 we've known that the task of getting Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness has been Riku and Mickey's task (And now Kairi's as well).

"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 features a mature Sora as the main protagonist who sets forth on an adventure with Mickey, Donald and Goofy through new and legendary Disney worlds. KINGDOM HEARTS III will make full use of next generation console technologies to showcase a stunning universe packed full of worlds based on Disney properties."

So it does make sense why Sora wouldn't be told this information.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

I just want to say that while it is a little frustrating that Sora isn't learning about this, since E3 2013 we've known that the task of getting Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness has been Riku and Mickey's task (And now Kairi's as well).

"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 features a mature Sora as the main protagonist who sets forth on an adventure with Mickey, Donald and Goofy through new and legendary Disney worlds. KINGDOM HEARTS III will make full use of next generation console technologies to showcase a stunning universe packed full of worlds based on Disney properties."

So it does make sense why Sora wouldn't be told this information.

True, though while he doesn't need to be there for the explanation, at the very least he should be told the gist of it and what Riku and Mickey will be doing and why, instead of being left out of the loop as he skips merrily across Disney worlds.

Which could actually be done just with Sora returning to Mysterious Tower at the end of 0.2 and they start giving him the short version as it fades to black. Then we know he knows and that's that.

Granted my feelings on no Sora has to do with, well, him skipping merrily across Disney worlds without being told anything. But as I said on the first page, even the smallest of explanations hurt his little brain, so I'm conflicted on if I even want Sora in 2.0 or not.

 

[BlackOsprey]

Honestly, it doesn't do much for me to have Sora know anything about Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He's selfless, yeah, but he's not going to be interesting at all unless he's given a more personal reason to want to fight Xehanort himself.

More personal? Xehanort (and by extension, his axe-crazy offshoots Ansem and Xemnas)...

- is directly responsible for the Heartless outbreak, and thus the destruction of many worlds, including Destiny Islands.

- influenced Riku, turning him into the jackass everyone hated back then before hijacking him completely.

- tried to kill Kairi almost as soon as she woke up in Hollow Bastion.

- is the reason why Organization XIII, and thus all the problems they created, exist. (Those Roxas memories that Sora got in DDD only adds to this.)

- has a total disregard for hearts, bonds, and other people's lives, and it leaves Sora shaken and furious. And Sora wasn't even aware of what had happened to TAV when he went on that "Reasons You Suck" rant.

- most recently tried to drown Sora's heart in darkness so that he could hijack the kid's body.

- is directly or indirectly responsible for all the major conflict in KH, really.

I'd say it's personal enough already.

 

[KingdomSlayer2]

I need a release date at the very least because I am saving up for a PS4 and I need one quick, possibly before or on Christmas.

 

[robvandam111]

Either way, Sora is going to end up finding out. Wouldn't he need to get to Ventus?

 

[decisivems92]

How baller would it be if Square Enix programmed the release date for KHIII into this, and it appeared after completing all the content on the disc? Unless this upcoming game show has any surprises in line, I couldn't think of a better way. What do you guys think?

 

[Muke]

How baller would it be if Square Enix programmed the release date for KHIII into this, and it appeared after completing all the content on the disc? Unless this upcoming game show has any surprises in line, I couldn't think of a better way. What do you guys think?

Huh, never thought about this one. Would actually be kinda cool...

 

[Chaser]

Either way, Sora is going to end up finding out. Wouldn't he need to get to Ventus?

Secretly hoping for Riku/Kairi/Mickey/Aqua bringing Ventus back to Mysterious Tower where Sora goes inside Ven to fix him and it's actually an Inside Out world.

How baller would it be if Square Enix programmed the release date for KHIII into this, and it appeared after completing all the content on the disc? Unless this upcoming game show has any surprises in line, I couldn't think of a better way. What do you guys think?

It certainly would be an original way to unveil a release date, I can't think of any other franchise doing that. But KHIII's marketing will be skewed towards the more casual fanbase so any release date will first be announced through a trailer as that would get huge ratings.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Sora, missing out on a huge and probably vital exposition dump? Unthinkable... seriously, I can't say that I'm surprised.

Knowing Sora much of it would probably either go over his head anyways or he would want to immediately jog off to the RoD and save Aqua, regardless of any other tasks that might be at hand.

I just want to say that while it is a little frustrating that Sora isn't learning about this, since E3 2013 we've known that the task of getting Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness has been Riku and Mickey's task (And now Kairi's as well).

"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 features a mature Sora as the main protagonist who sets forth on an adventure with Mickey, Donald and Goofy through new and legendary Disney worlds. KINGDOM HEARTS III will make full use of next generation console technologies to showcase a stunning universe packed full of worlds based on Disney properties."

So it does make sense why Sora wouldn't be told this information.

"Searching for previous Keyblade Wielders" can mean anything actually and since Mickey and Yen Sid admitted in the Re: Coded secret ending that they have close to no information about Terra I was more on the impression that it would involve investigations towards Terra's current status and whereabouts.
Giving the task of rescuing Aqua to Riku, Mickey and Kairi completely contradicts the statement of Blank Points that it is Sora's task to save those in torment.

But of course, having that taking place behind the scenes with these other characters would allow KH III to skip the whole saving Aqua-scenario and replace a possible venture to the RoD to save her with some more possibly meaningless Disney-filler.
That would then also be another candidate for a scenario that gets completely ignored in the game (with Riku, Mickey and Kairi just popping up with Aqua mid-way during the game or in the final world just like in KH 2) and just getting fleshed out in the novel.

More personal? Xehanort (and by extension, his axe-crazy offshoots Ansem and Xemnas)...

- is directly responsible for the Heartless outbreak, and thus the destruction of many worlds, including Destiny Islands.

- influenced Riku, turning him into the jackass everyone hated back then before hijacking him completely.

- tried to kill Kairi almost as soon as she woke up in Hollow Bastion.

- is the reason why Organization XIII, and thus all the problems they created, exist. (Those Roxas memories that Sora got in DDD only adds to this.)

- has a total disregard for hearts, bonds, and other people's lives, and it leaves Sora shaken and furious. And Sora wasn't even aware of what had happened to TAV when he went on that "Reasons You Suck" rant.

- most recently tried to drown Sora's heart in darkness so that he could hijack the kid's body.

- is directly or indirectly responsible for all the major conflict in KH, really.

I'd say it's personal enough already.

Good summary, the entirety of DDD and Sora learning about all the shit Xehanort caused first-hand (and the consequences of these actions affecting him, Riku and Kairi before) by experiencing the pain of his victims served as a motivator for him:

Not again. Did they cause all this pain?
---
Just stop it! You treat people's hearts like bottles on a shelf, but they're not!

The "they" in the first sentence certainly means the main Xehanort's while the second his stated in an angry tone.
So Sora certainly is motivated to put a stop to Xehanort's ambitions already.

 

[Chaser]

"Searching for previous Keyblade Wielders" can mean anything actually and since Mickey and Yen Sid admitted in the Re: Coded secret ending that they have close to no information about Terra I was more on the impression that it would involve investigations towards Terra's current status and whereabouts.
Giving the task of rescuing Aqua to Riku, Mickey and Kairi completely contradicts the statement of Blank Points that it is Sora's task to save those in torment.

But of course, having that taking place behind the scenes with these other characters would allow KH III to skip the whole saving Aqua-scenario and replace a possible venture to the RoD to save her with some more possibly meaningless Disney-filler.
That would then also be another candidate for a scenario that gets completely ignored in the game (with Riku, Mickey and Kairi just popping up with Aqua mid-way during the game or in the final world just like in KH 2) and just getting fleshed out in the novel.

Well after having both Sora and Riku playable in DDD and creating Aqua to be completely playable in a Playstation 4 game, it really would not be surprising if they included multiple protagonists so all that jazz wouldn't happen off screen. Plus they are making a completely playable Realm of Darkness. I'm certain that it won't be contained to just 2.8.

Re:coded did reveal that they don't know where Terra is, but Xehanort pretty much confirmed to Mickey in DDD that Terra is a part of his squad.
Mickey: "Well, for Keyblade weilders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then the seventh would be..."
....
Xehanort: "But Sora and another on your list belong to me now."

Since they knew about the whereabouts of Ventus and Aqua, and Mickey would know where that seventh would be (Surely talking about Kairi, since they didn't want to spoil their secret ending) it's not hard to imagine that Mickey would have pieced together that Terra is with Xehanort's squad.

And of course rescuing Aqua from the Realm of Darkness is a milestone event in the KH series, and it's also the first step to freeing Ventus, but from what we can gather from all recent information since 2013, it does not seem likely that rescuing Aqua will be left to Sora. The KH3 description does say that Sora is looking for "seven guardians of light", but at the moment that could just mean Ventus. It could also just be there to try and increase hype. Who knows.

What we do know is that Mickey is telling Kairi and Riku the information he told Yen Sid, which is what happened to Aqua. We know Sora isn't there. Therefore it does not seem like this is Sora's mission. I could be completely wrong on all of this but I'm just going off what we've seen and been told.

If I am wrong though, then I do hope you are right. It would certainly be surprising if the information Mickey has reveals that Aqua is actually in Xehanort's squad and Terra's location is what actually needs to be discovered (but for that to work it contradicts her speaking to Ansem the Wise, as that takes place after KHII)

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Well after having both Sora and Riku playable in DDD and creating Aqua to be completely playable in a Playstation 4 game, it really would not be surprising if they included multiple protagonists so all that jazz wouldn't happen off screen. Plus they are making a completely playable Realm of Darkness. I'm certain that it won't be contained to just 2.8.

Re:coded did reveal that they don't know where Terra is, but Xehanort pretty much confirmed to Mickey in DDD that Terra is a part of his squad.
Mickey: "Well, for Keyblade weilders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then the seventh would be..."
....
Xehanort: "But Sora and another on your list belong to me now."

That's a pretty good point actually.
I am probably just still mentally scarred from the fact how damn awfully KH 2 handled the other characters' parts of the plot by having it happen completely off screen with the focus being nearly always on Sora, Donald and Goofy who actually didn't do anything truly important to the main overaching story in most worlds. (Even the supposed overaching point of searching for Riku and the King was forgotten after less than five minutes had passed in many worlds).

Yea, Xehanort confirmed that he essentially has control of Terra's body as a vessel, however that still leaves Terra's heart at large (which is arguably the most important part of Terra because it holds his main essence as a being).

Since they knew about the whereabouts of Ventus and Aqua, and Mickey would know where that seventh would be (Surely talking about Kairi, since they didn't want to spoil their secret ending) it's not hard to imagine that Mickey would have pieced together that Terra is with Xehanort's squad.

And of course rescuing Aqua from the Realm of Darkness is a milestone event in the KH series, and it's also the first step to freeing Ventus, but from what we can gather from all recent information since 2013, it does not seem likely that rescuing Aqua will be left to Sora. The KH3 description does say that Sora is looking for "seven guardians of light", but at the moment that could just mean Ventus. It could also just be there to try and increase hype. Who knows.

For Ventus Mickey also only told Yen Sid that he has an idea where his heart might be after the events of Coded. As this was the very first time Mickey got to see how Roxas looks like he could put 2 and 2 together to deduce where Ven's heart might be, yet that still leaves the whereabouts of Ven's body unresolved except if Mickey not only really met and talked with Aqua, but also got the information about Ven's body being there from her.
As far as it stands, except Aqua and maybe Xehanort no one should know where Ven's body is.

It is exactly because it is a milestone and part of the overall "save the tormented"-task why it should not be treated like an afterthought that happens just behind the scenes or his delegated to a short cutscene because following another round of singing "Hakuna Matata" is more important.
That short KH 3 description is certainly kept intentionally vague, but it nonetheless doesn't add up with the presumably established setup so far. "previous Keyblade Wielders" and "seven Guardians of Light" can even be read as the very same thing and from an out-of-universe perspetive this extra "task" for Riku and Mickey can also be seen as just a convenient excuse to have them unavailable as party members for Sora so players are forced to go with just Donald and Goofy.
Sora spent literally the first two main games searching for and trying to reunite with Riku (and Kairi) and yet KH III apparently sets it up for them to go separate ways yet again instead of having them finally tackling problems together as a team.
It meaning just looking for Ventus would also be a pointless "task" as Sora can look for Ventus all he wants he will never actually "find" him because one important part (his heart) is already within him and the other cannot be located at all without Aqua, so it would be more logcial for Sora to go and look for Aqua first.

What we do know is that Mickey is telling Kairi and Riku the information he told Yen Sid, which is what happened to Aqua. We know Sora isn't there. Therefore it does not seem like this is Sora's mission. I could be completely wrong on all of this but I'm just going off what we've seen and been told.

If I am wrong though, then I do hope you are right. It would certainly be surprising if the information Mickey has reveals that Aqua is actually in Xehanort's squad and Terra's location is what actually needs to be discovered (but for that to work it contradicts her speaking to Ansem the Wise, as that takes place after KHII)

When going by these recent comments from Nomura it really seems that way and that after all that build-up it isn't really Sora's task after all to save all of the tormented who called out to him in Blank Points, with both Aqua and Ansem the Wise being scratched from the list, although I certainly do not really understand the in-universe logic behind it as stated above.

Aqua being unwillingly on Xehanort's team would surely be a twist ala Nomura, but I don't really see how that could reasonably work, not only because of the Ansem the Wise conversation after KH 2, but also especially since Aqua is probably the one person who gave Xehanort as a whole the biggest "piss off"-treatment after Sora, and unlike the latter she does not shelter multiple hurting hearts inside herself that could be used against her in order to break her heart.
Or as she said to Hades:

The darkness doesn't interest me!

 

[Antifa Lockhart]

Personally, I think Riku and Mickey are going to be at the center of whatever the Lost Masters plot is. You can't really have a war with half a dozen Keyblade wielders.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

You totally ninja'd me, Tinny. LOL. I was going to say that I feel like Riku and Mikcey are going after the Lost Masters (probably the Foretellers from Chi, and maybe even Ephemera and some of those others), too

I mean, there's still a chance that Sora's trying to help RXN--and Riku, Mickey, and Kairi are going to get Aqua out of the RoD--and they'll all meet half-way to go get Ven, or something, but the first idea seems the most logical to me.

I'm not going to lie, though... The second route would be cool for a number of reasons. A) because it would maybe allow for SRK to travel together some (finally), and perhaps even give you the choice to pick your party (or maybe we could just have MDG and RK all in our party! How awesome would that be?!), b) because Kairi--if it does happen--helping the person who gave her the power to wield would be a nice touch, and c) it would just be nice to have everyone together like that, I think. The story and characters of KH have been too segregated lately, and in this final chapter--that really is about everyone--I think they all deserve to finish what they started together. At least in some fashion, anyway.

...Also, I really feel like Sora needs to hear this explanation somehow and some way. Give him a shorter or simplified version, that's fine, but not telling Sora important things will only hinder him (again) and lead to him falling into more traps, I think. Seriously. I can't figure why the idea of not telling Sora about things--like the whole Aqua and Ventus plot, which are no doubt going to be central to his story--would even cross someone's mind. And no, "Oh, Sora's not here yet, so I might as well tell these guys first, and for some reason never get around to telling Sora until it's too late. Lawl," is not an excuse.

But then again, Mickey and Yen Side are kind of shady as heck at this point, and Naminé is now delivering messages in the most roundabout way possible, so who really even knows what might happen and why?

Edit: By the way, BlackOsprey, I really like the post you made about how the fight against Xehanort is already personal for Sora. Honestly, I feel like people do devalue a lot that the guy's already gone through because of Xehanort, so major kudos to you there for making that

 

[silentmusic16]

That short KH 3 description is certainly kept intentionally vague, but it nonetheless doesn't add up with the presumably established setup so far. "previous Keyblade Wielders" and "seven Guardians of Light" can even be read as the very same thing and from an out-of-universe perspetive this extra "task" for Riku and Mickey can also be seen as just a convenient excuse to have them unavailable as party members for Sora so players are forced to go with just Donald and Goofy.
Sora spent literally the first two main games searching for and trying to reunite with Riku (and Kairi) and yet KH III apparently sets it up for them to go separate ways yet again instead of having them finally tackling problems together as a team.

That's a really good point. The entire aim of the main games (and most of the side games) has literally been
- Reunite with Riku and Kairi, or save one (or both) of them
- Defeat the big bad/stop the heartless

Having been separated since KH1 and only reuniting at small points you'd imagine that they'd want to spend more time together but in an effort to keep things "classic KH" I'm almost sure we'll get stuck with Donald and Goofy again. Some kind of flimsy "we all have parts to play and we'll get together in the end" justification (like in KH2). Then again if they go this way I'd almost hope for a BBS/DDD style scenario switch, if only so that we finally get to play as Kairi and get a glimpse of what Riku/Kairi/Aqua/Mickey are up to, instead of them showing up at the end a la KH2.

Sora really does need to know about TAV, and one can only hope that he'll be clued in at the end of 0.2, or told near the beginning of KH3.