just finished KH:3D....and I need some questions answered.

[H43DPH0N3S]

It's been a while since I've played anything in the Kingdom Hearts series. I absolutely loved the first three games when they came out (KH, KH:CoM, and KH2) but once the three spin-off games came (KH:BBS, KH:358/2, and KH:C) I kinda lost interest. after all, I didn't have any of the consoles these games came on. but I recently got a 3DS and have since played through all but KH:BBS (here's hoping they remake it for PS3 in an HD collection or something!)

anyway, I've tried to get refreshed on the story, but after playing KH:3D, I still have some questions maybe some of you can answer.

oh yeah, SPOILERS!!!!!!!!

Question 1: what is the deal with Ansem and Xemnas? I mean, how are they alive? Ansem was killed by the light of Kingdom Hearts, and Xemnas faded away. the other members of the organization were returned to their former selves (another question: how did THAT happen?) so what happened to Xemnas? shouldn't he be returned to the form of Xehanort? and what about Ansem? wasn't he locked away inside Riku's heart in Chain of Memories? how is he now outside him at seemingly full power?

Question 2: Now for the "ansem" in the brown robe. after this game, I was a little confused, that guy is Ansem's heartless right? is he the same person as the antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 1? are they two different forms of Xehanort? if they are the same, then why did Ansem in the robe at the very beginning of KH:3D?


question 3: why did Sora and Riku appear to be younger in KH:3D? and why is Destiny Islands a "sleeping world"? Sora and co. were living there quite comfortably before Mickey sent his letter, so how can it be sleeping?

question 4: what exactly is Xehanort's plan? I get that he wanted to use the original Organization to make 13 vessels for himself, but now that most of the members are gone, who were the other guys in black coats at the very end? just different aspects of Xehanort through time? why didn't he just do that in the first place? after all, Ansem went back in time to young Xehanort to set all this up, so why did Xemnas bother with the others?

question 5: about Axel/Lea. There doesn't seem to be any discernible difference between the two of them. they even look exactly the same! if nobodies and the original person look, sound, and act identically to each other, then why get so obsessed with getting your heart back once you've lost it? why do Axel and Lea look exactly the same? if people and their nobodies look the same then why do Sora and roxas not look the same? I get that it's because sore has a connection with Ventus, but then what about Kairi and Namine? why do they look different?

question 6: why can Lea summon a Keyblade? so much for being "chosen" anymore. I guess anyone can do it if they just try hard enough. this is another thing that bothers me, it seems like everyone can get a keyblade if they want one. so what makes Sora's so special? I mean, Sora's is the Keyblade of the realm of light, and Mickey's is the keyblade of the realm of darkness. so where did Kairi, Riku, and Lea get theirs? I heard somewhere that Riku just "made" his, but how?

question 7: the X-Blade. okay, so the X-Blade is the only "true" keyblade connected with the "real" kingdom hearts. all others are man-made copies of it, so why does the realm of light have a "keyblade" did someone make Sora's keyblade?

question8 8: I'm still confused as to how Sora and Riku got separated at the beginning of the game. also, at the very end, in the world that never was, Riku said he was "back in the real world" but why did he still look young?


sorry for the avalanche of questions, but I've finally started to care about the series again, and it's a good feeling!

 

[Solar]

Yo! Neat questions and welcome to KHI. For future reference, please note that General Discussion is not a place to discuss the series, this is where the Series Discussion section comes in. Please also refer to the FAQ in case. Happy posting! (I'll be moving your thread in a bit)

 

[Kaji_093]

Interesting questions @-@ Ill try to answer some.

1.Time travel? (Anyone correct me if Im wrong)

3. Yen Sid said the test would start with them being brought to the day the darkness would take over Destiny Islands (back in the first kh this happened, hence the younger S and R in the dream world)

5. Besides the tattoos Axel had, the reason why Axel and Lea look the same is because when a heart leaves a persons body, if the person had a strong heart, the persons body is left. Roxas is a special case since he came from the part of Soras heart that was shared with Ven. Not sure about Namine.

6. Kinda answered this on number 5. He has a strong heart. If im not mistaken, people with strong enough hearts can weild a keyblade, not just anyone can get one. Kairi is a princess of heart, her heart is obviously strong enough. After conquering the dark and becoming somewhat immune to it, Riku's back in the realm of light along with his strong heart; he's worthy to weild a keyblade once more (he was chose to weild one all before that anyway) So his sword Soul Eater became the keyblade Way to Dawn (signifying coming back to the light)
I believe soras is so special because he got his at such a critical time. In kh1 (minus Riku cutscene in hollow bastian) Sora and Mickey were the only ones with a keyblade that we saw.

8. They arent allowed to take the Mark of Mastery Exam together.cause it's a test. XD (besides aiding each other while still being seperated)

Im in the same boat as you, becoming obsessed with kh again XD

Welcome by the way!! XD hope you have fun. Sorry i couldnt fully answer some @-@

 

[State]

what is the deal with Ansem and Xemnas? I mean, how are they alive? Ansem was killed by the light of Kingdom Hearts, and Xemnas faded away.

Time-travel. Ansem Seeker of Darkness found out he had that ability. What did he do? He rewinds the clock back to when Xehanort was still young, telling him to gather thirteen incarnations of him to fill the seats of the 13 Darkness out of the twenty elements needed to form the Xblade. In doing so, he goes into points of time before Ansem SoD was defeated and Xemnas, so that's why they're "alive". The catch about time-traveling? You have to be in the time-era you want to travel to and leave your body in that moment, meaning that, when you travel, you're a heart. Sure, Young Xehanort and Ansem could travel because they were hearts, but what about Xemnas? He's just a body... That' where you're wrong! KH3D has FINALLY established what has been hinted since CoM; any living thing can grow a heart. Meaning that Xemnas grew a heart, so that's why he could time-travel alongside Young Xehanort and Ansem.

the other members of the organization were returned to their former selves (another question: how did THAT happen?)

If your Heartless and Nobody are defeated (heart, body and soul) they are reunited, thus, a complete self again~

so what happened to Xemnas? shouldn't he be returned to the form of Xehanort?

The Xemnas you see is the one before Sora defeated. In actuality, Xemnas is reunited with Ansem, forming Master Xehanort, the one we see at the end of KH3D.

and what about Ansem? wasn't he locked away inside Riku's heart in Chain of Memories? how is he now outside him at seemingly full power?

Personally, that Ansem was really the darkness Xehanort implants individual to Xehanortify them.

Question 2: Now for the "ansem" in the brown robe. after this game, I was a little confused, that guy is Ansem's heartless right? is he the same person as the antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 1? are they two different forms of Xehanort?

They are the same. Robed Xehanort's Heartless is how he ACTUALLY looks, while the tall, tan, long, silver haired guy is Xehanort's Heartless after possessing Riku's body.

if they are the same, then why did Ansem in the robe at the very beginning of KH:3D?

I honestly don't know. Personally, he shape-shifts between robed and humanoid Ansem.

question 3: why did Sora and Riku appear to be younger in KH:3D?

Because of Master Yen Sid's magic.

and why is Destiny Islands a "sleeping world"?

Sleeping worlds are worlds that, even though their hearts were restored, they need to be intervened some more for them to finally be restored.

Sora and co. were living there quite comfortably before Mickey sent his letter, so how can it be sleeping?

Good question.

question 4: what exactly is Xehanort's plan?

Clash the 7 Guardians of Light and the 13 Seekers of Darkness to correctly reforge the Xblade to summon Kingdom Hearts and use its power to shape reality to his ideals.

who were the other guys in black coats at the very end?

We don't know.

why didn't he just do that in the first place?

He thought the original method he used, clashing one heart of pure darkness and another of pure light was enough, but it proved unstable and backfired a lot.

question 5: about Axel/Lea. There doesn't seem to be any discernible difference between the two of them. they even look exactly the same! if nobodies and the original person look, sound, and act identically to each other, then why get so obsessed with getting your heart back once you've lost it? why do Axel and Lea look exactly the same? if people and their nobodies look the same then why do Sora and roxas not look the same? I get that it's because sore has a connection with Ventus, but then what about Kairi and Namine? why do they look different?

When was it established that Nobodies are supposed to be different than their original selves? Sora and Roxas are different because, when his heart abandoned his body, he was linked with Ventus' heart, meaning a sort of anomaly had to happen, and Roxas happened; the Nobody of an individual that looks different than him. Naminé, on the other hand, is different to Kairi because her heart left Sora's body, not hers.

question 6: why can Lea summon a Keyblade? so much for being "chosen" anymore. I guess anyone can do it if they just try hard enough. this is another thing that bothers me, it seems like everyone can get a keyblade if they want one.

I think its because Lea had contact with Ventus, which gave him the ability to keyblade-wield, meaning that, if you have contact with a keyblade-wielder, you're guaranted to wield one.

so what makes Sora's so special? I mean, Sora's is the Keyblade of the realm of light, and Mickey's is the keyblade of the realm of darkness. so where did Kairi, Riku, and Lea get theirs? I heard somewhere that Riku just "made" his, but how?

Sora got his when Riku was to corrupted, so the Keyblade chose the next person in line; him.
Mickey got his through his apprenticeship with Master Yen Sid.
Kairi got her by interacting with Riku.
Lea by interacting with Ventus.
And Riku because Terra performed the Rite of Succession on him.

question 7: the X-Blade. okay, so the X-Blade is the only "true" keyblade connected with the "real" kingdom hearts. all others are man-made copies of it, so why does the realm of light have a "keyblade" did someone make Sora's keyblade?

I don't remember hearing about man-made Keyblades.

question8 8: I'm still confused as to how Sora and Riku got separated at the beginning of the game.

The Xehanorts were responsible for the separation of Sora and Riku. They wanted to isolate Sora so that they could corrupt him to make him the thirteenth vessel for the Organization, but failed...

Riku said he was "back in the real world" but why did he still look young?

OK. To enter the Realm of Dreams you OBVIOUSLY have to be asleep. They were both asleep, OK. Afterward, the Xehanorts separated them by making Sora sleep inside the realm of trapping Riku inside his dreams, meaning Riku was inside Sora's dream all this time. After he exits Sora's dreams, he enters the REAL realm to rescue him.

But to make things simpler;
He wasn't back at the real world, just back at the Realm of Dreams.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong in any of these statements.

 

[Kaji_093]

Remembering bbs totally forgot having contact with actual weilders I cant believe myself. That makes sense too.

 

[State]

Remembering bbs totally forgot having contact with actual weilders I cant believe myself. That makes sense too.

Contact with a Keyblade-wielder or the Rite of Succession. The only Rite of Succession Keyblade-wielders I can think of are Eraqus, Xehanort, Yen Sid, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Mickey and Riku. The others? They had contact with one of them (Sora and Kairi with Riku, Lea with Ventus, while Roxas and Xion is pretty obvious).

 

[Chaser]

I don't remember hearing about man-made Keyblades.

A key-shaped weapon forged by man during the age of fairy tales. Any other origins have yet to be revealed.

It is clear the blade was the inspiration for human-wrought Keyblades.

Glossary - Dream Drop Distance - Kingdom Hearts Insider

Contact with a Keyblade-wielder or the Rite of Succession. The only Rite of Succession Keyblade-wielders I can think of are Eraqus, Xehanort, Yen Sid, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Mickey and Riku. The others? They had contact with one of them (Sora and Kairi with Riku, Lea with Ventus, while Roxas and Xion is pretty obvious).

Supporting you I guess.

Q7: Why can Kairi use a keyblade?
A: Because she was touched by Aqua’s keyblade.

The keyblade inheritance ceremony is performed with a keyblade master touches someone using a keyblade. When Kairi was running away from the Unversed in BbS she grabbed Aqua’s keyblade, which performed the ceremony. That is why she is able to use a keyblade in KHII to help Sora.

http://www.khinsider.com/news/BBS-Ultimania-20-Mysteries-Solved-2546

 

[ajmrowland]

Actually, I think Young Xehanort and Xemnas didnt have to leave their bodies behind because at some point in time, they were a being of pure heart.


Destiny Islands was not a sleeping world. this was actually said about mid-game(in a flashback). Yen Sid somehow sent sora and riku back in time, I assume imbuing them with some protection from being consumed by darkness like everyone else would've been, and since that world went to sleep that night they were able to access the sleeping worlds from there. Afterwards either Yen Sid or the new Org. brought them to the present.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Hello and welcome to the forums, now to try to shed some additional light on this.

the three spin-off games came (KH:BBS, KH:358/2, and KH:C)

Grr...must...resist...rant.
A spin-off is something that hasn't anything to do with the main story, such as the new KH PC Browser game that was announced.
BBS is equal to KH 0 while 358/2 and Coded add also to the same main storyline.

That out of the way (sorry, couldn't resist) , let's get down to business:

Question 1: what is the deal with Ansem and Xemnas? I mean, how are they alive? Ansem was killed by the light of Kingdom Hearts, and Xemnas faded away. the other members of the organization were returned to their former selves (another question: how did THAT happen?) so what happened to Xemnas? shouldn't he be returned to the form of Xehanort? and what about Ansem? wasn't he locked away inside Riku's heart in Chain of Memories? how is he now outside him at seemingly full power?

They are alive because of 1) Time-travel, 2) they only lost their physical forms, their minds survived. Ansem wasn't "killed" by the light of the KH in KH 1 but only lost Riku's body, his spirit and sense of self is still there. Xemnas is the same, he simply lost physical form.
On the time-travel aspect I won't go into details since Seraph already covered that.

Question 2: Now for the "ansem" in the brown robe. after this game, I was a little confused, that guy is Ansem's heartless right? is he the same person as the antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 1? are they two different forms of Xehanort? if they are the same, then why did Ansem in the robe at the very beginning of KH:3D?

Yep, they're the same. The "brown robe guy" is Ansem SoD's true form when only a heart. In DDD he even remarks to Riku "you saw me there dressed in a robe". He was there at the very beginning of KH: 3D because he was also there at the beginning of KH 1. The scenes taking place on Destiny Islands are in the past, shortly before the Islands fell to darkness in KH 1.

question 3: why did Sora and Riku appear to be younger in KH:3D? and why is Destiny Islands a "sleeping world"? Sora and co. were living there quite comfortably before Mickey sent his letter, so how can it be sleeping?

They appear younger because Yen Sid magically de-aged them in order to learn the use of the Keyblade properly from the get-go, resetting all their skills. Destiny Islands isn't a sleeping world per se (and it's keyholes doesn't count as one of the seven, it's just an entry point to the realm of sleep), the DI seen in DDD is set in the past, during KH 1 shortly before the world fell.

question 4: what exactly is Xehanort's plan? I get that he wanted to use the original Organization to make 13 vessels for himself, but now that most of the members are gone, who were the other guys in black coats at the very end? just different aspects of Xehanort through time? why didn't he just do that in the first place? after all, Ansem went back in time to young Xehanort to set all this up, so why did Xemnas bother with the others?

You have to look at things in order. The time-travel and second Organisation-stuff is all a backup-plan devised by Master Xehanort. Xehanort almost always has backup-plans in store if his current plans fail. The stuff pulled by Ansem SoD in KH 1 and Xemnas during Days and KH 2 were his backup-plans for when his plans in BBS failed and if these failed he would go with the time-travel plan. The other guys with the black coats in the throne room are hidden on purpose by Nomura. They're the remaining members of the new Organisation and are implied to be familiar characters.

question 5: about Axel/Lea. There doesn't seem to be any discernible difference between the two of them. they even look exactly the same! if nobodies and the original person look, sound, and act identically to each other, then why get so obsessed with getting your heart back once you've lost it? why do Axel and Lea look exactly the same? if people and their nobodies look the same then why do Sora and roxas not look the same? I get that it's because sore has a connection with Ventus, but then what about Kairi and Namine? why do they look different?

There is a small, easily missable difference between them though: Lea doesn't have the tear-drop tattoos Axel had. Roxas is a special case because, as you observed, Ventus' influence. Naminé is a special case too, Kairi's Nobody born through Sora's body. The blonde hair is often implied (but not confirmed by official material) to be an influence from Ventus as well.

question 6: why can Lea summon a Keyblade? so much for being "chosen" anymore. I guess anyone can do it if they just try hard enough. this is another thing that bothers me, it seems like everyone can get a keyblade if they want one. so what makes Sora's so special? I mean, Sora's is the Keyblade of the realm of light, and Mickey's is the keyblade of the realm of darkness. so where did Kairi, Riku, and Lea get theirs? I heard somewhere that Riku just "made" his, but how?

Here, as also in question 5, it shows that you haven't played KH: BBS, which holds much crucial information regarding this. Lea can summon a Keyblade because Yen Sid (who is a retired Keyblade Master) performed the inheritance ceremony with him, granting his heart the ability to wield a Keyblade. However, a Keyblade still needs to choose Lea by itself, and it didn't manifest until the end of DDD.
It has nothing to do with "trying". It has been implied that there are many Keyblade Wielders since the KH 1 Ultimania. You have to be either granted the ability to wield (not a Keyblade itself, only the ability) by another Wielder who is power-wise at Master-level or be chosen by the Keyblade itself due to deep connections with another wielder's heart.
Sora's Keyblade itself isn't anything special, it is the same type as Kairi's, Riku's, Xehanort's, Aqua's, Terra's or Ventus'. What makes Sora special is that he never got the inheritance ceremony (unlike all these others)and that he can easily connect with so many hearts. The Keyblade itself came to him due to his heart being so strong (and most likely due to his heart gaining the wielding ability already shortly after birth when he connected with Ventus).
Correction: Sora's Keyblade is ONE Keyblade of the Realm of Light while Mickey's is ONE of the Realm of Darkness. There are as many Keyblades as there are qualified hearts, this is known since KH 2.
Riku didnt made his one consciously or by choice, his dark sword Soul Eater (the wing-like blade) eventually evolved into his new personal Keyblade in KH 2 since his original intended one is now Sora's.
Besides it has been claimed by Nomura several times up to now that Sora is just an ordinary boy with now great special powers except his heart-connection power.

question 7: the X-Blade. okay, so the X-Blade is the only "true" keyblade connected with the "real" kingdom hearts. all others are man-made copies of it, so why does the realm of light have a "keyblade" did someone make Sora's keyblade?

The X-blade is the only true Keyblade, yes, like said above, Sora's Keyblade isn't anything special. It's just one of the thousands of copies made for the Realm of Light.
There are three types of Keyblades:
Light ones (Sora's, Riku's, Kairi's, Aqua's, Terra's, Lea's, Ventus', Xehanort's and Mickey's original Keyblade are all of this type)
Dark ones (Mickey's Kingdom Key D) These are said to be more rare, but still more numerous than the last one.
Heart ones (Riku's dark Keyblade in KH 1) These are incredibly rare and forged by putting Hearts together, came only to exist after the Keyblade War.

The X-blade is outside those types, it's something entirely different.

question8 8: I'm still confused as to how Sora and Riku got separated at the beginning of the game. also, at the very end, in the world that never was, Riku said he was "back in the real world" but why did he still look young?

It was because of Riku's instinct. When Riku saw Ansem SoD in the brown robe he instinctively knew something was wrong and his subconscious desire to protect Sora kicked in, making him dive into Sora's dreams while Sora himself was in the true sleeping worlds.
They still look young in the real world because Yen Sid's magic won't wear off until they return to the Mysterious Tower.

sorry for the avalanche of questions, but I've finally started to care about the series again, and it's a good feeling!

No prob, that's what such forums are for as well.

Contact with a Keyblade-wielder or the Rite of Succession. The only Rite of Succession Keyblade-wielders I can think of are Eraqus, Xehanort, Yen Sid, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Mickey and Riku. The others? They had contact with one of them (Sora and Kairi with Riku, Lea with Ventus, while Roxas and Xion is pretty obvious).

Everyone had the ceremony except Sora (and he doesn't need it since his heart was connected from shortly after his birth to Ventus, granting him the ability as well).
Kairi got the ceremony (accidentally) from Aqua, Lea got it from Yen Sid (Ventus isn't Master level, he cannot perform the ceremony). Roxas got his from both Sora and Ventus while Xion's Keyblade was a fake.

 

[State]

Actually, I think Young Xehanort and Xemnas didnt have to leave their bodies behind because at some point in time, they were a being of pure heart.

I can believe Young Xehanort, but Xemnas? It depends on when Youngnort recruited him. If it was after Sora's first battle with him, it's possible his body perished and what we see during the last sequences of the game is Xemnas' heart connected with the fake Kingdom Hearts he made.

Destiny Islands was not a sleeping world. this was actually said about mid-game(in a flashback). Yen Sid somehow sent sora and riku back in time, I assume imbuing them with some protection from being consumed by darkness like everyone else would've been, and since that world went to sleep that night they were able to access the sleeping worlds from there. Afterwards either Yen Sid or the new Org. brought them to the present.

Right, right, I forgot about that. Thanks for posting.

Grr...must...resist...rant.
A spin-off is something that hasn't anything to do with the main story, such as the new KH PC Browser game that was announced.
BBS is equal to KH 0 while 358/2 and Coded add also to the same main storyline.

Think of the MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK series. A spinoff would be MEGAMAN Battle Chip Challenge and MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK 4.5. The main-branch series is MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK, while the other two are spinoffs that utilize elements of its "father" title and sets its own story in its own time/space.

On the time-travel aspect I won't go into details since Seraph already covered that.

Good to know I covered it A-OK. :]

The Xblade, by the way, was called by Xehanort the physical manifestation of Kingdom Hearts itself, meaning that it really is the true Keyblade, seeing as how it's made from Kingdmo Hearts itself.

 

[H43DPH0N3S]

really? that would seem to make sense..but I don't remember seeing any cutscene saying that. do you know which one? also, if that was simply in the past and not a dream, then how was Ursela there?

 

[State]

really? that would seem to make sense..but I don't remember seeing any cutscene saying that. do you know which one? also, if that was simply in the past and not a dream, then how was Ursela there?

I think Xehanort had to do with that, seeing as how she mentioned someone.

 

[Roxie1563]

@Sephorith: I'm sorry, but Xion's Key-Blade was real to me. It doesn't matter if it was fake or not, she's still wielded one and that mean she is part of the team.

@H43DPHON3S: It was Xehanort who did that to keep eyes on both Sora and Riku while they were traveling to the Sleeping Worlds. Ursula was just the means to do that.

 

[State]

@Sephorith: I'm sorry, but Xion's Key-Blade was real to me. It doesn't matter if it was fake or not, she's still wielded one and that mean she is part of the team.

Anything can grow a heart, meaning she's a rightful wielder, since we speculate she has a heart.

 

[Roxie1563]

Anything can grow a heart, meaning she's a rightful wielder, since we speculate she has a heart.

Yeah, but she's her own person. Surely, that counts for something, right?

 

[State]

Yeah, but she's her own person. Surely, that counts for something, right?

Mmhmm, correct. THAT'S why she needs saving (or Sora considers she DESERVES to be saved).

 

[Roxie1563]

Mmhmm, correct. THAT'S why she needs saving (or Sora considers she DESERVES to be saved).

Well, I'm glad that Xion is part of the saving as the others as well.

 

[flyingfishstick]

http://forums.khinsider.com/kingdom-hearts-3d/170010-making-sense-unexplained.html
The thread linked above is godly. It should help explain most of the time travel logic in this series. It should be noted that various punctuation marks have turned into these "â€" for some reason.