Kairi should have been the star of the Kingdom Hearts franchise!

[Cumguardian69]

Dont get ahead of yourself Bass, we dont even know to what extent Kairi will be the focus of MoM. Remember that Sora seems to be the main playable character at least from curreent pre release info.

 

[Foxycian]

I think they just forgot that scene in Deep Jungle honestly. Since that world was forever blown up by the Heartless offscreen I think anything that happens there will remain lost in canon. Look how long it took just to get the Powerwilds back in a new game.

You know I often forget Ventus is suppose to be inside Sora by KH1, always escapes me. Funny how his heart never reacts to seeing Hercules, Phil, Stitch, Scrooge Mcduck, Snow White, Aurora, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, or even Mickey Mouse. I suppose they weren't that close to Ventus after all. Not even Mickey.

And best of all, it does not freak out when Sora sees a photo of Roxas in Twilight Town and go "Holy crap that's me!" and that's not even bringing up anything Union X could bring. Good thing they had that 'his heart is dreaming' thing or this would be worthy of a juicy nitpick.

Sora and Ventus have identical/similar personality, remember the quote Sora/Ventus used? my friends are my power! Ventus could react to Disney characters and we still wouldn’t notice cause he and Sora are pretty much alike.

 

[disney233]

I look and see how people are saying Nomura doesn't know what to do with Kairi, but he said all the way back in KH1's Ultimania that he wanted to delve deeper into her backstory and make her playable in some form, but he couldn't go forward with it because we didn't know if the first game was just going to be a one-and-done thing, and by the time the series proved itself, he had to work on expanding the story itself, and due to everyone's placement, Sora and Riku were the best choices to focus on for CoM.

At least we're finally getting around to her getting prominence now.

I want to agree with this. I really do...but I can't turn a blind eye that he's left Kairi on the bench for 18 years. Here's some ignorance from me: I don't know how game development is over there, but...surely he could've thought of SOME FORM of Kairi gameplay 18 years in on KH's success.

I want to be excited on the fact that we're getting it now, but it still doesn't sit well with me how he could've developed her much more earlier in. Even when we get a Kairi-centric game, she doesn't even seem like the main focus. I mean given how...bland her character is in 3, I can see why. It REALLY just seemed like, throughout these 18 years, I wouldn't surprise me if he lost interest in her. Or really half of the main cast.

 

[Violet Pluto]

I really have to resist the compulsion to read or reply to these threads, because it's very easy for me to just get frustrated with the subject.

Do I think Kairi should have been the protagonist? No, not really. With the current story there's no real reason for her to be so. I don't think that "She's more important plot-wise than Sora" is a legitimate excuse as plot importance isn't a huge factor for main characters. Millions of stories that have been told and loved star about characters who are fish out of water and not hugely important to the plot itself but important to the resolution. The Wizard of Oz for one, though Dorothy is slightly important to the plot because of her silver slippers she's not secretly a witch from Earth or something; she's a normal girl in an odd situation who is able to, through extraordinary work save Oz from the various witches. I'm talking about the books not the movie.

Do I think Kairi sucks? No, again not really. She's only in three games really KH, II, and III. I get it if some think of her as a plot device, and yes she's not exactly Ms. Action Hero, but she has a character, we just see so little of her that it has no time to shine through. That's unfortunate but isn't impossible to fix. We already know a bit about her character from the KH trio but also through Sora at various points in KH because,
"Kairi's... Inside me?"
Which if she gets screentime (which she's fighting not only the female cast for, but every superfluous Disney world too) could really be the difference in how people feel about her.

I don't know where the "Disney only put Kairi in so that Sora and Riku wouldn't be gay" thing came from, nor do I really care but under the hypothetical that that is true, I'll play devil's advocate. Kairi fits perfectly into the story of KH1 as not only is she plot important, but she's important to both Sora and Riku. She's the target of their affections and because KH's themes were so much about jealousy and rivalry and friendship it helped to explore Sora and Riku's relationship to each other. Sora wanted to be on level with Riku, while Riku was jealous of Sora, not only because of the Keyblade but because he's always so social, happy and can make friends so easily, and the infamous "raft" conversation really was meant to show that Kairi liked Sora better too; and Riku probably isn't blind, so of course he's bitter, which helps lead into how easily he's manipulated. She's important to the story and the plot in that game, but because of how it plays out isn't in the forefront. I'd even posit that KH1 wouldn't be nearly as good without Kairi.

 

[Cumguardian69]

I agree Kairi was mechanically important for KH1 to play out the way it did...but only as a plot device. You could replace the name, entity, character of "Kairi" with "The Zohar", "The Conduit", "The Architect", literally any macguffin and it owuld play out the same. Hell, you could even call Kairi "The Keyblade" and KH would play the same. because she didn't really do anything in KH1. she was absent like 89% of the game, and when she finally returned, she was told to stay out of it because it was too dangerous. lmfao

 

[Absent]

I want to agree with this. I really do...but I can't turn a blind eye that he's left Kairi on the bench for 18 years. Here's some ignorance from me: I don't know how game development is over there, but...surely he could've thought of SOME FORM of Kairi gameplay 18 years in on KH's success.

I want to be excited on the fact that we're getting it now, but it still doesn't sit well with me how he could've developed her much more earlier in. Even when we get a Kairi-centric game, she doesn't even seem like the main focus. I mean given how...bland her character is in 3, I can see why. It REALLY just seemed like, throughout these 18 years, I wouldn't surprise me if he lost interest in her. Or really half of the main cast.

And how easy it was for people to eat up Re:Mind and forgive Nomura/Square. I mean you have to wonder, 18 years? At that point it has to be contentiously deliberate.

 

[BassDS]

I want to agree with this. I really do...but I can't turn a blind eye that he's left Kairi on the bench for 18 years. Here's some ignorance from me: I don't know how game development is over there, but...surely he could've thought of SOME FORM of Kairi gameplay 18 years in on KH's success.

I want to be excited on the fact that we're getting it now, but it still doesn't sit well with me how he could've developed her much more earlier in. Even when we get a Kairi-centric game, she doesn't even seem like the main focus. I mean given how...bland her character is in 3, I can see why. It REALLY just seemed like, throughout these 18 years, I wouldn't surprise me if he lost interest in her. Or really half of the main cast.

If he lost interest in her, then she wouldn't have been in MoM's debut trailer.

Also, what do you expect, he just kept adding characters until the cast started to get too big; he essentially trapped himself in and he had to work on satisfying all of their plot points when III's end came. Hence why the Wayfinder trio and the Seasalt trio are doing their own things to try and find a link to Sora; it intentionally shelves them until Nomura deems it time to bring them back to counter whatever motives MoM and the Foretellers have.

 

[Cumguardian69]

And how easy it was for people to eat up Re:Mind and forgive Nomura/Square. I mean you have to wonder, 18 years? At that point it has to be contentiously deliberate.

Nobody ate up remind, trust me, its story content was horribly lacking and MoM is just cut content from the already cut content that was Remind. Look at those completely awkward time displacements and broken scenes. Kairi's best appearance aside from being playable for 3-5 minutes was in a throwback cutscene to KH2(FM), where it was the fragments of her heart that took the stage!

 

[Absent]

Nobody ate up remind, trust me, its story content was horribly lacking and MoM is just cut content from the already cut content that was Remind.

There's a world beyond this forum. Casually browse twitter, tumblr, facebook groups, and other forums. Re:Mind was a success and the majority of the fanbase praised Nomura for making Kairi playable for one battle. Supportive and forgiving fans are the majority, while bitter and bored folk like me are the loud minority.

 

[redcrown]

Kairi fits perfectly into the story of KH1 as not only is she plot important, but she's important to both Sora and Riku. She's the target of their affections and because KH's themes were so much about jealousy and rivalry and friendship it helped to explore Sora and Riku's relationship to each other. Sora wanted to be on level with Riku, while Riku was jealous of Sora, not only because of the Keyblade but because he's always so social, happy and can make friends so easily, and the infamous "raft" conversation really was meant to show that Kairi liked Sora better too; and Riku probably isn't blind, so of course he's bitter, which helps lead into how easily he's manipulated.

Was this ever really confirmed though? I see this said a lot but it feels like a big assumption by a lot of people simply because it's been done in other works, with KH1 and the rest of the series itself never claiming this was actually the case.

 

[Elysium]

Sora and Ventus have identical/similar personality, remember the quote Sora/Ventus used? my friends are my power! Ventus could react to Disney characters and we still wouldn’t notice cause he and Sora are pretty much alike.

Ventus is much more childish and snotty than Sora, imo… I'd call Sora dumb, but not childish exactly. Those are two different things.

I agree Kairi was mechanically important for KH1 to play out the way it did...but only as a plot device.

This. Nobody would disagree she does serve a plot function, in KH1 at least, just like Alice, Jasmine, Cinderella, etc. She isn't really a character like the Disney princesses are though. Unlike her, they all had movies that developed them and showed their personality (well, I guess Aurora is a blank slate the way Kairi is, I'll give you that one). KH never did that for Kairi.

 

[Violet Pluto]

Was this ever really confirmed though? I see this said a lot but it feels like a big assumption by a lot of people simply because it's been done in other works, with KH1 and the rest of the series itself never claiming this was actually the case.

The implication is right here. The Paopu is a fruit that intertwines the destinies of those who eat it together. It might not be said outright but it is definitely implied that both Sora and Riku have feelings for Kairi at least in the first game.

EDIT: To add on to that, if Sora wins, Riku states:
"Whatever it's just a name," and doesn't acknowledge the second part of the wager, and is a bad sport about the whole thing in doing so. He probably wouldn't have done so if he didn't feel some way about Kairi.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I want to agree with this. I really do...but I can't turn a blind eye that he's left Kairi on the bench for 18 years. Here's some ignorance from me: I don't know how game development is over there, but...surely he could've thought of SOME FORM of Kairi gameplay 18 years in on KH's success.

I want to be excited on the fact that we're getting it now, but it still doesn't sit well with me how he could've developed her much more earlier in. Even when we get a Kairi-centric game, she doesn't even seem like the main focus. I mean given how...bland her character is in 3, I can see why. It REALLY just seemed like, throughout these 18 years, I wouldn't surprise me if he lost interest in her. Or really half of the main cast.

I partially agree with this. Kairi should have been more more developed and involved with the series. Kairi's past, while interesting, doesn't match up with what we should be building up right now and that is the Zoo-Keys(Foretellers) this feels like a lost Xehanort episode that should have been told years ago.

The main argument I'm seeing is, is it too late to salvage Kairi? For me it is not. Kairi did not have that good of a start, but if they can develop her now and keep a steady pace with her for the rest of the series I think she'll be okay. In comics there are a lot of characters that didn't start off well but became much better as time went on through more exposure and better story telling. I can understand if people simply don't like Kairi and don't want to waste time on her. Nothing wrong with that. But if you plan to buy this Melody of Memories knowing Kairi will have a big role, you don't have to love or even like her, but at least give her a chance. Otherwise you likely won't enjoy the story portion of this game much at all.

 

[kirabook]

I don't know if it's too late or not, but... I don't know. I don't hate Kairi, obviously, but even if I wish Nomura would do more for her, I can't ignore all the times he purposely didn't do anything with her.

I'll never forgive him for fridging her in the middle of battle for seemingly no other reason than making Sora mad. Maybe the outrage from KH3 was finally enough to turn the tables? If KH is to last another 18 years, maybe Kairi can catch up with everyone else?

I dunno. I'm not invested right now and kinda watching from afar honestly.

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I don't know if it's too late or not, but... I don't know. I don't hate Kairi, obviously, but even if I wish Nomura would do more for her, I can't ignore all the times he purposely didn't do anything with her.

I'll never forgive him for fridging her in the middle of battle for seemingly no other reason than making Sora mad. Maybe the outrage from KH3 was finally enough to turn the tables? If KH is to last another 18 years, maybe Kairi can catch up with everyone else?

I dunno. I'm not invested right now and kinda watching from afar honestly.

This is fair, I understand this. I mean truthfully it would be foolish to expect more out of Kairi after KH3 hyped her up to be doing something and then KH3 comes and she does nothing till ReMind. But now I think they are aware of Kairi's expectations.

 

[Foxycian]

Ventus is much more childish and snotty than Sora, imo… I'd call Sora dumb, but not childish exactly. Those are two different things.

It’s actually the opposite, it’s true both are childish but Ventus in birth by sleep showed many signs of maturity more then Sora, Sora did also had his moments of being smart and not childish but not much tbh, we didn’t get much screen time of Ventus in bbs compared to Sora in the entire franchise, but the amount of screen time Ventus had it showed how he can be mature in serious situations.

 

[redcrown]

The implication is right here. The Paopu is a fruit that intertwines the destinies of those who eat it together. It might not be said outright but it is definitely implied that both Sora and Riku have feelings for Kairi at least in the first game.

EDIT: To add on to that, if Sora wins, Riku states:
"Whatever it's just a name," and doesn't acknowledge the second part of the wager, and is a bad sport about the whole thing in doing so. He probably wouldn't have done so if he didn't feel some way about Kairi.

You could easily argue he only did that to taunt Sora since he suspects he likes her and uses that against him to raise the stakes for their competitive games with each other, rather than out of genuine romantic feelings for Kairi. Most of Riku's behavior in the first game is an extension of this; competing with Sora to be the stronger of the two and using Kairi as a prop of bait to achieve that end. If they really wanted to imply that then I don't think they wouldn't have been that subtle about it, as they certainly weren't about Sora's feelings for her.

 

[Violet Pluto]

You could easily argue he only did that to taunt Sora since he suspects he likes her and uses that against him to raise the stakes for their competitive games with each other, rather than out of genuine romantic feelings for Kairi. Most of Riku's behavior in the first game is an extension of this; competing with Sora to be the stronger of the two and using Kairi as a prop of bait to achieve that end. If they really wanted to imply that then I don't think they wouldn't have been that subtle about it, as they certainly weren't about Sora's feelings for her.

I mean you can argue that but I see no reason to make it about Kairi, especially since literally anything can set off Sora's competitiveness. In fact that scene is an odd one because throughout that entire conversation only the bet part is voiced meaning that it was important enough to warrant voice-over and we have already seen scenes to highlight Sora's rivalry with Riku, meaning this part is likely about something else; and without that scene it's really just a minigame of little importance.

To your second point, Sora's feelings for Kairi are implied through a good portion of the game, and even then he doesn't actually outright say it. And Sora is the more emotionally honest person among the two. Riku does have a rivalry with Sora but he acts like it doesn't matter to him even though he treats it seriously when it comes to actually competing, when he finds Sora in Traverse Town instead of coming out and talking about how he really feels, he just veils how bitter he is and leaves. My point in this is just because Sora is an open book with his feelings, that doesn't mean Riku's are going to be out there as clearly. Especially on Destiny Islands where he's still trying to keep up his unaffected facade.