Kingdom Hearts III Pre-Release Spoiler Discussion Thread

[drew0512]

It makes me feel kinda disapointed....

And I feel extremely interested and intrigued, lol.

 

[I_Need_ThemLeaks]

With the hq opening it would appear Xehanort's eyes are actually silver which I was skeptical on before. Very interesting looking more and more like a possession.

 

[Grono]

This is why I don't think we can rely on him 100%. If you don't see it, don't make a judgment on it. This Scala stuff literally makes no sense without proper context.

 

[ethan1519]

I wonder if the leaker meant that once you get to Scala, you are thrown into a battle with maybe one of the Xehanorts, and then in between Xehanort battles, the world is swarming with difficult heartless and such, but it can still be explored before returning to battle.

 

[DizneyXBirds95]

I’m glad we have Disney worlds that actually fit with the main plot this time. The world choices in this game are inspired because they were decided based on what worked best for the story rather than just picking random Disney properties out of a hat. That randomness was fun in KH1 when it at least brought the villains and princesses together, but after that it just made the Disney content mostly filler in the other games.

Here’s my observations on how these worlds fit with the main plot and/or themes:

Olympus: Sora is training to regain the strength he lost in DDD.

Toy Box: Xehanort is studying how the toys form hearts, much like the Nobodies and Replicas do. It also brings in the concept of split worlds from DDD.

Monstropolis: Vanitas is using children’s screams to gain power for himself and the Unversed.

Corona: Not 100% clear what Marluxia’s goal is, but it ties into the Princesses of Heart plot. The world also fits with his flower motif, maybe even bringing up his relation to Strelitzia. It might even play on the parallel of Marluxia holding Namine captive like Mother Gothel does with Rapunzel.

Arendelle: The theme of a frozen heart was practically written in just so Kingdom Hearts could use it. We also have Larxene trying to push Elsa towards darkness and more Princess of Heart stuff.

The Caribbean: Luxord is looking for the black box, which seems to lead him to Davy Jones, a character who is essentially a Nobody in his own right.

San Fransokyo: This world ties into the KH theme of friends falling to darkness, including the parallel between OG Baymax and Aqua’s sacrifice and subsequent falls to darkness, considering Sora will attempt to save Aqua right after he and Hiro save Dark Baymax. Plus, the Bug Blox attacking the city tying into Re:Coded.

As for environmental diversity, you’d have to be pretty dense to think these aren’t diverse environments with a lot of creative potential.

I’d certainly love to see more worlds in addition to what we have, so I can see the argument for more worlds for more variety. But I certainly wouldn’t exchange any we have just for the sake of adding in a property that’s less popular because that somehow makes it better. Square Enix has been incredibly creative with the worlds they’ve chosen to give them the KH “outside of the box” flair despite the worlds being based on more popular franchises that make those choices even more high risk for Disney.

I agree. Although I will have to respectfully disagree with Most Disney worlds after the first KH game specifically KH2 are filler. Yes, some of them don't held a candle to the Disney worlds in the first game in terms of lessons and plot, but also not EVERY Disney world in Kingdom Hearts II followed the "movies plot" cause pretty much the only ones that had the alternate plot of the movie were the Mulan, Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean worlds and the KH2 version of Atlántica. The other worlds such as Olympus, 100 Acre Wood, Halloween Town, Beasts Castle and Space Paranoids all had plot lines unrelated to the actual movie, with the latter two being connected to the KH plot and Halloween Town's plot taking place after the events of the movie just like the Big Hero 6 and Monsters Inc. worlds in Kingdom Hearts III.

Now that isn't to say that the Disney worlds in KH2 are good cause at the end of the day they still had their flaws. However many people gloss over Space Paranoids (Tron) was very important to the Kingdom Hearts II plot cause:

1. Sora wanted to use Ansem's computer for research and information on the whereabouts on Riku, Kairi, King Mickey and the Organization.

2. Tron mentioned that Ansem the Wise was the one that copied the original system from ENCOM and also brought up about how Ansem (Terra-Xehanort's Heartless) was responsible for the re-activation of the MCP)

3. The MCP wanted to take over the User World (Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden) twice the first when he attempted to blow up the town before Tron changed the password and the second time by opening the Heartless manufacturer in Ansem's lab and corrupting the Claymores.

4. After SDG and Tron defeated the MCP and Sark, Tron brought up the original name of the world: Radiant Garden which led to the inhabitants remembering the town's name once again.

But hey Agree to disagree, I'm honestly am excited with how KH3 Disney worlds fit into the KH3 plot, in addition I actually agree with what you said, "The world choices were. decided based on what worked best for the story rather than just picking random Disney properties out of a hat." Honestly this, it would be interesting for the next games if they will choose the Disney worlds based on what fits within in the story or just randomly, cause tbh I would rather choose a Disney world just because it fit within the story rather than just coming to the world just for the sake of its appearance in Unreal Engine 4 (e.g. Halloween Town) or continuation due to the direct-to video sequel (e.g. Lion King, Atlántica.)

Also with Arendelle, even though the Namine parallel is mostly reserved for Marluxia and the Kingdom of Corona I would also consider it for Arendelle as well cause it does parallel Larxene's abuse on Namine in Castle Oblivion and her actions in the world with Sora does mirror her actions when she previously taunted Sora in Chain of Memories.

Your commentary only proves my point, which is that KH1 and 2 succeeded where KH3 confounds and disappoints in this regard. Nomura was able to craft stories utilizing a wide range of Disney IPs in past games which lent the franchise a sense of creative breadth, the creative foundations of the series notwithstanding-- indeed, it was the Disney brand reputation which constituted both the series' main selling point and its primary hurdle to overcome from the early stages of development through to the marketing side. The fact that Nomura and co. were able to defy expectations and create a successful crossover with actual franchise potential considering the content he had to work with and the prejudices he had to subvert (mine own included) is not (just) the result of a lucky pitch or a stroke of genius; rather there was an obvious, concerted effort with the first title to press against the boundaries of what a Disney video game could offer to players in terms of narrative, gameplay and aesthetics. KH1 and the subsequent entries have largely succeeded based on the merits of a willingness to go against the finely polished grain of Disney's mega-corporate status and substitute the standard assurances which accompany it with less predictable gaming experiences that don't shy from veering off the beaten path and making weird decisions which are in no way guaranteed to garner popularity. The idea is that it's not enough to just rehash the same Disney ubiquity which we are constantly exposed to, but that there's a mandate to expand upon and occasionally challenge or redefine its dimensions. KH3 is, in so many ways, more akin to what many supposed KH1 would be in its approach: a Kids Bop! style hits album of Disney's popularest eyecandy personified in a thinly narrated excuse to put anime shit and Mickey Mouse on the same Hot Topic t-shirt.

That's why I say Disney doesn't understand the appeal. This is all relative, of course: yes, KH is still a Disney franchise with basically cynical consumerist ambitions to make the big bucks for its producers, but there is nevertheless something to be said for the conceptual craftsmanship of the previous games implied within that unwillingness to settle for the easy angle. With the exception of KH2's first half, which we all hate anyway.


I don't think I've ever seen a justification for a Disney world that couldn't work within the context of a KH game (because the whole series is structured around stock Disney motifs), and KH3 in particular could have benefited from a spectrum of lesser known titles which are not superior because they are unpopular but because they are both directly relevant to themes and storylines that KH3 has at its center and, at the same time, they stand as distinctive markers within a stratified universe. Unlike KoC and Arendelle, or Toy Box and San Fransokyo, which are essentially cut from the same cloth with some decorative differences, worlds like that of Black Cauldron, Atlantis, Alice in Wonderland, and Lilo & Stitch are all like little cultural microcosms that provide a sense of range and scale to the universe, from the ancient and long-hidden underwater civilization to the war-torn kingdom to the quiet, intimate beach town to the bizarre dreamscape, they each have a character that is all their own and the reason for visiting the Disney worlds is to watch our protagonist's story collide with and influence and, ultimately, depart having been influenced in return by the internal convolutions of each Disney setting. So knowing that the KH plot will be literally going on "in the background" of the Frozen story, or that Toy Box and BH6 are "canon" so there are now restrictions on what can and can't take place and everything has to adhere to previously established plot mechanics which follow from a story that was never intended to accommodate the KH universe, is disheartening. I don't care that Organization members show up in the world to babble incomprehensibly at Sora, that's a lazy shortcut to making them seem essential when any Disney (or original world) setting could serve the same purpose.

Any Disney movie can be made to resonate with the plot of KH with barely any work at all. Inspired selections go beyond that to consider what the KH universe looks like with them in it. KH3, despite showcasing these individually sizable worlds, ends up feeling rather small.

I approve of this!!

 

[Darkspawn]

I agree. Although I will have to respectfully disagree with Most Disney worlds after the first KH game specifically KH2 are filler. Yes, some of them don't held a candle to the Disney worlds in the first game in terms of lessons and plot, but also not EVERY Disney world in Kingdom Hearts II followed the "movies plot" cause pretty much the only ones that had the alternate plot of the movie were the Mulan, Lion King, the Pirates of the Caribbean worlds and the KH2 version of Atlántica. The other worlds such as Olympus, 100 Acre Wood, Halloween Town, Beasts Castle and Space Paranoids all had plot lines unrelated to the actual movie, with the latter two being connected to the KH plot and Halloween Town's plot taking place after the events of the movie just like the Big Hero 6 and Monsters Inc. worlds in Kingdom Hearts III.

Now that isn't to say that the Disney worlds in KH2 are good cause at the end of the day they still had their flaws. However many people gloss over Space Paranoids (Tron) was very important to the Kingdom Hearts II plot cause:

1. Sora wanted to use Ansem's computer for research and information on the whereabouts on Riku, Kairi, King Mickey and the Organization.

2. Tron mentioned that Ansem the Wise was the one that copied the original system from ENCOM and also brought up about how Ansem (Terra-Xehanort's Heartless) was responsible for the re-activation of the MCP)

3. The MCP wanted to take over the User World (Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden) twice the first when he attempted to blow up the town before Tron changed the password and the second time by opening the Heartless manufacturer in Ansem's lab and corrupting the Claymores.

4. After SDG and Tron defeated the MCP and Sark, Tron brought up the original name of the world: Radiant Garden which led to the inhabitants remembering the town's name once again.

But hey Agree to disagree, I'm honestly am excited with how KH3 Disney worlds fit into the KH3 plot, in addition I actually agree with what you said, "The world choices were. decided based on what worked best for the story rather than just picking random Disney properties out of a hat." Honestly this, it would be interesting for the next games if they will choose the Disney worlds based on what fits within in the story or just randomly, cause tbh I would rather choose a Disney world just because it fit within the story rather than just coming to the world just for the sake of its appearance in Unreal Engine 4 (e.g. Halloween Town) or continuation due to the direct-to video sequel (e.g. Lion King, Atlántica.)

Also with Arendelle, even though the Namine parallel is mostly reserved for Marluxia and the Kingdom of Corona I would also consider it for Arendelle as well cause it does parallel Larxene's abuse on Namine in Castle Oblivion and do mirror her actions when she taunted Sora.

This is why I said they were mostly filler outside of KH1. While there have been some exceptions, the majority of the worlds are filler regardless of whether they followed the film’s plot or not.

 

[sorawild]

I love the opening. Y'know...if they took out the overabundance of sokai like come on namine and riku did more for sora than kairi ever did like her god damn tears of light didn't save sora. namine and riku worked hard and roxas sacrificed himself ughhhhh this revisionist history is killing me

Im honestly glad they are finally doubling down on sokai. It's been very obvious that it was the canon ship since KH1. But yea, kairi has been next to useless this entire series. She existed to be rescued in KH1 and 2, then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the series up until now.

 

[robotman]

I was just looking at rumours again and I came across that twitter account that the leaker is calling fake. He said that Skuld is the final boss, I've never played KHX but I like the thought of having a female antagonist and she looks cool lol. I doubt that it's true as it'd be a huge curve ball and probably wouldn't make sense but it's seems like a really random lie for someone to say.

Is she the main villain in the mobile game? Do any of you know anything about her?

 

[mytomxxx]

Spoiler Show

Axel in the rain fihgting against roxas at the opening looks so F beautiful.

 

[drew0512]

I was just looking at rumours again and I came across that twitter account that the leaker is calling fake. He said that Skuld is the final boss, I've never played KHX but I like the thought of having a female antagonist and she looks cool lol. I doubt that it's true as it'd be a huge curve ball and probably wouldn't make sense but it's seems like a really random lie for someone to say.

Is she the main villain in the mobile game? Do any of you know anything about her?

KhUX spoilers:

Spoiler Show

No, she's a friend of the Player and member of the Dandelions. The other members are Ephemer (another friend), Marluxia's and Larxene's Somebodies, Ven and another mysterious guy with a laughable name.

 

[Elysium]

I'm more certain that what happened was a push from executives to focus on Disney and Pixar before all else.

I can believe that's possible, considering the complaints about KH2's Disney worlds. Nomura should've pushed back if that was the case though. If one half of the series (Disney) got screwed in KH2, you don't respond by screwing the other half (FF) instead. I swear, their response to criticism is extreme. People complained about the controls in Atlantica in KH1 and we didn't see another water world for 17 years instead of, you know, working out a way to make the swimming controls better?

I wouldn't mind hearing "Face My Fears" in full, but I'm not watching the opening until the game is at my door. I haven't looked at any videos that have leaked since this all started although I'm fine with reading spoilers.

 

[Darkspawn]

I can believe that's possible, considering the complaints about KH2's Disney worlds. Nomura should've pushed back if that was the case though. If one half of the series (Disney) got screwed in KH2, you don't respond by screwing the other half (FF) instead. I swear, their response to criticism is extreme. People complained about the controls in Atlantica in KH1 and we didn't see another water world for 17 years instead of, you know, working out a way to make the swimming controls better?

I wouldn't mind hearing "Face My Fears" in full, but I'm not watching the opening until the game is at my door. I haven't looked at any videos that have leaked since this all started although I'm fine with reading spoilers.

I agree with this. I think they’re having a difficult time finding a creative balance between all the elements that make KH what it is. Honestly, if this game just had playable Radiant Garden with an FF focus, an FF party member somewhere, maybe two more worlds based on 2D properties, and a fully explorable original final dungeon, this would be my ideal Kingdom Hearts game. As it stands, I think it’ll still be an excellent game in its own right; it just won’t hit all my idealistic marks.

 

[KHFan91]

I'm trying to remain positive about the whole thing, but this leaker is trying to ruin things for everyone.

Spoiler Show

What info will this guy leak next? Kairi, as it turns out, is not a playable character, nor a party member for one of the last worlds?

 

[drew0512]

I'm trying to remain positive about the whole thing, but this leaker is trying to ruin things for everyone.

Are you referring to something new or just in general?

 

[mytomxxx]

As it stands, I think it’ll still be an excellent game in its own right; it just won’t hit all my idealistic marks.

I'm realising how highs were my expectations of this game. Since I finished kh2 and saw the secret ending (10 years back), I visualized kh3 getting all the good things in kh1 and kh2 and making it better.
Has been kinda hard, this mixed feelings, I want the game so hard, but at the same time, there is so much they could do to make it better.
It sure looks a fantastic game, tho a really small original world as TT really is odd to see. I even can say this is the smallest hub town so far in the series? And for kh3 I always wanted, to say "dude it have everything the others game have, but more and better".

 

[KHFan91]

Are you referring to something new or just in general?

It's in general mostly. People from other sites and forums like GameFAQS are getting into wars over the leaks, and it has me pretty scared that KHIII won't be very good.

 

[maximumlight8]

So Face my Fears has a full download of the song out there, however I just want to warn people to not download it. It is illegal and you can probably be fined for doing it.

 

[Muke]

So now he's asking if he should do a poll about posting story spoilers. Seems like he wants to do it now. Bleh. At elast stay true to your words dude

 

[drew0512]

It's in general mostly. People from other sites and forums like GameFAQS are getting into wars over the leaks, and it has me pretty scared that KHIII won't be very good.

I see. People are just overreaction out of frustration, because we're getting costant leaks about a game we can't play. Things will change after its release.

So now he's asking if he should do a poll about posting story spoilers. Seems like he wants to do it now. Bleh. At elast stay true to your words dude​

We're getting close to the release date, he needs a way to stay relevant.

 

[Leaferian]

So now he's asking if he should do a poll about posting story spoilers. Seems like he wants to do it now. Bleh. At elast stay true to your words dude

He also said shortly afterward that he wouldn't do that until after the game has come out.