Kingdom Hearts Missing Link - story discussion thread

[Squood!]

Key_Cast pointed out how some of the objects on the beach in Scala include a VHS tape, microwave, and a bike. These must be from Quadratum right?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1788056268126482909

Bike from Drakengard

Microwave from Nier Replicant

VHS tape from Nier Automata

Checkmate, baby.

 

[LoneFox]

I don’t recall any VCRs in Daybreak Town. Lol

There weren't any shown in the game, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist there. They would fit the default technology level of KH original worlds very well.

Remember the astral plane connects existence to non-existence.(aka Reality and Unreality.) So the distortions are likely pulling things in from the other side… (including the Player.)

One of Quadratum's main characteristics is supposed to be that it's hard to get there and even harder to get back. If random objects are able to come through in some way, then shouldn't people (and heartless) also be able to do the same easily? This doesn't add up. Of course there will be some kind of connection in the future, when Sigurd ends up in Quadratum as old man, but that has to be several decades after the beginning of the story.

I guess it's still possible that the objects did come from somewhere else through the Astral Plane. We need to learn how the warp worlds work before ruling that out.

 

[Chie]

I interpreted it as stuff could wash up there from any world, so it might not be relevant where it's from in particular.

 

[LucemFerto]

Something I've been thinking about is how many societies there are in the game and what they will be called. Because we do have the Baroque Society and if it's theme naming - which would be very cool - I could easily see a Renaissance and Gothic Society popping up.

 

[Darkspawn]

There weren't any shown in the game, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist there. They would fit the default technology level of KH original worlds very well.

I disagree. KH original world tech tends to be fairly abstract and not equivalent to real world tech. I think the only world in the series a VHS tape would really fit is Toy Box since it takes place in the 90’s. It could be from there, but I still think it’s more likely a hint at stuff coming over from the “real world”.

One of Quadratum's main characteristics is supposed to be that it's hard to get there and even harder to get back. If random objects are able to come through in some way, then shouldn't people (and heartless) also be able to do the same easily? This doesn't add up. Of course there will be some kind of connection in the future, when Sigurd ends up in Quadratum as old man, but that has to be several decades after the beginning of the story.

I guess it's still possible that the objects did come from somewhere else through the Astral Plane. We need to learn how the warp worlds work before ruling that out.

It’s hard to get to in present day, but this is a different era when the boundary between existence and non-existence is not as stable. But it’s still not “easy” per se. The distortions are seemingly random and uncontrollable, so it’s not like people can go through them whenever they want.

But if my suspicions are correct, we’ve already seen one person come thru which is the Player, My theory is they ended up in Quadratum just like Strelitzia after their death in UX, but were caught in a distortion and brought back to this time period without their memories.

It’s also worth noting that Quadratum uses Scala language by the time of KH4. So there’s likely going to be more people crossing over at some point during the events of Missing Link. Either thru distortions or… the less pleasant way.

 

[Liodin]

It’s also worth noting that Quadratum uses Scala language by the time of KH4. So there’s likely going to be more people crossing over at some point during the events of Missing Link. Either thru distortions or… the less pleasant way.

Well, I guess it's time to share one of my theories:

1. The astral plane is the real world - Quadratum is in the real world
2. Freya says no one exists in the astral plane - Quadratum is full of people
3. Scala is full of people in ML - Scala is practically abandoned in DR

The people of Scala will flee from Darkness through the astral plane and found Quadratum. That's why Sigurd is there and the Scala language is used. And that's also why I think Luxord could appear in ML. Also the reason Xehanort knows about unreality and why he's there in his 14th life. Will Brain be it's founder?

And that's why Player took Xehanort to the Desnity Islands, to protect him from Darkness so that it would not find him. Xehanort couldn't go to Quadratum like his mom and the others because he had to stay, since he "was" the child of destiny, the one who would save the world from darkness.

If the Game Central Station where Darkness was trapped and Player died is really part of Unreality, I suspect that Darkness will find it's way to escape, like Player does, thanks to the connection between the astral plane and Scala, unreality and reality. And maybe it's the reason there are heartless there too.

And seeing how just the Darkness created from Baldr's negative emotions was able to cause so much damage, I can't even imagine what if 4 Darkness out of the original 13, but out of the 6 less strong ones, attacked Scala and his people. What will it take to defeat or trap them?

That's why I also believe that after the attack and the destruction Darkness will cause, it will be the reason why Scala will renew itself to what it is today.

 

[Squood!]

I disagree. KH original world tech tends to be fairly abstract and not equivalent to real world tech. I think the only world in the series a VHS tape would really fit is Toy Box since it takes place in the 90’s. It could be from there, but I still think it’s more likely a hint at stuff coming over from the “real world”.

I dunno, I always saw Destiny Islands and Twilight Town as somewhere in the 90s-00s tech range even if the former is more shaky since we never see much of it.

 

[LoneFox]

I dunno, I always saw Destiny Islands and Twilight Town as somewhere in the 90s-00s tech range even if the former is more shaky since we never see much of it.

More like mid-80s. In the 90s, microcomputers and mobile phones were already common, and we haven't seen any of those in KH (although I bet Pence owns the equivalent of a Commodore 64).

 

[Darkspawn]

Well, I guess it's time to share one of my theories:

1. The astral plane is the real world - Quadratum is in the real world
2. Freya says no one exists in the astral plane - Quadratum is full of people
3. Scala is full of people in ML - Scala is practically abandoned in DR

The astral plane is more likely just how the people of this era refer to the Final World. Freya says it bridges existence and non-existence. Quadratum is known to be in the side of non-existence. Not in between, so they aren’t the same thing.

That’s also why the Astral Plane has the same layering effect Yozora uses in the Final World in KH3. The Yozora fight takes place in an illusory version of Quadratum. Afterwards Yozora wakes up in the real Quadratun having slipped into the Final World/Astral Plane in his dreams.

 

[Liodin]

The astral plane is more likely just how the people of this era refer to the Final World. Freya says it bridges existence and non-existence. Quadratum is known to be in the side of non-existence. Not in between, so they aren’t the same thing.

That’s also why the Astral Plane has the same layering effect Yozora uses in the Final World in KH3. The Yozora fight takes place in an illusory version of Quadratum. Afterwards Yozora wakes up in the real Quadratun having slipped into the Final World/Astral Plane in his dreams.

Chirithy describes The Final World as the edge of reality that a heart reaches just before vanishing. It is closely intertwined with the Station of Awakening and the realm of sleep.

How does your theory fit into that? Is the Final World made of mental energies then? Is the Final World connected to reality with distortions, and not with the Station of Awakening and the realm of sleep?

And how does the Quadratum destroyed in the Verum Rex trailer fit into that? Was that fake too?

 

[Darkspawn]

Chirithy describes The Final World as the edge of reality that a heart reaches just before vanishing. It is closely intertwined with the Station of Awakening and the realm of sleep.

How does your theory fit into that?

This is still true. The difference between the Astral Plane in Missing Link and the Final World in KH3 is that living people do not have a simple way of traveling there in their corporeal forms at the time of KH3. It’s closed off as it should be, so only certain individuals can travel there with their physical form in tact like FGM.

Something in the ML era opened up passage to the Astral Plane. My guess is one of the founders, Ephemer or someone else, commissioned the building of the machine to try to reach the Final World and possibly Unreality. But the distortions are a side effect of that machine being used. The societies are probably being manipulated to believe the distortions came first, but really it was the machine that is causing them to begin with. And they probably aren’t privy to what the Astral Plane really is. In the end, the machine will likely be shut down, the distortions will stop, and the Final World will return to its normal state that we see in KH3.

Remember Scala Ad Caelum means “Stairway to Heaven”. The Final World is more or less heaven or a stop on the way there. I think the machine that allows travel to the Astral Plane is the reason they named it that. Because it allows travel to “heaven” or at least the closest they can get to it.

Is the Final World made of mental energies then?

It could be. The certainly believe mental energies can influence it like we see with Yozora transforming it into Quadratum. The stars we see in the Final World also still retain consciousness so that could be part of the mental energies as well.

Is the Final World connected to reality with distortions, and not with the Station of Awakening and the realm of sleep?

With my theory. it is primarily connected to reality via death and sleep. But in Missing Link, someone discovered a way to travel there through other means, leading to the creation of the dive stations. Which then in turn created the distortions because they are disrupting the natural order.

And how does the Quadratum destroyed in the Verum Rex trailer fit into that? Was that fake too?

Rewatching the VR commercial, it looks like it is mainly just one building and the surrounding area that gets sucked into what could be a distortion. Not all of Quadratum. Then a few seconds later, the distortion seems to close and Yozora is back on top of a building in Quadratum. So we don’t really see what the after math of that really looks like. Maybe it reversed and everything was out back as it was? But I’m also not 100% convinced the trailer is exactly how that actually all played out. I still think it’s a dramatized video game trailer while the actual events it’s based on were likely a bit different. But either way, I think the setting for that is based on the real Quadratum in Unreality and not the layer effect one seen in the Final World.

 

[Dandelion]

I disagree. KH original world tech tends to be fairly abstract and not equivalent to real world tech. I think the only world in the series a VHS tape would really fit is Toy Box since it takes place in the 90’s. It could be from there, but I still think it’s more likely a hint at stuff coming over from the “real world”.

Roxas has VHS tapes, a television, and CDs in his room in Digital Twilight Town.

 

[Darkspawn]

Roxas has VHS tapes, a television, and CDs in his room in Digital Twilight Town.

View attachment 16405

Oh nice find! While it could just be an asset quality thing, that still doesn’t look like they were going 100% for a real world VHS tape. Whereas the one in Missing Link looks exactly like a real world classic VHS tape.

(Also… does that say Final Fantasy!? I feel like I heard about this before, but forgot. But cool detail nonetheless.)

It could just be random assets they used that won’t be given any more explanation. But if there’s any significance to the type of stuff that’s washing up in Scala, I think it will be because it is from Quadratum/Unreality.

Especially with the Player showing up despite them being dead. I think this is setting up the possibility for someone who died to come back the same way Sora and possibly Strelitzia will. When Chirithy says they would melt into a new heart if they don’t become a Dream Eater, the Player says “It’s not over yet.” with Chirithy being confused by this. So I think they may have ended up in Unreality rather than being reincarnated.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm with Darkspawn in that the implication to me is much more that "real world objects" for lack of better term, come through the distortions and wash up on the shore. If the idea was that it was washed up remnants from Disney worlds or KH worlds I think they'd have picked very recognizable objects to convey that and not a microwave.

Relatedly, from what i remember, they also kind of say distortions can open up way in the dark sea of Scala and imply that if it happens too far out the drifters will just drown out there

So I think they may have ended up in Unreality rather than being reincarnated.

Although, Player does specifically refer to ML as their "second life", and Nomura in interviews at least has claimed that Player did melt their heart.


Surprised no one seems to be mentioning the fact that there's a quick little line added in the tutorial where unknown voices seemingly talk about sending (i think drifters??) through the lifeboat/ark. I have to assume this is setting up the RG lifeboat and isn't the Daybreak one.

 

[Chaser]

It’s probably not been talked about if anyone was viewing only my videos - my iPhone ran out of storage when recording and the tutorial wasn’t replayable so it got lost for my uploads.

But that line definitely made me sit up and pay attention. I was intrigued to learn more about that.

 

[Liodin]

Surprised no one seems to be mentioning the fact that there's a quick little line added in the tutorial where unknown voices seemingly talk about sending (i think drifters??) through the lifeboat/ark. I have to assume this is setting up the RG lifeboat and isn't the Daybreak one.

I remember that dialogue. I think it's a conversation between two characters talking about using the lifeboat.

The scene is dubbed, so we could find out which characters they are once we know the voices of each one.

It is difficult for me to distinguish Japanese voices. But apart from the voices of the characters in the beta, we know from the trailers the voices of Sigurd and Brain. They are the narrators of the first and second ML trailers, respectively.

In the second one there are more voices, but I can't say if they are voices that were in the beta or not.

If someone is better at it than I am, maybe comparing voices can help you find out.

 

[RonaldPoe]

Hi, hope everyone's doing well. I watched a playthrough of the Missing Link's current beta and have a few predictions. They could be quickly debunked or they could be surprisingly accurate. Many of these theories have to do with ancestry and stuff BTW.

First is that Nept is Aqua's ancestor (possibly great grandpa). This mainly because both appear to be caring leaders with a few similar traits (namely blue hair and eyes). I know I'm not the first to suspect this but I think it's a reasonable theory at this point. Also the Baroque Society will play the role of heroic underdogs in the game proper (that's the impression I got from the current beta).

Second is that the reason Scala Al Caleum's population is gone by KH3 is because of the 3 True Darkness that Player X sealed in Union X's finale. We all know that they would come back eventually and what better place than Scala (a country populated by Keyblade Wielders)? Perhaps we'll also learn more about True Darkness and why everyone's afraid of it (besides the obvious threat and being kinda creepy).

Third I suspect that we'll meet Terra's ancestor and they'll be a faction leader. Not sure if this will be the case or not but I'd like it to be.

Finally Ephemer's modern descendant isn't just Xehanort (they're confirmed to be related by Nomura) but also Riku. I noticed that both Ephemer and Riku have silver hair and are Keyblade Masters with a few parallels between them. It'd also make sense if this is part of the reason Riku was chosen by the Keyblade.

Also looking forward to some new KH music ...

 

[Dandelion]

First is that Nept is Aqua's ancestor (possibly great grandpa). This mainly because both appear to be selfless leaders with a few similar traits (namely blue hair and eyes). I know I'm not the first to suspect this but I think it's a reasonable theory at this point. Also the Baroque Society will play the role of heroic underdogs in the game proper (that's the impression I got from the current beta).

This is the popular theory, and I agree with it. Aside from the fact that they look remarkably similar, Nept is probably short for Neptune, god of the seas, tying him back to the aquatic water themes. I disagree about their personalities though. He seems like a devil-may-care type who takes things far less seriously than Aqua.

Second is that the reason Scala Al Caleum's population is gone by KH3 is because of the 3 True Darkness that Player X sealed in Union X's finale. We all know that they would come back eventually and what better place than Scala (a country populated by Keyblade Wielders)? Perhaps we'll also learn more about True Darkness and why everyone's afraid of it (besides the obvious threat and being kinda creepy).

There were actually four Darknesses sealed away in the data world in UX, but I hear you. I also think we haven't seen the last of them.

Third I suspect that we'll meet Terra's ancestor and they'll be a faction leader. Not sure if this will be the case or not but I'd like it to be.

I'm hoping so too. I'd love if it was a woman named Gaia.

 

[Launchpad]

I wonder if any Disney characters will enter the primary plot of Missing Link. From a distance, it just looks like an anime game right now, with the only recognizable element being the statues. While Fairy Godmother and Yen Shid have gotten their turns, maybe this game could be where we see more Merlin in the primary plot, or King Triton. In KH1, Genie also mentioned having seen the keyhole before, a long time ago. It'd be nice to have a few vestiges to the future in this way.