Kingdom Hearts Nitpicks

[DarkosOverlord]

I still think the fans who argued Nobodies had hearts back in 2006 rode their highest high when it was canonically confirmed years later.
And there were quite a few who said that, and blaming them after Larxene or the entirety of Days was hard: there were so many emotional moments and there was no reason for them to be "acting" during them.

I always liked that in KH II Xemnas seemed the only proper "Nobody", even when he laughed or was expressing sadfness he felt like he was faking it.

Sometimes I wonder what Yen Sid does once everyone's gone. What does an all-powerful wizard like him do with his spare time?

Where is he in KH II, it's even shown in a cutscene that he disappears and you can't talk to him again.
And that coincides with Maleficent reappearing right at his tower: did he bail, leaving the fairies to themselves? Or did he actually go there by teleporting (couldn't be bothered to walk a few steps) and confronted Maleficent?

The tales we'll never know.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

Where is he in KH II, it's even shown in a cutscene that he disappears and you can't talk to him again.
And that coincides with Maleficent reappearing right at his tower: did he bail, leaving the fairies to themselves? Or did he actually go there by teleporting (couldn't be bothered to walk a few steps) and confronted Maleficent?

The tales we'll never know.

Yen Sid was Maleficent all along!

 

[DarkosOverlord]

Yen Sid was Maleficent all along!

Oooh, it took 61 pages but we're finally getting somewhere

 

[Face My Fears]

I still think the fans who argued Nobodies had hearts back in 2006 rode their highest high when it was canonically confirmed years later.
And there were quite a few who said that, and blaming them after Larxene or the entirety of Days was hard: there were so many emotional moments and there was no reason for them to be "acting" during them.

I always liked that in KH II Xemnas seemed the only proper "Nobody", even when he laughed or was expressing sadfness he felt like he was faking it.



Where is he in KH II, it's even shown in a cutscene that he disappears and you can't talk to him again.
And that coincides with Maleficent reappearing right at his tower: did he bail, leaving the fairies to themselves? Or did he actually go there by teleporting (couldn't be bothered to walk a few steps) and confronted Maleficent?

The tales we'll never know.

When I was younger and played KH2 for the first time, I actually thought that scene was really suspect. It made me think that Yen Sid was a nobody/Xemnas trick because he vanished from the tower right after setting us on our mission, but then the fairies (alone) get attacked by Maleficent.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

It's just kinda weird that we would have killed all of their heartless right at the same time, which would cause them all to be recompleted at the same time. Then all their bodies materialize in the computer room in Radiant Garden AND Young Xehanort/Braig have a nice chat and no one from the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee sees this? Tron can hear through the computer, so Tron didn't pick up their conversation?

A lot of suspension of belief would have to be at play here, I think. Tron probably heard, but who knows what he thought of it. It's possible that anything he would've known would be passed on to Ienzo. And Ienzo might not have said anything because by the time he's in contact with Sora, everyone probably more or less already knows what's going on. Or Tron might not have found it relevant at all to tell Ienzo.

See, visiting Radiant Garden could answer a lot of these questions, but we never go there in KH3. It's also possible that Riku and Mickey were informed and know the gist of it, but again, never said anything because it's not of relevance to Sora. Sora's biggest priority at the moment was the Power of Waking and regaining his strength, so maybe they didn't think they needed to say anything. And plus, you've got two capable Keyblade Masters there. If there's anyone you'd want to seek insight from, it'd be those two. Especially since Riku is just coming off the Mark of Mastery and would know pretty well about Young Xehanort's intentions, and Mickey might remember Braig due to the Keyblade Graveyard (or visits with Ansem the Wise if Mickey was KO'd by the time Braig showed up, I don't remember atm).

A lot of this just comes down to coincidence and timing I guess lmao. I suppose if Leon and the Restoration Committee appeared in KH3, we would've heard something about it, but since they don't... We'll never know.

Where is he in KH II, it's even shown in a cutscene that he disappears and you can't talk to him again.
And that coincides with Maleficent reappearing right at his tower: did he bail, leaving the fairies to themselves? Or did he actually go there by teleporting (couldn't be bothered to walk a few steps) and confronted Maleficent?

The tales we'll never know.

Yeah, I forgot about that. The guy just peaced out and that was the last we saw of him. Maybe he did confront Maleficent, because it seemed like the three fairies didn't want any parts of what was about to happen. And they run off, so I imagine they'd let the guy know, it'd be weird if some evil witch that everyone thought was dead suddenly came back to life in YOUR tower, and nobody said anything.

Makes me wonder if Maleficent would even want to start any problems with Yen Sid.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

Beginning of KH1
Sora: "What happened to my home? My island?"
Leon: "I really don't know."

After first Keyholes.
Leon: "So, you found a Keyhole. Every world has one, even this town, and if not closed the Heartless will go through it and destroy the world itself."

What, did Leon took Heartlessology advanced between visits?

When I was younger and played KH2 for the first time, I actually thought that scene was really suspect. It made me think that Yen Sid was a nobody/Xemnas trick because he vanished from the tower right after setting us on our mission, but then the fairies (alone) get attacked by Maleficent.

Oooh, that would've been interesting.
Wonder if we'll ever get a Yen Sid heel turn.
Maybe he'll become the one too attached to the preconceived values of Light and balance and the moment Sora starts doubting his teachings trouble happens.

Yeah, I forgot about that. The guy just peaced out and that was the last we saw of him. Maybe he did confront Maleficent, because it seemed like the three fairies didn't want any parts of what was about to happen. And they run off, so I imagine they'd let the guy know, it'd be weird if some evil witch that everyone thought was dead suddenly came back to life in YOUR tower, and nobody said anything.

Makes me wonder if Maleficent would even want to start any problems with Yen Sid.

Well, Yen Sid is supposed to be this pretty powerful wizard who kept at bay so many Heartless, then again so did Maleficent in KH II.
Would be kinda fun if de-Keyblade Yen Sid isn't actually that much stronger than Maleficent.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

The Reports past KH1 having no in-story reason for existing and the placement of most of said Reports making no sense. How in KH2, could Org. XIII have any of Ansem the Wise's reports that would theoretically be on his person? Especially guys like Demyx or random Nobodies? Xehanort's reports in BBS placed randomly or earned by beating someone, while it relating to them, having no reason to have it (except Maleficent's as it's the one mentioning the seven PoH and Keyblade of Heart.) All of KH3's being earned from the optional Battlegates...

 

[Face My Fears]

The Reports past KH1 having no in-story reason for existing and the placement of most of said Reports making no sense. How in KH2, could Org. XIII have any of Ansem the Wise's reports that would theoretically be on his person? Especially guys like Demyx or random Nobodies? Xehanort's reports in BBS placed randomly or earned by beating someone, while it relating to them, having no reason to have it (except Maleficent's as it's the one mentioning the seven PoH and Keyblade of Heart.) All of KH3's being earned from the optional Battlegates...

I mean the reports in KH1 that were on the Disney villains also kind of didn't make sense. Why would Jafar, Ursula (underwater with a piece of paper?), Oogie Boogie, Captain Hook, and Hades carry the report around during combat? Like the report that Oogie had has nothing of interest to him and I can see Oogie throwing it in the bin (although it sort of connects to receiving Gravity after beating him). How does Kurt Zisa and Sephiroth have them as well?

Are the reports even canon IE confirmed that Sora or whoever actually received them? I can kind of understand KH1 since the FF crew mention it and Aerith even gives you some, but all the other games I don't know.

 

[Veevee]

The thing with Riku's and Mickey's keyblade breaking was so dumb. First of all, it was never hinted in the series that keyblades could break - I mean Aqua spent over a decade in the RoD and it never broke, the keyblades on the Keyblade Graveyard are all worn, but still intact and the only keyblade that ever shattered was the fake x-blade and that was because it was created the wrong way and incomplete. If the plot point "keyblade broke and was passed down to Repliku" had been at least some kind of effect on the game, but no, nothing. Just another trailer bait thing that was completely random and lacked any context and will probably be forgotten now that Repliku's gone. It was a really lame excuse to give Riku that stupid car keyblade for ... again, actually no reason. Ugh.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

On the Reports, yeah it is really frustrating that they really have no logical basis for how they are obtained. In KH1 it was explained they got spread out and lost in the chaos of Hollow Bastion’s fall so it at least made sense why they appeared in random worlds.

At least in KH3 we should have gotten a cutscene every time we found one with a call to Ienzo to figure out what the heck they are talking about.

The thing with Riku's and Mickey's keyblade breaking was so dumb. First of all, it was never hinted in the series that keyblades could break - I mean Aqua spent over a decade in the RoD and it never broke, the keyblades on the Keyblade Graveyard are all worn, but still intact and the only keyblade that ever shattered was the fake x-blade and that was because it was created the wrong way and incomplete. If the plot point "keyblade broke and was passed down to Repliku" had been at least some kind of effect on the game, but no, nothing. Just another trailer bait thing that was completely random and lacked any context and will probably be forgotten now that Repliku's gone. It was a really lame excuse to give Riku that stupid car keyblade for ... again, actually no reason. Ugh.

Yeah, and it’s weird considering the Keyblade is the physical manifestation of the heart. Wouldn’t breaking a keyblade essentially just mean it will disappear and reappear just fine or like...mean a person’s heart has been shattered?

The fact that Riku’s keyblade gets shattered but is magically okay once Repliku gets it also really has no true bearing on the story. Why was it permanently broken for Riku but totally okay for Repliku? We don’t even see where Riku gets the Keyblade from which makes the whole situation worse. At least with Mickey’s we can believe Yen Sid pimped it out as an upgrade to Kingdom Key D (but since it was never shown we’ll never know what happened)

Also, Xemnas breaks Lea’s Keyblade too but it’s magically okay some scenes later for the scene before Sora goes to Xehanort’s Scala.

There is no continuity in events, and it weakens the lore by having no consistent concepts of how certain things work.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

I will never get over Braveheart mannnnnnnnnnn >.<
Just why. It's all I'll say about it.

KH1's reports weren't peerless in their placements, and with the Final Mix ones they simply gave up and just placed them, but at least it had some sense to it. The Disney villains had them because Maleficent had almost the entire thing, which kinda makes sense when you realize that Ansem was her accomplice. That she only had a "part" was theorized when we didn't know this.
And I like to think she gave away some Reports to the Disney villains as some sort of proof of fellowship, kinda like the Nazguls' nine rings or something.
I still love the hiffle out of how Hades' Report, the most hidden one in the base version, was the one with a very important lore piece that let you understand since the first game that there were two kinds of Heartless around, and with some guesswork one could even find out about the Emblem.
"Dark Souls" who?

But yeah, then we have Demyx holding... I think two? Reports and that's like Clayton with a Dream Eater. Where did he got that and what is he doing with it.
Before you ask yes, the Dream Eater is a gorilla.

 

[Face My Fears]

On the Reports, yeah it is really frustrating that they really have no logical basis for how they are obtained. In KH1 it was explained they got spread out and lost in the chaos of Hollow Bastion’s fall so it at least made sense why they appeared in random worlds.

At least in KH3 we should have gotten a cutscene every time we found one with a call to Ienzo to figure out what the heck they are talking about.



Yeah, and it’s weird considering the Keyblade is the physical manifestation of the heart. Wouldn’t breaking a keyblade essentially just mean it will disappear and reappear just fine or like...mean a person’s heart has been shattered?

The fact that Riku’s keyblade gets shattered but is magically okay once Repliku gets it also really has no true bearing on the story. Why was it permanently broken for Riku but totally okay for Repliku? We don’t even see where Riku gets the Keyblade from which makes the whole situation worse. At least with Mickey’s we can believe Yen Sid pimped it out as an upgrade to Kingdom Key D (but since it was never shown we’ll never know what happened)

Also, Xemnas breaks Lea’s Keyblade too but it’s magically okay some scenes later for the scene before Sora goes to Xehanort’s Scala.

There is no continuity in events, and it weakens the lore by having no consistent concepts of how certain things work.

How I wish that every report unlocked a cutscene in the theater mode (that you have to go in there to watch). It could have been out of context (from the main story) to give a background on stuff like Axel/Kairi's fight, Ven/Aqua/Terra/Lingering Will at the Keyblade Graveyard, Xion's return, Final Fantasy characters in Radiant Garden, and more.

Ever since Riku walked up and handed Kairi a keyblade, I just took it that Riku/Mickey has knowledge of some place to make brand new keyblades. In my mind, if they confirmed that, it would explain away Kairi's keyblade and how Riku/Mickey were able to get new ones and "power up" their keyblades. I imagine it's like Jedi and their lightsabers, although we were never introduced to that idea ever in the game. Perhaps there is a difference between "made"/"obtained" keyblades (like Kingdom Key D and Kairi's) and ones that are bestowed upon you (like Kingdom Key) that result in one being able to break and the other not?

 

[Zettaflare]

Why was Braveheart modeled after a car key anyways? That doesn't seem to fit Riku at all. It's kind of random now that I think about it?

Honestly I would have preferred if Mickey gave Riku his Kingdom Key D and he went back to using Star Seeker

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Ever since Riku walked up and handed Kairi a keyblade, I just took it that Riku/Mickey has knowledge of some place to make brand new keyblades. In my mind, if they confirmed that, it would explain away Kairi's keyblade and how Riku/Mickey were able to get new ones and "power up" their keyblades. I imagine it's like Jedi and their lightsabers, although we were never introduced to that idea ever in the game. Perhaps there is a difference between "made"/"obtained" keyblades (like Kingdom Key D and Kairi's) and ones that are bestowed upon you (like Kingdom Key) that result in one being able to break and the other not?

I'm not buying the idea. Yen Sid is who they go to about their Keyblades after they break.

Perhaps once upon a time there were "chasers" who forged the Keyblade, but the theory of that idea was abandoned with the secret ending that introduced the idea of a "chaser" in the first place.

Even with the explanation you are suggesting, that doesn't really actually explain anything.

Lea's was bestowed/earned but it broke and magically was okay. Riku's was earned but then it was broken and implied that it would need to be fixed, and yet in Repliku's hands (making it an obtained Keyblade in his case), it was fixed.

So, again, no consistent concept of how Keyblades work. Sometimes they break and are broken for good and sometimes they break and they are okay.

Why was Braveheart modeled after a car key anyways? That doesn't seem to fit Riku at all. It's kind of random now that I think about it?

Honestly I would have preferred if Mickey gave Riku his Kingdom Key D and he went back to using Star Seeker

Yeah, Braveheart makes no sense.

It looks like a car key, but it is more closely related to high security keys.

 

[DarkosOverlord]

If I'm not mistaken, Nomura said something about wanting to make more modern keys.
Still doesn't fit, dawg: there's a reason if the old key design is so used and fashionable.
When in doubt, remember what type of key is the symbol of the Vatican.

Thing is, there's so much that could've been amazing about these new Keyblade events in KH III: as I said previously, I'm not against Riku changing his, I just wish it had more substance, kinda like how Terra and Aqua get their upgraded versions after a personal moment.
And I would be interested in Mickey fusing two Keyblades into one if it wasn't some off-hand comment in the Ultimania that doesn't lead anywhere.
What does that even make Kingdom Key W, considering it's made from a Keyblade of Light and one of Darkness? Is it an in-between one, maybe the first if we don't count the "heart" category?

I keep embracing Spockanort's interpretation of why and how Riku handed Kairi her Keyblade. Makes the most sense to me.

Speaking of which, I'm a bit bothered by Ventus being the only one from TAV to use the base Keyblade. I wish he'd gotten either a more direct upgrade to Wayward Wind, or a reconstructed version of Lost Memory, to symbolize he doesn't need Vanitas to be whole again.

 

[Face My Fears]

I'm not buying the idea. Yen Sid is who they go to about their Keyblades after they break.

Perhaps once upon a time there were "chasers" who forged the Keyblade, but the theory of that idea was abandoned with the secret ending that introduced the idea of a "chaser" in the first place.

Even with the explanation you are suggesting, that doesn't really actually explain anything.

Lea's was bestowed/earned but it broke and magically was okay. Riku's was earned but then it was broken and implied that it would need to be fixed, and yet in Repliku's hands (making it an obtained Keyblade in his case), it was fixed.

So, again, no consistent concept of how Keyblades work. Sometimes they break and are broken for good and sometimes they break and they are okay.



Yeah, Braveheart makes no sense.

It looks like a car key, but it is more closely related to high security keys.

Well I was just throwing ideas out there, it wasn't really an idea that I thought through fully.

I hope they expand on the keyblade lore itself. Is there any reason someone can't pickup a keyblade from The Keyblade Graveyard and use it? How do the keyblades even end up there? Do they get sent there when their owner dies a natural death?

I had a little bit of hope that they would cover that in KH3 because of how seemingly important No Name was, but it looks like its importance was just as a macguffin for KHIV and MOM/Luxu's plot.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Well I was just throwing ideas out there, it wasn't really an idea that I thought through fully.

I hope they expand on the keyblade lore itself. Is there any reason someone can't pickup a keyblade from The Keyblade Graveyard and use it? How do the keyblades even end up there? Do they get sent there when their owner dies a natural death?

I had a little bit of hope that they would cover that in KH3 because of how seemingly important No Name was, but it looks like its importance was just as a macguffin for KHIV and MOM/Luxu's plot.

I didn't mean to make it sound like I was invalidating your idea. I just wanted to show that the inconsistencies outweighs any logical reasoning we could put to the how and why of how Keyblades function in KH3.

Xehanort explained that the Keyblades in the graveyard were united to the hearts of their masters. Without their masters, the Keyblades become lifeless.

Those Keyblades were from the Keyblade War lol

I'm sure anybody could pick up a Keyblade there and wield it, but it wouldn't be a "living" Keyblade. I'm sure something special would have to take place to make that happen.

If they Keyblade is the manifestation of a person's heart, the physical Keyblade that remains once a wielder dies could be likened to that of a human skeleton. Heh, skeleton key...

 

[Face My Fears]

I didn't mean to make it sound like I was invalidating your idea. I just wanted to show that the inconsistencies outweighs any logical reasoning we could put to the how and why of how Keyblades function in KH3.

Xehanort explained that the Keyblades in the graveyard were united to the hearts of their masters. Without their masters, the Keyblades become lifeless.

Those Keyblades were from the Keyblade War lol

I'm sure anybody could pick up a Keyblade there and wield it, but it wouldn't be a "living" Keyblade. I'm sure something special would have to take place to make that happen.

If they Keyblade is the manifestation of a person's heart, the physical Keyblade that remains once a wielder dies could be likened to that of a human skeleton. Heh, skeleton key...

Now we need to know about "living" keyblades. Eraqus dies and leaves behind the Master Keeper, which Sora/Aqua are able to use just fine.

Can Nomura do a full interview explaining the keyblades please? It is kind of weird that after more than 15 years of knowing the keyblade, we really don't know anything about it.

 

[Obiewantsanipod]

Now we need to know about "living" keyblades. Eraqus dies and leaves behind the Master Keeper, which Sora/Aqua are able to use just fine.

Can Nomura do a full interview explaining the keyblades please? It is kind of weird that after more than 15 years of knowing the keyblade, we really don't know anything about it.

Eraqus does give Aqua a speech on what to do if he's ever struck down, so maybe the ability to wield it was passed down unto her? I don't think that makes her a dual wielder or anything like that but maybe it's reason enough for the keyblade to remain active beyond it's users death.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

If the plot point "keyblade broke and was passed down to Repliku" had been at least some kind of effect on the game, but no, nothing. Just another trailer bait thing that was completely random and lacked any context and will probably be forgotten now that Repliku's gone. It was a really lame excuse to give Riku that stupid car keyblade for ... again, actually no reason. Ugh.

And here we have KH3's biggest issue. Much of KH3's scenes existing solely so the trailers can build hype among the fanbase, but are haphazardly and poorly reasoned (if at all) within context.

Trailer: Oh shit! Aqua got norted!

Game: Nah, she just blocked an attack with her face like a moron, and was injected with sadness juice by Ansem. Which somehow makes her look like she's been norted but actually isn't and she was cured immediately.

Trailer: Oh shit! It's Vanitas!

Game: YEET!

Trailer: Oh shit! Everyone's in trouble!

Game: Oh shit! Everyone's an idiot!

And of course, Riku's Keyblades and a few other things. Nomura NEEDS to spend less time on thinking of things that'd look cool for the trailers and focus more on the story actually being cool. Random crap happening without rhyme or reason isn't fun nor interesting and is only a waste of time and effort on everyone involved.

Also, Xemnas breaks Lea’s Keyblade too but it’s magically okay some scenes later for the scene before Sora goes to Xehanort’s Scala.

There is no continuity in events, and it weakens the lore by having no consistent concepts of how certain things work.

I seriously don't get to point of establishing something major like this only to pointlessly throw it away for a scene that didn't need him involved. It's not like this was some accident either as even if he was somehow added by accident it's easy to spot and take care of.

Lea's Keyblade breaking would have been just fine and even welcome, and could have maybe made for good story. Xemnas even implied it was fake.

How I wish that every report unlocked a cutscene in the theater mode (that you have to go in there to watch). It could have been out of context (from the main story) to give a background on stuff like Axel/Kairi's fight, Ven/Aqua/Terra/Lingering Will at the Keyblade Graveyard, Xion's return, Final Fantasy characters in Radiant Garden, and more.

So much this!

Yeah, Braveheart makes no sense.

It looks like a car key, but it is more closely related to high security keys.

Knowing it's a high security key makes the lack of significance even worse.

What does that even make Kingdom Key W, considering it's made from a Keyblade of Light and one of Darkness? Is it an in-between one, maybe the first if we don't count the "heart" category?

This either does or doesn't help, but Japan likes abbreviating "W" to "double" and will use it for anything involving two of something, like an ad for a double burger or the Final Fantasy ability to use two items at once being called. So "Kingdom Key W" is likely meant to be read as "Kingdom Key Double".