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Face My Fears

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When Xehanort was corrupting Kingdom Hearts after forging the X Blade there wasn't much of a "end of the world" vibe. It just occured to me that we don't get to experience it outside of the Keyblade Graveyard. Just imagine if we saw physical effects in all the worlds we visited in KH3 such as the sky darkening. And the reactions of the friends Sora made there.

That would have really sold that the apocalypse was coming after Xehanort seemingly won.
I always wished for something like that to happen.

When I first played KH2, I swore something like that was happening during The End of the World when the hearts were freed from Kingdom Hearts. It closes up on a heart falling and I thought it was falling in Atlantica. I always wished that the Disney worlds would at least see the chaos going on outside of their world, but I guess it's baby steps since KH3 was the first game to let Disney characters interact with the main plot (besides Beast).
 

Oracle Spockanort

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When Xehanort was corrupting Kingdom Hearts after forging the X Blade there wasn't much of a "end of the world" vibe. It just occured to me that we don't get to experience it outside of the Keyblade Graveyard. Just imagine if we saw physical effects in all the worlds we visited in KH3 such as the sky darkening. And the reactions of the friends Sora made there.

That would have really sold that the apocalypse was coming after Xehanort seemingly won.

It doesn’t help that we don’t know what happens in the worldline where Xehanort won and prophecy was fulfilled. We just see things from Sora’s POV when he rewinds time.

In general the events of the Keyblade Graveyard are messy and happen without much preamble, thus leaving us with many unanswered questions and unexplained events.

I wonder if they ever even think about showing the worlds in danger or if it wasn’t even a concern of theirs during the development cycle.
 
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Zettaflare

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It doesn’t help that we don’t know what happens in the worldline where Xehanort won and prophecy was fulfilled. We just see things from Sora’s POV when he rewinds time.

In general the events of the Keyblade Graveyard are messy and happen without much preamble, this leaving us with many unanswered questions and unexplained events.

I wonder if they ever even thought about showing the worlds in danger or if it wasn’t even a concern of theirs during the development cycle.
With how rushed everything else was during the final battle I doubt it was a concern showing the other worlds in peril. Which should have been a priority given how high the stakes were compared to the past games
 

DarkosOverlord

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I still think it wouldn't have been a terrible idea to do some sort of Infinity War - Endgame kinda thing with KH III.

You make a "part one" kind of game with all the levity from the Disney experience and no real sense of urgency except putting the band back together, and then you make a second title with the fallout and you dedicate ample time showing the degree of darkness and destruction reached by Xehanort and his cohorts.

Now I say this, but then again I've no idea how much doing things like this could've benefit or hurt Square's sales, especially since it isn't really their MO (even when they did a trilogy with FF XIII, they still liked their games to be standalone self-resolved conflicts).
 

Face My Fears

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I still think it wouldn't have been a terrible idea to do some sort of Infinity War - Endgame kinda thing with KH III.

You make a "part one" kind of game with all the levity from the Disney experience and no real sense of urgency except putting the band back together, and then you make a second title with the fallout and you dedicate ample time showing the degree of darkness and destruction reached by Xehanort and his cohorts.

Now I say this, but then again I've no idea how much doing things like this could've benefit or hurt Square's sales, especially since it isn't really their MO (even when they did a trilogy with FF XIII, they still liked their games to be standalone self-resolved conflicts).
If they did KH3 - Part 1 and 2, I can see Part 1 focusing on Sora regaining the power of waking by visiting the Disney worlds (no Princess of Heart worlds). They can probably weave in Maleficent/Pete's black box story into here and make her the final boss (maybe Xigbar after her). They could have also teased the Organization members by giving you a fight with each of them in the Disney worlds (like a mid-boss fight) before the final fight. I would have had Radiant Garden and the Final Fantasy characters be more prevalent in this game. I would have made their plot be searching the castle for any other clues on stopping Xehanort/finalizing Cloud vs. Sephiroth/Leon and Rinoa date scene. I would have had Maleficent believe that the box was in Radiant Garden, so it would have been a nice little throw back to KH1 with Maleficent returning to Hollow Bastion and we would see the Final Fantasy characters and Sora fighting her. Kairi and Lea join this fight when they're ready. At the end of the game, they eventually find a door that won't open and they need the keyblade. Sora opens it and it's the Chamber of Repose with Aqua's keyblade and armor.

Part 2 could have been Sora finding a way into the Realm of Darkness thanks to the Power of Waking and Aqua's armor. You play as Sora in the Realm of Darkness at the start of the game and save Aqua. After saving Aqua, she goes back to Yen Sid's to rest. Yen Sid warns us that we have to find the new 7 lights because they are in danger. Master Xehanort figured out that Sora is about to gather all of the guardians and Xehanort would rather open Kingdom Hearts the easy way and not risk potentially failing. Sora and the gang (with Kairi) visit the Disney worlds. After 2-3 Disney worlds, we get to play as Aqua (with Axel) exploring Castle Oblivion to change it back to Land of Departure. Aqua fights Vanitas alone and beats him, then she saves Ven. Axel is in awe at how much he resembles Roxas. Aqua calls Sora on the gummi phone and tells him to come back to Yen Sid's. Sora releases Ven's heart and Ven wakes up. Aqua stays with Lea and Ven at Yen Sid's. Sora/Kairi/Donald/Goofy go back to the Disney worlds. Aqua/Ven come across information about Marluxia/Larxene/Luxord/Demy's past and how it relates to Ven. Lea and Ienzo stumble across Girl X information that Tron found while trying to piece together the replica program situation. Things lead up to the big Keyblade Graveyard fight. The end.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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A few criticisms with the scene of Xemnas revealing to Marly, Larxene, Demyx, and Luxord about their ancient past:

-I believe Xemnas' reasoning the good guys would panic and Demyx's sarcastic response would have more kick to it if we didn't already know from the previous scene that Xemnas was wrong. These scenes can easily be switched around.

-Instead of having the normal background music, it'd been nice if Demyx was playing the theme on his sitar rather than the silent strumming. And just imagine the abrupt stop after the reveal. XD

-The gasp Larxene makes just does not match the "this guy's finally off his rocker" face she's making.

Are the XIII Mushrooms a way Ansem SoD used to mock Xemnas and his goons?
If only we had such petty sibling antics between these two.

I know this is far fetched, but I've been very hopeful that Aqua would "follow" her heart to where her keyblade is. And Xemnas, who is now gone, can appear as a sort of hologram in the chamber of repose while functioning as a sort of secret report alternative where every now and then Ienzo and his crew can decode data or something there and you get to watch an extra scene.

I know it's very wishful thinking but on the one hand it's an excuse for Xemnas to make a cameo and on the other he can talk about some aspect of the age of fairy tales, or at least the characters from then that have joined the organization.

And if not it could be a one time scene that gives Aqua or the cast in general pointers on what needs to be done next.
Now this is a creative use of the reports I can get behind! I mean, I basically get behind anyone's idea of how the reports could be handled. But I especially like this one because it involves Xemnas. <3
 
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Perkilator

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So...what were the writers smoking when they wrote everyone but SDG not getting it that the Gigas were being controlled?

If they did KH3 - Part 1 and 2, I can see Part 1 focusing on Sora regaining the power of waking by visiting the Disney worlds (no Princess of Heart worlds). They can probably weave in Maleficent/Pete's black box story into here and make her the final boss (maybe Xigbar after her). They could have also teased the Organization members by giving you a fight with each of them in the Disney worlds (like a mid-boss fight) before the final fight. I would have had Radiant Garden and the Final Fantasy characters be more prevalent in this game. I would have made their plot be searching the castle for any other clues on stopping Xehanort/finalizing Cloud vs. Sephiroth/Leon and Rinoa date scene. I would have had Maleficent believe that the box was in Radiant Garden, so it would have been a nice little throw back to KH1 with Maleficent returning to Hollow Bastion and we would see the Final Fantasy characters and Sora fighting her. Kairi and Lea join this fight when they're ready. At the end of the game, they eventually find a door that won't open and they need the keyblade. Sora opens it and it's the Chamber of Repose with Aqua's keyblade and armor.

Part 2 could have been Sora finding a way into the Realm of Darkness thanks to the Power of Waking and Aqua's armor. You play as Sora in the Realm of Darkness at the start of the game and save Aqua. After saving Aqua, she goes back to Yen Sid's to rest. Yen Sid warns us that we have to find the new 7 lights because they are in danger. Master Xehanort figured out that Sora is about to gather all of the guardians and Xehanort would rather open Kingdom Hearts the easy way and not risk potentially failing. Sora and the gang (with Kairi) visit the Disney worlds. After 2-3 Disney worlds, we get to play as Aqua (with Axel) exploring Castle Oblivion to change it back to Land of Departure. Aqua fights Vanitas alone and beats him, then she saves Ven. Axel is in awe at how much he resembles Roxas. Aqua calls Sora on the gummi phone and tells him to come back to Yen Sid's. Sora releases Ven's heart and Ven wakes up. Aqua stays with Lea and Ven at Yen Sid's. Sora/Kairi/Donald/Goofy go back to the Disney worlds. Aqua/Ven come across information about Marluxia/Larxene/Luxord/Demy's past and how it relates to Ven. Lea and Ienzo stumble across Girl X information that Tron found while trying to piece together the replica program situation. Things lead up to the big Keyblade Graveyard fight. The end.
It's fucking sad how plausible this is. That said, if it had to be two separate games, I think it'd be ideal to release them at least (or most) few months apart. Or heck, even put a full game on two discs.
 
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kaseykockroach

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I still love KH1 and all, but even as a tyke, the story always loses my interest once shirtless Hansem establishes his presence at the end of Hollow Bastion.
Mainly because the idea of taking him seriously as a villain compared to Maleficent is just hysterical to me.
 

Face My Fears

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So...what were the writers smoking when they wrote everyone but SDG not getting it that the Gigas were being controlled?


It's fucking sad how plausible this is. That said, if it had to be two separate games, I think it'd be ideal to release them at least (or most) few months apart. Or heck, even put a full game on two discs.
I don't know how much space KH3 currently takes up or how much space larger games normally takes up with this generation of games, but I feel like with maybe 3-4 more Disney worlds and an actual hub world, KH3 could have accomplished a lot more. I think they needed to be a little more focused on closing certain storylines. Aqua saving Ven should have been a longer sequence (and it should have been her alone). We should have seen Kairi more (maybe she could have joined Sora in the last few Disney worlds, and just pick worlds that would have either 1 additional party member or none). The excuse could have been that she was helping him regain the power of waking. I just feel like the game didn't really need to be split, but a few more worlds could have helped give the game the time it needed to wrap up some things better.
 

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So, Guardian is Terra's Darkness/Keeper, something like that, in which Terra's heart resides. Now a confirmed fact.

So... what are the implications of Riku being able to summon and use it during his fight against Roxas? Now that Guardian isn't strictly just a "power" Ansem had, it's a bit puzzling.
Also, nice of the power of hearts and bonds to NOT activate there and having Riku realizing something once in contact with that being (especially since he's the only one out of the SRK trio who remembers TAV, right?)

I swear, without that single instance in BbS Riku and Terra are essentially strangers. Pity, I wanted their relationship to deepen.
 

Megavoltage

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I swear, without that single instance in BbS Riku and Terra are essentially strangers. Pity, I wanted their relationship to deepen.
And with our glimpse at the next game it looks like this status quo is eternal. Riku and Terra wont get to bro-op an adventure, Sora and Riku are flung apart and no one gets to build new and meaningful connections. A lifetime of separation and "I wonder what Riku is doing right now!"
 

Oracle Spockanort

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And with our glimpse at the next game it looks like this status quo is eternal. Riku and Terra wont get to bro-op an adventure, Sora and Riku are flung apart and no one gets to build new and meaningful connections. A lifetime of separation and "I wonder what Riku is doing right now!"

Riku is only allowed to make meaningful connections to Sora or Mickey. Nobody else.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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Riku is only allowed to make meaningful connections to Sora or Mickey. Nobody else.
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DarkosOverlord

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Damn, the Riku angry mob to the rescue, lol.

I've been thinking about other characters Riku might've bonded with and thought of Ansem the Wise.
Now, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way they tied those two up in DDD, but then I thought: it would've been better if during the ending of KH III when Riku goes to get Naminé Ansem was also there, since those three were kind of a crew during that one year.

It could've been a great parallel between before, when those three were kinda "broken" (Riku was trapped with Ansem's appearance, DiZ was a vengeful Nobody racist and Naminé a sad and lonely girl) and now where all are happy and the best version of themselves.
Also it would've been more a group scene rather than a forced ship subcontext which I don't think counts many fans.
 

Zettaflare

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Damn, the Riku angry mob to the rescue, lol.

I've been thinking about other characters Riku might've bonded with and thought of Ansem the Wise.
Now, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way they tied those two up in DDD, but then I thought: it would've been better if during the ending of KH III when Riku goes to get Naminé Ansem was also there, since those three were kind of a crew during that one year.

It could've been a great parallel between before, when those three were kinda "broken" (Riku was trapped with Ansem's appearance, DiZ was a vengeful Nobody racist and Naminé a sad and lonely girl) and now where all are happy and the best version of themselves.
Also it would've been more a group scene rather than a forced ship subcontext which I don't think counts many fans.
That would have been nice. We could have gotten an implication that Namine forgave Ansem before she left with Riku. As it is we probably won't know how she feels about him until the next time they interact.
 

Twilight Lumiair

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Damn, the Riku angry mob to the rescue, lol.

I've been thinking about other characters Riku might've bonded with and thought of Ansem the Wise.
Now, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way they tied those two up in DDD, but then I thought: it would've been better if during the ending of KH III when Riku goes to get Naminé Ansem was also there, since those three were kind of a crew during that one year.

It could've been a great parallel between before, when those three were kinda "broken" (Riku was trapped with Ansem's appearance, DiZ was a vengeful Nobody racist and Naminé a sad and lonely girl) and now where all are happy and the best version of themselves.
Also it would've been more a group scene rather than a forced ship subcontext which I don't think counts many fans.
That would've been nice. But then, so would any impact, consequences, or actual acknowledgement of Ansem & Aqua's companionship at all, ever. So I'm not surprised. In fact, outside of Namine and the Apprentices, AtW didn't interact with a single protagonist the entirety of KH3 (and these were supposed to be the people he harmed and seeked to make amends to, some of which would've been elated to see him anyway). That's actually embarrassing.
 
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DarkosOverlord

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That's what happens when you bring so many characters who also sorta don't really fit entirely in the big picture.

I'm sure many liked Ansem talking with Ienzo and closing that one point off, but that's essentially all he did as a character.
Ansem kinda gave a farewell speech at the end of KH II, then had some exchanges with Aqua in an MCU sequel kind of fashion and had a nice send-off with Riku in DDD.
All of that was fine, because his character was mostly done. He atoned for his mistakes by providing irreplaceable aid in the final battle against Xemnas and by spending time relegated in the Dark Margin (this time for a noble act).

But when you bring Ansem the Wise back in KH III, in a conflict of which he is only remotely involved (since he has no business with Master Xehanort directly), of course he won't be able to contribute much outside of his own area of expertise.
I mean, just look at Braig: Braig was also one of his apprentices, so he's a character tied to him. In KH III, Braig is Luxu, disciple of the Master of Masters, first and last master of No Name, with a plan that spans over ages.
This alone should underline just how mich the whole scenario evolved far past Ansem the Wise and what was connected to him. Of course there's always a way to efficiently write him sharing moments with the other characters, but it would take the proper time and setup, and in a game already bloated with characters and events Ansem the Wise feels kind of an unncessary addition.

I still think he should've remained banished and having Ienzo (and, apparently, Vexen) carrying the operation out in his name and spirit.
Like, even KH II struggled to handle him, and he was one of the main characters there. I can only imagine it being twice as hard in KH III.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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The goth lolita doll we fight being called Angelic Amber in everything even though her name is Mysterious Onyx.
 
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