Questions regarding Kingdom Hearts's plot

[DoctorObviously]

Hi guys. I just completed the first Kingdom Hearts and I wrote down the questions I had about the plot while I was playing the game. Here they are, I tried to put them in the order of the story. Obviously this thread contains SPOILERS!

!!SPOILER WARNING!!

General questions:

Why can't the party 'meddle' in the affairs in other worlds? They are constantly meddling anyway.

Why are there Heartless in worlds where I already closed the Keyhole?

Level questions:

Traverse Town: Why is the mural in the sewers suddenly changed into a sun at the latter part of the game?

Deep Jungle: "This place looks so familiar..." Sora says during a slide where seemingly Hollow Bastion is shown. Why does he say this?

Plot questions:

If the Heartless were already raiding worlds, how come Sora got his keyblade so late?

How come Sora was thrown in Traverse Town, and didn't get the treatment Riku and Kairi got?

Why is everybody shocked to see ONE keyblade, when so many people (King Mickey, Riku, the annoying kid on the corner of the street) seem to have one in their pockets?

Hollow Bastion: Why does Riku suddenly get the Keyblade at whim from Sora?

Why do Donald and Goofy leave Sora in the most douchey way when Sora temporarily loses his Keyblade?

Why does Riku have a keyblade?

Why does Sora back into a human so easily by defending Kairi?

Why did Ansem leave Hollow Bastion when the Final Keyhole was unlocked? Why didn't he wait for Sora to crush him?

What is the white door at the very end of the game? Kingdom Hearts? Isn't it supposed to be shaped like a heart in Kingdom Hearts II?

Why are there Heartless beyond the white door?

Why does King Mickey ALSO have a keyblade?

Why isn't Sora on Destiny Islands? Since he belongs there. Squall said something about when the worlds are unconnected, everybody goes back to the world where he or she belongs.

Why does defeating Ansem mean that Pinocchio becomes a real boy?

What kind of location are the green fields where Sora and the gang find Pluto? Is it some realm of darkness?

What exactly is the 'door to light' Goofy talks about?
___________________

I'm not trying to be an asshole, these are legitimate questions I have about the game. If you can't answer them all, no worries! I'm just trying to understand the plot a little better.

 

[wolfshadow]

Re: Questions regarding Kingdom Hearts I's plot

General Answers:

1. Because if they meddle, there was a chance for them to expose the fact that there are other worlds. During kh1 disney characters never knew about keybladers or other worlds (except king triton).

2. Becuase for level grinding. But for story wise, i think it's becuase darkness will always be everywhere and take form of heartless, it's just "not as many".

Level Answers:

1. N/A

2. I think that was Kairi's memories flowing into him, since her heart was inside of him at the time. ((birth by sleep explains why kairi has memories of it better.))

Plot Answers:

1. Because Sora wasn't originally supposed to get the keyblade, Riku was. ((Again, some of the other games delve into how heartless started and who made it possible.))

2. Kairi was "technically" with Sora the whole time, her heart was with him. Not the body. And Riku was taken by the darkness, found by Maleficent no less (I believe).

3. Becuase only certain people can have one, and so rare does any have one during kh1.

4. Becuase again, Riku was originally supposed to get the keyblade. And at the time Sora's heart of friendship wasn't strong enough to be the wielder.

5. They were only following King Mickey's orders.

6. He lost the Kingdom Key to Sora again, so he had to fight with something (Thank Ansem seeker of darkness for that.)

7. You mean Kairi defended Sora, and becuase she was his light in the darkness.

8. Because Kingdom Hearts was ready to be open I guess? I'm not sure.

9. Well that's a variation of kingdom hearts. That's the door to darkness. The heart in kh2 is an artificial kingdom hearts.

10. Again DtD.

11. Because that's the DTD's Keyblade.

12. Becuase he still had to save Riku and King Mickey.

13. It's just epilouges to characters. Ansem's defeat is irrelavent.

14. No it's the road to the cross roads of the road to dark, dawn, twilight, and light. One leads to Castle Oblivion.

15. It's the light version of Kingdom Hearts. This is door is seen in the ending of kh2.

((If anyone has a better answer to any answers i made, please feel free to correct.

 

[Dandelion]

Re: Questions regarding Kingdom Hearts I's plot

Why can't the party 'meddle' in the affairs in other worlds? They are constantly meddling anyway.

Why are there Heartless in worlds where I already closed the Keyhole?

The worlds aren't supposed to know about each other. For one thing, that would throw the world into even more chaos, but this rule was made to be broken. Sora and the gang throw the rule out the window for the greater good, and once Maleficent meddles the facades they keep up are ruined regardless. In anycase, it's done for the world's own good.

The Heartless are a natural occurrence now, and so long as there is darkness in a single heart the heartless will always be able to manifest. Sealing the Keyhole and the Door to Darkness doesn't destroy the Heartless, it just stops them from spreading their corruption and destroying the worlds.

Level questions:

Traverse Town: Why is the mural in the sewers suddenly changed into a sun at the latter part of the game?

Deep Jungle: "This place looks so familiar..." Sora says during a slide where seemingly Hollow Bastion is shown. Why does he say this?

The mural changes once the gummi is retrieved, my guess it does so to let players know whether they have finished that side quest or not.

In Deep Jungle Sora feels that nostalgia because the castle reminds him of Hollow Bastion, indeed. It's not so much him remembering the castle, however, as it is Kairi's heart within him responding to the image.

Plot questions:

If the Heartless were already raiding worlds, how come Sora got his keyblade so late?

The Keyblade is very mysterious, but Sora got his Keyblade as a direct result of the Darkness surrounding him. More on that later.

How come Sora was thrown in Traverse Town, and didn't get the treatment Riku and Kairi got?

It was a random occurrence. When Destiny Islands fell, the hearts that survived were plunged into darkness, but occasionally when that happens a pathway between worlds will open called the corridors of darkness. They randomly open from time to time in different worlds that are on the edge of light and dark. Sora ended up in Traverse Town, and Riku ended up in Hollow Bastion. It's not known where Kairi's body ended up, only that Maleficent and Hook found it.

Why is everybody shocked to see ONE keyblade, when so many people (King Mickey, Riku, the annoying kid on the corner of the street) seem to have one in their pockets?

Because the worlds were all disconnected before, the many characters wouldn't have had a chance to see one. Having said that, there were many many Keybladers at one point in time, but many things happened that almost caused them to go extinct. Those details are found in later games, however, and I hate for you to get spoiled if you plan on continuing playing.

Hollow Bastion: Why does Riku suddenly get the Keyblade at whim from Sora?

Why do Donald and Goofy leave Sora in the most douchey way when Sora temporarily loses his Keyblade?

Why does Riku have a keyblade?

These answers are all connected. Sora's Keyblade actually belonged to Riku. Riku was chosen at a young age to be a Keyblade Wielder, and when Destiny Islands fell he was due to receive his. When Riku decided to plunge headfirst into the darkness, Sora reached out to save him and in that chaos the KEyblade decided to make its appearance, however it ended up in the hands of the wrong boy. Sora acted as a delivery boy of the blade, and when Riku learned the truth he called out to it and it returned to its chosen wielder. It was all Riku's destiny, and Donald and goofy were ordered by their King to follow the chosen one. They had no choice.

Once Sora proved he didn't need it anymore, he showed Riku how strong he really was and the Keyblade made its final choice and stuck with Sora. Riku, dejected, fled deeper to the Darkness which allowed Ansem to posses him. Ansem was able to forge a different kind of Keyblade with the hearts of the captive princesses. One that had the power solely to unlock hearts. Details on this are still sketchy, and elaborating on any of it any further would spoil the games to come.

Why does Sora back into a human so easily by defending Kairi?

Kairi's voice found Sora's heart in the Darkness, and that allowed him to follow it back to the light and regain his form. It's completely unprecedented of course.

Why did Ansem leave Hollow Bastion when the Final Keyhole was unlocked? Why didn't he wait for Sora to crush him?

Ansem was swallowed by the Darkness that burst from the open keyhole as soon as he beckoned it. Aurora the sleeping beauty even comments that he was smiling as it happened. He had no desire to stay in the realm of light for a moment longer, he was obsessed with reaching the End of the World.

What is the white door at the very end of the game? Kingdom Hearts? Isn't it supposed to be shaped like a heart in Kingdom Hearts II?


Why are there Heartless beyond the white door?

Why does King Mickey ALSO have a keyblade?

It was a common misconception for a very long time that the Final Door was Kingdom Hearts. In actuality, in the Kingdom Hearts series there are various realms scattered across the universe. Think of them as different dimensions. The majority of the game takes place in the realm of light, where all the Disney worlds are. The realm of light shares a border with the realm of darkness called the realm of in-between. Traverse Town, and the End of the World are in this realm. End of the World is the deepest you can go before reaching the realm of Darkness.

The Realm of Darkness is sealed off by the giant White Door, all the fallen worlds are in that realm and as such heartless are born and bred there. Deep in the Darkness it is believed that the true Kingdom Hearts, the giant moon, sleeps. Hidden from all. That is why Ansem wanted to open the door, and why a light poured from it when Sora called.

The Realm of Darkness has a Keyblade as well, created for the purpose of locking the Door to Darkness. One Keyblade of Light was needed on one side, and one Keyblade of Darkness on the other. Mickey traveled to the realm of Darkness in order to obtain one of these Keyblade solely so he could shut the door to Darkness knowing it'd be a one-way trip. The Door to Darkness was open, but it would only allow creatures of Darkness to pass. That's why Riku stayed with the King in the darkness.

Mickey, however, already had a Keyblade of light. He too was a chosen wielder and is now a Keyblade Master.

Why isn't Sora on Destiny Islands? Since he belongs there. Squall said something about when the worlds are unconnected, everybody goes back to the world where he or she belongs.

Sora made the decision that he can't go home until Riku and Mickey are safe. His heart's resolve must have been great enough to circumvent the pull of the worlds.

Why does defeating Ansem mean that Pinocchio becomes a real boy?

It doesn't, the credits just showed that at some point Pinocchio earns it himself.

What kind of location are the green fields where Sora and the gang find Pluto? Is it some realm of darkness?

It is one of those worlds in the realm of in-between that I mentioned. That world exists solely to maintain a balance between light and dark, though its purpose becomes corrupted. These questions are answered in later games

What exactly is the 'door to light' Goofy talks about?

You'll somewhat find out in the sequel. It's always closer than you think.

 

[TheLastKnight]

You find some of these answers in the other games.

As for the question about meddling in other worlds I think of it as the same as Star Ocean, where you can't show people you're from another planet because it'll upset the balance between worlds.

 

[Ruran]

Hi guys. I just completed the first Kingdom Hearts and I wrote down the questions I had about the plot while I was playing the game. Here they are, I tried to put them in the order of the story. Obviously this thread contains SPOILERS!

!!SPOILER WARNING!!

Don't worry about spoilers, these games are very old.

General questions:

Why can't the party 'meddle' in the affairs in other worlds? They are constantly meddling anyway.

This rule is kind of stupid tbh and defeats the purpose. They're not allowed to meddle because they have to keep the "world order" but what exactly that is we're never told.

Why are there Heartless in worlds where I already closed the Keyhole?

Heartless eat the hearts of people as well as the hearts of worlds. The more hearts they take the more Heartless. Besides if I recall right they're "attracted" to the Keyblade because it can destroy them so Heartless instinctually won't to try and destroy it. Basically, the Heartless follow Sora around to an extent.

Level questions:

Traverse Town: Why is the mural in the sewers suddenly changed into a sun at the latter part of the game?

Because...magic? Well symbolically it represents "the light in the darkness". As for a logical answer to it, it's under Merlin's house so...magic?

TT is a compilation of worlds destroyed by the Heartless and since DI was destroyed at the point then perhaps that section of the sewer was a part of DI that became a part of TT, specifically the Secret Place/the cave. If I recall right Kairi expresses familiarity. Perhaps the place is "responding" to Sora and Kairi's presence.

Deep Jungle: "This place looks so familiar..." Sora says during a slide where seemingly Hollow Bastion is shown. Why does he say this?

Kairi's heart is reacting within Sora. The slide of the castle reminds her of her old home world; Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion.

Plot questions:

If the Heartless were already raiding worlds, how come Sora got his keyblade so late?

The Keyblade belonged to Riku but probably because he wasn't in immediate need of it. It's not clear why a Keyblade decides to show up when it does, so it's up to interpretation.

How come Sora was thrown in Traverse Town, and didn't get the treatment Riku and Kairi got?

?

Why is everybody shocked to see ONE keyblade, when so many people (King Mickey, Riku, the annoying kid on the corner of the street) seem to have one in their pockets?

KH1 was interesting in how it presented the Keyblade. It was said that there were more wielders but they're extremely rare. Something to keep in mind is that there were still a lot of plot points not yet flushed out. Either way Riku and Mickey weren't presented as wielders until the end of the game. As far as most people knew Sora was the only wielder around.

Hollow Bastion: Why does Riku suddenly get the Keyblade at whim from Sora?

They Keyblade belonged to Riku but Sora accidentally "stole" it from him. The Keyblade chooses who ever is the strongest, at that moment Riku's heart was stronger than Sora's.

Why do Donald and Goofy leave Sora in the most douchey way when Sora temporarily loses his Keyblade?

They had their duties to their very old friend and ruler to uphold. Mickey told them to "stay with the key".

Why does Riku have a keyblade?

When Riku was younger he received a "Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony" from an older Keyblade wielder named Terra. It's implied that Terra did this with the intention of taking him under his wing some day.

Why does Sora back into a human so easily by defending Kairi?

It was Kairi who was trying to protect Sora (why, I don't know). It was a mixture of Kairi's PoH powers and her refusal to let him go that restored him.

Why did Ansem leave Hollow Bastion when the Final Keyhole was unlocked? Why didn't he wait for Sora to crush him?

He was trying to reach Kingdom Hearts sssooooo...he went to go find it.

What is the white door at the very end of the game? Kingdom Hearts? Isn't it supposed to be shaped like a heart in Kingdom Hearts II?

It's the Door to Darkness, a door the leads to the Realm of Darkness where Kingdom Hearts lays.

Why are there Heartless beyond the white door?

The Realm of Darkness is the Heartless' pad.

Why does King Mickey ALSO have a keyblade?

Because he's the king babeh~

Why isn't Sora on Destiny Islands? Since he belongs there. Squall said something about when the worlds are unconnected, everybody goes back to the world where he or she belongs.

He chose not to go back because he still things to do, namely find Riku and help Donald and Goofy find Mickey.

Why does defeating Ansem mean that Pinocchio becomes a real boy?

?

What kind of location are the green fields where Sora and the gang find Pluto? Is it some realm of darkness?

I don't think it's ever really made clear. They lead to another world called "Castle Oblivion" but it's questionable by how much they're actually connected.

What exactly is the 'door to light' Goofy talks about?

It's also somewhat of an enigma. We've only gotten implications here and there but it seems to relate to a person's heart, their home, and perhaps the PoH.

___________________

I'm not trying to be an asshole, these are legitimate questions I have about the game. If you can't answer them all, no worries! I'm just trying to understand the plot a little better.

Hey, no worries boo~

 

[DoctorObviously]

Thanks for the great responses! I at least expected some angry fanboys telling me how obviously retarded I am but I got some very well thought-out answers to questions I was stuck with. So thanks!

I'm actually playing all Kingdom Hearts games thanks to the power of emulation. I started playing Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories yesterdaynight. I'm not fond of it, but it's not half bad. I will be making multiple threads with the questions I have for every game in the series I play. It's a shame because I really like the atmosphere and story of Kingdom Hearts, but the Japanese seem to have such difficulty in telling a story well. They always seem to make it as convoluted and difficult as possible to understand.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Thanks for the great responses! I at least expected some angry fanboys telling me how obviously retarded I am but I got some very well thought-out answers to questions I was stuck with. So thanks!

We're here to help! You've never played the games before so they weren't dumb questions.

It's a shame because I really like the atmosphere and story of Kingdom Hearts, but the Japanese seem to have such difficulty in telling a story well. They always seem to make it as convoluted and difficult as possible to understand.

Nomura mainly made KH have a lot of unanswered questions because he wants to see the fans figure it out on their own, or to leave some mystery behind certain things to keep people thinking about it. It can be a bit confusing at times, but I think as long as you understand the basics of the series and, of course, ask questions, it isn't really that hard at all.

 

[TheLastKnight]

Yeah. Part of the reason some questions are unanswered are because future games were obviously planned and created, where those questions are answered.

 

[DoctorObviously]

Nomura mainly made KH have a lot of unanswered questions because he wants to see the fans figure it out on their own, or to leave some mystery behind certain things to keep people thinking about it. It can be a bit confusing at times, but I think as long as you understand the basics of the series and, of course, ask questions, it isn't really that hard at all.

Me and a friend were speculating and we came up with something really dark and twisted: What if Sora is dead this whole time, that he died in the tropical storm and the entire series is a sort of afterlife for him? Think about it, he and his friends DREAM constantly seeing other worlds, different places, have giant adventures and guess what? Sora sees other worlds and goes on a giant adventure with two cartoony companions! Of course the games aren't really supposed to be interpreted as this but what a weird turn of events it would be if at the end of KHIII Sora is lying there in the middle of a pile of debris and a bit of seawater.

EDIT: In Destiny Islands, Sora's mother called out to him. Traverse Town is supposed to be... well, a town. With people in it. Traverse Town seems deserted and lonely. Many worlds are deserted and lonely. And all the worlds seem to have something that makes you feel like you're in a dream. This is thanks to the great atmosphere of the first game, which makes this effect seem all the more palpable. I obviously know this is due to the limitations of the PS2 but the more I think about it, the more plausible it becomes. It reminds me A LOT of Inception, where there are a couple of guys, but you kind of feel like you're a planet with a lot of buildings, but nobody actually living there. It's both eerie and very cool.

 

[ajmrowland]

Traverse town is only there for survivors of lost worlds, so that's why it's a little empty.

 

[gamerobber7]

It's a shame because I really like the atmosphere and story of Kingdom Hearts, but the Japanese seem to have such difficulty in telling a story well. They always seem to make it as convoluted and difficult as possible to understand.

Just to warn you you're going to have a lot of questions for the game that was released last year. xD

 

[ajmrowland]

I wouldn't blame the Japanese. Though I guess they do have different pacing sensibilities overall.