Dark Road ► So, I had a weird thought about Dark Road...

[AR829038]

I was thinking about Dark Road, since (barring any deviations, what with the virus and all, which is very likely) we should be expecting the release sometime this month. And something occurred to me that actually gave me some small optimism for this game, seeing as how I was among those VERY unenthusiastic about what we were shown regarding it.
So, we all remember the screenshot of Eraqus and Xehanort fighting the Large Body in Agrabah. Now, judging by that backdrop and the fact that Dark Road will be sharing the same app space as Union X, we can all assume that it would also use the same data, that is, the same worlds and models and avatars, etc. So, we'll probably expect to see Agrabah and all the other same exact worlds as in Union X (the Secret Reports in KH3 mentioned that Xehanort toured all the worlds of the Age of Fairy Tales, so we can assume we'll be retreading all the same worlds in this game), with perhaps only Scala ad Caelum as a new addition.
Now, when I first realized this, my instant reaction was repulsion. I, and many other people, did not enjoy the worlds of Union X, mainly because they were each carbon copies of the stories from their respective movies—probably the most unaltered versions of the worlds we've ever seen in the series. And initially, I expected that to be the same case in this game.
But then I realized: These worlds aren't projections from the future—they're the actual real worlds as they were in the time of Young Xehanort and Eraqus. That means, potentially, that the stories, and maybe even the characters, will be brand new and original. After all, we can't go through the plot of Aladdin, because when YX and Eraqus were boys, Aladdin himself wasn't even born, and Jafar probably wasn't either. The same goes for all the other worlds we visit in Union X—each one is going to have to come up with some original story AND original characters in order to compensate for the fact that their narratives don't occur until BBS and the other main games in the series.
What do you guys think about this? Is it even possible—that is, do you think they would even be able to get away with altering Disney's IPs that much? Or will they probably find some way to make each world a projection like with Union X? Because if they do that, that'll really bum me out.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

Do you see those slots where the cards go?

That's the same symbol as the one in the Book of Prophecies' cover. Meaning that, whatever Eraqus and Xehanort are experiencing, it's quite possibly through the Book.

We can try to be optimistic and speculate that only the cards will come from the future and not the projections themselves. But as it is with this project only being inside KHUx, then it means minimal effort will be put into it, so perhaps it'll be rehashed Agrabah.

 

[DefiantHeart]

Well seeing how they've yet to really make original Disney plots, it's highly unlikely. Closest we have had are from kh 3, but even those still stuck pretty close to the story, and even then it was mostly Toy Box. ( Which in the end didn't really matter much, despite being canon.) Would like to see some originality, like maybe we'll see Aladdin's parents before he was born? But that's really stretching it.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

I also think that the worlds could again be just projections. That's kinda implied in the KH3 Secret Report where Xehanort says that he, not Eraqus, will be 'the first to tour the worlds written of in the old fairy tales' to prepare for his Mark of Mastery exam. In Dark Road he is with Eraqus and looks younger than he is during his conversation with the MoM after his 'world tour' in Re Mind so unless the boys sneak off during their training (which is possible) these worlds should be some kind of projection.

 

[Face My Fears]

Do you see those slots where the cards go?

That's the same symbol as the one in the Book of Prophecies' cover. Meaning that, whatever Eraqus and Xehanort are experiencing, it's quite possibly through the Book.

We can try to be optimistic and speculate that only the cards will come from the future and not the projections themselves. But as it is with this project only being inside KHUx, then it means minimal effort will be put into it, so perhaps it'll be rehashed Agrabah.

Random observation: That symbol (the wings specifically) reminds me of Way To The Dawn/Soul Eater. The heart part also reminds me of an upside down nobody symbol.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

Random observation: That symbol (the wings specifically) reminds me of Way To The Dawn/Soul Eater. The heart part also reminds me of an upside down nobody symbol.

If you look closely, the wings are different: one angelic, one demonic. It could represent not just dawn, but dusk itself. Since this is the Book of Prophecies, maybe dawn is the past and dusk is the future.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

If you look closely, the wings are different: one angelic, one demonic. It could represent not just dawn, but dusk itself. Since this is the Book of Prophecies, maybe dawn is the past and dusk is the future.

Way to Dawn has an angelic wing and a demonic wing surrounding it's handle. The different wings made me think of Oathkeeper and Oblivion, where the angelic wing is light and the demonic wing darkness. It does make part of me wonder about why Way to Dawn was retired in KH3.

 

[LoneFox]

Since this is the Book of Prophecies, maybe dawn is the past and dusk is the future.

I think the symbol represents the Master of Masters himself. If so, you have it backwards. The darkness is in the past, the light-dominated utopia is (supposed to be) the future.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

Way to Dawn has an angelic wing and a demonic wing surrounding it's handle. The different wings made me think of Oathkeeper and Oblivion, where the angelic wing is light and the demonic wing darkness. It does make part of me wonder about why Way to Dawn was retired in KH3.

Maybe they had no more plot relevant stuff for it.

I think the symbol represents the Master of Masters himself. If so, you have it backwards. The darkness is in the past, the light-dominated utopia is (supposed to be) the future.

True. Could pretty much signifiy that either the MoM wants a true balance between light and darkness or he just wants to eliminate darkness.

 

[Face My Fears]

If you look closely, the wings are different: one angelic, one demonic. It could represent not just dawn, but dusk itself. Since this is the Book of Prophecies, maybe dawn is the past and dusk is the future.

With Souleater's relation to Way To The Dawn, and the fact that Souleater had the Gazing Eye in it, I really wonder if there may be more connection between the MoM/Riku. Especially when you consider that Riku was the actual chosen one.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

With Souleater's relation to Way To The Dawn, and the fact that Souleater had the Gazing Eye in it, I really wonder if there may be more connection between the MoM/Riku. Especially when you consider that Riku was the actual chosen one.

That's why I wondered if maybe Riku's Keyblade was changed to the blander Braveheart in KH3 in order to play down that association.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I just had a mind pic of the MoM taking his hood off and showing Riku's face

 

[Face My Fears]

I just had a mind pic of the MoM taking his hood off and showing Riku's face

Don't give Nomura ideas lol.

That's why I wondered if maybe Riku's Keyblade was changed to the blander Braveheart in KH3 in order to play down that association.

Would Nomura go to those lengths to cancel the association? Wouldn't it have been easier to give the MoM a symbol not connected to any previous lore?

 

[Deleted member 252753]

Would Nomura go to those lengths to cancel the association? Wouldn't it have been easier to give the MoM a symbol not connected to any previous lore?

I don't know but I'd like to think there's a reason why Way to Dawn was replaced with a keyblade devoid of light/dark symbolism.

 

[LoneFox]

I don't know but I'd like to think there's a reason why Way to Dawn was replaced with a keyblade devoid of light/dark symbolism.

It's more about Braveheart than Way to Dawn. A modern-looking keyblade symbolises his modern understanding of light and darkness, where both extremes are equally bad. The Master of Masters on the other hand... you may want to re-watch the Cornerstones dialogue. There is something fishy in between the lines, isn't there?

 

[Face My Fears]

I don't know but I'd like to think there's a reason why Way to Dawn was replaced with a keyblade devoid of light/dark symbolism.

I thought it was basically to show that Riku's no longer on the "path to dawn", but rather that he arrived at the dawn. I wish he didn't get rid of Way To The Dawn, but c'est la vie.

 

[ZeVaine]

Either these two are data versions of themselves in some kind of training, or they will have some access to a Book of Prophecies/data world... maybe even they travel to the future somehow, but when they return they don't have any memories of what they did (or they do and that influences a bunch of stuff)...

It's incredibly annoying to think about, honestly lol so I've done what I can to just not think about it much, and wait to see what happens - but I hope whatever they decide to go with isn't so hard to digest as it potentially could be.

 

[AR829038]

Do you see those slots where the cards go?

That's the same symbol as the one in the Book of Prophecies' cover. Meaning that, whatever Eraqus and Xehanort are experiencing, it's quite possibly through the Book.

We can try to be optimistic and speculate that only the cards will come from the future and not the projections themselves. But as it is with this project only being inside KHUx, then it means minimal effort will be put into it, so perhaps it'll be rehashed Agrabah.

To be clear, my running assumption is that the Book of Prophecies is only going to be used to conjure Emblem Heartless for Xehanort and Eraqus to battle during their exam. Just going by the images of the game that we've seen thus far, only the Heartless can be conjectured with any certainty to be projections from the Book, and that the worlds themselves (since they actually exist in Xehanort and Eraqus' time) would be real.
Now, it's quite possible that they'll use the Book to make projections of the worlds, too, as well as their characters and their stories. And if that happens, I'm bowing out, because that would be the utter height of laziness, and I think most players would jump ship off the title if they just copy-pasted the exact same stories and scenarios from Union X, which in turn were just copy-pasted from the films. If they do that, then these developers are absolutely hopeless, and if they can't get away with doing more than that for legal reasons, then they shouldn't even bother with this game.

 

[Deleted member 252753]

To be clear, my running assumption is that the Book of Prophecies is only going to be used to conjure Emblem Heartless for Xehanort and Eraqus to battle during their exam. Just going by the images of the game that we've seen thus far, only the Heartless can be conjectured with any certainty to be projections from the Book, and that the worlds themselves (since they actually exist in Xehanort and Eraqus' time) would be real.
Now, it's quite possible that they'll use the Book to make projections of the worlds, too, as well as their characters and their stories. And if that happens, I'm bowing out, because that would be the utter height of laziness, and I think most players would jump ship off the title if they just copy-pasted the exact same stories and scenarios from Union X, which in turn were just copy-pasted from the films. If they do that, then these developers are absolutely hopeless, and if they can't get away with doing more than that for legal reasons, then they shouldn't even bother with this game.

If these worlds are just projections used for the boys' training and they won't do anything interesting with the Disney plots (as seems likely), I personally would rather that they don't have any stories in the Disney worlds at all. So Xehanort and Eraqus go to Agrabah or other worlds to fight Heartless but don't interact with the inhabitants and the game just focuses on the main story.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

If these worlds are just projections used for the boys' training and they won't do anything interesting with the Disney plots (as seems likely), I personally would rather that they don't have any stories in the Disney worlds at all. So Xehanort and Eraqus go to Agrabah or other worlds to fight Heartless but don't interact with the inhabitants and the game just focuses on the main story.

Pretty much this. I'd rather we get original stories rather than fillers. We already have KHUx for that. I suspect that Dark Roads will be more story heavy since this is an internal expansion.