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SPOILERS: How Are We Supposed To Feel About Yozora?



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Ballad of Caius

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FINAL FANTASY Versus XIII was Tetsuya Nomura's first and very own FF project. He entered Squaresoft by being FFV's Monster Designed and kept walking up the stairs. It is to my impression that it was meant to be it's very own thing, and not mesh in any way or form with KINGDOM HEARTS up until possibly some sort of spinoff.

That's my take on Versus XIII. My take on Verum Rex is that it's Nomura testing the waters to see if there's enough demand *COUGHnostalgiaCOUGH* concerning VXIII on use Yozora's "videogame" to build a spiritual successor.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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I have a theory that Versus XIII and Kingdom Hearts were always supposed to merge in some way, shape or form. Back in the day, Nomura said he named Noctis as a direct opposite to Sora for a reason. Those two he considered to be his "sons". Then you have the numerous references of Versus XIII in KH3, and I don't think it's just out of spite for FFXV. I think it's possible that a lot of what we're seeing now he had planned or in the back of his mind since 2005-2006.

In Kingdom Hearts, it never really touches on what happens once your soul leaves your body (death). We know The Final World functions as a place of the "brink", and that "nothing lies beyond this place"... But y'know, Versus XIII's lore touched on death a lot, and they worshipped deities in that world. It's not impossible for KH's lore and what we know of vXIII's lore to merge, because you can still have a Heartless and Nobody exist AND have the whole Etro thing going on if someone actually dies.

Plus we really don't know if there's anything close to a God in Kingdom Hearts. (Well, besides Olympus.) You could say maybe Kingdom Hearts itself could be a sentient life form, but we really don't know anything about it. I think there's a lot of potential, and again, it makes me wonder if Nomura had this idea all along from since long ago.
I've been thinking that for a while, and to some weight to this, Nomura was still involved with Versus XIII/FFXV when DDD was released. If we take the TWEWY crew's appearance to mean Nomura already planned TWEWY's later involvement and Sora being kinda dead now, then he might have already been planning for Versus XIII to have a role too.

It'd also put things into an even worse perspective if Nomura wasn't just hit hard from being kicked off his own FF project, but this also caused his plans for KH to be screwed up. :(
 

SuperNova

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If you think about it Yozora as a concept it has a bittersweet tone to it. Nomura lost his rights to VXIII but now he can recycle some of those concepts through Yozora and Not-Stella in KH. If anything the man knows how to twist things right on the spot so at least his concepts won't go to complete waste.
 
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Why are you worried?

I'm worried that Yozora may steal Sora/Riku/any other main character that we've come to know after all these years' shine. They're all finally saved and together, we should be getting more moments with them and more games playing as them. I'm OK with Yozora because he's just one character, but knowing Nomura's obsession/love of Versus XIII I just don't want what he already established in KH and sorely needs attention to be brushed aside for Yozora. Nomura had excuses before why he couldn't use all the characters -- basically because he wrote himself into a corner with them being trapped, locked away, forgotten etc. Now it's different, so I may not give Nomura a pass if he starts neglecting them in favour of Yozora or newer Versus XIII characters.

THIS.

I'm 50 shades of indifferent toward yozora and his merry crew. nomura just introduces them (out of pure spite) out of nowhere and practically demands we give them our full, undivided attention. It's not working on me.

However, I will.... intensely dislike them if/when they steal the spotlight from the other characters, the ones we've followed for years. What was the point of resurrecting roxas, xion, terra, etc. if they're gonna spend the rest of the series on the shelf? there is no difference between dead and functionally dead.
 

Ballad of Caius

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I don't think Yozora will steal anyone's spotlight. Like others have mentioned, his presence feels like a crossover, not like he's a part of the Universe of KINGDOM HEARTS.
 

Elysium

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No, I wouldn't like Yozora to takeover the series. But I'm not too worried on that front. I remember I had the same fear when Roxas first appeared as a playable character in early information/ads for KH2. I was scared people would like playing as him more than Sora, in part because he was "edgy" and "mature" with two Keyblades, too, and that Nomura would eventually phase Sora out for a new protagonist. Thankfully, that didn't happen. So I don't expect it would with Yozora either.
 

FudgemintGuardian

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Me when seeing Yozora in:

Toy Box's Verum Rex trailer - "Oh, what a reference!"
Secret movie - "Oh, you're up to something!"
Re:Mind - "Oh, you're up to SOMETHING something!"

XD But really, Yozora just has me intrigued on how he'll fit into the future titles and what Nomura could possibly be up to. The character is meant to be mysterious and build up hype and interest, like any other character, but who he and Verum Rex is based on gives a different weight and feel than anything exclusively KH would. Shibuya does the same thing. I don't believe Yozora will "take over" KH (it'll always be Sora's game) but his and TWEWY's possible future inclusion tells me that KH could be going in a different direction from past saga. Whether that's winds up being a good or bad thing, we won't know until it happens, but as KH is as of now, it could greatly benefit from it.
 

Ballad of Caius

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Me when seeing Yozora in:

Toy Box's Verum Rex trailer - "Oh, what a reference!"
Secret movie - "Oh, you're up to something!"
Re:Mind - "Oh, you're up to SOMETHING something!"

XD But really, Yozora just has me intrigued on how he'll fit into the future titles and what Nomura could possibly be up to. The character is meant to be mysterious and build up hype and interest, like any other character, but who he and Verum Rex is based on gives a different weight and feel than anything exclusively KH would. Shibuya does the same thing. I don't believe Yozora will "take over" KH (it'll always be Sora's game) but his and TWEWY's possible future inclusion tells me that KH could be going in a different direction from past saga. Whether that's winds up being a good or bad thing, we won't know until it happens, but as KH is as of now, it could greatly benefit from it.
I'm not worried about Yozora being in future titles. I don't think he'll star in more than one game. I think his inclusion in the Universe of KINGDOM HEARTS will be the same as the TWEWY gang: they came, they saw and they conquered. Only that Yozora will have a more elaborate and impactful presence.
 

Face My Fears

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I'm not worried about Yozora being in future titles. I don't think he'll star in more than one game. I think his inclusion in the Universe of KINGDOM HEARTS will be the same as the TWEWY gang: they came, they saw and they conquered. Only that Yozora will have a more elaborate and impactful presence.
I hope that Yozora is the focus of the bridge game between KH3 and 4 that is on main consoles. He can be a major plot point for Riku/Kairi (and Sora), but after that appearance he's gone. Nomura has a tendency to keep bringing back characters that are popular, so I'm kind of worried if Yozora (who is clearly a darling to Nomura) becomes popular if he will be shoehorned back into the spotlight (like Axel).
 
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No, I wouldn't like Yozora to takeover the series. But I'm not too worried on that front. I remember I had the same fear when Roxas first appeared as a playable character in early information/ads for KH2. I was scared people would like playing as him more than Sora, in part because he was "edgy" and "mature" with two Keyblades, too, and that Nomura would eventually phase Sora out for a new protagonist. Thankfully, that didn't happen. So I don't expect it would with Yozora either.

Funnily enough, that's sorta what happened to me. I played and watched a bit of KH1 but KH2 vanilla was the first one I owned myself. I immediately loved Roxas and empathized more with him than anyone else. That was over a decade ago. I don't remember Sora being one of my favorites, but his gameplay has always been more than serviceable. I'm content with him being the protagonist.

As for Yozora.... he's like a son to Nomura and is already protagonist material since he's just copyright-friendly Noctis of copyright-friendly vs13. Plus after factoring in the increase of minor characters in post-kh3 vs post-CoM, Yozora has more potential to steal spotlight than Roxas ever did.
 
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I hope that Yozora is the focus of the bridge game between KH3 and 4 that is on main consoles. He can be a major plot point for Riku/Kairi (and Sora), but after that appearance he's gone. Nomura has a tendency to keep bringing back characters that are popular, so I'm kind of worried if Yozora (who is clearly a darling to Nomura) becomes popular if he will be shoehorned back into the spotlight (like Axel).


While I'm not opposed to character resurrection, I do take issue with appeal to popularity. Leave characters dead if they can't/won't contribute moving forward. It's basically just picking something off the shelf, then immediately putting it back there. That's not what their diehard fans want. That won't benefit the story. It amounts to nothing.

If Roxas, Xion, Lea, and Namine have nothing to do, then simply leave them dead. Now they have to fight a losing battle for relevance.
 

SuperSaiyanSora

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I've been thinking that for a while, and to some weight to this, Nomura was still involved with Versus XIII/FFXV when DDD was released. If we take the TWEWY crew's appearance to mean Nomura already planned TWEWY's later involvement and Sora being kinda dead now, then he might have already been planning for Versus XIII to have a role too.

It'd also put things into an even worse perspective if Nomura wasn't just hit hard from being kicked off his own FF project, but this also caused his plans for KH to be screwed up. :(

Thinking back to an older interview he did around the time he was removed from FFXV (so maybe around, late 2014-early 2015?), I think he mentioned just how depressed he was over the whole thing. And the fact that Versus XIII was literally a forbidden topic within the company, I think there were much bigger costs and consequences of the change other than the eventual game we ended up getting.

It's strange that he just added people from TWEWY when it's always been FF characters that get the cameo. Add to the fact that Neku says to Sora "see you in Shibuya", and DDD takes place RIGHT before KH3 (where Sora ends up in "Shibuya" at the END of KH3)... I don't think that's purely coincidence.

Plus Versus XIII was dealing with Sleep and Death, with how Noctis would sleep a lot, as well as the reaper worship. What did DDD focus on the most? Dreams. What did KH3 touch on pretty strongly? Death. The parallels are there, and we can't say it's out of the question, because we now have someone that literally looks like Versus XIII Noctis who's basically wearing Riku's clothes.
 

Face My Fears

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While I'm not opposed to character resurrection, I do take issue with appeal to popularity. Leave characters dead if they can't/won't contribute moving forward. It's basically just picking something off the shelf, then immediately putting it back there. That's not what their diehard fans want. That won't benefit the story. It amounts to nothing.

If Roxas, Xion, Lea, and Namine have nothing to do, then simply leave them dead. Now they have to fight a losing battle for relevance.
I mean before KH3 I felt that way about Roxas and Xion. I adore them and didn't want them to come back because I was worried that their future usage may not be on par with what they got before, let alone that they may just vanish with no explanation. I guess I'm just a sucker for them because I loved that they returned in KH3, but I still have the same concerns about them in future games... ugh. I'm hoping that moving forward, if Nomura kills off someone, they're gone for good.
 

Alpha Baymax

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How does Nomura feel? Maybe excited because Yozora's existence means he can tell the story of Versus that he missed out on with FFXV

Can he though? Versus XIII was a very mature game, and the original Noctis did things that would definitely not be approved in Kingdom Hearts. I'm in the minority in believing that this is the worst outcome for the ideas of Versus XIII. Yozora, just like Sora has been adopted by Disney. Nomura doesn't have as much creative freedom for Yozora as he did with the original Noctis.

A better idea would have been to have an alternate-reality Final Fantasy XV called Final Fantasy Versus XV.
 

Ballad of Caius

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Yozora, just like Sora has been adopted by Disney.
Copyright laws aren't the same in Japan. We could make an argument that Nomura could still make Verum Rex with Versus' tone. I sincerely doubt that Nomura would have introduced Yozora into KINGDOM HEARTS without considering the copyright aspect.
 

SweetYetSalty

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I mean before KH3 I felt that way about Roxas and Xion. I adore them and didn't want them to come back because I was worried that their future usage may not be on par with what they got before, let alone that they may just vanish with no explanation. I guess I'm just a sucker for them because I loved that they returned in KH3, but I still have the same concerns about them in future games... ugh. I'm hoping that moving forward, if Nomura kills off someone, they're gone for good.
I was kinda the same. Part of me didn't want them to come back. Like I knew they were going to appear in some shape or form but I wasn't sure if I wanted them back in the flesh until I saw their reunion and ReMind only built on it. But I was torn going into KH3 about this very topic.
 

kirabook

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Huh, didn't know people were worried about Yozora taking the spotlight? I don't feel that way at all. Yozora is like Sora's weird long lost uncle trying to force Sora to take a break.

I've had a ton of fun crafting theories about him, more fun than I've had with any KH theories for a while. I don't know how deep in the rabbit hole Nomura intends to go with Yozora, but I guess we'll see. I don't want it to be more complicated than it has to be. Just say Yozora is similar to Sora, got wrapped up in some weird stuff and for some reason is on a mission to catch and preserve Sora for a while and leave it at that.

No alternate universes. No "He's actually Riku from this timeline and Sora is the nameless star" blah blah blah. I hope he's his own person that just got tangled up in some stuff and one "world visit" later, he'll get back to normal and become a long distance friend like the Radiant Garden crew.

So for that, I guess I can say I'm more interested in who told him to "save Sora" and why.
 
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