Theory about the development of the "mystery" game

[Oracle Spockanort]

I've already said that in a possible "Reverse/Rebirth" style game element, other characters would be played as

So switching between Sora and Riku randomly is not enough for you?

 

[Chaser]

I've already said that in a possible "Reverse/Rebirth" style game element, other characters would be played as

Mmm, no still wouldn't work. It would be a bit disjointed. After all, you're already playing through 2 scenarios are once. The game would then finishing and you go through another two scenarios at the same time? No, just no.

 

[Key of Valor]

And how do you know that? Did you not remember that the PoH's worlds were taken into the RoD? There would have to be people in those worlds because they surely did not go to the RoS.

Nomura explained in an old interview that when a world disappears, the residents vanish and time just stops for their existence until the world is restored. In all likeliness, the only things Aqua is going to find in the ruins of lost worlds are Heartless.

Do you even remember how the RoD was set up in the Secret Episode of BBSFM? It was like playing a quick demo of another game. You got items you couldn't use, a Keyblade you couldn't alter, and explored areas that had names like "Lower Zone" "Upper Zone" and "Valley of Darkness", and fought enemies that had no bearing on the overall progress of the game.

It's obviously going to have Aqua considering she is the one in the RoD.

I think Aqua's last chapter was just a little bonus that was different enough to be interesting. I don't think there will be a new Aqua scenario until she gets out of the Realm of Darkness.

 

[Chaser]

I think Aqua's last chapter was just a little bonus that was different enough to be interesting. I don't think there will be a new Aqua scenario until she gets out of the Realm of Darkness.

Then why include the scene of her seeing the Castle of Dreams. They put that there for a reason. Her finding that, and the bonus of playing in the Realm of Darkness hints something big.

 

[Key of Valor]

Then why include the scene of her seeing the Castle of Dreams. They put that there for a reason. Her finding that, and the bonus of playing in the Realm of Darkness hints something big.

Aqua finding the Castle of Dreams means that Xehanort's Heartless already started to destroy worlds. Aqua didn't have anyone keeping her updated on what was going on in the Realm of Light, but seeing world after world plunged into darkness meant her absence allowed chaos break out, and she was powerless to do anything to stop it.

There might be more to it, but there doesn't have to be. Aqua is in for one big surprise though when she learns that those worlds fell into darkness in the first place because she tried to save Terra... Maybe Aqua will have a more "decisive" solution for deal with Apprentice Xehanort when she returns to the Realm of Light.

I can easily see BBSv2 having an Aqua scenario so long as it isn't mainly set in the Realm of Darkness (because there is little potential for an actual story if she is stuck in the Realm of Darkness).

 

[JustSnilloc]

So switching between Sora and Riku randomly is not enough for you?

Not sure... seems a bit overwhelming by itself honestly

Mmm, no still wouldn't work. It would be a bit disjointed. After all, you're already playing through 2 scenarios are once. The game would then finishing and you go through another two scenarios at the same time? No, just no.

at the same time? yeah that would make it a bit much... But one scenario that two characters take turns doing major parts of wouldn't be so bad, idk what Nomura's plans are though so I can't say how he would do it if he planned on doing it

 

[Ikkin]

I've already said that in a possible "Reverse/Rebirth" style game element, other characters would be played as

Reverse/Rebirth only existed because the amount of effort required for extra assets to use in it was, essentially, nil. All of the worlds were the same as Sora's story. All of the Disney bosses (and some of the original bosses) were the same as in Sora's story. The only things unique to Reverse/Rebirth were DiZ, ASoD, Zexion, and Lexaeus, and they all either had designs already or were needed for KH2 anyway.

Any game made based on the BbSv2 teaser, on the other hand, could use nothing from the World of Sleep portion of 3D, which appears to make up the vast majority of worlds visited. The only way to make a second scenario would be to create an entirely new set of assets for a different set of worlds, which would be financially absurd (since it wouldn't affect anyone's buying decision). They wouldn't do it.

There might be more to it, but there doesn't have to be. Aqua is in for one big surprise though when she learns that those worlds fell into darkness in the first place because she tried to save Terra... Maybe Aqua will have a more "decisive" solution for deal with Apprentice Xehanort when she returns to the Realm of Light.

If there isn't more to it, the Secret Episode (which Nomura said is supposed to give a hint to the future when asked about the "mystery" game) is pointless.

Apart from the three minute fragmented teaser at the end, nothing happens that could affect the future of the series other than the Castle of Dreams appearing in the Realm of Darkness. Even the Hunter of the Dark is just an unusually-colored Heartless, as far as we can tell.

Besides, Castle of Dreams being there is a retcon. Nothing in the series so far hinted at worlds that were destroyed being taken into the Realm of Darkness wholesale; for them to add that in now, there has to be at least some kind of reason, and the Secret Episode itself simply doesn't provide it.

I can easily see BBSv2 having an Aqua scenario so long as it isn't mainly set in the Realm of Darkness (because there is little potential for an actual story if she is stuck in the Realm of Darkness).

Oh, that's easy: just say that the hearts of the worlds stuck in the Realm of Darkness are trapped by world-sized equivalents to Heartless, and the worlds can only be restored to the Realm of Light if those Heartless are destroyed. Add only worlds that were restored by KH2, avoid all worlds that will appear in the Realm of Sleep in 3D, and say that the difference between those two sets of worlds is that Aqua freed the non-sleeping ones before Sora closed the Door to Darkness.

Then, add Disney stories to Aqua's journey by having her be able to enter the world's memories and see what its residents were doing right before it was destroyed. Show Leon and co.'s last stand against the invasion of Heartless in Radiant Garden. Show Maleficent capturing the Princesses from Castle of Dreams, Enchanted Dominion, Dwarf Woodlands, and Beast's Castle. Show Pride Rock falling to the Heartless as a result of Scar's overthrow of Mufasa. Show Riku's secret meeting with Ansem on Destiny Islands before it fell. Let Aqua find the remnants of The Land of Departure that were destroyed before she turned it into Castle Oblivion. There's a ton of stories that could be told there, most of which don't involve retelling the movie with minor changes to fit in a player character with a Keyblade.

To finish, give Aqua a story involving the loss of her memories due to constant exposure to darkness and her struggle to keep going, in spite of all of the things dragging her down and making her want to give up. Let her meet Mickey (and possibly Riku) at some point and help him to attain the Kingdom Key D, only to be forced to pull an "I'll hold them off!" just as Mickey and Riku help to close the Door to Darkness and not be able to go with them when they finally escape. Show her losing everything, and then finally coming to the Dark Margin and seeing Ansem and being given the first sign of hope she's had in years.

No room for story? I must strongly disagree with that assumption.

 

[Memory Master]

You guys want a story for one of the worlds in the Realm of Darkness they could use in an Aqua scenario?

Alright Beast's Castle was taken by the heartless so it should appear in the Realm of Darkness.

Okay Beast and Belle are in Hollow Bastion during KH1, meanwhile Aqua finds herself at Beast's Castle in the Realm of Darkness. She finds the residents of the castle asleep and the world frozen in time. Aqua awakens them from their sleep. Along with Cogsworth, Lumiar, Mrs. Pots ect, the evil pipe Organ Forte from "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas" is also awoken.

Now in the movie Forte wanted to prevent Belle and Beast from getting together and breaking the spell because if the spell was not broken then he would remain a Pipe Organ and thus live forever. When Forte sends out his henchmen Fife the Flute to investigate Aqua's arrival, he discovers Aqua plans to help restore the castle back to the Realm of Light.

Forte comes up with a scheme to prevent Aqua from restoring the castle and thus allow Forte and the castle to remain in the Realm of Darkness so the spell can never be broken and he can live forever. Of course Aqua eventually foils his plans and has to battle Forte himself.

 

[Hillboy]

Oh, that's easy: just say that the hearts of the worlds stuck in the Realm of Darkness are trapped by world-sized equivalents to Heartless, and the worlds can only be restored to the Realm of Light if those Heartless are destroyed. Add only worlds that were restored by KH2, avoid all worlds that will appear in the Realm of Sleep in 3D, and say that the difference between those two sets of worlds is that Aqua freed the non-sleeping ones before Sora closed the Door to Darkness.

Then, add Disney stories to Aqua's journey by having her be able to enter the world's memories and see what its residents were doing right before it was destroyed. Show Leon and co.'s last stand against the invasion of Heartless in Radiant Garden. Show Maleficent capturing the Princesses from Castle of Dreams, Enchanted Dominion, Dwarf Woodlands, and Beast's Castle. Show Pride Rock falling to the Heartless as a result of Scar's overthrow of Mufasa. Show Riku's secret meeting with Ansem on Destiny Islands before it fell. Let Aqua find the remnants of The Land of Departure that were destroyed before she turned it into Castle Oblivion. There's a ton of stories that could be told there, most of which don't involve retelling the movie with minor changes to fit in a player character with a Keyblade.

To finish, give Aqua a story involving the loss of her memories due to constant exposure to darkness and her struggle to keep going, in spite of all of the things dragging her down and making her want to give up. Let her meet Mickey (and possibly Riku) at some point and help him to attain the Kingdom Key D, only to be forced to pull an "I'll hold them off!" just as Mickey and Riku help to close the Door to Darkness and not be able to go with them when they finally escape. Show her losing everything, and then finally coming to the Dark Margin and seeing Ansem and being given the first sign of hope she's had in years.

No room for story? I must strongly disagree with that assumption.

I'm throwing money at the screen, really that does sound amazing

 

[Key of Valor]

If there isn't more to it, the Secret Episode (which Nomura said is supposed to give a hint to the future when asked about the "mystery" game) is pointless.

Apart from the three minute fragmented teaser at the end, nothing happens that could affect the future of the series other than the Castle of Dreams appearing in the Realm of Darkness. Even the Hunter of the Dark is just an unusually-colored Heartless, as far as we can tell.

Besides, Castle of Dreams being there is a retcon. Nothing in the series so far hinted at worlds that were destroyed being taken into the Realm of Darkness wholesale; for them to add that in now, there has to be at least some kind of reason, and the Secret Episode itself simply doesn't provide it.

I think the three minute video at the end of the chapter is enough of a hint for the new game. Maybe there are other reasons for showing that the ruins of worlds appear in the Realm of Darkness, but those possible reasons might not have to do with a scenario about Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness.

Oh, that's easy: just say that the hearts of the worlds stuck in the Realm of Darkness are trapped by world-sized equivalents to Heartless, and the worlds can only be restored to the Realm of Light if those Heartless are destroyed. Add only worlds that were restored by KH2, avoid all worlds that will appear in the Realm of Sleep in 3D, and say that the difference between those two sets of worlds is that Aqua freed the non-sleeping ones before Sora closed the Door to Darkness.

That gives Aqua stuff to do in the Realm of Darkness, but Aqua fighting wave after wave of Heartless is not a proper story.

Then, add Disney stories to Aqua's journey by having her be able to enter the world's memories and see what its residents were doing right before it was destroyed. Show Leon and co.'s last stand against the invasion of Heartless in Radiant Garden. Show Maleficent capturing the Princesses from Castle of Dreams, Enchanted Dominion, Dwarf Woodlands, and Beast's Castle. Show Pride Rock falling to the Heartless as a result of Scar's overthrow of Mufasa. Show Riku's secret meeting with Ansem on Destiny Islands before it fell. Let Aqua find the remnants of The Land of Departure that were destroyed before she turned it into Castle Oblivion.

I don't see how this idea would work. Aqua could learn stuff in these memories, but she wouldn't be able to change anything about the actual fates of these worlds themselves. Even if she did save the worlds within their memories, her efforts would be meaningless outside of those memories, so why bother? Plus, interfering with the events in the memories would change the course of events that occur within the memories, which means Aqua wouldn't actually be learning about the events that led up to the worlds being lost to darkness if she is actively trying to save the worlds. Also, if Aqua could just chill out in these worlds' memories, then that would significantly make Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness easier to endure, which would sorta disarm the impact of her "horrible imprisonment" in the Realm of Darkness.

To finish, give Aqua a story involving the loss of her memories due to constant exposure to darkness and her struggle to keep going, in spite of all of the things dragging her down and making her want to give up. Let her meet Mickey (and possibly Riku) at some point and help him to attain the Kingdom Key D, only to be forced to pull an "I'll hold them off!" just as Mickey and Riku help to close the Door to Darkness and not be able to go with them when they finally escape. Show her losing everything, and then finally coming to the Dark Margin and seeing Ansem and being given the first sign of hope she's had in years.

Aqua's internal struggles could potentially be interesting, but a good story needs character interactions, and the only three characters that she might have ran into while in the Realm of Darkness are Mickey, Riku, and Ansem the Wise.

If BBSv2 does have a scenario about Aqua, I think it will just begin with Aqua escaping the Realm of Darkness so that she can actually have a meaningful story.

 

[JustSnilloc]

Personally I would prefer BbS v2 focus on the birth of the Organization, the downfall of Radiant Garden, Aqua, Mickey, and the "birth of DiZ"

... may just be me though

Edit: Exclusive focus of Aqua would just seem stale

 

[Taochan]

I think the three minute video at the end of the chapter is enough of a hint for the new game.

So... you're agreeing? Or did you intend to write "isn't"?

Maybe there are other reasons for showing that the ruins of worlds appear in the Realm of Darkness, but those possible reasons might not have to do with a scenario about Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness.

All evidence points to the contrary.

That gives Aqua stuff to do in the Realm of Darkness, but Aqua fighting wave after wave of Heartless is not a proper story.

That's pretty much what Sora' did in KH1 with the inclusion of Disney characters.

I don't see how this idea would work. Aqua could learn stuff in these memories, but she wouldn't be able to change anything about the actual fates of these worlds themselves. Even if she did save the worlds within their memories, her efforts would be meaningless outside of those memories, so why bother? Plus, interfering with the events in the memories would change the course of events that occur within the memories, which means Aqua wouldn't actually be learning about the events that led up to the worlds being lost to darkness if she is actively trying to save the worlds.

It would work just like Chain of Memories where Sora essentially relives his journey through KH1 with some minor adjustments, all while losing his memory of the events. Sora's events in the rooms in CO didn't effect anything, but it was still part of the game because the bigger picture was that while playing through these rooms, Sora lost parts of his memory. Something similar could be implemented for Aqua.

Also, if Aqua could just chill out in these worlds' memories, then that would significantly make Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness easier to endure, which would sorta disarm the impact of her "horrible imprisonment" in the Realm of Darkness.

No, not really. Watching the fall of Radiant Gardens or watching her friends (Cinderella, Prince Phillip, etc) fall to darkness with their worlds/get stolen by Maleficent, or watching Eraqus die really wouldn't make her feel better.

Aqua's internal struggles could potentially be interesting, but a good story needs character interactions, and the only three characters that she might have ran into while in the Realm of Darkness are Mickey, Riku, and Ansem the Wise.

If BBSv2 does have a scenario about Aqua, I think it will just begin with Aqua escaping the Realm of Darkness so that she can actually have a meaningful story.

That's being presumptuous. Aqua could have easily ran into Xemnas or some of the other characters who traverse the Corridors of Darkness. Imagine a scene of Aqua meeting Xemnas and recognizing who he is, only to lose her memory of it later? That's some deep stuff.

Aqua obviously can't escape without help; she lost her Door to the Light. An Aqua scenario could showcase her half of saving the worlds from darkness and showing her being an integral part of the KH history. I personally found it hard to imagine her wandering the RoD aimlessly for the RoL equivalent of 10/11 years.

Personally I would prefer BbS v2 focus on the birth of the Organization, the downfall of Radiant Garden, Aqua, Mickey, and the "birth of DiZ"

... may just be me though

Edit: Exclusive focus of Aqua would just seem stale

Did you even watch the secret ending to BBS:FM? It indicated at much more than just an Aqua scenario. What everyone was trying to do was prove why Aqua would have a scenario and why there's too much plot there to be included into DDD.

 

[Ikkin]

I think the three minute video at the end of the chapter is enough of a hint for the new game. Maybe there are other reasons for showing that the ruins of worlds appear in the Realm of Darkness, but those possible reasons might not have to do with a scenario about Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness.

But if that's the case, why have an extra scenario there at all? The Secret Episode wasn't exactly billed as a gameplay-only scenario like the Cavern of Remembrance, and Aqua discovering the Castle of Dreams in the Realm of Darkness could have just as easily been shown in a new secret ending. Making an entire Realm of Darkness world would be an awful lot of work for no reason if they weren't planning on doing something more with that scenario.

That gives Aqua stuff to do in the Realm of Darkness, but Aqua fighting wave after wave of Heartless is not a proper story.

Which is why all of the other stuff is there. =P

I don't see how this idea would work. Aqua could learn stuff in these memories, but she wouldn't be able to change anything about the actual fates of these worlds themselves. Even if she did save the worlds within their memories, her efforts would be meaningless outside of those memories, so why bother? Plus, interfering with the events in the memories would change the course of events that occur within the memories, which means Aqua wouldn't actually be learning about the events that led up to the worlds being lost to darkness if she is actively trying to save the worlds. Also, if Aqua could just chill out in these worlds' memories, then that would significantly make Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness easier to endure, which would sorta disarm the impact of her "horrible imprisonment" in the Realm of Darkness.

Why are you responding to my scenario in chunks and ignoring everything outside of that chunk when responding to each? o_0 That's not how a discussion is supposed to work.

Of course Aqua wouldn't be able to change the fate of those worlds. That wouldn't be the point.

From our perspective as gamers, the point would be to learn what happened to each of those worlds. Even if Aqua can't change it, we still don't know the details of what happened, so there's still a lot there to interest us.

From Aqua's perspective, she could be going through it because she doesn't know that she can't change things, or because she senses the darkness of the Heartless bosses and wants to get rid of them.

From the perspective of the series as a whole, she'd change the eventual fate of the world, from being doomed to be stuck in the Realm of Sleep when "saved" to being restored immediately once Sora closed the Door to Darkness.

And there's no reason any of that would make Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness easier, either -- if she's constantly forced to watch as worlds fall apart in front of her, and is able to do nothing but face a Heartless based on the cause of it afterwards, that's probably not going to do much for her mental health. =P

Aqua's internal struggles could potentially be interesting, but a good story needs character interactions, and the only three characters that she might have ran into while in the Realm of Darkness are Mickey, Riku, and Ansem the Wise.

That's what the memory concept is for. Inside the worlds' memories, Aqua is able to talk to people (including the Disney characters), and have some interaction with them even as she isn't allowed to actually change anything. For the Realm of Darkness aspects themselves, it wouldn't be hard to simply draw upon Aqua's own memories -- of Eraqus, of Terra, and of Ven -- who could even be able to "talk" to her if they pulled the hallucination card. Maybe add a form of Heartless that is able to mimic memories, so you could have bosses that actually talk and look like people Aqua knows -- Vanitas, Terranort, Terra himself.

There's also the possibility of bringing in actual Xehanort forms, too -- both Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas are able to use Corridors of Darkness, which might give them an excuse to show up in the Realm of Darkness. Interaction between Aqua and Xemnas would certainly be interesting...

It's not hard at all to come up with ways for Aqua to have actual "human" interactions within the story, even if she never meets a single real person. Just look at coded. =P

 

[Key of Valor]

So... you're agreeing? Or did you intend to write "isn't"?

I meant exactly what I wrote. The secret ending hinted a new game.

That's pretty much what Sora' did in KH1 with the inclusion of Disney characters.

Exactly. Sora interacted with a lot of other characters.

It would work just like Chain of Memories where Sora essentially relives his journey through KH1 with some minor adjustments, all while losing his memory of the events. Sora's events in the rooms in CO didn't effect anything, but it was still part of the game because the bigger picture was that while playing through these rooms, Sora lost parts of his memory. Something similar could be implemented for Aqua.

Something similar could indeed be implemented for Aqua, but there would need to be way in which the exploration of these memories could meaningfully contribute to the bigger picture.

No, not really. Watching the fall of Radiant Gardens or watching her friends (Cinderella, Prince Phillip, etc) fall to darkness with their worlds/get stolen by Maleficent, or watching Eraqus die really wouldn't make her feel better.

If she stopped the worlds from being destroyed within the memories, it would make her feel better. She could at least relax in some fairytale kingdom instead of dealing with the Realm of Darkness.

That's being presumptuous. Aqua could have easily ran into Xemnas or some of the other characters who traverse the Corridors of Darkness. Imagine a scene of Aqua meeting Xemnas and recognizing who he is, only to lose her memory of it later? That's some deep stuff.

That's not enough to base an entire story around.

Aqua obviously can't escape without help; she lost her Door to the Light. An Aqua scenario could showcase her half of saving the worlds from darkness and showing her being an integral part of the KH history. I personally found it hard to imagine her wandering the RoD aimlessly for the RoL equivalent of 10/11 years.

She wouldn't be wandering aimlessly. She would be fighting for survival in a nearly constant struggle against darkness.

And I didn't say Aqua would need to escape the Realm of Darkness on her own.

But if that's the case, why have an extra scenario there at all? The Secret Episode wasn't exactly billed as a gameplay-only scenario like the Cavern of Remembrance, and Aqua discovering the Castle of Dreams in the Realm of Darkness could have just as easily been shown in a new secret ending. Making an entire Realm of Darkness world would be an awful lot of work for no reason if they weren't planning on doing something more with that scenario.

Didn't the bonus scenario in BBS:fm only have about four new rooms and one new enemy? It's not like the scenario completely remade a new game from scratch. BBS:fm is a remake of BBS so it needs new stuff to separate itself from the original.

Of course Aqua wouldn't be able to change the fate of those worlds. That wouldn't be the point.

But then while she is in the memories of the worlds, she might as well just stand around and see how the worlds were destroyed so that she would know how the worlds were destroyed.

From our perspective as gamers, the point would be to learn what happened to each of those worlds. Even if Aqua can't change it, we still don't know the details of what happened, so there's still a lot there to interest us.

I don't think the fans require those details. Seeing those things do interest me as a fan (cause I'm just naturally curious), but I don't want a scenario being constructed just to show stuff that fans don't need to know to keep up with the main story. Also, the audience would only see how the worlds were destroyed if Aqua sat around and did nothing, letting the destruction of the worlds unfold as they actually did when they vanished from the Realm of Light.

From Aqua's perspective, she could be going through it because she doesn't know that she can't change things, or because she senses the darkness of the Heartless bosses and wants to get rid of them.

How could she not know that she wasn't saving the worlds? Wouldn't leaving the memories and seeing the world still in the Realm of Darkness allow her to figure out that saving the worlds in their memories doesn't help?

From the perspective of the series as a whole, she'd change the eventual fate of the world, from being doomed to be stuck in the Realm of Sleep when "saved" to being restored immediately once Sora closed the Door to Darkness.

Destroying the Heartless of the worlds would affect the main plot according to the reasoning you presented, but I don't believe you specified how exploring the memories of the worlds contributed to defeating the Heartless. I already acknowledge the possibility that Aqua's scenario in the Realm of Darkness could almost exclusively be based around combat and fighting Heartless.

And there's no reason any of that would make Aqua's time in the Realm of Darkness easier, either -- if she's constantly forced to watch as worlds fall apart in front of her, and is able to do nothing but face a Heartless based on the cause of it afterwards, that's probably not going to do much for her mental health. =P

She wouldn't have to watch the worlds be destroyed if she saved them in the memories... unless you're suggesting that Aqua is just going to enter the memories and watch everything be destroyed without lifting a finger to stop it from happening.

That's what the memory concept is for. Inside the worlds' memories, Aqua is able to talk to people (including the Disney characters), and have some interaction with them even as she isn't allowed to actually change anything.

If Aqua can interact with people in the memories, then she should have the power to affect the events that occur in the memories.

For the Realm of Darkness aspects themselves, it wouldn't be hard to simply draw upon Aqua's own memories -- of Eraqus, of Terra, and of Ven -- who could even be able to "talk" to her if they pulled the hallucination card. Maybe add a form of Heartless that is able to mimic memories, so you could have bosses that actually talk and look like people Aqua knows -- Vanitas, Terranort, Terra himself.

There's also the possibility of bringing in actual Xehanort forms, too -- both Ansem Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas are able to use Corridors of Darkness, which might give them an excuse to show up in the Realm of Darkness. Interaction between Aqua and Xemnas would certainly be interesting...

I agree that Aqua could have an interesting story in a scenario if it mainly based around her hallucinations.

It's not hard at all to come up with ways for Aqua to have actual "human" interactions within the story, even if she never meets a single real person. Just look at coded. =P

I'm just saying that the potential for an Aqua story in the Realm of Darkness is not so obvious. Fans need to actually create brand new concepts in order to give Aqua an excuse to have a story that can be sustained. Aqua is an interesting character and her struggle in the Realm of Darkness is interesting, but without character interactions I don't think she will have the type of story that is suitable for its own scenario. The way in which Aqua can find ways to interact with other characters isn't very apparent, even if theoretical ideas could be developed. For these reasons, I doubt there will be an Aqua scenario in the Realm of Darkness.

 

[Ikkin]

Something similar could indeed be implemented for Aqua, but there would need to be way in which the exploration of these memories could meaningfully contribute to the bigger picture.

That's not hard. Just use them to help Aqua grow as a character. =P That's all they were there for in Chain of Memories.

If she stopped the worlds from being destroyed within the memories, it would make her feel better. She could at least relax in some fairytale kingdom instead of dealing with the Realm of Darkness.

Even if she did, she'd realize she didn't really change anything as soon as she went back to the Realm of Darkness (which might not be something she can put off).

But I think it'd make more sense storywise for her not to be able to change anything major anyway.

Didn't the bonus scenario in BBS:fm only have about four new rooms and one new enemy? It's not like the scenario completely remade a new game from scratch. BBS:fm is a remake of BBS so it needs new stuff to separate itself from the original.

It's not really that long, but it'd still make little sense for them to implement a forty-minute "filler" section that's completely irrelevant to the story going forward when they said the Secret Episode is supposed to be a hint of the future (when asked about the mystery game, at that). Why waste players' time?

But then while she is in the memories of the worlds, she might as well just stand around and see how the worlds were destroyed so that she would know how the worlds were destroyed.

Because that's not what Aqua's like?

Whatever the mechanism that keeps her from being able to change anything, she doesn't necessarily need to know that she is physically unable to change anything. She can keep believing that she might be able to do something right up until the very end, especially if the RoD's messing with her memories.

I don't think the fans require those details. Seeing those things do interest me as a fan (cause I'm just naturally curious), but I don't want a scenario being constructed just to show stuff that fans don't need to know to keep up with the main story. Also, the audience would only see how the worlds were destroyed if Aqua sat around and did nothing, letting the destruction of the worlds unfold as they actually did when they vanished from the Realm of Light.

Aqua wouldn't have to sit around and do nothing, as long as she was prevented from changing the main events. No one would really mind if minor things were changed, as long as we got the big picture. Remember, "player character shows up and nothing changes" is the modus operandi of the KH series.

And who's saying it'd be stuff we don't need to know? It could do a lot to give us Maleficent's motivation for the future, or let us know what was going on with the Radiant Garden characters who weren't Xehanort. The Disney worlds have always been filler to a certain degree, anyway.

How could she not know that she wasn't saving the worlds? Wouldn't leaving the memories and seeing the world still in the Realm of Darkness allow her to figure out that saving the worlds in their memories doesn't help?

If the RoD's messing with her memories, she might not remember that she changed anything. That's the weaker of the two options, though, I admit.

Destroying the Heartless of the worlds would affect the main plot according to the reasoning you presented, but I don't believe you specified how exploring the memories of the worlds contributed to defeating the Heartless. I already acknowledge the possibility that Aqua's scenario in the Realm of Darkness could almost exclusively be based around combat and fighting Heartless.

Well, I hadn't bothered to figure out the mechanism behind that, but it doesn't really matter. It'd basically just be the Chain of Memories system -- combat section in destroyed world, attain Key of Beginnings -- cutscene in world's memory, combat section in destroyed world, attain Key of Guidance -- cutscene in world's memory, combat section, attain Key to Truth -- cutscene in worlds' memory, boss Heartless appears.

Whether those are actual physical items Aqua needs to find to proceed, or some sort of beacons that summon the Heartless when all three are lit, or the Heartless is summoned by the Key to Truth but all three need to be attained in order, it doesn't really matter.

Alternatively, Aqua just needs to reach a certain spot in the world to fight the Heartless, and the memories happen to her automatically on the way when she passes by unconscious people. The memories don't necessarily need to contribute anything for Aqua to go through them if she doesn't have a choice in the matter.

She wouldn't have to watch the worlds be destroyed if she saved them in the memories... unless you're suggesting that Aqua is just going to enter the memories and watch everything be destroyed without lifting a finger to stop it from happening.

Not saying she's not going to try. But there's all sorts of ways of keeping her from interfering at crucial moments, and KH loves doing that with the Disney plots anyway (even if the outcome is usually good).

If Aqua can interact with people in the memories, then she should have the power to affect the events that occur in the memories.

Not necessarily. It's not too hard to have her come in too late to fix anything. Even a Keyblade Master might not be able to stop an entire Heartless invasion herself, especially if her only influence on that world comes in the form of three-minute cutscenes before she's thrown back to the RoD. They don't even need to offer boss fights inside the memories -- the Heartless Aqua would be chasing down would be in the RoD anyway.

I agree that Aqua could have an interesting story in a scenario if it mainly based around her hallucinations.

There you go, then. But you'd need Disney worlds too, hence the rest. =P

I'm just saying that the potential for an Aqua story in the Realm of Darkness is not so obvious. Fans need to actually create brand new concepts in order to give Aqua an excuse to have a story that can be sustained. Aqua is an interesting character and her struggle in the Realm of Darkness is interesting, but without character interactions I don't think she will have the type of story that is suitable for its own scenario. The way in which Aqua can find ways to interact with other characters isn't very apparent, even if theoretical ideas could be developed. For these reasons, I doubt there will be an Aqua scenario in the Realm of Darkness.

Since when has the potential for any non-numbered Kingdom Hearts ever been obvious? Birth by Sleep created an entire new enemy type created from the emotions of a new villain. Days followed a day-to-day mission structure and sprinkled cutscenes in here and there, and based its plot around a female incomplete replica of Sora and the problems that caused with her and Roxas. Coded set the entire world within a datascape and created a conflict based around Namine glitching up Jiminy's Journal by sticking painful memories into it.

The fact that I needed to come up with a few new concepts to give Aqua sustained character interactions says nothing about its viability as a Kingdom Hearts scenario. My own scenario offers plenty of opportunities for character interaction, and I'm sure there's plenty of other scenarios that would do the same thing too. I don't understand how you can keep insisting on that objection when I've already disproven it five times over.

 

[Megavoltage]

total non-disclosure, at least until they find it convenient to release information again.

I bet a million dollars that Dream Drop Distance's secret movie will be about BBSV2. A MILLION.

 

[Grey]

It was believed that the "mystery" game would show up at E3 2010, and Re:coded showed up at that convention with a 2010 release date. However, Nomura made it clear that Re:coded ''wasn't'' in fact the "mystery" game -- rather, Re:coded's existence meant that "one game was added" (wish I had a reference for this, but I definitely remember reading it firsthand from a trustworthy source) and the original "mystery" game had instead been removed from its intended E3 showing.

This makes it seem as though the mystery game would focus on Data Sora/Data Riku finding their real selves and imparting their knowledge.

I'm partial to this being a BbSv2 game. Not as a Reverse/Rebirth for 3D, though. Besides the reasons brought up by Taocha, I highly doubt that there's enough space on a 3DS cartridge to hold everything Dream Drop Distance should be, along with essentially an entire second game.

I don't know what Aqua can do. I don't think a Realm of Darkness scenario is outside the realm of possibility. If Nomura was willing to retcon a little, he could totally just place Disney Worlds within the Realm of Darkness. In fact, that's kind of what seems to be hinted at in the secret ending--isn't that the castle from Cinderella's world that Aqua finds?

Considering what we saw--a bunch of scenes that seem to fill in the blanks (Kairi w/ the Twilight Town trio, DiZ uploading the data into Sora, Riku with Kairi in Neverland, etc.), it wouldn't surprise me if this game filled in the blanks for Aqua--that is, what she may have experienced in the RoD. Just because we see her fighting Heartless and nothing else doesn't mean that she didn't see something peculiar down there.

 

[Memory Master]

I bet a million dollars that Dream Drop Distance's secret movie will be about BBSV2. A MILLION.

Nomura already said that KH3D's secret movie would give us a glimpse at KH3.

 

[Arkrend]

I bet a million dollars that Dream Drop Distance's secret movie will be about BBSV2. A MILLION.

Well...

Nomura already said that KH3D's secret movie would give us a glimpse at KH3.

Where's my money?

 

[Megavoltage]

Nomura already said that KH3D's secret movie would give us a glimpse at KH3.

Give us a glimpse at KH3 AND Birth by Sleep Volume 2. I bet a million on this! No... I bet TWO MILLION!