This is too confusing!!

[Japinha]

So, I beat the game recently, but there's still a ton of things that aren't making much sense to me. If anyone could answer any of the many following questions, I'd really appreciate it.

- How did Sora and Riku go back to their young selves in Destiny Islands?
- Why isn't Kairi there (and why IS Giant Ursula there)?
- How come "Ansem" (in the brown robe) is watching them open the first Keyhole of Sleep?
- Why is Traverse Town one of the worlds you visit in the Realm of Sleep, if it never fell to the darkness?
- How did Riku dive into Sora's dreams?
- At one point in the story, YX asks Sora "do you still think this is a dream?". Which parts were actually the worlds' dream, and which were not?
- Why did Maleficent want to obtain the Data worlds?

I was going to ask also about Ansem the Wise's research data, but it'll probably be explained in KH3 (at least I hope it is)...

 

[ROXAS_32]

- I believe to goes along with the Dream world concept.
- She is not taking the Mark of Mastery exam... (She served as the tutorial... And it keeps up with the Kingdom Hearts theme of fighting oversided weak enemies in the beginning of the game.)
- My Opinion is that it was a plot device used to show he was there... That also goes along with the time travel thing.
- I believed it did fall to darkness (hence why all of the characters fled to hollow Bastion in KH2 {well at least most of them did})
- I remember YX did say that but not which world, but i believe he said it in the World that Never Was. You Question confuses me....
- IDK

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

- How did Sora and Riku go back to their young selves in Destiny Islands?

Somebody more knowledgable can explain this better, but Sora and Riku, in order to relearn how to use the Keyblade and enter the Realm of Sleep, they needed to be in a form before they became Keyblade wielders. With Yen Sid's magic (and probably a dash of time travel hijinks) Sora and Riku were able to enter the Realm of Sleep in their younger forms.

- Why isn't Kairi there (and why IS Giant Ursula there)?

Kairi wasn't in the Realm of Sleep. And Ursula was sent there by a Xehanort, more specifically Ansem: Seeker of Darkness/Xehanort's Heartless.

- How come "Ansem" (in the brown robe) is watching them open the first Keyhole of Sleep?

He has been time hopping, and following them around. He is the one who marks Sora with the Recusant's Sigil.

- Why is Traverse Town one of the worlds you visit in the Realm of Sleep, if it never fell to the darkness?

Traverse Town is a world formed by the fragments of destroyed worlds, and is considered a world for refugees. The world appeared to Joshua when he needed someplace to save his friends and rebuild their home. It's never exactly explained but we can assume that Traverse Town slipped into Sleep sometime between the events of KH1 and KH2.

- How did Riku dive into Sora's dreams?

When Riku sees SoD/Xehanort's Heartless, he senses something horribly wrong. Instinctually Riku goes into Sora's dreams to protect him.

- At one point in the story, YX asks Sora "do you still think this is a dream?". Which parts were actually the worlds' dream, and which were not?

It was all a dream and it was all real as well. The events Sora sees before his eyes on the Grid, and the rest of the worlds, are not happening the exact way they did in the worlds, but everything was all still very real.

- Why did Maleficent want to obtain the Data worlds?

Maleficent is trying to rule all of the worlds, and the data worlds, to her, are a method of doing that.

 

[JustSnilloc]

- How did Sora and Riku go back to their young selves in Destiny Islands?

Yen Sid sent them back in time to the point where Destiny Islands was about to slip into darkness. He did this so they could stay on the "ship" that was headed for the Dream Realm (as there aren't easy methods to enter it)

- Why isn't Kairi there (and why IS Giant Ursula there)?

Destiny Islands? Because she's not taking the Mark of Mastery. She's probably back on the present Destiny Islands at that point.

Ursula is there because Xehanort (or one of his incarnations) brought her there

- How come "Ansem" (in the brown robe) is watching them open the first Keyhole of Sleep?

He was waiting for them to enter into that realm so that he too may enter, and through him the rest of Team Xehanort could be there

- Why is Traverse Town one of the worlds you visit in the Realm of Sleep, if it never fell to the darkness?

Traverse Town is an interesting world, it doesn't function like other worlds do. It is made up of the pieces of other worlds that have fallen into the dark. Thus when Sora freed the worlds from Darkness in KH1, Traverse Town just sort of faded away into the realm of sleep (since it's pieces were given back to the correct worlds)

- How did Riku dive into Sora's dreams?

The same way he did at the end of the game, though here in the beginning, it was instinctive and not entirely on purpose.

- At one point in the story, YX asks Sora "do you still think this is a dream?". Which parts were actually the worlds' dream, and which were not?

Well ALL of it was real, but most of it took place in the Sleeping Worlds. Exceptions include Tron's World, The World that Never Was, and the entirety of Riku's journey happened inside of Sora until some point in The World that Never Was where Riku exits Sora and continues his journey

- Why did Maleficent want to obtain the Data worlds?

Gotta start somewhere, am I right?

She sees it as a first step kind of thing towards the rest of her plans

I was going to ask also about Ansem the Wise's research data, but it'll probably be explained in KH3 (at least I hope it is)...

It has to do with (part of it at least) saving those who are hurting. Those such as Roxas, Xion, Namine, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, etc... I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but it's something like that

 

[Japinha]

Ok, thing got a little bit clearer now... thank you!

Remembered another thing reading other topic. By the end of Sora's game in KH3D, why did Ventus' heart suddenly fly to him? Shouldn't it be inside of Sora's body ever since Ven's ending in BbS?

Also, how could Riku have seen SoD when they were entering the Realm of Sleep? I thought SoD was looking at them from above...

 

[billyzanesucks]

Remembered another thing reading other topic. By the end of Sora's game in KH3D, why did Ventus' heart suddenly fly to him? Shouldn't it be inside of Sora's body ever since Ven's ending in BbS?

It didn't go to Ven. He was probably just reacting to Sora.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Ven's heart is still is Sora. Ven's body smiling was p much saying Ven is happy whenever Sora is happy.

 

[JustSnilloc]

Ven's heart is still is Sora. Ven's body smiling was p much saying Ven is happy whenever Sora is happy.

Because Sora's happiness is infectious :smile:

 

[Theta]

For the record, was it ever explained that XH sent Ursala there, or is that just an inference?

 

[Japinha]

For the record, was it ever explained that XH sent Ursala there, or is that just an inference?

KH rarely explains stuff as I wish it'd do... anyway, when Ursula appears, she says "oh, they are really here" or something along those lines, and since the only other character at the scene was "Ansem"... I still don't get how he'd get to bring Ursula there, though.

It didn't go to Ven. He was probably just reacting to Sora.

But in the cutscene, Sora was falling and the heart came flying towards him, then inside his body and Ven's armor materialized around him.

Thinking about it now, Sora was "falling inside his own heart", so it'd make sense that Ven's heart was "floating around" and then went towards Sora.

And with that said, the title "Dive into the Heart ~ Destati" just started making much more sense.

 

[JustSnilloc]

For the record, was it ever explained that XH sent Ursala there, or is that just an inference?

She specifically says

"Oh he was right. Those wretched guppies are here. Well it's about time we settled the score."

it's not too hard to deduce who "he" might be

 

[flyingfishstick]

But in the cutscene, Sora was falling and the heart came flying towards him, then inside his body and Ven's armor materialized around him.

That entire sequence was happening within Sora's dreams.

 

[JustSnilloc]

That entire sequence was happening within Sora's dreams.

No, that was definitely inside Sora's heart... It's even on his heartstation

 

[Japinha]

Another thought just ocurred to me: we now know that not only worlds, but also people have Keyholes leading to their hearts. Riku opened Sora's heart from inside. So, is it any different than opening one's heart with the Keyblade of People's Hearts? Does opening from the inside lead to the creation of something/someone else?

 

[Mirby]

I think using the Keyblade of People's Hearts unlocks it completely so that darkness may enter it, whereas opening it as Riku does near the end is more controlled and isn't to just allow darkness in.

Or something like that. Someone else could probably explain it better.

 

[Light]

One of the things that always occurs to me is that Maleficent is always getting into places she can't... Disney Castle.

 

[Evello]

People answered most of the questions well, but I figured I'd elaborate on a few.

- How did Sora and Riku go back to their young selves in Destiny Islands?

Them appearing young and them going to DI were unrelated. Yen Sid used a spell to turn them into their younger selves so they could have a fresh start at their Keyblade training. The spell would keep them young until they returned to Mysterious Tower. Yen Sid then used more magic to send them to DI, presumably via time travel (though this breaks every time travel rule the game establishes).

- At one point in the story, YX asks Sora "do you still think this is a dream?". Which parts were actually the worlds' dream, and which were not?

This question is difficult. DI was not a dream, at least at first, but as they unlock the keyhole they fade into the Sleeping Worlds. From Traverse Town to The Grid is all a dream. In the Grid, Xehanort claims that data doesn't dream, so (if he is to be believed) the Grid is not a dream. The world is still asleep, it just isn't dreaming, since it's all data. Sora explores the world itself. Riku is still in Sora's dream of the Grid.

Sora returns to dreams all the way up to TWTNW. Because TWTNW is in the Realm of Inbetween, and because Sora and Riku demolished it to the point of collapse in KH2, it is a borderline sleeping world. Sora is able to travel there from the Sleeping Worlds, but TWTNW is technically not in the Realm of Sleep, it is in the same place it was in KH2. When Sora enters, he is awake. However, after talking with Xigbar, Sora falls asleep. After talking with YMX a bit, Sora is put to sleep yet again. He is now in a dream within a dream. Riku, who is in Sora's first dream, finds Sora's sleeping body and tries to contact him, but Sora falls into YMX's trap and dives so deep into sleep that he is lost to darkness. That darkness floods all the levels of Sora's dreams, including the first one, which Riku is in. Riku has to fight Ansem, and escapes from Sora's dreams to save him. Riku awakens and emerges into the real TWTNW where he confronts the neo-Organization and fights YMX. Does that make any sense?

 

[Japinha]

Makes A LOT of sense, actually, thank you!

Ah, sometimes I wish Nomura DIDN'T leave so much room for speculation... and that I had all the Ultimanias, so I could read all of his interviews...

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Yen Sid then used more magic to send them to DI, presumably via time travel (though this breaks every time travel rule the game establishes).

There existed a form of Sora and Riku on the islands at that time, so this rule is actually adhered to.
They also cannot change the events that happened there back in KH 1's time when the islands fell to Darkness, another rule held up.
The only murky thing here seems that they keep their bodies, which is indeed somewhat weird, but can be explained with the fact that Sora and Riku didn't initiate their travel through time themselves like Ansem SoD did but were sent by someone else with vast magical powers like Yen Sid.
Merlin is said by Nomura (and in-game) to have the same powers as a "great magician" who can exceed time.

This question is difficult. DI was not a dream, at least at first, but as they unlock the keyhole they fade into the Sleeping Worlds. From Traverse Town to The Grid is all a dream. In the Grid, Xehanort claims that data doesn't dream, so (if he is to be believed) the Grid is not a dream. The world is still asleep, it just isn't dreaming, since it's all data. Sora explores the world itself. Riku is still in Sora's dream of the Grid.

Sora returns to dreams all the way up to TWTNW. Because TWTNW is in the Realm of Inbetween, and because Sora and Riku demolished it to the point of collapse in KH2, it is a borderline sleeping world. Sora is able to travel there from the Sleeping Worlds, but TWTNW is technically not in the Realm of Sleep, it is in the same place it was in KH2. When Sora enters, he is awake. However, after talking with Xigbar, Sora falls asleep. After talking with YMX a bit, Sora is put to sleep yet again. He is now in a dream within a dream. Riku, who is in Sora's first dream, finds Sora's sleeping body and tries to contact him, but Sora falls into YMX's trap and dives so deep into sleep that he is lost to darkness. That darkness floods all the levels of Sora's dreams, including the first one, which Riku is in. Riku has to fight Ansem, and escapes from Sora's dreams to save him. Riku awakens and emerges into the real TWTNW where he confronts the neo-Organization and fights YMX. Does that make any sense?

It makes sense, yep, all correct stuff. ^__^