This is a shortened version of the theory. Seriously.
What began as simple curiosity as to why the Gizmo Shop clock was stuck at 6:54 turned into a complex chart that explained the position of every clock in the game...but I'm not posting the entire theory; that would take way too long. ^^;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some trivial questions that may be answered by reading this guide:
~Why does the Gizmo Shop clock get stuck at 6:54?
~What do those weird paintings in the Hotel at Traverse Town mean?
~Why does that green clock in the Hotel only go *bing* when you move it to certain times?
~Why does the mural in the Secret Waterway change from a moon to a sun?
~Just how many clocks are there in the game??!
~What is the real point of analyzing all this stuff? (*cough* There really isn't one...it just...eh, enriches the KH experience. o///o
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================
.:: | DAWN, NIGHT, MIDDAY | ::.
==============================================
You may already know this, but I'll say it anyway for those who don't... At the very beginning of the game (dream sequence), you are told one of these three statements depending on how you answer a few questions:
-~- Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine. (If you get this, you'll level up evenly throughout the game.)
-~- Your adventure begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end. (If you get this, you'll level up slowly at first, then faster after you reach level 40.)
-~- You adventure begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one. (If you get this, you'll level up quickly at first, but slower after you reach level 40.)
==============================================
.:: | HOTEL PAINTINGS | ::.
==============================================
Notice the metaphor with midday/night/dawn? Those are also mentioned on the paintings in the Hotel (Second District, Traverse Town). Coincidence? I think not. The paintings I am referring to are: "Midsummer Dawn", "Midday Jungle", and "The Autumn Dusk." This is how they are related:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your journey begins at midday = Midday Jungle
Your journey begins in the dead of night = The Autumn Dusk
Your journey begins at dawn = Midsummer Dawn
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I infer "Midsummer Dawn" to represent Sora's time spent on Destiny Islands. "Midday Jungle" is pretty clearly describing Tarzan's world, Deep Jungle. And "The Autumn Dusk" represents the end of Sora's struggle--the last battle against Ansem. Not too difficult to understand, right? =]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midsummer Dawn = time spent on Destiny Islands
Midday Jungle = time spent in Deep Jungle
The Autumn Dusk = final boss battle against Ansem
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the cutscene with Kairi when you get Oathkeeper, and that moon mural changes into a sun in the Waterway? That means that the 'day' just changed, apparently somewhere between Midday Jungle and The Autumn Dusk. (That's also when you Dead of Night people begin to level up faster, because this cutscene occurs around level 40.)
That does NOT mean that the game has been night the entire time so far; it simply represents the fact that a new day has arrived.
==============================================
There are two other paintings hanging in the Hotel (in the Green Room, to be exact). They are labeled "18:00 in the Past -Time Flies-" and "Bald Mountain -7:00am-". These are a little trickier to figure out.
If you can read military time, then you know that 18:00 is equivalent to 6:00pm. So what does "in the Past" mean? It is referring to Sora going back to Destiny Islands at the end of the game.
If you've ever seen Fantasia, you may recognize the huge black winged boss (Chernabog) you face towards the end of the game at the End of the World. In the background, a song called "Night on Bald Mountain" is playing. So according to the painting, you have this boss battle at 7:00am.
==============================================
So far, we have theorized that they fall in this order:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-~- Midsummer Dawn (Destiny Islands) ------------------------------- approx. 6:30am
-~- Midday Jungle (Deep Jungle) -------------------------------------- approx. 12:00pm
*new day starts* (moon/sun change over)
-~- Bald Mountain -7:00am- (battle against Fantasia boss) --------- 7:00am
-~- 18:00 in the Past -Time Flies- (back to Destiny Islands) -------- 6:00pm
-~- The Autumn Dusk (Ansem fight) ------------------------------------ approx. 6:30pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================
.:: | CLOCK IN GREEN ROOM | ::.
==============================================
In the Green Room of the Hotel in Traverse Town, there's a clock hanging up on the wall that goes *ding* when you hit it. It is originally set on 9:35, but when you hit it with the Keyblade, it goes to 10:00, 11:00, and then when it hits 12:00, it goes *ding* again.
The trend continues, and every time you whack the clock, the time skips ahead one hour. It then *dings* at 6:00, and at 7:00, you get a treasure chest. Pretty nifty, no? But there is also a meaning behind this.
The *ding* at 12:00 represents the painting Midday Jungle.
The *ding* at 6:00 represents the coming of the final battle against Ansem.
The treasure chest appearing at 7:00 represents beating the game.
It's just a bit of fun symbolizing. Obviously, you don't have to understand the concept of the *ding*ing to get the treasure chest. Most people just whack the clock, get their treasure, and leave, not particularly caring about the specific times that it *ding*ed at. I didn't care either, until I got bored enough to play detective and figure it out. =P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:35
10:00
11:00
12:00 *ding* (Midday Jungle)
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00 *ding* (Ansem fight, comin' up!)
7:00 *ding* and a treasure chest! (You win the game!!)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================
.:: | GIZMO SHOP | ::.
==============================================
When you first get to Traverse Town, the Gizmo Shop's clock displays a time of 12:00. Then, after you make way for Atlantica, it freezes at 6:54. Why? Because this time represents a main point of the game--your fight against the skirt-wearing evil-itized Riku a.k.a. Ansem a.k.a. Xehanort's heartless a.k.a. the Ansem the Wise imposter a.k.a....oh, forget it! XD
==============================================
.:: | OTHER CLOCKS | ::.
==============================================
I figured out an order for the times of these worlds as well, but I don't feel like displaying that entire chart 'cause most of its probably meaningless and would take up too much space. (There's over twenty clocks in the game, so cut me some slack.) Therefore, I didn't bother explaining all of the clock's locations or times displayed. So sue me (except don't, 'cause I'm broke and that'd just be dumb =P ).
TRAVERSE TOWN
There are a crapload of other clocks throughout the worlds. And when I say crapload, I MEAN crapload. There's practically a zillion in Traverse Town by itself--one in the Item Shop, two in the Dalmatian's House, above and in the Gizmo Shop, Green Room, Geppetto's home.... Go ahead, I dare you to try to find others.
WONDERLAND
When you're falling in the first cutscene of this world, a clock on the wall displays a time of approximately 10:08-ish. In the rabbit's hole, the White Rabbit's clock says it's 7:00. (Sora must have been falling for an awfully long time, or else Wonderland's time is really screwy!) A clock in the bizzare room claims it's 9:00.
DEEP JUNGLE
This world has two clocks, one outside the tent and one inside. Plus, it has the Hotel painting in Traverse Town to represents it--Midday Jungle.
ATLANTICA
How can there be clocks underwater??! Well, there's one in Ariel's Grotto, but it's probably water-logged. =P It says its 4:58.
NEVERLAND
Uh, duh. Giant somewhat-disfunctional Big Ben clock. Every clock reads 12:15 except for one defective one that claims it's 11:45. That incorrect time is probably Phantom's fault. (Phantom is the optional boss battle fought at Big Ben. He manipulates time and is a pain in the arse to beat!)
After you defeat Phantom, the clock says it's 12:00, except for one that has 7:27 as the time (that defective one acting up again).
LIST OF WORLDS WITHOUT CLOCKS
The following worlds don't have any way to tell the time of day:
-~- Olympus Coliseum
-~- Agrabah
-~- Monstro
-~- Halloweentown
-~- Hollow Bastion
-~- End of the World
In other words, most worlds DON'T possess clocks. This is probably due to the fact that some of them technically can't. Did ancient Greeks have clocks? No. Would the inside of a whale have a clock? Hopefully not. Get my point?
==============================================
.:: | KINGDOM HEARTS 2 | ::.
==============================================
The second Kingdom Hearts game doesn't go as in-depth with the clocks as the first game does. I'll briefly discuss it in this section.
The only clocks I could locate in the game are as follows:
-~- Cogsworth (from Beast's Castle) is obviously a clock himself. His mustache makes the hands of the clock. The time he displays is either 3:40 or 8:15. (Most likely, it is 3:40, since the other clock of Beast's Castle (in Beast's Room) reads 3:00.) It's the same time that he displays in the Beauty and the Beast movie, so it probably has little relevance.
-~- In Twilight Town, every single clock displays 10:10 for the time. This is generally considered a "default time" in watch commercials, so maybe this time has no importance. But yeah, ALL OF THEM say 10:10. The clock in Roxas's bedroom, the clock at Central Station, the clock at the Station Plaza, the clock in the Mansion Dining Room... This unchanging time could be there to emphasize the fact that Twilight Town is enshrowded in continual twilight. Who knows?
-~- Other than the above, there's a clock in Mickey's House (Timeless River) that either says 11:05 or 1:55. The big hand and the little hand are the same length, so it's impossible to tell them apart.
As you can see, KHII has fewer worlds with clocks. So there isn't really much to analyze. This may be due to the fact that a lot of the worlds CAN'T have clocks. Land of Dragons can't have a clock because...well, there weren't clocks in ancient China. The same situation applies for Pride Rock, Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah, etc.
==============================================
.:: | DONE, FINALLY | ::.
==============================================
That's all, folks! I hope I've enlightened you a little bit, if not confused you entirely. And to answer a few questions: YES, it took me forever to find the clocks (like a needle in a freakin' haystack!!). YES, it took me forever to complete this theory. And YES, I know I have no life. Thank you.
I cannot claim all credit for the theory. My friend 8shortfuse found a lot of valuable information for me and helped me tremendously along the way. Pretty much, we worked on this as a team. *round of applause*
What began as simple curiosity as to why the Gizmo Shop clock was stuck at 6:54 turned into a complex chart that explained the position of every clock in the game...but I'm not posting the entire theory; that would take way too long. ^^;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some trivial questions that may be answered by reading this guide:
~Why does the Gizmo Shop clock get stuck at 6:54?
~What do those weird paintings in the Hotel at Traverse Town mean?
~Why does that green clock in the Hotel only go *bing* when you move it to certain times?
~Why does the mural in the Secret Waterway change from a moon to a sun?
~Just how many clocks are there in the game??!
~What is the real point of analyzing all this stuff? (*cough* There really isn't one...it just...eh, enriches the KH experience. o///o
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==============================================
.:: | DAWN, NIGHT, MIDDAY | ::.
==============================================
You may already know this, but I'll say it anyway for those who don't... At the very beginning of the game (dream sequence), you are told one of these three statements depending on how you answer a few questions:
-~- Your adventure begins at midday. Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine. (If you get this, you'll level up evenly throughout the game.)
-~- Your adventure begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end. (If you get this, you'll level up slowly at first, then faster after you reach level 40.)
-~- You adventure begins at dawn. As long as the sun is shining, your journey should be a pleasant one. (If you get this, you'll level up quickly at first, but slower after you reach level 40.)
==============================================
.:: | HOTEL PAINTINGS | ::.
==============================================
Notice the metaphor with midday/night/dawn? Those are also mentioned on the paintings in the Hotel (Second District, Traverse Town). Coincidence? I think not. The paintings I am referring to are: "Midsummer Dawn", "Midday Jungle", and "The Autumn Dusk." This is how they are related:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your journey begins at midday = Midday Jungle
Your journey begins in the dead of night = The Autumn Dusk
Your journey begins at dawn = Midsummer Dawn
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I infer "Midsummer Dawn" to represent Sora's time spent on Destiny Islands. "Midday Jungle" is pretty clearly describing Tarzan's world, Deep Jungle. And "The Autumn Dusk" represents the end of Sora's struggle--the last battle against Ansem. Not too difficult to understand, right? =]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midsummer Dawn = time spent on Destiny Islands
Midday Jungle = time spent in Deep Jungle
The Autumn Dusk = final boss battle against Ansem
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the cutscene with Kairi when you get Oathkeeper, and that moon mural changes into a sun in the Waterway? That means that the 'day' just changed, apparently somewhere between Midday Jungle and The Autumn Dusk. (That's also when you Dead of Night people begin to level up faster, because this cutscene occurs around level 40.)
That does NOT mean that the game has been night the entire time so far; it simply represents the fact that a new day has arrived.
==============================================
There are two other paintings hanging in the Hotel (in the Green Room, to be exact). They are labeled "18:00 in the Past -Time Flies-" and "Bald Mountain -7:00am-". These are a little trickier to figure out.
If you can read military time, then you know that 18:00 is equivalent to 6:00pm. So what does "in the Past" mean? It is referring to Sora going back to Destiny Islands at the end of the game.
If you've ever seen Fantasia, you may recognize the huge black winged boss (Chernabog) you face towards the end of the game at the End of the World. In the background, a song called "Night on Bald Mountain" is playing. So according to the painting, you have this boss battle at 7:00am.
==============================================
So far, we have theorized that they fall in this order:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-~- Midsummer Dawn (Destiny Islands) ------------------------------- approx. 6:30am
-~- Midday Jungle (Deep Jungle) -------------------------------------- approx. 12:00pm
*new day starts* (moon/sun change over)
-~- Bald Mountain -7:00am- (battle against Fantasia boss) --------- 7:00am
-~- 18:00 in the Past -Time Flies- (back to Destiny Islands) -------- 6:00pm
-~- The Autumn Dusk (Ansem fight) ------------------------------------ approx. 6:30pm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================
.:: | CLOCK IN GREEN ROOM | ::.
==============================================
In the Green Room of the Hotel in Traverse Town, there's a clock hanging up on the wall that goes *ding* when you hit it. It is originally set on 9:35, but when you hit it with the Keyblade, it goes to 10:00, 11:00, and then when it hits 12:00, it goes *ding* again.
The trend continues, and every time you whack the clock, the time skips ahead one hour. It then *dings* at 6:00, and at 7:00, you get a treasure chest. Pretty nifty, no? But there is also a meaning behind this.
The *ding* at 12:00 represents the painting Midday Jungle.
The *ding* at 6:00 represents the coming of the final battle against Ansem.
The treasure chest appearing at 7:00 represents beating the game.
It's just a bit of fun symbolizing. Obviously, you don't have to understand the concept of the *ding*ing to get the treasure chest. Most people just whack the clock, get their treasure, and leave, not particularly caring about the specific times that it *ding*ed at. I didn't care either, until I got bored enough to play detective and figure it out. =P
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9:35
10:00
11:00
12:00 *ding* (Midday Jungle)
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00 *ding* (Ansem fight, comin' up!)
7:00 *ding* and a treasure chest! (You win the game!!)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
==============================================
.:: | GIZMO SHOP | ::.
==============================================
When you first get to Traverse Town, the Gizmo Shop's clock displays a time of 12:00. Then, after you make way for Atlantica, it freezes at 6:54. Why? Because this time represents a main point of the game--your fight against the skirt-wearing evil-itized Riku a.k.a. Ansem a.k.a. Xehanort's heartless a.k.a. the Ansem the Wise imposter a.k.a....oh, forget it! XD
==============================================
.:: | OTHER CLOCKS | ::.
==============================================
I figured out an order for the times of these worlds as well, but I don't feel like displaying that entire chart 'cause most of its probably meaningless and would take up too much space. (There's over twenty clocks in the game, so cut me some slack.) Therefore, I didn't bother explaining all of the clock's locations or times displayed. So sue me (except don't, 'cause I'm broke and that'd just be dumb =P ).
TRAVERSE TOWN
There are a crapload of other clocks throughout the worlds. And when I say crapload, I MEAN crapload. There's practically a zillion in Traverse Town by itself--one in the Item Shop, two in the Dalmatian's House, above and in the Gizmo Shop, Green Room, Geppetto's home.... Go ahead, I dare you to try to find others.
WONDERLAND
When you're falling in the first cutscene of this world, a clock on the wall displays a time of approximately 10:08-ish. In the rabbit's hole, the White Rabbit's clock says it's 7:00. (Sora must have been falling for an awfully long time, or else Wonderland's time is really screwy!) A clock in the bizzare room claims it's 9:00.
DEEP JUNGLE
This world has two clocks, one outside the tent and one inside. Plus, it has the Hotel painting in Traverse Town to represents it--Midday Jungle.
ATLANTICA
How can there be clocks underwater??! Well, there's one in Ariel's Grotto, but it's probably water-logged. =P It says its 4:58.
NEVERLAND
Uh, duh. Giant somewhat-disfunctional Big Ben clock. Every clock reads 12:15 except for one defective one that claims it's 11:45. That incorrect time is probably Phantom's fault. (Phantom is the optional boss battle fought at Big Ben. He manipulates time and is a pain in the arse to beat!)
After you defeat Phantom, the clock says it's 12:00, except for one that has 7:27 as the time (that defective one acting up again).
LIST OF WORLDS WITHOUT CLOCKS
The following worlds don't have any way to tell the time of day:
-~- Olympus Coliseum
-~- Agrabah
-~- Monstro
-~- Halloweentown
-~- Hollow Bastion
-~- End of the World
In other words, most worlds DON'T possess clocks. This is probably due to the fact that some of them technically can't. Did ancient Greeks have clocks? No. Would the inside of a whale have a clock? Hopefully not. Get my point?
==============================================
.:: | KINGDOM HEARTS 2 | ::.
==============================================
The second Kingdom Hearts game doesn't go as in-depth with the clocks as the first game does. I'll briefly discuss it in this section.
The only clocks I could locate in the game are as follows:
-~- Cogsworth (from Beast's Castle) is obviously a clock himself. His mustache makes the hands of the clock. The time he displays is either 3:40 or 8:15. (Most likely, it is 3:40, since the other clock of Beast's Castle (in Beast's Room) reads 3:00.) It's the same time that he displays in the Beauty and the Beast movie, so it probably has little relevance.
-~- In Twilight Town, every single clock displays 10:10 for the time. This is generally considered a "default time" in watch commercials, so maybe this time has no importance. But yeah, ALL OF THEM say 10:10. The clock in Roxas's bedroom, the clock at Central Station, the clock at the Station Plaza, the clock in the Mansion Dining Room... This unchanging time could be there to emphasize the fact that Twilight Town is enshrowded in continual twilight. Who knows?
-~- Other than the above, there's a clock in Mickey's House (Timeless River) that either says 11:05 or 1:55. The big hand and the little hand are the same length, so it's impossible to tell them apart.
As you can see, KHII has fewer worlds with clocks. So there isn't really much to analyze. This may be due to the fact that a lot of the worlds CAN'T have clocks. Land of Dragons can't have a clock because...well, there weren't clocks in ancient China. The same situation applies for Pride Rock, Olympus Coliseum, Agrabah, etc.
==============================================
.:: | DONE, FINALLY | ::.
==============================================
That's all, folks! I hope I've enlightened you a little bit, if not confused you entirely. And to answer a few questions: YES, it took me forever to find the clocks (like a needle in a freakin' haystack!!). YES, it took me forever to complete this theory. And YES, I know I have no life. Thank you.
I cannot claim all credit for the theory. My friend 8shortfuse found a lot of valuable information for me and helped me tremendously along the way. Pretty much, we worked on this as a team. *round of applause*
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