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Time Travel Explained

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I will explain time travel in Kingdom Hearts and how it works for those of you who don't quite understand it, or don't understand it at all. I hope this helps anyone who was confused with how it was explained in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

(This is a part of my "Explained" series of posts. To view my "Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, and Dream Eaters Explained" post, click here, to view my "The Braig/Xigbar Situation Explained" post, click here, and to view my "The Realm of Sleep Explained" post, click here.)

What is time travel in the Kingdom Hearts universe? Well, it's like time travel from any other game, movie, or show. It's where you leave your present-time and move either backwards or forwards to a different time.

How does somebody time travel in the Kingdom Hearts universe? First, you must abandon your body and become just a heart. One way to become just a heart is to extract your heart with a Keyblade. Another method would be to become a Heartless, since Heartless are technically just corrupted hearts. Once you become just a heart, then you have the ability to move through time.

Becoming just a heart also gives all versions of yourself from across time the ability to time travel. But, they're not actually able to do so without assistance from someone who actually has a time travel power. Just because you have the ability to travel through time, doesn't mean you're actually able to do so. You can only time travel if you are just a heart, or if you have the time travel ability plus assistance. I will elaborate what I mean by "assistance" later in this post.

What are the laws of time travel in the Kingdom Hearts universe? You are only able to travel through time if there is a version of yourself present at the time you want to travel to. Also, you cannot change what is destined to happen. All that really means though is that you cannot change the future, because everything is already set in stone. Once you return back to your respective time, you will forget everything that has happened during your experience time traveling. However, these memories and experiences will be etched into your heart and could influence your decisions and the paths you take.

Since you lose your memories after you get back to your respective time, there would be no point in traveling to the future to try and find out what happens.

That is what we know so far about time travel in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Now, I will explain various characters' involvements with time travel.

Terra-Xehanort Terra-Xehanort is Terra's body taken over by Master Xehanort. He apprentices under Ansem the Wise so he can further study the darkness and get access to things that could potentially help him further gain powers of the darkness. He steals Ansem's name and identity, then splits himself into a Heartless and a Nobody. His Heartless is known as the Robed Figure, and his Nobody is known as Xemnas.

Robed Figure / Ansem, Seeker of Darkness The Robed Figure is Apprentice Xehanort's Heartless, as stated above. Since he is technically just a heart since he is a Heartless, he is able to travel through time. He goes back in time to Destiny Islands, where he meets a young version of himself. Now that Xehanort is just a heart, all versions of Xehanort throughout time have the ability to move through time. Not without assistance though of course. The Robed Figure gives/shares his time travel powers that he has from being just a heart to this Young Xehanort. Now, this Young Xehanort is able to time travel without becoming just a heart and without assistance. The Robed Figure then goes back to his own time (during the first Kingdom Hearts) and places himself on Destiny Islands. He marks the time traveling Sora with the Recusant's Sigil.

The Robed Figure later possesses Riku and sort of molds/forms Riku's body into a body that's more to his likeness. Bodies are just as malleable as hearts. This amalgamate is known as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.

Young Xehanort As explained above, Young Xehanort, and all other versions of Xehanort, now have the ability to move through time. And Young Xehanort is able to do this without assistance as if he was just a heart, because the Robed Figure shared/gave him some of his powers. He then goes through time and brings with him various versions of himself and some followers/vessels who have been loyal to him before. He gathers 5 versions of himself and brings them to the present-day. Those people are Terra-Xehanort, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, Vanitas, and Riku Replica. These are all people who are deceased in the present-time.

Terra-Xehanort, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and Xemnas have the ability to move through time, because Xehanort became just a heart somewhere along his timeline (when he became a Heartless/the Robed Figure). They aren't actually able to do so though without assistance from someone who actually has a time travel power. Young Xehanort is their assistance, since he has an actual time travel power that he got from the Robed Figure.

If someone has never became just a heart somewhere along their timeline, then they can't move through time even with assistance.

Vanitas' and Riku Replica's hearts were also taken from the past by Young Xehanort, therefore giving them the ability to move through time due to being just hearts.

Young Xehanort time travels to Destiny Islands during the first Kingdom Hearts. He is able to do this because the Robed Figure placed himself there. He follows Sora and Riku into the realm of sleep. Now that Sora is marked with the Recusant's Sigil and now that Young Xehanort is in the same time period as Sora, Young Xehanort is able to teleport to wherever Sora is and keep tabs on him.

Master Xehanort Master Xehanort is the one who took over Terra's body, as explained above. He has returned to the present-day because Xemnas and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness have been destroyed, which are his Nobody and Heartless. Once someone's Nobody and Heartless are destroyed, the original person is revived. Since he was Terra-Xehanort/Apprentice Xehanort when he split himself into a Heartless and a Nobody, he was recompleted alongside Terra.

Master Xehanort gathers with Young Xehanort, the 5 people that Young Xehanort had gathered, and the 5 other members who were turned back into being Nobodies again after being recompleted in order to be more suitable vessels (Xigbar, Saïx, Marluxia, Larxene, and Luxord.)

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (pt.II) Sora has destroyed him. Young Xehanort brings him back to the present-day.

Xemnas Xemnas is the Nobody of Terra-Xehanort. He was destroyed by Sora. He has now been brought back to the present-day by Young Xehanort.

Vanitas Vanitas is the darkness half of Ventus' heart given humanoid form. He was destroyed by Ventus, and returned to him. He has now been brought back to the present-day by Young Xehanort.

Riku Replica / Dark Riku Riku Replica is a Replica of Riku created by Vexen from data of Riku. He was destroyed by Riku, and his broken heart and mind went to the Realm of Darkness. He has now been brought back to the present-day by Young Xehanort, but it's a version of him from shortly after he was created and before he gained any real memories and experiences of his own yet.

Xion Xion is an imperfect Replica of Roxas created by Vexen who's identity was formed out of Sora's leaked memories of Kairi. She was destroyed by Roxas and her heart was absorbed into him. She has now been brought back to the present-day by Young Xehanort, but it's a version of her from shortly after she was created and before she gained any real memories and experiences of her own yet.

Extra Info Xehanort's plan has been to gather 13 vessels that all would bear a piece of his heart inside of them. This was Xemnas' plan with Organization XIII, but a few of the members he had gathered were inadequate. This is what lead to the various new people that Young Xehanort had been gathering. He gathered 5 people and along with himself, Master Xehanort, and the 5 others from the previous Organization who had been turned back into Nobodies again after being recompleted, that makes 12 people. Their original planned 13th member was Riku, but he became immune to the darkness, so he was of no use to them, then they chose Roxas, but he became too aware of himself and returned to Sora. Now, they moved down the list to Sora. They were able to capture him, but he had been saved. And then, they ran out of time and those who were from the past had to return to their own time and those who were from the present-day teleported away.

In Kingdom Hearts III, Young Xehanort time travels once more to our present-day and gathers the same 5 members he had gathered before from across time. But, this time, their hearts are put into Replica bodies in order to stay physically in the present-time and avoid having a time limit. Young Xehanort's heart goes into a Replica this time as well.

And after doing some experimenting, they choose Xion as their 13th member.

Also, when someone from another time gets destroyed, they just get sent back to their own time.

Sora and Riku In the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Sora and Riku traveled back in time to the day Destiny Islands fell to darkness. They had the ability to move through time because both of them have become just hearts at one point in the first Kingdom Hearts. Sora became just a heart/a Heartless when he stabbed himself with the Keyblade of Heart, and Riku became just a heart when his heart was sort of kicked out of his body into the Realm of Darkness when he was possessed by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. This caused all versions of Sora and Riku from throughout time to gain the ability to time travel. But, they weren't able to do so without assistance, so Yen Sid assisted them. Yen Sid used magic to send them back in time, which is a different method of time travel than Xehanort's method. Instead of becoming just a heart and going back in time to give a version of themself the time travel power in order to assist other versions of themself through time, Yen Sid just assisted them by using time travel magic to send them back in time. Characters like Yen Sid and Merlin have time magic. But, Yen Sid's time travel magic still follows the rules of time travel that this post has been explaining. He could only send Sora and Riku back in time to a point in time where versions of them existed/were present.

Sora and Riku are younger in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance simply because of Yen Sid's magic as well. He used his magic to make them younger again in order to sort of help with the whole starting over from scratch for the Mark of Mastery exam thing. They didn't inhabit their younger bodies contrary to popular belief. They didn't need to become just hearts in order to time travel, because they had the time travel ability plus assistance. Them becoming just hearts would've been a big mess as well. They would've turned into Heartless/Nobodies.

Timeless River Merlin used his time magic to take Sora, Donald, and Goofy back to Timeless River. It's different from Xehanort's method of time travel and it's even different from Yen Sid's magical method of time travel. It bypasses all time travel laws.


I hope this helped anybody and I hope it cleared up confusion that any of you had :)
 
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ALittleNerd

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Here's my question though. Are the Xehanort vessels, or the 13 darkness's that Master Xehanort needs for the X-blade, the VERY same people from the past, or are they clones of the people from the past? Like Young Master Xehanort. If he's here in the present time fighting with Sora and the gang, then he's not where he's supposed to be, back in his time and living out his life evilly. So if Young Xehanort is killed in the present time by Sora or others, then Master Xehanort would cease to exist. So are the past Xehanorts CLONES of the past Xehanorts? Cause if not, then the solution to defeating them is a lot more simple than this whole 'Key to return hearts' plan that's supposed to be happening.
 

Royce & Mueller

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I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.
 

redcrown

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I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.

Welcome to the KH fandom. This is considered very normal.
 

Antifa Lockhart

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Here's my question though. Are the Xehanort vessels, or the 13 darkness's that Master Xehanort needs for the X-blade, the VERY same people from the past, or are they clones of the people from the past? Like Young Master Xehanort. If he's here in the present time fighting with Sora and the gang, then he's not where he's supposed to be, back in his time and living out his life evilly. So if Young Xehanort is killed in the present time by Sora or others, then Master Xehanort would cease to exist. So are the past Xehanorts CLONES of the past Xehanorts? Cause if not, then the solution to defeating them is a lot more simple than this whole 'Key to return hearts' plan that's supposed to be happening.


No. They're not clones, they're plucked from a moment in time and when they're done traveling they go back to the same moment without memories of being in the future, so it's like they never left. They can't be killed, to our knowledge, because a defeat would go against the rules of time travel - so upon defeat they'd probably just go back home.

I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.


A pompous two-liner isn't more worthy of anyone's time than someone making sense of the established plot points to a series they want to understand because they enjoy it.
 

Master Alew

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I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.

That's more like a glossary. Also, you know that this is a Kingdom Hearts forum right?
 

Oracle Spockanort

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I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.

We might as well just stop analyzing all media then. Surface level enjoyment. No critical thought ever again. Nope. Not the place on a discussion forum. We do not discuss things here anymore.
 

redcrown

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Tbh it is the weakest, most mythos/story shattering, and most nonsenseical thing in this series, and this is Kingdom Hearts. It really wasn't needed and really overcomplicated things.
But if people want to take it seriously and try to understand and make sense of it, then good for them.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Tbh it is the weakest, most mythos/story shattering, and most nonsenseical thing in this series, and this is Kingdom Hearts. It really wasn't needed.

No denying that. I hate time travel in this series and in the days of BBS everybody was hoping it would never happen despite the building evidence.

It is here, though, and it will be featured in KH3 so we all have to either get used to it or just not understand a portion of the game. Out of the two options, the first is probably the better and most ideal one.

People like Royce being judgmental about a person creating a simplified explanation to help others is completely unnecessary, though.
 

The_Echo

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No denying that. I hate time travel in this series and in the days of BBS everybody was hoping it would never happen despite the building evidence.
I remember seeing someone theorize that time travel would be introduced based on the content of the "Volume Two" scene.

At the time I was like "what? I don't want that."

But with the way time travel is used, and the rules surrounding it, I honestly have no objections.
At its core it's just an excuse to bring back all the old villains for a Greatest Hits montage in the finale, which is fine by me.

It doesn't really have a negative impact on the story; I think Nomura designed it with the express purpose of making as little mess as necessary. Like, nothing changes.
 

redcrown

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But with the way time travel is used, and the rules surrounding it, I honestly have no objections.
At its core it's just an excuse to bring back all the old villains for a Greatest Hits montage in the finale, which is fine by me.

It doesn't really have a negative impact on the story; I think Nomura designed it with the express purpose of making as little mess as necessary. Like, nothing changes.

I think it would have gone smoother and more neatly (and made less of a convoluted mess) if they somehow used the dream realm/power to bring back all versions of the same villain at the same time for the finale. MX could have followed Sora and Riku to the dream realm, waiting for them to open the portals, and could have hijacked the whole thing a lot easier (on the viewer's brain).
 
D

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I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain, defend and justify a nonsensical, poor, and more importantly contrived, plot point.

You practically wrote an essay here.

I'm not trying to defend or justify anything. I'm just explaining how time travel works in Kingdom Hearts and what we know so far about it for anyone who didn't quite understand it in Dream Drop Distance.

"I don't get why people have to go out of their way to explain" "You practically wrote an essay here."
You don't seem to quite understand the point of forums.
 
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I remember seeing someone theorize that time travel would be introduced based on the content of the "Volume Two" scene.

At the time I was like "what? I don't want that."

But with the way time travel is used, and the rules surrounding it, I honestly have no objections.
At its core it's just an excuse to bring back all the old villains for a Greatest Hits montage in the finale, which is fine by me.

It doesn't really have a negative impact on the story; I think Nomura designed it with the express purpose of making as little mess as necessary. Like, nothing changes.

Yeah, these are my exact thoughts. A perfect finale for a saga is fighting every single big name villain in one game. It truly shows how much Sora and the others have grown and how strong they've become.
 
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Tbh it is the weakest, most mythos/story shattering, and most nonsenseical thing in this series, and this is Kingdom Hearts. It really wasn't needed and really overcomplicated things.
But if people want to take it seriously and try to understand and make sense of it, then good for them.

I'm not trying to "make sense of it". I'm simply just explaining what time travel is in Kingdom Hearts and how it works for people who didn't quite understand it in Dream Drop Distance.
 

Audo

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I think it would have gone smoother and more neatly (and made less of a convoluted mess) if they somehow used the dream realm/power to bring back all versions of the same villain at the same time for the finale. MX could have followed Sora and Riku to the dream realm, waiting for them to open the portals, and could have hijacked the whole thing a lot easier (on the viewer's brain).
Eh, still would have required time travel, unless the suggestion is that Sora and Riku and Yen Sid would intentionally cast a world into darkness in the present just to get it to become a sleeping world.
 

redcrown

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Eh, still would have required time travel, unless the suggestion is that Sora and Riku and Yen Sid would intentionally cast a world into darkness in the present just to get it to become a sleeping world.

No, it wouldn't. The game could still have used the dream element for MX to "dream up" various version of himself.

Idk, I just feel DDD could have easily used the newly introduced dream realm/concept to come up with a better and less convoluted reason as for why MX can bring back other versions of himself. Anything related to dreams instead of time travel, which made the end of DDD kind of a mess. And watch time travel never be used in this series again.
 

The_Echo

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No, it wouldn't. The game could still have used the dream element for MX to "dream up" various version of himself.

Idk, I just feel DDD could have easily used the newly introduced dream realm/concept to come up with a better and less convoluted reason as for why MX can bring back other versions of himself. Anything related to dreams instead of time travel, which made the end of DDD kind of a mess. And watch time travel never be used in this series again.
I think "dream powers" would just make things even more ridiculous. If Xehanort could just dream up his other versions, where is the limit to this power? Why not dream up a complete χ-blade? Or any number of things.
 

Audo

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No, it wouldn't. The game could still have used the dream element for MX to "dream up" various version of himself.

Idk, I just feel DDD could have easily used the newly introduced dream realm/concept to come up with a better and less convoluted reason as for why MX can bring back other versions of himself. Anything related to dreams instead of time travel, which made the end of DDD kind of a mess. And watch time travel never be used in this series again.
But the only way anyone was able to enter the Realm of Sleep was through time travel, that's what I was referring to. Time travel was used just to enter the Realm of Sleep, and would still be required given the way the story is written even if the big thing was Xehanort using the RoS to recreate himself. The Sleeping Worlds only exist when worlds are lost to the darkness, which is why Yen Sid gets Sora and Riku to time travel to when DI fell to darkness, so they can enter the RoS. Without time travel, the suggested plot would have Sora and Riku intentionally cause a world to fall in the present story in order to get in.

sora-riku-kh1-outfits.png

Lest we forget, Xehanort was not the only one who used time travel in KH3D.
 

redcrown

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I think "dream powers" would just make things even more ridiculous. If Xehanort could just dream up his other versions, where is the limit to this power? Why not dream up a complete χ-blade? Or any number of things.

I didn't mean specifically "dream up versions of himself". Just something related to the dream realm. DDD is the game that introduced the sleeping worlds and dream realm, and by the end had to have MX have full strength again.

If you were the writer, wouldn't you logically want to take advantage of this new element, as MX's reason for being able to bring others versions of himself back, instead of introducing another concept and complicated mytho that just overconfuses the hell out of everyone (and even made some people drop the series) and makes less sense?

Edit: I did not know time travel was necessary to dive into the dream realm in the first place. Didn't see your post before I typed this, Audo. Still, this time travel thing really overcomplicated an overcomplicated game and series, imo. DDD would have been simpler without it. even with this I can't deny that I actually still like this game
 
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