Why is Kingdom Hearts so Confusing

[Awesome Psycho]

So I'm sitting here trying to piece up an theory of Kingdom Hearts, and next thing you know, I never had realized how bad the actual story was. Things that happen that aren't explained, and contrivances are things that happen because the author says so. All the plot contrivances, holes, and just being more confusing than it needs to be. How does Kairi show up after Xehanort's Heartless dies? How do Riku and Mickey leave Kingdom Hearts? And don't get me started on Xehanort's time travel BS, And what exactly is Kingdom Hearts? Is it a heart moon? Is it a door? How did Sora know it was light? And if it islight, why does it hold the Realm of Darkness inside it? Don't get me wrong, I ADORE Kingdom HeartsBut it's story is fricking TERRIBLE, And I mean just the concept and writing is pretty badHearts in the light of the darkness of the true light blah!

 

[BufferAqua]

Kingdom Hearts is a mystery, I assume.

 

[Antifa Lockhart]

It IS confusing, often on purpose, but some things have explanations!

How does Kairi show up after Xehanort's Heartless dies?

Sealing the Door to Darkness and destroying Ansem somehow destroyed his fake Kingdom Hearts. The End of the World was resting on the borders between Light and Dark and was comprised of shattered worlds, including Destiny Islands. So when the worlds start reforming, and its inhabitants start returning, it makes sense that they are sent to those shattered spots as they rebuild. We see why Kairi shows up, she's standing on the spot of Destiny Islands that survived Ansem's terror.

How do Riku and Mickey leave Kingdom Hearts?

They were never in Kingdom Hearts, they were in the Realm of Darkness and Diz got them to Castle Oblivion using cards that triggered corridors of Darkness.

And what exactly is Kingdom Hearts? Is it a heart moon? Is it a door? How did Sora know it was light? And if it is light, why does it hold the Realm of Darkness inside it?

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the Door at the end of the first Kingdom Hearts was.

Firstly: Kingdom Hearts is any mass amalgam of hearts, forcibly gathered to create one giant source of power. Ansem was destroying the worlds in Kingdom Hearts 1 and their hearts were gathering in the Realm of Darkness. Ansem's summoned Door was NOT Kingdom Hearts, it was the gate to the Realm of Darkness. Kingdom Hearts, when completed, looks like a giant Heart Moon. The original, true, Kingdom Hearts has been lost since the Keyblade War. Kingdom Hearts is the sacred moon that is an unseen land, the source of all hearts and light in the world. If Kingdom Hearts is the gathering of all hearts then its true nature is up for debate, just like human nature.

Would do you a world of good to read the reports and supplemental stuff.

 

[BlackOsprey]

Considering this game's overall concept, as screwed-up as the narrative's become, I'd say it's a lot better than what I ever expected it to be. Some stuff just happens for dramatic effect and symbolism. It happens all the time in all sorts of storytelling media. You have to learn to just roll with it sometimes. But I'll answer what I can.

How do Riku and Mickey leave Kingdom Hearts?

First of all, those two never went to Kingdom Hearts. They were in the Realm of Darkness. How they escaped is left to the imagination, but we can probably guess it was a combination of magic, willpower, and some darkness affinity on Riku's end.

And what exactly is Kingdom Hearts?

It's light. Duh.

Is it a heart moon? Is it a door?

Hm, feels as if I've given the same lecture over the past week, but whatever. Kingdom Hearts (THE KH, the true one) is the source of all hearts, and the source of all light in the universe. You can create this amalgamation of hearts artificially by either smashing a bunch of hearts from people together (which takes visible form as a heart-shaped moon) or by destroying worlds themselves and waiting for their hearts to gather together in the RoD. This is how Xemnas and Ansem created their KH's, respectively. That door at the end of KH1 was the Door to the Realm of Darkness, so no, it is not KH. Ansem was screaming at what was beyond the door, not at the door itself...

How did Sora know it was light?

Ansem likened the entity to that of a gigantic heart. Sora learned, through his travels, that light is the heart's essence and that "deep down, there's a light that never goes out." So naturally, a giant heart would also be full of light too.

And if it islight, why does it hold the Realm of Darkness inside it?

I think you're a little mixed up here. The Realm of Darkness isn't inside Kingdom Hearts; it's the other way around. The light was swallowed by the darkness long ago. Open the Door to Darkness, and that light shines through like a star.

Don't get me wrong, I ADORE Kingdom HeartsBut it's story is fricking TERRIBLE, And I mean just the concept and writing is pretty badHearts in the light of the darkness of the true light blah!

Heh. One who knows nothing can understand nothing, after all. It's a mess, but it makes even less sense to someone who missed some basic facts. Take it in stride and stop freaking out. At least read the stuff that the games themselves provide you, such as the Ansem Reports, or this will all be a meaningless effort.

As for why it's all confusing, there are a couple reasons. First of all, it's Square Enix. As if they'd let anything be simple. Second, the console spread (which Nomura didn't always have control over). Third, this entire series grew from a game that was supposed to be a standalone, and most of it was made up as they went along. As a matter of fact, Nomura didn't always have full control over the direction it took, starting as early as CoM becoming a Game Boy title because of fan demand.

 

[Oathkeyper97]

I was gonna do some explaining, but it looks like others beat me to it XD

And honestly, I just have to disagree with the notion that the story is terrible. As BlackOsprey pointed out, the story is a mess, but that isn't a bad thing. In fact, I LOVE how complicated and confusing it is! It's not that it's confusing to the point of being beyond understanding, but that it is very detailed and needs to be pieced together. The story is my favorite thing about the series due to how much it has to be analyzed.

 

[BlackOsprey]

In fact, I LOVE how complicated and confusing it is! It's not that it's confusing to the point of being beyond understanding, but that it is very detailed and needs to be pieced together. The story is my favorite thing about the series due to how much it has to be analyzed.

This right here. Dissecting and analyzing the story is a good way to pass the time when you're bored.

Maybe I've just grown immune to the confusion. Starting with Re:Coded and Days with absolutely no context can do that to you, I guess.

 

[Face My Fears]

The game's story is Mickey's secret.

 

[Chuman]

kingdom hearts, the children's game franchise helmed by a middle aged japanese man shoehorning mickey mouse in, going through a midlife crisis, is confusing to an english speaking forum? unthinkable.

 

[Vanitas666]

To add to what Tinny said, The KH in KHI is created by the hearts of all the worlds that fell to the darkness thanks to Ansem.
It was locked up beyond the door to darkness and when Sora opened the door the light returned to where it belong just like in Kairi's Grandmas story about the original KH (except now that happened to the artificial KH created by Ansem SoD).
As for how Sora could now that it was light? Ha, that's easy, Sora follow his heart, get it? Know thyself and thy shall know God... or something like that.
In KH II the KH was formed from the hearts of men obviously.
I wouldn't be surprised if the world, that is both the realms are just projections and everything really exist inside of KH and that is how it's all connected etc. In KHI when Sora turn in to a heartless he loose his body and doesn't get it back until the start of KHII when he join with Roxas, he still don't become complete until he fight Roxas even later but anyway, when he don't have a real body his heart is basically just projecting the body he's using (or at least that's the theory) so it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that KH can do the same, or perhaps they'll talk about that in KHX?

I was gonna do some explaining, but it looks like others beat me to it XD

And honestly, I just have to disagree with the notion that the story is terrible. As BlackOsprey pointed out, the story is a mess, but that isn't a bad thing. In fact, I LOVE how complicated and confusing it is! It's not that it's confusing to the point of being beyond understanding, but that it is very detailed and needs to be pieced together. The story is my favorite thing about the series due to how much it has to be analyzed.

Agree 100%

 

[Sephiroth0812]

And honestly, I just have to disagree with the notion that the story is terrible. As BlackOsprey pointed out, the story is a mess, but that isn't a bad thing. In fact, I LOVE how complicated and confusing it is! It's not that it's confusing to the point of being beyond understanding, but that it is very detailed and needs to be pieced together. The story is my favorite thing about the series due to how much it has to be analyzed.

The story itself isn't terrible, but the way it is presented to the audience sometimes is.
A complex story is not a problem in itself as is the need to piece it together. However, when even the individual pieces you need in order to piece it all together are scattered all over the place and you're not even told where you can find all the pieces since not all of them are present in the games themselves or not even in non-japanese material at all, it can get somewhat annoying for those who aren't patient enough to search for all the needed pieces available in order to start analyzing.

The Kingdom Hearts Memorial Ultimania book (japan-only, but translated via the net) has such nifty things as a Character Correlation diagram:

Spoiler Show

and even another full diagram (does KHInsider have scans of those on the main site?) explaining the whole issue of Xehanort's plans and different incarnations which I read somewhere got aptly named as the "Xehanort’s Bullshit Plotline"-diagram, and yet those are only a few additional pieces needed to fully make sense of the storyline.
Many facts and clarifications are also hidden in creator interviews in the Ultimanias, with Famitsu or Dengeki.

I love dissecting the whole story too and delve into the "search for the pieces"-task every so often, but from what I can see all over the net in terms of statements and comments, most fans either do not have the interest and/or the perseverance to do all this additional "work" in order to understand the story.
It is after all easier and faster to just complain and rant. ;P

 

[Antifa Lockhart]

The story itself isn't terrible, but the way it is presented to the audience sometimes is.
A complex story is not a problem in itself as is the need to piece it together. However, when even the individual pieces you need in order to piece it all together are scattered all over the place and you're not even told where you can find all the pieces since not all of them are present in the games themselves or not even in non-japanese material at all, it can get somewhat annoying for those who aren't patient enough to search for all the needed pieces available in order to start analyzing.

The Kingdom Hearts Memorial Ultimania book (japan-only, but translated via the net) has such nifty things as a Character Correlation diagram:

Spoiler Show

and even another full diagram (does KHInsider have scans of those on the main site?) explaining the whole issue of Xehanort's plans and different incarnations which I read somewhere got aptly named as the "Xehanort’s Bullshit Plotline"-diagram, and yet those are only a few additional pieces needed to fully make sense of the storyline.
Many facts and clarifications are also hidden in creator interviews in the Ultimanias, with Famitsu or Dengeki.

I love dissecting the whole story too and delve into the "search for the pieces"-task every so often, but from what I can see all over the net in terms of statements and comments, most fans either do not have the interest and/or the perseverance to do all this additional "work" in order to understand the story.
It is after all easier and faster to just complain and rant. ;P

WAIT, the chart has separate lines for old pupils and old friends and Yen Sid isn't listed as a brother pupil to Eraqus and Xehanort but rather old friend WHERE'S AUDO.

 

[BlackOsprey]

WAIT, the chart has separate lines for old pupils and old friends and Yen Sid isn't listed as a brother pupil to Eraqus and Xehanort but rather old friend WHERE'S AUDO.

When did it ever confirm that Yen Sid was a brother pupil to Xehanort and Eraqus? I don't recall reading any sources that explicitly site that Yen Sid trained alongside those two.

Sigh. Did I miss something from an interview again or what?

 

[Antifa Lockhart]

When did it ever confirm that Yen Sid was a brother pupil to Xehanort and Eraqus? I don't recall reading any sources that explicitly site that Yen Sid trained alongside those two.

Sigh. Did I miss something from an interview again or what?

This is my bad for derailing the topic, but it was never confirmed it was just a debated point. I always assumed they weren't, and this doesn't really prove anything

 

[Precursor Mar]

Literal representation of Nomura's mind:

It's because this is a japanese game and as we all know, there's no japanese word for "cohesive". Just turn your brain off and you'll have a better time, trust me.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

I love dissecting the whole story too and delve into the "search for the pieces"-task every so often, but from what I can see all over the net in terms of statements and comments, most fans either do not have the interest and/or the perseverance to do all this additional "work" in order to understand the story.
It is after all easier and faster to just complain and rant. ;P

This issue manifested itself in an interesting way when 2.8 was announced. I got the feeling on some of the comments that they thought that once again Nomura decided to push the release of KHIII with a spin-off. But if you have been following the series closely, you realize that actually 2.8 is a missing piece of the story, that a part of the fandom has been wanting to see for a very long time. The missing part was also considered to be told in III, but now they have a chance to tell that story, and the rest of it in III.


About the Yen Sid topic, in the beginning Eraqus mentions him as an old friend. Also if my memory is not playing tricks on me, I remember that if you talk to Yen Sid in BBS, there is text bubble where he says something about walking the same road as Eraqus and Xehanort, but I am not sure if that confirms them being trained together or anything.

 

[Nazo]

This right here. Dissecting and analyzing the story is a good way to pass the time when you're bored.

Maybe I've just grown immune to the confusion. Starting with Re:Coded and Days with absolutely no context can do that to you, I guess.

Once you go through and piece together the fustercluck that is Re:coded, you become immune to KH confusion. Even the time travel shtick in DDD didn't phase me all that much after that.

 

[BlackOsprey]

Once you go through and piece together the fustercluck that is Re:coded, you become immune to KH confusion. Even the time travel shtick in DDD didn't phase me all that much after that.

Funny thing is that Re:Coded didn't become a clusterf*ck in my mind until I finished the story, then started to actually think about what exactly I just went through. Come into this with no understanding of anything, and you'll see a fun hack-and-slash with a nice protagonist and Disney nostalgia overdrive. Now, what was that earlier journey that produced that journal? Why did it end up blank? Who the diddly is Namine? Who is this Riku guy? Why did Mickey, Donald and Goofy seem to already know this kid with spiky hair? What's a Heartless, anyways? Who's this blonde-haired kid? And what's a Keyblade?

Basically, everything that should've been a callback was an unanswered mystery to me. It all made my head hurt a little, but at least a part of the story was simple and lore-free enough for me to enjoy. Pete and Maleficent + other Disney villains and darkness monsters = bad. Simple as that.

Days on the other hand...

 

[MrFranklin95]

Days on the other hand...

Well, if your a newcomer, 358/2 Days is the game you shouldn't really play first. Neither is coded just based off the story alone and everything you just said. You're left with a lot of questions that wouldn't be asked if you played the first or even the second game. Although, honestly, it really isn't that hard to understand. Or maybe I'm just immune to Kingdom Hearts confusion as well so none of the games are confusing to me anymore. Everything (as far as how this world works) makes sense now. Still, 358/2 Days does explain a lot of the world around you through Roxas's perspective and from the Organization's knowledge and their mission. And even the Xion stuff is pretty simple to understand. I feel your left more with answers then questions by the end of the story. They didn't really leave anything up in the air for me to go "Wait, What?" other then the whole Destiny Islands freakout that was tied to CoM which still doesn't make any sense to me.

Still, I don't think any of the spin-off are anything newcomers should start off with, if they want to better understand the story or at least get a better feel for it. As much as I love them (except coded), I believe you should always start it at KH1 and then CoM,358,Kh2,bbs,coded, and ddd. Or just wiki it all if you really don't care. That's usually faster lol.

 

[Chuman]

honestly, most long-time players aren't even affected by the story anymore. the real question is, who is numbed to KH's incoherency?

 

[Nazo]

honestly, most long-time players aren't even affected by the story anymore. the real question is, who is numbed to KH's incoherency?

I am, although it's all in the Ultimania's tho, bruh. Except you know, it's supposed to be in the games. The primary medium. There's a reason no one wanted to go onto the Destiny website to read all the lore that wasn't in the game aside from the fact that Destiny is a generic-ass game. It's cause it's supposed to be in the game.