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KINGDOM HEARTS Dark Road introduces new characters!

Details
Published on June 9, 2020 @ 03:15 am
Written by Cecily
Tweet

The official Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Twitter have unveiled new artwork and names of new characters joining Xehanort and Eraqus! Meet Urd, Vor, Bragi and Hermod!

 

COMMENTS

+ Reply

Chaser

June 9, 2020 @ 03:22 amOffline

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Bragi when we have a character named Braig has me like ?

Also, hello Axel, Aranea, and Ephemer rip offs

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 03:23 amOffline

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Skuld, Urd, so the next one should be Verdande, right?

The_Echo

June 9, 2020 @ 03:27 amOffline

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All four of them are characters in Norse mythology
Previously only Skuld had that connection

I wonder how that will play out

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 03:31 amOffline

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quick and dirty composite

rokudamia2

June 9, 2020 @ 03:51 amOffline

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Is Vor going to be another Ephemer/Ephemera Brain/Blaine situation where people call her ver instead?

U.N. Owen

June 9, 2020 @ 03:55 amOffline

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So I'm just going to pick apart names.

Vor - Obviously, Nomura realized what kind of fandom he has and wanted to make a cruel joke. In seriousness, she's a wisdom goddess. I know Norse mythology is redundant with gods of war and wisdom.

Urd - I know from my knowledge of Marvel that this is the name of a Norn.

Bragi - More norse stuff. Poetry. I know there are more than one Bragi and don't know which Nomura will choose from.

Heremod - Some Danish king I remember from Beowulf. Sorry, my knowledge of Norse myths don't go that far.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 03:56 amOffline

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rokudamia2

Is Vor going to be another Ephemer/Ephemera Brain/Blaine situation where people call her ver instead?


I think this will be alright since

1. They introduced the character simultaneously for all regions
2. Name is derived from Norse mythology, we know how it's supposed to be spelled (unless of course it turns out that her name is supposed to be Ver, short for Verdandi, but what are the chances of that?)

With Ephemer it was like 1.5 years before his name was localized, and Brain it still took 6 months. Different scenarios.

Absent

June 9, 2020 @ 04:33 amOffline

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Vor looks so old and so young at the same time.

The_Echo

June 9, 2020 @ 04:33 amOffline

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Sign

I think this will be alright since

1. They introduced the character simultaneously for all regions
2. Name is derived from Norse mythology, we know how it's supposed to be spelled (unless of course it turns out that her name is supposed to be Ver, short for Verdandi, but what are the chances of that?)

With Ephemer it was like 1.5 years before his name was localized, and Brain it still took 6 months. Different scenarios.

Vor's name is spelled Vör in Norse. I would assume ヴェル is a closer transliteration than Vor and more accurately preserves the pronunciation. Anglicization basically just replaced ö with o because they look similar.
Sort of like how Hermod is actually Hermóðr. I don't know much about Scandinavian languages, but I do know ð is a "th"-ish sound which explains why it's ヘルモーズ in Japanese.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 04:50 amOffline

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The_Echo

Vor's name is spelled Vör in Norse. I would assume ヴェル is a closer transliteration than Vor and more accurately preserves the pronunciation. Anglicization basically just replaced ö with o because they look similar.
Sort of like how Hermod is actually Hermóðr. I don't know much about Scandinavian languages, but I do know ð is a "th"-ish sound which explains why it's ヘルモーズ in Japanese.


Now that you brought that up, I tried to look it up:

https://forvo.com/word/v%C3%B6r/

Does seem to match the pronunciation.

GreyouTT

June 9, 2020 @ 05:03 amOffline

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Why do they give me Bravely Default vibes?

Also I like the Google translate version of Hermod: "HELLMOOSE"

Oracle Spockanort

June 9, 2020 @ 05:05 amOffline

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GreyouTT

Why do they give me Bravely Default vibes?

Also I like the Google translate version of Hermod: "HELLMOOSE"


The sepia tone picture, perhaps?

GreyouTT

June 9, 2020 @ 05:16 amOffline

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U.N. Owen

So I'm just going to pick apart names.

Vor - Obviously, Nomura realized what kind of fandom he has and wanted to make a cruel joke. In seriousness, she's a wisdom goddess. I know Norse mythology is redundant with gods of war and wisdom.

Urd - I know from my knowledge of Marvel that this is the name of a Norn.

Bragi - More norse stuff. Poetry. I know there are more than one Bragi and don't know which Nomura will choose from.

Heremod - Some Danish king I remember from Beowulf. Sorry, my knowledge of Norse myths don't go that far.


To add onto this (from wikipedia):

Vor: "In Norse mythology, Vör (Old Norse, possibly "the careful one," or "aware, careful") is a goddess associated with wisdom."

Hermod: Hermóðr (Old Norse "war-spirit"; anglicized as Hermod) is a figure in Norse mythology, a son of the god Odin and brother of Baldr. He is often considered the messenger of the gods.

Urd: Urðr (Old Norse "fate") is one of the Norns in Norse mythology. Along with Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present") and Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future"), Urðr makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates of people.


Bragi: Bragi is the skaldic god of poetry in Norse mythology.


Oracle Spockanort

The sepia tone picture, perhaps?


Uhhh, maybe?

Dast

June 9, 2020 @ 05:24 amOffline

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This is so exciting! I really can't wait to get a look at their master now.

Foxycian

June 9, 2020 @ 06:25 amOffline

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I feel like Vor is suited to have ava’s keyblade and she may have it Since this is after the event of union X

MATGSY

June 9, 2020 @ 07:22 amOffline

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Deviantart will have a field day with Vor.

Katsagu

June 9, 2020 @ 08:00 amOffline

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Why are these awesome designs all stuck on mobile games!! Meanwhile on console KH everyone looks the same...

Vanitas666

June 9, 2020 @ 08:08 amOffline

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I wonder if Bragi will be their Genesis before Luxu posses him and he turn in to Braig.
Hermod will probably venture through the RoD to save someone important, or perhaps he journey through memories and dreams.
I'm guessing Vor will be the young one who, much like Kairi before leaving DI, can see the destination of every character but feel powerless to change destinies path.
Urd would be their Aqua and Skuld or better yet, Ava, preserving the fate written down so long ago.
My thoughts after reading the wiki pages of the norse gods.

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kristi-swat

June 9, 2020 @ 08:20 amOffline

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Sign

Now that you brought that up, I tried to look it up:

https://forvo.com/word/vör/

Does seem to match the pronunciation.

also in pronunciation, in Scandinavian languages, the r is a rolling r :)

PikaPal

June 9, 2020 @ 08:49 amOffline

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Sign

[parsehtml]

The official Kingdom Hearts Dark Road Twitter have unveiled new artwork and names of new characters joining Xehanort and Eraqus! Meet Urd, Vor, Bragi and Hermod!






 

[/parsehtml]


Oh cool! Vector off ZEXAL is finally in Kingdom Hearts!
[SPOILER][ATTACH type="full" alt="608B70E2-B4E2-4BD8-8F9E-EA9ECBBB3E09.jpeg"]12687[/ATTACH][/SPOILER]

Also poor ol’ Yen Sid is nowhere to be seen because Disney almost always wants him to do jack squat but be an exposition machine.

Digging some of these designs.

Alpha Baymax

June 9, 2020 @ 10:08 amOffline

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Chaser

Bragi when we have a character named Braig has me like ?


Bragi feels like an intentional misdirect to me. ?

Remember how Lauriam was introduced right after Strelitzia's death? only to find out they were siblings.

rokudamia2

Is Vor going to be another Ephemer/Ephemera Brain/Blaine situation where people call her ver instead?


I remember when everybody had a meltdown about Brain's name. We all assumed it was poor localisation.

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 11:01 amOffline

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Alright! Some new characters! Now we got ourselves a game. I'm excited. Of these new characters I wonder which ones are potentially related to Terra, Aqua, Lea, and Isa, and which ones get faded from existence. There will be plenty of time for theorizing later, but new characters means more options for everything. I bet half these characters were in Xehanort's heart the whole time and we never knew it. Because nothing says 'misguided good guy' better then a group of friends. I can't wait :D

Edit: One of them time traveled to become Darkness. And another is Gula's evil spawn who brainwashed Skuld to kill Strelitzita. Clearly it was Vor. Look how innocent she looks. Obviously she's a minion of Gula. Ugh I'm already going into insane theories.

Sephiroth0812

June 9, 2020 @ 11:32 amOffline

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Leave it to Nomura to further bloat up an already big cast of characters and then doing nothing remarkable with 2/3rds of them anyways.
Introducing new characters, even with cool mythology-inspired names, doesn't mean much when they all remain half-baked concepts with seldom any deeper characterization or tangible bonds.

If these are treated like Skuld, Ephemer, Lauriam, Ven and Blaine in Ux there isn't much to look forward to.
Worst case scenario is that they're just used as angst fodder and serving to somehow relativize Xehanort's future crimes and evil.

2 quid is good

June 9, 2020 @ 12:08 pmOffline

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Somebody bought up the concept of Yggdrasil on twitter and I gotta say, I can't wait.

Finally, the thing I've been waiting 10 years for; Digimon lore in KH

PikaPal

June 9, 2020 @ 12:16 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

I bet half these characters were in Xehanort's heart the whole time and we never knew it.

The only adventure Xehanort had was the friends he made along the way.

Dast

June 9, 2020 @ 12:51 pmOffline

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RetroPokeFan

The only adventure Xehanort had was the friends he made along the way.

I don't know, that doesn't sound like Xehanort (who prefers the darkness of being alone to the light of friendship) so my guess is things don't end well with him and these new characters. I wonder if maybe he was thinking about what happens with them when he spoke with the MoM in Re Mind about people whose 'light is a total farce'. I could definitely see at least one of these students succumbing to darkness.

KeybladeLordSora

June 9, 2020 @ 12:52 pmOffline

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Vor apparently means "Knowledge out of darkness".

Also just seeing these characters makes me wish Dark Road and UX were on consoles with a little less Disney filler instead of on mobile with the biggest Disney film rehash filler in history.

Eonstar890

June 9, 2020 @ 01:32 pmOffline

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Now that we have seen sibling relationships anybody else feel like Urd kinda looks like she could be related to Xehanort? Or maybe a descendant of Ephemer?

These characters have quite contrasting designs from the others! Bragi with that fur coat. Urd with that turtle neck. It will be interesting to see what happens to these guys, as they clearly aren’t around by the time KH1 starts. Maybe xehanort’s road to darkness leads him to murdering these guys. Would be pretty dark but hey we did see him do something pretty similar to Ansem’s Apprentices.

FudgemintGuardian

June 9, 2020 @ 01:45 pmOffline

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Urd says >:3


Also, daaayyum Hermod, you're hot, but why aren't you Yen Sid? ?

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 01:53 pmOffline

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Eonstar890

Maybe xehanort’s road to darkness leads him to murdering these guys. Would be pretty dark but hey we did see him do something pretty similar to Ansem’s Apprentices.

I'm sure some of them are somewhere in the Realm of Darkness this whole time, and others are in someone elses heart or something like that. Just have Even create a Replica for them and walk it off, they'll be fine.

Nukara

June 9, 2020 @ 01:54 pmOffline

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They can definitely be associated with current characters.
Vor may be Kairi's grandmother.
Bragi is a relative of Axel / Lea.
The remaining two are probably relatives of Riku and Isa.

Sakuraba Neku

June 9, 2020 @ 01:54 pmOffline

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Much better designed characters than the other KHX main casts. Now it comes the hardest part, good writing...

Alpha Baymax

June 9, 2020 @ 01:56 pmOffline

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Sephiroth0812

Leave it to Nomura to further bloat up an already big cast of characters and then doing nothing remarkable with 2/3rds of them anyways.
Introducing new characters, even with cool mythology-inspired names, doesn't mean much when they all remain half-baked concepts with seldom any deeper characterization or tangible bonds.

If these are treated like Skuld, Ephemer, Lauriam, Ven and Blaine in Ux there isn't much to look forward to.
Worst case scenario is that they're just used as angst fodder and serving to somehow relativize Xehanort's future crimes and evil.


You're absolutely right.

But Disney and Square Enix are a business first and foremost and a bloated cast makes for perfect merchandising opportunities.

Dast

June 9, 2020 @ 02:02 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

I'm sure some of them are somewhere in the Realm of Darkness this whole time, and others are in someone elses heart or something like that. Just have Even create a Replica for them and walk it off, they'll be fine.

Maybe but if Xehanort and Eraqus stay dead then why would they be brought back, who would remember them? As said, from what we know so far of his past I would bet on one of these new students being evil in DR, rather than Xehanort. Barring possession or amnesia (both sadly possible) it seems too early for Xehanort to start murdering/banishing people as he hasn't accepted darkness up until just before his Mark of Mastery exam, at least.

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 02:06 pmOffline

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Dast

Maybe but if Xehanort and Eraqus stay dead then why would they be brought back, who would remember them? As said, from what we know so far of his past I would bet on one of these new students being evil in DR, rather than Xehanort. Barring possession or amnesia (both sadly possible) it seems too early for Xehanort to start murdering/banishing people as he hasn't accepted darkness up until just before his Mark of Mastery exam, at least.

Good points. They could still be fused with Xehanort's heart though. Maybe they help the 'norting' process as it were.

mouflon

June 9, 2020 @ 02:18 pmOffline

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Urd looks like an older and less emotionally dead Fuu, Vor is a demon child who lusts for the taste of human flesh, Bragi is a cookie straight from the Smug Hothead mould and Hermod looks like generic pretty animu boy. I’m in.

Alpha Baymax

But Disney and Square Enix are a business first and foremost and a bloated cast makes for perfect merchandising opportunities.


And yet 90% of merch is different versions of Sora. "Here, five new characters in Dark Road! Intrigued, aren't you?! And don't forget to pre-order the two new Kingdom Hearts figures--Doing Taxes Sora and Accidentally Put On Odd Socks This Morning Sora!" I'd eviscerate my wallet for merchanidise of so many of the characters in this series, alas...

Sephiroth0812

June 9, 2020 @ 02:22 pmOffline

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Alpha Baymax

You're absolutely right.

But Disney and Square Enix are a business first and foremost and a bloated cast makes for perfect merchandising opportunities.


I'd be inclined to agree with you on that if they would actually use the characters in merchandise at all, lol.

It has been ten years since BBS came out and only now do we get action figures of Aqua (two already if one counts the 0.2 Play Arts Kai) and of Ventus. Terra is still nowhere in sight nor are Naminé and Xion who are in the series far longer.

And as [USER=246507]@mouflon[/USER] points out, most merchandise is only Sora with occasionally a Riku or Roxas thrown in between.

Most of the bigger fanbase doesn't even know the Ux cast beyond maybe Back Cover either.

So I'm sorry but I don't completely buy it, lol.

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AR829038

June 9, 2020 @ 02:31 pmOffline

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I'm not sure what it is about these designs, but the first thing that jumped into my mind when I saw them was, "Jeez, Kingdom Hearts has really strayed far from that simple, innocent story about a boy journeying outside his island home."
My biggest concern is, just by looking at them and their outfits, they seem to be more style over substance. They look like a lot of those stock over-drawn characters you see in second-rate anime series. I'm trying real hard not to judge a book by its cover, but if the way the Union X characters have been developed is any indication, I don't have much faith that these new guys are going to be very interesting. And that's an enormous problem.
For all its many faults, people stuck through the long-winded Xehanort saga because the batch of characters that needed to be saved were all well-loved, and they all had stories that fleshed them out well enough that you wanted to see more of them. I haven't heard anybody express the same level of affection for Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain as for Roxas, Xion, and Axel, or Sora, Riku, and Kairi, or even Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. That signals to me how big a failure Union X is, and it makes me worried that Dark Road will fail in the same way. Looking at these character designs doesn't ameliorate those fears. You can name them any fancy old mythological names you want, but the symbolic meaning behind those names doesn't actually imbue them with any relatable personality. And considering how over-stylized they look and how...well...bland their designs look, I worry the next batch of people to be saved in this upcoming saga are not people that most players will actually be invested in saving. We need better than this. Right now, probably the only characters for whom I, at least, have any deep interest in seeing again is Yozora and those connected to him. The Union X cast just doesn't do it for me. And I worry these guys won't either, not unless Nomura can REALLY throw me off and present an amazing story for them.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 02:32 pmOffline

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Sephiroth0812

It has been ten years since BBS came out and only now do we get action figures of Aqua (two already if one counts the 0.2 Play Arts Kai) and of Ventus. Terra is still nowhere in sight nor are Naminé and Xion who are in the series far longer.

Terra is the next in the set to be revealed. They didn't have the prototype ready when Aqua and Ven were shown off.

Xion's Bring Arts figure is releasing in August.

Sephiroth0812

June 9, 2020 @ 02:38 pmOffline

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Sign

Terra is the next in the set to be revealed. They didn't have the prototype ready when Aqua and Ven were shown off.

Xion's Bring Arts figure is releasing in August.


The more you know.
Speaking of it WTF is wrong with the Square Enix EU store. They allow me to place a pre-order for Ventus, Roxas and Xion KH III Bring Arts, but not Aqua?
On Riku's figure they have an "sold out" moniker but Aqua isn't even in the store, only the 0.2 Play Arts Kai version.

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

Dast

June 9, 2020 @ 02:40 pmOffline

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Sephiroth0812

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

You would expect to pay less for a replica, right? (Sorry)

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 02:51 pmOffline

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Sephiroth0812

The more you know.
Speaking of it WTF is wrong with the Square Enix EU store. They allow me to place a pre-order for Ventus, Roxas and Xion KH III Bring Arts, but not Aqua?
On Riku's figure they have an "sold out" moniker but Aqua isn't even in the store, only the 0.2 Play Arts Kai version.

Oh and btw why is Xion's figure a whopping 15 Euros cheaper than Ven?

Production costs would be my guess. It must certainly be easier to produce figures in the generic black coat as opposed to those with a unique design with lots of colors and pieces.

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 02:56 pmOffline

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AR829038

I'm not sure what it is about these designs, but the first thing that jumped into my mind when I saw them was, "Jeez, Kingdom Hearts has really strayed far from that simple, innocent story about a boy journeying outside his island home."
My biggest concern is, just by looking at them and their outfits, they seem to be more style over substance. They look like a lot of those stock over-drawn characters you see in second-rate anime series. I'm trying real hard not to judge a book by its cover, but if the way the Union X characters have been developed is any indication, I don't have much faith that these new guys are going to be very interesting. And that's an enormous problem.
For all its many faults, people stuck through the long-winded Xehanort saga because the batch of characters that needed to be saved were all well-loved, and they all had stories that fleshed them out well enough that you wanted to see more of them. I haven't heard anybody express the same level of affection for Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain as for Roxas, Xion, and Axel, or Sora, Riku, and Kairi, or even Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. That signals to me how big a failure Union X is, and it makes me worried that Dark Road will fail in the same way. Looking at these character designs doesn't ameliorate those fears. You can name them any fancy old mythological names you want, but the symbolic meaning behind those names doesn't actually imbue them with any relatable personality. And considering how over-stylized they look and how...well...bland their designs look, I worry the next batch of people to be saved in this upcoming saga are not people that most players will actually be invested in saving. We need better than this. Right now, probably the only characters for whom I, at least, have any deep interest in seeing again is Yozora and those connected to him. The Union X cast just doesn't do it for me. And I worry these guys won't either, not unless Nomura can REALLY throw me off and present an amazing story for them.

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

2 quid is good

June 9, 2020 @ 03:01 pmOffline

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"The more intricate a character design, the worse a character they are"

- Excerpt from the Three Laws of Nomura

Foxycian

June 9, 2020 @ 03:03 pmOffline

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rokudamia2

Is Vor going to be another Ephemer/Ephemera Brain/Blaine situation where people call her ver instead?

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
[ATTACH type="full" alt="148B2F5C-6473-4669-8ED2-BF826D3CD493.jpeg"]12688[/ATTACH]

Sephiroth0812

June 9, 2020 @ 03:04 pmOffline

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Sign

Production costs would be my guess. It must certainly be easier to produce figures in the generic black coat as opposed to those with a unique design with lots of colors and pieces.

That's a viable point.
Actually, checking again Roxas is also cheaper in price than Ven.
Xion costs 71 Euros, Roxas 75 and Ven a whopping 85. Sora is ironically the cheapest with 68, lol. They're all of the same figure series with roughly the same amount of accessories, why so much difference in pricing?

EU store also says Xion comes on 26th June and Roxas on 3rd July, not August. Ven is far off however in October.

SweetYetSalty

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

The main issue with the whole Ux-cast is that they are largely unknown by the wider fanbase due to their main appearances being in a gacha game whose actual important story updates come out slower than a turtle manages to move.

Ava and especially the MoM have some more exposure and thus popularity due to their prominence in Back Cover. The other Foretellers and Strelitzia are more known through social media and fandom wank in general rather than their actual roles in the series' canon.
Ephemer and Skuld are semi-popular but nowhere near major characters from the main series, same goes for Blaine. Lauriam and Ven are so pale and underused in Ux that their popularity still stems mostly from their appearances in the mains series.

the red monster

June 9, 2020 @ 03:07 pmOffline

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AR829038

I'm not sure what it is about these designs, but the first thing that jumped into my mind when I saw them was, "Jeez, Kingdom Hearts has really strayed far from that simple, innocent story about a boy journeying outside his island home."
My biggest concern is, just by looking at them and their outfits, they seem to be more style over substance. They look like a lot of those stock over-drawn characters you see in second-rate anime series. I'm trying real hard not to judge a book by its cover, but if the way the Union X characters have been developed is any indication, I don't have much faith that these new guys are going to be very interesting. And that's an enormous problem.
For all its many faults, people stuck through the long-winded Xehanort saga because the batch of characters that needed to be saved were all well-loved, and they all had stories that fleshed them out well enough that you wanted to see more of them. I haven't heard anybody express the same level of affection for Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain as for Roxas, Xion, and Axel, or Sora, Riku, and Kairi, or even Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. That signals to me how big a failure Union X is, and it makes me worried that Dark Road will fail in the same way. Looking at these character designs doesn't ameliorate those fears. You can name them any fancy old mythological names you want, but the symbolic meaning behind those names doesn't actually imbue them with any relatable personality. And considering how over-stylized they look and how...well...bland their designs look, I worry the next batch of people to be saved in this upcoming saga are not people that most players will actually be invested in saving. We need better than this. Right now, probably the only characters for whom I, at least, have any deep interest in seeing again is Yozora and those connected to him. The Union X cast just doesn't do it for me. And I worry these guys won't either, not unless Nomura can REALLY throw me off and present an amazing story for them.

Union X cast failed because they're on a mobile game.
Yozora, MoM and the foretellers are more talked about because we actually see them in-engine with voice acting.
if union X will ever get remaked to consoles, the cast would probably get more attention.

KeybladeLordSora

June 9, 2020 @ 03:08 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

I've wondered this, how popular are characters like Ephemer, Skuld, and Brain? MoM and the Zoo-Keys seem to have gained much bigger popularity over the years, especially Ava. But I rarely see people making a fuss over Ephemer and Skuld. Strelitizia is all about the murder case, rarely about her actual character. It does make me wonder about the roles of these new guys. If some will be killed off quicker then others.

Well, here's the big factor.

MoM and the Zoopals actually ended up on a console. With voices and bodies that can move a lot more than UX chibi models. People got to know their mannerisms and stuff a bit more, especially the MoM. Luxu's basically been popular since 2006, and Yozora's got the big mystery vibe Xemnas had in 2003 along with being a big callback/revival of Versus XIII.

Everyone else except Ven and Ephemer don't have that. They're stuck as non-voiced chibi models that can't move that much in a mobile game that has the biggest dissonance in the series outside of Arendelle in KH3.

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?

Zettaflare

June 9, 2020 @ 03:08 pmOffline

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Assuming those four are fellow apprentices I wonder if any of them are still alive in present time?

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 03:09 pmOffline

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Foxycian

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
[ATTACH type="full" alt="148B2F5C-6473-4669-8ED2-BF826D3CD493.jpeg"]12688[/ATTACH]

It would be best if she didn't have the e in the name.
Sephiroth0812




The main issue with the whole Ux-cast is that they are largely unknown by the wider fanbase due to their main appearances being in a gacha game whose actual important story updates come out slower than a turtle manages to move.

Ava and especially the MoM have some more exposure and thus popularity due to their prominence in Back Cover. The other Foretellers and Strelitzia are more known through social media and fandom wank in general rather than their actual roles in the series' canon.
Ephemer and Skuld are semi-popular but nowhere near major characters from the main series, same goes for Blaine. Lauriam and Ven are so pale and underused in Ux that their popularity still stems mostly from their appearances in the mains series.

KeybladeLordSora

Well, here's the big factor.

MoM and the Zoopals actually ended up on a console. With voices and bodies that can move a lot more than UX chibi models. People got to know their mannerisms and stuff a bit more, especially the MoM. And Luxu's basically been popular since 2006.

Everyone else except Ven and Ephemer don't have that. They're stuck as non-voiced chibi models that can't move that much in a mobile game that has the biggest dissonance in the series outside of Arendelle in KH3.

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?

Makes sense. I don't really count Luxu, and Lauriam for obvious reasons, that's not even fair lol.

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ultima-demi

June 9, 2020 @ 03:11 pmOffline

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Meh. I'll care more if they were introduced in a console title. People would also care more about the union x cast if they were introduced in a console title, right now most of the fanbase probably don't even know they exist.

If they were they get a lot of exposure in a console game, I can easily see them getting more popular, even if it's only from a design standpoint.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 03:38 pmOffline

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Foxycian

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
[ATTACH type="full" alt="148B2F5C-6473-4669-8ED2-BF826D3CD493.jpeg"]12688[/ATTACH]


Uhhh, look up vore in the urban dictionary.

Oracle Spockanort

June 9, 2020 @ 04:03 pmOffline

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Foxycian

I Don’t know if this is legit (found it on Twitter) but I like if we pronounce it as Vore instead of just Vor or ver
[ATTACH=full]12688[/ATTACH]


...So, the name is really Vör but English doesn't have the letter ö in its alphabet. Vör is pronounced "vehr"

But uh...like Sign said, look up vore in the Urban Dictionary...

Rydgea

June 9, 2020 @ 04:06 pmOffline

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TFW you're actively trying to be excited for the series, and it's not working. ?

EDIT: You know what, I can at least appreciate a well-drawn generic anime character doodle. werk

Eonstar890

June 9, 2020 @ 04:49 pmOffline

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Tbh with how the initial reveal of DR went this could very well be the Hayner Pence Ollette of Scala.

Just some background characters to flesh out the world that ultimately don’t have any significant impact.

Hope for the best, prep for the worst.

kirabook

June 9, 2020 @ 05:07 pmOffline

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Excuse me Nomura, where is baby Yen Sid?
This is what I mean by DIsney and the main plot of KH being too separated. You could remedy that, Nomura!

Zettaflare

June 9, 2020 @ 05:12 pmOffline

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kirabook

Excuse me Nomura, where is baby Yen Sid?
This is what I mean by DIsney and the main plot of KH being too separated. You could remedy that, Nomura!

Guess that depends on if Disney would even allow a younger Yen Sid. If he does show up I think he would still be an old man

Rodin

June 9, 2020 @ 05:27 pmOffline

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I'm hoping the big bad is named Baldur. The norse theme behind the names makes me laugh. Vor is my favorite for some reason.

I was hoping Eraqus would have a fraternal twin sister named Xine. Oh well there's always fanfiction.

Alpha Baymax

June 9, 2020 @ 05:46 pmOffline

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KeybladeLordSora

Why does UX get stuck with this anyway while Mobius Final Fantasy is basically a PS3 game?


Money. The whole X sub-series started as a browser game back in 2013. Dark Road is bringing this back full circle.

There's a reason why this is on mobile and not on consoles. We might not understand why right now, and we may not even agree with the idea as fans, but it's evident that Unchained/Union Cross was popular enough to have a sequel for it as this.

At the very least, this is a well-designed cast. I have a feeling that one of these guys will meet Terra, Ventus and Aqua in The Realm of Darkness whilst that trio is search for Sora. This is a new saga, might as well start connecting the dots between titles.

Xickin

June 9, 2020 @ 06:46 pmOffline

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I've got $50 on one of them being Luxu!! And I'll double that to $100 if it turns out to be Bragi!! Any takers?

Perkilator

June 9, 2020 @ 06:52 pmOffline

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Zettaflare

Assuming those four are fellow apprentices I wonder if any of them are still alive in present time?

If any of them are alive, they'll be old farts like Xehanort.

Maybe Vor will finally turn out to be Kairi's grandma this time, if we're lucky.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 06:54 pmOffline

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Perkilator

Maybe Vor will finally turn out to be Kairi's grandma this time, if we're lucky.

You guys will be right eventually, I guess!

Zettaflare

June 9, 2020 @ 07:13 pmOffline

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Sign

You guys will be right eventually, I guess!

If Kairi's Grandmother was any past keyblade wielder I'm still gunning for Ava, lol
Perkilator

If any of them are alive, they'll be old farts like Xehanort.

Maybe Vor will finally turn out to be Kairi's grandma this time, if we're lucky.

Also if Scala still exists those four might have remained in that world.

It will be kind of sad once they find out Xehanort and Eraqus are dead

kirabook

June 9, 2020 @ 07:16 pmOffline

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Yeah, there;s no need to change who the potential grandma is. It's still most likely Ava. Especially with that weird forgotten plot line about how they purposely didn't put Radiant Garden in the data, and that Kairi's grandma is the one that starts off the whole story in the first place.

It would've been neat if they put a little more funding into this project and it started off as 3D minature characters (ala Animal Crossing, modern computer and phones can handle that), but alas, it was not to be. Not that I mind, I think they're cute. But my heart always wishes for more.

Just wish they'd get to the point already.

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sakonan7

June 9, 2020 @ 07:30 pmOffline

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Holy crap, I think Bragi is Luxu. His posture looks like Braig and Xigbar's. But he may not be him or may not be him yet because Luxu had to pass the No Name to Xehanort and that's easier to do if he's his master. Unless Luxu didn't pass it directly and just watched and made sure it happened as Bragi.

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 07:43 pmOffline

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sakonan7

Holy crap, I think Bragi is Luxu. His posture looks like Braig and Xigbar's. But he may not be him or may not be him yet because Luxu had to pass the No Name to Xehanort and that's easier to do if he's his master. Unless Luxu didn't pass it directly and just watched and made sure it happened as Bragi.


He didn't. According to KH3's secret reports, Luxu passed No Name to one of the Union leaders and they continued the chain.

Ink Ribbon

June 9, 2020 @ 08:20 pmOffline

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Awesome! Finally something new! Really do love all the character designs. Here's hoping we get some interesting background info on all these newbies.

I'm in agreement with others on the Bragi/Braig/Luxu connection in some manner. Maybe Luxu is none of them and is just someone who befriends this group, though bonds more specifically with Bragi. Luxu eventually body hops and maybe reuses Bragi's name and/or mannerisms when he gets to OG Braig. Just going off of Bragi's design alone, he's got snarky little shit written all over him. Perhaps that kind of personality reminds Luxu of the MoM, thus why the two of them would bond easily. Knowing my success with guesses though, it's just a huge coincidence in the end and Nomura just wanted to stick with some Norse names lol. Regardless though, looking forward to seeing how this goes.

redcrown

June 9, 2020 @ 08:25 pmOffline

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Nomura Syndrome: the compulsive creating of new characters in an attempt to escape the pressure and work of having to develop and write the unseen journeys of previously established characters.

Zettaflare

June 9, 2020 @ 08:28 pmOffline

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I do hope Eraqus and Xehanort's Master makes an actual appearance in Dark Road. That's the character I'm interested in the most

Sign

June 9, 2020 @ 08:30 pmOffline

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redcrown

Nomura Syndrome: the compulsive creating of new characters in an attempt to escape the pressure and work of having to develop and write the unseen journeys of previously established characters.


Since you brought it up, who would you suggest as companions for Xehanort and Eraqus? Or no one at all and just focus on these two?

Dast

June 9, 2020 @ 08:55 pmOffline

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Looking at Luxu's secret reports, especially 12 & 13, it seems unlikely that Luxu is anybody in Scala during Xehanort's training. He talks about not taking the stage until the 'chosen one' takes the Gazing Eye in hand and says he has been watching over events from a distance until his 'time to intervene', playing the role of a 'fool desirous of the Keyblade's power' so it really doesn't sound like Luxu was previously in proximity to Xehanort or his Keyblade. I guess it's a little ambiguous and previous secret reports have been contradicted but still I'd bet against any of them being Luxu.

The_Echo

June 9, 2020 @ 09:36 pmOffline

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Dast

Looking at Luxu's secret reports, especially 12 & 13, it seems unlikely that Luxu is anybody in Scala during Xehanort's training. He talks about not taking the stage until the 'chosen one' takes the Gazing Eye in hand and says he has been watching over events from a distance until his 'time to intervene', playing the role of a 'fool desirous of the Keyblade's power' so it really doesn't sound like Luxu was previously in proximity to Xehanort or his Keyblade. I guess it's a little ambiguous and previous secret reports have been contradicted but still I'd bet against any of them being Luxu.

Agreed. Everyone's so quick to say "Character X is secretly Character Y" but even in his original body, Luxu's role in the events he oversaw was virtually non-existent. He wouldn't have even appeared in χ[chi] had Ava not purposefully gone looking for him.

It's more likely that Luxu took over completely unremarkable people. Someone who wouldn't be missed or would be easy to blend in with. If Luxu is anyone in Dark Road, my money's on Nameless NPC #5

KeybladeLordSora

June 9, 2020 @ 09:45 pmOffline

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It's pretty funny how like a majority of KH theories are "Character A is Character B" or "Reincarnation" theories, and the only time it turned out to be true was when Ansem wasn't really Ansem and when Braig turned out to be Luxu.

And iirc Braig being Luxu wasn't even one of those theories.

SweetYetSalty

June 9, 2020 @ 10:22 pmOffline

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I'm interested in what their relationship with Xehanort is. They all must be dead or gone from the mind as neither Xehanort or Eraqus mentions them. Yen Sid doesn't either, and none of their names come up as options for one of Xehanort's 13 vessels, despite the power of time travel. If any of them were dipped in darkness I would think Xehanort would want them as a vessel.

Sometimes I feel like old man Xehanort and Young Xehanort are truly two different people.

palizinhas

June 9, 2020 @ 10:46 pmOffline

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Sign

Since you brought it up, who would you suggest as companions for Xehanort and Eraqus? Or no one at all and just focus on these two?

I'm ready to appreciate the new guys, but Union X's absolute lack of giving Skuld or Player anything interesting to do proves that too many characters divide the small amount of plot we get each month (if at all) too much. We probably would have been better off with just Xehanort and Eraqus. I'm tired of trios, but I would have accepted one new character. Four + their Master (assuming they all share one and there's not another) is too much when we already had two people to focus on.

Chaser

June 9, 2020 @ 11:09 pmOffline

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Sephiroth0812

June 9, 2020 @ 11:25 pmOffline

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Having multiple characters share the plot and spotlight isn't a bad thing per se and can be very fulfilling and entertaining just as having a general big cast can be.
With KH the problem is however that Nomura has proven to suck at handling this situation more than once.

It started already with the first Organisation in KH 2, got somewhat more overpainted by different formats in 358/2 Days and BBS then cemented by DDD reducing most of the major cast to cameos while still being better than former titles due to new cutscenes between worlds at least following other characters a bit more and finally made blatantly clear by KH III where most major characters apart from Sora exist mainly only for three things: being talked about for a few scenes, serving as exposition dump or being used as background props in the finale.

Granted, some also get recycled as additional boss battles, re-enact some scenes from the game they originally came from or have a few short scenes where they get to have some small dialogue which is mainly about either general plot stuff or teasing for future plot stuff, rarely about themselves as characters or their bonds with others.
Re:Mind then comes in and apparently needs a whole new Timeline to try and at least partly rectify this.

U.N. Owen

June 9, 2020 @ 11:45 pmOffline

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Considering Eraqus and Xehanort never mention these people, either they had a falling out and never spoke again, or Nomura is about to pull a Rogue One/Red Wedding/Order 66 and off them all.

Zul

June 9, 2020 @ 11:52 pmOffline

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↑ Whatever they choose to do to handle the characters, please let it not be memory wipe, I despise that so much.

KeybladeLordSora

June 10, 2020 @ 12:02 amOffline

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Zul

↑ Whatever they choose to do to handle the characters, please let it not be memory wipe, I despise that so much.

Considering who Dark Road focuses on, it's likely that Xehanort did something that made everyone aside from Eraqus give up on him.

Foxycian

June 10, 2020 @ 12:41 amOffline

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Rydgea

TFW you're actively trying to be excited for the series, and it's not working. ?

EDIT: You know what, I can at least appreciate a well-drawn generic anime character doodle. werk

Tbh I’m the same, just a little excited but not that much.

Face My Fears

June 10, 2020 @ 01:13 amOffline

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99% sure that Bragi will be Braig.

I'm really hoping that they make a cinematic film for the story of this game because I'm not going to be able to play, but I want to get to know the cast.

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kvyra

June 10, 2020 @ 01:13 amOffline

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Calling it right now. Xehanort real name isn't xehanort. Will be some norse mythology name!

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AR829038

June 10, 2020 @ 01:20 amOffline

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SweetYetSalty

I'm interested in what their relationship with Xehanort is. They all must be dead or gone from the mind as neither Xehanort or Eraqus mentions them. Yen Sid doesn't either, and none of their names come up as options for one of Xehanort's 13 vessels, despite the power of time travel. If any of them were dipped in darkness I would think Xehanort would want them as a vessel.

Sometimes I feel like old man Xehanort and Young Xehanort are truly two different people.

Watch them start mentioning these new characters left and right in future games, even though neither Xehanort nor Eraqus never once mentioned them before. Mentioning these guys is going to be the new "may your heart be your guiding key".

*TwilightNight*

June 10, 2020 @ 01:33 amOffline

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Sephiroth0812
Having multiple characters share the plot and spotlight isn't a bad thing per se and can be very fulfilling and entertaining just as having a general big cast can be.
With KH the problem is however that Nomura has proven to suck at handling this situation more than once.

- rarely about themselves as characters or their bonds with others.
Re:Mind then comes in and apparently needs a whole new Timeline to try and at least partly rectify this.


I'm literally the first in line to speak about how bad Nomura is, but KHUx showed that it's very possible to create a cast that all have interpersonal relationships with each other and are capable of talking things through with one another. And it's because they are not bogged down by trios.

I keep bringing this up, but with KHUx existing, it simply adds to my argument that trios are a plague to the series, to put it bluntly, and robs a lot away from potential dynamics. Trios exclude other characters as outcasts if they are not in it, their drama makes it so no other character is involved, any connections they make outside their trio gets discarded or they get a quick one off to show they remember that connection but won't actually deliver (KHIII), and they barely interact with other characters beyond said trio. This results in some saccharine, fan service ending on a beach with a bunch of characters that rarely spoke, with no visible resolution of the issues they had with who they did know, and is therefore void of any substance and depth other than "happy nakama ending" without feeling like they are nakama.

If Dark Road follows KHUx, then this group of friends can definitely be more developed and believable than the characters of the Xehanort saga can ever hope to be (unless they finally ditch trios in the main timeline). But apparently people want more of the same tired trios in future side games. For what? To continue this trend of restrictions and emptiness?

The only problem with KHUx and Dark Road is that they are mobile gacha games. But from the stuff that I see on Twitter, the cast is better off with the freedom of not having to be contained to a three body clique in my opinion.

#fuckdemtrios

U.N. Owen

Considering Eraqus and Xehanort never mention these people, either they had a falling out and never spoke again, or Nomura is about to pull a Rogue One/Red Wedding/Order 66 and off them all.


Zul

↑ Whatever they choose to do to handle the characters, please let it not be memory wipe, I despise that so much.


Nomura doesn't even care about doing that anymore when it comes to random, never-mentioned-because-they-never-existed characters. Look at Subject X. Fans are simply gonna have to nod their heads and accept things as they are and not question it to get through things in the series. This has happened more than enough times when things come out of nowhere with zero build up to it. 358/2 Days was one thing, but KHIII abused this privilege.

Subject X was "friends" with Isa and Lea suddenly when they never alluded to her?

Subject X is suddenly a thing that Ansem and Ansem SoD know about when they had zilch to say about her non-existence until she suddenly exists?

Roxas cares about reclaiming a Sigil he never cared about in previous entries at all until suddenly he did?

Naminè suddenly remembers that Riku Replica was a thing and they have this "strong connection" no one ever actually saw/witnessed?

Kairi can suddenly dematerialize Xemnas' blades when veteran wielders like Roxas and Xion couldn't because Nomura had to force his hand in making her look cheaply badass due to outrage?

Face My Fears

June 10, 2020 @ 01:45 amOffline

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I'm hoping there's a reasonable explanation as to why these characters aren't around or mentioned in future KH games. I would actually be all for them dying natural deaths from old age, rather than a memory wipe/trapped in the Shadow Realm/whatever overly dramatic explanation Nomura would normally do. I think if MoM actually tells Xehanort that they will die natural deaths, but before him, that might be MoM's way to prompt Xehanort to find a younger host body AND not fight with his "friends" since all he has to do is be patient to get rid of them.

SweetYetSalty

June 10, 2020 @ 01:55 amOffline

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AR829038

Watch them start mentioning these new characters left and right in future games, even though neither Xehanort nor Eraqus never once mentioned them before. Mentioning these guys is going to be the new "may your heart be your guiding key".

Oh I'm expecting that. I won't be surprised if Yen Sid goes like "Riku, your skill ReMinds me of the Keyblade Master who fought with Xehanort all those years ago, Master {insert norse name} was much like you."

Face My Fears

I'm hoping there's a reasonable explanation as to why these characters aren't around or mentioned in future KH games. I would actually be all for them dying natural deaths from old age, rather than a memory wipe/trapped in the Shadow Realm/whatever overly dramatic explanation Nomura would normally do. I think if MoM actually tells Xehanort that they will die natural deaths, but before him, that might be MoM's way to prompt Xehanort to find a younger host body AND not fight with his "friends" since all he has to do is be patient to get rid of them.

Come now, this is Kingdom Hearts! Natural death is a illusion. There is no way they are introducing these new characters and not have them reappear in some shape or form in a future title. I seriously don't doubt that Xehanort will return himself. I wonder how many of these new guys were good at chess. Could they beat Eraqus and his game changing strategy? These are questions that need answering.

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darknessofheart

June 10, 2020 @ 02:05 amOffline

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I just hope they don't make Xehanort too much of a tragic character. I think it would be cool to play as a character that is finally not so moral and happy, so I'm hoping he's more of an antihero throughout the game.

If Xehanort meeting with the MoM is after the chess scene in KH3, there's a clear difference in his tone; he sounds more angry and hardened. Yes, the world tour caused him to lose faith in the current system of light, but the game is obviously setting up for that to essentially be the final straw.

The only other thing that concerns me is that there are already multiple reasons why Xehanort chooses to become a seeker of darkness. He always valued knowledge and becoming all-knowing, his desires have been etched in his heart by his future self and serve as a subconscious guide, and he lost faith in light and the worlds during his tour in preparation for the Mark of Mastery exam. I just hope this is a story worth telling, otherwise, it could potentially add plotholes.

Overall, what I think would be cool:
[LIST=1]
[*]Fans playing a protagonist that actually devolves; he starts off as a good guy overall, but as the game continues he starts to perform his first actions as a seeker of darkness. To start off playing as a hero and then fully transition into playing as a villain by the end of the game would be a really interesting and even tragic dynamic.


[*]Finally seeing how Xehanort escaped the Destiny Islands; my headcanon is he was able to open up a corridor of darkness and traveled the worlds until winding up on Scala, where a keyblade master was impressed with his natural power to traverse worlds and made him a wielder and apprentice.


[*]Learning who his master was and more info on Scala. It seems big enough to house thousands of keyblade wielders, but Xehanort's reports in BBS makes it seem that he has not met that many, hence why he wanted to reconnect all the worlds to regather them all for another keyblade war.


[*]I hope this game's story has a faster pace than Union. I don't want to wait five years to learn what Xehanort's favorite color is.
[/LIST]

redcrown

June 10, 2020 @ 03:35 amOffline

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Sign

Since you brought it up, who would you suggest as companions for Xehanort and Eraqus? Or no one at all?


I meant this is a trend for Nomura in general, especially in KH, which you could reasonably argue tracks back to even the first game in the series with it's secret ending (BHK) and CoM, although at the time this trope wasn't as abused so it was forgivable and actually intriguing. Each person and fan is different, but I imagine the schtick gets old for many people at various points in the series, as characters with potential and unseen stories get replaced by newer ones, who now crowd up screentime or take their place up entirely.

Since you asked, I imagined either nobody, each other, or non humanoid sidekicks.

Violet Pluto

June 10, 2020 @ 03:44 amOffline

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On Mobile so quickly.

*TwilightNight*

Subject X was "friends" with Isa and Lea suddenly when they never alluded to her?

Subject X is suddenly a thing that Ansem and Ansem SoD know about when they had zilch to say about her non-existence until she suddenly exists?
In[B] BBS they had some reason for going to Ansem's castle that wasn't revealed. I will put that less to suddenly being there and more that it was explained too late.[/B]
Roxas cares about reclaiming a Sigil he never cared about in previous entries at all until suddenly he did?
Well he was dead for most of those and while it is out of nowhere it kind of makes sense that he wants to take his suffering and make it work for him.
Naminè suddenly remembers that Riku Replica was a thing and they have this "strong connection" no one ever actually saw/witnessed?
...Chain of Memories. He had promised to protect her, first because of her memory powers but later by his own will. I don't know if you would classify their relationship as "strong" but he decided to keep his promise to her once again.
Kairi can suddenly dematerialize Xemnas' blades when veteran wielders like Roxas and Xion couldn't because Nomura had to force his hand in making her look cheaply badass due to outrage?

Not getting into that last one on mobile.

Eonstar890

June 10, 2020 @ 04:25 amOffline

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So a few thoughts I’ve had now that this new info has had time to settle in my brain.

1. I don’t think any of these characters could possibly be Luxu in disguise since I’m pretty sure they will all be keyblade wielders and Luxu doesn’t wield one anytime between giving up No Name and the end of KH3.

2. Up till now it seemed pretty deadset that Skuld would end up being Subject X, but now it could potentially be Vor or Urd as well...

3. It’s be awesome if we got to have these characters as party members in DR. I could see each of them fitting a different “class” of fighter (Vor more magic based while Bragi more speed based etc)

Dast

June 10, 2020 @ 05:00 amOffline

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I know nothing but thinking about Re Mind, if there is someone manipulating events in this game, I would guess it's the MoM himself. I can imagine him appearing occasionally to Xehanort as a 'Mysterious Figure' to whisper into his ear. He has to have met Xehanort at least once before the Re Mind scene to give him his coat, after all. Maybe he could meddle with these new characters too in some way.

GreyouTT

June 10, 2020 @ 06:29 amOffline

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Zul

↑ Whatever they choose to do to handle the characters, please let it not be memory wipe, I despise that so much.


*Looks at Subject X*

*TwilightNight*

Subject X was "friends" with Isa and Lea suddenly when they never alluded to her?


They have alluded to something between the two of them several times. Their back and forth in Days, and in BbS when they talk about a mission they're on and look at the castle.

*TwilightNight*

Naminè suddenly remembers that Riku Replica was a thing and they have this "strong connection" no one ever actually saw/witnessed?

Kairi can suddenly dematerialize Xemnas' blades when veteran wielders like Roxas and Xion couldn't because Nomura had to force his hand in making her look cheaply badass due to outrage?


I don't even remember either of these. Where were they? ?
Though I guess there is Chain of Memories for the first one?

Chaser

June 10, 2020 @ 07:01 amOffline

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GreyouTT


I don't even remember either of these. Where were they? ?
Though I guess there is Chain of Memories for the first one?

9:20-9:30 is Xion and Roxas taking on one of Xemnas's blades each and not breaking them. 9:30-9:40 is Kairi taking on both blades at once and breaking them with 'relative ease.'

LoneFox

June 10, 2020 @ 07:21 amOffline

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GreyouTT

in BbS when they talk about a mission they're on and look at the castle.

...which had nothing to do with Subject X, who only appeared after BBS, during the time when Xehanort was an apprentice in the castle.

I believe Isa was originally meant to be dead for good after KH2, so there was really no need to explain his motives. But people wanted Axel back, and Isa had to come with him. Now, in Days Saïx was one of the more evil members of the organization, second only to Xemnas and perhaps Larxene. If they want to make him a good guy again, his behavior there needs to be explained. He had to be obsessed with something, because that is why people fall into darkness, but what could it be when it hasn't been mentioned in any of the earlier games? It was going to be clunky in any case. I think him having fallen in love is actually the least bad explanation there is, because people tend to be shy to talk about that.

GreyouTT

June 10, 2020 @ 07:29 amOffline

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Chaser

9:20-9:30 is Xion and Roxas taking on one of Xemnas's blades each and not breaking them. 9:30-9:40 is Kairi taking on both blades at once and breaking them with 'relative ease.'



Huh, alright then. The ones after seem to take her hits just fine though, so that's odd.

LoneFox

...which had nothing to do with Subject X, who only appeared after BBS, during the time when Xehanort was an apprentice in the castle.

I believe Isa was originally meant to be dead for good after KH2, so there was really no need to explain his motives. But people wanted Axel back, and Isa had to come with him. Now, in Days Saïx was one of the more evil members of the organization, second only to Xemnas and perhaps Larxene. If they want to make him a good guy again, his behavior there needs to be explained. He had to be obsessed with something, because that is why people fall into darkness, but what could it be when it hasn't been mentioned in any of the earlier games? It was going to be clunky in any case. I think him having fallen in love is actually the least bad explanation there is, because people tend to be shy to talk about that.


I forgot about the timeline on that, so yeah fair point.

Though the stuff in Days still alludes to a secondary objective the two share, so there's that?

Dast

June 10, 2020 @ 07:32 amOffline

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I think the Naminé/Repliku special connection came from Nomura's Ultimania interview, where he clarified Naminé's Final World scene:




—In the Final World, Sora tells Namine, "Someone else special I know won't let you down." (*T/N: Literally, "the person you miss/want to see the most will come get you.") Did he mean Riku?

Nomura: He meant that the person Namine wants to see the most would come get her, as a way of cheering her up. It is actually Riku, in the form of the one who has been entrusted with the Riku Replica's feelings, who does go and get her. Namine does feel a special connection to Riku (the Riku Replica.)



In my view, their special connection is shown in CoM. IIRC Naminé removes the false memories she had implanted in the replica, shattering his heart. However, he wakes up, driven by his desire to protect her, even though the feeling initially came from the false memories. It's a bit messed up but clearly there's is a powerful connection there (though Naminé reciprocating is new, I could understand her having affection for him after that).

SuperSaiyanSora

June 10, 2020 @ 08:16 amOffline

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Yep. Pessimism before we even get the train rolling. Kingdom Hearts is back, everybody. Guess I'll continue having the hot take and remain excited and optimistic for what we're about to get. ? But man, do I wish this ended up getting the console treatment.

Today we're supposed to be getting even more new information, so I wonder if we'll get a picture of their Master.

Foxycian

June 10, 2020 @ 10:04 amOffline

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Chaser

9:20-9:30 is Xion and Roxas taking on one of Xemnas's blades each and not breaking them. 9:30-9:40 is Kairi taking on both blades at once and breaking them with 'relative ease.'


I was honestly both proud and bothered by that, they didn’t need to force that scene, she shouldn’t be able to overwhelm someone like xemnas at her current level, even Riku and Aqua who are masters will likely struggle against him in a one on one.

tho kairi has already redeemed herself with that final armor master Xehanort fight so I would say they did her justice in the end.

Zul

June 10, 2020 @ 11:02 amOffline

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*TwilightNight*

Nomura doesn't even care about doing that anymore when it comes to random, never-mentioned-because-they-never-existed characters.


Yeah, the whole Subject X thing was ridiculous. My statement is more towards saying that memory wipe can't be used as a convenient excuse every time, rather than saying the Subject X route is better or anything.

The better route for DR would have been properly setting up those characters beforehand, but if that wasn't possible then...just don't include them? It's not like the relationship between Eraqus and Xehanort was over-explored and dry, there was still plenty to uncover just between the two of them.

And imo Nomura's writing has always been miles better between duos than trios, Sora-Riku being a glaring example.





Kairi can suddenly dematerialize Xemnas' blades when veteran wielders like Roxas and Xion couldn't because Nomura had to force his hand in making her look cheaply badass due to outrage?




Funny thing about this, my mind thought "princess of heart hax" for a moment.

Except the princesses themselves explicitly state in KH1FM that while they can hold back darkness, this "strange new force"(the in-between/nothingness) is something they have no power over.

Clue.Less

June 10, 2020 @ 01:09 pmOffline

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First reactions yesterday:
- Introducing Kairi's grandmother, future Braig's name's origin story, and... "the other two" \o/
- Come on, you still can't come up with more than two girl-character types??? Again with the "one generically badass female for two guys who'll get the screentime and backstory"???

Today, and after reading this thread: Genuinely so excited for a "not-a-trio" cast. #fuckdemtrios indeed. I trust they WILL deliver on the morally gray Xehanort story-arc, preferably with a lot of drama and conflict with this new cast who will turn out great. Can't wait for the Luxu cameo that will blow our minds. Still won't touch those mobile games :( And I'll see you guys in eight years, when the story is almost finished and I can enjoy it in a YouTube recap.

EDIT: Do you think Dark Road will address that X-to-the-chest fashion trend? Who started it? Will we ever see Sephiroth strolling around Scala?
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Violet Pluto

June 10, 2020 @ 01:54 pmOffline

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When I get back home I'll write something substantial but for now I really have no real reason to be pessimistic. Most of the big problems with X are because of the platform unfortunately so this will probably have some of the same problems, but right now I'm hoping the writing is tight. I think some of my biggest problems with Nomura's writing come out stronger when it is broken up too much like X is; even though I think it is good the way it is distributed makes it difficult to judge it as a story. Hopefully DR's chapters are longer, more complete and has an ending... Though that is the death of Gacha so probably not. Looks like I really was pessimistic in the end.

SweetYetSalty

June 10, 2020 @ 02:27 pmOffline

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Everyone is going on about Braig being one of these guys, what if in reality it was Ava in a new body hanging with Xehanort? I've got it! Ava took over a new body in Urd, something bad happens and she seals her heart inside of Xehanort and in order to get her out they have to revive Xehanort, thus both are back in the series. Hah! How's that for a insane theory?

Clue.Less

June 10, 2020 @ 02:41 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

Everyone is going on about Braig being one of these guys, what if in reality it was Ava in a new body hanging with Xehanort? I've got it! Ava took over a new body in Urd, something bad happens and she seals her heart inside of Xehanort and in order to get her out they have to revive Xehanort, thus both are back in the series. Hah! How's that for a insane theory?

Nope. She's Bragi. Please keep up. He's got foxy hair.
I'm with you on the rest of the theory though.

EDIT: PS: Also, Braig's too young to be one of those guys! Unless he has the same self-care routine as Eraqus?

SweetYetSalty

June 10, 2020 @ 02:50 pmOffline

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Clue.Less

Nope. She's Bragi. Please keep up. He's got foxy hair.
I'm with you on the rest of the theory though.

EDIT: PS: Also, Braig's too young to be one of those guys! Unless he has the same self-care routine as Eraqus?

And the one to revive Xehanort/Ava will be Gula because everything leads back to him and everything bad in the KH universe is all his fault. Oooh Gula infuriates me with his Gulaness.

As for Braig, I don't think he'll be anyone with a Keyblade until KH3 when he gets No-Name. It just wouldn't add up with what Braig/Xigbar does.

blank points

June 10, 2020 @ 03:15 pmOffline

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Oh dang, all this Bragi is Braig/Luxu talk is giving me flashbacks to before Days was released, where everyone thought that Xion and Zexion would be connected simply because Zexion had the xion part in his name...

Honestly, I don't think any of these characters are going to be strongly connected to any present day characters. As someone pointed out earlier, Luxu's secret reports seem to confirm that he knew nothing of Xehanort during his youth. I am actually looking forward to see what effect these characters have on Xehanort. If anything, it would help build Xehanort up as the antithesis of Sora. Unlike Sora, whose connections with friends are his main source of power, Xehanort does not seem to share this opinion, considering his view of the darkness of being alone being a greater power. Especially seeing as Eraqus seems to be the only one he considered a true friend.

Alpha Baymax

June 10, 2020 @ 03:29 pmOffline

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If we're getting new characters, does that mean we're getting new character themes by Yoko Shimomura! I mean, we're not visiting any new areas in Dark Road so where else are we going to be hearing new Kingdom Hearts music for this game?

KeybladeLordSora

June 10, 2020 @ 03:41 pmOffline

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Alpha Baymax

If we're getting new characters, does that mean we're getting new character themes by Yoko Shimomura! I mean, we're not visiting any new areas in Dark Road so where else are we going to be hearing new Kingdom Hearts music for this game?

None of the UX characters except Ven had character themes tho

Zettaflare

June 10, 2020 @ 04:54 pmOffline

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So I've been hearing some theories that Xehanort's name isn't is real one and that he was called something else in his youth


Was that ever implied from either Nomura or some secret report?

SweetYetSalty

June 10, 2020 @ 05:01 pmOffline

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Zettaflare

So I've been hearing some theories that Xehanort's name isn't is real one and that he was called something else in his youth


Was that ever implied from either Nomura or some secret report?

Was it No Heart? Or was that like his Keyblade armor? I don't know all the info on Xehanorts name. Wouldn't it be funny if his real name was in fact Ansem?

Zettaflare

June 10, 2020 @ 05:07 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

Was it No Heart? Or was that like his Keyblade armor? I don't know all the info on Xehanorts name. Wouldn't it be funny if his real name was in fact Ansem?

Xehanort is an anagram for No Heart and Another. Though I always figured those were just coincidences.

If it turns out Xehanort wasn't his actual name I'm going to be so annoyed.

Dast

June 10, 2020 @ 05:15 pmOffline

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Zettaflare

Xehanort is an anagram for No Heart and Another. Though I always figured those were just coincidences.

If it turns out Xehanort wasn't his actual name I'm going to be so annoyed.

I know both those have been referenced in the games. No Heart is the name of the Xehanort's armour boss in the Mirage Arena in BBS, and Another was the password Xemnas puts into a computer in KH2FM, I think. I am pretty sure there has never been anything in the secret reports suggesting he had a name before Xehanort. I would be surprised and annoyed too if he does have a different name in this game. I know young Eraqus never says his name in the KH3 flashback but I would think that Eraqus would still use his old name if he later changed it to Xehanort like Axel and Saïx do with each other.

SweetYetSalty

June 10, 2020 @ 05:24 pmOffline

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Being prepared for anything is key (lol) to Kingdom Hearts. This is the same series that pulled the "Not the real villain" twice with Xehanort. First with Ansem then with apprentice Xehanort/Terra.

FudgemintGuardian

June 10, 2020 @ 06:20 pmOffline

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Zettaflare

So I've been hearing some theories that Xehanort's name isn't is real one and that he was called something else in his youth


Was that ever implied from either Nomura or some secret report?
Nope. Which means it's totally gonna happen and his real name will just so happen to be from Norse myth.

KeybladeLordSora

June 10, 2020 @ 06:31 pmOffline

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FudgemintGuardian

Nope. Which means it's totally gonna happen and his real name will just so happen to be from Norse myth.

I mean when you think about it, what kinda parent would name their kid Xehanort? YX must've ended up ditching his old name at some point.

Hell, I'm pretty sure Brain's a nickname too.

FudgemintGuardian

June 10, 2020 @ 06:45 pmOffline

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KeybladeLordSora

I mean when you think about it, what kinda parent would name their kid Xehanort? YX must've ended up ditching his old name at some point.
Hey, maybe it's a common name in the KHverse. Would explain why Mickey didn't react to it in KH2. :LOL:



Hell, I'm pretty sure Brain's a nickname too.

Turns out it's actually Brian, but he's dyslexic.

silentmusic16

June 10, 2020 @ 08:06 pmOffline

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KeybladeLordSora

It's pretty funny how like a majority of KH theories are "Character A is Character B" or "Reincarnation" theories, and the only time it turned out to be true was when Ansem wasn't really Ansem and when Braig turned out to be Luxu.

And iirc Braig being Luxu wasn't even one of those theories.


For what it's worth, reincarnation/character x is secretly y/etc. is a cat you can't put back into the bag once you've taken it out. Kinda like when you involve time travel in a plot. Once those things are confirmed - and it's exacerbated by the motif of trios, characters with secret connections to others, legit "clones" etc in Nobodies, - people are definitely going to rely on these things in theories.

Zettaflare

June 10, 2020 @ 08:49 pmOffline

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KeybladeLordSora

I mean when you think about it, what kinda parent would name their kid Xehanort? YX must've ended up ditching his old name at some point.

Hell, I'm pretty sure Brain's a nickname too.


Xehanort sounds like a perfectly normal name in a fantasy universe. I don't find it any more bizarre or out of place than Ienzo or Aeleus, lol

Xblade13

June 10, 2020 @ 09:46 pmOffline

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Oh wait... Bragi. Has a fur coat. Very strikingly different for a Kingdom Hearts character...

But we have seen a fur coat before in Kingdom Hearts, right? In Verum Rex, one of Yozora's allies has a hat and a similar fur coat concept. And both are reminescent of Final Fantasy XV's Ardyn, and the same character from Versus XIII...

And that character is theoretically the "Magi" that Rex mentioned (in relation to Donald) in the cut line from Toy Box. Goofy was also called "Aegis".

I think Hermod, Vor, Urd, and Bragi are going to end up as the leadway into the Yozora stuff while also giving Xehanort a reason to do what he did.

GreyouTT

June 10, 2020 @ 09:49 pmOffline

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Xblade13

Oh wait... Bragi. Has a fur coat. Very strikingly different for a Kingdom Hearts character...

But we have seen a fur coat before in Kingdom Hearts, right? In Verum Rex, one of Yozora's allies has a hat and a similar fur coat concept. And both are reminescent of Final Fantasy XV's Ardyn, and the same character from Versus XIII...

And that character is theoretically the "Magi" that Rex mentioned (in relation to Donald) in the cut line from Toy Box. Goofy was also called "Aegis".

I think Hermod, Vor, Urd, and Bragi are going to end up as the leadway into the Yozora stuff while also giving Xehanort a reason to do what he did.

Leon has fur on his jacket.

2 quid is good

June 10, 2020 @ 10:41 pmOffline

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GreyouTT

Leon has fur on his jacket.

He's not exactly a KH character, as much as I love him and appreciate his growth in personality from FF8, he's still an FF design

KeybladeLordSora

June 10, 2020 @ 11:01 pmOffline

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Xblade13

Oh wait... Bragi. Has a fur coat. Very strikingly different for a Kingdom Hearts character...

But we have seen a fur coat before in Kingdom Hearts, right? In Verum Rex, one of Yozora's allies has a hat and a similar fur coat concept. And both are reminescent of Final Fantasy XV's Ardyn, and the same character from Versus XIII...

I checked and Magia doesn't have a fur coat.

Or any coat, actually.

*TwilightNight*

June 11, 2020 @ 12:58 amOffline

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Violet Pluto

In BBS they had some reason for going to Ansem's castle that wasn't revealed. I will put that less to suddenly being there and more that it was explained too late.


GreyouTT

They have alluded to something between the two of them several times. Their back and forth in Days, and in BbS when they talk about a mission they're on and look at the castle.


Except as someone mentioned, that had nothing to do with Subject X, since she appeared after BBS and in a time when Xehanort was within the castle. Furthermore, ample time was given to indirectly or directly mention her via 358/2 Days, BBS, and DDD if she really was ever a thing. But fact of the matter is she was never a thing. Like Xion. And Nomura decided by KHIII that it was going to be about Subject X despite a long window of opportunity to present this in a more believable way and with some actual basis other than something ambiguous that Isa and Lea were sneaking in the castle for. Which could have been anything. That tends to be how Nomura works if he wants to insert whatever comes to his mind - see if there's a gap he left and implant it without any previous references. Then the players are left to simply accept them.

It's even more daunting when Ansem and Ansem SoD suddenly talk about her existence as if it was so important when they never paid attention to it in legit...what, KHII, 358/2 Days, and DDD. That's three games.

The entire abrupt inclusion of her from the tendrils of Nothingness, and the way it mattered to both of them and Isa, should have had acknowledgement before if she was really that big of a deal. Especially if it supposedly affected Isa that badly that we had to sit through him being a simp over this girl as he disappears in what was a weak attempt at a "redemption arc".



Well he was dead for most of those and while it is out of nowhere it kind of makes sense that he wants to take his suffering and make it work for him.



He wasn't "dead", he was inside Sora. He flashes over him twice in KHIII when he gets emotionally triggered within him (i.e. the only times we see he gives a damn about HPO and Naminé in the game before he got TRIOed off). It doesn't make sense that he appeared in DDD, got an entire game to himself in 358/2 Days, and appeared post-merge with Sora in TWTNW in KHII. Including the KHII:FM scene on the clock tower with Axel. Once more, ample, ample, ample time to mention anything about this Sigil that he comes out with from left field that he had never thought about, mentioned, or cared for. At all. None of them. There's no excuse.

Hell, how does Roxas even know anything at all? When did he suddenly know that you can reclaim the Sigil? How did he know he needed Sora's help as if he understood what to do? How did he know anything about the replica process and who was behind it in general? What, did he get filled in on that .01 millisecond it took for him to shoot out of Sora's chest and storm the Keyblade Graveyard right after?

You can't answer those questions because there isn't an official explanation. KH fans just brainstorm possible ones to fill in the blatant holes Nomura leaves with his terrible narrative work. No build ups, no basis, nothing. Which is what's being done now. Why not just accept that it was random and sudden instead of working to find some sort of defense for it?

It's nonsensical, it's random, and whether or not it makes sense in context, it was never there as anything of value and importance throughout the entirety of Roxas' journey and appearances before KHIII. Not even. Before Re:Mind.



..Chain of Memories. He had promised to protect her, first because of her memory powers but later by his own will. I don't know if you would classify their relationship as "strong" but he decided to keep his promise to her once again.



The responses to this just strengthens my argument further. It's about Riku Replica, not about Naminé. The issue stands that Nomura tries not only to paint Riku Replica's end as sweet and touching when it shouldn't be (he's the result of an utter mind screw that ends with him denying his individuality and leads to him choosing to die), he tries to make it look mutual instead of one-sided when there's no build up to that whatsoever.

Let's look at Naminé. Girl brainwashes him, under duress, certainly, but he's still brainwashed by her, literally short circuits his brain accidentally because he was going to attack Sora, and aside from an admittance of guilt and regret that she was the cause of his hurt, there's nothing else there for this "strong connection". But I guess brainwashing someone equates to a "strong connection"...who knew. Post-CoM? Where did she mention him? When was he important? Where is the basis for what Nomura stated? There was Days, KHII, Coded/Re:Coded...where is this connection he speaks of.

In fact, how did Sora even know about Riku and Riku Replica in the first place to say anything to Naminé at all about the situation in the Final World if it occurs later on? Lol. It's simply... incomprehensible. Characters just have random knowledge about things they shouldn't have knowledge of. Sora should have just shut up and only stuck with "it's not true". He lists all these characters that miss her, yet the game (coughnomuracough) doesn't follow up on that at all and she never interacts with anyone to prove his statements. Except Sora himself. And Riku. But Riku forgot she existed until Riku Replica was, "yo, dude, she exists, make sure she returns bruh". Then Riku does a Pikachu surprised face.




Dast
In my view, their special connection is shown in CoM. IIRC Naminé removes the false memories she had implanted in the replica, shattering his heart. However, he wakes up, driven by his desire to protect her, even though the feeling initially came from the false memories. It's a bit messed up but clearly there's is a powerful connection there (though Naminé reciprocating is new, I could understand her having affection for him after that).


Naminé never removed those false memories. It took Sora a pod and months to fully recover his real memories and to fix him. Naminé isn't able to take an hour, let alone a day, to reverse the brainwashing she had done to Riku Replica. The guy was still deluded into false events that didn't happen and weren't his, along with a faux promise to protect her that she placed in there. He held unto it because he had nothing else to hold unto. He only knew they were fake memories because he realized they were when told.



Zul

Yeah, the whole Subject X thing was ridiculous. My statement is more towards saying that memory wipe can't be used as a convenient excuse every time, rather than saying the Subject X route is better or anything.

The better route for DR would have been properly setting up those characters beforehand, but if that wasn't possible then...just don't include them? It's not like the relationship between Eraqus and Xehanort was over-explored and dry, there was still plenty to uncover just between the two of them.

And imo Nomura's writing has always been miles better between duos than trios, Sora-Riku being a glaring example.


Yeah, I know it was about the memory wipe. But what I'm saying is that Nomura doesn't care about covering up his tracks with that anymore, as we see with Subject X. So I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. Eraqus and Xehanort are dead already. The only possible role this group of characters will have with the current cast is either through metaphysical relation or being descendants of KHUx characters. Unless one of them is Luxu, MoM, or Kairi's grandmother, which goes back to the aforementioned point.

As for Nomura, I would correct this and say he only knows how to do a duo of male friendships.

But he certainly can do a big cast with strong interrelations, as KHUx showed, because they are not tethered by a trio. They can explore out of that zone. Notice how none of the characters have been excluded from one another. Sans Elrena. I still don't know what the purpose of her is, as much as I love Larxene.



Funny thing about this, my mind thought "princess of heart hax" for a moment.

Except the princesses themselves explicitly state in KH1FM that while they can hold back darkness, this "strange new force"(the in-between/nothingness) is something they have no power over.



I thought the same thing and came to the same conclusion. I think we were supposed to be impressed and marvel at how badass she is or something, lol. No matter how forced it was. Having wielders with more experience jobbing to show that she's not useless is not how you fix a character, Nomura.

GrandMaster_Chris

June 11, 2020 @ 01:11 amOffline

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Alright guys, placing bets on which of these fine ladies we think is Kairi's grandmother.

Face My Fears

June 11, 2020 @ 01:15 amOffline

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blank points

Oh dang, all this Bragi is Braig/Luxu talk is giving me flashbacks to before Days was released, where everyone thought that Xion and Zexion would be connected simply because Zexion had the xion part in his name...

Honestly, I don't think any of these characters are going to be strongly connected to any present day characters. As someone pointed out earlier, Luxu's secret reports seem to confirm that he knew nothing of Xehanort during his youth. I am actually looking forward to see what effect these characters have on Xehanort. If anything, it would help build Xehanort up as the antithesis of Sora. Unlike Sora, whose connections with friends are his main source of power, Xehanort does not seem to share this opinion, considering his view of the darkness of being alone being a greater power. Especially seeing as Eraqus seems to be the only one he considered a true friend.

OMFG! I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THE ZEXION/XION CONNECTION LOL.

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DrShimo

June 11, 2020 @ 01:46 amOffline

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*TwilightNight*

Except as someone mentioned, that had nothing to do with Subject X, since she appeared after BBS and in a time when Xehanort was within the castle. Furthermore, ample time was given to indirectly or directly mention her via 358/2 Days, BBS, and DDD if she really was ever a thing. But fact of the matter is she was never a thing. Like Xion. And Nomura decided by KHIII that it was going to be about Subject X despite a long window of opportunity to present this in a more believable way and with some actual basis other than something ambiguous that Isa and Lea were sneaking in the castle for. Which could have been anything. That tends to be how Nomura works if he wants to insert whatever comes to his mind - see if there's a gap he left and implant it without any previous references. Then the players are left to simply accept them.

It's even more daunting when Ansem and Ansem SoD suddenly talk about her existence as if it was so important when they never paid attention to it in legit...what, KHII, 358/2 Days, and DDD. That's three games.

The entire abrupt inclusion of her from the tendrils of Nothingness, and the way it mattered to both of them and Isa, should have had acknowledgement before if she was really that big of a deal. Especially if it supposedly affected Isa that badly that we had to sit through him being a simp over this girl as he disappears in what was a weak attempt at a "redemption arc".



He wasn't "dead", he was inside Sora. He flashes over him twice in KHIII when he gets emotionally triggered within him (i.e. the only times we see he gives a damn about HPO and Naminé in the game before he got TRIOed off). It doesn't make sense that he appeared in DDD, got an entire game to himself in 358/2 Days, and appeared post-merge with Sora in TWTNW in KHII. Including the KHII:FM scene on the clock tower with Axel. Once more, ample, ample, ample time to mention anything about this Sigil that he comes out with from left field that he had never thought about, mentioned, or cared for. At all. None of them. There's no excuse.

Hell, how does Roxas even know anything at all? When did he suddenly know that you can reclaim the Sigil? How did he know he needed Sora's help as if he understood what to do? How did he know anything about the replica process and who was behind it in general? What, did he get filled in on that .01 millisecond it took for him to shoot out of Sora's chest and storm the Keyblade Graveyard right after?

You can't answer those questions because there isn't an official explanation. KH fans just brainstorm possible ones to fill in the blatant holes Nomura leaves with his terrible narrative work. No build ups, no basis, nothing. Which is what's being done now. Why not just accept that it was random and sudden instead of working to find some sort of defense for it?

It's nonsensical, it's random, and whether or not it makes sense in context, it was never there as anything of value and importance throughout the entirety of Roxas' journey and appearances before KHIII. Not even. Before Re:Mind.



The responses to this just strengthens my argument further. It's about Riku Replica, not about Naminé. The issue stands that Nomura tries not only to paint Riku Replica's end as sweet and touching when it shouldn't be (he's the result of an utter mind screw that ends with him denying his individuality and leads to him choosing to die), he tries to make it look mutual instead of one-sided when there's no build up to that whatsoever.

Let's look at Naminé. Girl brainwashes him, under duress, certainly, but he's still brainwashed by her, literally short circuits his brain accidentally because he was going to attack Sora, and aside from an admittance of guilt and regret that she was the cause of his hurt, there's nothing else there for this "strong connection". But I guess brainwashing someone equates to a "strong connection"...who knew. Post-CoM? Where did she mention him? When was he important? Where is the basis for what Nomura stated? There was Days, KHII, Coded/Re:Coded...where is this connection he speaks of.

In fact, how did Sora even know about Riku and Riku Replica in the first place to say anything to Naminé at all about the situation in the Final World if it occurs later on? Lol. It's simply... incomprehensible. Characters just have random knowledge about things they shouldn't have knowledge of. Sora should have just shut up and only stuck with "it's not true". He lists all these characters that miss her, yet the game (coughnomuracough) doesn't follow up on that at all and she never interacts with anyone to prove his statements. Except Sora himself. And Riku. But Riku forgot she existed until Riku Replica was, "yo, dude, she exists, make sure she returns bruh". Then Riku does a Pikachu surprised face.






Naminé never removed those false memories. It took Sora a pod and months to fully recover his real memories and to fix him. Naminé isn't able to take an hour, let alone a day, to reverse the brainwashing she had done to Riku Replica. The guy was still deluded into false events that didn't happen and weren't his, along with a faux promise to protect her that she placed in there. He held unto it because he had nothing else to hold unto. He only knew they were fake memories because he realized they were when told.





Yeah, I know it was about the memory wipe. But what I'm saying is that Nomura doesn't care about covering up his tracks with that anymore, as we see with Subject X. So I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. Eraqus and Xehanort are dead already. The only possible role this group of characters will have with the current cast is either through metaphysical relation or being descendants of KHUx characters. Unless one of them is Luxu, MoM, or Kairi's grandmother, which goes back to the aforementioned point.

As for Nomura, I would correct this and say he only knows how to do a duo of male friendships.

But he certainly can do a big cast with strong interrelations, as KHUx showed, because they are not tethered by a trio. They can explore out of that zone. Notice how none of the characters have been excluded from one another. Sans Elrena. I still don't know what the purpose of her is, as much as I love Larxene.



I thought the same thing and came to the same conclusion. I think we were supposed to be impressed and marvel at how badass she is or something, lol. No matter how forced it was. Having wielders with more experience jobbing to show that she's not useless is not how you fix a character, Nomura.

Honestly it makes you wonder why Nomura didn’t use the HD collections to add in some small new scenes to fill the gaps himself. Nothing big needed tbh

SweetYetSalty

June 11, 2020 @ 01:59 amOffline

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GrandMaster_Chris

Alright guys, placing bets on which of these fine ladies we think is Kairi's grandmother.

Kairi has like three different grandmothers right now lol.

Face My Fears

OMFG! I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THE ZEXION/XION CONNECTION LOL.

I actually never made that connection either. I didn't even realize her name was in Zexion. I must now surrender my 'Xion fan badge', as I'm unworthy of it for never even realizing such a obvious thing name thing.

Sign

June 11, 2020 @ 02:12 amOffline

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DrShimo

Honestly it makes you wonder why Nomura didn’t use the HD collections to add in some small new scenes to fill the gaps himself. Nothing big needed tbh


It was difficult enough with the team having to multitask on KH3 and all the remasters as they learned to adapt to development on modern consoles and a new engine. Nomura being Nomura would have had his hands full with FFXV, 7R etc. Hindsight is 20/20.

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DrShimo

June 11, 2020 @ 02:25 amOffline

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Sign

It was difficult enough with the team having to multitask on KH3 and all the remasters as they learned to adapt to development on modern consoles and a new engine. Nomura being Nomura would have had his hands full with FFXV, 7R etc. Hindsight is 20/20.

This is very true, and I’ll give him that. I’m just glad we even got the fight scene with Xion added in 358/2, a little short but I loved it.

GreyouTT

June 11, 2020 @ 04:28 amOffline

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2 quid is good

He's not exactly a KH character, as much as I love him and appreciate his growth in personality from FF8, he's still an FF design


They just said 'in KH' so I didn't think we were limiting the pool of characters.

SweetYetSalty

June 11, 2020 @ 02:38 pmOffline

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I know we mainly talk about the effects the new characters will have on Xehanort. However there is something else to consider. What effects will they have on Eraqus? Eraqus seems to be in Xehanort's words 'corrupted by the light' what if the fate of these new friends plays a role in that?

Example let's say one of them was also a light user but fell to darkness and it has a impact on Eraqus. He then doubles down on his belief of light vs dark without a gray area and never tolerates darkness due to what happened to one of their Scala friends. This could give some insight on his actions regarding Terra and Ventus and how he trained and raised his students.

Eonstar890

June 11, 2020 @ 04:33 pmOffline

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SweetYetSalty

I know we mainly talk about the effects the new characters will have on Xehanort. However there is something else to consider. What effects will they have on Eraqus? Eraqus seems to be in Xehanort's words 'corrupted by the light' what if the fate of these new friends plays a role in that?

Example let's say one of them was also a light user but fell to darkness and it has a impact on Eraqus. He then doubles down on his belief of light vs dark without a gray area and never tolerates darkness due to what happened to one of their Scala friends. This could give some insight on his actions regarding Terra and Ventus and how he trained and raised his students.


Your example kinda fits Xehanort to the tee lol. In BBS we see the rift form between them when Xehanort attacks Eraqus permanently scarring him and I think that scene represents apart of why he become so obsessed with pushing down the darkness.
So if anything Eraqus will probably be most affected by Xehanorts actions as he begins his Dark road

Dast

June 11, 2020 @ 05:04 pmOffline

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Great points about Eraqus. I wonder if we'll see more of the master strategist he is made out to he in KH3 (after BBS where he seemed something of a gullible fool).

Violet Pluto

June 12, 2020 @ 06:19 amOffline

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*TwilightNight*

Except as someone mentioned, that had nothing to do with Subject X, since she appeared after BBS and in a time when Xehanort was within the castle. Furthermore, ample time was given to indirectly or directly mention her via 358/2 Days, BBS, and DDD if she really was ever a thing. But fact of the matter is she was never a thing. Like Xion. And Nomura decided by KHIII that it was going to be about Subject X despite a long window of opportunity to present this in a more believable way and with some actual basis other than something ambiguous that Isa and Lea were sneaking in the castle for. Which could have been anything. That tends to be how Nomura works if he wants to insert whatever comes to his mind - see if there's a gap he left and implant it without any previous references. Then the players are left to simply accept them.

It's even more daunting when Ansem and Ansem SoD suddenly talk about her existence as if it was so important when they never paid attention to it in legit...what, KHII, 358/2 Days, and DDD. That's three games.

The entire abrupt inclusion of her from the tendrils of Nothingness, and the way it mattered to both of them and Isa, should have had acknowledgement before if she was really that big of a deal. Especially if it supposedly affected Isa that badly that we had to sit through him being a simp over this girl as he disappears in what was a weak attempt at a "redemption arc".


Eh, I would say that you are right but that doesn't mean that I'm wrong either. He very well could have had an idea of Subject X but later decided to change the timeline for that plot. Also on your second point I know that she should have come up if had the Ansems ever spoken in the previous games... Which they didn't so, meh; but literally going through the story there is no actual point where it would naturally come up, or where Ansem would plot dump it.

I mean Days would be a good place for Isa and Axel to talk about it but that game is more about RAX and not about Axel's relationship with Isa, which is a point of contention in KHIII between them especially because they had already started to grow apart before. Hey, that's actually good writing! Subject X is less of a problem than you seem to be arguing and actually helps give some more context to the problems between Alex and Isa which in turn makes it more of a developed plotline.

Also I would say that trying to find out anything about a friend that might be still able to be saved has absolutely nothing to do with "Simping." I use that word, but come on; it has a meaning and it doesn't mean that.

*TwilightNight*


Let me stop you right there. He was dead. For all intents and purposes he had his individual self sacrificed to become a part of another sentient being, and even though he had echoes of himself appear, he wasn't going to walk around any time soon... Until KHIII.

[QUOTE="*TwilightNight*, post: 6596944, member: 24539"]
It doesn't make sense that he appeared in DDD, got an entire game to himself in 358/2 Days, and appeared post-merge with Sora in TWTNW in KHII. Including the KHII:FM scene on the clock tower with Axel. Once more, ample, ample, ample time to mention anything about this Sigil that he comes out with from left field that he had never thought about, mentioned, or cared for. At all. None of them. There's no excuse.


Yes there is. The sigil is something he was branded with and marks him as a member of the Organization. Even though the one he was a part of is gone, the Organization is the thing that brought him to his first friends and was the gateway to who he is now, even though I think it was delivered a bit clunkily I got that he basically wanted to take the thing that made him a member and make it his own. I won't get into specific examples because that could get a bit heated but people in history have done much the same, including a number of Pirates in the 15-1800s.

[spoiler]
Hell, how does Roxas even know anything at all? When did he suddenly know that you can reclaim the Sigil? How did he know he needed Sora's help as if he understood what to do? How did he know anything about the replica process and who was behind it in general? What, did he get filled in on that .01 millisecond it took for him to shoot out of Sora's chest and storm the Keyblade Graveyard right after?

You can't answer those questions because there isn't an official explanation. KH fans just brainstorm possible ones to fill in the blatant holes Nomura leaves with his terrible narrative work. No build ups, no basis, nothing. Which is what's being done now. Why not just accept that it was random and sudden instead of working to find some sort of defense for it?

It's nonsensical, it's random, and whether or not it makes sense in context, it was never there as anything of value and importance throughout the entirety of Roxas' journey and appearances before KHIII. Not even. Before Re:Mind.
[/spoiler]
While I can't answer how he knows he can take it, I don't really care as it is obviously a more symbolic thing than something that purely is supposed to make sense, though if it ends up being important that will subtract from point of it. I wasn't going to comment on it because I had already made an argument up there, but I wanted to make that clear.

[spoiler]
The responses to this just strengthens my argument further. It's about Riku Replica, not about Naminé. The issue stands that Nomura tries not only to paint Riku Replica's end as sweet and touching when it shouldn't be (he's the result of an utter mind screw that ends with him denying his individuality and leads to him choosing to die), he tries to make it look mutual instead of one-sided when there's no build up to that whatsoever.

Let's look at Naminé. Girl brainwashes him, under duress, certainly, but he's still brainwashed by her, literally short circuits his brain accidentally because he was going to attack Sora, and aside from an admittance of guilt and regret that she was the cause of his hurt, there's nothing else there for this "strong connection". But I guess brainwashing someone equates to a "strong connection"...who knew. Post-CoM? Where did she mention him? When was he important? Where is the basis for what Nomura stated? There was Days, KHII, Coded/Re:Coded...where is this connection he speaks of.

In fact, how did Sora even know about Riku and Riku Replica in the first place to say anything to Naminé at all about the situation in the Final World if it occurs later on? Lol. It's simply... incomprehensible. Characters just have random knowledge about things they shouldn't have knowledge of. Sora should have just shut up and only stuck with "it's not true". He lists all these characters that miss her, yet the game (coughnomuracough) doesn't follow up on that at all and she never interacts with anyone to prove his statements. Except Sora himself. And Riku. But Riku forgot she existed until Riku Replica was, "yo, dude, she exists, make sure she returns bruh". Then Riku does a Pikachu surprised face.

Naminé never removed those false memories. It took Sora a pod and months to fully recover his real memories and to fix him. Naminé isn't able to take an hour, let alone a day, to reverse the brainwashing she had done to Riku Replica. The guy was still deluded into false events that didn't happen and weren't his, along with a faux promise to protect her that she placed in there. He held unto it because he had nothing else to hold unto. He only knew they were fake memories because he realized they were when told.

Yeah, I know it was about the memory wipe. But what I'm saying is that Nomura doesn't care about covering up his tracks with that anymore, as we see with Subject X. So I don't think it's anything to be too concerned about. Eraqus and Xehanort are dead already. The only possible role this group of characters will have with the current cast is either through metaphysical relation or being descendants of KHUx characters. Unless one of them is Luxu, MoM, or Kairi's grandmother, which goes back to the aforementioned point.

As for Nomura, I would correct this and say he only knows how to do a duo of male friendships.

But he certainly can do a big cast with strong interrelations, as KHUx showed, because they are not tethered by a trio. They can explore out of that zone. Notice how none of the characters have been excluded from one another. Sans Elrena. I still don't know what the purpose of her is, as much as I love Larxene.

I thought the same thing and came to the same conclusion. I think we were supposed to be impressed and marvel at how badass she is or something, lol. No matter how forced it was. Having wielders with more experience jobbing to show that she's not useless is not how you fix a character, Nomura.
[/spoiler]
All of this is pretty much stuff I don't want to talk about at 2:00 in the morning after being on the road all day, and I'm finally back home after two weeks so I'll leave it I guess.

KeybladeLordSora

June 12, 2020 @ 04:26 pmOffline

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IIRC Saïx's report in KH3's Secret Reports brought up that he and Lea only met Subject X on the day they finally broke into AtW's castle after multiple failed attempts due to wanting to sate their curiosity about the rumored experiments being held there.

And Subject X only showed up after Xehanort became an apprentice.

So they only met her in the time Apprentice Xehanort was active.

[USER=254261]@Violet Pluto[/USER] About what's in your first spoiler section, remember that Roxas was completely active within Sora. He experiences everything Sora experiences.

MATGSY

June 13, 2020 @ 08:44 pmOffline

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FudgemintGuardian

June 13, 2020 @ 11:23 pmOffline

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MATGSY


I'm lucky I wasn't drinking anything.

I hurt now from laughing so hard. ?

Zettaflare

June 14, 2020 @ 12:04 amOffline

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MATGSY



Ben Diskin: "Everytime you open you mouth Sora that's what it sounds like"

I mean he's not wrong, lol

U.N. Owen

June 14, 2020 @ 01:20 amOffline

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MATGSY



Okay, I inhaled my drink. Ben wins the internet.

SweetYetSalty

June 14, 2020 @ 03:46 amOffline

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MATGSY



Lmao! It's things like this that make me wish we truly had a KH parody series with the cast. And also makes me wish Dark Road was a console game even more.

Clue.Less

June 14, 2020 @ 11:39 amOffline

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MATGSY




This made my night. Can you guys on twitter please spam HJO for a response? I want that VA twitter war!

KeybladeLordSora

June 14, 2020 @ 01:48 pmOffline

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Clue.Less

This made my night. Can you guys on twitter please spam HJO for a response? I want that VA twitter war!

Spamming for a response? Not sure that's a good idea.

Sign

June 14, 2020 @ 03:17 pmOffline

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Clue.Less

This made my night. Can you guys on twitter please spam HJO for a response? I want that VA twitter war!

Don't do this.

Clue.Less

June 14, 2020 @ 03:29 pmOffline

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Spamming for a response? Not sure that's a good idea.



Was "spam" a poor choice of word for a joke? (I'm not a native English-speaker. I sometimes f*** up :/ )

Sign

June 14, 2020 @ 03:51 pmOffline

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Clue.Less

Was "spam" a poor choice of word for a joke? (I'm not a native English-speaker. I sometimes f*** up :/ )

Nothing to do with that, but harassing voice actors on social media is not something that should be encouraged.

Clue.Less

June 14, 2020 @ 04:20 pmOffline

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Sign

Nothing to do with that, but harassing voice actors on social media is not something that should be encouraged.

Of course not!! I see how this comes off as encouraging harassment. Sorry... (I'm not on Twitter by the way. Too much noise.)

SweetYetSalty

June 14, 2020 @ 05:32 pmOffline

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Sign

Nothing to do with that, but harassing voice actors on social media is not something that should be encouraged.

Yeah, it's nice when voice actors give us treats like this, but we shouldn't constantly bug them for more.

On another matter anyone think that maybe Xehanort and friends might learn the Power of Waking and one of them abuses it similar to Sora and disappears? Maybe that's why Young Xehanort knows of the rules of abusing the Power of Waking because one of the new Keyblade students uses it. I know this is another crazy theory, I'm just excited for more KH content lol. Still feels weird to say 'Xehanort's friends'

+ Reply

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