Only Japan I assume.

I really hope we get it about the same time. I wish I could understand what he was saying, particularly seeing the end of the X Keyblade War unexpectedly!

It’s coming out in the west as well on the 22nd

A link between Xehanort and Player? So much to think about today

I'm disappointed they didn't have Urd or Vor standing over Xehanort as he awoke. Boooo! You broke the tradition.

I can't play this game so I'm helpless with this one. But I suppose the thing I'm most curious about is what is it setting up for the future of Kingdom Hearts. Nomura does not make KH games for nothing, there is always a connection so I wonder what this is all leading too.

I BSed the last two lines. Couldn't hear exactly what he was saying in the first bit so it won't be super accurate, but this is basically what he's getting at.

"I don't know what changes each day will bring. But I'm taking it into my own hands."

I hope it’s fun. I‘ve always really loved this art style but I couldn’t get into chi. I’m honestly pretty excited to try this out though.

Well that WOULD answer literally everything about Xehanort's past/future knowledge in a single move....

"You've been here many times again and again like deja vu"
"You saw their experiences in real time"
"Xehanort is seeking out ancient keyblade wielders"
"Xehanort knows Marluxia, Larxene, Demyx, and Luxord are ancient wielders"
"It was destiny I met Ventus"

Xehanort saw the events of X/UX, the events the player experienced, through his dreams somehow.

Updated OP with full translation.

....Oh my god, oh. my. god. Nomura how didn't I see you hinting at this before. I don't know if Dark Chirithy is involved but I just realized that the Player being connected to Xehanort has been something Nomura has been hinting at all along. Something that always was strange to me was the player had a dream of what presumably was the keyblade war in KH3, I wrote it off as a tease at the time and nothing deeper. Now I'm realizing Player was experiencing what Xehanort was, the player saw Xehanort's experiences/memories in their dreams. THAT is how the player got a glimpse of KH3's war.

Xehanort and the Player are connected somehow by their dreams and I can't in any shape or form imagine this isn't related to how Yozora and Sora are also seemingly connected by their dreams to. Chirithy is a potential option for Xehanort and Player but since we have another case of two unrelated people separated by time and space connecting in their dreams I imagine there is something more at work here.

I'm really hyped for this!

god

Adding on, I'm thinking about how the Chirithy link might work. Ephemer and Skuld told it to keep showing PLAYER the dreams of the war (come to think of it, have they said why they're doing that?), so that may have accidentally connected him to Xehanort, who is obsessed with the war.

So Xehanort and the Player are connected by some unknown means. I guess that means the Player could theoretically have ended up in the future as Xehanort has memories of them.
I wonder if those memories from the Player are a catalyst to what Xehanort would eventually become. I want answers now.

Could the player be Xehanort's ancestor? I know they look nothing alike but still

So eager for this game to be released to get the back story on Xehanort (or whoever he was before) and his journey to darkness. My brain is bursting with too much information. Original characters from KH1 (being connected to classical elements (earth, water, air, etc.), characters from X (being connected to 7 deadly sins), and now norse mythology? What is Nomura smoking these days? I'm trying to make some connections, but can't. However, one thing that is kind of consistent is 2 of the 3 norns being present. Skuld and now the new character Urd. Verdandi needs to show up in another game somewhere in the franchise. Looking into more knowledge on Norns on Wikipedia, and some parts are interesting. Goes on to say under Legendary Sagas that they show up at the birth of a hero to shape his/her destiny. If there's a connection between player and xehanort, you have to wonder if the norns are showing up to watch the story of player/xehanort unfold? What we were playing was the Dark Seeker Saga which is all about Xehanort. Skuld being there for the (what shall be) phase, and now Urd being there for the (which became or happened) phase. Maybe we won't get a full story in Dark Road, and another game will be developed with a slightly older Xehanort turning even more dark, enter Verdandi and the (what is coming into being) phase.

Dark Road is going to be interesting. I guess I‘m not the first or last person to say I wish this was a console game, but anyways. The new characters are nice, I really like their designs, they‘re just.. different! :)

The gameplay didn‘t seem too deep, but meh, I‘m only going to play DR for the story anyways. Also it‘s cool Xehanort is getting his prequel game as a (presumed) send-off from this series

OK guys, I cracked the code. Here is how everything connects:

What is Xehanort the anagram of? No Heart X. I bet that 'X' is not a usual X, but our favourite greek letter, chi. No Heart Chi. Which meaaaans, he is the Nobody of Player from X (chi). Let's step back a little. We know that Player is special (after all, he is the only surviving non-Dandelion, and his mom lets him have two Chirities), and probably the MoM knows this too. What I think will happen at the end of Union Xross is this:
- The leaders relise their wordline is doomed
- Some of them jumps to the future using those pods
- MoM steps in, and takes Player's heart into another worldline to save him from a doomed worldline and keep him safe for later use
- At that moment, a Nobody is formed of the remaining body and soul
- Darkness saves that Nobody, influences it (with darkness and all, maybe even putting a part of itself into him) and (I'm not sure how) sends him into the future (small theory within a theory here: Darkness sends Player's Nobody, either body and all, or just burgeoning new heart, to the first ever point he exists in the future. That point is when Ansem went back in time to talk with Young Xehanort. This way, two connected but separate timeloops would cross in that moment, both only capable of existing because the other exists. I think that would be very Nomura. Only problem is, that means Xehanort had to be amnesiac and his first ever memory is meeting with Ansem.)
Darkness did all of that to screw with MoM's plans, but he ended up playing into his hands. Xehanort was fine for MoM, so in the end he didn't need to rely on Player's heart, which was escorted to a different timeleine with, and looked after by, who we now know as Luxord. Yes, I'm saying Luxord works for MoM, that's why Luxu doesn't get him, and yes, Player's heart is Yozora. We know that the body we see is not his own (of course, because his real body is something we, the players made up), and that also confirms Nameless Star's identity: she really is Strelitzia, who knows Yozora is player.
Little side note here: We might see Xehanort's classmates (a few of the must be connected to UX Leaders, Foretellers, or Darkness) in later games. Don't forget that Scala IS DaybreakTown, and the time machine is there. There could be replacement pods, so any character appearing there can reappear in the future.

Whew, there, I channelled my inner Nomura. Inconsistency included.

Xehanort being the Nobody of some other character would be too degrading to his character. Perhaps the anagram "Another X" could be that he has the heart of another. And since we're using chi, perhaps he has the heart from someone form the X era, who could be player.

Or not have the heart, but rather, connected.

I’m getting pretty excited for Dark Road as we get closer to launch.

I have a bit a confusion about what Dark Road is though.

This comes from me not knowing whether or not this is a complete game or an updating service type of game. I know it launches through Union X and it will have in app purchases. Based on that I would assume this game will receive story updates over time like X and most other apps. Some people are telling me though that Dark Road will have a complete story when it releases.

Perhaps I’m just not looking in the right places for news, but I’m not actually finding a lot of information about the game. Maybe someone can help me clear up my confusion here?

I believe that Xehanort and Player X (that's what I"m going to call the protagonist/player of Kingdom Hearts X) are connected but not the same. Even if you gave Player X ash-blonde hair, he still looks nothing like Young Xehanort (I'll provide a picture for proof) or Yozora. Also YX is way more of a scholar than Player X (who comes across as playful and optimistic). Nobodies look almost just like their somebodies (though Roxas looks more like Ventus than Sora).

There's definitely some relationship between the 2.

Was the player given a name in the novel?

So SENA is continuing to stay silent for some bizarre reason but Global has an app update scheduled on the 21st/22nd, which seems to suggest the launch will continue as scheduled despite the leaks that were 100% their own fault

[URL unfurl="true"][/URL]

SENA’s response to shooting themselves in the foot is to shoot themselves in the other foot.

This game is basically Kh Com+final fantasy, this turn-based gameplay style is actually more fun and suitable in this art style.

It's tomorrow!

[IMG width="152px"]https://i.imgur.com/hzG7uRY.gif[/IMG]

Does Japan get it first? Would we get a glimpse of it tonight?

But it's already 8 AM in Japan. Does that mean the game comes out mid-day? I'm in EDT timezone.

I'm actually excited for this. I'm going to do my best and try to keep up with it. Hope this games story is a bit better paced than UX. But I'm not holding my breath.

Huh? Oh yeah, today's the 21st.

Just wondering, do you want us to spoiler tag our story discussion for Dark Road?

Best way to count JP time is add 1 hour and switch the AM/PM. (unless it's 11:00)

*Provided you're in EST

Looks like Global Maintenance ended when it began xD

Omg, does that mean the game is up and runnningggg?!

Quick reference for people.

[IMG width="461px"]https://i.imgur.com/BD26k2W.png[/IMG]

So will the whole campaign be acailable from the start or will DR also have monthly/weekly updates?

Guess SE couldn't be bothered to pay Ben for a voiceover. Global players robbed again.

Hmmm... So the plot looks interesting in finding the lost keyblade wielders... But wow at this gameplay, this is worse than UX, it literally plays itself and is a big grind...

Will there be a general discussion thread for the game?

I'm starting to upload JP story updates (unsubbed) here.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPCJnwphQDQf7grfevVUEddbfKe521SL9[/URL]

Well, i actually like the gameplay(without using the auto function of course). I don't really like to use the auto function, and part of the reason is because the IA is too stupid. If you see that Xehanort has low health and you have a potion in your deck, instead of using the potion to attack use it to heal god damn it.

But anyways i guess the auto function is usefull to misions like the one i'm doing now that you have to defeat 50 heartless in agrabah.

My hand hurts from flicking cards so i’ve had to go into auto mode. I had 130 killed in a row before I got kicked out for reset 12 minutes ago :(

Yeah, now i have to 100 heartless in Agrabah and i'm sure that after this i will have to defeat 100 heartless in wonder land, does this game hates us or what? xD

I don't want to think what this game will make us do later, looking at the missions...

Is that Agrabah? DR started from Agrabah, in the same month as Twisted Wonderland finished Scarabia chapter? is this truly coincidence, Nomura?

Is anyone else having the issue they can't open the app on their phone?
I've had this issue off and on with the Ux App was hoping that after this update it'd stop doing that.

Wow...this is not what I was anticipating. I am glad that I can just set it to auto and just do my work while it grinds through enemies but wow.

What happened to that launch campaign we were supposed to have where we could integrate our medal collection to DR???

I'm still not over the cutscene that plays prior to main mission 20 ;~;

This is honestly insanely disappointing, I was expecting a flick rush type game and a less grindy experience than union cross but this is just the opposite of that? The grind needed is unbearable except for auto. How do you make your 2nd mobile game actively worse than that first, and by a long way....

I like the story here leagues more than UX, but it is grindy as HELL

Nomura heard us complaining about how nobody dies and killed off 13 new characters all at once LMAO

It's a shame some of this backstory couldn't be revealed throughout the series prior to KH3. The ending of KH3 with Xehanort and Eraqus already feels more earned.

Yeah i finally defeated the flame core and

[SPOILER="Heavy spoilers though i don't say it directly"]
Holy shit Nomura. Well i guess Urd is not Kairi's grandma xD

I loved Urd('s design)...
[/SPOILER]

oh my god I think I was right when I made my theory about Xehanort a million moons ago...

sorry not sorry laughing @ everyone who chose to die on the hill of these kids being a current character's relative

So anyone got past mission 20? When does it stop?

Is it just me, or is YX's Armor No Heart? Also Aaaaah and I complain about series in which the author can't kill off characters for any reason, but I didn't expect this.

You just keep getting BP and new mission 20 objectives.

[USER=89972]@Sign[/USER] well huh, I didn't know he appeared in BBS nor that quote. That's interesting

Oh wow

[SPOILER=Dark Road]Did they just kill off Xehanort and Eraqus' group of friends after a four year timeskip??? That's dark.[/SPOILER]
Gotta say I'm way more invested now

The thing is:
[SPOILER]Do we expect the follow update to cover the story after the 4 year time skip, or continue before the timeskip? Dark Road seems to fit better a Xehanort centric history of him going alone actually[/SPOILER]

"Wow, look at all these new characters!"

[spoiler]"OH LOOK, NOW THEY'RE DEAD."[/spoiler]

Obviously the translator never played the first KH, "surrounded by ocean" should be "surrounded by water" lol, first world problems ha ha (first cutscene)

[SPOILER]Sorry but being a Star Wars fan has taught me that no one stays dead and this being Kingdom Hearts makes me iffy. This is Nomura after all, 50 chapters in one those deceased people will reappear as a plot twist.[/SPOILER]

Just played 3 hrs of this...there's a reason why Flick Rush was a minigame with little focus inside DDD. Mobileshit gacha with insane power creep is NOT the direction KH needs to go.

Pros:

↓ seeing Xenehort in a positive light, the way he interects with cfellow students is not a snarky way, but more of a pensive thoughtful way

•seeing eraqus in a mu h different personality compared to his elder self, it is a wonderful way to see that the mans is goofy in the past but way extra serious in BBS

Cons:

♪ either the ENG translation is terrible, or we have more god awful writing, because SCALA AD CAELUM now is called a world separate from others, instead of the nexus from which all worlds spring. disgusting, we can't trust any of the so called lore in KH because every single game that comes after contradicts the previous one. lol

 == - I do not like the pacing, because deaths don't meana ynthing and you mindlessly grind out battles that have basically zero story relevance. even now

¶ we have decided once again that we are getting drip feed 5 minute text scenes for "story", we got no actual character introductions in this game intro, just huge yikes all around

Uh...Scala was always it's own world so what is exactly the issue here? The nexus line was just referring to the fact it's the current form of Daybreak Town and Daybreak Town is the world from which all the worlds come from. Daybreak Town is where the war that destroyed the one world and split it into the many worlds comes from as well as the people who rebuilt the lost world. Sounds to me like you took a poetic description way out of context.

[SPOILER=Spoilers]you gotta wonder if Xehanort would have grown up to be a different person if his friends still lived. Probably not but it is something to think about[/SPOILER]

I love that Xehanort is the only one with Belts on his armor since it's an old design.

[spoiler]Anyone think the Emblem Heartless could be in this time due to Ansem SoD time traveling? It’s the only thing that makes sense to me at the moment unless they’re going to retcon him being behind their creation.[spoiler][/spoiler][/spoiler]

I'm sad we got only one episode.. it felt super short with most of it being just grinding.
also barely any character interactions outside of xehanort and eraqus is just meh.

[SPOILER]When you walk away, you don't hear me say, pleaeaeaeaease, oh buddyyyyy, don't go!

? [/SPOILER]

Can the translator please refresh themselves with the English script from past games? :(

It sucks seeing iconic lines mistranslated because they didn't catch the reference or intent.

[SPOILER="Spoiler"]So they really are going to continue this trend of inteoducing awesome characters and then doing nothing with them, huh? Did they have to kill them off? I don‘t know, maybe this was just a preview and chapter 2 doesn‘t start „4 years later“ but if it does, damn[/SPOILER]

Jesus Christ, I wish these scenea were rendered in UE4 and voiced. I miss hearing Ben's snark

i think the entire game will show us what happened during those four years instead of skipping them.

Enough to level up once

I think you should get more BP by playing manually. I think this would make the game more appealing for those who want a more hands on experience but don’t want to sit there flicking endlessly. Keep the auto grind about how it is now and make manual leveling faster. I think it would be a fair trade off.

If you wanna leave it on over night, I suggest getting Screen Proximity so you can black out the screen and prevent burn in. Just put something over the top of the phone and the screen will go blank but still play the game.

Anyone else having a level up glitch? I just levelled up to level 16 but the missions page says I went up to level 15.

Has anyone got past level 16 or 17 yet? I’ve used all my daily keys and have completed every mission and probably have a few hours of grinding still to do just to get to level 17

I kind of feel bad for Nomura, because presumably, he's only the story director here, but the limitations of the game are too harsh for many.

Nomura needs to get some actual story writers on board then. So much that could be done with KH but the games storys, lores, and even moment to moment beats do not get webbed together appropeiately. Bad timelines, retroactive storytelling, constant sequel baiting, and so on.

[USER=256811]@Cumguardian69[/USER]
Hah. I said that he's the story director, -which may have been my fault as he writes the story and that's what I meant- but I intended to say that the game's mechanics may drive away people from the story that he wanted to write. Also I don't remember but the mobile games are handled by a different team except for the story IIRC.

I had a bug today where I had Auto play on and Xehanort stopped playing cards while still taking hits from Heartless. Had to turn the auto off and back on again. Not a huge deal, but I’m glad I hadn’t left it for hours thinking it would be auto grinding. Lol

JP version added new missions for defeating Heartless at 2-star level, up to 500 for Wonderland and 400 for Agrabah. Mission rewards 1 key for every 100 defeated.

Awesome, thank you very much!

After two days my game is barely ended (free-to-play user).

Story is done.
I'm level 17, the new 2-star missions are almost impossible in Wonderland (my record is 5 kills in a row) as for intermediate, advanced or winning streak events. Only thing I can do is collect kills for the "monthly" missions (it should be named weekly missions 2.0) burning my tablet ongoing all day long.
I have 18 cards in my deck, pulled twice and I feel like it's better wait and save jewels.

The gap between 1-star and 2-star world battles is just out of reach.

There's gonna be a new event at the end of the month: defeat watermelon Heartless to get a Mickey card.