The Ultimate Guide
To
Kingdom Hearts 3
By: goldenglare
Directory: 1.) Disclaimer
2.) Why I Wrote this
3.) Technical Stuff You Wanna Know
4.) The Video
5.) Characters and Names
6.) Myth Busters
7.) Interpreting the Prophecy
8.) Keyblades
9.) My Theories
Disclaimer: This is actually NOT a fanfiction. It is NOT a work of fiction (to the best of my knowledge). 99 of everything on here is from actual press releases from the creator of the Kingdom hearts series, and everything else is all I know and believe to be true, so I'm not lying. Almost everything you are about to read I learned from review boards on Youtube (search kh3 or whatnot…)
Why I Wrote This: Simple. I love the series and everything about it and I know others do to, so I figured I'd get my thoughts straight and post them. So without further ado,
Here we go…
Technical Stuff You Wanna Know: Okay, here it is. The game is scheduled to come out in 2009. It is about 40/60 between PSP and PS3, but I have also heard that it might come out for all major systems, but that seems doubtful. Also, this game is a prequel and will not be called Kingdom Hearts 3. It is an entirely new franchise that takes place before Kingdom Hearts and has all new characters and apparently is a memory of the antagonist of KH2, Xehanort. I will take any other questions you want via email/review, but I think I'll cover just about everything in here.
The Video: If you haven't seen it yet, you HAVE to! Go to Youtube and type in kh3 or Kingdom Hearts 3 or something and follow any link. From playing the games, you get the opening scene from beating Kingdom Hearts 2 with, like, 100. But the rest of it (the sick fight scene) is the 100 from Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix. But for those who haven't seen it, I will narrate most of it here:
It begins panning over a dusty, twilit field gamers have dubbed 'sunset horizons'. While panning, the following dialog follows:
"A Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power"
"One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it."
"I must know what this Keyblade is… a key opens doors (Ansem Reports 8&9)"
"Master of the Keyblade…Chasers…Memory of Xehanort…The lost two…
Keyblade War"
"It all began with…"
"Birth by sleep"
"A sealed tale of truth…"
While this is on screen, we see three knights, each wielding what appears to be a Keyblade, converging on the center of a crossroads. Stuck in the ground at the center of this crossroads are three familiar Keyblades: the Kingdom Key (Sora), the Way to Dawn (Riku), and the gold one (Mickey). Each of the knights draws one of the keys and the screen pans out to reveal that in the ground, thousands upon thousands of Keyblades are in the ground, giving the impression of a mass grave. Then, something catches the knights' attention and they turn to see a blurry figure approaching from out of a dust storm (all of the quotes below the Ansem reports flash here). This is the end of the trailer that comes with KH2.
Now for the final mix part. The figure is revealed to be a bald, evil looking man wearing Ansem's clothes from KH1 (sans heartless symbols). As he approaches, an image splits from him and turns into a tall warrior wearing what resembles Riku's outfit from when he is possessed by Ansem. The shortest of the knights (there is a girl, a tall one, and the short one) makes a move to rush at them, but the largest one stops him and charges the two approaching. The two stop and with a move of his hand, the bald guy causes a large pillar of earth to lift the knight (or the two) into the sky. After being knocked to the ground, the knight is hit by a thunder spell cast by the guy in dark clothes who has jumped down to meet him. At this, the girl runs to meet the dark guy and the short knight goes to fight baldy. With another hand motion, the bald guy causes all of the Keyblades in the ground to fly into the sky and form a tornado of blades.
While fighting the dark guy, who is now casting blizzard spells, the girl knight is attacked by this tornado, and begins running from it, while the dark guy begins riding it and continues to hurl blizzards at her. She does well but is eventually knocked down and is about to be stabbed but the big guy shows up and saves her, casting thunder spells at the dark guy. The girl and the short guy are knocked down a cliff by the tornado while the big guy is carried up to the bald dude by the Keyblades. When the two knights kit the bottom, the girl hits hard and shorty goes to check on her. On impact, her helmet came off, revealing blue hair. She the proceeds to shoot a protect or reflect spell out of her sword-thing and knocks all of the oncoming Keyblades off of the big guy. He is then propelled up to baldly and his protect spell is destroyed in an explosion, revealing that the bald guy has golden eyes just like Xehanort's.
After landing, big guy engages the bald mage in a fight. The bald guy draws an actual Keyblade (more on that later) and fights with the knight, eventually casting a blizzard spell which the knight narrowly manages to dodge, but has his left arm frozen solid. Just then, the short guy jumps out of nowhere and takes a shot at the bald guy, who teleports at the last second, appearing behind the short knight. The bald man effortlessly lifts the knight up with one hand by the back of his head and begins crushing his helmet while the knight flails around hopelessly. The big guy attempts to help him but is knocked off the cliff by the Keyblade tornado and the dark guy. The girl looks on in horror as the short knight's mask begins to crack, revealing blond hair and a blue eye. In sorrow, he reaches for her with pain in his eyes, but it is too late. With a surge of magical energy, the bald guy blows of the knight's armor and freezes his entire body solid and flings him off the cliff, parts of him shattering on the rocks on the way down.
He finally lands, with his mask entirely blown off, in the blue haired girl's arms. PAY FUCKING ATTENTION TO THIS PART!!! She looks into his still moving eyes (he is still alive, okay…) and he is the absolute spitting image of Roxas. From atop the cliff, the bald guy summons this magic fireball-thing into his hand and throws it into the sky, parting the clouds and revealing a luminous blue light. The blue haired girl looks up in amazement and sees the moon of Kingdom Hearts floating in the sky. The bald guy has a satisfied look on his face and "the fate of all occurs not by chance…" phases onto the screen just as the big guy gets to his feet. When he gets up, he removes his helmet, revealing that he has long brown hair and gold, beast like eyes. In an extra clip, from a view on a cliff a little ways away from the battle and "the fate of all is inevitable..." appears on screen. The screen pans out and reveals non other than Mickey Mouse looking pissed, in a new costume, wielding the Star-Seeker Keyblade glaring at Kingdom Hearts with "Each of their fates… pass through and gather together" on the screen, ending the video.
Okay, I went through the trouble of writing that long-ass description, so do me a favor and go watch the video on Youtube or something if you haven't seen it. By the way, I might have mixed up who's who at some points, but cut me some slack. They all looked alike when they had their helmets on.
Characters and Names: I do know the names of most of the characters, but I didn't use them in my description so as not to confuse people. But here they are:
The tall knight: I'm actually not 100 sure on this but I have heard his name is either Terra something with an M. Either way, his name means/is related to the element of Earth.
The girl knight: This one I am sure of. Her name is Aqua and is related to water.
The short knight: I also know this guy. The guy who looks like Roxas. His name is Ven and is related to wind.
Bald evil guy: Supposed to be the first true Keyblade master. His name is Master Rei and 'rei' means lightning/thunder.
Dark Guy: I don't know this guy's name or if he even has one since he's like a creation of Master Rei.
Mickey Mouse: It would be inaccurate to call him King Mickey, since this game/movie is a prequel and I think takes place before he is king. But his name is Mickey.
The Knights and their relationships: Continuing with names, you'll notice that together they have the elements of earth, wind, and water. So what you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Ven means wind/air and Sora means 'sky', plus this dude looks just like Roxas. See a connection? Okay, let's try this; Terra means earth and Riku means 'land'. Catching the drift yet? Okay, one more time. Aqua means water and Kairi means 'sea' or 'ocean', and the 'nami' part of Naminé means 'waves'. Yes, it all comes together at last. Each of the Knights corresponds to one of the 3 heroes from the series. But they are NOT THEM!!! I CANNOT STRESS THAT ENOUGH! THIS GAME IS A PREQUEL! Sora, Riku, and Kairi are probably not even born yet. Maybe these knights are their parents, I dunno, but it's really, really unlikely from this standpoint.
Myth Busters: For the absolute last time, the knights are not Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Go read my technical stuff section for the proof, but if I hear something like 'Oh, I bet that's the three of them in the future' one more time, someone dies.
They might be parents of the three. I don't know. If anyone knows anything for sure, please tell me. I doubt it's either of Sora's parents, since his mom is heard in the first game and it's a long jump from Keyblade Knight to single mother on an island. That's another thing, one of the two guys could be his dad, since that one guy looks just like Roxas and the others got the hair, but that remains to be seen. As for Riku, only Aqua looks like him and the same thing applies with the Sora theory. Only Kairi might have a shot at being related to one of them, because she is one of those 7 Princesses and appeared out of nowhere on the island (she lives w/ Sora I think.)
The same goes for Master Rei and the dark guy. As much as people want to believe it, neither of them is grown up, evil Riku.
None of the knights are the kids of Sora, Riku, or Kairi. I know I shouldn't have to say it, but there really are people out there who think it. Prequel… that's all I'm saying.
Interpreting the Prophecy: There are a few givens here. It is obvious that the knights are good and Master Rei is bad. But some stuff is interesting and makes sense when you think about it. First off is the true identity of Master Rei. The entire game is based around a memory of Xehanort's, and since he is very similar in appearance and powers to Xehanort's heartless, we can assume that the two are somehow linked. He uses magic just like Ansem (that is what I'll call him) and has the ability to give dark powers (and snazzy tights) to stuff like he did with Riku in the first game.
Another theory around Master Rei is that he is the original Keyblade master. Hell, he has master in his name. That would also explain he crazy power, his real Keyblade (that is coming up), and his knowledge of hearts and Kingdom Hearts. Plus, in the second half of the legend, it says that the Keyblade master 'wrought chaos and ruin upon it (the world)', and he sort of seems like the 'chaos and ruin' type to me.
Just as a note, the Knights are called 'chasers'. I'm sure that has some really deep meaning that has something to do with Rei and Keyblades, but I don't really feel like theorizing (yet!).
Now about Xehanort. It is mentioned in one of the Ansem Reports (I can't remember if it was in KH2 or KH2FM) that Ansem the Wise (the real Ansem) found Xehanort one rainy day on the doorstep of his castle in Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion). It also mentions that he found him sick and beaten up after a 'Keyblade War', which was mentioned in the prophecy in the video. This Keyblade War might explain all those Keyblades in Sunset Horizons. This could also have something to do with Xehanort's amnesia, his need to become Ansem's apprentice, and his fascination with hearts, darkness, and Kingdom Hearts. If he was present at the battle, all of this could be explained. (I'll go deeper in my own theorizing…)
Oh! And check this out. I'll bet most of you already knew this, but you know how all the Nobodies in Organization 13 are scrambled versions of their original name with an X in them (i.e. Roxas Sora + X). Well, when you unscramble Xehanort, you get
'no heart + X'. Cool, eh?
Also, the three main Keyblades in the ground might confuse people, as with Mickey's appearance with the Star-Seeker. Well, remember, it's a prequel, so Mickey doesn't have his golden Keyblade yet, but what its doing there I'll never know. But I am almost positive of this: this game will take place while Mickey is still Yen Sid's apprentice (btw, spell Yen Sid backwards and what do you get?). This would make sense, since Mickey just seems to be observing the battle and you get the Star-Seeker when you visit Yen Sid in KH2. And for all you skeptics, Mickey was Yen Sid's apprentice. It is stated in the game dialogue. Pay attention!
That middle part about the 'lost two', I really don't have a clue about. I have heard some theories about a Riku-esque diffraction from 2 of the four original Chasers from light to darkness where one returned to fight as twilight and the other (Rei) remained in darkness. However, I don't really believe this, so I'm just going to say that the lost two are Rei and the dark guy.
One last thing, in KH2FM, there is a portal in the Hall of the Corner Stone (Disney Castle) that takes you to Sunset Horizons where you meet and have an extra boss battle with Terra. Before and after fighting him, all he does is keep repeating 'Xehanort' over and over, expressing extreme hatred for him. This only further links Xehanort to the battle with the Chasers.
Keyblades: I cannot tell you how many Keyblades are in the video. That is impossible. But I can tell you that only 4 true Keyblades are seen. 'What the fuck is he talking about', you're thinking, 'he is surrounded by, like, a million Keyblades.' True, but that does not mean they're real Keyblades. Well, maybe that's a bad choice of words. Let me explain: the difference between a Keyblade and a regular, key-shaped sword is (cosmetically speaking) that a real Keyblade has a keychain at the end of it that gives it its appearance. The Keyblades in the ground, the ones the Chaser's use, and the dark guy's have no chains, while Master Rei's and the main three do (plus the Star-Seeker I guess). What the real difference is, I don't know. Maybe the others are forgeries to combat the real Keyblade, maybe their not. I couldn't tell you. We'll just have to wait two more years to find out.
My Theories: This is the only part of the entire guide I formulated by myself and don't have any hard evidence to back it up with save my own straw-grabbing. Criticize me if you want, or call me a hypocrite for this after smashing the theories of others and throwing my own ideas in their place. But hey, we'll all know the real truth in '09 (my high school graduation year, by the way…).
Anyway, here we go. I think that the Chasers do have a connection with the three heroes from the original series, especially Kairi. It is from observing the battle where Mickey learns all he knows about Kingdom Hearts, which he passes onto Ansem the Wise, and his dislike and distrust of Xehanort/Xemnas. Also, and this is an absolute stab in the dark, I think Terra and Rei was fused or connected somehow by Kingdom Hearts or other means. I came up with this from seeing the connection between Terra/Rei/Xehanort's eyes and abilities. Also, in an extra scene in Final Mix, Xemnas is seen talking to the empty armor of Aqua and addressing it as 'friend'.
I also think that at the end of the battle, the magic fire Rei had was the power from Ven's heart, which he took after defeating him. He had also taken the heart power from the wielders of all the discarded Keyblade, using their strong hearts to give himself power and eventually summon Kingdom Hearts (a strange parallel to Nergal from Fire Emblem). Therefore, he is the precipitator of the Keyblade War, using it only as a means to gather strong hearts and energy to finally obtain his unknown goal. I'm also going to guess that Ven is strongly related to either Sora or Roxas directly through spirit or heritage.
Well, that's about all I've got. Like I said, if you've got any theories, I'd love to hear them. Just drop a link on my reviews or email me directly. I'm so glad anyone actually took the time to get this far down this beast of a paper. All I can say is keep on waiting for more news on the game and when it comes out, remember this report and how big a jackass I am for being completely wrong.