Interview Questions I Would Have For Kingdom Hearts III

[TrinityXaos# 25]

We have seen many interview questions about the story of Kingdom Hearts III recently with sources from Dengiki and the game’s Ultimania. However, I feel that some of those questions aren’t fully satisfying, partly because of the interviews weren’t fully going into the development choices of the game (as in asking about the Lingering Will or stuff related to Union Cross) and they may have received dodgy answers (the whereabouts of Demyx for example).

As someone who has followed and played the game, I’d like to present some of my own interview questions that I would like answered by the developers in a clear way (that means actually talking about the details and not just dodging it). For this list, I want to present possibly good questions about the storyline, character, and development choices which affected the game’s story.

A quick warning though, there will be points where I may end up having to go on a ranting phase. Sorry about that guys.

Here we go:

Spoiler

 

1.      When Ienzo introduced himself and Aeleus in Kingdom Hearts III, he told Aeleus “whatever happened between you and Roxas was in the past.” What was Ienzo bringing up?

Seriously, I brought this up in a DeviantArt journal (see this link for the full details: http://fav.me/dczugk8? I’m not sure what Ienzo was referring to here. As far as I know, Lexeaus was the only one who taught Roxas how to use Limit Breaks. Now that I write that, I’m beginning to wonder if Aeleus had a problem with Roxas or if he felt bad about bashing Roxas with his Tomorak. 

2.      Why was Twilight Town’s map renovated in the final build of the game?

“Renovated” is a nice way of saying “altered and shrunken,” but the meaning is still the same. The original builds of Twilight Town in the previous trailers (both in Luminous and Unreal engines) had the main area in Twilight Town with the same layout as the Kingdom Hearts II layout. That includes the accessibility of the mansion’s interior and the train station. I also note that Heartless were mucking about inside the town. So I want to know what happened in development that would cause the playable world to be the way it is now.

3.       Why couldn’t Sora have joined Riku and Mickey on their second trip to the Realm of Darkness instead of going to the last two Disney worlds?

My obvious reasoning behind this question is because Riku already has the power of waking. Even though Sora hadn’t regained his active use of the power, he could have joined Riku and Mickey in finding Aqua. When it came to fighting Aqua, Sora could still be a major role in the battle but it should have been the combined efforts of Sora, Riku, and Mickey that brought Aqua back to the Realm of Light. I also would like to point out; the Aqua boss, the Land of Departure segment, and the road to the Keyblade Graveyard were done in quick succession. Wouldn’t the moments have felt stronger if these moments were spaced out between worlds?

4.      What has happened with Vanitas, as a character, in this story?

This might sound like a dumb question but Vanitas’ characterization seemed to be hard to pin down. There are many follow up questions that could go with this initial question, some relating to his usage of the term “brother,” his desperation in Monstropolis being downsized, or why there wasn’t much signs of his mindset like in the Birth by Sleep game novels. All of this could have more focus or explanation in the moments involving Vanitas as a potential deep personality, but I’m not sure what happened to make him as he was in this game.

5.      Why didn’t anyone ask about Ventus’ heart in the Mysterious Tower scene before Aqua?

This really bugs me. Whenever Sora volunteers to go save Aqua, the camera goes down Sora’s chest, emphasizing his heart. Well, Sora’s heart might not be what the moment was for: rather I feel like it was Ventus’ heart that the camera shot was trying to hint at. I mean, Sora doesn’t know why he made those volunteer claims and everyone thinks it was just him being himself. Even WHEN Donald and Goofy mentioned Ventus’ heart was inside Sora, no one seems to bother asking if it was Ventus’ heart reacting to the situation about Aqua. Not even Yen Sid, who could have said something because we got a shot of him staring at Sora, whose chest was in view instead of his face, but he didn’t. 

6.      Why is Yen Sid the head leader of the group?!

Follow up to question number 5. This question should be a given (albeit, in a slightly nicer way) and I know that many fans called Yen Sid’s credentials and track record into question (be it in stream videos, fanfiction or fanfiction reviews). To those who played Sly 3, do you remember the summary joke Sly made when he meets up with Murray in Venice? About Murray’s quest from the Guru? Well, Yen Sid basically was like that to Sora: Get lost in Disney worlds and wait for some chance to regain the [insert any negative word in here] power of waking. Other than that, any time Sora tries to get involved in the plot, Yen Sid refuses to let him. At that rate, even though he has an epic moment in the Keyblade Graveyard, Yen Sid is basically Walt Disney with the Jungle Book’s story (as I reference LittleKuriboh of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridge fame): screw the story, you have fun.

7.      Kairi’s part in the story.

I’m pretty sure that alone is enough for a huge storm of questions (and anger) in the fan community and internet bloggers (I will provide some examples at the end of this passage, but do some Googling on the subject). As I quote Sora’s anger at Xehanort: “WHY HER?” She could have had so much potential in the story as promotion set her up to have. I think Final Fantasy Peasant had some good thoughts about the outcome of that and Kairi’s treatment in this video: https://youtu.be/1hZstOfrtDs. And it wasn’t just about her time in Keyblade Graveyard, it was her interactions with the other characters aside from Sora and partly Lea. This has been a problem since Kingdom Hearts II in terms of game story and I really want that to change. But I also want to know why the development team made Kairi the way she was in Kingdom Hearts III in an honest way as writers and developers than just same old dodging or ignoring the topic.

Blogs, Forums, and Articles from my experience:

Elderkin, B. (2019, March 7). “The One Thing That Ruined Kingdom Hearts 3 for Me (No, It Wasn’t Frozen)” [Web blog entry]. Retrieved from https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-one-thing-that-ruined-kingdom-hearts-3-for-me-no-1833060651/amp.

The 13^th moogle. (2019, February 4). “Opinion on Kairi in KH3” [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.kh13.com/forums/topic/118031-opinion-on-kairi-in-kh3/.

Dawn, L. (2019, February 10). “What about Kairi?” [Web log message]. Retrieved from www.theprincessblog.org/2019/02/what-about-kairi.html?m=1

Bhibhhjis123. (2019, February 1). “[KH3] Kairi Thoughts (Spoilers)” [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/KingdomHearts/comments/am5ewx/kh3_kairi_thoughts_spoilers/.

8.      Why was the Master Defender (Eraqus and Aqua’s Keyblade) at the Destiny Islands?

Yeah, I’m not sure when or how that Keyblade got there. It was a huge thing in the reveal trailer back in E3 2013. But now, I just want to know why it was there and for how long. I don’t think we can use 0.2 as a source for this question given that it would contradict the credits of Kingdom Hearts I, the scenes of the play island during Days, II’s ending, and Birth by Sleep’s Blank Points. I think that Aqua sent the Keyblade off to the Islands after Blank Points and Dream Drop Distance. But no one (by that I mean RIKU and Kairi) really noticed this because they were away by the time Master Defender arrived.

9.      Wouldn’t be possible for players to have used the Gummi Phone to communicate with the other Guardians for more character interactions?

This is another thing from my DeviantArt journal. The exact idea I was thinking of for communication was that Square take a page from Digimon’s Cyber Sleuth on text messages. I’m not sure who really bothered playing the Classic Kingdom games much before the post-endgame stuff. But I’m sure that the Gummi Phone could have been more than being used as a photo mode and digital Jiminy’s Journal, gameplay-wise. Sure, Sora’s tech skills might be a way to explain this, story-wise, but the loading screens rebuked that reasoning. Besides, I don’t think text could have affected the game’s data storage like art and graphics did.

10.  Who is Yozora?

For my last question (out of so many) for this list, Yozora’s identity is something I like to know more about. Maybe when Square releases an expansion to the secret ending, we will likely get some information (probably not much), but I’m curious to whom Yozora is as a person and not a warrior. What is his personality, why does he resemble Riku and Noctis (whom Riku also resembles), what was his childhood like, and who he will be voiced by? I’m also thinking the Gigas weren’t really part of the real Yozora’s world as much as part of the Toy Box’s Verum Rex game world. Those questions and more I’d like to know answers to.

And with Yozora, I will put a hold on my questions. What do you guys think of these questions and my reasons for them? Have any of your own questions that you would like to have answered and your reasoning? Let me and other viewers know about them. Sorry for my possible bouts of ranting on certain questions. And thank you for reading through this forum entry.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2019 by TrinityXaos#
Spoilers, fixing a link, restoring part of a paragraph, and some grammar fixes.

[Mkucherina 84]

Those are good questions but when thinking about Ienzo and Sora's first interaction on the gummi phone, he says they met at Castle Oblivion, but that's not true. Zexion only was part of Riku's story so regardless, Sora wouldn't know who he is at all lol.

[TrinityXaos# 25]

2 hours ago, Mkucherina said:

Those are good questions but when thinking about Ienzo and Sora's first interaction on the gummi phone, he says they met at Castle Oblivion, but that's not true. Zexion only was part of Riku's story so regardless, Sora wouldn't know who he is at all lol.

That point about Zexion is very true. I think if there was ever an encounter between Sora and Zexion, it would have been in KHIIFM. And even then, the Zexion that appeared there was an Absent Silhouette.

[Mkucherina 84]

5 minutes ago, TrinityXaos# said:

That point about Zexion is very true. I think if there was ever an encounter between Sora and Zexion, it would have been in KHIIFM. And even then, the Zexion that appeared there was an Absent Silhouette.

hmm good point. do you think absent silhouettes are cannon?

[TrinityXaos# 25]

I'm honestly not sure about the canonicity of the Absent Silhouettes.