This contains spoilers for the ending of Melody of Memory.

 

Melody of Memory is out now, and we now know the setup for what is to come. Riku has gone to Quadratum on his own to save Sora. Donald and Goofy are going to tell everyone else to stop their searches for Sora. Kairi is going to finish her training under Aqua, and King Mickey is going to Scala ad Caelum to learn more about the ancient Keyblade Masters. I think that this is a lot of exciting setup, including the setup for Kairi to train under Aqua. However, I can understand how not everyone sees it that way. It seems like Kairi is getting the short end of the stick again.

Despite the fact that Kairi is probably one of the most poorly handled characters in the Kingdom Hearts series, I still defend her. To me, issues with her only start to appear in Kingdom Hearts III, but even then, the only thing that I really took issue with was that she was captured by Xemnas way too easily. She didn't even put up a fight. However, Re:Mind addressed the criticism of how Kairi was handled by showing her fight in cutscenes and by letting you play as her in the final boss fight. It looked like they learned their lesson and that Kairi would have a bigger role going forward. So, I will agree that it is a bit confusing that they are having Kairi train more instead of going to Quadratum with Riku.

Even though I don't think this was the best decision, I still think that there is reason to be excited that Kairi is getting trained under Aqua. Aqua is a fan favorite character and one of the most powerful Keyblade wielders that exists right now. The fact that they are having Kairi finish her training under Aqua leads me to think that they do still have plans for Kairi. Yes, it may appear that she is just being tossed aside again, but unless they plan to do nothing with the Wayfinder Trio either, then I think we will still get to see more of Kairi and that she will soon get her big moment in the sun that will (hopefully) make everyone happy.

That being said, I do think that Kairi could have been handled a bit better in this game when it came to the final boss fight. While it was cool to get to see Kairi fight Master Xehanort in a cutscene, I thought it was a bad decision on their part to have you play the final boss fight as Sora. I honestly didn't mind that much, but I thought it would have been better if you played the boss fight as Kairi, and Sora coming to rescue was just a cutscene. Another possibility could have been if the final boss was two phases, the first as Kairi and the second as Sora.

So, long story short, I think that there is reason to be excited to see Kairi get trained under Aqua, but I think that this is their last chance. If they continue to handle Kairi poorly after her training with Aqua, then I will finally give up hope, but I don't think that will happen. I think they have a plan for her, so let's all wait to see what it is.

Edited November 15, 20204 yr by Dagesh Lene

 

Spoiler

It's hard to feel excited when similar setup happened before and the end result of that was less than stellar. Who's to say that Kairi undergoing even more training won't end up with her getting sidelined or made weak once again so that Sora or whoever else is the lead will have to step up to save the day?

Kairi's screentime in the series after KH2 just feels like one constant teaser. Getting the player's hopes up that she might get her moment to shine and be awesome, only to push her aside, away from the main story. She can use a keyblade now, surely she'll be able to tag along with Sora in his next adventure, right? Nope, she's stuck on the islands even as Riku and Sora literally have to start from scratch in order to prepare against Xehanort, and she's only trained once Yen Sid realizes the group is still missing a guardian of light.

Kairi's training to become a Guardian of Light, surely she'll be able to have her moment to shine in KH3, right? Nope, she still ended up kidnapped and temporarily killed. All that training, and for what? ReMind only somewhat fixes this issue by showing a cutscene of her holding her own and making her playable, yet in MoM she once again needs to have Sora figuratively save her from a memory of Xehanort.

Then there's the training itself. Why does Kairi necessarily have to train in order to keep up with both of her friends, when they didn't need any and still managed to save the worlds a first and a second time? How is going through a training program in a controlled environment gonna help Kairi learn more about the keyblade, over accompanying Riku to Quadrata and learning along the way, or even going through a journey of her own? Heck, Ventus had barely any formal training in the Land of Departure, yet just by journeying through the worlds he grew in both power and character enough to be able to go toe to toe in Vanitas in BBS as an example.

It's insulting given who Kairi is meant to be. The third link in the Destiny Islands trio, the light who helps her friends find their way home, someone who should be on the same caliber as Sora and Riku, yet she's constantly treated as lesser— a supporting character at best, and recurring damsel/love interest at worst. She has so much potential for development yet it's usually squandered. I don't know if she's written this way on purpose or if the writers genuinely have no idea where to take her character, but I hope this does not become a trend.

 

Spoiler

It is certainly frustrating that in a game when she's on the cover front and center Kairi still gets less screentime than all the other characters, even less than Meow Wow and Komory Bat depending what team you play (since there's no gameplay difference between teams beyond the levels). She's more present in recap voiceover than in new content that advances the story and even then Riku is the one to go to Quadratum.

A fully fledged game where you control Kairi (and only Kairi), maybe a Dream Drop Distance type where she learns the power of waking to follow Riku to Quadratum and find Sora, even if it's only as long as 0.2, would be very much appreciated. Not just a rhythm game but a full RPG.

 

Spoiler

I always felt that after her training in KH 3 Kairi should be a little less stronger than Sora or Riku if only because they had their Keyblades for a longer time. What I don’t get is why she literally became Sora. I can understand using Sora’s Keyblade but I would think that after ReMind she stand up to Xehanort. I really hope she gets her full rpg game soon and not a mobile game or some short movie like back cover. Kairi has a lot of potential as a character and if Square could fix the problems with the story and focus on making each character shine they could do great things with her.

 

1 hour ago, keyslinger said:

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I always felt that after her training in KH 3 Kairi should be a little less stronger than Sora or Riku if only because they had their Keyblades for a longer time. What I don’t get is why she literally became Sora. I can understand using Sora’s Keyblade but I would think that after ReMind she stand up to Xehanort. I really hope she gets her full rpg game soon and not a mobile game or some short movie like back cover. Kairi has a lot of potential as a character and if Square could fix the problems with the story and focus on making each character shine they could do great things with her.

 

Spoiler

A Kairi focused story would be ideal for also expanding on the Seven New Hearts that were introduced but ultimately played little part in Kingdom Hearts 3. As she's a Princess of Heart herself and so far the most senior of the known members, in time as a PoH and battle skills, having her as a sort of leader could have interesting stories attached. Both Frozen and Tangled have follow ups in Frozen II and the Tangled animated series that are perfect for drawing characters and story ideas from. Given Kairi has only had basic training there's not even a need to contrive why her power level is reset.

 

Spoiler

I was almost disappointed, but it makes perfect sense. Riku is the only one who can go, because he is a master now, who has the power of waking. Kairi does not have the power of waking yet. 

Besides, her training under Aqua is something I've wanted for a while, so I am happy. ?

And, maybe this is a little optimistic, but with Riku and Sora in quadratum, who is going to explore didney worlds? Maybe that could be part of her training. Donald and Goofy are pretty much free to be her party members now as well.

(Data Greeting I did ages ago that I thought was relevant lol)

 

10 hours ago, Awesome Sauce said:

 

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It's hard to feel excited when similar setup happened before and the end result of that was less than stellar. Who's to say that Kairi undergoing even more training won't end up with her getting sidelined or made weak once again so that Sora or whoever else is the lead will have to step up to save the day?

Kairi's screentime in the series after KH2 just feels like one constant teaser. Getting the player's hopes up that she might get her moment to shine and be awesome, only to push her aside, away from the main story. She can use a keyblade now, surely she'll be able to tag along with Sora in his next adventure, right? Nope, she's stuck on the islands even as Riku and Sora literally have to start from scratch in order to prepare against Xehanort, and she's only trained once Yen Sid realizes the group is still missing a guardian of light.

Kairi's training to become a Guardian of Light, surely she'll be able to have her moment to shine in KH3, right? Nope, she still ended up kidnapped and temporarily killed. All that training, and for what? ReMind only somewhat fixes this issue by showing a cutscene of her holding her own and making her playable, yet in MoM she once again needs to have Sora figuratively save her from a memory of Xehanort.

Then there's the training itself. Why does Kairi necessarily have to train in order to keep up with both of her friends, when they didn't need any and still managed to save the worlds a first and a second time? How is going through a training program in a controlled environment gonna help Kairi learn more about the keyblade, over accompanying Riku to Quadrata and learning along the way, or even going through a journey of her own? Heck, Ventus had barely any formal training in the Land of Departure, yet just by journeying through the worlds he grew in both power and character enough to be able to go toe to toe in Vanitas in BBS as an example.

It's insulting given who Kairi is meant to be. The third link in the Destiny Islands trio, the light who helps her friends find their way home, someone who should be on the same caliber as Sora and Riku, yet she's constantly treated as lesser— a supporting character at best, and recurring damsel/love interest at worst. She has so much potential for development yet it's usually squandered. I don't know if she's written this way on purpose or if the writers genuinely have no idea where to take her character, but I hope this does not become a trend.

 

 

I understand your points. Despite the fact that I defend Kairi's treatment for the most part, I can't deny that it's frustrating seeing them make some of the decisions that they do. I probably would have been disappointed with her handling in Melody of Memory if they didn't setup Kairi becoming Aqua's apprentice. Maybe I'm just being optimistic, or maybe I'm just in denial. However, since it's Aqua, I just have a feeling that they have something big planned for Kairi. I hope my feeling is correct, but I guess only time will tell.

6 hours ago, jbmasta said:

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

It is certainly frustrating that in a game when she's on the cover front and center Kairi still gets less screentime than all the other characters, even less than Meow Wow and Komory Bat depending what team you play (since there's no gameplay difference between teams beyond the levels). She's more present in recap voiceover than in new content that advances the story and even then Riku is the one to go to Quadratum.

A fully fledged game where you control Kairi (and only Kairi), maybe a Dream Drop Distance type where she learns the power of waking to follow Riku to Quadratum and find Sora, even if it's only as long as 0.2, would be very much appreciated. Not just a rhythm game but a full RPG.

 

 

Yeah, I would agree that putting her on the cover was misleading, but I wasn't really disappointed with the content of the game itself.

I would also love to see her playable in a game, though I don't think it needs to be only her (though that would be nice). Maybe half of the next game follows Riku's adventures in Quadratum and the other half follows Kairi's training under Aqua (maybe going to other worlds as part of her training). Another possibility is that we could get a Sora and Riku game that takes place in Quadratum and a Kairi and King Mickey game that follows Kairi's training under Aqua and King Mickey investigating Scala ad Caelum. I would also love to see a Kingdom Hearts games where there are three playable characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. There's so many possibilities, and I hope we get one soon.

Edited November 15, 20204 yr by Dagesh Lene

12 minutes ago, Dagesh Lene said:

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

I understand your points. Despite the fact that I defend Kairi's treatment for the most part, I can't deny that it's frustrating seeing them make some of the decisions that they do. I probably would have been disappointed with her handling in Melody of Memory if they didn't setup Kairi becoming Aqua's apprentice. Maybe I'm just being optimistic, or maybe I'm just in denial. However, since it's Aqua, I just have a feeling that they have something big planned for Kairi. I hope my feeling is correct, but I guess only time will tell.

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Yeah, I would agree that putting her on the cover was misleading, but I wasn't really disappointed with the content of the game itself.

I would also love to see her playable in a game, though I don't think it needs to be only her (though that would be nice). Maybe half of the next game follows Riku's adventures in Quadratum and the other half follows Kairi's training under Aqua (maybe going to other worlds as part of her training). Another possibility is that we could get a Sora and Riku game that takes place in Quadratum and a Kairi and King Mickey game that follows Kairi's training under Aqua and King Mickey investigating Scala ad Caelum. I would also love to see a Kingdom Hearts games where there are three playable characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. There's so many possibilities, and I hope we get one soon.

 

Spoiler

I know it's box ticking at this point, but if there is a game that focuses on the Destiny Trio I'd love to see flashbacks to important moments of them growing up together, in part to flesh out life on the Destiny Islands. Kairi's arrival, Sora getting his crown necklace, the development of Sora and RIku's relationship with her etc and perhaps even an appearance of Tidus, Wakka and Selphie.

If Re:Mind and Melody of Memory have shown anything it's that Kairi has at least a game's worth of untapped potential. Let's hope it won't take over a decade.

 

4 hours ago, keyslinger said:

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

I always felt that after her training in KH 3 Kairi should be a little less stronger than Sora or Riku if only because they had their Keyblades for a longer time. What I don’t get is why she literally became Sora. I can understand using Sora’s Keyblade but I would think that after ReMind she stand up to Xehanort. I really hope she gets her full rpg game soon and not a mobile game or some short movie like back cover. Kairi has a lot of potential as a character and if Square could fix the problems with the story and focus on making each character shine they could do great things with her.

 

I agree with you. I saw Kairi as a little less strong than Sora and Riku too since she hasn't been using the Keyblade as long as them, but I can't wait for them to finally show her reach her full potential. Here's hoping her training under Aqua is what they are using to get her there.

Also, I think the reason Sora appeared was because of the strong connection that he and Kairi have.

2 hours ago, Kittenz said:

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I was almost disappointed, but it makes perfect sense. Riku is the only one who can go, because he is a master now, who has the power of waking. Kairi does not have the power of waking yet. 

Besides, her training under Aqua is something I've wanted for a while, so I am happy. ?

And, maybe this is a little optimistic, but with Riku and Sora in quadratum, who is going to explore didney worlds? Maybe that could be part of her training. Donald and Goofy are pretty much free to be her party members now as well.

(Data Greeting I did ages ago that I thought was relevant lol)

 

I think that was pretty much my reaction too, but said in a much more concise way than I said it. Kairi is one of my favorite characters, so I want her to be treated well. She may not have been treated the best so far, but having her train under Aqua makes me very excited and hopeful that she is going places. Hopefully we will see her reach her full potential soon.

16 minutes ago, jbmasta said:

 

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I know it's box ticking at this point, but if there is a game that focuses on the Destiny Trio I'd love to see flashbacks to important moments of them growing up together, in part to flesh out life on the Destiny Islands. Kairi's arrival, Sora getting his crown necklace, the development of Sora and RIku's relationship with her etc and perhaps even an appearance of Tidus, Wakka and Selphie.

If Re:Mind and Melody of Memory have shown anything it's that Kairi has at least a game's worth of untapped potential. Let's hope it won't take over a decade.

 

Well, since they love to explain literally every single little detail (such as why King Mickey had no shirt at the end of KH1), it would probably be more surprising to me if they didn't do a game explaining all of that.

10 minutes ago, Dagesh Lene said:

 

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Well, since they love to explain literally every single little detail (such as why King Mickey had no shirt at the end of KH1), it would probably be more surprising to me if they didn't do a game explaining all of that.

 

 

 

Spoiler

What does interest me is the significance of Sora's necklace. Despite being a part of nearly all his appearances and forms, as well as the symbol that appears when he opens up paths in the Lanes Between, there's no in-story reason or backstory given. Within the games he's only on a throne once (Dream Drop Distance, when he's unconscious and nearly Norted) and there's no indication he's got royal heritage. The story in the games also don't hint at Sora being royalty, the only connection being that his love interest is a Princess of Heart and Kairi holds no royal title or heritage beyond that. As Kingdom Hearts 3 shows the role of PoH is transferrable as at least three members have passsed it on to Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna.

 

im a bit worried tht kairi missed her chance to have her own game. but i suppose this could be a set up for her own game. or mayabe one for mickey

18 hours ago, jbmasta said:

 

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What does interest me is the significance of Sora's necklace. Despite being a part of nearly all his appearances and forms, as well as the symbol that appears when he opens up paths in the Lanes Between, there's no in-story reason or backstory given. Within the games he's only on a throne once (Dream Drop Distance, when he's unconscious and nearly Norted) and there's no indication he's got royal heritage. The story in the games also don't hint at Sora being royalty, the only connection being that his love interest is a Princess of Heart and Kairi holds no royal title or heritage beyond that. As Kingdom Hearts 3 shows the role of PoH is transferrable as at least three members have passsed it on to Rapunzel, Elsa and Anna.

 

I never noticed that about Sora's necklace. That's really interesting. I wonder if they do have something planned for Sora that will be revealed soon regarding that.

12 hours ago, ocean's rage said:

 

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

im a bit worried tht kairi missed her chance to have her own game. but i suppose this could be a set up for her own game. or mayabe one for mickey

 

I wouldn't go as far as to say that she missed her chance to have her own game. I think she could still get one. Although, this did seem like the perfect opportunity to give her one.

5 hours ago, Dagesh Lene said:

 

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

 

I never noticed that about Sora's necklace. That's really interesting. I wonder if they do have something planned for Sora that will be revealed soon regarding that.

 

 

 

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I wouldn't go as far as to say that she missed her chance to have her own game. I think she could still get one. Although, this did seem like the perfect opportunity to give her one.

 

 

thats sort of the point, MoM was the perfect chance for kairi to have her own game. if it wasnt so awesome it would feel like a wasted chance. i do hope the kairi's training under aqua will turn into a full game but the pessimist in me says other wise. 

in regards to the necklace, i dont think there's meant to be any special meaning. i think its ust meant to represent sora himself.

10 hours ago, ocean's rage said:

 

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thats sort of the point, MoM was the perfect chance for kairi to have her own game. if it wasnt so awesome it would feel like a wasted chance. i do hope the kairi's training under aqua will turn into a full game but the pessimist in me says other wise. 

in regards to the necklace, i dont think there's meant to be any special meaning. i think its ust meant to represent sora himself.

 

The thing is that they clearly wanted to make a Kingdom Hearts rhythm game. However, for whatever reason, they can't just make a non-canon Kingdom Hearts game. So, they found a way to make it canon that also setup what was coming next, and I think that's fine. And honestly, I kind of prefer this to what the alternative would have most likely been if it wasn't a rhythm game, which is yet another game that visits the same old worlds and retells the stories of those worlds, like Chain of Memories and coded did, as Kairi searched the memories in search of clues to find Sora. That was something I never liked about CoM and coded.

I think the thing that they didn't think through is that people really want to see Kairi in her own game, so marketing the game as being about Kairi was a very poor move on their part. If they didn't do that, I don't think people would have cared as much, and getting some of that Kairi stuff would have been a nice surprise.

I'm still optimistic that Kairi will at least be playable in an upcoming game. However, if they do nothing with her getting trained by Aqua and she is given the short end of the stick again, then I will start to get pessimistic, since I see this as their last chance to do her justice.

1 hour ago, Dagesh Lene said:

 

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The thing is that they clearly wanted to make a Kingdom Hearts rhythm game. However, for whatever reason, they can't just make a non-canon Kingdom Hearts game. So, they found a way to make it canon that also setup what was coming next, and I think that's fine. And honestly, I kind of prefer this to what the alternative would have most likely been if it wasn't a rhythm game, which is yet another game that visits the same old worlds and retells the stories of those worlds, like Chain of Memories and coded did, as Kairi searched the memories in search of clues to find Sora. That was something I never liked about CoM and coded.

I think the thing that they didn't think through is that people really want to see Kairi in her own game, so marketing the game as being about Kairi was a very poor move on their part. If they didn't do that, I don't think people would have cared as much, and getting some of that Kairi stuff would have been a nice surprise.

I'm still optimistic that Kairi will at least be playable in an upcoming game. However, if they do nothing with her getting trained by Aqua and she is given the short end of the stick again, then I will start to get pessimistic, since I see this as their last chance to do her justice.

 

 

well it was disney who suggested they make a KH rhythm game so cant be too sure on that one. i do agree with your point on rehashing old stories again, although there are certain worlds that weve seen so little of maybe it wouldnt so bad. also another point you can make is that it wouldnt have made sense, kairi's never been to most of those worlds so why would they be in her memory. as far as we can tell shes only been to never land during which she was comatose. in terms of canon i think only kairi's recounts are canon and not the stages bar the ones from the last episode.

Spoiler

When it comes to Kairi, I am just going to expect the worse and be pleasantly surprised if the next time she shows up she'll be good. I don't like the idea of her needing to train instead of going on a adventure and getting stronger that way. Training just seems like a way to write her off screen, and if she returns powerful it won't feel as earned as if we had played her journey ourselves. I want to be hopefully, but I've been betrayed to many times. I like Kairi, but this hurts me

 

Edited November 17, 20204 yr by SweetYetSalty

5 hours ago, ocean's rage said:

 

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well it was disney who suggested they make a KH rhythm game so cant be too sure on that one. i do agree with your point on rehashing old stories again, although there are certain worlds that weve seen so little of maybe it wouldnt so bad. also another point you can make is that it wouldnt have made sense, kairi's never been to most of those worlds so why would they be in her memory. as far as we can tell shes only been to never land during which she was comatose. in terms of canon i think only kairi's recounts are canon and not the stages bar the ones from the last episode.

I thought they said that they've been wanting to do a rhythm game for a while. Maybe I'm just not remembering correctly. And I think you're right. Those probably are the only canon moments in the game, but I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of it was made canon somehow since everything always seems to become canon eventually.

I am starting to wonder what this game would have looked like if they only focused on what happened in the last episode. Maybe a way they could have gotten around rehashing old worlds is if they did something similar to how the worlds were designed in 0.2 and have the worlds constructed from Kairi's memories of Sora be a bit bizarre and designed in a puzzle solving sort of way. Maybe the worlds could have started with her most recent memories of Sora and each new world could have contained older and older memories of Sora, going back in time earlier and earlier in her life. Then, at the end she could have gone back so far into her memories that she unlocked her forgotten memories of what Xehanort did to her. It's a random idea I came up with just now, but maybe it could have worked if they did that.

I do want to be clear that I am not disappointed with the product that we got. It's just that this talk about what an alternate version of this game in which you play as Kairi could have looked like got me thinking.

3 hours ago, SweetYetSalty said:

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When it comes to Kairi, I am just going to expect the worse and be pleasantly surprised if the next time she shows up she'll be good. I don't like the idea of her needing to train instead of going on a adventure and getting stronger that way. Training just seems like a way to write her off screen, and if she returns powerful it won't feel as earned as if we had played her journey ourselves. I want to be hopefully, but I've been betrayed to many times. I like Kairi, but this hurts me

 

I agree that there are other things that they could have done with Kairi that would have made more sense, but I don't think that this direction will necessarily be a bad one. It's just not the one that I would have preferred in this moment. But who knows? Maybe I'll end up preferring what they do with her once I see what it is. I'm excited to see what they do with her becoming Aqua's apprentice, but if they continue to give her the short end of the stick after her training with Aqua, then I will start to lose my optimism.

Spoiler

One of my biggest gripes with KH3 was that they never showed us any of Axel and Kairi's training. I'm not expecting Kairi training with Aqua to result in anything good in and of the training itself, but the fact she's finishing her training will lend some credence to her being awesome in any future battles she participates in be it as the player character or as a party member/guest unlike with the Re:Mind DLC where it felt very much like she'd become too powerful too soon just because they got trigger hasty on her being awesome after the backlash of her treatment in the base game. Pulling that trigger too soon is what makes her not being able to fend off Xehanort on her own in Melody of Memories so jarring (at least if you fail to realize that they'd pulled the trigger on her being awesome too soon).

The main reasons why I'm not enthusiastic about Kairi's future is specifically because of how Melody of Memories cutscenes where handled. They really rushed right through it all. I already said this in my original comment about the game in the game's spoiler thread but they really could've done more with the cutscenes both in the past and the present. Kairi slept for a whole year, but nothing at all came to her mind about her past beyond that one scene when Xehanort put her in the machine and sent her off to worlds unknown?

No scene of her being separated from her grandmother (don't know if the devs forgot about her grandmother or have future plans for her but the point I am to make by wondering why they don't have a scene of how she got separated from her grandmother is that it should've been an impactful occurrence as being parted from family usually is even under the best circumstances). No scene(s) of the Radiant Garden Final Fantasy characters defense efforts against the invading heartless. Then in the present she wakes up and they just rush right into the next plot point without giving room for her and Riku's reunion and friendship to breathe.

If Kairi recapping the previous games and such few scenes of both fleshing out and developing her character is their idea of a protagonist Kairi game then her future is very bleak indeed. I've no doubt fans will get to play as her again in the future, but her character will almost assuredly remain a disappointment. She'll in essence be awesome because Awesome Kairi is what the fans yearn for "so here you go! now shut up!" not because she's genuinely anything worth writing home about.

PS: An odd thing to note, but did anyone else besides me notice that they reused Little Kairi's audio from Birth By Sleep in the cutscene where she's running from heartless before she first meets Aqua for the new cutscenes that has her running from heartless before being picked up by Apprentice Xehanort instead of recording fresh ones?

 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 20204 yr by FadedSparkle

 

4 hours ago, Dagesh Lene said:

 

  SPOILERS: Click to reveal

 

I thought they said that they've been wanting to do a rhythm game for a while. Maybe I'm just not remembering correctly. And I think you're right. Those probably are the only canon moments in the game, but I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of it was made canon somehow since everything always seems to become canon eventually.

I am starting to wonder what this game would have looked like if they only focused on what happened in the last episode. Maybe a way they could have gotten around rehashing old worlds is if they did something similar to how the worlds were designed in 0.2 and have the worlds constructed from Kairi's memories of Sora be a bit bizarre and designed in a puzzle solving sort of way. Maybe the worlds could have started with her most recent memories of Sora and each new world could have contained older and older memories of Sora, going back in time earlier and earlier in her life. Then, at the end she could have gone back so far into her memories that she unlocked her forgotten memories of what Xehanort did to her. It's a random idea I came up with just now, but maybe it could have worked if they did that.

I do want to be clear that I am not disappointed with the product that we got. It's just that this talk about what an alternate version of this game in which you play as Kairi could have looked like got me thinking.

 

 

that would have been cool

4 hours ago, FadedSparkle said:

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PS: An odd thing to note, but did anyone else besides me notice that they reused Little Kairi's audio from Birth By Sleep in the cutscene where she's running from heartless before she first meets Aqua for the new cutscenes that has her running from heartless before being picked up by Apprentice Xehanort instead of recording fresh ones?

 

 

 

 

well this was probably a lower budget game and they didnt want to spend money rehiring an actress for a couple of sound effects, especially if said voice actress sounds a lot different now

Edited November 17, 20204 yr by ocean's rage

12 hours ago, FadedSparkle said:

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One of my biggest gripes with KH3 was that they never showed us any of Axel and Kairi's training. I'm not expecting Kairi training with Aqua to result in anything good in and of the training itself, but the fact she's finishing her training will lend some credence to her being awesome in any future battles she participates in be it as the player character or as a party member/guest unlike with the Re:Mind DLC where it felt very much like she'd become too powerful too soon just because they got trigger hasty on her being awesome after the backlash of her treatment in the base game. Pulling that trigger too soon is what makes her not being able to fend off Xehanort on her own in Melody of Memories so jarring (at least if you fail to realize that they'd pulled the trigger on her being awesome too soon).

The main reasons why I'm not enthusiastic about Kairi's future is specifically because of how Melody of Memories cutscenes where handled. They really rushed right through it all. I already said this in my original comment about the game in the game's spoiler thread but they really could've done more with the cutscenes both in the past and the present. Kairi slept for a whole year, but nothing at all came to her mind about her past beyond that one scene when Xehanort put her in the machine and sent her off to worlds unknown?

No scene of her being separated from her grandmother (don't know if the devs forgot about her grandmother or have future plans for her but the point I am to make by wondering why they don't have a scene of how she got separated from her grandmother is that it should've been an impactful occurrence as being parted from family usually is even under the best circumstances). No scene(s) of the Radiant Garden Final Fantasy characters defense efforts against the invading heartless. Then in the present she wakes up and they just rush right into the next plot point without giving room for her and Riku's reunion and friendship to breathe.

If Kairi recapping the previous games and such few scenes of both fleshing out and developing her character is their idea of a protagonist Kairi game then her future is very bleak indeed. I've no doubt fans will get to play as her again in the future, but her character will almost assuredly remain a disappointment. She'll in essence be awesome because Awesome Kairi is what the fans yearn for "so here you go! now shut up!" not because she's genuinely anything worth writing home about.

PS: An odd thing to note, but did anyone else besides me notice that they reused Little Kairi's audio from Birth By Sleep in the cutscene where she's running from heartless before she first meets Aqua for the new cutscenes that has her running from heartless before being picked up by Apprentice Xehanort instead of recording fresh ones?

 

 

 

 

 

My outlook isn't quite as bleak as that. I think that there is still hope for Kairi, but I do also think that this is their last chance. If they continue to drop the ball with her after her training with Aqua is finished, then I will start to get pessimistic about their handling of Kairi. I think that the fact that they are having her train under Aqua is a good sign, and I am excited for it, but we will just have to wait and see.

I do agree with you about not getting to see Kairi and Lea's training. One thing that felt messy to me about Kingdom Hearts III was the entire beginning to the game. It started you off in Sora's Dive to the Heart, which is just there and does not connect to the rest of the game like it did in KH1 and KH2 (other than to make the connection between the Dive to the Heart and the Final World), making it feel tacked on to the beginning. Then, the story started right in the middle of Yen Sid's conversation with Sora about how he needs to unlock the power of waking, which is an odd place to start. And finally, Olympus acts as the tutorial world, but it just has Sora learn new abilities without drawing any attention to them, such as Free Running and Attractions. I could probably make an entire post about how I would fix the beginning of the game, but just focusing on the tutorial part, instead of Sora just suddenly learning stuff in Olympus, they could have used the tutorial as an opportunity to show Kairi and Lea's training. That way, you get to see them train and you get to learn all of the basics of combat in a way that feels more natural than how they did it in the actual game.

Also, I did not notice that they reused her audio. Nice catch.

Edited November 17, 20204 yr by Dagesh Lene

I’m happy that Kairi decided to be trained by Aqua. Just hoping she will be playable and have a bigger role in the future

On 11/17/2020 at 2:36 PM, Zach2 said:

I’m happy that Kairi decided to be trained by Aqua. Just hoping she will be playable and have a bigger role in the future

https://gamerant.com/kingdom-hearts-melody-memory-kairi-aqua/

On 11/17/2020 at 3:36 PM, Zach2 said:

I’m happy that Kairi decided to be trained by Aqua. Just hoping she will be playable and have a bigger role in the future

 

I agree. I think that Kairi training under Aqua can only bring good things, and I can't wait to see what those things are.

Also, I enjoyed reading that article. Thanks for sharing it.

Edited November 20, 20204 yr by Dagesh Lene

Spoiler

I do believe that Kairi is going to get some very good development in the coming saga.

Yes, she's been shafted quite a bit, but her overall importance to the franchise still stands. I'm sure Nomura will find the perfect way to ease her arc through its most epic moment! The next game that comes will probably focus on her development as well as Riku journeying into Quadratum.

But the fact that Kairi wants to finish her training under Aqua got me so hyped