Ok, so I've been meaning to make this topic for quite some time. While I have stated my wishes on this topic and my reasoning in other topics, these were only in the form of replies/comments. I decided it was about time I made a topic on this and gave ALL my reasoning and thoughts on this subject. You might recognise some from a Youtuber known as 'Frustrated Jacob'.

 

Now please note before I start that I fully respect other people's opinions as I know that there are some of you who disagree with me.  Please do not take any offence from what I say in this topic. However, every time I've seen/heard someone say that they do not wish multiple playable characters in KH3, they have never given any good reasoning. Which is why I will first tackle some, if not all, these reasons and say why I disagree with the reason. Without further ado, let's begin:

 

1. "Kingdom Hearts 3 should only have Sora as a playable character because this is his time to shine."

 

My Response: Sora has had his time to shine in Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories, 2 and Dream Drop Distance. What about the other characters? What about Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Xion, Namine, Terra, Aqua, Ventus and Lea? Some of these characters barley had any time to shine compared to Sora. Ever since Chain of Memories, this hasn't been about Sora only. While Sora does need some character development as he hasn't had much compared to the others (except for Chain of Memories, which was amazing) the others deserve as much, especially Kairi.

 

At this point, I don't think Sora should even be the one to defeat Xehanort. You know why? Because Sora has never met nor even seen the guy once.. at all. Sora has no personal relationship with Xehanort. He has no reason to battle him except for the fact that 'HE'S THE BAD GUY!' Just look at the others: Terra, Aqua and Ventus had their lives torn apart by the old man, Lea got his best friend taken away from him to become a vessel, Roxas was used by his Nobody without even knowing who he is or where he came from, Riku has had a conflict with his Heartless, Kairi is probably pissed at the guy for preventing her from spending time with her boyfriend. You see where I'm getting at here? What does Sora have? I mean Xemnas made fun of him a little in DDD... Yeah, not enough. Sure, he had his friends taken away, but it's not as personal as the others I've mentioned. The best Sora's had against an enemy was in COM against Marluxia. He was torturing the sweet, innocent Namine so much as to crucifying her in the manga. And look at Sora's face after defeating him. He has no sympathy or remorse whatsoever. Just anger because of what he did to Namine. Sure he didn't know her, but his fake memories of her were still what drove him forward. That's what the others have, something to drive them forward against Xehanort. Let me ask a question. In the final world in DDD, which seemed more story driven and included development with their respective characters? Sora or Riku?

 

2. "Kingdom Hearts 3 should have only Sora playable because it's a numbered title. So the trend must go on."

 

I'm sorry. but I really don't see the logic behind this, at all. Kingdom Hearts 2 (a numbered title) already had multiple playable characters (just for a little while) so that 'trend' was never there to begin with.

 

3. "We could have other characters playable but only in small segments, like Riku at the end of KH2."

 

Now this has some good reasoning, well, compared to the others in my opinion. Riku and Mickey in Kingdom Hearts 2 were playable yes, but only in limited moments. What was also limited was their abilities. They both had only three abilities: Jump, Dark Aura or Pearl and Attack. Wow what a variation! (Note the sarcasm). You're telling me that you want these segments with that limited amount of things to do? The segments shouldn't exist at all. They should be playable wherever we want and whenever we want. They need to have their own stats, levels and abilities just like Sora. Having so little to do with characters doesn't really make them as fun as if they had the capacity as Sora.

 

4. "Their stories could be only in cutscenes."

 

Really? Let's say there's this awesome spectacular battle between two characters, let's say Lea and Isa (perfect). Would you rather simply see it in a cutscene or would you rather actually be part of the battle and play as Lea to make the battle a more immersive experience? I think the latter has the upper hand here. Another perfect example was the the battle between Roxas and Sora in Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix (specifically). The battle was SO much better when they made Roxas an actual boss battle! And lookie there! the cutscene was still there! Why not have both cutscene and playable experience. The same thing goes for simply exploring through the world instead of having characters simply appearing in one place and appearing in the next through simple cutscenes. It's better if you actually explore the world yourself and take control of the character. Let me give an example. A what-if scenario. Let's say you're playing Kingdom Hearts 2 and you're in The World that Never Was. You're on your way to the top... only through cutscenes. Wouldn't you rather run and fight you're way through it and feel a sense of accomplishment?

 

5. "If we had multiple playable characters, then we'd have to play different story lines one after the other like in Birth By Sleep."

 

Who says it has to be like Birth By Sleep? They can just as easily make it like Dream Drop Distance, except without the drop meter. They can simply have Sora, Donald and Goofy go through a certain number of worlds while Kairi and Lea go through a number of worlds that the other group haven't gone through yet. Example: Sora goes to Twilight Town while Kairi goes to Radiant Garden. Sure there's a limit, but no time limit. We can have a team of Sora, Riku and Kairi and you can switch between these characters mid-combat with the simple push of L2 or R2 (or the Xbox One's respective buttons). "But that's too much, that's not something that we've seen in other KH games." And to that I say: Every single Kingdom Hearts game has introduced multiple gameplay functions that other KH games do not have. Just look at Kingdom Hearts 2! This game had SO many things you could do that Kingdom Hearts 1 didn't have: Limits, Reaction Commands, changing party members at will, Drive Forms and Keyblades having their own abilities. Kingdom Hearts 3 is two generations ahead of Kingdom Hearts 2, so it's definitely going to have a lot more gameplay functions than Kingdom Hearts 2. Further proving this is the fact that Tetsuya Nomura stated in a very recent interview that KH3 will have more worlds than KH2. I rest my case.

 

Now finally, I'm going to say this which doesn't apply to this last question (#5) so think of this as a number six but with no quote. This is a message to all those who disagree with me. Again, please take no offence as I mean to give none of that.

 

This is Kingdom Hearts 3! This is going to be a climactic battle of epic proportions between seven heroes and thirteen villains and you want to stay stuck in Sora's big shoes? If Sora was the only one playable then that would mean that either:

 

a) The others fight in cutscenes, which ruins the experience as I stated earlier.

 

or

 

b) Sora kicks everyone's butt, which completely defeats the purpose of having seven lights to begin with.

 

We need to play as all these characters and finish what they started, especially Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Their story is not over and the same goes for the others. It is their destiny to fight against Xehanort and finish this once and for all!

 

Kingdom Hearts 3 needs multiple playable characters. It's a must! Enough said!

 

Do you agree? Do you still disagree? Do you have a reason, one that makes sense at least? If so, leave a reply.

Sora actually has the most reason out of anyone to be going after Xehanort. You have to remember that Sora is carrying the pain of everyone who has suffered at the hands of Xehanort. A pain so powerful just a fraction of it almost broke him. Sora was thrust into a life of suffering and has since been forced to bear the burden of an adult. All of this because of the machinations of Xehanort. To top it all off he had to suffer almost having his entire life stolen in DDD. The only person that has more reason to fight Xehanort then Sora is Terra.

Edited June 22, 201510 yr by Chucky the Wise

Considering the scope that Kingdom Hearts III has, I'm pretty sure we'll be playing as the other Lights, because I mean, come on, a battle where you can control Lea to determine Isa's fate is definitely something you want to experience firsthand, and not in a cutscene!  So yeah, all the characters should have some play time dedicated to them!  But, on the other hand, another part of me says that I'd prefer playing just as Sora.  So I'm kind of in the neutral ground on this one. X3  I'll be fine with however Nomura decides to handle this.

 

And well, while the foreshadowing in the latest KHIII trailer suggests that Sora will be the one to face off against Xehanort, we'll have to see what kind of build up there is throughout the game between the two.  Because sure, Sora knows Xehanort is a threat, but he didn't suffer a fatal fate, unlike the rest of the characters!  I'm pretty sure that there'll be something bad happening during Kingdom Hearts III that'll make Sora snap and eventually get extremely pissed off at Xehanort, and whatever happens during the build up will definitely strengthen Sora's reason for fighting against Xehanort!  

 

Gahhh, Kingdom Hearts III, how close, and yet how far you still are!

Edited June 22, 201510 yr by Shigehiko

I agree. But that is only wishful thinking. I wouldn't expect so many playable characters in one game unless I wanted to be dissapointed.

We will know soon enough, but to make the game fair from the characters side, AT LEAST the guardians of light should be playable if not all the important characters.

The only way I want to play as someone other than Sora would be like how KH2 did it with playing as someone else for the tutorial and a few limited parts later in the game. This story started with Sora and should end with him. 

Actually no, as learned in BBS, this story has not started out with Sora. Yes, the first game released started with Sora, but in the timeline (excluding Chi) this started out with Aqua, Terra and Ventus. This trio definitely needs its time to shine just as much as Sora. Same goes for the others.

 

Playing as other characters at limited moments makes the amount of things you can do... limited. We need much more than just those small moments, we need to play as these characters at their fullest.

Edited June 22, 201510 yr by Master Eraqus

Actually no, as learned in BBS, this story has not started out with Sora. Yes, the first game released started with Sora, but in the timeline (excluding Chi) this started out with Aqua, Terra and Ventus. This trio definitely needs its time to shine just as much as Sora. Same goes for the others.

 

Playing as other characters at limited moments makes the amount of things you can do... limited. We need much more than just those small moments, we need to play as these characters at their fullest.

KH3 2115 Release date confirmed

It would be cool that Sora fought someone and u played sora, Then Riku fought a a boss and you play as Riku

And also doing this with Ven Terra Aqua.

It's so unfair that everybody else only gets five games dedicated to them

Sora got two entire games over a decade ago, let's give someone else some time in the sun, sure he's the main character, but he's had it too good for too long

Sure, you have good reasonings, but what it all comes down to is the fact that this game isn't for handhelds anymore. With new characters comes more development time, more abilities, varied gameplay, more more more. 'Course, I'd love for other playable characters, but I'm sure even Nomura-san is ready for that.

 

Although, I EXPECT to see it in the next Kingdom Hearts.

I'm really glad to see the majority of you agreeing with me.

 

I know a lot of you don't agree with what I said about the conflict between Sora and Xehanort and you've changed my mind, especially with the statement of Sora being put into a magic coma by Xehanort in DDD. But I still hope to see some cutscenes where we see Sora have some sort of hatred towards Xehanort after what happened in DDD. (Yes, I know about the hatred with Young Xehanort.)

Actually no, as learned in BBS, this story has not started out with Sora. Yes, the first game released started with Sora, but in the timeline (excluding Chi) this started out with Aqua, Terra and Ventus. This trio definitely needs its time to shine just as much as Sora. Same goes for the others.

 

Playing as other characters at limited moments makes the amount of things you can do... limited. We need much more than just those small moments, we need to play as these characters at their fullest.

 

Actually no, as learned in KHChi, we come to realise that the Kingdom Hearts tale starts off with none other than... you. I mean, to put it technically, your Avatar. KHChi comes before KHBBS, and because it is canon, KHChi should be represented as the origin point of the Kingdom Hearts universe (as of right now). 

Actually no, as learned in KHChi, we come to realise that the Kingdom Hearts tale starts off with none other than... you. I mean, to put it technically, your Avatar. KHChi comes before KHBBS, and because it is canon, KHChi should be represented as the origin point of the Kingdom Hearts universe (as of right now). 

Well yeah, that is true. What I meant to say was that this started out with Aqua, Terra and Ventus when it comes to what Xehanort has done. And I don't think Xehanort had anything to do with Chi, supposedly. 

Well yeah, that is true. What I meant to say was that this started out with Aqua, Terra and Ventus when it comes to what Xehanort has done. And I don't think Xehanort had anything to do with Chi, supposedly.  >

 

Theoretically, Xehanort could have been the hooded figure communicating with the Foretellers in the players nightmare through lore not yet explained (*cough* Adult Xehanort being the sixth foreteller). 

 

Back to topic, if Mickey returns to battle if Sora faints then that's a second playable character there already, alternatively, if drive forms return then a potential drive form could quite literally be Roxas (as he is in Sora's body for Kingdom Hearts 2).

Theoretically, Xehanort could have been the hooded figure communicating with the Foretellers in the players nightmare through lore not yet explained (*cough* Adult Xehanort being the sixth foreteller). 

 

Back to topic, if Mickey returns to battle if Sora faints then that's a second playable character there already, alternatively, if drive forms return then a potential drive form could quite literally be Roxas (as he is in Sora's body for Kingdom Hearts 2).

I personally don't believe that the Mickey thing would return in KH3, since he'll be busy searching with Riku. As for drive forms, I don't think they'll make a return, at least those which use two Keyblades such as Valor Form, since Sora has to return Ventus' heart.