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Analysis of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer from TGS 2016


Raxaimus

A new Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue trailer premiered at Tokyo Game Show 2016. Both story and gameplay received significant attention, with a particular focus on new areas and plot points. Since the footage shown within this trailer tends to jump from game to game, our analysis will cover each game as a whole instead of covering the trailer chronologically.

 

Playing in the background is a brand new remix of Hikari/Simple and Clean, created especially for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, titled "Hikari/Simple and Clean -Ray of Hope MIX-". Unfortunately, this version of the song has yet to be released to the public.

 

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD

 

While there is very little completely new footage shown in the Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD segments, this is the first time the game's HUD has appeared in a full trailer, confirming that what we see is likely to be the final design. Additionally, one very significant HUD element appears to be missing; the Drop Gauge. In the 3DS version of the game, as well as in the playable demos that we have seen thusfar, this infamous timer forced players to swap between characters when it was depleted. If a player happened to be fighting a boss as the Drop Gauge was completely expended, they would return to that particular character's story only to find that the game had sent their character back to the point before they entered the boss fight. One small detail to consider is that Drop Gauge orbs (the teardrop shaped objects in the screenshot below) still appear to be present within the game, as Riku defeats an enemy which drops them. However, this could be a temporary situation, as the removal of the Drop System is most likely a recent development which has not fully been completed. What are your thoughts on this mechanic's supposed removal?

 

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Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover

 

The footage focusing on Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover is split into two parts. In the first, we see Ira and the Master of Masters discussing Ira's goal of saving the world, a goal which the Master of Masters seems skeptical of. Meanwhile, Aced approaches Ava with the offer of an alliance between the two of them and a third participant. Ava then plainly states that alliances are forbidden. Afterwards, Gula is shown in an alleyway, musing on the advice to "trust no one but himself". Invi, meanwhile, ponders about circumstances which will lead to the Keyblade War. What do you think each Foreteller's goals and motivations are?

 

In the second part of the Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover footage, we see Aced grabbing Gula and asserting that they don't know who the traitor is. The next scene shows Ava asking Invi if she considered that her actions could be making things worse for those involved. The final scene of this segment shows the Master of Masters closing a Book of Prophecy, remarking that Luxu should "get started" and will have to "go alone from here on out". Luxu responds by asking about the Foretellers' involvement in what his master has planned. What do you think the Master of Masters could be planning, and how are his apprentices involved?

 

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Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-

 

This portion of the compilation received a significant amount of screen time. The CG footage we see is most likely taken from the opening of the game, especially when considering the abstract, surreal nature of many of the scenes. When examining the in-engine footage, the graphics appear to be slightly improved from the previous trailer as well as the playable demo for the game. This slight graphical touch-up could be the very first evidence we have of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue's compatibility with PlayStation 4 Pro.

 

The gameplay segments in the trailer take place within Dwarf Woodlands, one of the worlds which was sent to the Realm of Darkness sometime after the events of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. We see Aqua heavily relying on magic and triggering the Blizzagun command style, though it does not get activated. We also see her battling a living reflection of herself, which was seen earlier in the trailer.

 

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Within another area, we see Aqua strike a pillar in order to seemingly reverse the gravity as well as phase through the floor. This allows her to reach a previously inaccessible treasure chest. If this sort of variety in the gameplay is common, what other types of unique gameplay mechanics would you like to see?

 

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The story elements take place in two segments. First, Aqua is seen in Dwarf Woodlands approaching Snow White's glass casket, which is revealed to contain Ventus. The next scene shows Aqua facing the Magic Mirror, with the mirror's spirit nowhere to be found. As her reflection begins to come to life, it taunts her by asking what point there is in continuing to fight, ending with "Only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's". Aqua refutes this claim, preparing to battle this living reflection.

 

The second segment of story-related footage takes place at the end of the trailer. We see Aqua falling through an abyss, accepting her fate to become one with darkness. As her Wayfinder slips out of her hand, Mickey appears and returns it to her, asking if she is okay. In the trailer's final scene, Aqua is shown confronting a group of Darksides in Enchanted Dominion. These Darksides release orbs of dark energy into another very massive orb of dark energy floating above them.

 

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The trailer ends with the game's logo and release date, January 12th, 2017 for Japan and January 24th, 2017 for the rest of the world.

 

If you would like to delve into further analysis of this trailer, be sure to check out Soraalam1's analysis video!

 

 

Additionally, you may be interested in the following discussion video, featuring KH13 staff member Toominator!

 

 

What are your thoughts on this new trailer? Did you notice anything that we may have missed in our analysis? Please let us know in the comments!

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The heartless were sick of getting beat so they started watching Dragon Ball Z and has now learned the Spirit Bomb! Or darkness bomb in this cause i guess. Jokes aside...... whatever they're making is concerning o~o so yeah.... better look into it mick and aqua.

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Not bad, but there's something I think you're off about. That segment in 0.2 where you have to turn the room upside down, I don't think that's Enchanted Dominion, everything has been pretty focused on Dwarf Woodlands in the trailer, and Aqua is confronting the Magic Mirror's illusions again anyway, it only makes sense that that hallway is just the area the Mirror is in, the Evil Queen's secret lair (I mean the whole hallway is a giant mirror, HELLLOOOOO!?).

 

Now maybe the part with all the Darksides is Enchanted Dominion since I guess you could see some thorns in that whole setup, along with where Aqua is seen standing, but that doesn't feel like enough to go on. So far I think the only two lost worlds we can confirm for sure being in this trailer are Dwarf Woodlands and Castle of Dreams (there's a shot of the castle during the early part). I'm sure Enchanted Dominion might be in 0.2 anyway just to tie together the whole Birth By Sleep feel, but for now I think it's too early to be making claims of what areas are Enchanted Dominion and which ones aren't.

 

And yeah, that giant orb of energy the Darksides are summoning does look like the orb that was destroying Destiny Islands in KH1.

 

I completely forgot that that was supposed to be the MoM that was talking to Ira, I thought this whole time it was Luxu...so wait, does that mean that they both have the heart shaped zipper instead of the square one? But what about that scene in KH X? I am so lost now...

 

I hope they haven't completely gotten rid of the Drop System, that was such a defining part of the game (it's literally in the title), it would be a disservice to take it out. I mean you had ways of preventing your drops and you could even manually drop on the fly if you wanted to, there's no need to get rid of it. The only thing you would have to change would be how it resets whatever battle you're in, it should just hold onto how much damage you've dealt and that's it, you don't have to do anything else. I like it better when you improve something by adding to it, not by removing things entirely.

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That massive orb of dark energy looks very similar to the black hole in Destiny Islands that sucked up Sora and took him to Traverse Town...

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It could very well be the exact same one! I mean, the only other time we've seen one of those being created was by Xehanort, and he was just stupidly powerful in the first place.

 

Not bad, but there's something I think you're off about. That segment in 0.2 where you have to turn the room upside down, I don't think that's Enchanted Dominion, everything has been pretty focused on Dwarf Woodlands in the trailer, and Aqua is confronting the Magic Mirror's illusions again anyway, it only makes sense that that hallway is just the area the Mirror is in, the Evil Queen's secret lair (I mean the whole hallway is a giant mirror, HELLLOOOOO!?).

 

Now maybe the part with all the Darksides is Enchanted Dominion since I guess you could see some thorns in that whole setup, along with where Aqua is seen standing, but that doesn't feel like enough to go on. So far I think the only two lost worlds we can confirm for sure being in this trailer are Dwarf Woodlands and Castle of Dreams (there's a shot of the castle during the early part). I'm sure Enchanted Dominion might be in 0.2 anyway just to tie together the whole Birth By Sleep feel, but for now I think it's too early to be making claims of what areas are Enchanted Dominion and which ones aren't.

 

Thanks for the second opinion. I've edited that part to be ambiguous. To be honest, it's hard to tell based on a single shot of the area, and I was definitely reaching when looking at that scene. However, in the shot with all the Darksides, you can clearly see Maleficent's castle on the left. Combined with the thorns, I think it's safe to say that Enchanted Dominion is at least making an appearance in one form or another. And as you said, there's the whole "first few worlds of BBS" thing tying it all together.

 

I completely forgot that that was supposed to be the MoM that was talking to Ira, I thought this whole time it was Luxu...so wait, does that mean that they both have the heart shaped zipper instead of the square one? But what about that scene in KH X? I am so lost now...

 

It's quite hard to tell, but yeah, the MoM is the guy with the deeper voice, the one we heard in the E3 Back Cover trailer (and likely the person saying "trust no one but yourself" as well). As for the square/heart zipper thing, I can only assume that the design for the ancient version of the black coat wasn't even a thing at the time of that older KHχ update, but now that it is, both the MoM and Luxu are using it. A bit of an out-of-universe explanation, but it's not like KH is a stranger to that sort of thing, regardless of how well-planned the series is as a whole.

 

What really makes me scratch my head is that, to me, Luxu seems rather reluctant to take part in whatever the MoM is planning, at least with regards to leaving his comrades behind. Yet in KHχ, Luxu has absolutely no issue with drawing his Keyblade and fighting Ava. I'm wondering if there's a bit of Xehanort-ish possession going on, here. It'd make sense for the MoM to have that ability, considering a lot of the stuff we've seen connects back to Xehanort.

 

I hope they haven't completely gotten rid of the Drop System, that was such a defining part of the game (it's literally in the title), it would be a disservice to take it out. I mean you had ways of preventing your drops and you could even manually drop on the fly if you wanted to, there's no need to get rid of it. The only thing you would have to change would be how it resets whatever battle you're in, it should just hold onto how much damage you've dealt and that's it, you don't have to do anything else. I like it better when you improve something by adding to it, not by removing things entirely.

 

I agree. Were I in charge of remastering the game, I'd simply lengthen the timer by a small amount, and disable dropping within boss fights, so as to prevent the thing most players had problems with. Outright getting rid of it isn't exactly the best solution, since, as you said, the "Drop" aspect of the game is even part of the title.

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What really makes me scratch my head is that, to me, Luxu seems rather reluctant to take part in whatever the MoM is planning, at least with regards to leaving his comrades behind. Yet in KHχ, Luxu has absolutely no issue with drawing his Keyblade and fighting Ava. I'm wondering if there's a bit of Xehanort-ish possession going on, here. It'd make sense for the MoM to have that ability, considering a lot of the stuff we've seen connects back to Xehanort.

 

I don't feel that is possession. I feel there is likely an amount of time between that scene with the master and the scene with Ava. It's likely that Luxu has become more apathic during this time. It's possible he doesn't even care what is happening anymore by that point.

 

Also remember, while Luxu did draw his keyblade he didn't attack Ava. Ava was the one who initiated the fight while denying what Luxu told her.

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The scene in which Ventus' is in Snow White's casket is reminiscent of this scene, specifically, when you go to 6:46

 

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