Merilly

15 seconds is really short but then again, we got hit in the face with a crying Sora in a 30 second commercial so I'm not inclined to say we will see nothing of utmost importance. I don't know if I want to see something like this again, considering it will be ripped immensely out of context and it's still a commercial after all.

To be honest, I'm glad we will see some intense emotions. It wouldn't be a good climax to a saga if Sora would be smiling 24/7 or just be angry. There's more to emotions than this and while I don't want to see him crying, it's usually those moments which make us feel for a character the most. O think we all want to feel something when playing KH3 and not have just funny moments or characters facing each other with determination. Speaking for myself, I also want to have some despair mixed in, though I ultimately hope for a good ending.
That doesn't mean he won't be the cheerful, happy-go-lucky type again or has abandoned all optimism for good.
It creeps me out if characters wont show much emotion and are always smiling because it seems like they either don't care or are putting up a really fake front in order to ignore their own feelings. But Sora isn't like that since he's compassionate and it's not the first time he has cried either.
I wouldn't want him to change too much after all this because just about anyone already said it has to be Sora because he is who he is. Character development isn't always necessary to a high degree if there's no good explanation. He's been through so much that I can't imagine a 180° turn for a longer period of time. Perhaps for a portion of the game.
Still, I don't think this is necessarily an indication anyone will die. It just implies that Sora will possibly have to face something alone.

I think the KH13 Discord just made a thread about how to avoid leaks. It might not be 100% safe but I think it's still a lot better than having to stand by idly without being able to do anything.
I've also been waiting for this game since it got announced (not before that though because we got so many games in the meantime that the perception of what KH3 would be like changed with every new game and I was basically expecting a different game with each new title that came out), and I understand how frustrating it is. I truly do. I'm also unhappy with the possible outcomes for this, especially those surfacing in the next few hours and days with probably more and more people spreading them.
But I think trying to do something may result in the opposite and it might become counterproductive. Exposition is what these people often seek. I'm not even sure if the person selling this even intended to spoil anyone or whether he just send those videos as some sort of proof that he owned the game and others just spread it instead. But we know people would ruin it for others if it meant garnering a reaction and a little fame, even if it procurs hate.
As per usual, not reacting to this sort of thing is probably better than trying to change it because behind an anonymous persona, it's always easy to talk big and mock others for loving a franchise by pulling that kind of stunt. And giving them even more attention may provoke the opposite reaction of what people actually want. They might spread it even more and again and again, no matter how often they are deleted. Just like those bots continuously advertising those websites on here. They're quick to delete them but they are seen by a few nonetheless and more take their place.
The main thing is, I would hate for fans to harrass others and this become a huge argument.I think we all want to enjoy KH3 and I think it might make us more annoyed instead if we jump on this bandwagon of hate where lots of fans are grabbing their pitchforks to hunt down those posting leaks.
I'm not condoning it and he should get a just punishment if there was really a crime such as theft involved, but I've seen so many stories today that it's hard to determine what's true anymore and this kind of witchhunt won't do the excitement nor KH3 any good.

I think the KH13 Discord just made a thread about how to avoid leaks. It might not be 100% safe but I think it's still a lot better than having to stand by idly without being able to do anything.
I've also been waiting for this game since it got announced (not before that though because we got so many games in the meantime that the perception of what KH3 would be like changed with every new game and I was basically expecting a different game with each new title that came out), and I understand how frustrating it is. I truly do. I'm also unhappy with the possible outcomes for this, especially those surfacing in the next few hours and days with probably more and more people spreading them.
But I think trying to do something may result in the opposite and it might become counterproductive. Exposition is what these people often seek. I'm not even sure if the person selling this even intended to spoil anyone or whether he just send those videos as some sort of proof that he owned the game and others just spread it instead. But we know people would ruin it for others if it meant garnering a reaction and a little fame, even if it procurs hate.
As per usual, not reacting to this sort of thing is probably better than trying to change it because behind an anonymous persona, it's always easy to talk big and mock others for loving a franchise by pulling that kind of stunt. And giving them even more attention may provoke the opposite reaction of what people actually want. They might spread it even more and again and again, no matter how often they are deleted. Just like those bots continuously advertising those websites on here. They're quick to delete them but they are seen by a few nonetheless and more take their place.
The main thing is, I would hate for fans to harrass others and this become a huge argument.I think we all want to enjoy KH3 and I think it might make us more annoyed instead if we jump on this bandwagon of hate where lots of fans are grabbing their pitchforks to hunt down those posting leaks.
I'm not condoning it and he should get a just punishment if there was really a crime such as theft involved, but I've seen so many stories today that it's hard to determine what's true anymore and this kind of witchhunt won't do the excitement nor KH3 any good.

I tend to agree with this. I would have no issues with others discussing leaks in their respective categories. The circumstances of these leaks are unfortunate and sad because the copies were allegedly stolen, but I do agree that people shouldn't be banned for talking about them as long as they don't force them on others who wish to remain unspoiled.
The problem is that this won't stay in those forums because there are people who spread leaks not for those who want to see them but deliberately send it to people who want nothing to do with them just to ruin the game for them. I have nonissues with people receiving legal copies early and keeping it to themselves or within a group where it will stay. But we all know that won't happen because some are petty like that.
But quite frankly, there's no solution for this. For every account banned, two more will surface to take its place because once something is on the internet, it's newrly impossible to get rid of it. If one person ceases uploading, another will take it from them and continue doing it. So even banning all accounts will only result in more accounts posting the same thing over and over. Even if you ban an IP, they will just do it via proxy or public computers and so on.
To be honest, it wouldn't bother anyone nearly as much if they would just stay at home playing it quietly for themselves or keeping it bottled up within a forum tread. The problem lies with the character and quite frankly, no amount of banning or hate will fix that. Quite the oppositie. The more people are ready to take up the fork and riot, the more they want to troll those getting worked up over this.
The easiest sokution would probably be to remain calm. Don't blow it out of proportion, don't persecute it, don't follow or search for possible "offenders". I'm also anxious, but with the fandom on the verge of exploding, the trolls and leakers are getting what they want - a reaction. And a desired one to boot because everyone is angry, scared or sad. 
I think it will become more quiet around the leaks if people calm down a bit. Report things where it doesn't belong but don't search for content to block. Blacklist the things you don't want to see as much as possible but otherwise, I suggest that we should just go on about our business like usual. Yes, we should proceed with caution but not all of us can go dark for over a month. I haven't been searching for leaks and won't do so. And so far, my recommendations were clean except for those reporting on them. Which is good to inform people of the danger of being spoiled. But if you don't actively search for them and have blacklisted a lot of things, you still don't need to abandon the entire internet.

Yeah, I will leave some of the exploring for later. I rather do that than be assaulted with spoilers. But everyone has their own way of playing this game. Since I will do the first playthrough together with my friend, we will focus more on story and after I'm done playing it once with her, I will start another playthrough where I'm taking my time to be more thorough. By all means, it doesn't mean we will rush through it, but I guess we won't be taking too long either. I want to cherish this experience but there's only so much time we can take off work/university too and after that it will become harder to meet up.
It's a bit of a balancing act between cherishing the first playthrough which can never be replaced and avoiding spoilers. I won't rush to reach the end but I likely won't play the minigames more times than required either and leave some things like collecting synthesis materials up for after I'm done with the main story, except for things which are picked up along the way anyway of course. For example, if there's an Ultima Keyblade, I likely won't pursue that before the final boss, same as with optional bosses which may unlock before it.
I'm less worried about the forum but rather websites such as Youtube and the like which aren't monitored for spoilers such as this forum because no one cares for them there. Or rather, there are no rules in regards to spoilers. Yes, you can blacklist certain things but if people are not tagging it appropriately, it's all a waste of time anyway. My friend has gone through a lot of trouble to avoid all news and still received the recommendations for the opening.
 

When I read the summary of Chip and Dale drinking tea, I had to laugh because it didn't mention a book at all. What a revelation!
It's great to see these translation. They don't reveal too much while still being somewhat revelant for the most part. Since they're ripped out of context, they're not even that much of a spoiler. I'm rather glad they chose to remain cryptic and hope it stays this way in the future, too.
I love seeing them hype up things but I guess most of us merely want a moderate amount of information that doesn't spoil too much of the important plot points.

I might have done that on purpose for a laugh ?

Master Xehanort has an interesting level of detail with the veins on his scalp.
As per usual, some models look a little awkward by being overlighted or using too little which sacrifices a bit of the detail and consistency, but overall, it looks fairly good. At least better than in 0.2. The eyes are still a little flat though.
But I love the renders. I'm still disappointed that Lea still has no new outfit of his own but I'm still loving them.

There's also always the possibility to use a proxy service, though I believe this book will be sold by other sellers too once it comes out. At least this was the case for all the other Ultimania books. It never remained exclusive to one retailer.
 
The price surprised me a bit. It's not really more expensive than the other Ultimanias, though they're probably inclined to keep the page count as low as possible because the others already have hundreds of pages. Even if KH3 ends up larger than any other game before, it likely won't receive a bigger volume, unless they decide to split it in two. Even the larger size probably can't make up for that.
I'll definitely get this one, too. I already own most of the others even if I don't understand Japanese. I really wish they would publish them in English....
I would also like it if 0.2 is included in this volume since it probably won't receive a proper one by itself and it is the prologue which was initially intended to be part of the game. It would only be suitable if it would be included in this Ultimania.

I honestly don't know, considering we don't know how long it will really be in the end. For the older games, it usually took me a couple of days per game, but if KH3 really is ~40 hours for the main story for an average playthrough (not taking higher difficulties and off the track stuff into account), I'd say a week or two at the most for that part. If it takes longer, I can't really change that either but I'll be doing my best to get through it quickly without neglecting to appreciate it.
The main reason I want to get through it as quickly as possible is because I want to avoid spoilers at all costs if that's doable. I can't stay off the internet for prolonged periods of time and I want to know how the story ends after such a long wait since its announcement, too. I took time off for my first playthrough as well for that.
It's easier to avoid spoilers if people aren't invested in the franchise but KH3 already pops up egerywhere in my feeds as recommended. Of course I can't wait either since I'm the type who wants to know the story as quickly as possible, but my main reason would still be potential spoilers.
In terms of finishing what comes after... I don't egen want to contemplate since I likely won't complete the game with 100%. I'm not a fan of minigames and getting paticular scores so I'll just do that as it comes.

I feel like Europe is getting neglected again. Not even Amazon offers a pre-order bonus yet for us and the only store which offers something would be GameStop. (And the digital versions of course.)
It's not like I'm expecting much but it's a bit disappointing that we don't really get to choose and one of the biggest online stores doesn't even offer the same thing they do for the US/Canada.

That only happened in JP so far. Global is currently just before the Maleficent battle in Enchanted Dominion. We still have quite a few quests to even get there.

That's true. I've also seen lots of opinions before it's even out. Since I didn't know much about him, I looker him up but to be honest, that didn't really change my neutral stance of having to wait for the final product. I'm not the type to stick to one or two bands or artists in particular and deem everything they do good or bad. It's a song to song thing. Some I think of as not so great, others are fantastic. I could like 10 songs of one artist and detest the 11th or the other way around. That's why I don't think it's fair to judge before hearing it.
But you are right that a considerable number of people are opposed to western influences in Japanese media for no real reason. I don't get why Utada gets celebrated for the song as if her part was great withtout realizing that Skrillex also took part in that arrangement. (Maybe not in the lyrics since I'm not sure if Skrillex knows Japanese but the rest also counts. It's not like he was only responsible for the part where it becomes really EDM). And we also don't know if it would have been better without him or someone else. Subjectively better, that is. I wouldn't even mind it that much if it weren't for my condition. It may not have been my favorite song ever, but that's not something I expect.
I may not like the direction where Ariana Grande has gone, but she undebiably has a great voice and actual talent in that regard in comparison to other artists. Katy Perry too, I guess. It's not my style but it's something I can understand a lot of people liking since it caters to what's popular at the moment. To be honest, even if I'm not interested in the units, I can't really say it bothers me. I'll have a good laugh about it and since she's not part of the story, I couldn't care less. I think it would be a different matter if she suddenly had been written into the canon but since that's not the case I don't understand the turmoil.
I also want different units but that's always the case. Sometimes we get things we don't care about, sometimes we get stuff we want. SE really tried hard to implement them and also make their music more appealing to those who do not like it. And neither Perry nor Grande are people where I deem it terrible since they're not that... self-centered? I dunno, they're not bad choices for people to look up to. I could imagine idols which would be terrible icons.
You're also right that people should look more at the music itself than the artist. Some people are solely hating on things which are "mainstream" and won't even give it a chance because they want to remain special snowflakes who only like the non-popular stuff. Which isn't to say that people can't genuinely dislike or love something, but it's important to keep an open mind and judge things individually. As I said, songs from the same artist can be completely different.
There's nothing to say against peaceful discussions. I value your opinion on the song just as much as I do mine and you have the right to love the song and consider it the best opening theme in the series. I don't see a reason to criticize that and vice versa. I also wish that people wouldn't be so fast to jump on certain bandwagons which are rather elitist. I've seen so many comments of those calling the other extreme names becauee they don't realize how great or terrible the song is. Because those which are against western influence are opposed by those who blindly worship everything KH-related as well and neither view is without consequences and problems.
As you said, there's nothing against a peaceful discussion but at the end of the day, those that can't come to terms with music being subjective shouldn't fight about something they won't be able to change. I can't make anyone dislike the song and neither can you make anyone like the song by fighting about it. 
Still, it's interesting to hear different opinions on the matter if they're formulated like yours, even if we don't have the same sentiment toward the song.

The possibility is there since it was very similar to KH2's fight between them. It could be like in past openings where they simply did a recap of a lot of events from past games without being 100% accurate.
 
Apart from that, I'm not a fan of the song. I don't blame that on Skrillex and neither on Utada, and I wouldn't go as far as saying either of them ruined it, it's simply not my cup of tea. The high pitch and the jarring sounds mixing together are grating on my ears, especially because I'm really sensitive to sound. But that's not their fault, it's simply a different genre and I'll just deal with it in the same way I'll deal with Chikai. Both will only be there for around 4 minutes and the rest will be different.
Otherwise, the opening is noticeably darker in regard to colors, which is probably fitting the premise of the final battle theme. But it still looks stunning and I do enjoy the different style in CGI ever since 0.2. It feels more native to KH while all previous openings leaned more toward Final Fantasy in my opinion.
It's also interesting that Young Xehanort seems to have a different eye color and I doubt it's a mistake this time. Ever since Terranort had brown eyes in BBS, I wondered if Xehanort actually had a different look altogether before becoming more interested in darkness. Of course it could possibly be the influence of Eraqus or colors mixing, but Terra has blue eyes so it always struck me as odd why he would have brown eyes as Terranort.
All in all, I'm happy that this part of the trailer doesn't spoil much, if anything at all. It looks more like previous openings which were more or less a compilation of events from the past and it would be suitable if the full opening retains that. We don't really need the opening to spoil anything like the secret ending of KH2 and opening of BBS did for that game.

As mentioned before, the translations of the interviews seem to be fairly different depending on who did them. The one that HMK also linked in his video from KHInsider did not confirm that at all but remained vague throughout about her fate. That's why I remain skeptical until the game is out. I've read a plethora of interviews and most of them were worded in an unfortunate manner or were so cryptic that there was no 100% certainty possible.
I can't really judge who is more accurate in their translations since I don't speak Japanese. I just see that it fluctuates quite a bit and this is why I consider it unconfirmed until we have a clear explanation. 
I'm not claiming it's impossible she's a vessel, I'm just careful with interviews and translations because sometimes, things are said which are taken the wrong way or are mistranslated because Japanese is really difficult. I just don't want to go into the game with possibly wrong conceptions.

There is none coming tomorrow. The 10th referred to was in Japanese time, so that was basically the video that was announced.

To be honest, I don't think Skrillex deserves the complaints. I don't like EDM as a whole, but it wouldn't have made a difference if they had chosen someone else. It would still have been EDM because that's apparently the direction SE/Disney wanted to go with this. Which isn't to my liking but not everything has to be.
This genre is just what Skrillex does. Of course there's a large variety within the realms of that genre, but that was to be expected. And it's not like he's to blame for doing what he does. I listened to his music before to get a sample of what to expect and while it's a little more subdued than some of his other works, this opening song fits into what he usually creates. It's not what I enjoy listening to, but if I were a fan of EDM, I wouldn't consider what he did a bad job.
He's been involved in the entire song and even if he hadn't, there's no telling if it would have turned into another Chikai, which wasn't my cup of tea either.
I think it's okay to say they don't like it. You can't really argue about taste after all and EDM isn't to everyone's liking. That won't change with stunning visuals either. But I also think it's a little unfair to blame Skrillex and claim he ruined the song. Which we can hardly determine since we don't know how it would have sounded without him.
I don't think I will ever come to like it, but I do think it fits the genre they were trying to achieve. It's not exactly what I hoped for but then again, most opening songs weren't all that fitting in terms of lyrics for example.
The problem in this isn't Skrillex in my opinion but rather the decision to go with EDM. Which is only an issue on an entirely subjective level since others obviously like it.

Haha, true. The last few weeks and days are always the longest. Though we've been blessed with a lot of information in comparison to other games. It doesn't make the wait much shorter but it's still great.
  Yeah, they were. Maybe a different type of EDM but EDM nonetheless. Though admittedly, I did not particularly enjoy either opening. But most were at least somewhat bearable but the part starting from around the minute mark in Face my Fears really makes my ears hurt. Not figuratively speaking, they literally hurt because the sound is jarring. But I have hyperacusis and I'm extremely sensitive to frequencies in that spectrum due to that so I can't really say it's bad just because I can't stand it and won't be able to get used to it. I guess I'm not too good with EDM as a whole, that's why I don't think Skrillex has done anything to make me dislike it. I just never found it appealing since it's made so people can dance to it, too and doesn't focus too much on lyrics.
Though from a lyrical standpoint, it's rather good and fitting from what we could hear so far. Simple and Clean, Sanctuary and Don't Think Twice all sounded rather odd for KH because you really had to squint to make out the tiniest of connections. If they were even there.
But I don't think it's bad to like it. Especially if you like EDM or this type of music, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I understand that tastes are really different after all, which is why I don't get that there are seriously arguments about whether this song is good or not as if there are objective criteria to determine the quality of music...
 

To be honest, I don't think Skrillex deserves the complaints. I don't like EDM as a whole, but it wouldn't have made a difference if they had chosen someone else. It would still have been EDM because that's apparently the direction SE/Disney wanted to go with this. Which isn't to my liking but not everything has to be.
This genre is just what Skrillex does. Of course there's a large variety within the realms of that genre, but that was to be expected. And it's not like he's to blame for doing what he does. I listened to his music before to get a sample of what to expect and while it's a little more subdued than some of his other works, this opening song fits into what he usually creates. It's not what I enjoy listening to, but if I were a fan of EDM, I wouldn't consider what he did a bad job.
He's been involved in the entire song and even if he hadn't, there's no telling if it would have turned into another Chikai, which wasn't my cup of tea either.
I think it's okay to say they don't like it. You can't really argue about taste after all and EDM isn't to everyone's liking. That won't change with stunning visuals either. But I also think it's a little unfair to blame Skrillex and claim he ruined the song. Which we can hardly determine since we don't know how it would have sounded without him.
I don't think I will ever come to like it, but I do think it fits the genre they were trying to achieve. It's not exactly what I hoped for but then again, most opening songs weren't all that fitting in terms of lyrics for example.
The problem in this isn't Skrillex in my opinion but rather the decision to go with EDM. Which is only an issue on an entirely subjective level since others obviously like it.

It might take some getting used to it personally for me. That said I don't think it's a bad song by any means. Maybe it will grow on me, maybe it won't, who knows? I do really love the beginning of the song though.
I really hope they go into more depth with Xehanort cause I feel like he could have a lot of potential, he just has not reached it yet. 

The possibility is there since it was very similar to KH2's fight between them. It could be like in past openings where they simply did a recap of a lot of events from past games without being 100% accurate.
 
Apart from that, I'm not a fan of the song. I don't blame that on Skrillex and neither on Utada, and I wouldn't go as far as saying either of them ruined it, it's simply not my cup of tea. The high pitch and the jarring sounds mixing together are grating on my ears, especially because I'm really sensitive to sound. But that's not their fault, it's simply a different genre and I'll just deal with it in the same way I'll deal with Chikai. Both will only be there for around 4 minutes and the rest will be different.
Otherwise, the opening is noticeably darker in regard to colors, which is probably fitting the premise of the final battle theme. But it still looks stunning and I do enjoy the different style in CGI ever since 0.2. It feels more native to KH while all previous openings leaned more toward Final Fantasy in my opinion.
It's also interesting that Young Xehanort seems to have a different eye color and I doubt it's a mistake this time. Ever since Terranort had brown eyes in BBS, I wondered if Xehanort actually had a different look altogether before becoming more interested in darkness. Of course it could possibly be the influence of Eraqus or colors mixing, but Terra has blue eyes so it always struck me as odd why he would have brown eyes as Terranort.
All in all, I'm happy that this part of the trailer doesn't spoil much, if anything at all. It looks more like previous openings which were more or less a compilation of events from the past and it would be suitable if the full opening retains that. We don't really need the opening to spoil anything like the secret ending of KH2 and opening of BBS did for that game.

Where did he confirm that she is under the influence of Xehanort? As far as I'm aware, he's been vague as to what has happened to her exactly. She could have been corrupted by darkness too and not be a vessel.
 

At this point I would be glad if they would just provide both languages. The game is done. There's no reason to hide voice actors or their work anymore and they announced it on both the Japanese and the international KH Twitter accounts. 
Commercials are one thing, especially with the voice-over, but there's no good reason to do it for trailers anymore in my opinion. Of course it needs a bit more effort to rip footage from each version, but there should be enough time for that.

At this point I would be glad if they would just provide both languages. The game is done. There's no reason to hide voice actors or their work anymore and they announced it on both the Japanese and the international KH Twitter accounts. 
Commercials are one thing, especially with the voice-over, but there's no good reason to do it for trailers anymore in my opinion. Of course it needs a bit more effort to rip footage from each version, but there should be enough time for that.