Dagesh Lene

If my guess is correct, I don't think that they are teasing Sora succumbing to darkness and then completely abandoning that plot thread. To me, it sounds like Sora is just trying to avoid having to succumb to the darkness by trying to find another way to bring Roxas back. If I were to make a guess, finding Data-Roxas is going to fail, and Sora is going to have to decide whether or not to succumb to darkness in order to bring Roxas back. As far as what method Xemnas was referring to, I think he meant that in order to bring Roxas back, Sora would have to become a Heartless again. Maybe this is what was meant by Ansem and Xemnas in the Pirates of the Caribbean trailer when they said to Sora, "Now, set your heart free." After all, this is what Axel was trying to accomplish in Kingdom Hearts II. He hoped that kidnapping Kairi would result in Sora becoming a Heartless again so that Roxas would return.

When I look at everything from that scene that has been revealed in trailers so far, it seems to me that Sora expresses his desire to bring Roxas back to Ansem and Xemnas, and they tell him that the only way to do so is to call upon the darkness. However, so that he would not have to use the darkness, Sora recalls that Roxas existed in the other Twilight Town. Ansem then appears to discourage this thought by telling him that the other Twilight Town is just data. However, Sora tries to bring Roxas back that way anyway. That's what I can piece together anyway. So, it seems as though Ansem and Xemnas want Sora to submit to the darkness, while Sora is trying every possible way to bring Roxas back that he can think of without using the darkness.

So far, whenever people have asked Nomura about certain things that he can't talk about, that he doesn't want to reveal yet, or that would be a spoiler, Nomura has simply told them that he can't talk about it. At the most, he says something vague about it that gives us a hint at what's to come, but nothing more. So, I doubt that Nomura would keep everything else a secret while lying to us about the fate of Sora.

I hadn't thought of that, and you're right. They didn't say that nothing would please them more than Roxas' return because then they could make Roxas a seeker of darkness. They just said that nothing would please them more than his return. So, they definitely could have been referring to the fact that they still need guardians of light. However, in the Orchestra trailer, Xemnas says, "How do you expect to bring Roxas back when he should never have existed in the first place? There is only one way to accomplish it...Sora, are you finally going to call upon the darkness?" To me, this sounds like Xemnas is still trying to urge Sora to give in to the darkness, which makes me think that they still need one more seeker of darkness. But hey, I may be wrong. I don't think we do know where Terra's heart is post-Apprentice Xehanort. In fact, Xehanort returning as Master Xehanort and not Apprentice Xehanort may be more evidence to that he no longer is in control of Terra's heart. Also, I actually think that there is a good possibility of Lingering Will becoming a part of Terra again. It's why I decided not to include Lingering Will as his own character as I was trying to decide who would be the remaining guardians of light and seekers of darkness.

He only appeared in the Japanese version of the Pirates of the Caribbean trailer for a brief moment. You can see him at the 2:24 mark: I think you bring up some good points, but keep in mind that Sora is nice too, and Xehanort almost made him his vessel. So, it doesn't matter how nice you are, you can still be made a vessel, which means that Demyx could still be made one too. Also, while Nomura did say that we can save Aqua, he never said when, and I believe that when we will be able to save her is at the very end of the game during the final battle, which means that she can still be one of the seekers of darkness. You also bring up a good point that Riku and King Mickey may not have actually gotten into the Realm of Darkness yet, but I doubt they would return to Master Yen Sid just to tell him that they can't find a way in. I'm sure that they will keep trying until they do and then return to Master Yen Sid once they finish their mission there. As for Terra, I think that they have actually teased Terra's escape from Xehanort's control in Birth by Sleep's secret ending: Xehanort: "Darkness rules your heart--it gives me control. Muscle and sinew that once obeyed you now rebels against you. How you can remain here at all confounds the mind." Terra: "It's still my heart. You think you can just come in and take over? I'm not gonna sit by and let that happen." Xehanort: "Hmph. Don't even entertain any notions of escaping me, boy. In the end, your heart will be engulfed by mine forever." Terra: "Wrong. You're gonna get shown the door, old man." Xehanort: "As I recall, you couldn't even handle your own darkness. How, then, will you triumph over mine?" Terra: "You'll find out soon enough."

I actually agree with Dustin Lübbers that it will happen early on in the game. I have said this in a few of my posts already, but in the E3 Showcase trailer, we see Riku and King Mickey return to Mysterious Tower, which means that they must have finished their mission in the Realm of Darkness. However, Sora is shown to still be wearing his Kingdom Hearts II outfit, meaning that he hasn't received his new outfit yet. This must mean that Riku and King Mickey return from the Realm of Darkness after we complete Olympus, but not before we go to the next world since I doubt that we will visit more than Olympus (and maybe Mysterious Tower as we return to Master Yen Sid) in our Kingdom Hearts II outfit. This means that the Aqua reveal may happen after we complete the first world of the game, or maybe even before that. And if that's true, then we may not even get to look for Aqua in the Realm of the Darkness unless Riku and King Mickey's mission in the Realm of Darkness is the tutorial at the very beginning of the game. And if Aqua's reveal is at the beginning of the game, then it's probably not as big of a spoiler as people think it is.

Here is long and way too over thought guess at who the remaining guardians of light and seekers of darkness are: So far, we have ten confirmed seekers of darkness: 1. Master Xehanort 2. Young Xehanort 3. Vanitas 4. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness 5. Xemnas 6. Braig/Xigbar 7. Isa/Saix 8. Luxord 9. Marluxia 10. Larxene We haven't actually gotten an official confirmation (as far as I know) as to who any of the guardians of light are, but I think we are able to make a good guess going off of what has been revealed so far. When King Mickey listed off Keyblade wielders as guardians of light, he listed himself, Sora, Riku, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. However, Master Xehanort stated that two of the people on his list belonged to him now. Sora ended up being saved, but, assuming that King Mickey was paying attention, he would know that someone on his list was one of the seekers of darkness, making his list of Keyblade wielders go from six to five. However, in the Dream Drop Distance's secret ending, King Mickey says that they only need one more guardian of light. So, he must count Lea as one of the Keyblade wielders now, and since Kairi was hinted to be the seventh guardian of light right after this, I think that it's safe to assume who most of the guardians of light will be: 1. King Mickey 2. Sora 3. Riku 4. Kairi 5. Lea/Axel Since we do not yet know the fates of Terra, Aqua, and Ventus (since none of their fates have been confirmed), I don't think we can for sure put them on either of the lists yet (if they will appear on either of the lists at all), even if King Mickey is confident that two of them will be guardians of light. So, that leaves three seekers of darkness and two guardians of light that have yet to be revealed. The next step is to find out which original characters have not been put on either list yet, and they are: 1. Terra 2. Aqua 3. Ventus 4. Roxas 5. Namine 6. Xion 7. Demyx 8. Riku Replica 9. Ansem the Wise 10. Master Eraqus 11. Lingering Will 12. Ira 13. Invi 14. Aced 15. Gula 16. Ava 17. Luxu 18. Master of Masters 19. Ephemer 20. Skuld 21. Brain 22. Player Let's start to narrow down this list. First of all, even though I think that it is a possibility that the characters from Union χ[cross] and Back Cover will make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts III, especially since both Ventus and Lauriam (even though he hasn't officially been confirmed to be Marluxia's human form, I am counting him as Marluxia's human form) exist in both Union χ[cross] and Kingdom Hearts III, I will not include them in either list simply because I expect the missing members on each list to be characters that Sora and his friends have encountered on their many journeys. So, now our list includes: 1. Terra 2. Aqua 3. Ventus 4. Roxas 5. Namine 6. Xion 7. Demyx 8. Riku Replica 9. Ansem the Wise 10. Master Eraqus 11. Lingering Will Let's start with the seekers of darkness. We know that the thirteenth seeker of darkness is still missing, so we only need to find out who two of the three are for now. We also know that one of those two is Terra, Aqua, or Ventus, so, the other spot must be one of these characters: 1. Roxas 2. Namine 3. Xion 4. Demyx 5. Riku Replica 6. Ansem the Wise 7. Master Eraqus 8. Lingering Will Thanks to the trailers, it seems that both Roxas and Riku Replica have not been made seekers of darkness by the beginning of Kingdom Hearts III, meaning that if either of them is going to be a seeker of darkness, they will be the thirteenth darkness. However, since we are not guessing who the thirteenth darkness will be yet, they will not be considered for the twelfth darkness. I think that it is also safe to assume that Namine and Xion, having become a part of Kairi's and Sora's hearts, will not be considered for the twelfth darkness either. Finally, I think it is safe to take Master Eraqus off the list since he died in Birth by Sleep (although he is hinted to be in Terra's heart). So, that leaves us with: 1. Demyx 2. Ansem the Wise 3. Lingering Will After thinking it over, I think that Demyx will most likely be the twelfth darkness since all of the members of Organization XIII who have not been shown in their human forms have been part of the seekers of darkness. So, now we just need to decide whether Terra, Aqua, or Ventus will be the eleventh darkness. So far, it hasn't been confirmed if Aqua is a seeker of darkness or not. However, thanks to interviews with Nomura, it sounds as if the Aqua we see revealed in the Frozen trailer is indeed the real Aqua, and since silver hair and yellow eyes mean Xehanort, I am guessing that Aqua is indeed one of the seekers of darkness. However, now the question remains: is she the eleventh darkness or the thirteenth darkness? I think that Aqua is the eleventh darkness. Here's why: In the E3 Showcase trailer, we see Riku and King Mickey return to Mysterious Tower, meaning that they must have finished their mission in the Realm of Darkness, which also means that they must have seen Aqua corrupted by darkness by this point. When Riku and King Mickey return, Sora is still wearing his Kingdom Hearts II outfit, which means that he hasn't received his new outfit yet. However, we have already seen Young Xehanort telling Sora that they are missing a darkness that they must reclaim in the Toy Story trailer, and we have seen both Ansem and Xemnas telling Sora that nothing would make them happier than Roxas' return in the E3 Showcase trailer. In both of these scenes, Sora is wearing his new outfit, which means that the thirteenth darkness is still missing after Sora gets his new outfit. This also means that when Riku and King Mickey return from the Realm of Darkness, the thirteenth darkness is still missing since Sora hadn't received his new outfit at that time. If the thirteenth darkness is still missing when Riku and King Mickey return from the Realm of Darkness, and if Aqua is indeed a seeker of darkness by that point, she can't be the thirteenth darkness and therefore must be the eleventh darkness (I hope I made my point clear enough and didn't over explain my point). So, here are the seekers of darkness so far: 1. Master Xehanort 2. Young Xehanort 3. Vanitas 4. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness 5. Xemnas 6. Braig/Xigbar 7. Isa/Saix 8. Luxord 9. Marluxia 10. Larxene 11. Aqua 12. Demyx So, that leaves the thirteenth darkness. Here is the list of characters again who do not belong to either list (not including the Union χ[cross] and Back Cover characters): 1. Terra 2. Ventus 3. Roxas 4. Namine 5. Xion 6. Riku Replica 7. Ansem the Wise 8. Master Eraqus 9. Lingering Will Since I think that Aqua was one of the twelve seekers of darkness present at the end of Dream Drop Distance in Where Nothing Gathers, that means that Terra is no longer a seeker of darkness (since Master Xehanort said that only one other person on King Mickey's list other than Sora belonged to him). I think that also excludes Lingering Will from being a seeker of darkness or a separate character at all since Terra probably reunited with Lingering Will to become a complete person again. I also think that Master Eraqus (although he may have helped Terra free himself from Xehanort's control from within Terra's heart) will stay dead, which excludes him from both lists. Also, if Riku Replica hasn't been made a vessel for Xehanort yet, he probably never will be (a weak argument, I know, but if he was in the Realm of Darkness, just like Aqua was, and made it back to the Realm of Light without becoming one of the darknesses, I doubt Xehanort has any interest in him), which takes him off the list. Namine is part of Kairi's heart, and I think that if the thirteenth darkness will be tied to anyone's heart, it will be to Sora's heart. Sora didn't know Xion, so he wouldn't be shocked to see her as a seeker of darkness. Plus, no one remembers Xion (although Lea/Axel might), so unless everyone remembers her once she returns, the heroes won't be shocked to see her as a seeker of darkness. It could be Ansem the Wise, but, once again, if Aqua was made a seeker of darkness while she was in the Realm of Darkness, and if the seekers of darkness are still looking for their thirteenth member, Ansem the Wise must not be important to Xehanort since he was in the Realm of Darkness with Aqua. So, that leaves us with Ventus and Roxas. I think it could be either Ventus or Roxas. If Aqua is indeed a seeker of darkness, Xehanort would have access to Ventus, someone he's been after since the days of the original Organization XIII. However, if Aqua was already a seeker of darkness before the end of Dream Drop Distance like I think she was, then why didn't Xehanort use her to find Ventus and make him the thirteenth darkness instead of going on a crazy mission to make Sora the thirteenth darkness? Maybe Aqua couldn't get Ventus because Terra saved him, and if Terra saved him, that must mean that Roxas will be the thirteenth seeker of darkness. And so, I guess that the seekers of darkness will be: 1. Master Xehanort 2. Young Xehanort 3. Vanitas 4. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness 5. Xemnas 6. Braig/Xigbar 7. Isa/Saix 8. Luxord 9. Marluxia 10. Larxene 11. Aqua 12. Demyx 13. Roxas So, now on to the guardians of light. These won't take nearly as long as I already have a guess at who one of the two unknown guardians will be: Terra. If Terra is no longer a seeker of darkness, he will probably become a guardian of light. So that leaves the final guardian of light. Here is the list of characters who are not part of either group yet: 1. Ventus 2. Namine 3. Xion 4. Riku Replica 5. Ansem the Wise I don't think that either Namine or Ansem the Wise will be a guardian of light since neither of them has been shown to wield a Keyblade (although Namine might be able to since Kairi can). I also don't think that Riku Replica will be a guardian of light since I think that he will continue to rely on the power of darkness. That leaves us with Ventus and Xion, and of the two, I think that Ventus will be the final guardian of light. If Terra saves Ventus from Castle Oblivion, like I guessed earlier, both Terra and Ventus would get to repay Aqua for saving them in Birth by Sleep by saving her this time. And so, my final prediction is that the seven guardians of light will be: 1. King Mickey 2. Sora 3. Riku 4. Kairi 5. Lea/Axel 6. Terra 7. Ventus And that the thirteen seekers of darkness will be: 1. Master Xehanort 2. Young Xehanort 3. Vanitas 4. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness 5. Xemnas 6. Braig/Xigbar 7. Isa/Saix 8. Luxord 9. Marluxia 10. Larxene 11. Aqua 12. Demyx 13. Roxas But this is just my best guess. What do you guys think?

I have seen a lot of reactions to Aqua's reveal in the Frozen trailer. A lot of people think that this was a big spoiler that should not have been put in any of the trailers. However, Nomura has said in interviews that he is surprised that people are surprised that she has fallen to the darkness. Now, whether or not he is surprised because we should have seen it coming or because he knows what's going to happen so he didn't think it was a big surprise, I think the point to take away from these comments is that Nomura didn't think that it was a big spoiler for the game. It has become clear to me after reading his interviews that he is being very careful about what information he releases to the public. He has said that there are even bigger surprises in store for us that he doesn't want to reveal. So, even if he didn't realize what a big shock Aqua's reveal would be for us, he obviously didn't think it was a big enough spoiler to keep it hidden from us. Because of that, I don't think that Aqua's reveal was as big of a spoiler as some people think it is, but I guess we will find out if this is true once the game is released.

I know that it's not about Sora avoiding the conflict. The reason why I included those quotes was because Master Yen Sid and King Mickey were basically saying that, no matter what they do, Master Xehanort will find a way for seven lights to clash with thirteen darknesses. So, even if they try to add more lights to their numbers, Master Xehanort will find another way to achieve what he's after.

I do agree with you that Sora and his friends may try something to catch Master Xehanort off guard, but I think that Master Xehanort is too prepared to allow something like that to happen. True, he doesn't know everything that is going to happen, as he even stated himself. However, I think that it would be really stupid of him to not anticipate something like this. If Sora and his friends try something that goes against Master Xehanort's plan, he probably has a backup plan or two. I think that it was explained why any attempt to prevent a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses will probably end in failure in Dream Drop Distance's secret ending: Master Yen Sid: "Thus, even if we deliberately avoid finding our seven lights to avert another Keyblade War, Xehanort will still target the seven princesses in order to forge the χ-Blade." King Mickey: "So...there's gonna be a clash between seven lights and thirteen darknesses...and there's nothing we can do to avoid triggering the Keyblade War?" Master Yen Sid: "To protect the seven pure hearts, we will need seven lights strong enough to stand against the thirteen darknesses."

In my opinion, Aqua's reveal was the best one so far because of how shocking it was.

I really don't know who else could be a new Princess of Heart. It could literally be anyone. However, there is one person who I think has a very good chance of being one: Queen Minnie.

This is all you need to know:

In the Frozen trailer, we see Aqua pick up a new Kingdom Key looking Keyblade that has a Star Seeker design to it. Could this be the "Key to Return Hearts"? Aqua certainly seems interested in it. In an interview with GNN, Nomura said in response to a question about the Aqua reveal, "As of now we cannot reveal the reason why Aqua is now in that state. However, that does not mean there are no chances of rescuing her, for that part it depends on the hard work of the players." I'm sure that this just means that we will indeed get to save her by the end of the game, but part of me is wondering if this means that we can affect the end of the game. Maybe we can choose which seekers of darkness to confront at the end, and who we confront will affect the ending of the game. After all, Nomura did say that the final stage is “something I have always wanted to do, ever since making Final Fantasy”, so maybe this is it. In an interview with IGN, Nomura said, "Kingdom Hearts is not too realistic, but I do want my players to grasp a sense of reality from it as well. For example, I'm sure you had friends when you were young, a good group of friends, but as you grow older things change and it doesn't always stay the same. I think all I can say is please play to the very end and see what happens. But I think Kingdom Hearts 3 does depict how each character feels about each other in this new story line." I'm going to lose sleep over this one. I'm sure that I will love the game regardless of what happens, but if Sora and Kairi don't end up together by the end of the game, I'm going to be extremely upset! I don't care if everyone else dies as long as Sora and Kairi end up together! This is where I'm going to go into a little rant of sorts. We have been teased over and over again that Sora and Kairi like each other. Even in the credits to 2.8, which is meant to be the prologue to Kingdom Hearts III, we see all of the scenes of Sora and Kairi right at the end of the montage of all of the couples from the games. It hasn't been officially confirmed that they love each other, nor has it been officially confirmed that they are a couple, but if even 2.8 teases it and then Kingdom Hearts III shoots all of that down, why? Just, why? You can't just build something up for all these years and have it go nowhere! I suppose if Nomura did it in the right way, I would be alright with it, but he would have to do it in exactly the right way in order for that to happen. I suppose I can try to look at it this way: Nomura said, "But I think Kingdom Hearts 3 does depict how each character feels about each other in this new story line." So, maybe one of the changes that he's talking about is how two people, who were just good friends for the longest time, can fall in love with each other. After all, not all change is bad. Sorry about that mini rant there. I just had to get that off my chest.

I think this is a really good idea! Maybe this will also clear up some of the confusing parts of the series.

In addition to all of the Kingdom Hearts III news and the announcement of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, my favorite news at E3 was the LEGO DC Super-Villains news. I have always been a fan of the LEGO games, and the LEGO Batman games have been some of my favorites. It sounds like a lot of effort is going into this one. Not only is there is an original story that DC actually helped write, but Mark Hamill, Tara Strong, and Clancy Brown are reprising their roles as the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Lex Luthor! I may have even heard Kevin Conroy's Batman in the gameplay footage they released! As if all of this wasn't enough, your custom character is actually the main character of the game this time, and you absorb new powers to add to your character as the game progresses that help get you through the levels! So far, it looks really good, and I can't wait to play it!

I think the reason that he still wears the black coat is that he still uses the corridors of darkness and the black coat protects him from the darkness as he uses them.

I think that all of the Pirates of the Caribbean characters look amazing!

You haven't missed anything. You're just as lost as the rest of us. Welcome to the Kingdom Hearts fandom.

So, although I got excited by everything that I saw in this trailer, the thing that got me the most excited was when the trailer revealed the Lava Titan and Wind Titan. The appearance of the remaining Titans was one of the things that I was hoping to see in the game the most. I got so excited that I literally screamed for joy, unable to control myself. That's right, I didn't lose it at the reveal of Larxene and Luxord, the first look at Kairi and Lea, or at the reveal of Riku Replica (or whoever Riku's "other me" is), I lost it at the reveal of the Lava Titan and Wind Titan. What's wrong with me?

Riku and Kairi have cut their hair, so when is Sora going to?

My favorite moments were the cutscenes showing Hercules holding up a piece of rubble to keep it from crushing civilians and Sora & co. seeing Unversed surrounded by fire in the Monsters, Inc. world as a CDA helicopter flies over them. Those two scenes really made me excited because it seems to hint at more action-packed and exciting stories for each world.

I would agree with you, except that King Mickey only listed six Keybalde wielders, meaning that he was already one guardian short. So, Master Xehanort was simply saying that, since two Keyblade wielders from King Mickey's list belonged to him (before Sora was saved, that is), King Mickey was three guardians short in total, including the one guardian that he was already missing. That being said, you do bring up a good point with Aqua's chess piece being seen on side of light in the E3 2015 trailer. Like I said in my original post, I am not convinced that she is a Xehanort. I think that there is a possibility that she isn't, and this could be used as evidence to back that up.

I have noticed that too. The way I look at it is that the effects of someone becoming Xehanort vary from person to person. Also, I am not convinced that Marluxia is not a Xehanort. There is a possibility that he isn't, but I think that he is. However, I have nothing to back this up other than the Famitsu article saying that he is. You're right that there is a time difference, but (correct me if I am wrong) I thought that the speed at which time moved was the only difference. It's not like there is a possibility of showing up in the past or in the future when you go from one realm to the other. It's always the same time in each realm, but the speed of time feels different in each realm. So, even if Xehanort did decide to make Aqua his vessel after the events of Dream Drop Distance, Aqua would still become a Xehanort after the events of Dream Drop Distance. She would still become the thirteenth vessel. You're right. However, since Riku and King Mickey seem to return from their mission to rescue Aqua before Sora gets his new outfit and since the seekers of darkness are implying that they still need the thirteenth spot filled after Sora gets his new outfit, I am fairly certain (unless proven otherwise, which is extremely possible) that Aqua cannot be the thirteenth vessel. I would agree with you that this is a possibility, except that in the 2.9 scene, Yen Sid tells Sora when he returns from whatever it is he was doing, "The others all had important work to do. So I sent them on their way." Sora, Donald, and Goofy leave for Olympus Coliseum shortly after that, so, unless Kingdom Hearts III reveals that Riku and King Mickey reentered the Sorcerer's Loft after they changed into their new outfits and before Sora, Donald, and Goofy left for Olympus Coliseum, I think that the scene we see in the E3 Showcase trailer is when Riku and King Mickey return from their mission and after Sora, Donald, and Goofy return from Olympus Coliseum.

Even if Sora isn't mistaking Roxas for Ventus, you have made me think of something that I never thought of before. If both Roxas and Ventus return, Sora is going to be really confused!