Alja

I don't think it's the artwork either, it's most likely only meant to mirror the art of KH1 Sora sitting as well as Noctis sitting. Also, the others already pointed out that Nomura plans on giving the artwork a deeper connection as he already did with 1.5, 2.5 and 2.8, so we're definitely going to see Sora in some sort of further movement, either running or jumping/flying/gliding, something like that. And as all the artworks before have shown several people on the cover, I'm pretty sure we're going to see at least the second playable character, but I expect see all possible Guardians of Light on the cover, so likely the Destiny Trio, the Wayfinder Trio, Mickey and Lea. Probably some (or several) incarnations of Xehanort somewhere, too, if we're going by the 1.5/2.5 artworks. If they get back to the 1/2 vibes, probably only our protagonists. However, I really wish Nomura would finally reveal the entirety of this artwork I'm dying to know what he blurred out and if there's really a fox in his lap (in that case, maybe we'll see more of this artwork once we get the fifth Union Leader and more stories about Ava and the Dandelions...)

I've been thinking lately if it makes sense to hold onto some of the Event medals that I haven't been able to guilt because I'm too weak. Especially the Organization XIII medals come to my mind, Lexaeus B, Zexion B, Saix B... none of them I was able to guilt (or even get all dots on one 5* version). Is there a chance that the events (or events in general, I'm pretty new to the game) come back or can I just sell the medals, seeing as I don't use them and they only take up the little space I have for my medals?

Maybe not rushed, but certainly not as polished as it could've been. Birth by Sleep comes to my mind immediately. While I totally love it and the characters, I can't help but feel like it could've been better and more consistent. Truthfully, Birth by Sleep struggles a lot with being a prequel and having to build up the story for KH1. Thanks to that, everything in BBS happens really quickly while it might've helped to spread this over two games. What I mean by this is especially apparent after Eraqus's death. Terra and Aqua talk about it, but there is not nearly enough time for Aqua to appropriately react to it, instead, all of her reactions to that and Terra's Darkness is mashed into two sentences before Ven shows up and it leads to the end fight. If they had chosen to make it seem like time is genuinely pressing, they just could've chosen to let Ven interrupt them, but it seems like they did want Aqua to react to all of that, they just didn't have enough time left in the game. It also feels like BBS's story might've been changed over time or maybe even with a console switch from PS2 to PSP, leading to various cuts. At least that would explain to me why the Terra/Aqua conversation in Radiant Garden hardly makes any sense. It makes enough sense when we play Ven's story, but as soon we play Aqua's or Terra's story, it becomes apparent that a) Terra didn't do anything wrong at that point and b) logically, Aqua couldn't have seen it. Yet she accuses him of having seen things he's done and he doesn't defend himself, instead just reacting to her lack of trust. This makes sense if they had intended to show Terra genuinely slipping into the Darkness on his own accord (like Riku), so I assume they changed this sometime along the way to avoid too many similarities. So I wouldn't exactly call it rushed because I think lots of stuff happens during development and the intended release console shapes a game a lot (as seen with CoM or even DDD). But I genuinely believe that given more time, you could've pushed some games even further, making them even better. Though the same is true for the opposite, too, give it too much time and you can actually add stuff and make changes that totally destroy a game.

The jewel quests aren't VIP though? They're available for everyone.

Ah, can you tell me were the screen shot comes from? It's an interesting piece of information because the "doesn't show signs of collapsing" would definitely negate the possibility of Xehanort simply stabilizing his heart (like Sora does for Ven). The thing is, the original reason will never be known unless Nomura actually says it. It could be because it looks cool, to make sure he looks different from Sora, to make sure Venitas looks different from Ventus so the viewer and Aqua can tell they're not fighting Ven. Fact is still that later games propose an explanation, as pointed out several times even BBS already proposes an explanation (albeit not yet fully articulated to keep the suspense or maybe enable changes to the plot for later games).

Nomura might be retconning stuff but that doesn't mean that it doesn't fit into what has been established before. Like mentioned twice already, Xehanort says in Blank Points that Terra is one of many roads. Nomura specifically gave himself an opening there to have Xehanort scheme many things at once. It makes sense that Xehanort has some hierarchy to his plans. He wants the Keyblade, he knows two ways to summon it 1) Two equal powers clash, one of Darkness and one of Light 2) The X-Blade shattered into 20 pieces, 13 of Darkness, 7 of Light, those have to come together again. So obviously he'd go for the easier plot, first, extracts Ven's darkness. Kid looks nearly dead to him, he brings him to Destiny Islands to die. Seemingly, his first attempt failed even though he had the perfect candidate. Makes sense for him to switch over to his new plan (off screen), planting a piece of his heart in Vanitas, when he then realizes hey, Ven isn't dead at all, he can try and continue his original plan because it means less work for him. Unless it's gonna be outright denied, it is a possibility. Or, like I suggested before, that Vanitas was just as unstable as Ven until he possibly latched onto Xehanort's heart.

I haven't played DDD by myself yet (I only watched the cutscenes), but I thought DDD stated that the idea of 13 vessels was already a thing back when the original Organization XIII was coined, but ultimately failed and thus lead to the new Organization XIII? Don't forget Xehanort himself said to Terra "You are just one of many roads that I might choose to take. Trust me. I made certain of that." Being the mastermind that he is, it stands to reason that he actually did plan ahead and used a nearly empty vessel as a first host to a part of his heart.

Terra is treated as a Guardian of Light every time though. He appears alongside the other Guardians in the DDD Opening, he is counted by Mickey and Yen Sid as a Guardian (even though Yen Sid knows he has some ties to Xehanort through killing Eraqus), not to mention that Aqua says time and time again that she believes in him and that he's stronger than the Darkness within him. There would be no focus on that if he were unredeemable. Also, let's look at Riku. He changed back two times! So why wouldn't Terra be allowed or able to change back? Riku was just a 15 year old boy, no formal training and nothing. Terra is (most likely) a grown man, had at least 4 years of formal training under his belt and has been trained by Eraqus, somebody we found out is very adamant in defending the Light and suppressing Darkness. There are also the obvious parallels between Terra and Riku since one is the predecessor and the other the inheritor, they are made to parallel each other in their actions and their names. If Riku can get two redemption arcs, Terra deserves his own redemption arc as well. And he deserves the chance to kick Xehanort's butt himself instead of being relegated to damsel in distress. Don't forget his Lingering Will, he will most likely play a pivotal role in getting Terra back.

I assume this was done to make the distinction between Sora and Vanitas clear as day for the audience once he sheds his helmet for the first time. But I can also imagine him needing to support his heart of Darkness in a similar way Ven has to support his heart of Light so both of them don't fade. Through Ven's connection, Vanitas looks like Sora, but he himself didn't make the connection himself and not directly, maybe he has another, direct connection to Xehanort's heart to nurture his own broken piece of heart and that makes his eyes yellow. Or Xehanort actually put a piece of his heart into Vanitas early on, after all, we don't see exactly when his eyes turned yellow and whether or not they were yellow from the beginning.

I'd be kinda pissed if that happened though. I mean Sora's heart is his guiding key and yet he ends up in the wrong world? Way to go, Sora. I mean I guess Roxas's heart could've led him there, but I would still not be amused. It just makes no sense for Sora to tease us that he'll go to Olympus coliseum if he goes to Twilight Town first. The entire 0.2 portion with him would be pointless then since all of it teases Olympus Coliseum. I definitely love the Kairi idea and it makes sense, I can actually picture her making her way from Mysterious Tower through Twilight Town and then to Radiant Garden where the rest of her training takes place. Maybe Riku and Mickey will even "escort" her to make sure she ends up in Radiant Garden in one piece and then they'll depart to finally save Aqua.

I didn't think he was a jerk with that, I found it actually really hilarious, especially after finding out that he actually takes it to heart that everyone complains about KH3 taking "10 years to finish". The fandom is a harsh place and I think his kind of humor is good way to cope with that, not only with the fandom, but with hardships thrown at you in general. Also I wouldn't take his English as an indication of anything. I don't know whether he speaks English, maybe he does (he most likely does) and he is too shy to use it on stage. Also, he might choose to rely on Japanese and trained translators to keep the translation as accurate as possible. I can't count how many wrong words I've used in the heat of the moment and later on I realize "Hey, word x would've been the word I wanted to use!". He knows everyone hangs on his lips and a wrong slip up could mean a misrepresentation. It's a lot of pressure, especially now for Kingdom Hearts 3. As to his body language, I can't really judge that. But remember that cultural differences are a thing and while certain producers may be used to work with Americans a lot, he might be used to work more with fellow Japanese people. Or maybe he's just generally shy. All I can say is that during the D23 live stream, I didn't feel disrespected by him or anything. Neither do I by his interview, I actually was very amused by a lot of the answers he gave because they are so hilariously mischievous and it really fits the mental image I have of him: Always ready to tease us a little bit (like he keeps teasing Yoko Shimomura )

Of course it's gonna be her choice and if she doesn't want to return, there's nothing Disney can do, but the question was why do we want her back and we want her back because she's done an amazing job and is the original voice actress. As long as she is ready to return, I'm sure everyone will be happy to have her back. Her family is her personal choice and might be her current focus, but having a family doesn't automatically render her unable (or unwilling) to do anything besides it.

Well, other women do, too, and they still can work? As long as she's physically able to and wants to return, why shouldn't she? She's the original voice actress for Kairi and does a good job. Alyson Stoner's work for Kairi in 0.2 was good, but she's simply not Kairi.

Oh God, please no, get ALL original voice actors if possible! No change for Terra, especially no change for Sora! Haley Joel Osment IS Sora, there's never gonna be another Sora and it's up to the voice direction to help him sound like they want him to. We've seen with Willa Holland how different she sounds in 0.2, how much she's able to emote and if they give all the voice actors this treatment, they will be able to shine. It really depends on the vision of the voice director. Having said that, I'd definitely love for Hayden Panettiere and Alyson Stoner to return. Stoner did an okay job with Kairi, but Kairi will forever be Hayden. I need the original trio to return and I definitely look forward to it! I'm only curious who will replace Leonard Nimoy (may he rest in peace). That'll be a hard one, especially since not only he passed away but Xehanort's Japanese voice actor did as well so they'll be furiously looking for a replacement, too.

Considering that KH3 will only wrap up the Xehanort saga, but not necessarily all that happened during the Keyblade wars or even less tell us everything about the MoM, it might continue well after KH3 releases. I guess it depends on how people will react, I do think quite a few will drop. I'm more concerned with whether international will get all the story updates before KH3 drops simultaneously everywhere or not...

I do wonder how they'll treat worlds inside of worlds though. Like Space Paranoids, it was actually a world inside of Radiant Garden, would they actually count it separately (as they should) or would something like this count into the vast world that would be Radiant Garden? Aside from that, I would expect some of the Princesses of Hearts' worlds to return. I can't imagine we wouldn't revisit at least one of them (though I'd be more than fine with that world being Destiny Islands so we're finally able to see the main Island and maybe meet Sora's parents :'D)

They wouldn't have brought Roxas up if they didn't plan on him being rescued and/or being in the main focus for at least some time of the game. I mean, we got to see Xemnas talk about him in the trailer, this has to count for something, especially after the arcs in Coded and DDD that emphasized how Roxas and Xion deserve to be their own people and mustn't be forgotten. As of now, Roxas's heart is inside of Sora, just like Ven's. The Sora Figurine mentions a "Key to Return hearts", so if this thing exists, it's likely Sora can use it to safely remove Ven's heart - and if he can remove Ven's heart, he can remove Roxas's heart, too. All that is missing is a body (and soul). The body is easily obtainable, Vexen has made replicas before and with Ienzo's and Ansem the Wise's help, Even should be able to create bodies for the former Nobodies to put their hearts inside. To come back to the theory though: It does make sense! I still prefer Kairi as a guardian of Light, it makes the playing ground even: 13 seekers of darkness vs. 6 Princesses of Heart (Alice, Belle, Snow White, Jasmine, Cinderella, Aurora), 6 Guardians of Light (Sora, Riku, Aqua, Ventus, Terra, Mickey) and one person who acts as both Guardian and Princess alike - Kairi. 13 against 13. I'd be very disappointed if Nomura passes up this constellation. I do however like the idea of Terra being a Guardian of Light (too many people rule him out because he might still be with Xehanort, but I'd say give this poor man his redemption arc by being one of the Guardians!) Ven not counting as one because they mess up or come to late or something like that is a very interesting idea, too, as well as the idea that Sora might indeed give into the Darkness to save Roxas. Just tell him often enough that it's the only way and the seed of doubt will grow and make Sora believe in it, forcing Roxas to become a Guardian on behalf of Sora. I don't know whether SE would have the balls to do it, but if they do, major Kudos to them!

Amazon did, but with "TBA" instead of a tentative release date. I don't know about Game Stop, but if they had the listing, it must've been TBA as well.

They probably just took SE's schedule that stated a release until 2020 and thus put the last day of 2019 as the release day. This way, if KH3 doesn't get an actual release day before the end of 2018, they won't have to change anything. It means nothing at all and I doubt Game Stop would have any information whatsoever.

I started reading the article, but to be honest, I don't think I actually finished it. It was really well written and I agreed with a lot of it, but I'm getting tired of people misinterpreting the reunion of Kairi and Sora. Kenneth Choo already summarized it perfectly, there is a vast difference in how Sora approaches Kairi and Riku because their situations are different. I also want to add that Sora feels awful about breaking his promise. He promised to come back to her and he promised himself to bring Riku back. He failed at both and Kairi found him first and he is so ashamed by it that he looks away from Kairi once he realizes how he "messed up". I am all for emphasizing how important Riku and Sora are to each other, because they are. They are an amazing team, they kind of act like Yin and Yang toward each other, but that doesn't mean that we have to drop Kairi to make this observation. It also doesn't mean that we need to lessen the importance of Kairi to both Sora and Riku, something a huge part of the fandom does. It is infuriating, disingenuous towards the game and insulting towards Nomura and the team. It might be a very delicate difference, one people might overlook accidentally, but to be honest, most only gloss over Kairi because she didn't get a huge role in the later games. As if it wasn't enough that the actual developers treated her badly, the fandom started to treat her badly, too, that's kind of sad.

It still could have a tiny portion of it in the theme, just like Vanitas has part of Sora's, Ventus's and even Xion's (I think) theme in it. If she alters the pitch or speed, it could fit with almost anything she composes, I'm sure of that.

I think Nomura himself once said that Riku is the kind of protagonist kids want to see nowadays and Sora is the kind of protagonist he wanted to see as a child. I don't know how much truth there is behind it, but I suppose there is enough, seeing as the brooding type is heavily featured in other JRPGs as well. As to what I like about Riku... definitely his transformation. And this is coming from somebody who disliked Riku heavily for the last 10 years until I finally had the chance to play Chain of Memories to really see his change and his redemption arc. (even though they were stretching it a bit thin with yet another redemption arc in Dream Drop Distance). He made mistakes, he faced them and he was sorry for them and does everything to make things right. He's grown from a cocky teenager to a humble young man with a great sense of justice, feeling bad about having left Aqua in the Realm of Darkness even though it wasn't exactly his fault. He's also grown from this extremely brooding side to listening to his heart, something Sora does very frequently, so even though he felt a huge need to repent for his 'sins', he's also learned to trust himself again and that is another great change for him, especially after an experience like the one he had. We might see Sora and Riku both grow up over the course of the series and Sora's growth shouldn't be underestimated, but Riku goes through a different kind of growth and I doubt my 16 year old self would be able to understand Riku the same way adult me does now.

Exactly, I don't see how this is bad news either. Of course, this means it likely won't release in the next few months, but this was unlikely after January's interview anyway. But it also means they have decided on all worlds, on all characters, on the bosses. Yoko Shimomura will have an easier time with Remixes (character themes and past worlds such as Radiant Garden), that will likely not take as much time as composing entirely new songs for let's roughly say 10 new worlds. It will take a few months, she will likely go through a lot of material, Disney movies included, but since she needs references of the game to compose, this means they are pretty well along. I think this is great news, it's amazing that we're up to date with the development! But then again I never wanted or expected a 2017 release so I'm not really disappointed to begin with.

10 pm, here I come! Snacks are ready, drinks are ready, I can't wait

I don't get the issue with Xemnas either He looks a little swollen maybe.. but Sora also looks like he's got a toothache tbh... I'd definitely say Hades and Maleficent. I am so shocked at how wonderful the Disney Characters look, especially after the struggle they apparently went through in 0.2. Mickey looks way worse than them! (It might still be a slight lightning issue though).