#in other news I am attempting to use sephiroth for all of the kingdom hearts spirit battles and roxas is kicking my ass | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

moodysnowflake · 4 years

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Please mind the Spoiler slap that might come your way guys...

Let’ talk about Rufus Shinra.

Yes, he has been exploited better than the OG, and yes, once you get the hint the assesment is trying to throw at you, it’s easier to whack his butt.

He still beats the crap out of you.

We have to realize that Rufus is a normal human being. He’s not a Turk either. Sure, he was a prodigy and has been trained by the military, and he might have trained with the Turks too during his “extended assignment oversea” (despite being him the boss, I bet Reno would still try to zap him in the crotch, if left unsupervised). Rude would gave him a sturdy run for his money (of course pun intended) and Tseng did probably manage to wipe the floor with his gorgeous platinum-blond ass at least once when they were younger. Rufus manages to stand his ground against Cloud, a final-stretch-game Cloud. Not an early-game Cloud. You have to run, dodge, parry and dive like hell, and when he hits you, it fluffing hurts. He’s the only human enemy in the Remake who actually manages to do some serious damage using a firearm.

He’s been designed to do that, you might say. Well, yeah, duh, he’s still the only one, so that’s awesome.

Moreover, he doesn’t actually look exhausted, nor particularly beaten up when the battle ends; he just smirks his way out. We couldn’t appreciate it in the OG, but heck yes we can now.

We might argue that’s all a façade, and I think that part of it could very well be true. Cloud did roughed him up after all. Plus, that’s his character, he would never show a speck of vulnerability (”nobody has ever see him bleed or cry” - can we seriously blame him for becoming an ice prince?). And he’s not stupid; once he’s disarmed, he immediately opts for strategic retreat. He’s not a brainless goof, he recognized his huge disavantage: a true tactician indeed.

Him and Cloud's battle dialogue...is it just me, or did they sound like ex-boyfriends angrily snapping at each other?...

C: Think you got my number? [Cloud?]

R: Not at all. You’re making me sweat. Good thing I came prepared. [Rufus?]

C: That’s a new trick.

R: Like it? ‘Course you do.

[Did they actually meet in Before Crisis?!]

R: Let’s make it a night to remember.

Okay guys, seriously, tone it down a notch, would you? That’s too much gold for a single scene!

His outfit might not have us all agreeing, I can totally see why. That off-white contrast to Cloud’s pitch black tho...

Here’s the knot my brain is twisting itself over.

The question slammed my brain like a train, pretty much the same as Rufus’.

I don’t know, you tell me how the heck are you seeing the Whispers...

Tseng going:

Rufus looks at him like “Wait, what? You’re not seeing this shit? You kidding, right?” then proceeds to glare him into submission, either because he thinks Tseung might imply he’s not okay after the fight and he might be suffering some side-effects, or he’s mocking him.

[If it’s the last one, that would open another pit of thoughts, like: if he thinks Tseng is teasing him, that means that happened before. If that happened before, it means he’s not a utter cold-blooded bastard, and they interacted like functional(ish) human beings up to the point of joking. What is this? Solid character background? OG-wise, we know he’s not a saint, but we also know he’s not totally batshit cracker either. Because WRO and Avalanche. (Can’t wait for Barret’s reaction when that’ll happen. That’s gonna be spectacular XD)

Reno’s line ‘You’re sure you wanna do this by yourself, boss? (ENG)//That’s dangerous (JAP)’ could support this theory, even if we know he would talk back to Sephiroth himself.]

Untill now it’s evident that he being able to see them is “Because Plot“

But my spider senses are tingling, feeling something lurking below.

He didn’t seem to be able to see them on the platform while Cloud’s smacking his way through. That could be arguable, ‘cause spotting dark stuff in a dark background is not that easy.

But after the Edge of Creation cutscene (and that’s another thing I’ll talk about later), he’s pretty well able to do that. And he’s the first character we see...

So what happened in between?

Well, there’s Wedge scene...but that’s the only thing we’re allowed to see.

Based on what’s happening in the game, you’d be able to see the Whispers because of Aerith/Sephiroth’s intervention or because the Whispers need you to see them.

That create some interesting choices, which might combine, ‘cause they’re not mutually exclusive:

1. Rufus finds/saves Wedge, or the Whispers are bringing Wedge to him (very unlikely, but you know, overthinking is so fun). He was minding his own businnes, and Wedge suddenly appears. If this happens, I don’t think he’s gonna kill him...Because Avalanche (and because if you resist Wedge’s puppy eyes you don’t have a heart, nor a soul). Yes, he’s ruthless, I know, but there are times during the story in which he doesn’t behave like a complete dickhead. Very few times. But maybe the Whispers need for Rufus and Wedge to meet, and maybe that’s what happened in the hall.

Also, my useless rambling neuron got stuck over a very stupid, very impossible, but very cute idea why Rufus wouldn’t kill him: what if Wedge and Rufus know each other? Barret and the other knows his face, but what about Wedge? Maybe somehow they casually met in Junon, or (god forsake it, my heart) even before in Midgar he saved him from whatsoever situation and he never mention it? Chances are never really zero in FFVII, but I’m well aware that this is far-fetched...like, a lot.

How cute would it be if Wedge woke up with Rufus crouched down there, skeptically looking at him.

‘What are you doing here?’

To which he would chirp “Hey Rufus, long time no see! How’re you doing? I thought you were still in Junon.”

‘I’m the boss here, I ask the questions. What are all these creepy things flying around.’

“Well, I don’t have that much of a clear idea...Also, you’re not my boss!“

‘That’s not helping. Also, technically, yes Wedge, I am.’

”Huh?”

‘I’m Rufus Shinra. (smug smirk)’

“I know that dummy (Rufus would scrunch up his face), what I don’t understand is how that would make you my boss. Blowing up one of your reactors using your explosive can’t make me pass as construction worker.”

‘I am not your boss because of Shinra. I am your boss because I’m the boss of the boss of your boss.’

“WAIT, WHAT?!”

*Whispers taking him away*

2. Sephiroth has a brief chat with him during the moment he’s left on his own (while we’re fighting his true self in the singularity). In the OG, Rufus always had this incontrollable drive to find Sephiroth, an inespicable and obsessive draw to hunt him down, which only Cloud match (and he’s the one guarding Jenova’s remants in Advent Children...). And no, it’s not because he killed his father...we know how idyllic that relationship was. That spark could have been started here.

3. A combination of the two. Because why not.

4. Something else within him helped the trigger.

Speaking about this, I discovered some interesting info. The Remake has retconned his age from 25 to 30, flopping back his birthday from 1982 to 1977. Five years shouldn’t make that much of a difference. We can agree, artistic licence.

Too bad 1977 is also the exact same year Jenova’s remnants have been discovered...As well as the very start of the machination for Project S and Project G.

Using Dirge of Cerberus as reference, 1982/1983 should approximatly be Sephiroth’s birthyear. Which leaves 5 years of preparation.

Is this a coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe the president let Hojo start to experiment on baby Rufus as he saw fit. Nobody would convince me that the president wouldn’t have done it, those two are just too fucked up. That could explain why he was so flipping good with a shotgun since he was 10, why he managed to face a SOLDIER without turning into minced meat (he didn’t show negative repercussions because he could have been resistant to mako poisoning, like Zack; plus he is the only human enemy with some resistance to Poison and Magic), why the president didn’t kill him when he sided with the Turk’s assassination attempt. That wasn’t paternal love; that was probably Hojo interceding to not have a succesfull test subject except Sephiroth eliminated, promising to have him brainwashed.

Like Cloud, despite Jenova’s cells, he wouldn’t be able to see the Whispers by his own. But Sephiroth, or Aerith, might have flipped the switch in some way. Or even Jenova’s or n#2��s bodies, to which we still have no idea what happened.

4.1. The annoyed/angry glare This could also be another reason for the angry/annoyed glare he shoots Tseng, like he’s saying “You know what I am” or “You know taking me down is not that easy”. The first one reminds me of Cloud’s line to Jessie...the look is pretty similar.

Another interpretation of this expression could be that he actually has, from time to time, some odd quirks or weird moments, residues of the mako treatment/cells' interaction. It is very likely that if that’s true, Tseng - and maybe even Rude and Reno - witnessed them.

That wouldn't surprise me: he’s sporting some serious dark circles under his eyes in this scene.

So, he could be also saying “What? Are we doing this again? You still think I’m frail and crazy? Do I have to beat that out of you like last time?”

5. He touched Jenova’s blood; it wouldn’t be that improbable, since it was smeared all over the floor. That might have done the trick by itself, or, if connected to point 4, he could have been drawn to it by the cells within him, which could have worked as catalyst.

6. Any combination of two or more of the previous points. It’s Nomura Testuya we’re talking about, they could all be true for what we know. He’s a goddamn psycho: it’s easier to build a house with a sand-pail and a plastic shovel than understand Kingdom Hearts' series plot .

Too many questions, but the revelation that Rufus can see the Whispers is very intriguing; the whispers needs him for something. Destiny needs him for something. That makes him an even more valuable character that he already was in the OG, and I’m glad they’re doing it.

Nobody seems to be left behind (in character development sense) this time.

We can only wait and hope.

Wish you all the best, Rufie (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *

#ffvii remake #ffvii remake spoilers #ffvii spoilers #ffviir #rufus shinra #ffviir spoilers #ffvii remake theories #ffvii theory

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fallintosanity · 4 years

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What are your thoughts on 7 Remake’s ~controversial~ ending? It’s been a few weeks now since I finished and I legit feel like I’ve journeyed through all 5 stages of grief and finally landed on Acceptance 😅

haha that’s fair! I have a lot of thoughts about the remake, but they’re coming from three different angles.

(Spoilers under the cut obvs; also this got fucklong even after I cut a bunch of non-ending-related thoughts, and I apologize to those of you on mobile)

From the POV of someone who played and loved the original

Overall, I really enjoyed the remake, ending and all. I replayed the OG prior to the remake’s release, finishing literally four hours before the remake became available in North America, but it had still been months since I did the Midgar parts so it wasn’t too immediately fresh in my mind. Still, I was impressed by how faithful the remake is to the OG for the vast majority of the game. They noticeably cleaned up a few things, like Tseng slapping Aerith, which didn’t age well or stopped making sense with regards to the greater Compilation, which was nice to see. But they also doubled down on some of the ridiculousness of the original. I can’t tell you how much I cackled when the Hell House showed up, or how many times I said to my fiance in joy/disbelief, “They really managed to fit that in!”

I also love all the little nods to the greater Compilation. I saw one interview excerpt from like... 2015 or 2014 or something that said the Remake is considered canon to the Compilation, and the content of the Remake itself suggests this. While some of the cameos could be considered nothing more than cameos (as much as I love Kunsel, I don’t think his name being dropped means anything other than that they needed a name and wanted to give a nod to him), there are other clear hints that Crisis Core and The Kids Are Alright, at minimum, are canon to the Remake. Hojo mentions “S and G type” SOLDIERs, i.e., Sephiroth-type and Genesis/Gillian-type. (Roche is a G type I am not taking arguments on this point) The description of the Buster Sword says it carries the hopes and dreams of those who came before, implying more than just Zack (i.e., Angeal). Zack’s scene right before he charges the ShinRa army is shot-for-shot the one from Crisis Core, which could have just been a nod, but the fact that he also says the same lines as the original is telling. There’s a lot of lore loaded into those lines. Leslie and Kyrie are both from The Kids Are Alright (which makes me wonder if the third ShinRa half-brother is floating around somewhere). You could make an argument for Before Crisis being partially or completely canon to the remake as well, since someone mentions a previous assassination attempt on the President, which happened in BC.

But now we get into the issue of whether Advent Children is canon to the remake, i.e., the ending and the thing you actually asked about. ^^; This is where I’m more torn. My initial reaction to the ending was “Oh crap, we went from FFVII-Remake to Kingdom Hearts - oh shit now we’re in Advent Children - oh fuck now we’re in fanfiction-land.” Which... is definitely not what I was expecting from the ending of Part 1.

On first playthrough it feels a bit like they overplayed their hand with Sephiroth in the ending: “everyone wants a Sephiroth fight in a FFVII game, so we’ll give them a Sephiroth fight”. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the fact that Sephiroth appears in person in the Midgar sequence, when in the OG all we see of him before Kalm is the aftermath of President Shinra’s murder. I do think Sephiroth’s appearances prior to the ending were done well - the writers clearly intended to emphasize Cloud’s mental issues, and Sephiroth is too big a part of them to ignore. His appearances prior to the top of Shinra Tower both serve as a bone tossed to those who wanted to see him in the remake, and set up the Cloud-Sephiroth relationship a lot earlier and in more depth. You can see how utterly terrified Cloud is every time Sephiroth is around - even sometimes frozen into immobility. Depending on how things go with the Kalm flashback, this may also help cue new players in to just how wrong things are with Cloud. (After all, a SOLDIER First shouldn’t be afraid of another SOLDIER First, should he?) But the final fight against Sephiroth, or at least, a clone wearing Sephiroth’s face, felt premature, out of place, something that’s only there to appease people who wanted to fight Sephiroth now.

Aside from the Sephiroth thing, I’m reserving judgment a bit on the ending as a whole. On the one hand, I’m deeply curious to see where the story goes from here, and how the writers use their newfound freedom (more on that in a minute). On the other hand, I don’t want this to turn into Kingdom Hearts 4, and I don’t trust Nomura in that regard, especially after all the bullshit that went on with KH3, Verum Rex, and FFXV/versus 13. I love Nomura, but like George Lucas, he desperately needs someone to rein in, edit, and shape his ideas.

I’m also not sure how I feel about all the theories being thrown out there - such as that at least one of the Sephiroths we see is the one from after AC, somehow flung back in time to fuck things up; or that the OG was, 999-style, Aerith seeing into the future and now in the remake she’s taking control to put everything on the path she wants. They’re interesting, for sure, and I think that with careful handling, it’s possible Squenix might be able to pull one of them off - but given what I know of Squenix (again, more on that later), I don’t trust them to do it well. I am, to be blunt, very concerned that later installments of the remake are going to turn into an incoherent tug-of-war between those who want to be faithful to the original, and Nomura’s desire to inject weird Kingdom Hearts nonsense everywhere.

I say this with all the love to Kingdom Hearts, but it’s a very specific kind of story and it’s not what I want to see in my FFVII.

On a writing meta level

On the meta level, I’m fascinated by the choice to go with the whole Whispers/Arbiters of Fate thing. I don’t know how much of that is pure Nomura-injected BS vs how much was a deliberate choice by the writing team, but for right now I’m going to assume it was mostly a deliberate and unanimous choice.

I’ve seen a lot of other Remake opinions along the lines of a reluctant, “I guess they had to put the Whispers in there because a perfect remake wouldn’t have been satisfying to everyone. There’s always someone who would have complained.” I... don’t think that’s entirely true. Like, yeah, sure, someone’s always going to complain if it’s not a pixel-perfect remake, but based on the overall satisfaction I’ve seen from OG fans (including myself) regarding the parts that are true to the original, I think Squenix would have done just fine if that was the path they chose. And given how much attention they paid to making most of the game into a nearly-perfect recreation, I think the writers knew it.

So why’d they go the whole Whispers route?

My guess would be that the writers were giving themselves freedom, on a meta level, with the Whispers. It’s a way of both poking fun at, and solving, their own dilemma: do we make a perfect, hi-res copy of the original? Or do we change things to make it our own?

The “change something to make it your own” is a longstanding trope when someone new is put in charge of something old. You see it in everything from Disney live-action remakes to new managers who change their employees’ routines just to “make an impact”. Most of the time, these changes are neutral / un-impactful at best, or outright frustrating / terrible at worst. I wonder if the Remake writing team wasn’t fully aware of this, and possibly tangled up in knots internally about how to handle it. Would it be seen as a bad, “make it their own” change to have Tseng not slap Aerith? What about adding Chocobo Sam, Madam M, and Andrea Rhodea to the Wall Market sequence? What about the changes to how the Avalanche gang reacts to Cloud, now that we have full animation and voice acting and it’s clear Avalanche has no reason to want to keep him around except for Jessie being horny on main? Where’s the line?

I could see the Whispers being the writing team’s way of making sure they stay in line where it’s important, while also giving themselves the freedom to make the updates needed to allow the remake to work. They’re kind of a meta nod to the audience, a “don’t worry! If we get too far out of line, the Whispers will bring us back.” In that sense, the entire ending where you (the player) kill the Whispers and free yourself (the player) from destiny is you giving the writers permission to continue making those small changes.

In FFXV, almost the entire ending sequence is a cutscene: Noctis on the throne, being murdered by his ancestors and descending into the spirit realm. But there’s one single quick-time event in there, one point where the player has to take action and push a button. It’s not even difficult, and on the surface it seems pointless. Except, if you don’t, Noctis lives. (Trapped in purgatory maybe, but he’s still there.) If you never push that button, Noctis doesn’t sacrifice his spirit and those of the Lucii to destroy Ardyn and wipe the Scourge from Eos. By asking - requiring - the player to push that button to commit that final act, the game makes the player complicit in Noct’s sacrifice. It’s a powerful moment, and similar to what (I suspect) the Remake writers intended with the Whispers.

Because they could have left the Whispers in forever. They could have had them be a continuous presence throughout all episodes of the Remake, a little reminder that no matter what tweaks the writers might make to update the story, to “make it their own”, the Arbiters of Fate will ensure things are on track. That things will play out exactly as in the original. But by asking the player to destroy the Arbiters, the writers are asking for the player’s permission to make changes. And by killing the Arbiters, you’re granting it. Because, just like you can keep Noctis alive by not pushing the button when prompted, you can keep the original game more-or-less on track by never stepping through that portal, never killing the Arbiters. But if you do step through that portal and go through with it, you’re agreeing to accept that things might change, thus freeing the writers from the constant double jeopardy of changing things vs keeping them exactly the same.

On a business meta level

As cool as (I think) that all sounds, the bigger question is, can Square Enix actually pull it off? And here’s where I start to have my most significant doubts. After the FFvs13/FFXV debacle and the hopeless mess that was KH3, I do not trust Nomura to tell a coherent story, even if it’s supposedly a retelling of an existing, well-known story. I don’t know anything about the inner workings or politics at Square Enix, other than that there are politics at play, so in fairness to him I can’t really say it’s because he himself is bad at telling a story, or just doesn’t have the support he needs to convey his vision well. But that gets into other issues with Squenix. We know their last several major games have had long and troubled developments. Someone way more attuned than me to the Japanese video games industry can talk in depth about why; all I know is that it happened (is happening?) and that it’s something of a miracle the remake came out as well as it did.

On top of that, I’m a bit concerned that even if Squenix can get (and keep) its shit together, it might be up against external forces that constrain how it can tell the story of FFVII in the present. For example, from what I’ve heard, the reason Crisis Core never got ported the way so many other games did, and the reason Genesis Rhapsodos has never been seen outside it and a Dirge of Cerberus cameo, is due to image licensing fights with Gackt, Genesis’s face model. CC established Genesis as a key player in the events leading up to the original game’s story, and enough hints have been dropped about CC in the remake that, like I said earlier, it appears to be canon. But if Squenix can’t reach an agreement to use the character again, they might be trapped in a corner where they either have to completely rewrite the parts of the story involving Genesis, or dance around his existence.

And on top of all that, it’s just expensive and time-consuming as hell to make games on the remake’s scale. Everyone expects the PS4 to be retired by the time Remake Part 2 comes out, which is going to pose huge logistical issues for releasing it. Squenix has been having a rough time of it lately, from what I’ve heard - are they, as a company, capable of handling all those logistical issues? I don’t know, and that makes me nervous.

Still, they did do a remarkable job with the remake overall, even grappling with the pandemic around the launch date. So maybe they’re getting their shit together again, and things will be smooth sailing from here. We’ll have to wait and see.

#anonymous #final fantasy vii #ffvii #ffvii remake #spoilers #meta #sanity replies #sanity talks a lot #tumblr massively fucked up the formatting somehow sorry

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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I know u like Isa and Lea, but did you enjoy any other of the Nobodies? Their personalities?

Oh yeah. I pretty much liked all the Organization. They just never got developed that much. Heck, even Lea and Isa never got their whole backstory shown and are still underdeveloped as characters. Which is sad. I found the Organization politics so interesting, too. It’s why I became kind of obsessed with the weapons in 358/2 Days. They had such specific names, shapes and colors that I knew they HAD to have some secret deeper meaning. And since BBSV2 was cancelled, I knew that we were most likely NEVER going to learn about what those secrets were. But I wanted to figure it out to learn more about them…all of them.

For instance, Luxord is so cool, yet he’s a total mystery. I like his demeanor and how he was sad when he lost half the poker league in Days. He never truly seemed like a bad guy, either. It’s a shame that we may never get to learn more about him. I’m sure there was stuff to be revealed about him. He was one of Nomura’s favorites, after all. There’s no way I can see him joining the Seekers of Darkness willingly. I think he was always supposed to be in the New Organization, but for a different reason than KH3 gives. Well, KH3 didn’t actually give one, but whatever. I think he wasn’t there willingly, and that’s why he was so happy when Sora defeated him and freed his heart.

I would have loved to learn more about Lexaeus, too. He didn’t seem to be thatbad. He was tending to Even and Dilan after they woke up. And I think he genuinely wanted to help Lea when he was looking for Isa. He seemed like he might have felt guilty about everything that happened. And somewhat concerned when Lea said he was going to go look for them. Ienzo and Lexaeus were rather low-ranking members. Lea seemed tolerate them in a way I doubt he would have with Braig, for instance.

What on earth was happening within the hearts of my six beloved apprentices? While pursuing the mystery of the darkness of the heart, could they themselves have strayed into its depths?

Speaking of Braig…I love Xigbar. He’s such a smug and unapologetic asshole. But he’s so cool at the same time. He always seems like he’s having so much fun. I really hated how it was revealed that he was Luxu because I thought Braig was such an interesting villain. He was just an ordinary guard and apprentice. Probably not a very nice guy, but not actively harming anyone, either. Ansem the Wise cared about all of his apprentices and trusted them. Even Braig. Then Xehanort comes along and offers him power. The Keyblade. And that’s all it takes to turn him into such a monster.

Day 355: Mind

The gears of Xemnas’ plans have begun to spin wild since the loss of half our membership at Castle Oblivion. The results are there, but can this state of affairs fairly be called a success? If Kingdom Hearts can be said to possess a mind of its own, it is surely rejecting Xemnas—no, rejecting Xehanort. Roxas left the Organization today.

He knows full well that Xehanort wants to access Kingdom Hearts and pretty much end the world as we know it. And he doesn’t give a DAMN. This entry is entitled “Mind”. Xigbar talks about Kingdom Hearts having a mind of its own, and rejecting Xehanort. He is aware that what Xemnas is doing is wrong.

And this doesn’t seem to be the first time he has pondered something having a mind of its own, either. The mind of Kingdom Hearts rejects Xehanort. The whole concept is quite similar to the way they tried to get the mind to renounce its sense of self, so that the vessel couldn’t reject Xehanort’s heart. I definitely think this was a subtle reference to the mind control experiments.

Xigbar: Man, does that Xehanort scare me like nobody’s business, the way he can see into minds. And it doesn’t help that no one knows what it is that the old man wants. I wonder if even you know what’s going on inside your own head.

I believed him when he said that Xehanort scared him. He doesn’t know what Xehanort is really after by causing the Apocalypse (we never get to learn either). But he goes along with him for his own selfish reasons. I was very disappointed that Xigbar’s personality was revealed to be Luxu putting on an act the whole time. No, I simply refuse to accept that.

Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

—Revelation 8:6-7

I admit, I couldn’t help but laugh when I read the KHwiki descriptions for some of the characters’ Mystery Gear weapons, which are said to draw forth the wielder’s personality. These were clearly meant to tell you something important about each of them. The wiki description for Xigbar’s Trumpet said that it may be a reference to his tendency to “toot his own horn”.

I think the trumpet had FAR more significance than that. The trumpet is a symbol. It’s the harbinger of the Apocalypse, to be exact. Xigbar and Xemnas are the only ones with Biblical references in their weapons. Even the concept of 7 Lights and 13 Darknesses is mostly Biblical in origin.

Seven is the number of completeness and perfection, both physical and spiritual. It derives much of its meaning from being tied directly to God’s creation of all things. There are 7 days in a week and God’s Sabbath is on the 7th day. The Bible, as a whole, was originally divided into 7 major divisions. The number 13 is symbolic of rebellion and lawlessness. 13 represents all the governments created by men, and inspired by Satan, in outright rebellion against the Eternal.

Ruler of the skies, protector of the stars, the Ultima Weapon will appear and destroy any threat it perceives. It has shot down countless airships, man’s means to reach the heavens. The stars align against us…

Final Weapon is another apocalyptic reference. Its design is based on the Ultima Weapon from FFVII. And we know how fond Nomura is of that game. I am quite fond of it, too. The Ultimate Weapon of Final Fantasy VII is one of the five Weapons created by the planet as a defense mechanism. It was released from its slumber in the North Crater after Sephiroth summons a giant meteor in an attempt to bring about the Apocalypse.

Then there’s Cupid’s Arrow, which is green, possibly as a reference to the Heart chakra. We all know who Cupid is. He shoots people with arrows and they fall in love. However, Cupid also has a devious side. His gold-tipped arrows are what link people in love. However, he can fire lead-tipped arrows, which cause people to feel indifference or hatred. This side of Cupid is not very well-known. As for Xigbar’s weapon, the bullets produce dark sparks on contact with enemies and gold ones on contact with anything else. Hmm.

Recollections

Am I alive? I awoke in a cell, alone until the researchers came with their tests and their prodding to uncover my identity. I had no answer to offer them. Four friends, and a key…that is the sum total of my memory. I could not even recall my name. I was simply called “X” there. My only solace was the time I spent talking with the two boys who would visit from time to time. One day, a man came to take me from the prison. I could not see him for the darkness, save that he wore an eyepatch. Even now, years on, I feel no closer to understanding who or what I am.May my heart be my guiding key.

—Unknown

I make it no secret that I think Isa was originally Subject X. And who is the last person Subject X remembers before their memory cuts off? Braig. Wouldn’t surprise me if Xigbar gave Isa the X-shaped scar. Other than Xemnas, he was the only one in the Organization who was confirmed to know about Xemnas’ desire to turn people into vessels. I think Even probably knew as well, but I just can’t see him giving Isa the scar.

Xemnas disappeared nearly before he heard his order acknowledged.

“Don’t let us down now, kiddo. Shouldn’t be too much trouble without a heart,” Xigbar told Saïx.

Then he was gone, too. Alone in the Round Room, Saïx raised his eyes to the high domed ceiling.

Braig? Definitely. I think he was the main abuser of Isa. I think he used a “lead arrow,” so to speak, and turned Isa’s love into hatred and indifference.

Saïx: Something at Castle Oblivion changed you. Does the past mean nothing to you now?

Since Saïx had Isa’s memories, he no doubt would have told Axel who his main abuser was. Not to mention Braig probably abused Lea as well.

Given the right memories, the Replica could mimic the powers of the original. Which meant that if he were implanted with somebody else’s memories, he would, hypothetically, gain other powers. Somebody’s—or maybe even a Nobody’s. He had one particular Nobody in mind. All the members of the Organization were still influenced by the memories of their human lives.

Personally, I think Axel was talking about Xigbar here in the novel. I definitely think Axel wanted revenge on Xigbar. And I like that Cupid’s Arrow is Ultimate Gear. In that same weapon class is Saïx’s Horoscope, which has the symbols for Venus and Cancer. Venus in Cancer is basically the astrological correspondence of ultimate love and affection. If it shows up in your horoscope, your love life is looking good.

Another one of Xigbar’s weapons is called Crime and Punishment. It refers to an 1866 novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is about the mental anguish of a destitute man plotting to murder an unscrupulous pawnbroker who ripped him off, and contemplating whether or not going through with the plan will be worth the risks involved.

He grows increasingly his nihilistic, and believes that killing would benefit society, therefore justifying that crime and others. After committing murders, his isolation grows because of his intense guilt and the half-delirium into which his guilt throws him. Over and over again, the man pushes away the people who are trying to help him, and then suffers the consequences. In the end, he finds the total alienation that he has brought upon himself intolerable.

Day 117: Him and Roxas

Roxas is maturing at an impressive rate. His face, the way he handles the Keyblade, it’s all exactly the same. The worlds seem so divided and alone, but there’s always that steady thread there to connect them. And we Nobodies can never escape the things we did as humans. So it goes.

Xigbar does seem to have some guilt about what he did to Roxas/Ventus deep down. He says that Nobodies can never escape what they did as humans. He knows that what he’s doing is wrong. Everything he did was so that he could gain Master Xehanort’s Keyblade.

Q: What happens to Lea hereafter now that he has become a Keyblade wielder?

A: Lea, having returned to his human form, chosen by the Keyblade. Does him getting a Keyblade have anything to do with his best friend Roxas? And is there a possibility that Lea’s become one of the protectors of Light?

Yet Lea was able to wield because of how strong his heart was, and due to his desire to save his friends, including Roxas/Ventus and Isa, two people whose lives he helped destroy. And although this idea is never followed up on, in the KH3D Ultimania, Nomura suggested that Roxas had something to do with Lea’s ability to wield the Keyblade.

I’m really not convinced that Xigbar’s suicide at the end was always supposed to just be a ruse. In the original version of the story, I think he actually did decide to end his life. And I would have preferred that outcome rather than “Well, he was never really Braig, and he was just pretending to be a power-hungry bastard the whole time, lololol!”

Axel: Try not to bungle everything while I’m gone.

Xion: Now, why would we do that?

Axel: Well, considering your track record…

Xion: Hey! Don’t make me come over there!

I also really liked Roxas and Xion when i played Days. For me, Xion was everything that Kairi should have been from the beginning. The way Kairi was written always felt unintentionally sexist to me. I think the female writer for Days, Tomoco Kanemaki, really helped in the writing of that game’s female protagonist. It was a very good idea to bring her on board. Plus she’s an excellent writer, based on the KH novels.

Axel: Well, even if things change, we’ll never be apart–

Xion: As long as we remember each other…right? Don’t worry, Axel–we got your hokey speech memorized.

Axel: Just checking.

Xion jokes and teases Roxas and Axel, but never in a mean-spirited way. She’s very pure-hearted, sweet, and feminine. Which can often come across as annoying for me, if the writers are not careful. Kairi was a Princess of Heart. She’s very pure and filled with light. But we were mainly TOLD this fact about her character, rather than being able to see it through her actions. Which came across as…kind of annoying.

But Xion’s character never felt sexist to me. Her interactions with her friends felt far more charming and personable than Kairi’s interactions with Sora and Riku ever did. She was written with such sincerity.

Roxas: Just feels strange, that’s all. Usually, I do all the worrying over you. I don’t think it’s ever been the other way around before.

Xion: Well, for your information… I worry about you all the time, Roxas.

I liked how she responded to Roxas. She worries about him all the time. Kairi also worried about Sora, but she always felt like a passive participant in the story, instead of an active one.

Kairi: Who are you? And that’s not my name. I’m Kairi.

Roxas: Kairi… I know you. You’re that girl he likes.

For the most part, Kairi existed in relation to Sora, and only Sora.

Kairi: What are you going to do with us?

Saïx: You’re the fire that feeds Sora’s anger.

Kairi didn’t get to actually DO things. Things happened TO Kairi. Xion had a lot more agency as a character. You’re invited to put yourself in her shoes, and understand how she’s feeling in a way you never are with Kairi. She’s a subject instead of an object.

Kairi: I can’t help?

Sora: You’d kind of be in my way.

Kairi: Hehe. Okay. You win.

I also liked that Xion being able to fight was just taken for granted by the story. It’s not treated like it’s a big deal, just because she’s a girl. It’s just normal, like how it was with Aqua. On the other hand, Kairi always got treated by everyone like she was made of glass.

Day 352: What I Must Do

Riku gave me this time. Axel told me to spend it thinking for myself. The Organization is determined to erase either me or Roxas. They’ll never allow us to coexist. I love Roxas and Axel. I’m sure Saïx would scoff at that. Call it a trick of my artificial memories. But the time I spent on that clock tower was real. I wish the three of us could stay together, just like this, forever. But I have to end this. I’ll never forget today’s sunset. Even if Roxas and Axel do, I won’t forget.

Xion said that she loved Roxas and Axel. I found that really touching. Kairi was introduced to the story in KH1 mainly as the girl that Sora and Riku were competing for. She was more of love interest than a protagonist.

Kairi: You know, Riku has changed.

Sora: What do you mean?

Kairi: Sora, let’s take the raft and go—just the two of us!

Sora: Huh?

Kairi: Just kidding.

She never had any chemistry with Riku as part of their trio, and her role in the story diminished as his grew. In KH1, Sora and Riku’s animosity towards each other is fueled largely by Riku’s possessiveness toward Kairi, which I didn’t like.

Riku: Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi.

Sora: Wha… Wait a minute…

She was treated more like a prize for Sora and Riku to compete over than a valued friend. It just felt sexist to me. And I think it’s why Riku and Kairi barely interacted after KH1. I actually felt very sad when Xion disappeared. I felt an attachment to her, whereas I felt nothing but irritation (at the writers) when Kairi “died”. I connected with Xion in a way I that I was never able to with Kairi, because she was written like a real person instead of love interest.

After playing KH3, my feelings towards Roxas and Xion are…complicated. I know this is kind of an unpopular and controversial opinion in the fandom, but…I didn’t want either Roxas or Xion to come back. Even though I loved them both. Frankly, I don’t think they really “work” as stand-alone characters. Plus I was never fond of all of these identical characters running around simultaneously. Roxas and Sora look and act different enough. But Roxas and Ven? Many people seemed to like the scene where they meet and exchange an awkward glance. But for me it was just…stupid. Plus I think bringing them back ruined the poignancy of their story arcs.

Despite Xion being formed from Sora’s memories of Kairi, she felt very distinct from Kairi, due to the superior dialogue quality in 358/2 Days. This was both a good and bad thing.

Kairi: Who’s this new Riku and where’s the old one?

Riku: New me?

Kairi: Yeah. You’re more like Sora.

Riku: Should I be flattered? I try too hard to be the role model. It’s more fun to just listen to my heart. Which is Sora-esque.

Kairi: Well, we still like you. Master, I came here because I wanted to help somehow. What can I do?

Honestly, I was just hoping that Kairi would have been written more like Xion going forward. I didn’t actually want to see Xion come back. I think that was always the plan, since Kairi certainly was in need of better characterization. And after Days, Kairi’s personality actually was more like Xion. I found her far more charming in KH2.8 and KH3 than I ever found her to be in any of the other games. They tried to give her more chemistry with Riku, who is supposed to be one of her best friends. I know the damage had been done by this point, but I appreciated scenes like this nonetheless.

Lea: Now that we’re going back, I’m worried about everything.

Kairi: Well, you don’t have to worry alone anymore, Axel.

I found her relationship with Lea so enjoyable, too. She was like his little sister. Kairi’s relationship with Lea felt just like Xion’s relationship with him. Xion promised she’d never forget Axel, after all. Unfortunately, this had the effect of making Xion’s return feel even more unnecessary and redundant to me. I feel the same way about Roxas.

A common opinion I hear is that Roxas is so much “darker” than Ventus, and therefore they cannot possibly be the same person. I agree that Roxas showed a darker side to his personalty than Ventus did. After all, Ventus had his darkness artificially extracted from him. But my response is: that’s what character development is for. What, did everyone think that Ven was going to remain the same naive kid until the very end the story? Even if he regained his memories as Roxas? Even after learning that Xemnas was Terra?

What was the whole point of Vanitas then? He’s Ven’s shadow self. These games are heavily inspired by Jungian philosophy, very much like the Persona series actually. Probably why I love both series so much. They even have the yellow eyes thing in common. The boss fight in KH3 was against Aqua’s shadow self. She was the embodiment of all the repressed, subconscious dark thoughts Aqua would be too ashamed to admit consciously.

Part of her IS angry at Mickey for abandoning her back then. She IS filled with so much despair that she wants others to feel it, too. That’s what made her shadow so interesting. I wish we had gotten to fight Shadow Terra, Shadow Riku, Shadow Isa, etc. I’m sure they’d have plenty of interesting things to say.

Quasimodo: Master Frollo–he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart. You helped me see that, Riku.

Riku: I was…speaking from…personal experience.

Phoebus: I’d say you still keep a lot locked inside.

Esmeralda: We all do that sometimes. There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out.

Personally, I never felt like Riku was finished dealing with his pain. His character arc was far from over. I think he needed to confront his feelings of jealousy towards Sora and his shame over getting possessed by Xehanort’s Heartless. What Dark Riku was saying in KH3 had some truth to it. Riku was always so competitive towards Sora because he felt inferior to him. Learning his darkness was part-Terra would definitely help him forgive himself. Of course that never happened.

Xehanort: Master Eraqus, you see, is so afraid of darkness, that he too, hassuccumbed–not to darkness, but to light. It shines so bright, he forgets thatlight begets darkness. And Aqua and Ventus, their lights shine too bright. It is only natural that they cast shadows on your heart.

Part of Terra does believe that Aqua and Ven are too bright for him. He pushed them away because they made him feel ashamed of himself. I’m sure his shadow self would try to push Ventus away while he tried to use the power of waking on him.

That would have been the perfect time to introduce the idea of Saïx’s jealousy. Let’s assume they stuck with the idea that Isa sacrificed himself for Lea. I tweaked his dialogue a tiny bit:

Saïx: “I sacrificed everything for you. You’re the one who went off and made other friends. Left me in the dust. I lost…all sense of purpose.”

Personally, I don’t think Saïx himself was jealous of Lea’s friendships with Roxas and Xion. Shadow Isa would be another story entirely, though. His captured heart was influencing Saïx subconsciously. I think that was why Anti-Saïx was included as a boss in 358/2 Days, along with Anti-Riku.

Saïx:“Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves.”

I absolutely think he’d feel abandoned and forgotten by Lea. Axel left the Organization to chase after Roxas, while his heart was still left in Xehanort’s clutches. I think his shadow self would have a lot to say on that matter.

Aqua: A pure heart filled with light… It’s strange, The Master taught medarkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?

Fairy Godmother: Oh, my dear, you’re too young to know. Experience more things, and you’ll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams.

BBS was trying to send the message that darkness isn’t necessarily bad. OBVIOUSLY Ven was going to have to face his dark side and accept it as part of himself, too. That’s what Jungian psychology is all about. Of course like so many other things, that never happened. Probably because Roxas’ return made it pointless, if he’s supposed to be the “dark” one.

Part of me is surprised (and relieved) they didn’t redeem Vanitas and give HIM his very own replica, too. But yeah. These games are BIG on Jungian philosophy. Well, Xion and Roxas were envisioned as personas of other characters—not unique characters unto themselves. And that’s all they ever felt like to me. I never understood the idea that they deserved to be their “own people”. They already were.

To me, what made Roxas and Xion valuable to the story, was that they were alter egos of two of the main characters: the Guardians of Light, Kairi and Ventus. Even though they disappeared, their character arcs would have continued on. They would have given those two characters SO much additional development if they had been accepted and reintegrated as personas of Ven and Kairi. What does having BOTH Kairi and Xion around offer to the story? What does having BOTH Roxas and Ventus offer?

Naminé: One day, Sora will have to call them to the surface. They’re important memories…but very dangerous ones.

Mickey: Dangerous how?

Naminé: These memories are too painful. Handled the wrong way, they could damage Sora’s heart–even break it. I needed you to find a way to face that kind of hurt. That’s why I left the message.

Sora was supposed to confront the memories in his heart. The people’s whose memories were inside of him needed relief. The memories needed to go back to their rightful place: Kairi and Ventus. And Ansem the Wise’s experiments were all about the heart and its connection to memory. Sora was robbed of meaningful character development because of this, too. He never confronted these painful memories nor did he have the opportunity to grow from it.

I agree with Nomura. I think there ARE “too many” characters. It prevented them from getting properly developed. KH3 had little in the way of meaningful character development. And I doubt Nomura can really give Ven or Kairi much in the way of interesting development now that their alter egos are back. Their relationships with Lea already got sidelined. Ventus’ was even worse than Kairi’s, though.

Ven: Already?

Lea: I’ll see ya when I see ya. After all, we’re friends now. Get it memorized.

Ven: Okay, Lea.

Lea’s comment made Ventus very happy. Immediately afterwards, Lea tells Isa that inside people’s memories, he can live forever. This exchange felt very meaningful. I do believe that Axel took such a liking to Roxas in Days because he recognized him as Ventus. Yet what was the impact of their fateful meeting?

Lea: You remember me?

Ventus: Yeah, ‘course! We’re friends. I can’t believe you became a Keyblade wielder just like me.

Lea: Yeah…

Sora: Axel, you know Ven?

Ventus: Axel? Who’s Axel?

Lea: See, see, see? Major brain-ache.

It was rendered so…pointless thematically. Lea was obviously fine with Ven being Roxas. He was clearly hoping that Ven would remember their time together in the Organization. But ‘twas not to be. It honestly felt to me like much of Axel’s dialogue in KH3 was just Nomura parodying how ridiculous the story has become. Nomura even said in an interview that he has a hard time remembering who’s met who. It’s like he just threw his hands up and didn’t even care anymore. So he’s turning everything into a big joke.

Axel’s whole character arc in KH2 was trying to bring back Roxas, then deciding he had no right to turn Sora back into a Nobody. He sacrificed himself to atone for his actions. Of course, it wouldn’t feel right to simply have Axel form a friendship with Sora to carry on his friendship with Roxas. They were too different. Ventus’ story arc was the perfect way to bring Roxas’ heart back, allowing Lea focus on a new goal this time: bringing back Isa. As I mentioned earlier, Nomura implied that it was Roxas who gave Lea the ability to use the Keyblade.

Roxas: Hey, Axel. You haven’t forgotten? You made us a promise.

Axel: I did?

Roxas: That you’d always be there…to bring us back.

Axel: “Oh yeah…”

Roxas: “Got it memorized?”

Axel: “The promise of two best friends.”

I think that’s why he had a dream of Roxas before he woke up. Roxas’ legacy as a Nobody was to pass on the ability to wield the Keyblade to his best friend Axel. Then Axel would be reborn as Lea and reunite with Roxas, who would be reborn as Ventus. Neither knew each other’s past in Days. Roxas had amnesia and Axel kept everything secret.

Axel: You really think the truth is going to make you feel better? It won’t.

Roxas: What makes you so sure? I have a right to know who I am! How did I get here? Why am I special? Where did I learn to use the Keyblade? I deserve those answers!

Axel: Roxas…

Roxas: Are you gonna tell me or not? Axel… Who am I?

Axel: You’ve just gotta trust me, Roxas.

Roxas: I don’t.

Axel: Hey, c'mon…

Roxas: If I can’t get answers here, I’ll get them somewhere else. Somebody knows where I came from. That’ll be the person I trust.

Axel said that learning about his past wouldn’t make Roxas feel any better. Maybe that’s true. Maybe not. But the real reason Axel didn’t want Roxas to know about his past because he was afraid that Roxas would leave him. Although his reasons were sympathetic, Axel was wrong to lie to Roxas. And he knew he was wrong. He felt guilty about lying. Roxas did have a right to know the truth. This creates a chasm between them and it is the ultimate cause of their relationship falling apart.

Roxas: I wonder what kind of guy I was before…

In KH3, it felt like the characters were being forced into stasis and not allowed to truly grow or mature. If anything, they were regressing. In Days, Roxas didn’t WANT to be his “own person”. He wanted to learn about his life and identity before becoming a Nobody. He was jealous that Axel had memories of his past before the Organization. So the idea of Roxas coming back and having no real past or life history outside of the one year he spent as an Organization member just didn’t sit right with me.

And Roxas and Axel will never have to overcome the issues that made their relationship fail in the first place. Axel needed to accept that it was okay for Roxas to remember his past before the Organization. And Roxas needed to trust Axel. If Axel was reborn as Lea and Roxas was reborn as Ventus, they’d finally learn each other’s past and find out that they have so much in common. A loved one from their past is being used as Xehanort’s vessel. Then they’d be able to develop a much more open and healthy relationship and grow a lot closer.

Ventus: You’re here…

Terra: I heard you too, Ven. You found me, just like you promised.

Ven made a promise to Terra that he’d be there when Terra really needed him. And Axel made a promise to Roxas that he’d always be there to bring them back. It was a promise of two best friends. Immediately afterwards, Lea goes and searches for Isa. He still didn’t know at that point that Isa was Xehanort’s vessel. But his friendship with Roxas inspired him to not give up on any of his best friends. In KH3, it could be shown that Axel’s loyalty inspired Ventus to keep his promise to Terra, too. Then their meeting in BBS would have actually been meaningful.

In KH3 we just get a rehash of KH2 where Axel is looking for Roxas. Only this time he makes no progress on that goal, nor does he develop as a person along the way like he did in KH2. He just felt so utterly useless to the story. Literally everyone in real life I know who played KH3 complained about how useless and unimportant Axel was. Even Axel acknowledges how useless he is in KH3. My intention is really not to bash Roxas and Xion. I liked them. But since Lea and Isa are my favorite characters, I admit I do have quite a bit of saltiness towards the preferential treatment Roxas and Xion received from the story in KH3.

Their return just felt so…contrived. I didn’t even find the trio’s reunion emotional due to how forced it was. Xion just randomly shows up out of nowhere and starts bawling, and Axel brings up ice cream. It felt like the writers were trying way too hard to make the scene emotional. But it had the opposite effect on me. That scene came across as cringe-worthy because it felt so pandering and fanservice-y. And now they need DLC just to properly explain why they are back.

—Was Lea insisting on being called Axel so that when Roxas came back he would recognize him?

Nomura: Yes, but also because when he saw Kairi as Xion, he remembered that there was someone he was supposed to remember, which made him feel that being called “Axel” was important.

I also have mixed feelings about Lea wanting to be called “Axel” and staying in his Organization cloak.

Mickey: But gosh, I didn’t expect you to save us…Axel.

Lea: Axel didn’t. My name is Lea.

In KH3D, he made a big deal about his name being “Lea”, not “Axel”.

Lea: Axel? Please. The name’s Lea. Got it memorized?

I don’t think it was really necessary, but I can see him maybe wanting Kairi to call him Axel if he subconsciously remembers her as Xion. But everyone else?

Riku: Why are you here, Axel?

Lea: No, I told you my name’s– Agh, whatever, Axel, fine. Now let’s get outta here!

It annoyed him when they still called him “Axel”. He only tolerated it begrudgingly. After all, it’s the name Xehanort gave him to symbolize the death of “Lea”. I don’t think he’d be too fond of going by that name at all, especially once he learned the full truth about the Recusant’s Sigil.

Originally, I think he wanted to stay in the black cloak because of Isa. That makes total sense to me. But since that idea was scrapped, it felt more like Square was afraid of having his character go by a different name or look too different from before, since people who haven’t played any of the games since KH2 might be put off by that.

Then, there was the final boss battle with Saïx. Roxas and Xion are back now. And honestly I had no idea how the game wanted me to feel about Isa at that point. It may have sounded like an afterthought, but Lea still said he wanted to bring him home, too. Am I supposed to care about him as a friend of Lea? Or am I supposed to take pleasure in seeing Roxas and Xion “clobber” him, the same way I’m supposed to when Sora defeats Xehanort?

Roxas and Xion are popular characters; I get that. I knew how much fan demand there was to bring them back. And it concerned me because I couldn’t imagine how they could return in a way that actually made any sense. And it was as I suspected. We got the stupid Replica nonsense in KH3 to make it happen. But it was way worse than I feared. They had to throw Isa’s entire character arc by the wayside to make room for Roxas and Xion.

Roxas, Axel, and Xion get a tearful reunion, but poor Isa was just left as a vessel… totally forgotten about. Lea said that he never forgot Isa, but he did. Sometime between KH3D and KH3, to be precise. Roxas and Xion even look at him with pity. I almost got the sense that the scene was meta-commentary. Like Roxas and Xion felt guilty about how badly his character had to be destroyed to allow them a place in the story. And Isa certainly did get left in the dust in order to focus on Lea’s other friends, who had more popularity in the fandom.

In canon Isa suffers from a bad reputation, because of how Saïx treated Roxas and Xion. But it was plain as day to me that Isa in BBS was NOTHING like Saïx! I always assumed that was the whole point of meeting Lea and Isa in BBS. To show how different they were as humans—especially Isa. The audience never knew that Saïx in KH2 was just a vessel for Xehanort, and neither did Axel. If the truth had been revealed, it would have been a pretty cool plot twist actually.

Despite it being both obvious and heavily implied, the story never even clearly stated that Isa was NOT Saïx. That he was possessed by Xehanort. That he was a victim. The Recusant’s Sigil on his face literally means “death”. And since that concept got thrown in the trash, so did Isa’s character arc. We are never even told how he got his scar. And his personality never goes back to the way it was in BBS, either. It’s funny to me that people thought Roxas was so different from Ventus that he deserved to be his own person. If there was any character who had nothing in common with their Nobody and deserved to be their own person, it was Isa, not Roxas. Axel and Saïx both admit how much he’s changed.

Even in that short scene, it was not hard to see what kind of person Isa was. He was introverted and had a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. But when he smiled at Lea playing with Ventus, you could tell that he was kindhearted. He was just reserved, and reluctant to express his feelings openly. He’s shy, but with Lea around, he’s able to come out of his shell and share a laugh with Ventus while they tease him. So yeah, in my opinion Isa is dead. In KH3, we get left with a watered down Saïx taking on the role of “Isa”, even though they were nothing alike.

The moment where Xemnas is going to finish off Lea, is when Saïx should have saved him, proving that Isa’s heart was still in there, and that he never forgot Lea, just like he said all those years ago. That was Isa’s crowning moment. The very moment that would earn his place eating ice cream with everyone in the epilogue.

Roxas and Xion stole the thunder from not only Isa, but Kairi too. During what should have been her crowning moment: her first major battle. She was so useless and forgotten in her own fight. Her only real contribution is getting kidnapped. Then she was killed off! Apparently to justify Namine coming back? I guess? I was so looking forward to Kairi finally becoming a more well-rounded character. Man, was that a let down. My sisters despise Kairi. They were raging during the ending. They think she’s such an insult as a female protagonist, lol. I just think it’s sad. Kairi DID have potential. But unfortunately it was mostly all wasted…

I love most of the KH characters. But I have NEVER seen a character get shafted by a story as badly as Isa. Even Kairi was treated (marginally) better by the narrative. It was the main inspiration for this blog and why a disproportionate amount of my posts are about Isa and/or his relationship to Lea. In KH3, Skuld took his backstory, Roxas took his role as the friend who Lea would need to bring back, and Xion took his crowning moment of redemption. It was so insulting how the story treated him. I’m sure even the creator of Xion, Tomoco Kanemaki, would be disappointed in how Isa got treated. I could tell by the way she writes the novels that she liked Isa, as well as Xion.

#kh meta #kh saix #anti-kh3 #kh xigbar #kh xion #kh roxas #kh axel #kh lea #kh kairi #kh isa #kingdom hearts meta

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beyondmistland · 5 years

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“May your heart be your guiding key” (Full thoughts on Kingdom Hearts III below!)

Graphics:

Ø The game is bloody gorgeous, which helps mitigate the long and frequent cutscenes

Ø The lip-syncing rarely fails

Music:

Ø The new remixes are awesome and the brand-new tracks don't disappoint either

Ø What does though is the actual audio mixing:

More often than not I struggled to hear the music over the sound effects during gameplay and the voiceovers during cutscenes

Ranking the Worlds:

Ø #1: Corona: The world is huge, with varied terrain and a kick-ass final boss

Ø #2 Olympus: The sheer scale and scope of the world took my breath away, plus we (finally!) get to fight all four titans

Ø #3 The Caribbean: Assassin's Creed IV meets Kingdom Hearts, what's not to like

Ø #4 Monstropolis: While not as eye-catching as some of the other worlds the way it intersects with the broader KH lore is really neat and the final cutscene was a delight in that it averts the Disney characters being useless when dealing with the original KH villains, on top of which its straightforward design is a nice change of pace, my only complaint is that there are only four types of Unversed

Ø #5 San Fransokyo: The story is surprisingly short, which means you don't really get the chance to explore the environment, which sucks because the verticality and day/night cycle are awesome, plus there are a number of memorable boss fights

Ø #6 Twilight Town: If it had been fully recreated based off the KH2 version the world would be much higher on my list but despite how small it is I love the liveliness, not to mention how peaceful it is in comparison to the other worlds, the same can be said for Hundred Acre Wood

Ø #7 Keyblade Graveyard + Final World + Scala Ad Caelum: Though jaw-dropping in terms of visuals and audio they're not fully realized worlds, the same can be said for Dark World

Ø #8 Toy Box: I loved the final boss as well as how the story tied into the larger plot of the game and I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy exploring Andy's room while "You have a friend in me" played in the background

Why then is Toy Box so far down on my list, world design

Even with endgame stats (LV40-45) the Gigas are tough to take down and as a result they come off as gimmicky in the worst sense of the word, beyond that the fact that the majority of the world is set in Galaxy Toys made me feel constrained and claustrophobic, which could have been partially alleviated if we'd been allowed to make our way through the parking lot outside, finally, the story kind of got repetitive with the backtracking whenever the characters were about to leave because "someone went missing yet again"

Ø #9 Arrendelle: Though it has one of the best final bosses in the game along with Corona there is so much wrong with this world that I wonder if it's less Square Enix's fault and more Disney placing an insane amount of red tape on their favorite cash-cow:

1) Elsa does not become a party member even after you beat the world

2) You do not get to explore the city or the ice palace despite the latter being fully rendered on the map

3) Larxene, a lightning-based character, randomly traps you in an ice labyrinth when that would have made a lot more sense both logically and thematically if it had been Elsa

4) Speaking of Larxene, she does practically nothing the whole time you're there unlike Marluxia and Luxord, who are at least semi-active

5) You climb a mountain and get knocked off of it so many times that even Sora gets fed up

6) The bloody minigame where you have to find Olaf's body parts

7) Forcing us to watch the entire "Let it go" sequence and then having "Do you want to build a snowman" play over Anna's voice as she's explaining herself to Sora

8) So much of the story is excised that you have little clue as to what's going on to the point Hans appears for all of five minutes, doesn't say any lines, and isn't even named when it would have been cool, not to mention, just plain better, if he had started off as a guest member of your party

9) As a result of #8 Sora, Donald, and Goofy's presence feels like even more of an afterthought than usual in the sense that them not being there wouldn't have changed anything at all apart from Hans' Heartless then having no one to defeat it which can be seen by the fact that when they leave no one tells them goodbye unlike in every other world

10) The visual design was bland and tiresome after a while

11) The world's gimmick was uninspired to say the least

12) Fighting alongside a giant snowman (AKA Marshmallow) was awesome and in terms of pure gameplay the labyrinth was actually quite fun

Story Pros:

Ø Master Xehanort's new voice actor is good but after hearing Leonard Nimoy's voice for the past couple of games the change is a bit jarring

Ø The way previous games are referenced and tied together is a nice way of bringing new players into the fold while also setting up the finale's resolutions

Ø The game has a better sense of humor than previous installments

Ø Sora is more like his KH2 self than the bland caricature we saw in 3D and quite a few characters display some degree of genre-savviness

Ø Master Yen Sid gets out of his chair to lend a hand for once

Ø Donald Duck is the most powerful mage in Square Enix canon (and I am not making that up)

Gameplay Pros:

Ø Being able to switch between different save points in the same world is a welcome addition

Ø The secondary ability of all shotlocks to airstep is ingenious

Ø You can have more than two party members finally!

Ø The secret ending isn't too hard to unlock

Ø You can upgrade your Keyblades, which means older ones aren't automatically relegated to redundancy

Ø Donald and Goofy are useful again after being nerfed into uselessness in KH2

Ø Towns and cities are actually populated by fully-voiced NPCs!

Ø Cutscenes in Theater Mode are unlocked after completing each world rather than after beating the game

Ø I never tried the Classic Kingdom minigames but the cooking one with Remy was a nice break from the normal gameplay (I suck at the egg-cracking one though)

Ø The camera doesn't get in the way like it infamously did in KH1

Ø I like the new main menu design (Feel free to disagree though)

Ø The Gummi Ship is entirely optional outside of a few mandatory boss battles

Ø Moogle Tickets are a nice way of giving players a second chance during difficult encounters (I do wish they didn’t activate so quickly though)

Gameplay Cons:

Ø The game never once tells you that you can switch between Situation Commands using L2

Ø The game never once tells you that you keep all your lower-tier magic (Fire, Fira for example) and that your shortcuts don't automatically update to include the higher-tier version of whatever magic you have equipped

Ø There's no real incentive to switch between Keyblades (That being said, my favorites are Wheel of Fate, Nano Arms, and Happy Gear/Ever After)

Ø Attractions lose their charm quickly and completely ruin the flow of combat

Ø Summons aren't too big of a deal since I only ever ended up using them once and even then it was by accident

Ø Donald still heals you at the wrong time more often than not

Ø Even on Proud Mode the game is way too easy for the most part (Apparently Critical Mode addresses this but I can't confirm that)

Ø There is a lack of sidequests and post-game content that contributes to the feeling Square & Disney gave us half a game (For example, there is only one secret boss, said secret boss has a generic design, no ties to the story, and can be defeated at LV40 on your first attempt)

Ø Hollow Bastion, Mysterious Tower, and Destiny Islands are not playable

Ø The parkour from 3D has been nerfed too much in terms of distance to actually be useful

Story Cons:

Ø Nomura fridged Kairi and he worfed almost everyone the first time you arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard!

Ø The wrapping up of plot points and character arcs from prior entries was a little too nice and neat for me

Ø The out-of-nowhere introduction of Subject X

Ø Pete and Maleficent do literally nothing the whole damn game

Ø The pacing is awful:

Almost all of the game's resolution is held back until after you've beaten the last Disney world

Ø There are two important cutscenes in the Final World that you can accidentally miss because for some reason they are optional

Ø We don't get to see what happened to Lingering Will, which also means we don't get any more insight into the third aspect of being (AKA the soul)

Ø There are no Final Fantasy characters in the game, not even Sephiroth!

Ø What happened to Demyx?

Ø Master Eraqus has absolutely nothing to do with Terra’s restoration

Changes I’d make:

Ø Require us to go through the Disney worlds a second time like in KH2

Ø Have Aqua and Ven be saved halfway through the game instead of at the end, they could then spend the second half of the game resting or join you on one of the Disney worlds to refresh themselves

Ø Have Lea and Kairi join you on one of the Disney worlds to get practical experience

Ø Make the Keyblade Graveyard sequence be a series of one/two/three-on one battles so that members of Organization XIII can use their full arsenal of attacks from previous games

Ø Let us play the second battle between Lingering Will and Terra-Xehanort

Ø Speaking of Terra-Xehanort, we should have fought him alongside the Guardian Heartless

Ø Have us explore Scala Ad Caelum while hunting down the individual replicas before then making us fight all of them in a boss battle

DLC

Ø The presence of it says a lot about the game and not in a good way

Final Score

Ø 7/10-8/10

#kingdom hearts #square enix #disney #kingdom hearts iii

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akingdomtheorist · 5 years

Text

KH Catch Up: KH2FM The FINAL PART

THE FINAL PART WITH LESS THAN TWO MONTHS TO CATCH UP. HOLLOW BASTION

"I forgot how to play this game."

-fleeing enemies- "Because why deal with your problems when you can just nyoom."

SPACE PARANOIDS

"So how does it feel to be pewpewpew'd back?" "Is this what I do to people?"

"I give these Heartless a 3/10. Not a fan."

He went Wisdom Form had no pewpewers remorse after that.

"Is this way to the I/O Tower?" "Well if you walk up to the entryway it'll tell you. You may have to go through a few maps." "Well okay that's great but which way is the I/O Tower?" -literally walks up to the entrance- "I'm sorry."

"Why don't they just reformat the computer?" "That's what the disc is for." "You don't need a program to do that!" "You do when they're sentient!" "Why don't they just CTRL+Alt+DELETE the MCP then?" "He's Win10." "Even Win10 lets you do that! He's Win11."

"Wait, did Leon not put the fuckin' disc in the computer? Aerith put it in the drive?! Leons from a futuristic setting!"

-walks into boss fight- "I didn't save."

"Man, he did deresolution him, he's at 144P now. He's like a JPEG."

Poor guy has hit the Limit Break instead of Delete so many times.

"We just deleted System32."

HOLLOW BASTION IS NOW RADIANT GARDEN

I force him to try Assault of the Dreadnought with the ships I have.

And then we realized where the Full-Auto setting was after all this time and he laughed at my agony.

"This is the most StarFox this game has been." "You don't even KNOW."

"This isn't bad. I've played StarFox Assault and that's not bad."

"Sorry I'm gonna disappoint you with the panic." "Oh we're not there yet."

I got to Mission Level 3 for him to try. Just waiting for the moment... He died BUT MY ENGINEERING WORKED SO WELL! We created Code Rave and our new Teeny Ship 'MAXIMUM PEW' to take on this break in the story. After finding out we need the power of Neon Orb all day all the time, we go back to Atlantica.

ATLANTICA

"We kind of destroyed her (Ursula) last game. Right, that's a thing we did?"

"Did we just have a fight off screen?" "Nah."

"She's plagarizing her!"

"Way to go Eric, you really... really leaped into action there."

"Just kill her, you have a trident, stab her."

"Really? We're having a dance-off to save the universe?"

"Why didn't Triton just impale her? Like Eric just did? When his daughter was in danger?"

Now we need to come back later with Thundaga. Except we don't the game just kicked us out anyway.

There was some trouble that totally didn't happen with the last song.

"Wait we didn't use Thundaga once."

TWILIGHT TOWN

"Oh it literally won't let me go anywhere else. Well at least they could give me a skateboard."

"Hey Mickey-wait guys stop everything I gotta restart Share Play."

"Well since that's the obvious direction of the plot, let's go the other way."

"Touch. The beam..."

"That's my data. That's me!"

Then he spent 5 minutes theorizing the name because clearly Xehanort is a Nobody name.

"Hi Axel. Why should we leave?"

"Ohh... it's just me..."

"Axel's just like 'don't mind me I'm just casually dying here'."

"Oh stop making puns while you're dying motherfucker."

"Aw he just wanted to bring his boyfriend back."

"Alright fuckin' wannabe Sephiroth." He's upset at Saix.

THE WORLD THAT NEVER WAS

"I'm betting it's Riku."

"Oh it's Roxas!"

"What's my dodge button? That's not the button-THAT'S NOT THE BUTTON!"

"You gotta dodge my dude." "Yes-thank you."

-tries Strike Raid- "OH NO THAT WORKED ON RIKU THAT DOESN'T WORK ON YOU!"

He died. Take 2.

He died. Take 3.

He died. Take 4.

Through the power of technical use of Limiting for more magic and drives, the lock on+dodgeroll tactic, FIVE TIMES THE CHARM.

The Two Become One has been obtained. I await the moment

THREE ANTI-FORMS IN A ROW. I made him try Master form and IT FINALLY HAPPENED. FINAL FORM ACHIEVED.

"Alright these mother fucker's got a giant flyin' saucer..."

"Namine's like, 'I'm bustin you out!'"

"Is this to the final boss?" "Nah."

"He's disguised! He's disguised, that's Riku. He's disguised right?" "Not exactly."

"Kairi's just like no, we're not- no, it's not happenin'."

"KAIRI GETS HER OWN KEYBLADE!"

"Is that DiZ? I mean I knew he was Ansem the Wise but I called that like ages ago."

"Is he gonna Luigi's Mansion all the Heartless into that thing?" "No." "But it looks like it does!"

"Organization XIII is real sassy for people without emotions."

"What are his weapons? How is he supposed to use them? Oh they're guns! I didn't think they'd give him actual guns."

"He doesn't have just a gun it's a fuckin' Halo Needler!" "Does this upset you?" "No, I just think it's a little cheap." "Oh it will though."

He died.

The second time around he abused the speed of Anti-Form to avoid ALL THE BULLETS and ended with a "FUCK YOU" to Xigbar.

"Did he (Berserker Nobody) just Minimize- did he just fuckin' minimize? No more of that."

"Oh Kairi just- cats outta the bag!"

"Riku took hair tips from Axel."

"Oh he's gonna Luigi's Mansion Kingdom Hearts!" "No he's gonna reverse ReBoot it."

"Ohh these are all the Organization Members I've killed? What's Marluxia the- oh of COURSE he's the Graceful Assassin."

Now it's time to play a game with Luxord. It was fairly easy though late on learning all the games was fun to watch in failure.

"Of course your weapon is called Soul Eater you edgy bastard..."

Time to go beat up angry moon barbarian.

"Oh what happened did you lose your weapon buddy?"

He did it first try.

"Yeah no Roxas didn't spend eight hours fighting this fucker."

"Too bad it's impossible [For Roxas to meet Sora] but I'm not gonna say it's 100% impossible, because this is Kingdom Hearts."

"Calling it now this is gonna change Riku back into Riku. I CALLED IT HIS HAIR IS BACK TO NORMAL. Back to his Axel hair."

"Riku get your bangs out of your face."

"Riku is a tol."

"We're finally working together! WE ARE GONNA FIGHT SOMEONE TOGETHER!" "Yeah, you are." "YES, YES-I can't shout because people are sleeping-BUT YES."

"He's- oh my god I'm basically playing as two people. I love this."

"Oh his sword- look it has an angel wing! I just noticed that! Riku dah best."

AND THEN THE GRINDING OF 8 HOURS COMMENCED

We are joined by one more friendo who has completed the game. They will be F2 in conversation quotes.

"Oh that's a lot of Heartless."

"You murdered people. You had a choice to not murder people."

"Okay, is this round one? Yeaaaahh..."

"Okay first round done. I've played the first game I know how this is gonna fuckin' end."

"Well he's dead, we can go home!"

It’s victory, or oblivion. "Well I have Oblivion so, it's just victory then."

"Is the castle fucking alive?"

"Oh we Dr. Strange now."

-uses slicer reaction command- "ALRIGHT Sora just, slice a building in half."

He thinks this is the best part, and he's only just begun.

"We're destroying the engines now? Oh no they're giant Death Star lasers."

"Of course this wouldn't be a Kingdom Hearts game if it didn't have you fighting an old man on a spaceship."

"Mickey uses his powers of darkness! No."

"Is Namine about to Cortana us--OH GOD OH GOD ROXAS JUST WALKED OUT OF ME."

"Roxas and Namine shipping Sora and Kairi together just because they wanna hang out."

"Riku, why do we always lose Kairi? Can we put a tracker on her so when we inevitably lose her again we can just find her?"

"Hey Riku do you wanna pick me up? This seems incredibly unsafe, I'm just standing on a platform."

PHASE FOUR INITIATE

"Did we do it? At least this phase? Are we onto the next phase?" F2 "-laughs- Oh ho ho we're only just getting started buddy."

"That looks bad. Hey Riku I don't like what's happenin' right now. This is a solid 3/10 experience for me."

"Okay Lich King wannabe round 2."

PHASE FIVE INITIATE

"Is it safe to use my drives? Is it? What if- OHHH FUCK." "Remember when I said what if you got knocked off the edge?"

"Oh whaaaaaat oh no."

"Let's just throw buildings at him, that seems to work."

"Hey remember how you have that reaction command that's a shield?" "Shhhhhhhhhhh."

"LET ME AT THE BUILDINGS!"

FINAL PHASE BEGIN

"Buddy... buddy... you are not the Aztec concept of nothing!"

"I can Limit Form!"

"Nope, nope nope, NOPE. STOP IT!" He isn't a fan of the lasers.

"Was he actually damaging me during that?? Let's just heal up!"

"You're gonna wanna spam Reversal." F2 "The DBZ fight continues!"

"Press the button as fast as you can." "Oh, OH IT'S A LIMIT OHHH."

"Oh hey we Roxas now."

"I think I did it?"

"I know you're in Kingdom Hearts 3 Riku, you won't die. Or at least you'll come back."

The final cutscene.

"Awww, Riku's a sap now."

"Sora how does your hair stay like that, you were underwater."

"Mickey just, Pikachu'd Riku." F2 "That's just how things work in this world, don't judge." "I didn't know Riku was Mickey's Pokemon Trainer."

"Riku get your hair out of your face. Don't you have a mom that can cut your hair?"

"Who are you? Some Anubis motherfucker-WHO ARE YOU? Why are we in Destiny now?!"

"Those are our keyblades..."

"Oh my god... that's a lot of Keyblades."

KH2FM has been beaten! At least, the main game anyway. I have a few more things I'm going to make him do first.

LINGERING WILL ATTEMPT TIME!

"Why is there a black hole in our castle?" F2 "I think we should go into that black hole."

F2 "Remember that place you saw thirty seconds ago? That is not this place."

"UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...."

"I don't like this."

"I'm not Xehanot, I'm not-I'm not-I'M NOT!"

"OH GOD HIS HEALTH WHAT THE FUCK?!"

He died in about thirty seconds. His second attempt was in two seconds!

"Well that's it for that boss!"

CAVERN OF REMEMBRANCE

-sees the car heartless- "Nope we're not dealing with these fuckers nope."

-takes look around the second room- "Help."

"Help. Help. Hlep."

Yes I helped him, I'm not a demon. No that third one is not a typo.

"That might have been the one time you wouldn't have wanted to revert." "Oh really? Whatever."

"Wait, is this the longest hallway?" "WELCOME TO THE LONGEST HALWAAAAAAY."

-beats first quarter- "Am I done now?" "Oh you sweet summer child." "You know you could just say no." "Yeah but that's boring."

Nothing says the longest hallway like eleventeen uses of Final Form!

"Fuck that place, fuck that hallway."

"Garden of Assemblage? Oh it's a place to redo all the boss fights!" "You're missing some because you need to do the absent silhouettes." "Aaaand we're done with this game!"

I made him to attempt Sephiroth.

"So a tip. When you fight Sephiroth, spam triangle." "Okay?" "While the cutscene is loading, spam triangle."

"Why do you have knee wings Sephiroth?"

He tried twice and gave up.

Well that's it, it's now 358/2 Days watch next! That’ll be all one part

#kh catch up #kh 2 fm #long post

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