Square is giving us an early Christmas present this year with a new trailer for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Prologue...
#PlayStation4 #KingdomHearts #SquareEnix
Key Points
- Yin Sid talking to Mickey, Kairi, and Riku about bringing back Terra, Ventus, and Aqua to protect the 7 pure lights (most likely referring to the 7 princesses of heart).
- Mickey then states that he met Aqua in the realm of darkness. (I'm guessing that this scene will take place towards the end of Birth By Sleep .02. The events of that episode with probably lead up to Aqua meeting Mickey.)
- Kingdom Hearts X story seems to be way more compelling that I originally suspected.
- Kingdom Hearts III looks Beautiful
- Shotlocks from the Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep combat system seem to be making a return.
- Olympus, Twilight Town, and Yin Sid's Tower makes an appearance in the trailer.
Thoughts:
I don't think there is much that Square Enix can do right now to ruin these games for me besides never releasing it. Everything looks so awesome.
The following is a Fan Theory
*Note that this may Spoil you if it becomes true... or if you haven't played all the games of the series.*
Here is a treat for those of you who huge Kingdom Hearts fans. +Kingdom Hearts Insider user "gelandporn", put together a very compelling theory that in many ways, may "Foretell" the future of the series (Kingdom Hearts III)...
" It’s a fairly good bet that the “Lost Masters” Xehanort speaks of at the end of the 2.5 ReMix trailer are the Foretellers. And if that’s the case, then we could in turn guess that the “previous Keyblade Wielders” that Riku and Mickey are supposed to be searching for (based on the KH3 press release) are also the Foretellers.
This begs the question—how the hell are the Foretellers still around?
Before I give my answer to that question, let me direct your attention to the possible connection between Xehanort and the Foretellers (as blatant as it is):
And that’s not all:
Quote Originally Posted by Chirithy
Before my master, He who created me, disappeared,
He bestowed His six followers with new names, and gave five of them a tome of prophecy.
Ok, so my math might be a little fuzzy here, but I believe 5=/=6. Meaning we have one apprentice unaccounted for. Sooooo… who is this sixth apprentice? XEHANORT
Wait! I forgot about the thousand or so years that separate the era of the Foretellers and Xehanort.
Right, well, we do have a few time dilation tools at our disposal in the KH universe. Some time travel shenanigans come to mind, but we’ll get to that later. Placing bodies in a state of suspension (eg in the RoD or by losing one’s heart) could also be the source.
But for the hell of it, I’m going to stray off the beaten path and say instead that Xehanort was reincarnated. You heard it here first, folks:
Xehanort: Reborn.
While that’s out of left field, it does fit the cyclical nature of the Keyblade War and Master Xehanort’s obsession with destiny. Note here that I’m not saying per se that Xehanort has even more lost memories. Rather, it’s more of a matter of his memory slate being cleansed in the natural process of rebirth. Think of the time traveling Young Xehanort whose future memories are etched into his heart. Xehanort will always have a connection to the Keyblade War—one which spurred his initial fascination and later drove him to obsession.
So, reincarnation. A cycle. There are constants in the KH universe which allow for history to repeat itself. Numbers have meaning. Seven lights. Thirteen darknesses. And… Six apprentices? Does anyone else find this story a little familiar? Six apprentices, one of unknown identity, and a missing master? Perhaps Xehanort was fated to play the role of the betrayer, be it of Ansem the Wise or the master of the Foretellers.
More broadly, maybe Xehanort is the catalyst by which the universe continues in a cycle of death and rebirth. The Keyblade War marks an end, shepherded in by a Xehanort, but this allows for light to begin anew. A light that is fostered through seven pure individuals.
The exact mechanism by which Xehanort could be reborn every thousand or so years is uncertain but not too hard to imagine. All hearts are created out of Kingdom Hearts, and return there in the end. Could the same heart continually be spit out? Probably. It’s a little process I like to call Birth by Sleep.
Sleep in the KH series is death. Ergo Birth by Sleep = Birth by Death = Rebirth. “A new beginning.” Xehanort rose from his own ashes.
Convinced yet? Good, neither was I, initially. I mean, there –supposedly—isn’t any precedence in the series for literal reincarnation. Maybe some metaphorical rebirths. So let’s skip to the good stuff. The real meat and potatoes.
There are others who have been reborn. The Five Foretellers: Anguis, Leopardos, Unicornis, Ursus, Vulpeus.
We know that these were pseudonyms that their master bestowed upon them so you know what? I’m going to call them by their current names—Aqua, Ventus, Riku, Terra and Kairi, respectively.
Yeah that’s right! The biggest giveaway is, in typical Nomura fashion… their fashion. Color-coordination between clothes and hair: Blue, Yellow, Grey, Brown, Pink. Not to mention, the body types match perfectly. Even the palette of some of their keyblades bear a resemblance (Terra and Ursus having the most obvious similarity).
But what does it all mean???
From here on, I’m going to make some inferences. Let’s start with the fate of the Foretellers.
Well, they were probably lost to the Keyblade War. But what side did they join? Remember, Xehanort tells of the different factions:
The Keyblade wielders' great war over Kingdom Hearts was fought by defenders of the light, servants of darkness, those who sought to reconcile the two, and those motivated by nothing more than lust for power.
We have reason to believe that a rift grew between the Foretellers based on what Chirithy said. “Also, as you know, even though the five Foretellers share the same goal, they by no means share the same will. So, you mustn't lose sight of it yourself.”
Odds are, I’d say, that each had their own approach to preventing a darkness-filled future, and it’s those irreconcilable differences that actually led to it. A self-fulfilling prophecy.
So maybe, rather than them all joining a side… they WERE the sides. Their infighting snowballed into the full-blown Keyblade War. While it might not match up perfectly, we could definitely assign some of them to a group based on their known personality traits:
1. Aqua/Anguis: Defenders of Light. This is a pretty obvious one. Aqua, like Master Eraqus, believes in the absolute righteousness of the light. Open and shut case.
2. Ventus/Leopardos: Servants of Darkness. At first glance, this one appears to be contradictory, but when you stop to think about it, it does make sense. We’re used to meek ol’ Ven being such a light-hearted (literally) individual. But what about before the split from his dark side? We know so little about that Ven. With Xehanort having considered the possibility of using Ven as his vessel, I’m sure Ven had a great capacity for darkness (that he refused to use), hence why Vanitas was so strong. And remember, darkness does not necessarily equate to being evil… Perhaps Leopardos, tasked with upholding a light which created so much hatred between the other Foretellers, realized that maybe it was the darkness in need of saving—against the “Tyranny of Light,” which Xehanort as the 6th apprentice would convince him of. Hence why Ven continued to follow Xehanort even in his next life.
3. Riku/Unicornis: Reconcilers of Dawn (or whatever you want to call them). This is another obvious one. Riku, the road to dawn… yeah.
4. Terra/Ursus: Seekers of Power. Another one which might not be readily apparent. Your first instinct might be to brand Terra as a Servant of Darkness. While Terra was by no means selfish, I’d say above all he was about power. Seeking the strength to protect what matters is what led him down his path. Eraqus flat out calls him out on his “obsession with power.”
5. Kairi/Vulpeus: Conscientious Objectors. Notice how there is no fifth faction that Xehanort mentions. Consider this one more of a non-faction. She represented all of those who, regardless of ideology, thought that waging a Keyblade War was senseless. It fits Kairi pretty damn well too. This is her purity shining through, and perhaps maybe even how she came to be a Princess of Heart.
So where does Xehanort fall in all of this? One would think he too would be a Servant of Darkness. And maybe that’s the case, but I can imagine that as the Judas of the group he’s above all else concerned with ensuring that the Keyblade War will be waged. He doesn’t fall on any one side so much as he is the instigator of the war through whatever means possible, whispering into each member’s ear suggestions and temptations.
As for what this says about the future, it can’t be a coincidence that most of the Foretellers are now going to become Guardians of Light. So maybe the original Guardians of Light were Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, Ven, Xehanort... and Mickey. As a quick aside for Mickey, I think reincarnation definitely works, as odd as it sounds. Mickey has had countless iterations over the years, and this provides an in-universe explanation for it without having to weave them all into a single lifetime.
The band’s getting back together and they’re at least one member short--Xehanort. I mean, let’s be real here. They’re going to find Aqua. Ven’s heart will be restored. And would it be any surprise that Terra defects from the Seekers of Darkness? Of course not.
So basically, that just leaves Sora. I’ll maintain that this is not a fated role for him. I’m sticking with the “normal boy” narrative. Sora came to be a Guardian of Light by accident and through his own power. There was no past Sora. But still, he does fit the bill quite nicely, acting basically as an anti-Xehanort. He’s all about that group cohesion, forgiving past sins, unity, love and all that jazz.
Does that leave the old Foreteller group relegated to the pages of history? Nope. Remember, Riku and Mickey are looking for them. Kinda weird that they’re searching for past versions of characters, but what would Kingdom Hearts be without even more character doubles.
This is where time travel comes into play. If Xehanort can time travel to different periods of his life, could that also extend to the Xehanort of yore? If so, why not pay the Keyblade War a visit and get a firsthand experience? After all, if Young Xehanort can time travel to, say, Xemnas (who is for all intents and purposes a “reborn” version of himself), I’m sure we can extend that law to literal past lives.
And what would Xehanort find waiting for him? Well... “Another” Xehanort, hence the meaning of that anagram. This Xehanort would likely fill the role of our requisite “new form” of Xehanort that we get in all of the major titles--Ansem in KH1, Xemnas in KH2, MX in BbS, YX in DDD.
However, I doubt this Xehanort was actually called Xehanort. Remember that the Foretellers’ master gave them new names. Going back to the whole animal theme, would that mean Xehanort is... Goatius? Well, doubtful. This Xehanort was the only one not to receive a tome of prophecy. I imagine this would be because their master found him either unworthy of one or suspect in some manner. Without a tome, perhaps he never received a proper title either. So let’s call him “No Heart.”
There’s one motif on the Foretellers’ keyblades which Xehanort’s lacks--a heart. No heart.
Now I wouldn’t go so far as to say No Heart was literally heartless. But I’d say he may have been instrumental in creating the Heartless.
Nomura said in the BbS Ultimania that the Heartless have been around for “a long time.” He never said forever. And then if we’re to examine Kairi’s grandmother’s story:
Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts.
We can see a likely origin for the Heartless. Darkness has likely been around for as long as light has, but here we see that it was “born.” Given life. So with all of this bedlam that No Heart accomplished, I imagine Xehanort would learn from this. And above all, the most important thing he takes away from what he witnesses is that, in order to succeed in the Keyblade War, he has to keep the Guardians of Light in disarray.
Sora is going to be his greatest obstacle there because there was no past Sora to stop all of the infighting. Xehanort may bring the Foretellers to the present to quite literally have history repeat itself. To take them at a time when they were at their lowest so they can ensure the destruction of the light in the present.
There’s a couple ways I can see him going about this. One would be to directly use the Foretellers’ powers. That is, to bring them into the Nort crew. I’ve seen this suggested a couple times before and it does seem to round out the roster, considering there are at least five unknowns:
1. MX
2. Xemnas
3. Ansem
4. Xigbar
5. Saix
6. YX
7. Terranort
8. Vanitas
9. Anguis
10. Leopardos
11. Unicornis
12. Ursus
13. Vulpeus
The major problem here is how exactly MX could Nortify them (especially Vulpeus if my factions are correct). That and Terranort/Ursus are basically repeats--though with Terra likely defecting, that would leave a spot open for someone, be it Eraqus, No Heart, or whoever.
Another possibility is that Xehanort brings them through the power of persuasion--that “the future needs them” or some such nonsense. They won’t necessarily side with Xehanort, but their clashes will impede the current Guardians regardless.
So yeah. That’s about it for now. There’s a lot more I can say on the subject. Might update later." - +Kingdom Hearts Insider user - gelandporn
Interesting read right? Note that none of this is confirmed by Disney or Square Enix but, it does kinda work. What are your thoughts?
For more info stayed tuned and check out Kingdom Hearts Insider for everything kingdom hearts.
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