Matthew's Universe

Kingdom Hearts 3’s Critical Mode update is finally here! It arrived last week on Tuesday (04/23/19). Already, plenty of Kingdom Hearts 3 players have records of themselves dying countless times on this difficulty configuration.

I, myself, have barely made it to the Monsters Inc. world, yet it’s clear how much better this game is on Critical Mode. As you may already know, plenty of long-time Kingdom Hearts fans were disappointed - despite how fun the gameplay was - that the game was kinda easy. Even on Proud Mode, experienced players could go on auto-pilot and beat the game without much trouble.

Of course, this is justified, as Kingdom Hearts 3 is the best selling game in the series. They needed to make the game accessible to more people. Besides, delaying Critical Mode gave them time to further refine the gameplay and listen to the fans’ critiques. And it shows! Critical Mode improves upon the fast paced gameplay greatly! It’s just that now, you can’t swing around your Keyblade around all willy-nilly anymore, but you must think and strategize how you are planning to fight.

You, pretty much, die in 2 hits to everything if you don’t have the Second Chance ability. It forces you to learn and actually memorize the different moves that each enemy and boss has. You can appreciate the enemies and bosses much more because of this. Normally most players will blindly hack and slash their way to kill whatever happens to be in front of them. For example: the Bull Heartless encounter in Olympus early-on in the game.

Before, players could easily spam their magic away to plow through the Bulls. Even if they got hit, the Bulls don’t do enough damage to pose enough of a threat. And so, the player will continue mashing through the fight.

ON THE CONTRARY, in Critical Mode, the Bulls kill you in ONE HIT. Not so mashable now, eh? Now the only way to defeat this boss is if you figure out the perfect timing to block the Bull Charge. Block, attack once, block, attack once, block, and repeat until Goofy’s Situation Command appears.

NOW you can mash through the Bulls and annihilate them with the help of Donald and Goofy’s team attack! Again, I have only made it to the Monster’s Inc. world, but all the enemy and boss encounters up to now have each been such treats. Having these levels - these Dark Souls levels - of thought processes throughout each fight makes Kingdom Hearts 3 even better than it was before.

There’s a New Game+ feature now, so you can carry over Keyblades and Selfie Poses from a previous save file and start anew! If you consider yourself a skilled person, Critical Mode is the best way to play this game. If not, and you’re just acquainted with video games in general, then please go ahead and play it on Proud Mode. Standard Mode is an alright pick if you’re not good at action games. DO NOT PICK BEGINNER MODE.

That’s for the poor toddlers who were at Gamestop, saw Donald and Goofy on a display, and bought Kingdom Hearts 3 unknowing of what they were getting in to. Donald and Goofy can pretty much do the fighting for you in Beginner Mode. But anyways, now I’m glad that Critical Mode is finally here! And it’s incredible!! Now we must wait for the DLC to be announced in June!!!

Critical Mode, as well as the apparent “Story DLC,” are still on their way. Slated to release before the end of 2019, they may be coming sooner than we think. In the meantime - even after nearly 3 months - people are hard at work making crazy theories to try and unravel the secrets of the Kingdom Hearts story. However one theory clicked in my head like a light bulb. Like an “Ah-hah!” moment. It became so obvious once I realized it.

You see, before the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, one of the last story quests released for Kingdom Hearts Union X were Quests 841-845.

In this quest it’s revealed that back in Kingdom Hearts 1, when Maleficent was stabbed and killed by Riku, her heart was able to leave her body.

She used her previous knowledge acquired from Xehanort: that “In order to travel through time,  you must leave your body behind.” Maleficent, in a last-ditch attempt, used her power to travel back in time.

She found herself in the Enchanted Dominion, home of Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). Or so she thought. A shadowy figure looms out of the castle tower.

Maleficent finds out that she ended up sending herself into a Data World projected by the Book of Prophecies. Upon the realization that - in this version of Enchanted Dominion - the story has already been written and she can’t change the future of data, she decides to go back to the future.

How she was able to do so is a mystery.

This explains how Maleficent suddenly returns at the start of Kingdom Hearts 2! When she asks the figure who he is, he simply replies, “I am Darkness.”

Sounds familiar. This is exactly what Vanitas told Ventus! Vanitas’s whole existence is in darkness, being the shadow of Ventus’s heart. Perhaps once Vanitas faded, he did the same thing Maleficent did, and released his heart to travel through time just as his body perished. But how did Vanitas gain the power to do this?

“To you , the name ‘Vanitas’ shall be given.”

I’d assume he would have the power after being a lackey for Xehanort for so long. Xehanort is the one from whom Maleficent learned the power as well.

The “Darkness” figure we see in Union X doesn’t have a body. They’re just a hollow silhouette, much like one without a body would be.

Another rule that was brought up by Xehanort: That if you are to travel through time, a version of yourself must already exist in that timeline. And Vanitas did exist.

He’s the darkness of Ventus, and Ventus is one of the new Foretellers. I’m glad to see that Vanitas will have a higher importance to the plot in the next saga of Kingdom Hearts games. I’m sure it won’t take very long anyways.

The reason Kingdom Hearts 3 took so long was because they had to start from the ground up. No reusing assets like they did for all the older KH games. Now, they already have a plethora of assets from KH3 to make use of.

Plenty of fans of Kingdom Hearts 3 -myself included- are waiting somewhat patiently for the Critical Mode update as well as the supposed “Story DLC.” Well, about a week ago, Lisa Dahlgreen of Gamereactor had the chance to interview Tai Yasue (Co-Director of KH3) about the development of Critical Mode as well as the implementation of Disney characters. Here’s what he had to say…

"We got a lot of fan reaction that people wanted to play a difficult mode we understood that—respect that—so we really went into creating Critical Mode and we wanted to do it the right way so it is not superficial—it isn’t just raising the HP for the enemies, for example. We wanted a new experience there and we realized that there was a lot we could do.

We added abilities for Critical Mode so you have a more technical, offensive based battle style you can enjoy, so things like that changes the game and also because the beginner mode, for example, and standard mode are easier, there are lots of choices but at the same time you’re not forced into doing anything. You can do what you want, right? But for the Critical Mode, you really have to think it out, think [about] what you’re gonna do. For example, when I’m playing the Critical Mode now in development, I realized that cooking is really important all of a sudden. For the beginner/standard modes, if you like cooking you can use cooking, but for Critical Mode, the wide array of gameplay that is there means you really have to utilize everything." - Tai Yasue

Wow! Brand new abilities for Critical Mode? This mode will literally change the game!!! I also can’t wait to make more use of Remy’s delicious food as well. Am I the only one who doesn’t have trouble with the Egg Minigame?

"It is balanced in a way that you can clear it without really leveling up, but you really have to think it through—think about the timing like when you are guarding or using your counter to make the battles more easy." - Tai Yasue

This is for those Sekiro players out there. He goes on  further explaining how the difficulty will further improve the gameplay.

"So like I mentioned earlier, we adjusted a lot of the gameplay and we set out to create a new experience. Like creating new abilities for example. They are sort of oriented towards the technical side so people good at action games and know the exact timing on when to guard or do a counter, abilities are targeted toward that sort of gameplay. We wanted players to be able to clear the game in a fair battle, so we didn’t want people to feeling like it was unfair and getting cheated so we actually adjusted a lot of the AI in enemies as well, and it was a big effort we were all working on weekends doing this Critical [mode]. We wanted to get it right." - Tai Yasue

That was everything that Yasue had to say about the difficulty development. Honestly, I am SO excited for Critical Mode to come out. It’ll really show the depth of Kingdom Hearts 3’s gameplay in a whole new light. And it’s great that they decided to leave it out of the initial release! It lets them listen to what the players think about the gameplay, and tweak it in a way that will make the game truly fun for everyone!!!

If you have yet to play Kingdom Hearts 3 - and would like to test your skill - I HIGHLY recommend you play it on Critical Mode when the free update comes out! Heck, for people who’ve already beaten the game, it’s DEFINITELY going to be worth the replay!!! (I’ve beaten the game five times already… A couple more times won’t hurt...)

Kingdom Hearts 3 has a surprising amount of depth and potential to its combat. Of course with the current difficulty level of the game, utilizing the Keyblade to its full potential isn’t really necessary. However when Critical Mode comes out in a new update (especially on Level 1), some tricks will really come in handy! With the introduction of new things such as the “Airstep” ability and the fact that Sora can switch between 3 different Keyblades (even mid-combo!), there’s some interesting things you can pull off in Kingdom Hearts 3!

First off, it’s important that you’ve already learned about “Airstepping”. It’s already given that you can Shotlock onto midair objects to ZOOM towards them. However, you can do the same when Shotlocking onto enemies and pressing Square.

Scala Ad Caelum Combo -

This leads into what I like to call the Scala ad Caelum (Stairway to Heaven) Combo! It was previously discovered by Trueblade Seeker on YouTube, who does some amazing KH3 technique videos. He beats up the Dark Inferno a WHOLE lot. My favorite one of his is “Kingdom Hearts 3 Dark Inferno Boss (With Style : Flawless Edition).” Anyways, to do this combo, you will need the Rising Spiral ability [While performing a combo, press Circle to launch enemies into the air] equipped with Sonic Slash and Falling Slash unequipped. To initiate the combo, Airstep to an enemy by Shotlocking and pressing Square. Attack with X once, then switch to Circle to use Rising Spiral to carry yourself and the enemy upwards. After all this, quickly hold R1, pan upwards, and Airstep to the enemy again. If you repeat this pattern, you can reach new heights! If the enemy has enough health, you literally have yourself a Scala ad Caelum, letting you reach high areas without having to climb around them! It’s also just cool to pull it off.

Guard Form Glitch -

If you have the Hercules Keyblade, “Hero’s Origin”, equipped, then you can pull off a broken exploit to dish out some damage while in Counter Shield Form. Charge up the Counter Shield Situation Command and transform. Then try to guard enemy attacks until your Attack command changes to Wrathful Flurry. Switch to another Keyblade with left or right on the D-Pad and that Wrathful Flurry command will stay charged up.

If you charge up transformation situation commands with your other two equipped Keyblades, you can pull off something quite destructive.

You see, the Wrathful Flurry attack can be interrupted by a Keyblade Transformation sequence. Afterwards, the Wrathful Flurry command will be reusable.

So, near the end of the punching animation, use a transformation situation command. You can then switch back to the Hero’s Origin Keyblade and repeat the process for nearly 3 times the damage!

Dark Inferno Loop -

Having trouble with the Dark Inferno boss in KH3? Not sure how you are, but there is a cheap way out. Here’s the combo. Equip all Combo Plus abilities as well as Rising Spiral. Counter one of Dark Inferno’s attacks JUST with Counter Slash. Let him land and, as soon as he gets up, attack him with 4 hits and then use Circle to attack him with Rising Spiral. Wait for him to land again, and cast Aeroga on him. Directly following up by jumping on the tornado and slashing down with Falling Slash. Start off again with the 4 hit combo and repeat until Ephemer’s Heartless is put to rest!

As we wait for more Kingdom Hearts news, Kingdom Hearts Union X has been receiving brand new story updates! To players of Union X: If you login now, you will receive free Draw Tickets based on your Lux Level!

Anyways, in the most recent update, we’ve received startling information about Ventus. (If you’ve never studied the story of Union X, basically it takes place many years before the first Keyblade War in ancient times. (Why don’t you go watch a summary video of Union X before the next Kingdom Hearts game?))

Currently in the story, the World of Daybreak Town is being run by the second group of the five Union Leaders. (^From Left to Right) Brain, Ventus, Ephemer, Skuld, and Lauriam (Marluxia).

Anyways, in the recent update, Brain seems to have released ‘bugs’ in the data world of Daybreak Town and Ventus tries to go after him.

Eventually Ephemer catches up with Ventus, who is trying to fend off some bugged out heartless. This is the first time we see Ventus use his ORIGINAL Keyblade in Union X. His original being the ‘Missing Ache’ Keyblade.

We haven’t seen this Keyblade since Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009), where Roxas and Xion was able to wield it! This strengthens the connection between Ventus and Roxas, and gives new insight on what Ventus might have been like back in the ancient times of Union X.

In the game, Missing Ache has a whopping 4 Reversed (Darkness) medal slots with only one Upright (Light) slot. Ventus wields more darkness. At this point in time, Ventus still has his darkness, Vanitas, inside of him.

Xehanort never separated the two yet. It seems that back when Ventus was whole, he really did have a powerful darkness.

4 out of 5 of him is darkness. With the fact that Ventus could be split into two different beings based on his light and his darkness, he possibly had a split personality disorder as a whole person. Before he became the pure Ventus we know and love, he probably had a dark -possibly a very dark- side, which was able to manifest as Vanitas.

With this in mind, Ventus could very well be the person that killed Strelitzia.

As of now, with Brain being ‘The Virus’, evidence seems to point to Brain being the murderer. However, it seems too obvious for Tetsuya Nomura’s standards.

There is a possibility that Ventus got rid of Strelitzia for her Book of Prophecies. Ava was never seen giving Ventus the Book, so he may have longed to see what was in it. Curiosity killed the Strelitzia, y’know? Heck, it’s made clear that Ventus is rather clueless about the Book of Prophecies, as if he hasn’t had time to read it like the other Union leaders.

It kind of pains me to see some people play Kingdom Hearts 3 without ever utilizing some key features in it’s gameplay.

A while back, as well as recently, I’ve gotten plenty of friends into the Kingdom Hearts series, and watched them play through some of the games. It was great to see them having fun and experiencing the games I loved so much back when I first played them. Seeing their first-time reactions to the Kingdom Hearts games was priceless. Comparing them to how I reacted as a child, and knowing that I’m helping to change their lives by introducing them to this wonderful series, is incredible. Uh, what was I talking about again? Right, Tips and Tricks. Anyways, although it was nice to see my friends play through the KH games for the first time, it was painful seeing them miss out on gameplay tricks that I had known for so long. Like in Kingdom Hearts 2, I would rarely see them make use of the Drive Forms and even Magic as they just didn’t really have the feel or knowledge of how to use those things. And when they first played Kingdom Hearts 1, after leaving them alone to play it for a little while, I come back to see that they don’t know how to switch Keyblades and have been stuck with Kingdom Key equipped. Heck, most of their abilities weren’t equipped yet. When I saw them make these mistakes, and just looked at them while they looked at me realizing what they’ve done, it is the exact definition of a “Bruh Moment.” It was cringy. And so I made this list of some cool tricks that should help out those who are beginners to Kingdom Hearts 3! (No Spoilers!)

UPGRADE THE FAVORITE DEPUTY -

Toy Story is one of the first worlds you visit in the game, and upon completion, you get the Favorite Deputy Keyblade! It’s one of the best story Keyblades in terms of physical damage, and upon being upgraded, it grants you the ability Lucky Strike! (Increased chance of enemies dropping synthesis items) Going through the game with this Keyblade will net you plenty of great materials for Moogle! Making it easier to complete the Synthesis List by the end of the game!

SHOTLOCK NYOOM - (I only know the buttons for PS4 Controllers)

(What are you doing playing Kingdom Hearts 3 on an XBox anyways?)

You’ll learn near the start of the game that you can use Shotlock (Holding R1) and that you can lock on to certain objects in this state and press (Square) to initiate Airstep to glide across them. What most people don’t realize is that you can Airstep towards enemies too! When Shotlocking onto an enemy, instead of pressing (X) press (Square) and you’ll NYOOM towards them. This is extremely helpful if an enemy is moving too far away from you.

CYCLING THROUGH SITUATION COMMANDS -

Situation Commands are the special green (Triangle) commands that allow you to perform situational attacks to take down groups of enemies after fulfilling certain requirements. The game will automatically have your (Triangle) button mapped to the oldest Situation Command that popped up. However by using the triggers on the controller (L2 and R2) you can cycle through the different Situation Commands that you may have popped up already. You can tell which command you’re automatically mapped to by which command is highlighted!

THUNDER OR AERO? -

Thunder and Thundara are amazing spells that you can easily spam to get through most of the game. But as you might not expect, by the end of the game Aeroga is the best bet! It does about the same damage as Thundaga but the hitbox stays out much longer, letting it hit nearby enemies multiple times!

BLIZZARD ICE SKATING -

You can skate on your Blizzard spells and get across flat spaces much faster! You can even initiate a flowmotion attack by hitting (X) or jumping first and then hitting (X)!

THANKS DONALD -

In the Customize section of the Menu (where you would usually map your Magic Shortcuts) you can also change the traits of Donald and Goofy as well as other Party Members! If Donald isn’t healing you often enough, force him to!!!

SAVE SIDE STUFF AND EXPLORATION FOR ENDGAME -

No, not Avengers Endgame. What Kingdom Hearts 3 throws at you doesn’t really require you to grind much in order to be able to complete it, and completing everything in a world before moving on would end up making you more overpowered than what the game is balanced for. You’ll have a better time going through the game as it was intended. Save the chores for later and go through with the story!

We get it. Kingdom Hearts 3 was one of the easiest Kingdom Hearts titles. But the amount of poop this game got for “being easy” is just over saturated. IT WAS REALLY FUN! The lower difficulty of the game is understandable however. Kingdom Hearts 3 is likely going to be the best selling game in the franchise. They HAD to make it more accessible to more types of people. Some of those who bought KH3 were pretty much only there for the Disney magic. They probably hardly touch video games! Square Enix even left out Critical Mode in the initial release of Kingdom Hearts 3. An easier game makes it easier to breeze through, and easier to quickly review. This gave game reviewers the time to give Kingdom Hearts 3 some great reviews before its release! But this marketing ploy kind of hurt long time fans, as even Proud Mode is a breeze to those who have experience with the series. But for those who are new to the franchise. Oh boy… I know some friends who would have a difficult time even while on BEGINNER MODE! And there are plenty of mindlessly easier games out there right now! So where’s Critical Mode? Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix was “critically” acclaimed for its Critical Mode, for making the gameplay more challenging, yet more rewarding. Square Enix likely left out this option so 1. Game reviewers (even the ones who opted for the highest difficulty) could breeze through their review copies and 2. So that Square Enix could listen to the fans *constructive* criticism of the gameplay before tweaking it. Critical Mode has been confirmed to be arriving in a free update before the end of 2019 along with new story content that was left out so KH3 wouldn’t be even more delayed than it was! Some are hurt by this decision, but please understand that if KH3 was delayed any longer, it would not have sold as well as it did. Anyways, I can’t wait to see what they do with Critical mode! In Kingdom Hearts 0.2, Critical Mode actually changed more than just the stats of the player and enemies, it even changed up the moves that enemies used. The Darkside boss’s Desperation Move is actually improved upon, being more difficult to dodge! I can’t wait to see what they add in the supposed “big update.”

Hey Tetsuya Nomura! Will Kingdom Hearts 3 answer all of our questions?

Welp, there’s actually two missable cutscenes in Kingdom Hearts 3. One with Namine and one with the “Nameless Star” which both take place in The Final World.

What has everyone confused is who exactly this Nameless Star’s heart belongs to. She says that she can’t remember anything; that they took away her name and everything about her. ‘Somebody’ did this to her. But to find who that is, we need to know who the hyuck she is first! So whomst’ve’y’all’d’v’i’d’ve is she?

Well I have clear reason to believe that she is Strelitzia. And it’s been hinted that Brain is the one who kills her in Kingdom Hearts Union X.

He is the “virus” of the new foretellers.

It’s hinted that he apparently killed Strelitzia to prevent another Keyblade War, much like Master Eraqus almost did to Ventus in Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. I assume he had to stop Strelitzia from telling the Player about the Book of Prophecies against the will of the Master of Masters. But how do I know it’s Strelitzia?

Well it’s kind of a hunch, but Strelitzia whispers a name into Sora’s ear before he continues through The Final World. The KH3 Ultimania reveals that the person mentioned is someone Sora knows.

After she whispers to him, she backs away, saying, “Our secret.”

When Sora asks Larxene who she joined the Organization to be with, it’s implied that she wanted to be with Marluxia, but says, “My secret.” This parallels to what the Nameless Star, or Strelitzia, said.

The name that Strelitzia whispered must surely be Marluxia’s, er- Lauriam’s. The whispered name is someone who is searching for Strelitzia, and it’s been revealed that she is actually Lauriam’s sister and NOT Larxene’s- er- Elrena’s!

Marluxia must still be searching for Strelitzia, and he even reveals in Kingdom Hearts 3 that he’s beginning to remember his memories of his ancient past. Some people have theorized that the Nameless Star is Skuld, but my previous theory on Subject X debunks that. I strongly believe that the Nameless Star is Strelitzia.

A month has passed since the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 and people are itching to see what’s coming next for the Kingdom Hearts series. To tide us over, the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultimania book has been released! The Ultimania details on the game’s concept art as well as interviews with Tetsuya Nomura himself. We’ve gotten quite the plethora of information from this, and I’m here to lay it all out. CAUTION: SPOILERS!

Ok so basically…

- An interviewer asked Nomura, “When Sora and co leave the Final World, why did they return to the moment before their deaths?” Nomura responded, “The power of waking is originally meant to be used to restore a sleeping heart to normal, but because it was used to strongly pull the hearts of Sora’s friends back to where they were, the effect caused a singularity and caused reality to be overwritten. Depending on the rewrite, it can make everything ‘as though it never happened!’”

- The interview asked if what Sora says at the beginning of the game (“they can take your world…”) is supposed to be said at the end of KH3. Nomura says not only that, but it’s supposed to show Sora’s mental state and offer us a hint!

- The name of Ansem’s guardian is “The Rear Person.”

- Lingering Will disappeared after Terra came back.

- Maleficent being able to travel from the past to the present in KH2 is related to how the ancient Keyblade wielders are also in the present.

- Scala ad Caelum was originally Daybreak Town.

- Terra is like a BROTHER to Aqua and Ventus. Sorry, no shipping allowed.

- Xehanort’s Keyblade is called “Goat of Atonement.”

- Naminé was able to come back because her heart left Kairi when Xehanort killed her.

- The person Naminé wanted to see the most was Riku Replica. Riku was just picking Naminé up while acting on Riku Replica’s wishes.

- Sora knows the person the Nameless Star whispered into his ear. I assume the star is Strelitzia, and she likely whispered Marluxia’s name.

- Marluxia remembered his memories from Union X when he lost, and it’s confirmed the person Larxene was tagging along with was Marluxia, but it’s unclear if her memories have come back.

- Rage Form is different to Anti Form (Rage Form is Sora controlled by rage, Anti Form is Sora controlled by darkness).

- The girl that Lea and Isa are looking for has already appeared in the series, and I believe it is Skuld, as it’s been confirmed that it’s NOT Ava.

- The armored figures in Scala ad Caelum are replicas.

- “THERE IS A REASON THAT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO DEMYX.”

- The hooded figure in the Secret Ending is the Master of Masters (WHO I THINK IS DEMYX).

- How Xion returned will be explained in an update, and so will the Nameless Star, Epilogue, and Secret Ending!

Kingdom Hearts 3 finally put an end to the insane chess game between Xehanort and Eraqus. A huge weight is now off our shoulders. Time to relax, right!?

But… now we have a new storyline ahead of us. Now Kingdom Hearts Union X is coming full circle to create the next saga of Kingdom Hearts. At least Tetsuya Nomura can write his story from somewhat of a clean slate now! Hinting us towards the future of the series is the Secret Reports that you can earn throughout Kingdom Hearts 3.

In these reports we learn about a new unknown character dubbed “Subject X” who is the author of the reports. Not much is known about this individual. Apparently they are a young 15 year old girl who was experimented on by Ansem the Wise in the past.

Ansem (Seeker of Darkness) reminds Ansem the Wise of the awful experiments that he did to children.

However, Ansem the Wise fully regrets his actions now and wished to atone ever since realizing what Roxas had went through.

Subject X was also revealed to have been friends with Lea and Isa back when they were kids in Radiant Garden. Lea and Isa would break into the castle to visit her and keep her company. But one day she disappeared. A strange man with an eyepatch let her escape from the castle, and she hasn’t been found since then.

This man is definitely Xigbar (Er- Braig).

That also confirms that these reports take place after the events of Birth By Sleep, as Braig has already had his eye knocked out by Terra at this point to be wearing an eyepatch. Subject X is confirmed to have been someone who time traveled from the distant past, which was why Ansem the Wise wished to experiment on her to find out how she was able to do so. She definitely came from Union X.

She even writes in her reports that she lost her memory and the only things she remembers are “4 Friends and a Key.” This narrows it down to either Ava or Skuld, who were both one of the 5 Union Leaders at one point. But look closer… “4 *FRIENDS.*” If you included Luxu, Ava would have had *5* friends and the first Union Leaders didn’t really consider each other as friends.

The first Union Leaders were more like acquaintances!

The second Union Leaders: Skuld, Ventus, Lauriam (Marluxia), Brain, and Ephemer were all actually rather close! There’s even mention of “the virus” in the reports who ended up being Brain.

He was the traitor in the group that got the five of them sent into the future! Then they lost all their memories of the past. I’m calling it now that it’s Skuld.

Union X is finally going to be relevant!!! I’ve already caught up with it seeing as I have no life but, if you need a refresher on the Union X story, Youtuber Everglow has the first 11 episodes of his Timeline series that can help you out real quick!

After beating Kingdom Hearts 3, you can go on to explore the 14 Battle Portals spread across the many worlds. Once you enter Battle Portal 14, you are pitted against Dark Inferno, the “Super Boss” for this game. (Though I’m certain they’ll add more Super Bosses in the Final Mix update) As expected, this Heartless is rather difficult. Although it’s nowhere near Lingering Will, it’s a fun and challenging fight! Kingdom Hearts 3’s combat has so much potential, so new bosses will be greatly appreciated! Anyways, since my older brother is currently fighting this boss, I figured I’d write about it! At first you may think that this boss is just any old Heartless. Some people were disappointed that the “Secret Boss” we got wasn’t an important figure that foreshadowed the next game, like Xemnas did in Kingdom Hearts 1, or even Lingering Will in Kingdom Hearts 2. However, this boss is probably important, although it’s much more quiet about it than the other secret bosses. Tetsuya Nomura can make complex plot points out of basically anything, from Sora’s Sacrifice in KH1 to… Mickey having computer problems in KHRe:Coded. Notice how the Dark Inferno appears to have a red scarf?

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS LOTS AND LOTS OF SPOILERS WATCH OUT SPOILERS SERIOUSLY SPOILERS

I can’t show pictures in this blog so I don’t end up spoiling anyone too busy to be playing it. (Sorry Mr. Hogan but you gave Diego Velasquez the same grade for having no pictures)

It’s time to be a bit more personal and dumb! (This blog sure is gonna be sloppy) Who knew some wacky video game would impact my life this much. I sure didn’t. But now, I can gladly say that Kingdom Hearts 3 is coming in two days. It’s been an amazing ride. Since seeing the very first trailer for the game in 2013, every new trailer has kept me hyped up for so long. Even since I first played Kingdom Hearts 1. I was four years old, and given the greenlight to play it from my older brother. Years and years later, the Disney magic is still inside of me. Every game since then has kept me going. (Man, at this point, I’m crying while typing this) No other game series has mattered this much to me. Pokemon, Steven Universe, and other great things that taught me lessons when I was younger. (God, now I’m sobbing) None compared to what I got from Kingdom Hearts. The adventures Sora had, with his best friends. I’ve always been inspired to go on my own little adventures with friends. Back in elementary school, I was heavily influenced by Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon. Me and my friends back in elementary would talk about Pokemon all the time. I was always outgoing, with a bubbly attitude. Like Sora, I showed no fear, going down outlandish paths to always spice things up. I was easily recognized because of this. From elementary and junior high, I was well known for being weird in an amazing way. Being hilariously silly while also being seriously friendly. I still try to be that way today. For high school, I had to move to a new district. I had to leave behind those friends I’d been with for years. Now 2 years into this high school, I have a newfound love for everyone here. Mostly everyone here seems like they genuinely enjoy each others company. And yet, 2 years later, my friends from elementary and junior high still contact me. They miss me! That’s just, amazing. That means I made enough of an impact on their lives to leave a lasting impression on that. If I can change people’s lives for the better like that, then working hard to stay positive really is worth it! I still try to really be out there, and stand out a little. I still make outrageous decisions and take leaps of faith to spice things up. Heck, I draw art for money now. I still tell hilarious jokes while still having genuine love for my friends. I’m too embarrassed to show it, but I sure do feel it. These people, these students, these friends all have their own lives. (Haha, I’m crying again) I’m happy to be a part of these people’s lives, and be the link between them.

Sora is a link to all. He touches so many hearts, and saved so many people. (There’s a lot of water right now) My whole life I’ve strived to be like that. To have a heart like Sora’s; willing to see the good before the bad. Perhaps you remember as children, the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. I guess I’ve always been like that. I’ve loved just about everyone I’ve ever met, flaws and all. Even, in these past couple years of high school, a lot of awful situations have happened to me, but I’m always optimistic in those events. Sure, I make plenty of cynical or pessimistic jokes, but… I love life. I love people. I love the time that I’m in right now, and I will continue to love for the remainder of my high school years and more. Everything happens for a reason. I make a positive impact on these people’s lives, and I’m happy to know how. Kingdom Hearts taught me these things. To find the light in everything, to make an impact on other people’s lives, to always be there for your friends. It was one of the biggest things that inspired me to draw, and now I can draw for other people! (For money too!) Again, I’m happy this series exists. I’m happy that Square Enix’s Shinji Hashimoto happened to walk into an elevator with a Disney executive. I’m happy to have learned to love because of this series. Without it, I may not have been as inspired to play other thoughtful games like Pokemon or Zelda. I may not have been as inspired to draw art. I may not have been in the right timeline to meet some of my best friends. These little things changed the course of my whole life, and I hope to be the thing that changes other people’s lives for the better. No matter how small, I make a difference, and my inspiration to do so has always originated from… Kingdom Hearts. Heck I’ve already gotten -I think- 23 people into the series recently! Now, 2 days remain, AND MR. DALY JUST *HAD* TO MAKE THE CHAPTER 7 TEST THE DAY AFTER THE GAME COMES OUT. It’s alright though, I’ve been studying like crazy over the past week. I’ll spend my Tuesday finally playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and walk into his class the next day with KNOWLEDGE! It’s been fun, Sora. How about just one more journey?

Only 9 Days are left until the international release of Kingdom Hearts 3. LESS THAN 10 DAYS! Haven’t been this hyped since there were less than 10 days before the release of Smash Ultimate.

Speaking of Super Smash Bros, Sora would be a perfect addition to the roster! The time is now. Kingdom Hearts 3 is releasing this year.

Heck, Joker (Persona 5, not Batman) was revealed and he’s NEVER been on a Nintendo console. Sora already has 4 Nintendo games, and heck, Tetsuya Nomura wants to release Kingdom Hearts 3 on the Nintendo Switch as well! (Of course, at a later date) Sora in Smash was something I wanted ever since the reveal trailer for Brawl back in 2008. But now is the best timing for Sora to be revealed. What better to promote Kingdom Hearts 3 than for Sora to become a Smash Newcomer? There’s even that recent Smash leak that’s been floating around lately, of character files for DLC characters.

One of the files is called “Brave”. The stats of this fighter describe it to be about as quick as Young Link, and rather floaty. Much like Kingdom Hearts 3’s Sora, where his combos keep him airborne.

About the name, one of Sora’s Drive Forms is called “Valor Form”. In the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts 2, this form translates to “Brave Form”. COINCIDENCE?

I THINK NOT! I don’t mean to overhype anything, but I can only hope. If he does get into Smash, he’d have quite the unique moveset.

Sure, his Keyblade might turn some of his moves into generic Fire Emblem sword strikes, but the Keyblade is MAGICAL. There are tons of abilities that Sora has been able to use across the Kingdom Hearts series, so there’s a lot to work with.

I feel as though he would be similar to his incarnation in Super Smash Flash 2, a fanmade recreation of Super Smash Bros by McLeodGaming for PCs. His basic Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells serve as his special moves.

The KH2 combo finisher, “Explosion”, is a great move to use as a Down-Smash, as it surrounds both sides of Sora with a strong blast of light. Flowmotion, as used in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance would allow Sora to wall jump, and even glide for short periods. Sora can glide indefinitely, but in Smash, that ability for characters to glide was removed since Brawl, as it made recovery unbalanced.

Heck, his Final Smash could be so many different things. It could be a Trinity Limit with Donald and Goofy (though Disney would never let their characters into a Smash game), he could turn into one of his Drive Forms, like Final Form and slice and dice some stuff,  he could even shoot the keyhole beam that he used to defeat Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts 2.

There’s so much content that could be inputted into Sora as a character in Super Smash Bros. I strongly believe that out of the three unrevealed DLC fighters for Smash Ultimate, one of them should be Sora. Also, remember echo fighters? Roxas would be the perfect echo fighter for Sora.

I didn’t expect to be continuing this Kingdom Hearts blog, so this one is a little sloppy. As it turns out, we’re still being graded at school for these little writing assignments.

I kind of felt too lazy to keep going, however this came as a great opportunity! I can’t believe I’m saying this but, Kingdom Hearts 3 is really coming out in 15 days, and I can blog about my playthrough of it! It feels unreal, like something I’ve always been reaching towards but never managed to grab a hold of. Nevertheless, that act of reaching is what has made me a better person. Even if you are striving towards a goal that you can’t reach, the act of pushing yourself to those limits strengthens your growth as a person. The thing about that is, my reaching is over. Kingdom Hearts 3 is here, and it’s everything I could ever have wanted out of a game. I feel as though I’ll miss being hyped up whenever a new trailer for the game would come out. But the time has come. Soon I can say that my childhood has officially come to an end. I’m sad… and happy. Once I finish this game, everything will be different from then on. I can focus more on the other things in life; my future and my career. I can never return to those lazy afternoons of being a kid and playing Kingdom Hearts 2 all day, but now I can start a new chapter of my life. I can be who I am now and play Kingdom Hearts 3 all day. After that, who knows.

I’m glad that this series existed. Back when I was a four year old and played the first game in the series, it taught me lessons that I really needed to hear as a kid. It inspired me to always be there for my friends. To be their light when they’re feeling down. Sora, a boy like him who touches so many hearts, he opens the right door and saves all those people whose lives were in ruin. I strived to be like that back then, and I still do now. I want to make a positive impact on every person I cross paths with. To make a difference for the better. Without this series, I would not have been as good of a person. I wouldn’t have been so inspired to pursue art. I wouldn’t have grown so fond of other people. I wouldn’t have met some of my best friends. I wouldn’t have become the person I am today. I thank Kingdom Hearts. I thank Tetsuya Nomura for creating this piece of art. I thank my brothers and my sister for introducing me to this series when I was young. I’m so happy to have been alive at the same time as this. Only 15 days to go, and my childhood is over.

As the last main title in the series before Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is rather heavy on its story and has quite the impact on the series.

This was the last game in the series to make use of the Command Menu system (thank God). However, the best parts of DDD,

such as the link system and flowmotion have been carried over to KH3. Now to summarize the story.

Sora and Riku stand before Yen Sid, and begin their Mark of Mastery exam. The trial is for them to visit various worlds that were restored from the Heartless’ attack after their first journey, but have remained in a state of “Deep Sleep” that disconnects them from other worlds. Sora and Riku must “awaken the worlds” and return them to the Realm of Light by unlocking the seven Keyholes they find in these Worlds. Through this, they will obtain the power to defeat Xehanort,the Power of Waking, and be named Keyblade Masters.

They are sent back in time to Destiny Islands to enter the Realm of Sleep along with the world.

Sora dives into the dreams of the Worlds. Riku, however, unknowingly dives into Sora’s dreams instead, becoming a Dream Eater and protecting him from his nightmares.

Dream Eaters are creatures that gain their strength by… eating the dreams of people and granting said dreams.

Nightmares are creatures that mirror Dream Eaters, and wreak havoc within the minds of those within sleep.

While Sora and Riku are away on the sleeping Worlds, Mickey gets a letter informing him that Minnie has been kidnapped by Maleficent and Pete, and he, Donald, and Goofy set off to Disney Castle to rescue her.

Once there, Maleficent demands access to the Data Worlds Mickey created when he digitized Jiminy’s Journal. Mickey refuses, and a Corridor of Darkness opens where Lea’s chakrams fly through, blocking Maleficent’s attack and scaring her and Pete away.

Lea emerges from the Corridor, and Mickey recognizes him as Axel. Axel- er- Lea corrects him before the four of them return to the Mysterious Castle to speak to Yen Sid. There, Lea requests that Yen Sid give him the ability to wield a Keyblade.

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Yen Sid warns him that this path will not be easy, but Lea persists, and is trained by Merlin the wizard, and the three good fairies, who use their magic to shorten the training period.

In the Sleeping Worlds, Sora and Roxas encounter both Xehanort’s Heartless, and Nobody, along with a mysterious young man. After they seal all seven keyholes, Sora is transported back to the real world and to The World that Never Was.

There, Sora finds that Braig has once again become his Nobody: Xigbar.

The mysterious young man appears and reveals that he is actually Master Xehanort back when he was young.

He reveals to Sora his ability to time travel. Sora travels deeper into his own dreams, trying desperately to make it to the castle.

However, along the way, he is haunted by visions of Namine, Roxas, Xion, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, with each vision weakening his heart. Upon reaching the castle, Sora finds both Xemnas and Xigbar, who explain that Young Xehanort has been using his time traveling ability to gather various incarnations of Xehanort to create a new, Real Organization XIII.

This was the original plan for the Organization: to create empty husks that Xehanort could turn into himself by placing within them a fragment of his own heart.

However, due to the independence of such members as Axel, Roxas, Xion, and others, this plan eventually failed.

Xigbar reveals he is already “half-Xehanort”, and also reveals the current members of the Real Organization XIII. Xemnas and Xigbar attempt to turn Sora into one of Xehanort’s vessels, but he refuses and battles with Xemnas. Although he is victorious, the battle does damage to his heart, and he falls into a comatose state.

Young Xehanort brings him into the Castle.

There, Sora falls into the darkness, but to protect him from being swallowed whole by it, Ventus’s heart emerges from Sora and envelops him in Ventus’s Keyblade Armor. Meanwhile, Riku, after sealing the seven Keyholes, also finds himself The World that Never Was, but inside Sora’s dreams.

There he finds Sora’s unconscious body, floating within a force field, since Young Xehanort had dragged him into his own dreams. Suddenly, a shadowed being, emerges from Sora’s Nightmare.

Riku defeats it, only to be dragged into the Darkness by a still lingering Xehanort’s Heartless. Xehanort’s Heartless reveals to Riku that he is a Dream Eater, destroying Sora’s Nightmares along their exam.

Xehanort’s Heartless attempts to take over Riku’s body once again, but Riku is reminded of his initial meeting with Terra as a child, and elects to consume his Darkness and return it to Light. The two battle once again, and Riku prevails, returning from Sora’s dreams into the real world. He makes his way to the Castle’s throne room, where he finds Sora, still asleep.

Young Xehanort appears, and reveals that Sora will be used as his new thirteenth Vessel, since using Riku and Roxas had failed in the past.

Young Xehanort reveals the other versions of Xehanort to Riku, including a nearly revived Master Xehanort. Mickey arrives to save Riku and Sora, but is stopped by Young Xehanort, whom Master Xehanort has put his consciousness within, allowing him to draw his Keyblade and do battle with Riku.

“Begone.” (THOT!)

Riku is victorious, but in the time of the battle, Master Xehanort was fully revived. Xehanort reveals his ultimate goal to create the thirteen darknesses to battle the seven lights to recreate the x-blade and restart the Keyblade War.

Suddenly Xehanort’s Heartless and Xemnas grab Riku and Mickey to restrain them, and Master Xehanort attempts to place a fragment of his heart into Sora.

At the last moment, however, Lea appears to protect Sora and block the fragment.

Xehanort summons his Guardian to defeat the group.

Donald and Goofy are able to blast in out of the ceiling and defeat it however.

Master Xehanort retreats with his Organization, vowing that this is only a temporary setback, and that his plan will succeed.

The group return to Yen Sid at the Mysterious Tower with Sora’s body and inform him of Master Xehanort’s current scheme.

In order to awaken Sora, Riku must use the power he obtained by sealing the Seven Keyholes to materialize inside Sora’s body to re-assemble his broken heart.

Inside, Riku does battle with Sora, inside Ventus’s Keyblade Armor, which has been corrupted by a Nightmare. This frees Sora, but he disappears, causing Riku to use Sora’s Keyblade to enter a version of Destiny Islands.

Here, Riku meets with what appears to be Roxas, Ventus, and Xion before finally meeting with a data projection of Ansem the Wise.

This projection reveals that Riku is actually accessing the research data that the real Ansem had hid inside Sora while his memories were being restored.

Ansem tells Riku about Sora’s ability to connect with others’ hearts, and that this ability, along with data contained in a bottle given to Riku, might be able to bring back those who have been lost.

Ansem finally reveals that by defeating the nightmare, and his subsequent interactions with the Roxas, Ventus, and Xion, Riku was able to awaken Sora in the real world.

Riku returns to find an awakened Sora, celebrating the end of the exam.

Yen Sid reveals the results that while both Riku and Sora performed admirably, only Riku is declared a Keyblade Master, as Sora failed by falling to the Darkness.

How unfortunate.

Lea then surprises the group by exclaiming that he will the next to attempt the Mark of Mastery.

He summons his Keyblade for the first time.

Sora then travels back to the sleeping Traverse Town to visit the Dream Eaters he met.

Elsewhere, in Castle Oblivion, a still resting Ventus smiles as a result of Sora’s happiness.

A lot was happening in this game, despite the amount of “not happening” that happened in this game, y’know? Though the story bits were short, with the Disney cameos taking much of the spotlight, they were sweet. Development was made for Sora and Riku, with the both of them learning about the past of Xehanort,

and the pain that Terra, Aqua, and Ventus went through. We also have our segway into the start of Kingdom Hearts 3, where Sora must regain his strength that was lost when Xehanort almost stole his heart. In the Secret Ending, Mickey and Yen Sid discuss the fact that they need one more Keyblade wielder in order to face Xehanort.

Donald and Goofy discuss if they’ll ever get to do something truly important (possible foreshadowing?) when Riku comes by, bringing a friend along. To Mickey, Donald, and Goofy’s surprise, that friend is Kairi.

It’ll be amazing to finally get to see her fight in the war in Kingdom Hearts 3!