KH4 Second Trailer
My translation and analysis of the first trailer is here.
Here’s a general key for the kind of analysis I like to do:
JP: Official Japanese Dialogue
EN: Official English Dialogue
TR: My Translation (usually more literal and thus more stilted than the official English version. I’m not using natural-sounding English in order to stick as close to the Japanese versions of the lines as possible for the purpose of analysis)
Notes: things I found interesting, grammatical points, extra thoughts, etc.
One last note: media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Every work of art must be viewed through the cultural lens of the people who made it. Kingdom Hearts, for all its ties to Disney, is still very much a Japanese game, so it should be analyzed in light of that.
With that in mind, let’s continue.
There was only really dialogue at the beginning of the trailer, and they didn't have captions for the Japanese version, so I listened and transcribed it myself. Instead of breaking it down by each line, I'm just going to include it all together:
JP この世界の構造はとても複雑で 私たちが定義する光と闇を具現化したものを 存在しなかった
でも それを定義するものが この世界に来たことで この世界にも 私たちの定義する闇が現れた
EN The structure of this world is incredibly complex. At first, there were no manifestations of what we know as light and darkness. But our arrival here brought these concepts with us—the darkness given physical form only after we defined it.
TR The construction/makeup/framework/organization/pattern/structure of this world is very complex/complicated/intricate. The embodiment/realization/materialization of light and darkness that we define didn’t exist. But, by that thing that defines it coming to this world, in this world too, the darkness that we define appeared/became visible/became embodied/materialized.
Notes: At first I thought Strelitzia was the character saying these lines, but then I saw people discussing it and wondering if it might actually be Ava. There is a character shown wearing a black coat while these lines are being spoken, and the silhouette very much looks like a girl or woman:
In all the other footage we've seen of Strelitzia, she has been wearing her normal outfit, so I agree this could be someone else. I went back to the first KH4 trailer where Strelitzia is confirmed to be speaking, and her voice does sound higher pitched and “cutesier” to me for lack of a better description than the person speaking here, and when I watched a little bit of Back Cover in Japanese, I did think Ava’s voice matched the the person speaking here a little better, but I’d have to listen multiple times to really make up my mind.
Anyway, continuing on.
The Japanese word translated as “structure” in the official English version, kōzō, can also be translated as “construction, makeup, framework, organization, pattern.” Screenshot is from the app imiwa?
I thought this was interesting because one of Sora’s new abilities, Build, is related to, well, building and constructing things. And I thought the wording for this sentence was really interesting in both languages as well, because to me it kinda sounds like Quadratum is artificially constructed by an outside force? I mean we don't go around talking about the “structure” of our world. So this perhaps ties into the Unreality concept, and it makes me wonder who or what created Quadratum if I'm right about this.
A word that repeats several times in this dialogue is tēgi, “definition,” and the speaker continually uses this word to emphasize that the people who came from the main Kingdom Hearts universe (I presume that's who she means, anyway) define the light and darkness and brought this darkness into being in Quadratum. In the official English version, this single word and its verb are translated as “what we know,” “these concepts,” and “defined.” I just always think back to that Shakespeare quote from Hamlet that showed up in the Versus 13 trailer, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” It sounds like thoughts are powerful enough to create things in Quadratum, at least from the outsiders coming from the main KH universe. It also reminds me of that island in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where your nightmares come true. Your mind makes it real and all that Matrix references yay.
I also wonder if both the denizens of Quadratum and the outsiders believe it's the outsiders’ responsibility to fix this if Quadratum was peaceful before, and I wonder who the first person from the main KH universe was who was sent to Quadratum. Probably the Master of Masters…
I see black feathers and instantly think Sephiroth?? Lol. But I think this is the Master of Masters.
Another important word in the dialogue is gugenka, or “embodiment, realization, materialization” according to imiwa? I also found a Japanese source that talked about the meaning and usage of the word, and they define it as “giving concrete, tangible form to ideas/concepts/thoughts or ideals.” So, darkness becoming concrete in Quadratum. Now, one of the kanji in gugenka, 現, also appears at the very end of the dialogue in the word awareta. Awareta is the past tense of awareru, which means “to appear, to come in sight, to become visible, to come out, to embody, to materialize.” So these words are conceptually linked in Japanese, and the official English version translates them as “manifestation” and “physical form.”
That about covers the linguistic nerdery lol. Time to cover some other details I noticed:
I'm pretty sure the person (presumably a girl) in this image is perched on top of the 104 building above the Scramble Crossing.
The Darksides look freakier than ever, I mean this would be horrifying to run across in real life lol.
Also, Sora’s combat in this first battle is giving me serious Spider-Man vibes:
He’s got a watch now!
This screenshot just looked really cool:
POV: You're a Heartless, and you're about to get your ass handed to you by a very angry 16 year-old who can move ridiculously fast:
Also, I lied, I have one last bit of linguistic nerdery: is that the writing system for Quadratum in that ad in the background? 👀
Continuing on. Sora: gets thrown through a window, manages to turn it into a handspring and land on his feet. Also, the Spider-Man vibes continue:
Strelitzia looks downright stunning, seriously she has never looked so gorgeous, and other people are speculating and I would agree that this is Sigurd, looking very out of place in the modern setting and also like a pompous ass lol:
I think this is a Dark Road character based on the buzz I've been seeing on Twitter, probably Vali, and then Luxord:
More footage of Donald and Goofy running into Hades lol:
And then Young Xehanort offering Sora a broken umbrella:
My friends and I were joking about how that conversation might've gone if Sora was in full sass mode:
Sora: I must be in hell after all, since you're here. That's the cheapest umbrella I’ve ever seen, and it's broken. Xehanort: It's the thought that counts, Sora. (heheh geddit because thoughts become real in Quadratum heh—I'll see myself out now)
Anyway, moving on. Sora’s flexibility in these screenshots is sending me. Also, a new Keyblade? Moana world confirmed? Lilo and Stitch world? Elemental?
Sora’s shoes are glowing yellow here, I'm guessing this is some kind of form change:
The guy screaming in the background is sending me. He's just like me fr. Also, once again, Sora runs towards the danger to protect other people, he's such a good person. A hero, if you will:
This part also gave me Spider-Man vibes. Also, I noticed they are still not letting Sora talk. He's using battle grunts etc., but we still haven't heard a single word of dialogue from him for this game. Interesting…
The English trailer is here.
The Japanese trailer is here.
