Well ladies and gents, the new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer has officially dropped!! And as expected, Tetsuya Nomura has brought the goods. Not only was the new World revealed to be Pixar's Toy Story, a World that was previously assumed to be impossible due to property rights, but we also have been given an official release window for the release of the game! We still don't have a precise date, but we now have confirmation that 2018 is officially the big year! Also, in celebration of this surprising new world, Bring Arts has confirmed that official "Toy Story World" figures will be available soon in the Square Enix Merchandise Store, and also the mobile game KHX has announced a medal in the image of KH3's Sora!!
My personal thoughts on this trailer are positives ones. I grew up absolutely adoring Toy Story (who didn't?) So my excitement truly escalated upon seeing Sora all decked out in full action-figure articulation and polish. I think it was an excellent idea having the team from the actual films help work on this World, because not only is the design, animation, and environment AS good as the movies themselves, but some would even argue that it might even be better. The game play is also nearly flawless with an array of various combos and weapon transformations, and we can also see that Sora will now have up to 4 partners assisting him in his adventures throughout the game.
Of course, it wouldn't be a true reveal if it didn't have epic reactions from the fans. There were many contenders within the folds of Youtube, but the trophy goes to none other than Skywardwing, a beloved herald of the KH fandom. Just listen to that raw energy!
Unfortunately, with praise must also come some criticism. While everything else in this trailer was stellar to the core, one thing that really didn't sit well with me is the current design update for Young Xehanort. Now, I'm well aware that this might not be the final draft regarding his appearance, but right now, he's looking rather....how do I say it? Caricature-ish.
I'm becoming a little more comfortable the more I look at the picture, but it's the obvious over-scale of the eyes and non-existent eyebrows that constantly turns me back off. His DDD model is indisputably handsome, and I think it's quite unfortunate that this new engine has downplayed his features. Again, this is something that can be easily tweaked, and with KH3 still in the works until 2018, we might get our Handsome Young Intellectual looking more like himself.
Alright! Now on to the good stuff. Many things have been noted and discussed after this trailer's drop, but perhaps the most interesting of these is the mysterious new Zipper that has appeared on Young Xehanort's coat. For those who don't know, despite all looking very similar, technically speaking, there are two kinds of Organization Coats. The kind seen worn by KH2's Organization 13, that have round Zippers, and the kind seen worn by the Masters of Masters and Luxu that have a more complex Zipper. Before the Orchestra and D23 trailer, it was believed that only Luxu and MoM bore these "special Zippers" on their coats, but now we see that the Xehanorts are wearing them as well.
Ordinary Coats:
Special Coats:
Now at first in DDD, the Xehnort's did NOT have this special Coat, but were wearing ordinary ones as seen here:
But now with these new trailers dropping, we see that they do in fact, possess the special Zipper now:
What could this mean for the plot of KH3? Will ALL of the members have them? Does it point back to the Master of Masters or/and Luxu's involvement with Xehanort and his plans? Nomura has said that the MoM won't appear in KH3, but could be mentioned...is this further proof?
Also, as we have seen Xehanorts in each trailer so far, does that mean that there shall be trailers featuring ALL of the known Xehanorts? Will we even be shown some new members within the coming trailers? Will the final game have 13 Worlds for each member?
Well, I shall leave you all with this! Keep your Keyblades sharp, your hype high, and May Our Hearts Lead to Another Trailer Soon!!
The month of Junehas officially become the real MVP. And by that, I mean there's finally some juicy good news for us ever-so-patient, ever-so-vigilant, and thankfully-not-dead-yet, Kingdom Hearts fans! E3 2017 has swiftly concluded, and in its wake remains the buzzing hype and anticipation of the new, not-so new, and...delightfully strange. (Admit it, you totally can't wait to explore the world as a freaking Tyrannosaurus Mario. ) Nevertheless, it's evident that one of the biggest surprises of all may have actually come just a couple of days before the Expo even kicked off, when the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour dropped an unprecedented trailer for the long and anticipated Kingdom Hearts 3:
I must admit that my own heart skipped a beat upon hearing this news, especially as it’s no secret that a new trailer regarding the game has been looooooong overdue. Even with the promise of another trailer and more information just around the corner (more specifically, at the D23 Expo on July 15th) both fans and spectators alike are still a-buzz with their own hopes and predictions for the new trailer and the game itself. Being no stranger to the hype train, I have decided to compose my own list of hopes and expectations for the title, and sincerely hope that I can share them without being perceived as a complete lunatic.
The First Fantasy: A New Theme by Utada
Every Kingdom Hearts fan knows that the series isn’t quite the same without the melodic (and rather catchy) themes “Sanctuary” and “Simple and Clean”. They have both been used interchangeably throughout various moments in the series, and have served as the opening themes for each game. To add variation, they are often remixed; however, the overall nostalgia of each song is never truly lost regardless of any added beat, tempo, or drop. Now, as much as I praise these two songs, in the same breath, I can’t help but wonder if the final installment of the saga warrants JUST another remix. The Kingdom Hearts series is over 15 years old now, and with that comes a new kind of respect and expectation. A new....presence, if you will. Both Sora and the gang have done quite a bit of maturing since the Kingdom Hearts 1 days, therefore, it seems only fair to celebrate their final confrontation with an equally epic, and matured theme.
The Second Fantasy: Some Garsh Darn CIVILIZATION!
Despite how fun this series is, and how many good vibes come with seeing various Disney Worlds from our childhoods all over again, you can’t help but notice just how vast and EMPTY some of these locations are. I know that in some worlds (such as The Land of Departure) a dense population isn’t probable, because the existence of such a World is supposed to be secret, and exclusive to Keyblade wielders only. However, places such as Traverse Town, Castle of Dreams, La Cite’ des Cloches, Prankster’s Paradise, and Olympus Coliseum are SEVERELY lacking in civilians, and it sometimes sucks the wonder out of the Worlds. Festivals with no festival-attendees, royal balls with no royals, amusements parks with no naughty little boys...Winning against a Titan doesn’t feel so great when the arena echoes with disembodied cheers. Are we just supposed to believe that Phil keeps an audience track on standby?
LONELYYY~
I AM SO LONELYYY~
I HAVE NO BODYYYYY~
TO CALL MY OOOOOWN~
Even cities like Twilight Town (arguably one of the largest original cities in the game) is only inhabited by a sprinkle of people in specific locations. There are buildings everywhere: shops, platforms, even a train system, shouldn’t this be a more bustling city?? Of course, I’m not saying that every World needs a crap load of people, but I truly believe that just a little more effort and realism can be put into some of these environments.
The Third Fantasy: Fewer Familiar Worlds
Gosh, I can’t even think about this one with rolling my eyes. I suppose I’m a minority on this, but even though Hercules' World looks well constructed, and absolutely gorgeous in the new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer, I really, REALLY hope that this is the last time we see this place. Repeated Worlds have become quite the trope for this series, and while I understand that some revisiting is necessary in order to conclude certain story elements and so forth, there’s a difference between revisiting, and milking a World to DEATH. At least in The Coliseum’s and Traverse Town’s defense, they're both significantly expanded upon as the series progresses. For example, Olympus Coliseum includes "A Town Near Thebes" in Birth by Sleep, and the Underworld in Kingdom Hearts 2; while Traverse Town reveals an underground mailing system, new districts, and some additional alleyways in Dream Drop Distance. However, never-changing, tedious, and down-right irritating Worlds like Monstro have officially reached the height of repetitiveness and MUST go.
The Fourth Fantasy: Decent Pacing
After recently going back and replaying some of the Kingdom Hearts games, I can't help but notice that at times, the pacing can be rather.....strange. Some sequences go on a bit longer than they probably should, some dialogue is a bit drawn out, there are a surprising number of awkward silences. Even much of Dream Drop Distance feels as if it's just Sora and Riku literally trying to stay awake while various Xehanorts elaborate on how f*ked their situation is. While explanation and subtext is good, (I mean, who doesn’t like knowing what's going on?) there’s always such a thing as too much talking and not enough doing. Even the opposite can easily happen. There should be an adequate balance of both.
The Fifth Fantasy: A plot that isn’t completely reliant on the events of Kingdom Hearts Chi/Unchained Key/Union X
From watching the trailer above, it's apparent that the Master of Master’s mysterious Black Box is already a major plot point in this game. Which I don't mind, since I too, am curious of what it contains. However, I think that it would be a massive disappointment if the entire plot of KH3 was dependent upon the events of Back Cover, Unchained Key, and Union X. Despite how canon the story within these games and cinematics may be, there are quite a few other plots and issues that desperately need to be resolved before we attempt to tackle the many mysteries of those games. We still haven’t rescued Aqua, Terra is still a hostage of Xehanort, Xion is still forgotten, Roxas’s fate is still unknown, the 13 Darknesses still have to be revealed AND stopped, and (oh my garsh!) we still have no idea who the confirmed Guardians of Light are, do we? The point is, there is still very much to resolve already, therefore, saving some of these new mysteries for the next saga would be way better than trying to cram ALL of them into a single game.
The Sixth Fantasy: A Plot That Isn’t TOO Complicated.
We don’t need anymore time travel. We don’t need the birth of anymore Nobodies. We don’t need anymore replicas with an identity crisis, and we CERTAINLY don’t need anymore “dreams within dreams”. A couple of these elements have become their own tropes within the series, and they need to be forgotten. Let KH3 be a story that tackles the current mysteries and issues, without rehashing any of these other scenarios, or bringing anything else into the plot that will distort things further, and leave more holes.
The Seventh Fantasy: An Ending That Isn't A Bullsh*t Villain Cliche
“Oh, Xehanort wasn’t the bad guy! It was just a bigger, badder dude up there in the sky controlling him!” No. No. Don’t do that crap. Please don’t. This is his Saga, it’s almost over, the least you can do is let the man go out with a bit more dignity than that. Even if he is redeemed in some way, let it be in a way that is a little more than just: “Oh poor old man, he’s just a poor puppet! Oopsie!”
The Eighth Fantasy: An Actual Ending
Non-conclusive endings aren’t so bad if you’re only on the first installment of a franchise, and want to stir up excitement for sequels, but when you have over 6 titles, and are just now releasing the actual conclusion to those games, I think the fans deserve an ending that's worthy of being called a- well, ending.
The Ninth Fantasy: Enthused Voice Acting
I think this speaks for itself!
The Tenth Fantasy: A Unanimous Release Date
I don’t know how much control Tetsuya Nomura even has over this, but guessing from the other releases probably not much. Regardless, these unmatched release dates must stop. Yes, we know that Japan is Square’s favorite son, but releasing it there first, and subjecting everyone else to weeks of dodging spoilers online is just totally cruel, man. Totally. Can't we all bask in the glory of KH3 together?
The Eleventh Fantasy: At Least one Good Plot Twist.
I know this may seem contradictory to Fantasy #6, but believe it or not, it IS possible to have at least one good surprise without it being too over the top. Besides, whats an adventure without a few surprises? (“Good” surprises that is.)
The Twelfth Fantasy: An Actual Outfit Change for Lea. Seriously.
I'm all for Goth... I really am. But that ass-squeezing leather has got to smell like fresh brimstone and Yaoi angst by now. Lea's hanging with the good kids now, can’t he at least run home and find some decent clothes? Surely, he’s proven himself worthy of a few hundred zippers and a hoodie.
The Thirteenth, and Final Fantasy: Good Dialogue.
Not decent. Not passable. GOOD. No more awkward silences between lines, cringey sentiments you’d find on a fortune cookie, and no, absolutely NO forced laughter. Oh my Moogly-Goof, the forced laughter! Stop that. It’s not cute! Not even in fictional characters! KH3 will be good, I have no doubt about that, but even if it's not perfect, adhering to the golden rule of appropriate laughter would make this game and it's cut-scenes that much more amazing, and would instantly atone for a million sins.
Well! There’s my list. Even as I create this, I can think of a few more expectations, but these 13 are the most imperative to me. Of course, all of these are based solely on my own opinion and experiences, and I have no desire to impose these ideas upon anyone else. All in all, this has been another thought for the blog, and I can't wait to see what's in store for the future!
