If the City of Daybreak is out of commission, it seems likely, doesn't it? Not to mention the Mansion has many rooms (some blocked off from access in KH2), and at least 5 chairs in the dining room.... Is it possible? Perhaps we will know soon!
After meeting Union X's Lauriam, my imagination immediately took off with a myriad of ideas concerning the remaining Organization members. Demyx, Luxord, and Larxene have always had unknown backstories, but this recent Kingdom Hearts update has renewed my interest in their true origins and names. One thing that I really like to do while theorizing about names, is focus on the etymology and how it relates to the character in question. Meaningful names have always been a recurring characteristic of the Kingdom Hearts universe and its people. For example, Sora means "sky" which is fitting, because as the Sky connects many Worlds together, Sora connects many Hearts. Aqua means Water, Vanitas means Pride....And almost every other original character has a name that somehow reflects upon their own existence. Now, the reason I'm mention all of this is that, during my most recent research session, I came across an unusual factoid that could potentially mean something important in regards to the plot of Union X.
Out of mere curiosity, I choose the character Blaine and decided to look up the meaning of his name. It took a while to find, due to many resources not recognizing it as a commonly used name, but I finally came across a few resources that did. The name Blaine claims several points of origin, but the most prominent is that of Scottish root, and as I dug further, I found that there are two meanings for this name: thin, and yellow. In some translations, it can also be considered to mean "Little Yellow One". This stumped me. Not only did I not know how "thin" could relate to Blaine, but I didn't understand how a guy dressed in mostly black could be reflective of any bright colors at all, let alone Yellow. But, the more I thought about yellow, the more it struck me: What if black isn't really this guy's style? I mean, he has a trench-like coat, his face is covered by a hat, his hair is messily tucked into that hat...Sure, this could just be an intentionally messy style, but what if it's actually a disguise?
In my last article entitled Trouble in Paradise, I questioned the idea of Lauriam being Strelitzia's killer, and speculated over the possibility of it being someone else. Strelitzia was killed in a single strike. If Blaine is her killer, but is also Master Gula in disguise, then that would explain how the attack was fatal with just one strike. Fortellers are much, much stronger than the average Keyblade wielder, and when you fight them in-game, you require an incredible amount of experience just to survive their first attack. Due to her tendency to observe rather than engage, Strelitzia may not have had enough fighting experience to survive against someone like Gula, and he probably knew that. Also, when the "e" from Blaine is dropped, it interestingly enough becomes "blain" which is an animal disease.(link) The Foretellers all represent animals, so Blaine being a corrupt alter ego of the Leopard Gula also fits rather well.
But, there lies a lingering question....Exactly why would Gula do this? Before she is killed, Strelitzia is seen questioning the rules of the Union, and desperately wants to warn the Player about the oncoming War, despite Master Ava's wishes. If Gula somehow found out about such a thing, he could have seen this as a betrayal the Master of Master's word and killed her to shut her up. Another possibility is that Gula wasn't really satisfied with his performance as a Foreteller. The Master of Masters gave him the task of finding a supposed "traitor" hidden somewhere within the World of Daybreak, but Gula was unable to find one. This failure could have been an unacceptable defeat for a skeptic like Gula, so in order to continue his search, he could have gone undercover as an ordinary citizen. Now, Master Ava specifically stated that after the War, only Union leaders will have their memories of past events spared, but the rest of the Dandelions will be forced to forget. Undercover Gula couldn't risk this happening to him, or blow his cover, so he killed Strelitzia, and assumed her place as a Union member in order to preserve his mission. This could also explain why Blaine asked so many questions upon first meeting the others. He was underplaying his knowledge of Prophecies and rules in order to seem more authentic:
He was also assessing their personalities, as well as testing their integrity. His comparing of Skuld to Ava is a prime example.
Referring to her as "kid" could allude to him feeling older or more experienced than the rest of them...which would, once again, make perfect sense if he is indeed Master Gula.
And, that concludes my latest theory! There's still more yet to come, so stay tuned, stay hyped, and most of all, Stay Uncanny! ~
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!!
Well, today is July 15th, and the reveal of the new KH3 trailer at the D23 Expo will happen in less that six hours!!! Kingdom Hearts fans everywhere are super stoked for this new trailer and world reveal, and while we all wait, I thought it would only be fitting to go ahead and give my predictions for the trailer. Nomura has already assured us that this coming trailer will be the longest one yet, so here are the possible scenarios I'm looking towards: (1.) A scene that confirms the return of some (or all) of Organization members 9-12. And if not the members, then their "Somebody" equivalents. (2.) A scene that depicts Ventus waking up, or someone finally finding him. (3.) A scene that shows the progress of Lea and Kairi's Keyblade training. (4.) A scene that shows exactly when and how young Xehanort received the Keyblade "No Name." (5.) A scene that shows Terra-Xehanort/ False Ansem taking the Hearts of his apprentices in anything other than a first-person perspective. (6.) A scene that shows how Lea and Isa became Nobodies. (7.) A scene showing Braig going through with the "other plans" he mentions in the Re-Coded cutscene. (8.) A scene featuring the Lost Masters. (9.) A scene featuring the hearts of Eraqus and Terra communicating with one another. (10.) A scene that shows how Xehanort left the Islands, or how young Kairi landed on the Islands. Well, there are my predictions! Here's to hoping that whatever we get is ripe with mystery and wonder, and keeps us hyped for the eventual release of KH3! Stay Uncanny~
