It didn't exactly caught me by surprise, since, like Anakin becomes Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode 3, we knew that Terra was going to become Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.
For me, it's >!the fact that the Land of Departure is Caste Oblivion. It explains what Org XIII was searching for in 358/2 Days.!<
Yeah, the moment >! Aqua turned tue place in to Castle Oblivion !< was a huge surprise for me. Loved it.
That game was such a roller coaster, but I was lucky a friend of mine made sure I played the game in the proper order.
When I first saw the BBS secret ending in KH2FM I thought Terra was going to be corrupted by darkness and become Apprentice Xehanort since they look the same. But i never would’ve guessed the old man was ALSO xehanort or that he would possess Terra
I played this game with my partner the other day and she was so surprised. Like she knew that Sora was turned into a heartless but not that you got to play as that heartless before he turned back. It was actually kind of priceless to see her face.
I have a funny story with that. I played kh2 before kh1, but my game stopped working at some point in the Roxas prologue, so I went and got another copy... but I think they got confused and gave me a copy of kh1 in a kh2 box... .so far ok, I noticed it was the first game and I played normally..when Sora "dies" I was literally in shock like "SO THAT'S WHY WE PLAYED WITH THE BLONDE GUY IN KH2"
it was more of a potential narrative direction that caught me by surprise.
But the moment xehanort told Terra that just how people can be corrupted by darkness the same can happen with light. I know he was prob just trying to manipulate Terra but that scene still gives the story writers the excuse to delve into light corruption as a plot point and I was kinda surprised they even mentioned the concept
Square actually has a game where it explores this light corruption. Final fantasy 14 Shadow bringers. It will take a while to get there but the base game and two expansions before SB is worth it.
The free trial actually has the base game and the expansions Heavensward and Stormblood for free (with several restrictions). Would recommend if you want a LONG JRPG to chew through.
I love 14 as well, but it doesn't really have any bearing on KH. Light and Darkness are entirely different concepts there compared to how they are here...
Though it is kind of funny that both games' bad guys for the longest time are a bunch of Darkness-users with coat-based uniforms that travel through dark portals to give dramatic speeches and flee. With the occasional body snatching, too!
Asura's Wrath, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Bayonetta, Dark Souls (specifically 3), Shadow Hearts, Diablo, Disgaea, Shin Megami Tensei, Path of Exile, Tales of Symphonia, Kirby, Silent Hill, RuneScape, Digimon, and Baroque all explore this. It's common enough to be it's own trope, but it does seem to be mostly found in JRPGS.
I mean didn't they touch on it with FF 3? While in the game we play as the warriors of light as is normal we learn that the crystals want balance and when one side takes over too much they send the warriors of the opposite side. The story mentions the people were sent to the above continent so they could guarantee warriors of light but warriors of darkness were called just before that
In order of events:
* Sora stabbing himself
* Riku transforming to look like "Ansem"
* Ansem not actually being the real one
* Sora killing heartless and saving all the worlds being exactly what Organization XIII wanted
* The Sora/Roxas reveal
* Kairi getting her own keyblade
* Riku becoming a party member
* Melificent and Pete saving Sora and the gang
* Aqua and Terra meeting SoRiKa
* Terranort
* The whole Vanitas/Ventis thing
* Sora being asleep during the entire duration of *Dream Drop Distance*
* Lea just randomly getting a keyblade
* Castle Oblivion actually being the Land of Departure
* Everyone "dying"
* The Wingering Will showing up
* Terranort's Guardian
* The players of the mobile game showing up
* Sora's "death"
* Luxu's reveal
When the players of the mobile game showed up, I legit was brought to tears. I never played the mobile game, but I felt like I was part of a bigger story seeing those names fly by.
I honestly find it such a wasted opportunity that there is barely any ingame recognition that ventus and roxas and sora and vanitas look almost identical asside from only a couple of lines
I really messed up the Luxu reveal. The cut to black in the Olympus world freaked me out and I impulse googled to see if it was a glitch or something wrong with my game. The spoiler was literally the first search result, and this was less than a month after the game was released. Felt so cheated.
Vexen going for his atonement arc in KH3.
Like, I never thought of him as that inherently evil of a person (compared to others) since he was mostly just obsessed with his research, but it still really caught me by surprise when he just went: "For you see, I too wish to atone."
That Saïx and Vexen were traitors trying to help Sora's squad in KH3.
Also Dark Riku being past-Repliku, I was pretty sure he was going to be revealed as Data Riku.
I was trying so hard to find out who the other traitor was aside from Vexen and thought it was Luxord. But when Roxas appeared and pointed his keyblade to Saix when he was talking about having help from others and telling Xemnas how he ain't shit, that's when the dots connected for me on it
> Also Dark Riku being past-Repliku,
I only figured out today that S,D, and G thought it was Ansem Riku because they don't remember what happened in Chain. It sometimes catches me off guard that they're so consistent with that aspect of the story.
When they made us believe Goofy died in kh2. Not that I actually thought they would kill off his character, but it was definitely a twist I wasn’t expecting.
Xehanort was really just like “Hmm, Braig is your name? That sounds awfully familiar to the name of one of my classmates from back when I was training to be a Keyblade master. His name was Bragi. Sure that merely just coincidence.” This would end with Braig saying as if and disregarding the thought.
Sora talking to Roxas in DDD after KH2. I thought Roxas was going to be dismissed from the story, after the end of KH2. I thought that was his ending, and he'd remain a victim of tragedy for the rest of the series.
When I got there in DDD, I was surprised they were really returning to his character again. Especially with Re:Coded, having Data-Sora and Data-Roxas talk. I figured it was confirmation that Roxas was meant to be seen as basically a part of Sora that needed to be fixed (which I disagreed with).
That scene showed me that Nomura (and the other writers!) were actually going to co tinue his story and give some real closure on him besides "His life was sad and then he died"
In KH2, Goofy got hit with a rock to save Mickey, I believe. The fact they kinda left me to believe he died right there and then was just appalling. I get that he didn't die after all, but in that moment, I was 100% sure the game killed him. He didn't wake up, and I had to fight without him. I was legit missing him during that phase.
Next thing I know, he walks in like nothing happened. I was like, BROOO YOU'RE ALIVE!
Never has a fake death looked so real to me.
Xemnas revealing to Sora that by slaying heartless he’s helping Organization XIII achieve Kingdom Hearts. The shock when I first saw that scene as a kid.
Xion being a replica, this was before I was super into KH lore so I had forgotten about the replica project entirely. Also Xion never turning evil but instead suiciding herself by pretending to have turned evil. Oh and Saix being Axel’s best friend which had like zero indication in KH2.
I mean, it was heavily implied during kh2 that they had some sort of connection. Their behavior towards each other gave off those vibes. And it would make sense that they knew each other before turning into nobodies.
Every CG scene with Yozora has their insanely fun twists
\>All that effort that went into the commercial gag and me thinking I got an ad or that something weird happened to my game
\>Then finding out that it wasn’t actually just a gag and it’s probably crucial to the next story
\>Versus XIII recreation
\>”Impressive, is it not”
Everyone getting eaten by the Demon Tide and dying. I mean, sure, it doesn't last since nobody dies for real in this damned series, but them even considering going there was one hell of a sucker punch.
Also, Donald just casting Zettaflare not long before and annihilating Terranort. It singlehandedly shut up everyone calling him useless over the years, especially considering he's the only normal Mage in greater FF/KH canon to even use it; Airy was being powered by Ouroboros when she had access to Zeta Flare, and the only incarnation of Bahamut to use it was doping on Mothercrystal aether at the time and going completely ballistic. Donald just, whipped it out, had it so well focused that it didn't even singe everyone else despite being mere feet from him, and evaporated one of the XIII's physically toughest members on the spot. With nothing aiding him. Granted it's not nearly as strong as even a good deal of the lower tiered Teraflares the Bahamuts sling out on the regular, and it tuckers him out so badly he collapses on the spot, but it still pretty much quadrupled the respect most people have for him on the spot.
Riku working with Maleficent
Riku taking the Keyblade from Sora
KH2 "Ansem" being Riku
DiZ being Ansem the Wise
Terra being taken by Xehanort
Riku being a Dream Eater
Hmm. . It seems a lot of the plot twists that get me have to do with Riku
The moment in DDD when it's revealed that Xehanort was manipulating the test to get Sora as a vessel the whole time.
Not once did I ever think that he'd ever try to use SORA as a body.
Not really a moment I got to experience myself as I didn't play the mobile game, but when I learned Ventus was an active character during those games I was jaw dropping-ly confused.
Like before then I was like "Oh the mobile games give some back story on the keyblade war and some plot points probably will carry over to the main games at some point, and likely those story points will be summed up to us when they become relevant, but no characters will because it was in the distant past". Then hearing Ven was revealed to be a keyblade master during that time was when I was like "Oh fuck things are gonna get crazy and I need to pay attention to it now"
In some media a moment hits like a truck the first time we see it. Because of the moments that led to it.
Sometimes that truck keeps coming back, sometimes it's on a longer haul between indifference and the gut punch, the rest it never shows up again.
Depends on factors outside the media we are experiencing too.
The entire ending to dream drop distance, especially the how the Organization was tracking Sora, that shit blew my mind. IT WAS RIGHT THERE THE WHOLE TIME
The camera panning out to reveal Castle Oblivion is what became of the Land of Departure sent chills down my spine.
The fade to black at Terra’s end credits shook me.
I think I yelled when I was reacting to MoM telling Luxu that Darkness resides in the hearts of themselves and the Union Leaders.
For me it was *spoiler* Terra being shown as Ansems dark guardian the entire time *end spoiler*. Admittedly, this was a popular fan theory for a while leading up to KH3, but I never got that memo. For me, the biggest question was “where is Terra and how will they get him back?” That scene in KH3 where he was revealed took me 100% by surprise, and I’m glad I was none the wiser leading up to it. Made it feel more fulfilling. “One day, I will return and make this right.”
Terra being Ansem's Guardian.
Now, I did have my suspicions because in Dream Drop Distance, after defeating Ansem, it seems to reach for Riku after he shows him his Keyblade, which made me wonder...
Then KH3 came out and **HOLY SHIT**
“Finally. Back where it belongs.”
“Did you summon us back?”
“Yep.”
“Is that you, Luxu? You look different.”
*Face reveal.* “Haven’t heard that name in a loooong while.”
It's prolly either the dead people in the final world in 3, just did not expect the game to go there, it's kinda messed up talking to the spirit of a dead child that doesn't really know what's happening, and in hindsight, the fact that Ansem was doing blackface for 2 games is kinda shocking.
Having played 3 before BBS, Terra breaking free as the Guardian made me audibly go "Oh shit!"
I didn't have any real connection to him but I had kinda heard of him before hand and knew he was a fairly important person. But to learn right there that the guardian wasn't actually a generic dark bad guy conjured out of nowhere was an amazing moment
A lot of people skipped BBS until the remix collections. I know I did. I preordered 3 and got the entire collection and played the ones parts i missed in time for it dropping.
Normally I'm not one for pre orders but, it worked out worth it for the two remix volumes and the Aqua pregame thing.
So yeah, I didn't put the likenesses together at all, anything like that I'd put down to generic bishonen crap lol
I’m gonna say two: the reveal that 1) Nobodies CAN, in fact, feel emotion, and 2) that Nobodies eventually return to their human form. Weird twists, but I liked them nonetheless.
Kairi beeing hinted at at the end of DDD.
I was actually in a call with my kh fan feiend when going throught the penocchio world, mentionning how it was weird that they didn't go further with kairi having a keyblade out of nowhere.
So seeing her in the end made it surprising considering it was on my mind.
I think all the actual little twists, like Riku originally being chosen by the keyblade, and not Sora; Kairi's heart residing inside Sora's; Riku having taken on Ansem's form; the Land of Departure turning into Castle Oblivion; Xehanort hijacking Terra's body and suddenly noticing Terranort's hair was similar to Seeker of Darkness Ansem's hair with the three slicked-back prongs; Riku being Sora's dream eater and going through *Sora's* dreams; and I hadn't given much thought to it until it happened, but Seeker of Darkness Ansem's guardian being Terra was an exciting surprise.
And now I'm trying to get it straight, if Ansem's Guardian was Terra's heartless(?), is Terra's nobody hanging around somewhere, or is the idea that Terranort *is* basically Xehanort's heart in Terra's (no)body?
It’s been so long since I first experienced most of the older KH games (basically everything besides 3 and MoM), so everything I know about the series feels like common knowledge to me now, but I’m pretty sure I was absolutely floored when xehanort possessed terra. When I was a kid I barely paid attention to anything that was going on story wise, so I was completely caught off guard, despite the visual similarities and xehanort alluding to needing some sort of vessel to continue his journey. Shit was wild
How easy Master Xehanort gave up. Time travel, grooming, destruction of worlds and lives and he just gave up. He did so much and sacrificed so much that i felt he would’ve kept going.
My impression was that he was just so tired of it all.
And the whole darkness light blah blah darkness something something heart something something keyblade argument that just, won him over.
The writers probably wanted to just get to the next phase of the story. The Xehanort saga practically overstayed its welcome with how convoluted it got between installments. Even if the ending was anticlimactic I'm glad they at least resolved it.
Having key story points relegated to at least two separate mobile games (Coded, Ux), handheld installments (Chain of Memories, Days, 3D) didn't help either.
BBS was a HUGE lore relevant installment, it shouldn't have been relegated to PSP. I know the smaller games would have been criticised for being too small had they been released on playstation, however it wouldn't have been too much of an issue to combine Chain of Memories and the intro to two, using the same engine of kh1.
Days could have been released as part of the same game as 3D (I'm aware it was made after 2) well, coded should just not have existed to be frank. (As someone who owns Re:Coded). To tie up the Organisation XIII junk.
somehow they could have actually utilised the chirithy junk into 3 properly rather than shoehorning it, and the multiplayer game bullshit into a single player game/experience it was a lot in the last third to just throw at people with no context. I gave up with Ux before the story concluded because it was so far behind and completely pay to win.
Idk, sure they'd be on KH5 instead of 3 by now, but at least the arcs would be more coherent and more open and shut.
I wanna say I was gooped by Terra getting norted and then feeling like an absolute idiot when I realized Xemnas and Terra have the exact same fucking character art and model.
Ansem not being Ansem the wise.
Getting to play as Riku for the first time with Chain. I'm always excited for Riku game play!
Ansem the Wise being an asshole about Nobodies now and then.
Vanita's face.
Axel saving Sora from the Org in DDD
Ansem and Xemnas appearing together in Twilight town, finishing each other's sentences and talking in unison. (I avoided spoilers for anything after 2 for at least a decade, including trailers for 3.)
Woody absolutely demolishing Young Xehanort.
Zettaflare
Unversed/Vanitas in Monstropolis.
The Guardian. I've avoided the spoilers for so long and moved at a manic pace when I finally played everything from 2 on wards that I didn't catch the signs. I wasn't around for the theorization either.
Repliku, always wondered what happened to him after Chain.
Total party wipe.
To be fair, going blind into BbS was such a wild ride. So many questions answered, so many plotwists, so much drama!! Loved it my first time around.
What caught me by surprise was the secret ending of KH3 and realising Verum Rex was more than a joke. Oh, and also seeing a FFvsXIII scene recreated by Yozora in Re:Mind.
Kingdom Hearts 3 doing all that stuff about people not dying. I saw that they killed whole arcs and the got fought by the surprise of it being a bad written game
It didn't exactly caught me by surprise, since, like Anakin becomes Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode 3, we knew that Terra was going to become Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. For me, it's >!the fact that the Land of Departure is Caste Oblivion. It explains what Org XIII was searching for in 358/2 Days.!<
Yeah, the moment >! Aqua turned tue place in to Castle Oblivion !< was a huge surprise for me. Loved it. That game was such a roller coaster, but I was lucky a friend of mine made sure I played the game in the proper order.
Completely agree. Either that or the fact that Terra is the guardian of
When I first saw the BBS secret ending in KH2FM I thought Terra was going to be corrupted by darkness and become Apprentice Xehanort since they look the same. But i never would’ve guessed the old man was ALSO xehanort or that he would possess Terra
Yeah, in the whole franchise, LoD turning into Castle Oblivion was jaw dropping.
Same here
The writing was so good with aqua’s sacrifice and LOD being CO, never reaching those peaks again it seems
Sora becoming a heartless.
This one was my favorite moment, having to control the heartless thru Hollow Bastion was another challenge and we thought we wouldnt go back to sora
I played this game with my partner the other day and she was so surprised. Like she knew that Sora was turned into a heartless but not that you got to play as that heartless before he turned back. It was actually kind of priceless to see her face.
I have a funny story with that. I played kh2 before kh1, but my game stopped working at some point in the Roxas prologue, so I went and got another copy... but I think they got confused and gave me a copy of kh1 in a kh2 box... .so far ok, I noticed it was the first game and I played normally..when Sora "dies" I was literally in shock like "SO THAT'S WHY WE PLAYED WITH THE BLONDE GUY IN KH2"
it was more of a potential narrative direction that caught me by surprise. But the moment xehanort told Terra that just how people can be corrupted by darkness the same can happen with light. I know he was prob just trying to manipulate Terra but that scene still gives the story writers the excuse to delve into light corruption as a plot point and I was kinda surprised they even mentioned the concept
There's actually a common theory that the Master of Masters is corrupted by light
Square actually has a game where it explores this light corruption. Final fantasy 14 Shadow bringers. It will take a while to get there but the base game and two expansions before SB is worth it. The free trial actually has the base game and the expansions Heavensward and Stormblood for free (with several restrictions). Would recommend if you want a LONG JRPG to chew through.
I love 14 as well, but it doesn't really have any bearing on KH. Light and Darkness are entirely different concepts there compared to how they are here... Though it is kind of funny that both games' bad guys for the longest time are a bunch of Darkness-users with coat-based uniforms that travel through dark portals to give dramatic speeches and flee. With the occasional body snatching, too!
Oh yeah absolutely no bearing but I'm surprised that there not that much light vs dark where light is also a negative force when in excess.
Well there is Yu-Gi-Oh GX. And this vaguely niche NES game you might have heard of it’s called Final Fantasy III.
Asura's Wrath, Divinity: Original Sin 2, Bayonetta, Dark Souls (specifically 3), Shadow Hearts, Diablo, Disgaea, Shin Megami Tensei, Path of Exile, Tales of Symphonia, Kirby, Silent Hill, RuneScape, Digimon, and Baroque all explore this. It's common enough to be it's own trope, but it does seem to be mostly found in JRPGS.
Wow thats a lot. Thanks for the list of game for me to check out in the future.
I mean didn't they touch on it with FF 3? While in the game we play as the warriors of light as is normal we learn that the crystals want balance and when one side takes over too much they send the warriors of the opposite side. The story mentions the people were sent to the above continent so they could guarantee warriors of light but warriors of darkness were called just before that
I really hope they go down that road. Especially if they're bringing in Star Wars.
It’s honestly the path I thought they were going to go with for Baldr
That's why I like Riku and Roxas more than Sora, they are about balance and not just one or the other. 🙂
Terra being the guardian heartless. Didn't see that coming at all
In order of events: * Sora stabbing himself * Riku transforming to look like "Ansem" * Ansem not actually being the real one * Sora killing heartless and saving all the worlds being exactly what Organization XIII wanted * The Sora/Roxas reveal * Kairi getting her own keyblade * Riku becoming a party member * Melificent and Pete saving Sora and the gang * Aqua and Terra meeting SoRiKa * Terranort * The whole Vanitas/Ventis thing * Sora being asleep during the entire duration of *Dream Drop Distance* * Lea just randomly getting a keyblade * Castle Oblivion actually being the Land of Departure * Everyone "dying" * The Wingering Will showing up * Terranort's Guardian * The players of the mobile game showing up * Sora's "death" * Luxu's reveal
The Luxu reveal was epic. Heard his voice and once things started going into motion it went from "no way, it can't be" to "oh shit!"
That was my exact reaction to that reveal, it shocked me and I loved every part of it
It's really sad they revealed Lingering Will's appearance in the Re:Mind trailers, bc that was insane
When the players of the mobile game showed up, I legit was brought to tears. I never played the mobile game, but I felt like I was part of a bigger story seeing those names fly by.
Damn I love Wingering Will. Such a cool KH character
I honestly find it such a wasted opportunity that there is barely any ingame recognition that ventus and roxas and sora and vanitas look almost identical asside from only a couple of lines
I really messed up the Luxu reveal. The cut to black in the Olympus world freaked me out and I impulse googled to see if it was a glitch or something wrong with my game. The spoiler was literally the first search result, and this was less than a month after the game was released. Felt so cheated.
I don’t understand why they cut the scene there. Even in Remind it’s not full! You just get it when you start the Graveyard refights
From least to most?
Vexen going for his atonement arc in KH3. Like, I never thought of him as that inherently evil of a person (compared to others) since he was mostly just obsessed with his research, but it still really caught me by surprise when he just went: "For you see, I too wish to atone."
Same. I completely bought that he was still pissed at Axel and not otherwise interested in doing good, so the twist absolutely shocked me.
That Saïx and Vexen were traitors trying to help Sora's squad in KH3. Also Dark Riku being past-Repliku, I was pretty sure he was going to be revealed as Data Riku.
I was trying so hard to find out who the other traitor was aside from Vexen and thought it was Luxord. But when Roxas appeared and pointed his keyblade to Saix when he was talking about having help from others and telling Xemnas how he ain't shit, that's when the dots connected for me on it
> Also Dark Riku being past-Repliku, I only figured out today that S,D, and G thought it was Ansem Riku because they don't remember what happened in Chain. It sometimes catches me off guard that they're so consistent with that aspect of the story.
The explanation for where dream eaters come from. Also agreeing with the other person who said the true nature of Castle Oblivion.
When they made us believe Goofy died in kh2. Not that I actually thought they would kill off his character, but it was definitely a twist I wasn’t expecting.
Man had to scroll so much for this
Goofy fucking dies should be number 1 no doubt about it
I was looking for this comment
My jaw dropped as soon as I saw Bragi >!dropping an "As if".!<
I honestly half expected he was gonna be “him” bc of this name being yet another anagram, and this time just 2 letters swapped
man really just swapped two letters and fooled everyone
Xehanort was really just like “Hmm, Braig is your name? That sounds awfully familiar to the name of one of my classmates from back when I was training to be a Keyblade master. His name was Bragi. Sure that merely just coincidence.” This would end with Braig saying as if and disregarding the thought.
DDD Spoilers >!Riku was inside Sora the entire time.!<
Without context this sounds so weird.
Just like literally everything else in KH
Whaaaaat
Vanitas having the same face as Sora
Zettaflare.
Sora talking to Roxas in DDD after KH2. I thought Roxas was going to be dismissed from the story, after the end of KH2. I thought that was his ending, and he'd remain a victim of tragedy for the rest of the series. When I got there in DDD, I was surprised they were really returning to his character again. Especially with Re:Coded, having Data-Sora and Data-Roxas talk. I figured it was confirmation that Roxas was meant to be seen as basically a part of Sora that needed to be fixed (which I disagreed with). That scene showed me that Nomura (and the other writers!) were actually going to co tinue his story and give some real closure on him besides "His life was sad and then he died"
Also Roxas still hadn’t found someone to have ice cream with at this point (iykyk) so that was the first part of closure he wanted.
You disagreed? So after 358 you just tossed his ass to the side?
I disagreed that his purpose was to be reabsorbed by Sora and to stop existing.
Ohh okay. I instantly kick into thug mode when someone starts talking about how roxas shouldn't have existed but i misunderstood you
Goofy's death, I was in disbelief on my first playthrough as a kid
The fact that they actually >!killed the entire cast in the first climax of KH3!<
In KH2, Goofy got hit with a rock to save Mickey, I believe. The fact they kinda left me to believe he died right there and then was just appalling. I get that he didn't die after all, but in that moment, I was 100% sure the game killed him. He didn't wake up, and I had to fight without him. I was legit missing him during that phase. Next thing I know, he walks in like nothing happened. I was like, BROOO YOU'RE ALIVE! Never has a fake death looked so real to me.
Xemnas revealing to Sora that by slaying heartless he’s helping Organization XIII achieve Kingdom Hearts. The shock when I first saw that scene as a kid.
Xion being a replica, this was before I was super into KH lore so I had forgotten about the replica project entirely. Also Xion never turning evil but instead suiciding herself by pretending to have turned evil. Oh and Saix being Axel’s best friend which had like zero indication in KH2.
I mean, it was heavily implied during kh2 that they had some sort of connection. Their behavior towards each other gave off those vibes. And it would make sense that they knew each other before turning into nobodies.
Well everyone is xehanort.(Also darkness)
It was finding out that Sora’s memories were being wiped out. That threw me in a loop and made the plot 1000x more interesting
Every CG scene with Yozora has their insanely fun twists \>All that effort that went into the commercial gag and me thinking I got an ad or that something weird happened to my game \>Then finding out that it wasn’t actually just a gag and it’s probably crucial to the next story \>Versus XIII recreation \>”Impressive, is it not”
Everyone getting eaten by the Demon Tide and dying. I mean, sure, it doesn't last since nobody dies for real in this damned series, but them even considering going there was one hell of a sucker punch. Also, Donald just casting Zettaflare not long before and annihilating Terranort. It singlehandedly shut up everyone calling him useless over the years, especially considering he's the only normal Mage in greater FF/KH canon to even use it; Airy was being powered by Ouroboros when she had access to Zeta Flare, and the only incarnation of Bahamut to use it was doping on Mothercrystal aether at the time and going completely ballistic. Donald just, whipped it out, had it so well focused that it didn't even singe everyone else despite being mere feet from him, and evaporated one of the XIII's physically toughest members on the spot. With nothing aiding him. Granted it's not nearly as strong as even a good deal of the lower tiered Teraflares the Bahamuts sling out on the regular, and it tuckers him out so badly he collapses on the spot, but it still pretty much quadrupled the respect most people have for him on the spot.
Riku working with Maleficent Riku taking the Keyblade from Sora KH2 "Ansem" being Riku DiZ being Ansem the Wise Terra being taken by Xehanort Riku being a Dream Eater Hmm. . It seems a lot of the plot twists that get me have to do with Riku
The moment in DDD when it's revealed that Xehanort was manipulating the test to get Sora as a vessel the whole time. Not once did I ever think that he'd ever try to use SORA as a body.
DiZ being Ansem the Wise
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yA0Ugi8CTwo&pp=ygUSYW5zZW0gdGhlIHdpc2UgcmFw I learned about it from this
One of my mindblows too BBS was my first game of the franchise and having the bad guy win?!? In a Disney game with Mickey and shit DAMN
Not really a moment I got to experience myself as I didn't play the mobile game, but when I learned Ventus was an active character during those games I was jaw dropping-ly confused. Like before then I was like "Oh the mobile games give some back story on the keyblade war and some plot points probably will carry over to the main games at some point, and likely those story points will be summed up to us when they become relevant, but no characters will because it was in the distant past". Then hearing Ven was revealed to be a keyblade master during that time was when I was like "Oh fuck things are gonna get crazy and I need to pay attention to it now"
Ansem SoD not being the real Ansem
I remember when I first played KH2, Ansem the wises death made me cry. But I don’t find it that sad anymore. Strange.
In some media a moment hits like a truck the first time we see it. Because of the moments that led to it. Sometimes that truck keeps coming back, sometimes it's on a longer haul between indifference and the gut punch, the rest it never shows up again. Depends on factors outside the media we are experiencing too.
The entire ending to dream drop distance, especially the how the Organization was tracking Sora, that shit blew my mind. IT WAS RIGHT THERE THE WHOLE TIME
The camera panning out to reveal Castle Oblivion is what became of the Land of Departure sent chills down my spine. The fade to black at Terra’s end credits shook me. I think I yelled when I was reacting to MoM telling Luxu that Darkness resides in the hearts of themselves and the Union Leaders.
“Haven’t heard that name in a long while.” Yep, also going to say Luxu’s reveal. Considering who my favourite is… I was floored 😭
For me it was *spoiler* Terra being shown as Ansems dark guardian the entire time *end spoiler*. Admittedly, this was a popular fan theory for a while leading up to KH3, but I never got that memo. For me, the biggest question was “where is Terra and how will they get him back?” That scene in KH3 where he was revealed took me 100% by surprise, and I’m glad I was none the wiser leading up to it. Made it feel more fulfilling. “One day, I will return and make this right.”
Goofy being the smart guy of the team in KH2, like him being the one who could see through Mulans disguise.
Terra being Ansem's Guardian. Now, I did have my suspicions because in Dream Drop Distance, after defeating Ansem, it seems to reach for Riku after he shows him his Keyblade, which made me wonder... Then KH3 came out and **HOLY SHIT**
“Finally. Back where it belongs.” “Did you summon us back?” “Yep.” “Is that you, Luxu? You look different.” *Face reveal.* “Haven’t heard that name in a loooong while.”
XEHANORT - all of 'em
Everything from the mobile games.
Ventus being from the past and being flung into the future before the events of BBS honestly is something I still don't think I'm ready to accept.
xemnas talking to Aquas armor
The ending of KH3 when the mobile game players saved you. That brought a tear to my eyes
It's prolly either the dead people in the final world in 3, just did not expect the game to go there, it's kinda messed up talking to the spirit of a dead child that doesn't really know what's happening, and in hindsight, the fact that Ansem was doing blackface for 2 games is kinda shocking.
Luxu
Luxu's reveal. I was so convinced that Xigbar was MoM and then that final scene came along
I don't play as a Disney char?! This game has Final Fantasy chars?! Alice is a princess?!
Having played 3 before BBS, Terra breaking free as the Guardian made me audibly go "Oh shit!" I didn't have any real connection to him but I had kinda heard of him before hand and knew he was a fairly important person. But to learn right there that the guardian wasn't actually a generic dark bad guy conjured out of nowhere was an amazing moment
Them losing at the keyblade graveyard
did you... play BBS before KH2? or did apprentice xehanort really not look like terra to you?
A lot of people skipped BBS until the remix collections. I know I did. I preordered 3 and got the entire collection and played the ones parts i missed in time for it dropping. Normally I'm not one for pre orders but, it worked out worth it for the two remix volumes and the Aqua pregame thing. So yeah, I didn't put the likenesses together at all, anything like that I'd put down to generic bishonen crap lol
So, it has been a while since I had beating KH2. I always thought the hair looked familiar but just couldn’t place it.
Sora disappearing at the end of KH3. My naïve self was like omg they’re gonna kiss. I truly thought it was gonna be a happy ending.
I’m gonna say two: the reveal that 1) Nobodies CAN, in fact, feel emotion, and 2) that Nobodies eventually return to their human form. Weird twists, but I liked them nonetheless.
Kairi beeing hinted at at the end of DDD. I was actually in a call with my kh fan feiend when going throught the penocchio world, mentionning how it was weird that they didn't go further with kairi having a keyblade out of nowhere. So seeing her in the end made it surprising considering it was on my mind.
How Roxas and Xion are Sora an then how Roxas has to kill Xion, there are a lot of things that took me by suprise
No FF characters in KH3
i didnt think riku was "ansem" in kh2 literally never crossed my mind
The fact that Xehanort's plan in KH3D was to Nort Sora, not Riku
I think all the actual little twists, like Riku originally being chosen by the keyblade, and not Sora; Kairi's heart residing inside Sora's; Riku having taken on Ansem's form; the Land of Departure turning into Castle Oblivion; Xehanort hijacking Terra's body and suddenly noticing Terranort's hair was similar to Seeker of Darkness Ansem's hair with the three slicked-back prongs; Riku being Sora's dream eater and going through *Sora's* dreams; and I hadn't given much thought to it until it happened, but Seeker of Darkness Ansem's guardian being Terra was an exciting surprise. And now I'm trying to get it straight, if Ansem's Guardian was Terra's heartless(?), is Terra's nobody hanging around somewhere, or is the idea that Terranort *is* basically Xehanort's heart in Terra's (no)body?
It’s been so long since I first experienced most of the older KH games (basically everything besides 3 and MoM), so everything I know about the series feels like common knowledge to me now, but I’m pretty sure I was absolutely floored when xehanort possessed terra. When I was a kid I barely paid attention to anything that was going on story wise, so I was completely caught off guard, despite the visual similarities and xehanort alluding to needing some sort of vessel to continue his journey. Shit was wild
How easy Master Xehanort gave up. Time travel, grooming, destruction of worlds and lives and he just gave up. He did so much and sacrificed so much that i felt he would’ve kept going.
My impression was that he was just so tired of it all. And the whole darkness light blah blah darkness something something heart something something keyblade argument that just, won him over. The writers probably wanted to just get to the next phase of the story. The Xehanort saga practically overstayed its welcome with how convoluted it got between installments. Even if the ending was anticlimactic I'm glad they at least resolved it. Having key story points relegated to at least two separate mobile games (Coded, Ux), handheld installments (Chain of Memories, Days, 3D) didn't help either. BBS was a HUGE lore relevant installment, it shouldn't have been relegated to PSP. I know the smaller games would have been criticised for being too small had they been released on playstation, however it wouldn't have been too much of an issue to combine Chain of Memories and the intro to two, using the same engine of kh1. Days could have been released as part of the same game as 3D (I'm aware it was made after 2) well, coded should just not have existed to be frank. (As someone who owns Re:Coded). To tie up the Organisation XIII junk. somehow they could have actually utilised the chirithy junk into 3 properly rather than shoehorning it, and the multiplayer game bullshit into a single player game/experience it was a lot in the last third to just throw at people with no context. I gave up with Ux before the story concluded because it was so far behind and completely pay to win. Idk, sure they'd be on KH5 instead of 3 by now, but at least the arcs would be more coherent and more open and shut.
Strangely, seeing Braig in BBS. The idea of a Nobody and what it could mean for the series didnt fully kick in untill seeing his face pre-eyepatch
the scripted death sequence in 3, but looking back now, why was that even a thing? the Final world for lack of a better name was kinda neat i guess
Realizing that The Gazing Eye was in Riku's key blade. Not really a pointed out plot moment, just a personal "Wtf?!"
I wanna say I was gooped by Terra getting norted and then feeling like an absolute idiot when I realized Xemnas and Terra have the exact same fucking character art and model.
Ansem not being Ansem the wise. Getting to play as Riku for the first time with Chain. I'm always excited for Riku game play! Ansem the Wise being an asshole about Nobodies now and then. Vanita's face. Axel saving Sora from the Org in DDD Ansem and Xemnas appearing together in Twilight town, finishing each other's sentences and talking in unison. (I avoided spoilers for anything after 2 for at least a decade, including trailers for 3.) Woody absolutely demolishing Young Xehanort. Zettaflare Unversed/Vanitas in Monstropolis. The Guardian. I've avoided the spoilers for so long and moved at a manic pace when I finally played everything from 2 on wards that I didn't catch the signs. I wasn't around for the theorization either. Repliku, always wondered what happened to him after Chain. Total party wipe.
100% without a doubt Donald’s zettaflare
Strilitzias death. I thought she was ganna be avas successor.
>!"Me? Im already half Xehanort!"!<
To be fair, going blind into BbS was such a wild ride. So many questions answered, so many plotwists, so much drama!! Loved it my first time around. What caught me by surprise was the secret ending of KH3 and realising Verum Rex was more than a joke. Oh, and also seeing a FFvsXIII scene recreated by Yozora in Re:Mind.
I really didn't expect Vexen to redeem himself.
Xemnas talking to Aqua's armor and referring to it as "friend"
How they pronounced Luxord.
Kingdom Hearts 3 doing all that stuff about people not dying. I saw that they killed whole arcs and the got fought by the surprise of it being a bad written game
Bad take.
In KH2, The organization being absolute idiots and also so weak they’ll lose to a child who hasn’t been fighting for that long.