Kingdom Hearts/Headscratchers/Headscratchers Three

See also:

• • Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
  • Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
  • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
  • Kingdom Hearts II
  • Kingdom Hearts coded
  • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

• • Kingdom Hearts
  • Kingdom Hearts

• What exactly will happen at the very end anyway? Will the darkness be destroyed and only light will shine, or will darkness and light be in equal harmony? Many characters have conflicting views over it. For instance, Master Eraqus and Kairi's grandmother believe that light is absolute. But Master Xehanort and King Mickey believe in balance between light and dark.
  • Master Eraqus seemed to realize that light was not absolute shortly before he "died". As for Kairi's grandmother, she was technically just telling a children's story.
  • It should be assumed that in the end the balance should be restored. Or maybe overturn it a bit in the light's favour, since I think (if I remember correctly) that they are continuing after the Xehanort dilemma, it would be interesting to see Sora try to have to fight the light if he accidentally tips the scale too much in the light's favour.
• Axel's stance on sea-salt ice cream. Lea liked it, and 358/2 Days shows that Axel obviously does. In the Reverse/Rebirth credits, however, he stares at it dubiously and then chokes on the first bite.
  • He wasn't sure if he was hungry enough for dessert, and once he ate it got brain freeze from biting too big a piece.
  • Maybe Twilight Town uses a slightly different recipe than Radiant Garden's?
  • Maybe he had a sudden rush of memories? I could see Nobodies needing their memories jogged -- I find it hard to believe that they'd be born remembering their whole human lives.
• Aladdin, you had a magical lamp that can grant you any three things in the universe at all (minus life, death, and love) and you decided that your best bet was to waste one on getting rid of about 12 Heartless. There are three experienced fighters standing right in front of you, and you gave up one of your three uses of phenomenal cosmic power on about 12 guys.
  • Maybe there was a musical number planned, but the backup dancers and assorted animals were out on holiday?
• Could a female Nobody get pregnant, and if so, what would the child be?
  • You know, that is a very good question. And definitely not one I have an answer to (especially if you involve hearts into the matter). Really, the biology is there and their bodies can change, so the real question would be "Does reproducing in KH have anything to do with the heart?" If it does, then the answer would be "No, they couldn't". If it doesn't, then the REAL question would be "Would the child have a heart?" Really, the only thing I can tell you is either find and ask Nomura or fanfic it.
  • AWESOME. PURE AWESOME. ...If a Nobody could reproduce, then could Heartless? Would a Heartless/Nobody child-spawn creature have all the parts (Heart, soul, body)? ...Okay, so maybe this should be under Wild Mass Guessing.
  • I doubt it. Nobodies don't have hearts, and they're made from other people losing their hearts. If they tried to reproduce, the child presumably also wouldn't have a heart. So here's the question: do two Nobody parents=Baby Nobody? And if so, where does the body come from? If two Nobodies reproduce in a way that doesn't require a normal person to lose their heart, then the child wouldn't technically be a Nobody. Here's something else to think about: Nobodies don't have real feelings, and don't seem to have the human urge to do it. So why would they? And why would they even have a child? If a nobody found out they were pregnant, for the sake of this discussion let's say Larxene, why would she ever want to take the time to raise a baby? She's Axe Crazy.
• So I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, as I'm wont to do, but does anyone know what in the hell that star-shaped door-thingy in Traverse Town is? You know, that thing next to the gate to the first district, next to that exposed bit of wiring you zap with a Thunder spell? It's never explained, and so far as I know, has nothing to do with any Disney movie like the Lady and the Tramp fountain. Is there actually any point to it? I've been a fan of this series for six years now, and I know no more about that door than when I first played the game.
  • That always bugged me too, but probably only because it sort of looks like a Keyhole.
• We have one Sora. Inside of him, there are multiple other people running around, such as Roxas and Xion. And maybe some others, not playing BBS has left a large gap in my canon understanding. It's been stated that Roxas is perfectly aware of everything, he just can't do anything. If Roxas and the other 'personalities', so to speak, were able to emerge and take control of the body, would that make Sora a schizo? I mean, it doesn't seem too hard for Roxas or Xion to take control when Sora's sleeping.
  • He's not schizo, he's a Mind Hive. And for the records, the latest tally is Roxas, Xion, Ventus, and, probably, Vanitas.
    • Add in Kairi, at least for most of the first game.
• Another meta one: If this is a Disney-Final Fantasy crossover, why are there only three FF characters who aren't from Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X (Vivi, Setzer, and sorta Paine)?
  • Nomura is reluctant to use characters he didn't design himself, I heard. Vivi was put in due to popular demand and sidelined as much as possible.
    • Even by that logic, why is Sephiroth the only FF villain that has ever appeared in the KH series to date? Yes, he's a cash cow, but there's so much potential for interesting redesigns of other villains like Ultimecia and Seymour (that is, if we MUST stick to Nomura's; after all, Exdeath and Kefka would be very welcome entrants in my book, too).
      • I've always understood it like this; Disney gets more screen-time than Final Fantasy because the explicitly Kingdom Hearts characters are seen as more of Square's thing. The original content and the Disney stuff usually balances out, which lends credence to this theory.
      • A big reason for FFVII: Cloud's story (and name) fits extremely well with Sora's. The importance of memories was a huge theme in Final Fantasy VII and it's spin-offs. In many ways Cloud and Sephiroth are similar to Sora and Riku; the big difference here is that Riku realized that Darkness wasn't the answer to his problems. A lesser connection is Kairi and Aerith. One of Cloud's biggest things was that he couldn't protect Aerith, and one of Sora's main goals was to save Kairi. And if you've played the original FFVII, the likeness between Roxas, Xion and Cloud is impossible to miss. They all struggle over wether or not they're 'real' or just 'puppets' meant to be controlled. Birth by Sleep felt like Crisis Core; the relationship between Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth was much like the one between Aqua, Ven and Terra--just toned down a bit. Basically, FFVII is here because it fits so well here, and most likely inspired much of KH's expanded plot.
• When Maleficent tells the other villains that Clayton attracted the Heartless, it was due to his "lust for power". What? I saw the cut-scenes, and Clayton never showed a desire for power as in ruling the world and that stuff. I don't get it. And later on, she reveals that Jafar was defeated due to his "hatred". I'm sorry, but I think these cut-scenes must have been made very early in the game's development, and that she must have confused Hades with Jafar, and maybe a power-hungry villain for Clayton. What do you think?
  • I figure the "lust for power" line is being taken differently than it's supposed to be. Clayton DOES have a lust for power in that he likes to dominate. He's a trigger-happy nut who explicitly states that he wants to kill all the gorillas. I believe the lust for power isn't that he wants to rule anything, it's just that he wants to feel powerful, and killing powerful things (gorillas CAN kill you with brute strength) would do so for him. As for Jafar, he is completely hateful, particularly towards Aladdin, to the point where he tries KILLING him as well as the other three. He acted impulsively due to his emotions, hence the genie wish, without a second thought.
    • Looking back on that, I see it more as a way of Maleficent asserting her control by showing the other villains (who would all be happy to stab each other in the back for top control) what lusting for power will get them. Killed by the heartless. A way of telling them not to upset the probably fragile balance of villains she's gathered.
• This is mainly Just for Fun, but given that Xemnas said that the Heartless ally with whoever's the strongest, why don't the Heartless ally with Sora? Sora's beaten up loads of really strong people/monsters, and he DOES have darkness in his heart (see: Anti-Form); that, combined with the series's theme of Dark Is Not Evil, just raises the question of why Sora doesn't have an army of Heartless following him by now. Think about it -- his element of Light would make him immune to their corruption, and plus, it'd just be awesome.
  • Because he'd kill them before they got a chance to do that.
  • And because Sora doesn't want to open Kingdom Hearts, the door to the realm of darkness, which is the main goal of the Heartless. While darkness itself isn't evil, the Heartless are. And the Heartless don't actually ally with anyone, they just pretend to do so that they can control and/or get near to the darkness inside the heart of whoever they had "allied" with, until he/she becomes consumed by it, has outlived his/her usefulness, or has proved to be a weak host, in which case they simply just take it. The "ally with the strongest" thing is there because with stronger "allies", the Heartless will have an easier time getting closer to their goal.
  • It's stated the Heartless are afraid of the keyblade and take any opportunity to strike down it's chosen. Also as stated above Sora's and the Heartless's goals are different. If they teamed up it would be akin to Sephiroth and Cloud joining up to beat Jenova.
• The raft plan. It seems stupid, even for a bunch of kids. They didn't have much food, little water, and they planned on going on a flimsy raft. If they managed to sail out there, I doubt they'd last a day; they'd probably run back whining to their parents if the plot hadn't came along. Even if they managed to sail for a while, they'd probably die at sea. They didn't even appear to tell their parents, which adds damage to injury.
  • They probably figured they'd hit another world before running out of supplies. As for getting lost at sea, I believe they felt that their world was so small that if they didn't get to another world, they'd just end up on the other side of the island. I don't think they'd go whining to their parents, as they seemed pretty aware that their plan may not work, if their conversation during the sunset is anything to go by:

Sora: But how far could a raft take us?
Riku: Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else.

• So they have the Keyblades, and they have magic, but do we know if the main characters could fight with their bare hands if they had to? I mean, there might be a situation where they can't use their other abilities, and being able to throw a simple punch is an important talent when you think about it. Sure, it likely won't come up much since only the Keyblade can kill the Heartless/Nobodies/Unversed, but still, better to cover all your bases.
  • As far as I go, it is actually unimportant for Sora, since a keyblade always comes back to its owner (the others, I don't know). But in a matter of fact, there are at least three characters who use their fists. The Beast uses his Claws, Jack Skellington uses his Bone-fingers, and even a princess like Ariel gets her hands dirty.
• What are the Worlds? What I mean is, is there more to them then what we see? Are they complete planets, or just one area?
  • That might be just Wild Mass Guessing, but whatever. Anyone ever heard the saying: "The world does not revolve around you"? Well in the KH-Universe, it seems to be a lie, since every main character is the most important person in this universe, with certain exceptions like Traverse Town and Destiny Island. Heck, some worlds were destroyed after certain main-chars disappeared (Snowwhite, Cinderella, Aurora). Without those characters, the people wouldn't know what to do. And if the story ends? Wel,l I guess then awful sequels will enter the next story. (Yes, I know the worlds got destroyed, because of the Heartless and the keyhole, but seriously: What would the Princes do without their princess?)
• I don't quite understand why practically everywhere on the site that mentions it says that the fact that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness was actually Xehanort's Heartless is a Retcon. Given how ridiculously important Xehanort is to the plot of the series, is there really any solid indication that Nomura didn't plan that from the start? The only real argument, as far as I can think of, is that Mickey also mistook Xehanort's Heartless for Ansem (Or So I Heard, having never actually played Reverse/Rebirth), but when I think about, it there's a plausible explanation for that. Apparently, Mickey only ever saw Xehanort once, ten years ago, for a few minutes at the longest. At the time, he had no idea how important this guy was going to be, so it's not like we could reasonably expect him to remember Xehanort's name and face. Additionally, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness actually looks fairly different from Xehanort, especially compared to Xemnas... he has a different hairstyle, his eyes turned gold from using darkness, and his skin is darker than Xehanort's. Add in the fact that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's outfit makes him look much more muscular than labcoat-clad Xehanort, and remind yourself that Mickey has no real reason to remember Xehanort in any great detail, and it's entirely plausible for him not to make the connection. As for why he believed that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness was the real Ansem, it's been shown (particularly by DiZ) that Darkness can drastically alter a person's appearance. Since Ansem, Seeker of Darkness appears to be the only case of a human-shaped Heartless, you could probably forgive Mickey for thinking that the Darkness had completely altered Ansem's appearance. Once he had some time to think it over, though, he realized that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness looked familiar, and eventually pieced together that he was an impostor (particularly if he'd seen Xemnas, then he really would have understood that it wasn't Ansem).
  • Point taken. But to be fair: Most of those who said that it's a Retcon probably played KH and KH:CoM, before the idea of Xehanort. We all believed that Ansem the Wise became a Heartless willingly and that he is after Riku's body. For years we thought he was the one everyone praised as a kind ruler and great scientist. And it was (semi-)mindblowing that he was in fact the Big Bad! After his lost fight, he still lingers inside of Riku, still wanting his body, with the eventual conclusion that the Heartless is still inside his body, but he will use both Light and Dark, thus putting Ansem's Darkness to a good use. Well until he fights Roxas in KH:357/2Days and loses badly, which in turn makes him give in to Ansem's darkness, transforming him into the Heartless, with his mind still in control and making him call himself "Ansem". Most people are angered that they now have to switch to the term Xehanort's Heartless (which is quite a mouthful), instead of Ansem. It kinda felt like a stretch instead. And what bothers me is the fact that my german KH-wiki says Xehanort's heartless instead of Ansem Seeker of Darkness (you might think having a different Title might count as a different person.)
• In the first game, Pooh's friends have disappeared due to pages of the book missing, and it's up to Sora to collect those pages and return the 100 Acre Wood back to its original self. Well, when Sora first visits the storybook, Pooh is alone. Only when Sora visits a second time and restores a page does Piglet come back. So, since Piglet was gone until Sora's second visit, how did Pooh manage to ask Piglet to fetch him a balloon before Sora even got there?
  • Perhaps he asked before Piglet vanished, and Piglet remembered when he got back.
• According to the Heartless invasion of Destiny Islands in KHI, and Roxas's visit to the mansion in KHII, only the Keyblade can destroy or harm Heartless and Nobodies. Yet all your party characters can do so. I get that maybe Donald and Goofy got their weapons prepared for helping the Keyblade wielder, but what about others like Peter Pan, or Beast and Ariel that don't even use weapons?
  • Destroy, not defeat. When anyone besides a Keyblade wielder "kills" a Heartless, it just dissipates and comes back later.
• Gummi Ships. Their purpose is for travel between worlds. For the most part, no one in any other world knows that there are other worlds. Cid and Gepetto have their own Gummi Ship stores, like they make money from this. Who, exactly, buys Gummi Ships, and why haven't we seen them running around in other worlds? Another piece of stubborn lice is that Sora seems to be their only customer.
  • How do you think Leon and Yuffie travel back and forth to the Colosseum? Cloud might use Corridors of Darkness, but Leon and Yuffie definitely don't. Just because we don't see anybody else using Gummi Ships, doesn't mean nobody else does.
    • Who's to say that Leon and Yuffie appearing in the Colosseum is actually canon? Anyway, my point is that Gummi Ships must be rather common, as Cid and Gepetto can afford to have shops to sell them, yet we never see any other Gummi Ships or anyone using them. You'd think we'd see some kind of evidence of Gummi Ship use.
• Why does End of the World have areas from worlds that haven't been destroyed? (see World Terminus)
  • Besides making the programming easier? Maybe because they are more like GATES to the other worlds? Instead of using the corridor of darkness, (or maybe End of the World is in fact the physial manifistation of the Corridor of darkness itself), Heartless could enter the worlds from there?
• Maybe the Kudzu Plot is getting to me, but if Ven, Roxas, and whomever are restored, will Sora lose his keyblade? Or was him obtaining the blade meant for Riku permanent and not related to Ventus's heart being present?
  • Considering that he's able to take the Keyblade back from Riku in Hollow Bastion, I'd say it's his now. Plus, the fact that Aqua considered performing the Keyblade Rite of Succession with him has to mean something.
• Was there ever any mention of sustenance in the World of Darkness? What did Riku, Mickey, and Ansem the Wise eat when they were stuck there and (contrasting Riku's case in KH1) didn't have Ansem "employing" them? Mickey probably brought a bag of food, or survived on Cartoon Physics if that's an ability he still has/ever has had, but there's not really any reason or way for the others to have brought food with them.
  • I don't think the World of Darkness works like the real world. Food probably simply isn't a concern.
• About this Keyblade inheritance ritual that we see in BBS. We see it performed intentionally when Terra lets Riku put his hand on the hilt and then recites that speech and this is how Riku gets the ability to wield the Keyblade. I've heard other people say that when Aqua meets Kairi and she puts her hand on Aqua's keyblad,e this was an unintentional passing on of the Keyblade, and this is why Kairi can wield that Keyblade later on. Makes enough sense, but now that I think of this, my mind is drawn back to this scene from Kingdom Hearts 2. Of course Sora only did this because he was trying to show Jack that only he can wield the Keyblade (at least at the time, as far as we or he knew). But just think of the significance that at that time Sora willingly let Jack take it out of his hand and Aqua didn't even realize that Kairi touched hers. Goofy, who despite being the dumb one, is also the sage, even says that he thinks Jack will wield the Keyblade one day. My mind was blown when I realized all this.
• Where are the all military forces in the series? As you travel through and visit the worlds, they're mostly nations with organized power structures, and yet they seem to lack any form of organized defence forces. Just to take some examples: where were King Mickey's Royal Guard when the Heartless attacked Disney Castle and its queen, or where were the Palace Guard of Agrabah to defend the city and its princess from the same threat? Why weren't any mermaid soldiers patrolling around Atlantica to make sure the Heartless wouldn't penetrate the city, no less King Triton's throne? And why didn't the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee deem it necessary to form a militia of armed and trained citizens to defend their city, considering that the other side have like milions of Heartless just waiting to attack? And why does it seem that the Chinese Army is only made of one captain, 6-7 soldiers, which one of them is a FNG, and three foreign volunteers? And where were the Royal Navy of Port Royal when the undead pirates and their heartless allies attacked the city and kidnapped the governor's daughter? Gees, with this lack of any armed forces in the series on your side, it's no wonder why the heartless almost conquered the entire universe before Sora stepped in. I mean, if you've got any weapon and know how to use it, the heartless aren't actually that much of a threat, especially toward to entire armies with weapons and men who know how to use them.
• In the first game, Aladdin is forced to waste his first two wishes, which forces him to use the third one to free Genie instead of asking him to save Jasmine. But wait! Genie never actually fulfilled Aladdin's second wish, which was, in fact "save Jasmine", because Iago stole the lamp while he was in the process of fulfilling it. Aladdin should therefore still have two wishes! No Sadistic Choice was necessary!
• The reveal that the 10th Anniversary box is going to contain, alongside Dream Drop Distance, 358/2 Days, re: coded, a protective cover, and 12 postcards with Kingdom Hearts visuals. Why would they release two of the least popular games in the series as part of an anniversary bundle, as opposed to two of the main series games?
  • Because they're for the DS and can thus play on the 3DS. That's pretty much the sole reason.
• What's with Axel/Roxas shippers making Roxas such a Jerkass towards Axel?
• Riku's movement in between the meeting in Traverse Town and Neverland doesn't make sense. After Agrabah, he apparently takes Hook's ship to go to wherever Kairi is. Then he appears in Monstro, thinking he can use Pinocchio to get Kairi's heart back...somehow. Yet after he leaves, we see him with Kairi and apparently learns for the first time that she's lost her heart. It's almost as though the writers messed up the order of events a bit.